Ahead of the 2026 World Cup qualifying match with Nigeria in Kigali, Rwanda has named Algeria’s Adel Amrouche as their new head coach. The contract is for two years.

Amrouche, 56, replaces Germany’s Frank Torsten Spittler whose contract wasn’t extended when it ended in December 2024.

Amrouche is not new to the East African terrain. His most recent job in the region was the Tanzanian national team which he handled from March 4, 2023 to January 19, 2024.

He has also previously coached Kenya and Burundi all within the CECAFA zone. This is the Algerian’s seventh national team job having also handled Botswana, Libya and Equatorial Guinea.

He had also handled two top-flight clubs in the continent, Daring Club Motema Pembe of DR Congo and Algeria’s   MC Algiers.

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FIFA president Gianni Infantino has stood by the football governing body’s decision to award the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, while also defending his relationship with US President Donald Trump.

The Gulf kingdom was controversially handed the right to host the World Cup at a FIFA Congress in December, despite concerns about its human rights record, the risks to migrant labourers and criminalisation of same-sex relationships.

The process followed by FIFA was also criticised by the Norwegian football federation but speaking in Belfast on Feb 28, Infantino said: “There was a Congress decision, uniting the entire world. It was a very positive step for football, bringing in eight years, football from all over the world, hosting everyone.

“We have to be bringing everyone to the table. We will go to North America in 2026, now we go to South America, go to Africa, we’ll go to Europe in 2030. We’ll go back to Asia for 2034. The FIFA Congress approved that, it was done after an in-depth report on all this.”

Infantino also faced questions about his relationship with Mr Trump and the first family as he arrived for the annual general meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which sets the laws of the sport.

The president’s daughter Ivanka was involved in the FIFA Club World Cup draw in December, with Infantino also attending Mr Trump’s inauguration in January.

Their connection contrasts with the non-existent relationship Infantino had with Mr Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden but is very similar to the close links the 54-year-old Swiss administrator forged with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim Hamad al-Thani, the hosts of the last two men’s World Cups.

When asked why he was so close to the polarising president, Infantino said: “It is absolutely crucial for the success of a World Cup to have a close relationship with the president. We are organising a Club World Cup this year – the first-ever FIFA Club World Cup, 32 teams, in the United States of America.

“We’re organising a World Cup next year in the United States, Mexico and Canada. And let’s not forget that when the bidding happened for that World Cup, President Trump was already President of the United States.”

The Fifa chief was further quizzed on the prospect of Russia returning to the world football scene if a peace deal can be agreed following its invasion of Ukraine.

“We look forward that all countries in the world can play football,” Infantino said.

“We all hope that peace talks will be successful, because we must support it for the world, much more than for football, that we have peace.

“If there is a little role that football can play, once peace is there, then of course, we’ll play our role.”

-AFP

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England should have won the hosting rights for the soccer World Cup before the next free date in 2038 and before Saudi Arabia which will hold the 2034 edition, former FIFA President Sepp Blatter said on Tuesday.

“England has done a great job for the game of football and they should be rewarded,” Blatter told Reuters. “They have tried since 1966 to get the World Cup back and it’s a shame they didn’t get it.

“They should have had it before Saudi Arabia, but it was organised in a very clever way so nobody was in opposition,” he said in an interview.

FIFA awarded the 2034 tournament to Saudi Arabia in an uncontested process in December , which also saw Spain, Portugal and Morocco chosen as the main hosts for the 2030 tournament combined with one-off matches in South America.

However, the decisions have come under fire, with the 2030 plan criticised by climate activists because of the increased emissions necessitated by the extra travel across three continents.

The 2034 bid by Saudi Arabia has been questioned by some in the game due to its desert climate and also been criticised by activists over the country’s human rights record, much in the same way as the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Saudi Arabia denies suppressing rights.

This left 2038 as the next available date for England to host its second World Cup after winning the tournament at home in 1966.

Blatter said he was concerned about the increased influence of the Middle East on sports like football and Formula 1, with both having been heavily invested in by countries in the region, but said England should still apply to host the World Cup.

“They should wake up and apply again,” the 88-year-old said.

Blatter, who left FIFA in disgrace following a corruption scandal in 2015, was also concerned about the expanding size of the World Cup, which he said was diluting the quality of the tournament.

Next year’s event in the United States, Mexico and Canada has been expanded to 48 teams, up from 32 at the 2022 edition.

“It’s become too big,” he said. “Will it become like in grand slam tennis where everybody goes to the World Cup? What next – 128 teams?

“I’ve always said there are too many teams and the quality is not the same,” Blatter added. “Who loses out – the spectators.”

He feared constant expansion could eventually damage the sport.

“As long as football has 2 billion followers, then FIFA thinks they are happy,” the Swiss said. “But one day there will be a stop – you cannot go and develop more football, and more players and have more money and more spectators and more stadiums.”

-Reuters

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