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MO SALAH SET TO RETAIN AFRICAN FOOTBALLERS’ CROWN

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

If precedence is anything to be considered, Egyptian football star, Mohamed Salah will be named the 2018 African Footballer of Year this Tuesday.  He is expected to emerge top again in the same field of trio that contested for the 2017 edition.

The two other contestants are club mate in Liverpool, Sadio Mane of Senegal who will be right at home at the event and Arsenal and Gabon’s forward, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. 

Past winners have always been the echoes of what European media announced. In December 2018, BBC announced Mohamed Salah as the organisation’s African Footballer of the Year.

As in the past, this is expected to get the endorsement of CAF electorate composed of CAF Media Experts, Legends, Coaches of the quarter-finalists of the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup, and Coaches & Captains of the 54 Member Associations.

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 If he wins, he becomes the first North African to win back-to-back. West African players have achieved that feat in the past.

Samuel Eto’o did it from 2003 to 2005.

Yaya Toure of Cote d’Ivoire won in three straight years from 2011 to 2014.

PAST RESULTS

Year           Position   Player                                    Team

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1992           1st            Abedi ‘Pele’ Ayew             Ghana/Marseille

1993           1st            Rashidi Yekini                     Nigeria/V. Setubal

1994           1st            Emmanuel Amuneke        Nigeria/Sporting CP

                   2nd          George Weah                   Liberia/PSG

                   3rd      Rashidi Yekini                     Nigeria/Setubal

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1995           1st      George Weah                        Liberia/Milan

                  2nd      Emmanuel Amuneke         Nigeria/Sporting CP

                  3rd     Daniel Amokachi                        Nigeria/Everton

1996           1st       Nwankwo Kanu                 Nigeria/Inter

                  2nd      George Weah                    Liberia/Milan

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                  3rd     Daniel Amokachi               Nigeria/ Beşiktaş

1997           1st      Victor Ikpeba                     Nigeria/Monaco

                  2nd     Japhet N’Doram                 Chad/Monaco

                  3rd     Taribo West                                Nigeria/Inter

1998           1st      Mustapha Hadji                 Morocco/Deportivo

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                  2nd     Austin Okocha                   Nigeria/PSG

                  3rd     Sunday Oliseh                   Nigeria/Ajax

1999           1st      Nwankwo Kanu                 Nigeria/Arsena

                  2nd     Samuel Kuffour                Ghana/Bayern

                  3rd     Ibrahima Bakayoko            Cote d’Ivoire/Marseille

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2000           1st     Patrick M’Boma                Cameroon/Parma

                  2nd    Lauren Etamé-Mayer         Cameroon/Mallorca

                  3rd    Samuel Eto’o                    Cameroon/Mallorca

2001           1st   El Hadji Diouf                    Senegal/Lens

                  2nd  Samuel Kuffour                  Ghana/Bayern

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                  3rd    Samuel Eto’o                             Cameroon/Mallorca

2002           1st El Hadji Diouf                      Senegal/Liverpool

                  2nd Papa Bouba Diop                 Senegal/Lens

                  3rd Ahmed Hossam Mido           Egypt/Ajax

2003           1st Samuel Eto’o                       Cameroon/Mallorca

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                  2nd Didier Drogba                     Cote d’Ivoire/Marseille

                  3rd Austin Okocha                             Nigeria/Bolton

2004           1st Samuel Eto’o                       Cameroon/Barcelona

                  2nd Didier Drogba                     Cote d’Ivoire/Chelsea

                  3rd Austin Okocha                             Nigeria/Bolton

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2005           1st Samuel Eto’o                       Cameroon/Barcelona

                  2nd Didier Drogba                     Cote d’Ivoire/Chelsea

                  3rd Michael Essien                   Ghana/Chelsea

2006           1st Didier Drogba                      Cote d’Ivoire/Chelsea

                  2nd Samuel Eto’o                      Cameroon/Barcelona

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                  3rd Michael Essien                   Ghana/Chelsea

2007           1st Frederic Kanoute                 Mali/Sevilla        

                  2nd Michael Essien                   Ghana/Chelsea

                  3rd Didier Drogba                     Cote d’Ivoire/Chelsea

2008           1st Emmanuel Adebayor            Togo/Arsenal      

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                  2nd Mohamed Abou Trika          Egypt/Ahly

