International Football
TO BE OR NOT TO BE? SUPER FALCONS FACE ACID TEST IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
With six points in the bag and massive goal surplus, Banyana Banyana are assured of a place in the semi-finals of the Africa Women’s Nations Cup in Accra, Ghana.
The top three teams of the competition are assured qualification for the Women’s World Cup holding in France.
Having nothing significant at stake, South Africa may opt to play soft or even reserve strength and players for a more challenging and significant semi final duel as they play their last group match with Zambia this Saturday.
Should Zambia win and Nigeria fail to beat Equatorial Guinea in Cape Coast, the Super Falcons’ World Cup dreams will go into smoke. They are therefore condemned to win the last group match to sustain their perennial participation in the World Cup.
But will Equatorial Guinea who are technically out of contention be the spoiler? Their coach, Jean-Paul Mpila ahead of the encounter was reported by Cafonline to have said:
“I can boldly say we out of the tournament but concerning the fixture against Nigeria, we are going to honour it. As I always say we never give until the last blast of the whistle so we are preparing for the match.
“My objective for this team is to secure the future. You have seen how the team performed in this tournament compared to the previous, they are different.
“At first we were one of the forces in Africa but that’s not the case at the moment so my main aim for this team is to bring back the glory days.
“Competition remains competition. I have much respect for Nigeria because they are a great football nation. No coach will go into a match expecting defeat so I accept to go onto the field and just give in for Nigeria to win the game. If they win, it is a plus for them.”
So far in two matches, the two-time African champions have conceded 12 goals and scoring just one. But striker, Genoveva Anonman Nze told Cafonline that the team will fight to the end.
“We came for a competition and we are going to fight till the end. We are all aware that playing in the Women’s AFCON doesn’t come easy so we careless about the results of our opponents and that of us. We are here to play until the end.
“I must establish that years are not the same. Every year has its characteristics. Since 2008 I worked hard with the team and I keep working hard.
“It is quite unfortunate this year I don’t understand what went wrong. I would admit that this is a young team and they have a future. I hope that they keep learning to get to the apex.
“I don’t believe we are intimidated by the names Nigeria are possessing because we also came here to play the tournament but we respect them since they are one of the best teams.
Representatives from four national players’ unions on Thursday launched a new global organisation in Madrid, which they say will strengthen footballers’ rights and improve dialogue with governing bodies.
Opening a new front in the battle over who speaks for players, the International Footballers’ Association (AIF) was unveiled, with David Aganzo, president of Spain’s Association of Footballers (AFE) and a former head of the global union FIFPRO, appointed to lead the organisation.
Players’ unions from Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland were also represented.
The initiative drew a swift rebuke from FIFPRO, which said in a statement that Aganzo was acting out of self-interest and aligning himself with organisations linked to football governing bodies, as well as groups expelled from FIFPRO over alleged mismanagement.
Aganzo rejected the criticism, saying he “will not seek confrontation with FIFPRO”.
The launch comes amid strained relations between players’ unions and football authorities, particularly over the expanding international match calendar.
Relations between FIFA and FIFPRO deteriorated in 2024 after the union lodged a complaint with the European Commission, arguing that the global governing body was abusing its dominant position by adding competitions without sufficient consultation.
Aganzo denied suggestions that the new initiative was backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but said “direct dialogue with FIFA” was essential.
AFE’s Extraordinary General Assembly approved the initiative in February with 99.8% of votes cast in favour of spearheading the creation of the AIF.
The same assembly also backed AFE’s withdrawal from FIFPRO, citing what it described as a “complete lack of transparency, as well as its total lack of dialogue with international bodies.”
“We represent over 30,000 footballers, and we come here with a new model aimed at safeguarding players’ rights and facilitating direct communication with all international bodies,” Aganzo told reporters.
“We are in contact with 15 to 20 unions already who were very aware of this moment and waiting for this announcement to make their move and join our initiative.”
He declined to identify any unions beyond those present.
Asked about a report that a senior envoy to U.S. President Donald Trump had urged FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the upcoming World Cup, Aganzo urged caution.
“These are more political issues; on April 30th, I’ll be speaking to Gianni (Infantino) at the FIFA Congress, and we will discuss those things,” Aganzo said.
“People who want to go to the World Cup have to earn their place on sporting merit.”
-Reuters
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A new trial over the death of Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona will begin on Tuesday, with seven members of his medical team charged with negligent homicide nearly a year after a previous case collapsed in a mistrial.
An enduring presence in Argentina – from towering murals to tattoos, opens new tab – Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at 60, after a heart attack while he was recuperating from brain surgery to remove a blood clot.
A court in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, will hear testimony from just under 100 witnesses as it tries Maradona’s medical team over alleged negligence in the death of the 1986 World Cup champion.
His medical team has denied wrongdoing. The defendants are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Angel Diaz, physician Nancy Edith Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almiron, head nurse Mariano Ariel Perroni, and physician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna. An eighth defendant, nurse Dahiana Madrid, will be tried in a separate jury trial, with no date yet set.
Two months into the first trial, which started last March, a mistrial was declared when one of three judges, Julieta Makintach, resigned after video surfaced showing her being interviewed by a camera crew in the corridors of the courthouse and in her office as part of a documentary, in breach of judicial rules.
The retrial will require both prosecutors and defense lawyers to reassess their strategies after the first trial aired photographs, videos, audio recordings and forensic evidence. Many witnesses, including Maradona’s children and his former wife, Claudia Villafane, have already testified.
Prosecutors argued in the initial trial that medical professionals broke treatment protocols and that the home where Maradona was recovering from surgery amounted to a “theatre of horror,” where necessary care was not provided.
The defense countered that his death was inevitable given his longstanding health problems. Maradona struggled for decades with cocaine and alcohol addiction.
The negligence charges emerged in 2021 after prosecutors appointed a medical board to investigate Maradona’s death. The panel concluded his medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless” manner.
-Reuters
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Aliou Cisse has been named coach of the Angola national team, the country’s football federation (FAF) announced on Thursday, 24 hours after the Senegalese left his post in Libya.
The 50-year-old coach, who led Senegal to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022, ended his short stint with the Libyan national team on Wednesday, after taking charge in March 2025.
“Welcome, Aliou Cisse, head coach of the Angola national team,” the FAF said on Facebook. Angola, which failed to reach this year’s World Cup, will start their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign in September.
-Reuters
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