Sports
Infantino’s Visit: Fans Seek End To Nation’s Soccer Calamities
Ebonyi State football fans
have expressed the hope that the visit of FIFA President Gianni Infantino to Nigeria on Sunday would end the spate of calamities that have befallen the nation’s football.
The nation’s football had witnessed several downturns such as qualification failure for AFCON 2007 the death of former coaches Stephen Keshi and Shuaibu Amodu, among others.
The downturn was heightened last weekend with the Flying Eagles’ elimination from the 2017 African Youth Championship after losing 3-4 to Sudan in Lagos.
An Abakaliki-based Evangelist, Rev. Okechukwu Oketa, hoped that the visit of the FIFA president would set the path for a spiritual rejuvenation of the nation’s football.
“Nigeria’s football history is experiencing its worst ‘run’ because the ‘wrong’ people are at the helm of its affairs and they seem to have lost focus on ways to manage it.
“I believe with faith, that God sent the World’s No. 1 soccer administrator to the country to commence the process of correcting the ills bedevilling our football,’’ he said.
A retired referee and veteran sports administrator in Ebonyi, Joachim Okoro observed that God’s intervention would only manifest when those running Nigeria’s football “distinguished their left from their right’’.
“Infantino should make it clear to President Muhammadu Buhari that the era of government’s monopoly in sports is over, as knowledgeable individuals should be allowed to manage the sector.
“The problem with our football is that those managing it are ‘political proteges’ of former Nigerian leaders who have continued to lead our football into the abyss,’’ he said.
Supporting the assertion, a palyer of the defunct Nitel Vasco FC of Enugu, Ikechukwu Aniakor said that the odds did not favour the Amaju Pinnick-led NFF board to continue in office.
“A division six club in a serious-minded football setting for instance, cannot make the mistake of announcing a coach’s appointment without settling personal terms with him.
“Infantino should hold a private discussion with the NFF board on the issue of competence as it is the board’s archiles heels,’’ he said.
A hotelier and soccer enthusiast, Chief Fredrick Uka urged Chris Giwa and his faction to save the nation’s soccer from embarrassment by shunning acts that would derail Infantino’s visit.
“He should allow the visit to go on without hitch as Nigerians have realised the incompetence of the present board.
“The FIFA president’s visit should also dwell on the lingering problems in the NFF’s leadership to resolve it permanently,’’ he said.
A youth activist, Mrs Isabela Ike called on the NFF to drop the idea of rotating venues for matches involving the national team.
“During the golden days of the country’s football, national teams had their ‘traditional homes’ which the players were familiar with and delivered good results.
Francisco Conceicao and Lois Openda ended their goal droughts as Juventus beat Roma to move within a point of the Serie A top four.
Conceicao finished off a slick move to put Juventus ahead just before half-time, before Openda tapped into an empty net in the 70th minute, but Tommaso Baldanzi halved the deficit to set up a nervy final 15 minutes.
Roma began the day with the best defensive record in Serie A having conceded just eight goals in 15 games, but there was nothing goalkeeper Mile Svilar could do about either Juventus goal.
Conceicao ended his nine-game goalless streak when he ran on to Andrea Cambiaso’s clever flick-on and drilled a low shot into the far corner.
Openda was on hand to convert from Weston McKennie’s selfless ball across the face of goal for his first strike in Serie A since joining Juventus on loan from RB Leipzig in the summer.
Roma finally found their cutting edge in the 76th minute when Baldanzi pounced after Michele di Gregorio had palmed Evan Ferguson’s low strike into danger.
Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz sought an instant response but saw his vicious strike cannon back off the post.
Roma have scored just 17 goals in 16 league games this season, so it came as no surprise that Gian Piero Gasperini’s side could not find a second goal.
Juventus remain fifth in the table but are just a point behind Roma in fourth, and have now won six of their past seven games in all competitions under Luciano Spalletti.
Roma would have gone joint-top of the table with Inter Milan had they won, but remain three points behind the leaders having played one game more.
In Germany, Bayer Leverkusen came from behind to beat RB Leipzig and leapfrog their opponents into third place in the Bundesliga table.
Goals from Martin Terrier and Patrik Schick cancelled out Xaver Schlager’s opener as an entertaining first half ended with three goals in nine minutes, before Montrell Culbreath wrapped up victory in second half injury-time.
The Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) will be held every four years from 2028, Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe has announced.
The tournament has taken place every two years since 1968, with a one-year gap between the 2012 and 2013 editions.
But it will switch to a four-year cycle after the 2027 Afcon in East Africa and a 2028 edition.
Motsepe has instead announced the creation of an African Nations League which will take place annually from 2029.
“We have the most exciting new structure for African football,” Motsepe said.
“I do what is in the interests of Africa. The global calendar has to be significantly more synchronised and harmonised.”
Meanwhile, Caf has increased the prize money for the winners of Afcon from $7m (£5.2m) to $10m (£7.5m).
