International Football
Amaju Explains Burkina Faso Match Cancelation
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
The NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, has confirmed to Sports Village Square that Monday’s friendly match with Burkina Faso has been cancelled. Arraignments are however on to pitch the Super eagles against a Premiership side in place of the botched Burkina Faso match.
In a telephone call from London, Pinnick explained all efforts made by the NFF to get the initial match on. He said that the inability of seven of Burkina Faso players to get the British visa necessitated the cancellation of the match.
According to the NFF president, nine of the Burkina Faso players have EU passports hence don’t require British visas. Of the seven others, two are playing for Ghanaian clubs; three are Cote d’Ivoire based while one each ply trade in Cameroon and Burkina Faso.
He absolved the NFF from any blame as due diligence was done on its part. “I spoke with the fédération burkinabé de football (fbf) president, Sangare Sita while at the CAF General Assembly and he assured all was well.
“We in the NFF did not know that some of their players would have visa issue. I even told my friend, Kwesi Nyantakyi, the Ghana FA president to assist the two Ghana-based Burkina Faso players to get visa and also the sole home based player since there is no British embassy in Burkina Faso.
“But when last night (Friday), Sangara Sita (Burkina Faso FA president) called me from Morocco to explain the visa hitches his team was having, I called the Moroccan FA president, Fouzi Lekjaa, who is my friend to see if he could get in touch with the British consulate in Rabat to help since the Burkinabe players were in Morocco.
“The Morocco FA even opted to host the match in Rabat by asking the Nigerian team to fly down from London. But we could not accept the proposal on account that we are dealing with professional players who took permission from their various clubs to travel to London.
“They can’t change their travel plans without recourse to the clubs. Moreover, the match plans had been submitted to both CAF and FIFA and we will need to revalidate any change.”
The NFF president was asked by Sports Village Square if playing the match on Monday would not contravene FIFA rules that forbid national team playing two consecutive matches within two days since Burkina Faso played on Friday and requires two days for travelling and another two to rest.
He explained to Sports Village Square that the rule would not have affected the friendly with Burkina Faso if visas have been obtained. “FIFA had approved our two friendly matches and also those of Burkina Faso which played Morocco last Friday.
The rules call for rest if the trip is more than six hours journey. Flying from Morocco to UK is barely three hours.”
The cancellation of the match, it is observed was not the fault of the NFF. The president pointed out that the positive aspect of it is that the players still continue with their training and coming together of the players enabled bonding ahead of their next competitive match against South Africa in June. In the interim, plans are on to pitch the Super Eagles with a premiership side. The outcome of the encounter will however not affect the monthly FIFA rating which will be out on April 6.
Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.
Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.
Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.
They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.
-Reuters
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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.
The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”
When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.
Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.
He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.
-Reuters
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In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.
This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.
The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.
Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.
As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.
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