International Football
CAF Election: The Hour Draws Near
By KUNLE SOLAJA.
The 39th Confederation of African Football (CAF) Ordinary General Assembly reaches its crescendo and close on Thursday with election to the position of president and the executive committee as well as those to sit on the FIFA Council.
The election, which begins with the presidential, will hold at 9am in Ethiopia (7am in Nigeria, GMT +1).
This general assembly may be the most politically divisive and explosive as files and ranks have been broken onto two major political blocs. Those for the current president and those pressing for change.
The high point is the election of the CAF president as Issa Hayatou is for the first time in 29 years having a serious challenger. Contesting the position with him is Ahmad (just a single name) of Madagascar.
In all, there are no fewer than 27 candidates contesting for positions. Nigeria is making another attempt to be on the executive committee after the last two failed attempts to get Ibrahim Galadima and Aminu Maigari on board.
The current Nigeria’s candidate, Amaju Pinnick, sits on crest of wave. His success hangs on the outcome of the presidential election as those on Hayatou’s camp are strongly opposed to him.
Those not in Hayatou’s camp are his allies. They include the 14 southern African coalition of COSAFA, the five English speaking countries of West Africa, the Anglophone East Africa – Uganda and Tanzania and Egypt in North Africa. Those are the clear backers of the combined team of Amaju Pinnick and Ahmad of Madagascar.
The battle ground composes of the largely Francophone countries. Their stand remains unclear even as Hayatou comes from that bloc.
The ‘town crier’ at the Sports Village Square gathered that the plot to oust Hayatou was hatched at the last FIFA Congress in Mexico by the Anglophone countries with pockets of supports from their Francophone counterparts.
There was a speculation that Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura of Senegal was picked as the first African and woman general secretary of FIFA to break the ranks of Francophone bloc. She is believed to be saddled with the responsibility of ensuring in a new political order in CAF.
In the election, some of the contestants are defending their seats. Hayatou is one of such. He is facing Ahmad of Madagascar. Ahmad will relinquish his Southern zone seat but the other member Suketu Patel (Seychelles) will be up for re-election alongside Danny Jordaan (South Africa), Frans Mbidi (Namibia) and Rui Eduardo Da Costa (Angola).
Nigeria’s Amaju Pinnick, is contesting the West Zone B with the incumbent Moucharafou of Benin. In West Africa zone A, Liberia’s Hassan Musa Bility will be up against Amadou Diakité (Mali).
The only candidate who has won the election before the election is Chad’s Adoum Djibrine who is returning unopposed.
In the Central-East Zone executive committee seat, contesting are: Moses Magogo (Uganda), Suleiman Hassan Waberi (Djibouti), Suleiman Hassan Waberi (Djibouti) and Sudan’s Magdi Shams El Din who is the incumbent.
In North Africa zone, Anwar El Tashani (Libya) and Fouzi Lekjaa (Morocco) will be up against incumbent Mohamed Raouraoua (Algeria). Also to be contested are Africa’s seats on the FIFA Council. There is a slot for the Arabic/Portuguese/Spanish bloc, another for the English bloc while the third is for the Francophone bloc.There is a fourth seat which is open and another one for the woman category.
Hani Abo Rida (Egypt) and Tarek Bouchamoui (Tunisia) are going for the one seat in the Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish bloc while Augustin Sidy Diallo (Cote d’Ivoire) and Omari Constant Selemani (RD Congo) will be up for the one seat in the Francophone category.
Former Zambia boss Kalusha Bwalya, Kwesi Nyantakyi (Ghana) and Leodegar Tenga (Tanzania) are all eyeing the one seat in English bloc. There are four candidates; Almamy Kabele Camara (Guinea), Chabur Goc (South Sudan), Danny Jordaan (South Africa) and Lydia Nsekera (Burundi) are eying the three seats in the open category.
To balance gender, Isha Johansen (Sierra Leone) and Lydia Nsekera (Burundi) will be up for the lone female seat.
There will also be election of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Audit and Conformity Committee and that of the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of the Jurisdictional Bodies of CAF.
International Football
Former Brazil coach Tite taking break to take care of mental, physical health
Former Brazil coach Tite said he is taking an indefinite career break in order to take care of his mental and physical health.
The 63-year-old, who led Brazil to the 2019 Copa America title, was hospitalised due to a heart issue last August. He was sacked by Flamengo the following month and had most recently been linked with the Corinthians job.
