International Football
VIDEO: ETO’O BECOMES QATAR 2022 FIFA WORLD CUP AMBASSADOR
BY DANIEL ETCHELLS
Samuel Eto’o, one of the most decorated players in world football, has joined the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) – the organisation responsible for delivering tournament infrastructure for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and its associated legacy programmes – as a global ambassador.
Eto’o has won 15 major honours during his glittering career to date, a haul which includes three UEFA Champions League victories, four league titles across spells in Italy and Spain with Inter Milan and Barcelona, respectively, and one FIFA Club World Cup.
He joins Spain’s Xavi Hernández and sports broadcaster Mohammed
Saadon Al Kuwari as official SC ambassadors.
Former Cameroon international Eto’o earned 118 international caps and made appearances at four FIFA World Cups between 1998 and 2014.
In August 2018, he joined Qatar Stars League side Qatar Sports Club and made a new home in the host country of the next FIFA World Cup.
During a special signing ceremony with SC secretary general Hassan Al Thawadi, he became part of the journey on the road to 2022.
“It’s a great honour for me to be an ambassador for the SC
and hope I am able to deliver what is expected of me,” said Eto’o, a
four-time African player of year.
“The World Cup is the biggest competition in football – there is nothing bigger – and for the players who have had the chance to play in the World Cup, there is nothing more beautiful.
“Football goes much further than politics and it’s important that football travels the world because it’s everywhere, it’s an incredible social force.
“It has an impact on our lives even if some do not like football, we are always paying attention to football and I am happy that Qatar is and will be the face of it for a month during the World Cup, and Qatar will also be the face of the Middle East.”
he legendary striker, who in 1998 appeared at his first FIFA World Cup at the age of 17, has also made an impact away from the professional game.
In 2017, he was named the United Nations International Children’s Education Fund goodwill ambassador for Cameroon.
Additionally, in March 2006 he launched the Samuel Eto’o Foundation and has since built football schools across Africa with the goal of encouraging young people to have access to sporting facilities to hone their skills, while also providing the frameworks required for them to continue their studies.
The Foundation also provides healthcare and social integration opportunities for those who attend.
“It always humbles me to know I can bring a smile to someone’s face with small acts of kindness like lending an ear,” Eto’o said.
“What may seem benign to us, can mean the world to others.
“I told myself I have to share my experience with some and above all, the grassroots in Cameroon in particular and in Africa in general.
“I can establish football schools which will allow young people to overcome obstacles which they might face in Europe.
“This is why I embarked on this beautiful project that excites me every day and I’m happy because I have some players who play with some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
“It gives pride for me as the face of the Foundation but all those backing me have also played a big role in giving the youth this opportunity.”
Commenting on the announcement, Al Thawadi welcomed Eto’o to the team.
“Samuel is one of the most successful footballers in the history of the game and we welcome him to join us on this unique journey,” he said.
“As well as his remarkable achievements on the field, what makes him stand out is the commitment he has shown to using his profile to effect positive change away from the professional game.
“We have always been steadfast in our commitment to ensuring this World Cup is not only about the 28 days of on-pitch action, but about the impact it will have across the Arab world and beyond, for generations to come.
“I am confident that working alongside someone of Samuel’s calibre, stature and character can only help us to achieve these goals together.”
FIFA is set to expand the size of Qatar 2022 from 32 teams to 48 after the FIFA Council agreed the idea was “feasible” at a meeting in Miami last month.
Football’s global governing body has been considering broadening its flagship tournament for some time and it has already been confirmed the 2026 edition will feature 48 teams.
After analysing a feasibility study, the Council has agreed expanding the 2022 edition could work, so long as countries other than Qatar, the current sole hosts, agree to help.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has been asked to confirm that any country being considered as a co-host of the 2022 World Cup complies with the governing body’s new human rights standards.
Before the FIFA Council meeting in Miami, Amnesty International and a coalition of non-Government organisations, trade unions and fans’ and players’ groups told the official about his “corporate responsibility”.
FIFA must ensure any country wishing to hold a World Cup first provides credible guarantees to meet international human rights law and labour standards, Infantino has been told.– INSIDE THE GAMES
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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
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
Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
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
Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- WOMEN'S FOOTBALL1 week ago
Naira rain falls on Nigeria’s Flamingos after a 4-0 defeat of Algeria
- OBITUARY5 days ago
NFF mourns the demise of former FIFA referee, Bosede Momoh
- Nigerian Football3 days ago
Financial rainfall awaits Nigeria’s Flamingos for every goal scored in Algeria
- U-17 AFCON1 week ago
Morocco crowned CAF U-17 AFCON champions after dramatic penalty shootout win over Mali
- U-20 FOOTBALL1 week ago
Nigeria begin CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations title chase with Tunisian clash
- Nigerian Football7 days ago
Remo Stars maintain ‘7Up’ lead over Rivers United
- feature5 days ago
Ghana’s Cardinal, Appiah Turkson, listed as a possible Pope
- Nigerian Football3 days ago
Former WAFU President, Ogufere mourns Christian Chukwu