Sports
Guinea-Bissau Backs Morocco’s Bid For 2026 World Cup
The President of the Guinea-Bissau’s Football Federation, Manuel Nascimento, says his country will vote for Morocco staging the 2026 World Cup.
The North Africans must beat a triple bid from Canada/Mexico/United States for the right to stage the event.
“I demand that our votes as Africa are solid and we should not scatter them around when voting time comes.
“The 2010 World Cup was successfully hosted in Africa. We can do it again,” Nascimento told Tidesports source.
Nascimento was recently in Morocco for last week’s inaugural Confederation of African Football (Caf) women’s football symposium.
His comments come after football’s world body Fifa relaxed its rule surrounding 2026 World Cup bids.
Fifa had said that federations could not voice public support for individual bids, but last month new guidance was issued to Fifa member associations which allowed them to back a bid if done so ethically.
Algeria’s Federation president, Kheireddine Zetchi, has also confirmed support for Morocco’s bid, while adding that they would provide help should Morocco ask for it.
Caf president Ahmad has also made it clear that the Morocco bid is a bid for all the continent.
“Africa is a family and has a solidarity culture which we must see during the voting,” said Ahmad.
The Malagasy, who has outlined his support for Morocco before, believes that many African countries do not have the sort of infrastructure that is enabling the North Africans to bid for the tournament.
“Africa has hosted the World Cup once and has continued to participate in many World Cup editions,” said Ahmad.
“So I believe this is the time we should get World Cup hosting in Africa again. I hope Morocco can win the World Cup bid for the sake of our youth.”
Last week, former Fifa president Sepp Blatter said he believed the Moroccan bid should succeed, given the ‘nightmare’ experience of co-hosting that Fifa encountered when the World Cup was jointly staged by Japan and South Korea in 2002.
Both Morocco and the Canada/Mexico/United States must submit their 2026 World Cup bid books by 16 March.
Since none of the bidding nations are eligible to vote, the number of Fifa’s member associations eligible to vote will be 207 rather than 211.
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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