Sports
Libya Revels In Qualifying Miracle: 2012 Nations Cup
Libya’s national team headed for home on their charter plane on Sunday, basking in the glory of improbable qualification to next year’s CAF Africa Cup of Nations. Their jet set off on a 10-hour journey from Ndola on Zambia’s Copperbelt to Tunisia, after which they plan to cross the border home and embark on a victory tour of Libya’s embattled capital Tripoli. The side will be feted as heroes after completing a remarkable campaign unbeaten, setting off huge celebrations across a country still mired in conflict.
Libya’s 0-0 draw away against Zambia in Chingola was not enough to win their group, but it was good enough to see them finish in one of the two best runner-up berths. The Libyans had been aware of their potential to slip through into the 16-team field for next year’s tournament in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, with their Brazilian coach Marcos Paqueta cognisant that a draw might be enough, provided they could hold out against an attacking Zambia side on home soil.
There were some hair-raising moments for the Libya defence, but goalkeeper Samir Aboud and central defender Ali Salama in particular put in heroic performances that ensured a goalless stalemate that left the side on 12 points, one behind their hosts. But it was not yet mathematically certain that Libya would go through when their match at the Nchanga Stadium concluded, even though they wasted no time beginning their celebrations.
Paqueta looked almost bewildered by the achievement at the end of the game, while the hero of the hour, veteran goalkeeper Aboud, stood serenely to the side of his team-mates who were feverishly hugging each other in congratulations. “It is unbelievable what these players have done, even if we didn’t play so well today,” the much-travelled Paqueta said after the game in which the hosts rattled the woodwork twice. “We believed in our mission, and we have gone through a lot together.”
Aboud, who at 39 was making an unlikely return to a much revamped line-up, called qualification a win for “all the Libyan people, not only the team” before adding emotionally: “We have gone through a lot, but we have stayed true to our job and this victory is for all of us.”
Libya had high ambitions when they started the qualifying campaign last June, hiring the former Saudi Arabia coach on a four-year contract. “I had seen this Libyan team play on television before, and so I was intrigued by them,” said Paqueta. “When they proposed a contract with me, I made a huge plan of work, not only for the national side but also the junior teams and to help the club structures. The Libyans liked it, and so I signed.”
His tenure started successfully with a draw away in Mozambique in the first of the Group D qualifiers and then a home win last October over Zambia. “But they were not easy games. The match in Mozambique came in the middle of Ramadan and the players were fasting. They were physically weak because of it,” Paqueta explained. “Against Zambia, our team doctor had a heart attack and died in the hotel the night before the match. He was very popular with the players.”
Shortly before their next game at the end of March came the start of the country’s revolution. It meant the game against the Comoros Islands had to go ahead in neutral Mali but the Libyans still won comfortably in Bamako. By then, their domestic league had stopped and organised football ground to halt. It had taken a matter of weeks for the situation to change entirely.
By June, the conflict left the team in ruins, and Paqueta had only players from the capital Tripoli to choose from for the return game, away in the Comoros. It ended 1-1 draw after a late goal by the hosts. By the time the qualifiers resumed in September for the penultimate group game, the situation was even more fluid and the ‘home’ match against Mozambique moved to Cairo. But Libya won to keep alive their seemingly improbable hopes, and then completed an unbeaten campaign by drawing in Chingola on Saturday.
“We have had a big challenge, but I told my players we need to focus on the football first,” said a proud Paqueta. “We don’t have to always mix the problems of the country with football, and to their credit they have kept concentrating on the task ahead.
Now the coach will turn his attention to preparing for the Cup of Nations finals. He is seeking to find more players of Libyan descent in Europe to strengthen the side and wants to give more home-based youngsters an opportunity. He is hoping to fix several training camps to keep his players competitive. It will be only the third time Libya are represented at the Cup of Nations but, whatever result they achieve, they have already far exceeded expectations. The hero Aboud summed up the warm feelings in the team by describing the qualification simply as “a miracle.”
Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has said that criticism that he and other players chased money by moving to Saudi Arabia is wide of the mark.
The 33-year-old left Chelsea for Al-Ahli in a £16m ($21.4m) deal in 2023, and in May the Africa Cup of Nations winner helped his Saudi club win the Asian Champions League, making him one of the few players to win both that competition and its European equivalent.
But, like many others, Mendy has been criticised for playing for money rather than prestige in the lucrative Saudi Pro League.
