Other Leagues
Match-fixing scandal hits Rwanda
In the week of a World Cup qualifying match with Nigeria, Rwanda, the Group C leaders are embroiled in a match-fixing scandal in their domestic league.
A tape surfaced this Monday in which an assistant coach of one of the premier league clubs, Muhazi United who is hoping to cross at the close of the season to go the Kiyovu next season as the head coach.
But the club, the assistant coach, Jean Baptiste Mugiraneza, hopes to join, is struggling in relegation waters. He therefore opted to find means to avoid the club from dropping so he could coach the side in the lead league.
His current club, Muhazi United have commenced investigations. According to local reports,
Mugiraneza was an assistant coach at Musanze FC when they finished third in the 2023/24 Rwanda Premier League season before he left for Muhazi United as assistant coach to Emmanuel Ruremesha.
In a leaked recording that surfaced on Monday, the coach is heard saying that he has agreed a deal to coach Kiyovu next season.
With Kiyovu struggling for relegation, Mugiraneza is heard in the recording asking Musanze FC defender Shafiq Bakaki ‘for a favour’ to let Kiyovu beat his team when the two teams met over the weekend.
The win would have got the Green Baggies out of the relegation zone. In return, Miggy promised to take the player with him to the club in return.
However, the player turned down the offer, explaining that it was against his Islamic principles at this time of Ramadan and he was observing “Swaum”.
Musanze went on to win 3-0 with Bakaki scoring the second goal of the game.
The match fixing scandal comes two months after Bakaki was suspended by the club in January over “unprofessional” behaviour during their shattering 3-0 defeat to Vision in Rwanda Premier League.
In an interview with Times Sport, Musanze FC president Placide Tuyishime emphasized that the whole team had known Mugiraneza’s unfortunate plan because he was with the player during the phone call and his plot failed as a result.
“We were with the player when he (Mugiraneza) called him. So we knew about this even before the game took place,” Tuyishime told Times Sport.
While match-fixing results in hefty penalties including a lengthy ban from football activities once found guilty, Tuyishime said it is in hands of the local football governing body (Ferwafa) to decide what to do about the matter.
“I have nothing to say about him, all we had to do is to tell the media what he was trying to do. The FA can follow up on the case if they wish but it isn’t doing any good to the image of our league. It’s so unprofessional,” Tuyishime stated.
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Galatasaray have strengthened their squad with another Napoli player, announcing on Friday that Dutch winger Noa Lang has joined the Turkish champions on loan for the remainder of the season, linking up with former Napoli player, Victor Osimhen in Istanbul.
The Super Lig giants confirmed that they have reached an agreement with Napoli for the temporary transfer of the 15-cap Netherlands international, with the deal including a non-mandatory purchase option that Galatasaray may activate at the end of the season.
Under the terms of the agreement, Galatasaray will pay €2 million as a loan fee to Napoli, while Lang will earn a seasonal salary of €1.75 million, according to a statement released by the club.
Lang joined Napoli last year from PSV Eindhoven but struggled to fully establish himself in Italy. He featured in 27 matches across all competitions, scoring once during his time with the Serie A side.
His arrival adds attacking depth to Galatasaray and further strengthens the Napoli connection at the club, with Osimhen already a central figure in their squad as they continue to push for domestic success and progress in European competition.
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Three Sudanese clubs will join the league in Rwanda this season in a bid to keep playing while the civil strife in their country negates any chance of normal sporting activity.
Sudan has been in the grip of conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, with more than 150,000 people killed and about 12 million uprooted, creating the largest displacement crisis in the world.
People who fled when the conflict erupted have started to return this year after Sudan’s army retook the capital Khartoum, but the city’s two biggest clubs will continue their sporting exile with their old infrastructure badly damaged.
Last season Al Hilal and Al Merrikh were allowed to play in the league in Mauritania, on the other side of the continent, where they could stay active and keep up their club structures.
Now, along with Al Ahli Wad Madani, they have been given permission to join Rwanda’s league this season, the Rwanda Football Association said.
In July, Al Hilal and Al Merrikh, who between them have won all but four of the championships since Sudan’s league was created in 1965, were home for a mini-tournament to decide who would compete in continental competition in the 2025-26 season.
The eight-team tournament was hosted away from the conflict in Ad-Damer, some 430km from Khartoum, and Atbara, which is 320km north of the capital, with Al Hilal and Al Merrikh dominating again and Al Ahli Wad Madani finishing third.
But a normal league is not possible amid the continuing conflict, leading to the request to play in nearby Rwanda.
Al Hilal have secured a place in the group phase of this season’s African Champions League with a 4-1 aggregate win over Police of Kenya. They won the ‘home’ leg of their second-round tie 3-1 on Friday, which they hosted in Benghazi.
Libya has also served as the base for Sudan’s national team, who will compete at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco at the end of the year despite not playing at home since March 2023.
-Reuters
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Nigerian midfielder Wilfred Ndidi has been appointed vice captain of Turkish giants Beşiktaş JK, following a leadership shake-up announced by the club’s board and technical team.
In an official statement released on Friday, the club confirmed that the decision was approved by President Serdal Adalı and the Board of Directors, in line with a new approach to appoint captains who occupy more influential on-field positions.
As part of the changes, Orkun Kökçü has been named first captain, while Ndidi assumes the vice-captaincy role.
Beşiktaş also expressed appreciation to former captains Necip Uysal and Mert Günok for their service and leadership, wishing the new captains success in their responsibilities.
“We thank Necip Uysal and Mert Günok for their efforts during their time as captains and wish our new captains, Orkun Kökçü and Wilfred Ndidi, success in their respective roles,” the statement read.
Ndidi, who joined Beşiktaş earlier this season, has quickly established himself as a key figure in the team’s midfield. His elevation to a leadership position underscores the club’s confidence in his experience and influence both on and off the pitch.
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