International Football
WE WILL PREPARE HARD AND TAKE OUR CHANCES, SAYS SUPER FALCONS’ COACH, DENNERBY
Following what football afficionados the world oversaw as a tough draw for the Super Falcons ahead of the 2019 FIFA Women’s WorldCup finals, Head Coach Thomas Dennerby has declared that Nigeria will work to prepare hard and take it one match at a time in the finals next year summer.
The African champions were on Saturday evening drawn with hosts France, Norway and Korea Republic in Group A of the 24 –team championship, at a colourful ceremony inside the La Seine Musicale on the RiverSeine in Paris.
“There is no easy group here. I am okay with the draw because I always knew that we would have to play the best teams. That is what you do at the World Cup. The French team is, of course, world class, and I know we would have to fight very hard against them.
“The Koreans are very technical and have pace but we will confront them with our physical strength, ability and pace of our own and we have a great chance in there. I know the Norway team, more than they know us or can hope to know us. At the end of the day, it would come down to preparations. We must prepare very hard and then take it one match at a time during the finals,” the Swedish tactician said at the mixed zone following the ceremony.
President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Melvin Pinnick, who attended the event as the 1stVice President ofCAF and Member of the Organizing Committee for FIFA Competitions, told thenff.com:“It is a draw that tells us that we have to do everything we can to prepare the team well for the competition.
“Presently, we have firmed up two tournaments in China and Cyprus for the team, and we are talking with a few countries and organizers for matches and tournaments. We will give the Head Coach and his team the necessary support to prepare the team adequately for the competition.”
Former Super Falcons’ star Mercy Akide-Udoh, who flew into France from the United States of America and attended the ceremony as aFIFA Ambassador for Women’s Football, opined: “This is a tough one for us. ButI think the Federation should do everything to ensure adequate preparation of the team.”
The 8th FIFA Women’s World Cup finals will take place in nine French cities between 7th June and 7th July2019.
Nigeria’s first match of the finals will be againstNorway in Reims on 8th June, before they play Korea Republic inGrenoble on 12th June. Their last match of the group phase is against hosts France in Rennes on 17th June.
“If you have to make real impact at the FIFA WorldCup, you have to beat the strong teams. That is what we have to prepare for. I am looking ahead to an interesting tournament in France in the summer of next year,” Dennerby added.
The opening match of the tournament is between France and Korea Republic, and will hold at the Parc des Princes in Paris on 7th June2019.
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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