International Football
REAL MADRID GREAT, LUIS FIGO, CONDUCTS DRAW FOR 1ST UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL WORLD CUP
BY DANIEL ETCHELLS.
Legendary Portuguese player Luis Figo will be among the celebrity guests conducting the draw for the inaugural University World Cup Football tournament in host city Jinjiang.
For the 16 men’s and eight women’s teams in the field, it will be a first glimpse of what they will be up against when competition begins in the Chinese city on November 21.
The host teams in both the men’s and women’s fields – Taiyuan University of Technology and Beijing Normal University, respectively – will automatically be placed in Pool One.
The teams will be allocated to four groups of four teams each in the men’s draw, and two groups in the women’s draw.
“On September 11, Jinjiang will hold the team draw ceremony for the first-ever Kelme 2019 FISU (International University Sports Federation) University World Cup Football,” Figo, who won the 2000 Ballon d’Or and 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year award, announced a day ahead of the draw.
“Let us meet in Jinjiang and cheer for university football.”
FISU claims the University World Cup is an exciting new format in football, as it brings together the best university squads from around the world, rather than national teams.
It is a unique opportunity for participants to compete for the title of “University World Champion”.
“We are experiencing the beginning of something that I know will be very special for university sports and that I believe will be very special for Jinjiang,” FISU President Oleg Matytsin said.
“I am confident that the FISU University World Cup Football will bring together the very best university football teams in the world.”
Known as the South Gate of China, Jinjiang has prepared 14 venues for competition and training, including the Mountain Park Stadium, where the gold-medal matches will be held.
It prides itself on being a city of football.
The event in Jinjiang is an evolution of FISU’s World University League, which was staged for four consecutive years from 2015 to 2018, exclusively in 3×3 basketball.
Both competitions will be known as the University World Cups from this year onwards.
The University World Cup 3×3 is scheduled for the Chinese city of Xiamen in October.
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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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