Sports
Arsenal Gunners Signs Nigerian Young Gun
Refurbished in 2017 Hale End Training Academy, Arsenal‘s institute for its youth development programme has over the years become witness to the development and rise of a great many young gunners. The Academy responsible for turning them into fully fledged world level football players pays particular respect to Arsene Wenger’s approach and philosophy aimed at cultivating budding young talent to develop into globally recognised football stars.
The Frenchman and his unique philosophy became greatly responsible for progressing players like Jack Wilshere, Maitland-Niles, Kieran Gibbs, and Alex Iwobi until they made it into his top squad before his untimely exit. His legacy stuck & still lives on at the Gunners Academy since it has not stopped producing highly skilled players.
This brings us to a young Gunner student of football by the name of Folarin Balogun who just may prove himself as Hale End Academy’s very next star. The youth’s performance may have identified him as part of the set of top-rated players earmarked for a possible position in Arsenal’s first team squad sometime during the season.
The 17-year-old New York born Nigerian showed a definite propensity to become a prodigious goal-scorer able to strike form any attack position. Tipping the scales further in his favour is his Arsenal U17-18 track-record that reflects 28 goals scored during all competitive matches for the team, with 23 goals cracked in just 22 matches.
Players who consistently rack up these kind of statistics are certain to become a firm favourite amongst football fans, especially those who love placing a wager or two to back-up their support of their favourite players or teams at one of the top online bookmakers such as Silentbet, a dedicated sports betting affiliate that has detailed and informative bookmaker reviews.
Balogun’s meteoric rise could see him included in Unai Emery’s game plan for the upcoming season, and he may just have an excellent chance to impress the Spanish tactician since he is most likely slated to accompany the Gunners on their pre-season tour during the latter part of the year.
Despite his extraordinarily successful featuring in England’s U17 & 18 squads and admittedly being enormously proud of signing his first professional contract with Arsenal, he still remains eligible in future to play senior level football for either the USA or Nigeria.
At the time of signing his first contract, Folarin Balogun had been with the Arsenal since 2010, and in his own words, he expressed his desire to keep focussed & progressing to ensure his eventual inclusion in the first team.
During an interview, he revealed that he had become a more clinically proficient finisher and as a result racked up a tally of 22 goals in his last 23 matches. He went on stating he had invested a lot of work and time in training in an attempt to improve and acquire a variety of ways to finish, this he feels will make him ready, so when the opportunity arises, he has the correct solution and matching skillset to maximise his chances of achieving success.
Sports
Gyokeres Situation, Transfer Under Cloud At Sporting

Sporting have not received an offer for striker Viktor Gyokeres and there is no gentleman’s agreement for him to leave for £59million, says club president Frederico Varandas.
Sweden international Gyokeres, 27, has been heavily linked with Manchester United and Arsenal after scoring 97 goals in 102 matches during two seasons in Portugal.
He has a 100m euro (£85m) release clause in his contract.
It has been widely reported that, after staying at Sporting last summer, Gyokeres and Sporting agreed he could leave for 70m euros (£59m) this summer.
However, Varandas said the club’s only promise to Gyokeres was that they would not demand his full release clause.
“I can guarantee that Viktor Gyokeres will not leave for 60m euros plus 10m euros because I never promised that,” Varandas said.
“To this day Sporting has not had an offer for Gyokeres, neither today nor last season.”
Gyokeres spent three seasons with Coventry City in the Championship before joining Sporting under Ruben Amorim.
Manchester City director of football Hugo Viana was sporting director at Sporting last summer, when Gyokeres’ agent sought assurances about his leaving if a suitable offer arrived.
“One of the agent’s biggest concerns was whether we would demand the termination clause,” said Varandas.
“He wanted to guarantee certain things. And what was agreed? That Sporting would not demand a release clause now.
“For one reason: he was going to be 27 years old and no player leaves Portugal at 27 for 100m eurors or 90m euros.
“In that same meeting the agent wanted to anchor the exit to a value. I said this sentence: ‘It’s not worth us setting a value because I don’t know what will happen in a year’s time. I don’t know if it will be 40m euros, 60m euros or 80m euros. What I can guarantee is that I will not demand 100 million euros.’”
Sports
Concacaf Opposes 64-Team W’Cup Plans

Concacaf President Victor Montagliani has criticised a proposal to expand the 2030 men’s World Cup to 64 teams.
The plans, put forward by South American governing body Conmebol, have also drawn opposition from Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The tournament will be hosted by Spain, Morocco and Portugal, after the opening matches are held in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The 2026 World Cup, which will take place across the United States, Mexico and Canada, has already been expanded from 32 to 48 teams.
But Conmebol said it wanted to add more participants to mark the competition’s 100-year anniversary.
“I don’t believe expanding the men’s World Cup to 64 teams is the right move for the tournament itself and the broader football ecosystem, from national teams to club competitions, leagues, and players,” Montagliani told Tidesports source
“We haven’t even kicked off the new 48-team World Cup yet, so personally, I don’t think that expanding to 64 teams should even be on the table.”
Concacaf is the governing body of football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
The decision to expand the 2026 World Cup to 48 teams was taken in 2017 following a unanimous vote at a Fifa congress.
Fifa’s 75th congress will be held in Paraguay on 15 May, when Conmebol’s proposal could be discussed.
If the proposal is accepted, the 2030 edition would consist of 128 matches, double the number played under the 64-game format used from 1998 and 2022.
In March, Ceferin described the proposal as a “bad idea” while AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa said it would cause “chaos”.
“If the issue remains open to change, then the door will not only be open to expanding the tournament to 64 teams,” said Salman.
“But someone might come along and demand raising the number to 132 teams. Where would we end up then? It would become chaos.”
Sports
Brazil Edge Paraguay, Book W’Cup Spot

Brazil qualified for the 2026 World Cup this week with a 1-0 win against Paraguay in South American qualifying to give Carlo Ancelotti his first win as manager.
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jnr scored from close range in the second half, finishing after fine work from Manchester United-bound playmaker Matheus Cunha.
The victory, Ancelotti’s first after a 0-0 draw against Ecuador on his debut last week, means Brazil has now qualified for every edition of the World Cup.
“We needed to win and qualify for the World Cup,” said Vinicius Jr.
“Now the coach will have more time to work. Of course today wasn’t one of our best performances, but the important thing is always to win.
“Now it’s time to celebrate qualifying.”
Elsewhere, World Cup holders Argentina played out an entertaining 1-1 draw with Colombia in Buenos Aires.
Liverpool winger Luis Diaz opened the scoring with a fine individual goal, dancing through three defenders before finishing past Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Argentina was reduced to 10 men with 20 minutes remaining when Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez was sent off for a high-boot challenge on Colombia’s Kevin Castano.
But Lionel Messi’s side found an equaliser nine minutes from the end through Lyon’s Thiago Almada, leaving Colombia four points clear of seventh-placed Venezuela.
Ecuador, Argentina’s nearest challengers, booked their spot at next summer’s tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States after a 0-0 draw away at Peru.
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