International Football
SUPER FALCONS TO KNOW WORLD CUP FOES ON SATURDAY
Nine –time African champions, Super Falcons of Nigeria will on Saturday know their group phase opponents at next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup finals.
The Draw Ceremony of the 8th FIFA Women’s World Cup finals will hold at the La Seine Musicale on Boulogne-Billancourt in Paris starting from 6pm France time (same time as in Nigeria).
The Nigeria delegation to the ceremony, which included Head Coach Thomas Dennerby, NFF Director of Communications Ademola Olajire and Team Administrator Mary Oboduku arrived in Paris on Friday afternoon. They will be joined on Saturday morning by the President of Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, who, aside being the 1st Vice President of CAF, is also a Member of the Organizing Committee for FIFA Competitions.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino and President of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC), Noël Le Graët, who is also President of the French Football Association, headline the list of dignitaries for Saturday’s showpiece.
The event will be broadcast live on TMC in France, and be presented by Amanda Davies and Denis Brogniart. The Draw will be conducted by Alex Scott and Louis Saha, with the help of seven assistants.
The 8th FIFA Women’s World Cup finals will hold in nine cities in France: Grenoble, Le Havre, Lyon, Montpellier, Nice, Paris, Reims, Rennes and Valenciennes.
Champions Nigeria, alongside South Africa (runner –up of the 11thWomen AFCON that ended in Ghana last weekend) and Cameroon (who finished third), will fly Africa’s flag in France.
Nigeria is one of only seven countries to have qualified for and participated in all previous seven editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and all seven have also qualified for France 2019. The others are Brazil, United States of America, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Japan. The Super Falcons reached the quarter finals of the World Cup in the USA in 1999.
The opening match of France 2019 will hold at the impressive Parc des Princes in Paris (a venue for the 1998 FIFA World Cup for men), while the semi finals and final matches will be played in Lyon.
ALL THE 24 FINALISTS
AFRICA: Nigeria, South Africa, Cameroon
ASIA: Australia, China, Japan, Korea Republic, Thailand
EUROPE: England, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Spain, Sweden
NORTH & CENTRAL AMERICA: Canada, Jamaica, USA
SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Brazil, Chile
OCEANIA: New Zealand
PREVIOUS HOSTS OF FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
1991: China
1995: Sweden
1999: USA
2003: USA
2007: China
2011: Germany
2015: Canada
International Football
Two Moroccan football players lost at sea, says club official
![](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Abdellatif-Akhrif.png)
Two Moroccan players from top-flight soccer side Ittihad Tanger have been missing at sea since Saturday after strong currents drifted their small yacht, a club official said on Sunday.
They were in a group of five players from the club who went cruising off the northern city of Tangier when strong currents and heavy winds drifted their yacht away as they were swimming in deep waters, club deputy president Anass Mrabet told Reuters.
“Three players have already been rescued on Saturday, while research is still ongoing for the missing Salman Harraq and Abdellatif Akhrif,” he said.
The players did not have buoys on them when they jumped from the small yacht to swim, he said citing recounts by rescued players.
While Akhrif, 24, is already a full member of the squad, Harraq, 18, was about to move up to the senior team this year, Mrabet added.
Ittihad Tanger have been in the Moroccan top flight since 2015 and won the league title for the first and only time in their history in the 2017-18 season. However, they have struggled in the lower half of the standings in recent years.
-Reuters
International Football
FIFA launches ‘Football Manager’ World Cup with $100,000 in prize money
![](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/arsene-wenger.jpg)
FIFA will host its first ever FIFAe World Cup of Football Manager this year to crown the best virtual manager on the highly-popular video game, world soccer’s governing body said on Thursday.
FIFA is partnering with Sports Interactive, the developers of the game that has sold millions of copies and has also been used by several football clubs to scout players and opponents thanks to its extensive database.
Players will compete for $100,000 in prize money in the final event from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1.
“This competition requires participants to demonstrate a profound understanding of football strategy and tactics,” said former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who is the ambassador for the esports event.
“Success demands not only mastery of game mechanics but also in-depth football knowledge, making this format a fascinating blend.”
FIFA said in the inaugural year of the event, selected member associations will be invited to be represented at the final event.
Member associations from all six confederations are expected to be invited while players can sign up on FIFA’s website.
-Reuters
International Football
Former Italy international Roberto Baggio robbed at gunpoint
![](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/baggio.jpg)
Former Italy international Roberto Baggio was assaulted and robbed at gunpoint at his home in northern Italy while watching his country’s match against Spain in the Euro 2024 tournament on Thursday, local police said.
Burglars broke into Baggio’s house near Vicenza, hit him on the head with a gun butt and locked him and his family in a room while they stole jewellery, watches and cash, daily Il Corriere della Sera reported. It said he suffered a deep wound.
“Luckily, the violence I suffered only resulted in a few stitches, bruises and a lot of fear. Now it is to overcome the fear,” Baggio was quoted as saying by Italian news agency ANSA.
Baggio, 57, played for clubs including Juventus (JUVE.MI), opens new tab, AC Milan and Inter Milan. He also played 56 times for Italy, scoring 27 goals, and is widely seen as one of his country’s all-time greats.
After the robbery, Baggio, widely known as the “divine ponytail”, was treated at a local hospital where he received stitches for the head wound, Italian media reported.
Italy lost to Spain 1-0 on Thursday and now must avoid defeat by Croatia to guarantee progression in the tournament.
-Reuters
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