International Football
SPORTS MINISTER INSISTS THAT DECAYING NIGERIAN STADIUM FACILITIES WOULD BE FIXED
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Nigeria’s sports minister has once again reaffirmed that the National Stadium in Lagos and other Federal Government owned sports facilities that are in state of disrepairs would be fixed.
The minister, who will clock a month in office on Saturday, restated that the Federal Government had the political will to upgrade stadiums across the country.
This is contained in a press release obtained by www.sportsvillagesquare.com. Hasiya Haruna, an information officer in the Ministry of Youth and Sport Development, signed the press statement.
Last weekend, he visited the once iconic National Stadium Lagos. That was after similar working visits to the dilapidated Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja and the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna where promises of upgrading were made.
Sports Village Square notes that the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Ibadan is yet to be visited. The arena, previously called the Liberty Stadium was the first modern stadium in West Africa. At a time, it boasted of having the best playing pitch in Africa as matches could be played there, even under torrential rainfall, as the pitch would never be waterlogged.
It hosted the Group B matches of the 1973 African Games as well as that of the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations. It was one of the venues for the 1999 FIFA U 20 championship. In the 1960s, it was the choice ground for national team matches.
It last hosted Nigeria’s national team on July 9, 1983 when Nigeria beat Togo 2-1 in an Olympic Games qualifier. The last major football match played at the stadium was 20 years ago when Shooting Stars lost at home to Egypt’s Al Ahly in the continental premier clubs competition.
As regards the decaying state of the National Stadium, Surulere, the Nigerian Sports Minister assured that the Ministry will consult and sit with experts and stakeholders, including Auditors to work out best options.
He promised to put in motion a process of refurbishing the edifice which he said is central to bringing back the culture of sports, which will require political will, and synergy of various levels of Federal Government, States and Local Governments working together and most importantly a large dose of participation by the private sector.
Similarly, Mr Sunday Dare has also visited the MKO National Stadium Abuja, Ahmadu Bello Stadium Kaduna as well as inspecting other stadiums. He said that Government is ready to upgrade , manage and maintain these facilities to it’s optimal working condition that will attract a huge number of Youths involving themselves in different sporting activities, thereby diverting their minds and attention from vices.
The Minister said this would be one of the several inspections that will be done on the facilities; reports and audits will be done before the actual renovation. He said that Government is determined to build the capacity and good virtues of our Youths through the standard upgrade of these Stadia to enhance and ensure relative peace and security in Nigeria.
As the saying goes, “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop” but when these youths are positively engaged in one sporting game or the other in these standard and well equipped Stadia, they will become good citizens of the Nigerian society.
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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