International Football
AFCON U-20 KICKS OFF IN NIGER
Eight African youth teams today in Niger Republic begin the quest for not just continental championship, but also places in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland.
All the semifinalists will pick ticket as one of them is destined for the ultimate prize which the Nigerian team is gunning for, for a record extending eight times.
Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal have a strong case to win the tournament as defending champions Zambia failed to qualify for the finals.
Hosts, Niger kick off the tournament against South Africa in the capital Niamey. Maradi will feature as the other host city during the two-week long tournament.
Niger will hope to build on their participation at the 2017 U-17 World Cup in India when they registered their first-ever goal in a FIFA competition through Salim Abdourahmane for a 1-0 win over North Korea, enough to progress to the knockout stages.
Niger will not be expected to play a major role in the competition as more traditional heavyweights of the African youth game will battle for four tickets to the U-20 World Cup in Poland later this year. The four semi-finals will all seal their ticket for the global showdown.
Four years ago, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal represented the continent at the U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.
Both Mali and Senegal reached the last four before falling to Serbia and Brazil respectively. The quartet has history on its side and they will be favorites in Niger to book their slots for Poland and represent the continent once more at the highest level.
Mali have never won the tournament, but were victorious two years ago at the U-17 Afcon. That generation also went on to play the last four of the U-17 World Cup.
In qualifying the Malians laid down a marker with emphatic aggregate wins over both Tanzania and Cameroon. Ghana finished as runners-up to Mali at the U-17 level and the Black Satellites can’t be discounted after they missed out on the last edition of the tournament in Zambia.
On home soil the Zambians won the title, but they didn’t make it to Niger, faltering in the qualifiers.
Their absence paves the way for Nigeria’s title assault. The Nigerians have won the title on seven occasions and boast a squad replete with quality. Senegal dispatched both Egypt and Congo in the qualifiers and will also fancy their chances.
The top two of each group progress to the last four. Niamey will stage the final on February 17.
Groups:
Group A: Niger, South Africa, Nigeria, Burundi
Group B: Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana
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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