International Football
AFRICA ‘WILL SUPPORT’ 2022 WORLD CUP EXPANSION, SAYS AMAJU PINNICK
In the absence of Ahmad, the CAF president who was initially denied US visa to attend the ongoing FIFA Council meeting in Miami, Nigeria’s Amaju Pinnick stood in for him and expressed Africa’s views concerning expanded format for Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Africa “will definitely support” expanding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to 48 teams”, he said in his capacity as 1st Vice President of CAF.
FIFA’s Council is meeting in Miami on Thursday and Friday when it will discuss the possible expansion.
With Africa’s World Cup allocation set to double, the views of Nigeria’s Amaju Pinnick may come as little surprise.
“CAF will definitely support the vision of (FIFA president) Gianni Infantino if he wants this,” he told BBC Sport.
“Why wait until 2026 if we can achieve it now? If you do it now, there will be more money and more participating teams.
“In Africa we are going to have another 4.5 (places), which makes more sense to us – rather than just going with five nations. That’s why Africa will always support Infantino.”
Because of its small geographical size, Qatar would need the support of regional co-hosts to stage a 48-team finals.
Earlier this week, the Associated Press reported that a leaked Fifa feasibility study into the prospect of expanding the 2022 World Cup could work if at least one of Qatar’s neighbours was used as an additional host.
Stadiums in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been identified as suitable yet only two of these countries would appear feasible at present – Kuwait and Oman.
Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE severed diplomatic ties with Qatar in 2017, accusing the country of supporting terrorism – an accusation it denies.
“The involvement of additional neighbouring host countries would require certain conditions to be met, in particular the consent of the relevant authorities in the main host country, Qatar,” the FIFA report stated, according to AP.
Qatari officials are set to meet Fifa leaders on Friday, when the Fifa Council will discuss a feasibility study organised by the world governing body’s task force.
A final decision on the possible expansion – which would come ahead of a pre-existing decision to have 48 teams in the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States – is expected to be taken at the Fifa Congress in June.
“Make it like a Middle Eastern World Cup, and what does that do? It heals the wounds of politics. Football heals wounds where other diplomatic moves fail, so they should capitalise on that,” added Pinnick.
“Most (member associations) want it – I’ve done my own research and spoken to a lot of colleagues – not just in Africa, but in Concacaf (Central American, Caribbean and North American region), in Conmebol (South America), some even in Europe.”
However, Europe is expected to challenge the prospect of 16 more teams and an extra 16 games – given the 2022 finals are already forcing the continent’s leagues to rearrange their competitions.
This is because the tournament will take place in the middle of the European season, having been moved to November-December from its traditional June-July slot.
Meanwhile, the global footballers’ union FifPro has called for a ‘comprehensive review of the match calendar’ and a ‘minimum rest period between matches (of) 72 hours’ after the feasibility study found the Qatar finals could still be played in their original time frame.
This would mean 80 matches being played in the same 28-day window between 21 November and 18 December.
With CAF President Ahmad unable to attend the FIFA Council meeting after being denied entry to the United States, Pinnick’s role as CAF’s first vice-president means he will head the continent’s presence in Miami.
Ahmad was denied a visa to the United States although the reasons behind this decision are still unclear.
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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