Sports
MFM FC’s Fans In Emotional Farewell To Players
Supporters of Lagos-based MFM FC on Sunday gave their darling team an emotional farewell song as they wrapped up the 2016/2017 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) with a comfortable CAF Champions League spot.
The Tidesports source gathered that MFM is now in a secured second spot on the league table and are still nursing the ambition of upsetting the table toppers, Plateau United to the league crown.
The crowning of the league winners is delayed owing to the recent slump by the league table toppers, Plateau United, who stumbled in their last two matches.
The Peace Boys from Jos should have wrapped up their winning of the league shield save a shocking home draw and an away defeat in the Matches Day 36 and 37 respectively.
The Kennedy Boboye-tutored side has of recent failed to sustain the tempo which saw them on the summit of the table as they could only manage a 2-2 draw against a spirited Rivers United.
The team also failed to win their last match as they also slumped to yet another defeat now in the hands of Wikki Tourist of Bauchi to whom they lost 0-1.
With the drop experience by Plateau United, second placed team, MFM, who has been on their trail are now confident of springing a last minute surprise to wrestle the crown away from the Jos team.
However, the diehard Lagos supporters were grateful to the team for bringing back the glory days of watching continental football which has been elusive for 13 years.
The high-flying MFM had sealed the continental ticket with a comfortable 2-0 win over visiting Nasarawa United at their Soccer Temple Agege Township Stadium on Sunday.
The win was enough to reward the fans for their unalloyed support to MFM that are just spending their second season in the elite division.
Also, the fans voted the Mercurial midfielder, Chukwuma Onuwa, as the club’s Player of the Year (POTY), defeating Stephen Odey and Sikiru Olatunbosun.
In a poll conducted on the club’s website, Onuwa polled 56 per cent, to beat Odey with 34 per cent and Olatunbosun with 13.8 per cent.
Speaking on the award, Onuwa thanked the fans for their votes and promised to deliver more in the coming years.
“MFM is a club in my heart, I am grateful for the support I have received so far. It has been a fruitful and rewarding year for me and the club.
“I promise to also give my all in the coming year as we prepare for the continental campaign,” he said.
A football pundit, Rotimi Arabi, said that the feat by the MFM was unprecedented in the history of league in the country.
“The team should be well commended for their efforts, they came just last season and they have secured a continental ticket, this is a rare effort.
“The team is a team to beat and if they continue in this fashion, they are going to be a club feared by all.
“The team is well organised and well managed and this accounts for their success,” he said.
Another fan, Tomiwa Babalola, said that MFM had done almost what may be termed as impossible, hence the team should be motivated well to do more.
“To many, it’s a distant surprise for a team like MFM to be rubbing shoulders with the league power horses.
“Many wouldn’t have giving them a chance but they have proved their mettle as a team well organised. I urge for more support to the team,” he said. (NAN)
Sports
I Joined Saudi League To Win Titles – Senegal Keeper
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).”
Sports
Spanish Football Fires Entire Refereeing Committee
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.
Sports
Ronaldo Renews Stay With Saudi Pro League
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.