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CLUB WORLD CUP

African club plans to sign Cristiano Ronaldo

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From multiple sources, speculations are rife that the Moroccan side, Wydad Casablanca, intends to secure the services of the Portuguese star, Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the Club World Cup holding in the US.

The club has just announced the departure of their head coach, Rhulani Mokwena, by mutual agreement.

One source, Marca, a Spanish publication, reports that the Casablanca club would like to enlist Cristiano to strengthen its chances at the Club World Cup (June 14-July 13). “The desire of the leaders of one of the four African representatives at the Club World Cup,” the Spanish media outlet specifies, “is to count on the Portuguese for the tournament, given the sporting and social appeal” generated by CR7’s presence.

At Al Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo’s season ended on a bad note. In addition to being eliminated in the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League, the “Tigers” are on the verge of missing out on the next edition. “This would represent a step backwards for Cristiano Ronaldo,” adds the author of the article.

Even on FIFA’s side, Cristiano Ronaldo’s presence at the Club World Cup would mean a significant boost for the Club World Cup, alongside Lionel Messi, who is competing with Inter Miami.

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This recruitment, if it materializes, would represent a dream promotion for the Casablanca team.

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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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CLUB WORLD CUP

15,000 Argentine fans to be banned from Club World Cup matches

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Argentina's Security Minister Patricia Bullrich poses for a picture after an interview with Reuters at her office, in Buenos Aires, Argentina January 30, 2025. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian/File Photo

Argentine Security Minister Patricia Bullrich handed the United States Embassy in Buenos Aires on Monday a list of 15,000 violent football fans who will be banned from stadiums during the upcoming Club World Cup.

The newly-expanded tournament, to be held on U.S. soil from June 14 to July 13, will feature Argentine clubs Boca Juniors and River Plate, as well as 30 other teams from around the world.

“The list includes more than 15,000 people who will be banned from stadiums. For us, this is extremely important because no violent person who has committed any crime in Argentine stadiums will be able to attend this sporting event,” Bullrich told reporters.

The list was compiled through the “Tribuna Segura” programme, a tool that allows the detection of people banned from Argentine stadiums.

“Since the beginning of this government, ‘Tribuna Segura’ has monitored more than 4 million people in 1,328 matches. We have detected 1,166 people with arrest warrants and have issued more than 40 administrative resolutions restricting entry to stadiums,” Bullrich added.

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Boca Juniors are in Group C with Bayern Munich, Auckland City and Benfica, while River are in Group E with Urawa Red Diamonds, Monterrey and Inter Milan.

-Reuters

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CLUB WORLD CUP

Referees’ body cameras will provide fans with unprecedented views of on-field action, says FIFA

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FIFA unveiled its team of 117 match officials, opens new tab on Monday for the inaugural Club World Cup and said referees would wear body cameras and enforce stricter goalkeeper time-wasting rules at the tournament to be staged across the United States.

The FIFA Referees Committee appointed the officials from 41 member associations – 35 referees, 58 assistant referees and 24 video match officials – for the June 14 to July 13 event.

Body cameras will provide fans with unprecedented views of on-field action, FIFA said, while goalkeepers who hold the ball beyond eight seconds will now see opponents awarded corner kicks rather than indirect free kicks.

“We think that it is a good chance to offer the viewers a new experience, in terms of images taken from a perspective, from an angle of vision, which was never offered before,” said Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee.

“It also has a purpose in terms of referee coaching because, of course, having the possibility to see what the referee sees is important in the debriefing.”

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Collina highlighted the historic nature of the appointments for the expanded tournament featuring 32 teams from all six FIFA confederations and spanning 12 stadiums in 11 U.S. host cities.

“The selected referees are among those who have the privilege to be part of this for the first time, so I’m sure that all the match officials will be thrilled,” he said.

“We are coming from high-standard performances delivered during the last FIFA tournaments. So the bar is higher and when you set the bar higher it’s more difficult to keep the standard. But we are working very hard and ‘Team One’ will make a solid contribution to the success of this exciting competition.”

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Referees to wear body cameras at Club World Cup

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The expanded Club World Cup holding in the US has brought another innovation to football.

Referees at the championship holding from June 14 to July 13 will be equipped with body cameras and will implement a new rule to combat goalkeeper time-wasting.

Game directors will wear “body cameras as part of an experimental phase, the tests having been approved by IFAB ,” the body that oversees the rules of the game, the International Football Federation explained in a statement.

“We believe this is a good opportunity to offer viewers a new experience, with images taken from a perspective that has never been offered before,” explained FIFA Referees Committee chairman Pierluigi Collina.

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