Sports
NDDC To Partner NFF On Football Academies In N’Delta
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has called for partnership with the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), in its plans to set up two football academies in the Niger Delta region.
The NDDC Managing Director, Nsima Ekere, made the proposal when the NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, led a delegation of the federation to pay him a courtesy visit at the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt.
“I want to invite the NFF to collaborate with the NDDC to support the game of football in the Niger Delta. We are in the process of setting up football academies in the Niger Delta region. The NDDC Board has already approved it and we want to start with two football academies.
We believe that it is one of the ways of taking our youths off militancy and getting them meaningfully engaged. We hope to give them the opportunity to develop their talents and empower them because football is now big business and a good source of employment”, Ekere said.
A statement by NDDC Director, Corporate Affairs, Ibitoye Abosede, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt, quoted Ekere as saying that the NDDC would encourage Niger Delta youth to take to football as a profession and that was the essence of setting up the football academies.
According to him, “that is why we need the technical support of the NFF so that the venture will become a success. There will also be need to link up the beneficiaries of the academies to international opportunities.”
The NDDC boss said that there was every reason for Nigerians to celebrate the current NFF leadership under Amaju Pinnick, noting that there was a time when Nigerian football made everyone happy and proud.
Unfortunately, he said, a few years ago, we nose-dived and nobody was hearing about Nigeria again in the international scene.
“This was until God blessed our football administration with Amaju Pinnick, a proud son of the Niger Delta,” Ekere said.
He said further: “I want to congratulate you and members of your team for what you have done for Nigerian football. You have brought back our lost glory. You also brought back the pride of Nigerian football. You have given us reason to be proud again as Nigerians. You have elevated Nigeria to a position where the entire world will pay attention when Nigeria is mentioned in football.”to produce productive youth in the oil-rich region”, Pinnick said.
In his own remarks, the NDDC Executive Director Finance and Administration, Mene Dereck, advised the NFF to imbue the spirit of love among the Super Eagles players to ensure that they carried out their assignment with team spirit.
He advised the leadership of the NFF to close ranks and work in unity for the development of football in the country.
Susan Serekara-Nwikhana
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.