International Football
FIFA CONFIRMS NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA CANDIDACY TO HOST 2023 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
- BY NANCY GILLEN
North and South Korea – who are still technically at war – remain in the running to host the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup.
South Korea’s Football Association has registered to bid for the tournament, expressing an interest in doing so with the North Korean FA.
Any joint bid would be the latest in a number of displays of sporting unity between the nations, at war since 1950.
North and South Korean athletes took part in a joint march at
the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony, also fielding a combined
women’s ice hockey team.
Alongside the World Cup bid, the two countries are hoping to hold the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games together.
The Olympic Committees from both nations met the International Olympic Committee in February to discuss the idea.
FIFA received nine registrations from member associations to bid to host the 2023 World Cup, the largest number to have done so for a FIFA tournament.
Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa have also registered.
None of the nine countries have staged the tournament in its 28-year history.
The associations have until October 4 to submit bids, with bid books set to be published in full on FIFA’s website to ensure a fair and transparent process.
The FIFA Council will then make the decision in March 2020, in a vote which will again be made public.
Member associations will be able to attend a bid information workshop and observer programme in June, during the 2019 World Cup in France.
Nine French cities will host this year’s tournament from June 7 to July 7.
Previous hosts include Sweden, Germany and Canada, with China and the United States holding it twice each.
-INSIDE THE GAMES
Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.
Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.
Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.
They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.
-Reuters
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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.
The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”
When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.
Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.
He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.
-Reuters
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In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.
This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.
The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.
Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.
As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.
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