When asked about such criticism, Mendy told a Tidesports source, “Al-Ahli’s project came along and they made me feel I had a big role to play.
“Two years later, we won the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history. So yes, that validates my choice. And I hope the coming years will validate it even more.”
He added: “Some people will quickly jump to conclusions and say the only reason is money. From the start, I always said that when I left Chelsea, I knew I was joining another team where I could win everything , which was no longer the case at Chelsea.”
The Blues have since won the Conference League, Europe’s third-tier club competition, under the ownership of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
But it comes after the regime’s trophyless first two years, a period which has frustrated some supporters after the success enjoyed under Roman Abramovich’s stewardship in the previous 19 years.
Mendy has also been celebrating what he describes as a historical win with Senegal against England at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground, but days earlier he had been in Dakar delivering a different kind of win.
He is the sponsor of Yakaar, a school in Keur Massar, which seeks to improve funding and access to digital learning tools for local children from underprivileged backgrounds.
Famously, as Mendy grew up in France, he was unemployed, aged 22, while struggling to find a club, with members of his family still living on the outskirts of Dakar.
That is why Yakaar, a word meaning “hope”, was chosen, a word Mendy has carried with him in his career.
“Hope is what kept me going. When I was without a club, it was the hope of getting that first professional contract.
“Then the hope of playing for the national team. The hope of making my family proud by doing the job I had always dreamed of.
“Indeed, hope is the best word to describe my career.”
Mendy was also asked whether the responsibility of being an African goalkeeper had weighed heavily on him.
“Of course. When I was in England, there weren’t many African goalkeepers in top clubs,” he admitted.
“Whether nationally or internationally, I had that responsibility. It’s the same for other African goalkeepers like Andre Onana [Manchester United] or Yassine Bounou (Al-Hilal).”
The entire refereeing committee has been fired by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), with structural reforms soon set to follow.
According to sources, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has dismissed the entire refereeing committee in response to mounting pressure from clubs demanding structural reform. A major shake-up aimed at modernising Spanish refereeing from top to bottom has now been set in motion.
Head of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), Luis Medina Cantalejo and Head of VAR, Carlos Clos Gomez, have been removed from their positions. They are joined by several senior officials, including Antonio Rubinos Perez and three vice presidents, who are also stepping down. A new leadership model will be introduced, led by a CEO and a sporting director, aiming to overhaul how refereeing is managed covering assessments, promotions, and daily operations. While the leadership changes are sweeping, the current pool of referees in La Liga and the second tier will remain, ensuring continuity on the field during the transition.
Cristiano Ronaldo has signed a new two-year contract with Al-Nassr that means he will stay with the Saudi Pro League club until beyond his 42nd birthday.
The Portugal captain, 40, joined the Riyadh-based team in December 2022 after leaving Manchester United in acrimonious circumstances, having criticised the club and said he had no respect for manager Erik ten Hag.
Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr deal had been due to expire at the end of June and there was speculation he could leave, but that has now been quashed.
In a post on X, Ronaldo wrote: “A new chapter begins. Same passion, same dream. Let’s make history together.”
Although Al-Nassr have not added to their nine domestic titles during Ronaldo’s time at the club, they have benefited from a flood of goals from the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Ronaldo scored 35 times in 41 matches across all competitions last term and was the league’s top scorer for a second consecutive season.
He has managed 99 goals in appearances overall for Al-Nassr and is well on his way to reaching 1,000 senior goals in his career, with a current tally of 938 for club and country.
Having helped Portugal win the Uefa Nations League a little over two weeks ago, the former Manchester United, Real Madrid, Sporting and Juventus forward will almost certainly now be targeting a sixth World Cup appearance next summer.
Only a month ago, Ronaldo posted on social media to say “the chapter is over”.
That came after the Saudi Pro League wrapped up with Al-Nassr finishing third and trophyless once again.
The comment fuelled rumours that Ronaldo was ready to leave the league where he reportedly became the best-paid player in football history with an annual salary of £177m when he joined.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino raised the prospect of Ronaldo joining a team involved in the Club World Cup after Al-Nassr failed to qualify for the extended tournament which is being held in the United States.
Ronaldo said he had received offers from participating teams but had turned them down.
The decision to stay until at least 2027, which is certain to be highly lucrative, appears to rule out any future prospect of Ronaldo returning to play at the highest level in Europe.