“I realised that there are times when you have to understand that, as a human being, I can be vulnerable and admitting that will certainly make me stronger,” Tite said in a statement posted on his son Matheus Bachi’s Instagram on Tuesday.
“I’m passionate about what I do and I’ll continue to be so, but after talking to my family and observing the signals my body was giving off, I decided that the best thing to do now is to take a break from my career to look after myself for as long as it takes.
“As has become public, there was a conversation in progress with Corinthians, but it will have to be paralysed by a difficult but necessary decision.”
Tite, who stepped down as Brazil coach after their quarter-final exit from the 2022 World Cup, has previously coached a string of Brazilian sides including Gremio, Atletico Mineiro and Palmeiras.
-Reuters
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Brazil have sacked head coach Dorival Jr, the country’s football confederation (CBF) said on Friday after the five-time world champions were thrashed 4-1 away to fierce rivals Argentina in a humiliating qualifying loss in Buenos Aires.
The 62-year-old was appointed in January 2024 after the team spent a year under two caretaker coaches as the Brazilian FA were unable to lure Italian Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid.
“The Brazilian Football Confederation informs that coach Dorival Jr is no longer in charge of the Brazilian national team,” the confederation said in a statement.
“The management thanks (Dorival) and wishes him success in continuing his career … the CBF will work to find his replacement,” it added.
Dorival was handed the job after his success with Flamengo in 2022 where he won the Copa Libertadores and Brazilian Cup, a trophy he lifted again the next year with Sao Paulo.
However, he never seemed to get to grips with the national team job and failed to earn the trust of Brazil’s demanding fans after winning only seven of his 16 games in charge.
Sources told Reuters the CBF was not confident in Dorival’s work, considering there had been little to no progress since a lacklustre Copa America campaign when Brazil were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Uruguay last year.
Still, the CBF was willing to wait and see until the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay in June to reassess the situation following the end of the European season and the Club World Cup in the U.S. in June and July.
But after Brazil slumped to their heaviest-ever loss in a qualifier when they were thrashed by Argentina this week, CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues decided to pull the trigger.
IDEAL CANDIDATE
Sources told Reuters Ancelotti was still the ideal candidate but he is under contract with Real until July 2026 and there is no indication he would leave the European and Spanish champions.
Brazilian media have reported that Al Hilal’s Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus is the favourite to replace Dorival.
Brazil have been in unfamiliar territory for over two years since crashing out of the 2022 World Cup against Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals, a heartbreaking elimination that led to the exit of long-time manager Tite.
Their humbling defeat in Buenos Aires was the latest of a series of negative records Brazil have set under caretakers Ramon Menezes and Fernando Diniz and with Dorival in charge. They had never conceded four goals in a World Cup qualifier.
Brazil are in the midst of their worst-ever World Cup qualifying campaign. They are fourth in the South American standings with 21 points, a point above sixth-placed Colombia who currently occupy the final direct qualifying berth.
Never have Brazil lost so many games, conceded so many goals or set so many negative records in the qualifying competition. They have lost five of their 14 games and conceded 16 goals.
Brazil’s 1-0 defeat by Argentina in the Maracana late in 2023 was their first-ever qualifying loss on home soil.
They also lost to Colombia for the first time, saw the end of their unbeaten run against Uruguay stretching back over two decades and were defeated by Morocco and Senegal, having never previously lost to an African nation.
-Reuters
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International Football
England’s German manager Tuchel will not sing the English anthem in his first game
England manager Thomas Tuchel said he would have to “earn the right” to sing the national anthem, God Save the King, after announcing his 26-man squad on Friday ahead of the team’s World Cup qualifiers.
Tuchel, who was appointed as Gareth Southgate’s successor in October and named his first squad to face Albania and Latvia this month, said he would not sing the anthem in his first games in charge.
“It means a lot to me, I can assure you, but I can feel that because it is so meaningful and it is so emotional and it is so powerful, the national anthem, that I have to earn my right to sing it,” the 51-year-old German told a news conference.
Former caretaker manager Lee Carsley was criticised last year for not singing the anthem during his tenure.
However, Tuchel added that while he is proud to be in charge of the team and knows the words to the anthem, he plans to earn the right with results.
“Maybe I have to dive more into the culture and earn my right from you, from the players, from the supporters, so everyone feels like ‘he should sing it now, he’s one of our own, he’s the English manager, he should sing it’,” he said.
-Reuters
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