International Football
Cameroon, Africans Get Anti Racism Protection
Cameroon, and indeed Africans can heave a sigh of relief as FIFA appears set to combat racism which is believed to be prevalent in Russia as regards to players of African origin. Monkey chants are common when Africans are on the field.
It is feared that such chants may come up when Cameroon take on Germany in Sochi next Sunday. Cameroon will open their 2017 Confederations Cup account this Sunday with a match with Chile in Moscow, but the greatest concern is the match next week in Sochi.
Just last month, in a Russian government sponsored public parade to herald the 2017 Confederations Cup, Russians in Sochi wore black painted faces and afro wigs to depict Cameroonians and were seen holding bananas as if they were monkeys.
The incident in Sochi, Russia has already triggered off what Cameroon should expect in Russia this year and the expectations of the five African teams that will feature at Russia 2018 World Cup.
But the world football governing body, FIFA, is taking steps to douse what could lead to potentially explosive situation.
The Olympic Games in the past had witnessed boycotts, even after teams’ arrivals as it happened in 1976 in Montreal, Canada and also in Moscow, Russia in1980.
FIFA events are yet to experience such. So, for the first time, Sports Village Square has gathered, in an official tournament, FIFA will use a three-step procedure in case of discriminatory incidents and also deploy anti-discrimination observers at all matches of the ongoing FIFA Confederations Cup 2017.
First, referees have been empowered to first stop a match and request a public announcement to insist that the discriminatory behaviour must stop.
The referee will suspend the match until the behaviour stops following another warning announcement, and finally, if the behaviour still persists, the referee will call off the match.
According to a media statement from FIFA, “anti-discrimination observers, meanwhile, are a natural continuation of the monitoring system that FIFA has put in place to monitor FIFA World Cup qualifiers and selected friendlies.
“The match observers are coordinated and trained by the Fare network, an organisation with a long track record of monitoring and fighting discrimination in football. Based on Fare’s ‘Global guide to discriminatory practices in football’, the match observers will monitor the behaviour of fans from both teams, as well as any spectators who are not affiliated to a particular team playing in the match.
“Should any discriminatory incidents occur during a match, the evidence collected by the match observers will be forwarded to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee for review and potential action.
Representatives from four national players’ unions on Thursday launched a new global organisation in Madrid, which they say will strengthen footballers’ rights and improve dialogue with governing bodies.
Opening a new front in the battle over who speaks for players, the International Footballers’ Association (AIF) was unveiled, with David Aganzo, president of Spain’s Association of Footballers (AFE) and a former head of the global union FIFPRO, appointed to lead the organisation.
Players’ unions from Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland were also represented.
The initiative drew a swift rebuke from FIFPRO, which said in a statement that Aganzo was acting out of self-interest and aligning himself with organisations linked to football governing bodies, as well as groups expelled from FIFPRO over alleged mismanagement.
Aganzo rejected the criticism, saying he “will not seek confrontation with FIFPRO”.
The launch comes amid strained relations between players’ unions and football authorities, particularly over the expanding international match calendar.
Relations between FIFA and FIFPRO deteriorated in 2024 after the union lodged a complaint with the European Commission, arguing that the global governing body was abusing its dominant position by adding competitions without sufficient consultation.
Aganzo denied suggestions that the new initiative was backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but said “direct dialogue with FIFA” was essential.
AFE’s Extraordinary General Assembly approved the initiative in February with 99.8% of votes cast in favour of spearheading the creation of the AIF.
The same assembly also backed AFE’s withdrawal from FIFPRO, citing what it described as a “complete lack of transparency, as well as its total lack of dialogue with international bodies.”
“We represent over 30,000 footballers, and we come here with a new model aimed at safeguarding players’ rights and facilitating direct communication with all international bodies,” Aganzo told reporters.
“We are in contact with 15 to 20 unions already who were very aware of this moment and waiting for this announcement to make their move and join our initiative.”
He declined to identify any unions beyond those present.