                  3rd Michael Essien                   Ghana/Chelsea

2009           1st Didier Drogba                      Cote d’Ivoire/Chelsea  

                  2nd  Samuel Eto’o                     Cameroon/Inter

                  3rd Michael Essien                   Ghana/Chelsea

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2010           1st Samuel Eto’o                       Cameroon/Inter  

                  2nd  Asamoah Gyan                  Ghana/Sunderland

                  3rd Didier Drogba                     Cote d’Ivoire/Chelsea

2011           1st Yaya Toure                          Cote d’Ivoire/Man. City  

                2nd  Seydou Keita                             Mali/Barcelona

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                  3rd Andre Ayew                         Ghana/Marseille

2012           1st Yaya Toure                          Cote d’Ivoire/Man. City                 

2nd  Didier Drogba                   Cote d’Ivoire/S.Shenhua

                  3rd Alex Song                           Cameroon/Barcelona

2013           1st Yaya Toure                          Cote d’Ivoire/Man. City                 

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2nd  Mikel Obi                         Nigeria/Chelsea

                  3rd Didier Drogba                     Cote d’Ivoire/Galatasaray

2014           1st Yaya Toure                          Cote d’Ivoire/Man. City                 

2nd  Pierre-Aubameyang                    Gabon/Borussia

                  3rd Vincent Enyeama                Nigeria/Lille

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2015           1st Pierre-Aubameyang              Gabon/Borussia                  

2nd Yaya Toure                        Cote d’Ivoire/Man. City

3rd Andre Ayew                         Ghana/Swansea

2016           1st Riyad Mahrez                       Algeria/Leicester City                  

2nd Pierre-Aubameyang            Gabon/Borussia 

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                   3rd Sadio Mane                        Senegal/Liverpool

2017           1st Mohamed Salah                   Egypt/Liverpool           

2nd Sadio Mane                       Senegal/Liverpool      

                   3rd Pierre-Aubameyang            Gabon/Borussia

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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International Football

Players’ union, FIFPRO, wants 20-minute halftimes, more cooling breaks amid extreme heat

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Global players’ union FIFPRO is exploring whether extending halftime to 20 minutes and introducing more frequent cooling breaks could better protect players from extreme heat.

Nine of the 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup face conditions considered “extreme risk” for heat-related illness.

Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, Monterrey and Philadelphia are expected to face dangerous levels of heat and humidity, posing player safety concerns and fuelling calls for mandatory cooling aids or schedule changes.

FIFPRO’s heat risk assessments are based on wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), a measure combining temperature, humidity, solar radiation and wind speed to estimate how environmental conditions affect the body’s ability to cool itself.

Under FIFPRO guidelines, a WBGT reading above 28 degrees Celsius indicates conditions in which matches should be postponed or rescheduled to protect players’ health.

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By comparison, world soccer governing body FIFA’s own guidelines set the extreme risk threshold higher, at 32 degrees Celsius WBGT – but even by that standard, six of the nine cities are still projected to exceed safe limits.

Major League Soccer in the U.S. has a threshold of 29 degrees Celsius WBGT.

“Cooling breaks at the 30th minute and 75th minutes are quite traditional, but from a physiological point of view it does not make sense,” said Vincent Gouttebarge, FIFPRO’s Medical Director.

“Even if you ingest more than 200 millilitres of fluid, you already cannot take it all. So I would definitely like to see some project where we look at the efficacy of perhaps more frequent but shorter cooling breaks – every 15 minutes, rather than only one during each half.”

LONGER HALFTIMES

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Gouttebarge also questioned whether the traditional 15-minute halftime interval is sufficient when matches are played in extreme heat.

“You can imagine that halftime of 15 minutes might not be enough in order to decrease the core temperature,” he said.

“It could be a halftime of 20 minutes which would be significant. That has been shown in the laboratory and FIFPRO, together with the national union in Portugal in August, we are going to test this kind of mitigation strategy.”

The urgency of stronger heat protocols became clear at this month’s Club World Cup where two matches — Benfica-Bayern Munich in Charlotte and Chelsea-Esperance in Philadelphia exceeded the WBGT threshold FIFPRO considers unsafe.

“According to our position, those games should have been postponed later that day or rescheduled,” Gouttebarge said.