The surprise announcement about the future of Afcon was made by Motsepe after a meeting of Caf’s executive committee in Morocco before the start of the 2025 finals in Rabat yesterday.
The biennial hosting of Afcon has long caused issues with the football calendar, with the vast majority of recent tournaments held midway through the European club season.
However, Caf remained committed to scheduling the tournament every two years, not least as it needs the revenue raised from the finals to reinvest in the game on the continent.
Caf had made a resolution for Afcon to be held in a June-July slot from 2019 onwards and began its new plan in Egypt that year.
But the Covid-19 pandemic and weather conditions in host nations in Central and West Africa meant the 2021 and 2023 editions in Cameroon and Ivory Coast respectively were staged in January and February instead.
Fifa’s expanded 32-team Club World Cup was held in June and July this year, forcing Caf to opt for mid-season dates once again.
As a result this year’s Afcon in Morocco is taking place over Christmas and the New Year for the first time, with the final on 18 January.
The dates for the finals in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in 2027 are yet to be announced, and that will be swiftly followed by another Afcon in 2028, with the hosts of that edition yet to be decided.
After that, the continent’s biggest tournament will become a quadrennial tournament taking place in the same year as the European Championships.
Motsepe said the decision had been made in conjunction with Fifa president Gianni Infantino and the world governing body’s general secretary Mattias Grafstrom, and that Caf “have to compromise”.
Motsepe also announced the creation of the African Nations League, which will take place in September, October and November every year from 2029.
The competition will see all 54 member associates split into four zones, with six nations in the Northern zone and 16 nations in the Eastern, Western and Central and Southern zones.
Matches will be played in September and October, with the champions from each region meeting in November to then decide an overall winner.
Motsepe said the new competition will be “the equivalent of an Afcon every year” and will be held in partnership with Fifa in order to attract top-class sponsors.
“Every year in Africa, the best African players who play in Europe will be with us on the continent,” Motsepe added.
“Every year we will have a competition with 54 African nations with all the best players coming here to play.
“We are going to have a world-class competition every year.”
Anthony Joshua did what he was meant to do on Friday night in Miami: he lay waste to Jake Paul’s bravest and most controversial experiment in boxing with a destructive victory that felt less like a sporting result than the restoration of sanity.
In their scheduled eight-round heavyweight bout at the Kaseya Center, streamed globally to Netflix’s roughly 300 million subscribers, the former twice unified heavyweight champion scored four knockdowns before stopping the YouTuber-turned-boxer in the sixth round of a mismatch that had prompted weeks of safety fears and moral hand-wringing. Joshua’s triumph, on a night purpose-built as much for memes as for punches, served as a reminder that boxing still adheres to its elemental laws and that power and pedigree eventually reassert themselves.
From the opening bell, the shape of the fight was unmistakable. Joshua took the centre of the ring uncontested while Paul circled him, moving laterally from left to right and back again. The first round was extremely low volume, punctuated by a smattering of boos from the audience. Paul landed a brief double jab to the body before darting back to safety. Joshua threw an overhand right that appeared to glance off a retreating target making full use of the 22ft ring. It was tentative, but Joshua’s control of space earned him the round.
The second followed a similar pattern. Joshua swung and missed early as Paul continued to run, using lateral movement to frustrate the bigger man. Joshua began to cut off the ring more effectively, but Paul clinched whenever distance closed, drawing louder boos from the near-capacity crowd. A brief clash of heads halted momentum, and though Joshua hinted at body work, he continued to headhunt. It was a round defined by inertia: Joshua doing little, Paul doing less.
By the third, Joshua’s patience began to pay off. Paul briefly stepped into the pocket and attempted an uppercut, catching only leather. Joshua responded by throwing more power shots, narrowly missing but drawing audible gasps from the crowd. Late in the round, a right hand to the ribs appeared to buckle Paul, the first clear sign of damage. Again, Joshua did not land much cleanly, but he was the only fighter attempting to win rather than merely survive.
The fight deteriorated toward farce in the fourth. Paul went into full retreat as Joshua struggled to corner him, wrapping up at every opportunity. The crowd grew increasingly hostile. Matters continued southward when Paul went down claiming a low blow, prompting a prolonged stoppage by the referee Chris Young that gave him valuable recovery time. It did little to help. Paul went down again, then again, clearly exhausted and buying time. Despite the repeated delays, the referee issued no point deduction, drawing sustained jeers from the stands.
By the fifth, the contest had crossed from mismatch into embarrassment. Paul flopped once more before finally being dropped by a clean right hand. He beat the count but looked close to collapsing. A second knockdown followed moments later, again from a right, and Joshua closed the round trapping Paul in the corner and unloading unanswered shots. Somehow Paul survived to the bell, though the proceedings had ceased to resemble a competitive sporting event.
The end came early in the sixth. Paul went down almost immediately, dragged himself upright, then fell again under sustained pressure. This time he could not beat the count. Young waved it off at the 1:31 mark, finally ending a bout that had long outlived its threadbare justification.
