Sports
My Dad Influenced Me – Pritchett
James Pritchett is all for goal-line technology as he gears up for his fourth FIFA Club World Cup with Auckland City. The 30-year-old, who has four senior New Zealand caps to his name, believes FIFA’s pioneering of goal-line technology is the way forward.
“If the technology is there, I think it should be used,” Pritchett told Tidesports. “But it’s important that the way the technology is implemented is short and sharp and doesn’t disrupt the flow of the game. It could only be an issue if there are starts and stops that continually break up the flow of the game.”
Auckland City lost 2-0 to Japanese side Kashiwa Reysol in the play-off match last year, though it could have been better for the Oceania representatives had an Ivan Vicelich header not been brilliantly plucked off the line by goalkeeper Takanori Sugeno. Pritchett believes Auckland could have done better on that occasion..
“We could have started the game better,” he reflected. “We were a bit nervous coming out of the blocks, even though we knew what to expect. But we defended well, though maybe we could have pushed a lot higher up the pitch too.”
I played Al Ahly six years ago and my outstanding memory of that game was how good Aboutrika was. He scored from a free-kick in the second half and was everywhere
Not one to dwell too much on the past, Pritchett prefers to focus on 6 December, when Auckland meet Sanfrecce Hiroshima for a place in the quarter-finals. “We only have a 14-game domestic season, and the Oceania Champions League has been rescheduled to the start of next April, so that is something we have to try to overcome playing on the international stage,” he said.
The influence of Pritchett’s family both personally and professionally has rubbed off on him. His father Keith was the New Zealand coach between 1996 and ’97. James’s affection for Auckland City also runs deep. “This is my fourth FIFA Club World Cup and my main aim is to do well for the club, myself and my family,” he said. “I’ve spent an enjoyable nine years with the team and played 170 games for Auckland City, so I’m happy to keep going for as long as my legs will allow me to do so.”
But Pritchett knows that earning success against a quality side like Sanfrecce Hiroshima is a big ask, and talk of a re-match with Al Ahly is limited to memories of Auckland’s last game with the Egyptian champs in 2006. Only Pritchett and fellow veteran Riki van Steeden remain from Auckland City’s 2006 squad at the FIFA Club World Cup.
Sports
CAA Wants Ghana To Host 2026 Athletics Champions
The Confederation of African Athletics has invited Ghana to bid for the hosting rights of the 2026 African Athletics Championships, following a successful athletics event at the just concluded 2023 African Games.
President of Ghana Athletics, Bawa Fuseini, stated this and expressed confidence in the transformative potential of the Legon Stadium for athletes and Ghana’s bid to host international competitions.
With a capacity of 11,000, the Legon Stadium played a pivotal role in the recent African Games, hosting both the opening and closing ceremonies as well as various sporting events including athletics, football, and rugby.
Fuseini highlighted the success of the athletics events held at the stadium, which contributed to Ghana winning six medals.
“We have already started getting requests from the Confederation of African Athletics to bid for the 2026 African Athletics Championships.
“When they came and saw what we have put in place and the level of organisation, they told me that for the last 20 years, they’ve never seen any organisation like this before. We did three official courses. And the last one, we had 110, all of them passed. We had a lot of officials and equipment.”
Since its establishment in 1979, Ghana has never hosted the African Athletics Championships, with Nigeria being the host country twice, in 1989 and 2018.
This year, Cameroon will take the reins as the host nation, with the event set to be held at the Olembe Stadium.
Sports
‘I’m Not Under Pressure To Coach Eagles’
Finidi George, head coach of the Nigeria Premier Football Leagues side, Enyimba, has stated that he is not losing any sleep over getting the Super Eagles job on a permanent basis.
Early this month, the Nigeria Football Federation declared the position of the Super Eagles’ head coach vacant, following the exit of Portuguese Jose Peseiro, who led the side to a second-place finish at the 2023 Africa Cup Nations in Ivory Coast in February.
In an advertisement on its website calling for applications with a March 13 deadline, the football governing body stated that the prospective Eagles coach “must have proven experience at the elite level of football.”
The former Ajax man, who also applied for the job, was appointed Eagles interim coach for the international window with the former winger picking a win and suffering a defeat.
In an interview with Tidesports source, the 52-year-old tactician said he was not desperate for the job permanently.
“I felt really good when I was told to take charge of the team. I have been with the team for almost two years, I know all the players, their strengths, and their weaknesses but I am only here to serve Nigeria the way I know how to do stuff.
“I will just take these two games and go back to my club. Whatever the decision is taken after, so be it. I’m not under pressure to say I must get the role permanently.”
Sports
‘Reasons Why Eagles Lost To Mali’
The friendly games against Ghana and Mali were to serve as an audition for George Finidi, who was in charge of the team on an interim basis, but the Eagles’ lacklustre display in those friendlies has called for his further evaluation.
Finidi kept faith with ex-coach Jose Peseiro’s defensive formation against Mali on the back of his first win (against Ghana) in charge of the team four days earlier.
But this time, his defence was punished following a combination of defensive errors and poor passes.
The Eagles struggled to play out of defence due to the high pressing of the Malians and it was no surprise that the first goal by Les Aigles was a direct result of their aggression.
Chidozie Awaziem, who started on the right of the back three alongside Kenneth Omeruo and Semi Ajayi, lacked composure and was pressured into making a pass across his box straight at Bilal Toure, who made no mistake in getting the ball past Stanley Nwabali. They missed the calming presence of injured William Troost-Ekong.
Vice captain, Kenneth Omeruo, was also culpable of misplaced passes and was beaten for pace when Kamory Doumbia ran past him to seal Mali’s first win in over four decades, firing his shot past a helpless Nwabali, who stood no chance.
Eagles wing backs, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Jamilu Collins also did not do enough to support the team in attack when they had the chance to.
Lack of creativity
Finidi paired Raphael Onyedika and Wilfred Ndidi in a double pivot in midfield. Both players are naturally anchor men and neither is a box-to-box midfielder.
They both do not possess the offensive capability to drive the team’s attack forward, which left the Eagles once again craving for a natural creative midfielder.
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