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FIFPRO officials acknowledged that FIFA has responded constructively during the tournament by lowering thresholds for mandatory cooling breaks and improving pitch-side hydration, but stressed that proactive planning is critical.

“FIFA have been quite responsive once the tournament was under way,” said Alex Phillips, FIFPRO General Secretary.

“They have actually modified how they’ve been dealing with heat during the matches based on FIFPRO’s input, which is credit to the work of the team. Obviously, it would have been better if that happened in advance, but it’s better that they have adapted.”

FIFPRO warned that the risks highlighted at the Club World Cup are a preview of what players could face at the expanded 2026 World Cup.

“This is not just affecting the Club World Cup, but also future tournaments either in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world,” said Alexander Bielefeld, FIFPRO Director of Policy & Strategic Relations.

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“We need a better balance between commercial interests and the health and safety of players,” he added, referring to earlier kick-off times to accommodate European television audiences.

-Reuters

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International Football

Former England and Man Utd midfielder Ince charged with drink-driving

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Championship - Norwich City v Reading - Carrow Road, Norwich, Britain - December 30, 2022, Reading manager Paul Ince applauds fans after the match Action Images/Matthew Childs/File Photo 

Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Ince has been charged with drink-driving, police said on Monday.

Ince, who earned 53 caps for England and won two Premier League titles during his six years at United, has been released on bail and will appear in court on July 18.

“The incident involved a black Range Rover which had collided with the central reservation barrier. Officers attended the scene and arrested a 57-year-old man,” the Cheshire police said in a statement.

“Paul Ince, of Quarry Road, Neston, has since been charged with drink-driving.”

Reuters has contacted Ince’s representative for comment.

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After retiring as a player, Ince led Milton Keynes Dons to a League Two title in 2007-08. He most recently managed Reading during 2022-23.

-Reuters

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From garbage collector to Starman of Ancelotti’s Brazil team: the story of Ribeiro

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I was without a team for a year and a half, doing trials… and no club in Brazil wanted me.!” Alex Ribeiro

Alexsandro Victor de Souza Ribeiro (Rio de Janeiro, 1999) was, until a few days ago, a semi-unknown to the general public in Brazil. 

However, Carlo Ancelotti, impressed by his strong performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League, insisted on calling up the Lille centre-back… and giving him his debut.

Not only that. He started alongside Marquinhos against Ecuador (0-0) and Paraguay (1-0) and helped the Seleçao keep two consecutive clean sheets for the first time in the qualifying rounds.

Alex, as he likes to be called, impressed with his 1.92 meters (6′ 1″) frame and confidence. According to ‘R10Score’, he was the Brazilian player who completed the most actions with the ball (186) and the second with the most cuts (11).

He completed 154 of the 166 passes he made (92% accuracy) and won 12 of the 16 duels he was involved in: 5 of 7 at ground level and 7 of 9 in the air. “A gentleman defender,” boasted the official Ligue 1 Portuguese account.

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His path to the elite wasn’t easy. “I don’t think you know this, but this is my first game as a professional in Brazil. Strange, isn’t it? There’s nothing better. To debut in Brazil like this, with a win and qualification,” he boasted after defeating Paraguay.

These first few days with Ancelotti have been unique; I’ll remember them for the rest of my life. I’ve responded well not only to myself, but also to the coach and the Brazilian people.  I was able to demonstrate my ability to those who had doubts. Few people give me the opportunity that the manager has given me,”  he insists

The Lille centre-back took his first steps in Flamengo’s youth system, where he even met Vinicius. 

“When we played against Real Madrid, Vini came up to me and hugged me. He said, ‘I’m glad to see you here, brother.’ That inspired and motivated me even more,” he told ‘Globo Esporte’.

‘Fla’ cut him off. He had to make a living as a street vendor. He also collected trash, especially cans. “I was without a team for a year and a half, doing trials… and no club in Brazil wanted me, so I went to Europe to play in Portugal’s Third Division.”

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Praiense (2018-20), Amora (2020-21), and Chaves (2021-22)—the latter already in the Second Division—were his springboard to Lille. The Bulldogs signed him in 2022-23 for €2 million. He has become a more than worthy successor to his compatriot Gabriel Magalhaes.

Little by little, my name is spreading. My football is reaching everywhere. This includes Brazil,” he said before making his debut with the Seleçao. Now that he’s made it, he has another challenge: I want to continue it.”

-Marca

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