Asked about a report that a senior envoy to U.S. President Donald Trump had urged FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the upcoming World Cup, Aganzo urged caution.
“These are more political issues; on April 30th, I’ll be speaking to Gianni (Infantino) at the FIFA Congress, and we will discuss those things,” Aganzo said.
“People who want to go to the World Cup have to earn their place on sporting merit.”
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
A new trial over the death of Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona will begin on Tuesday, with seven members of his medical team charged with negligent homicide nearly a year after a previous case collapsed in a mistrial.
An enduring presence in Argentina – from towering murals to tattoos, opens new tab – Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at 60, after a heart attack while he was recuperating from brain surgery to remove a blood clot.
A court in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, will hear testimony from just under 100 witnesses as it tries Maradona’s medical team over alleged negligence in the death of the 1986 World Cup champion.
His medical team has denied wrongdoing. The defendants are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Angel Diaz, physician Nancy Edith Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almiron, head nurse Mariano Ariel Perroni, and physician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna. An eighth defendant, nurse Dahiana Madrid, will be tried in a separate jury trial, with no date yet set.
Two months into the first trial, which started last March, a mistrial was declared when one of three judges, Julieta Makintach, resigned after video surfaced showing her being interviewed by a camera crew in the corridors of the courthouse and in her office as part of a documentary, in breach of judicial rules.
The retrial will require both prosecutors and defense lawyers to reassess their strategies after the first trial aired photographs, videos, audio recordings and forensic evidence. Many witnesses, including Maradona’s children and his former wife, Claudia Villafane, have already testified.
Prosecutors argued in the initial trial that medical professionals broke treatment protocols and that the home where Maradona was recovering from surgery amounted to a “theatre of horror,” where necessary care was not provided.
The defense countered that his death was inevitable given his longstanding health problems. Maradona struggled for decades with cocaine and alcohol addiction.
The negligence charges emerged in 2021 after prosecutors appointed a medical board to investigate Maradona’s death. The panel concluded his medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless” manner.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Aliou Cisse has been named coach of the Angola national team, the country’s football federation (FAF) announced on Thursday, 24 hours after the Senegalese left his post in Libya.
The 50-year-old coach, who led Senegal to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022, ended his short stint with the Libyan national team on Wednesday, after taking charge in March 2025.
“Welcome, Aliou Cisse, head coach of the Angola national team,” the FAF said on Facebook. Angola, which failed to reach this year’s World Cup, will start their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign in September.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Sundowns, AS FAR Get Revised Timeline for CAF Final Showdown
Arsenal, Atletico trade penalties in Champions League semi-final draw
Iranian Football Delegation Turned Back at Toronto Airport, Miss FIFA Congress
Breaking! Uzoho suspended from Super Eagles’ next match with Sierra Leone
No longer Super League as CAF changes name of its new clubs competition
NIGERIAN FOOTBALL CHIEF EXECUTIVE, SANUSI CHARGES NIGERIAN COACHES TO BE UPRIGHT, DILIGENT
-
Nigerian Football1 week agoFootball Returns Home: Lagos Reclaims Its Place at the Heart of the Nigerian Game
-
Premier League7 days agoManchester City End Arsenal’s Six-Month Reign at the Summit
-
Nigerian Football3 days agoKunle Soname at 60: The Quiet Architect of Nigerian Football’s Modern Dream
-
Nigerian Football7 days agoSporting Lagos’ “Trial by Fire”: Enakhena Lifts the Lid on Ordeal Behind NPFL Promotion
-
Boxing2 days agoJoshua to make comeback fight in Riyadh in July before facing Fury
-
Olympics13 hours agoSuper Falcons Draw Bye, Set to Face South Sudan or Comoros in LA 2028 Olympic Qualifiers
-
U-20 FOOTBALL2 days agoFootball Meets History as Ghana Set To Celebrate 70 Years of Independence with U-20 Afcon Hosting
-
TRANSFER MARKET1 week agoBarcelona Target Victor Osimhen in transfer market overhaul