Governing Bodies
FORMER NIGERIA INTERNATIONAL, KINGSLEY ONYE, BLASTS GERNOT ROHR
Nigeria’s Super Eagles’ manager, Gernot Rohr seems to be at the centre of the storm. Only two days ago, his employers, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), issued him a query over breach of contract agreement and for this and others reasons, former Nigerian international, Kingsley Onye has teamed up with those who believe the coach has not done enough to be retained as Super Eagles manager.
Onye, who is based in the United Kingdom, in a telephone interview with ThisdaySports expressed his disgust at the levels at which the Super Eagles are currently operating.
“Their performance at the last Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt was not impressive at all”, said the left footed defender who was a key member of the Flying Eagles squad that placed third in the then World Youth Championship now renamed U20 World Cup.
The performance remains evergreen considering that it is the 1989 squad that did better emerging runners-up in Saudi Arabia.
To Onye who is popularly called ‘Mature’, Nigeria’s football is currently sliding considering the results posted by the various national teams including the beach soccer squad, the U23 side, the Super Falcons and also the U17 team.
He faulted the lingering goalkeeping problems the Super Eagles have been having for nearly five years now and advocated for a thorough search for Nigerian players within the country and around the globe.
In the face of the dwindling standard, he singled out Samuel Chukwueze as a striker to watch while also lending his support for the efforts to make Queens Park Rangers midfielder, Ebere Eze to switch allegiance to Nigeria.
Onye called on the involvement of some Nigerian former internationals to get integrated into the coaching class so as to regenerate the stars.
“Lets look towards people like Taribo West, Nwankwo Kanu as former players who could help develop new talents”, remarked Onye.
“Kanu can be inspirational to the up coming stars. With a combination with another star like Taribo they can combine to give ideas on how international assignments are executed having been there before and having trained under some of the best coaches in Europe apart from playing for top clubs.”
Surprisingly, Austin Jay Jay Okocha was conspicuously absent in his list. He explained that a player like Okocha is exceptional and his skills are difficult to replicate.
Onye explained that while Samson Siasia and Christian Chukwu were on the saddle as Super Eagles’ manager, he acted as scouts for them.
But it has been difficult to point out a Nigerian coach to handle the Super Eagles owing to their lining towards nepotism.
He found it difficult to name a current Nigerian coach as a possible successor to the troubled Gernot Rohr as he described Manu Garba as having led the worse Nigerian U17 team in history.
On Imama Amapakabo, Onye said that the U23 coach was to be a member of their 1985 Flying Eagles to Soviet Union but was decamped as a goalkeeper. “He nearly took Rangers down the season after the club won the Nigerian league in 2016.
He believed that Nigeria might have to look to the members of the 1994 Super Eagles to get a successor to Gernot Rohr whose contract he believed should not be renewed.
Meanwhile, embattled coach has explained the true state of his contract with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) as the row over extending his contract continue to be in public discuss.
Although the coach is pushing for an extension, however fresh clauses in the supposed new agreement is what is making the two parties not to shift stand.
World football governing body, FIFA, today clocks its 122nd anniversary, celebrating more than a century of overseeing and expanding the global game.
Founded on May 21, 1904, in Paris, France, FIFA began with just seven member associations — France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
From that modest beginning, the organisation has grown into the most influential sports governing body in the world, with 211 member associations spread across all continents.
Over the decades, FIFA has transformed football into a truly global phenomenon through competitions such as the FIFA World Cup, Women’s World Cup, Club World Cup, youth tournaments, and developmental programmes aimed at growing the game worldwide.
The organisation has also witnessed remarkable milestones, including the expansion of the men’s World Cup from 13 teams in 1930 to 48 teams beginning from the 2026 edition to be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
FIFA’s journey has equally reflected football’s growing influence beyond sport, with the game becoming a major tool for diplomacy, social inclusion, youth empowerment, and economic development across the world.
As FIFA celebrates 122 years of existence, attention is now focused on the future of the game, technological innovations, expanded competitions, women’s football growth, and the continued globalisation of football.
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UEFA has issued a lifetime ban to Petr Vlachovsky, a Czech women’s soccer coach who secretly filmed his players, the governing body announced on Tuesday.
Czech media reported that the coach was convicted in May 2025 and initially received a suspended one-year prison sentence and a five-year domestic coaching ban for filming FC Slovacko’s players in changing rooms, the youngest of whom was 17.
In a statement, UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) said it had decided to ban Vlachovsky “from exercising any football-related activity for life” following the appointment of an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector to investigate allegations of potential misconduct.
“The CEDB further decided to request FIFA to extend the abovementioned ban on a worldwide level and to order the Football Association of the Czech Republic to revoke Mr Petr Vlachovsky’s coaching licence,” the statement added.
FC Slovacko did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Football players’ union FIFPRO welcomed the ban as well as UEFA’s request for world soccer governing body FIFA to impose an international ban on Vlachovsky.
“This outcome sends a strong and necessary message that abusive and inappropriate behaviour has no place in football and that safeguarding the well-being of players must remain a priority at every level of the game,” FIFPRO added in a statement.
Vlachovsky had also previously served as coach of the Czech women’s Under-19s team.
RELATED STORY: https://sportsvillagesquare.com/2026/04/08/outrage-as-male-coach-who-secretly-filmed-women-players-still-free-to-work-in-football/
-Reuters
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Southampton have been kicked out of the Championship playoff final after being found guilty of spying on semi-final opponents Middlesbrough, the English Football League said on Tuesday.
Middlesbrough, who lost 2-1 to Southampton on aggregate in the semi, have been reinstated and will face Hull City on Saturday in what is dubbed the world’s richest soccer match.
Promotion to the Premier League, even with an immediate relegation, is estimated to be worth in the region of 200 million pounds ($268.10 million) over three seasons.
Southampton, who admitted the charges, were also found guilty of filming training sessions involving Oxford United in December and Ipswich Town in April during the regular season.
They have also been deducted four points from the start of next season in England’s second tier.
“An Independent Disciplinary Commission has today expelled Southampton from the Championship play-offs after the club admitted multiple breaches of EFL regulations related to the unauthorised filming of other clubs’ training,” the EFL said.
“Southampton admitted breaches of Regulations requiring Clubs to act with the utmost good faith and prohibiting the observation of another Club’s training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match.
“The effect of today’s order is that Middlesbrough are reinstated into the 2026 play-offs and will proceed to the play-off final against Hull City. The final remains scheduled for Saturday 23 May, with the kick-off time to be confirmed.”
The EFL confirmed that Southampton could appeal against the decision and that “parties are working to try and resolve any appeal on Wednesday 20 May.
“Subject to the outcome, it could result in a further change to Saturday’s fixture,” the statement said.
‘BORO CALLED FOR SOUTHAMPTON EXPULSION
Middlesbrough had called for Southampton’s expulsion after having a training session at their Rockliffe Park site filmed 48 hours ahead of the first leg of their playoff semi-final with Southampton which ended 0-0.
The north-east club said they welcomed the decision.
“We believe this sends out a clear message for the future of our game regarding sporting integrity and conduct,” the north Middlesbrough said in a statement.
“As a club, we are now focused on our game against Hull City at Wembley on Saturday.”
Southampton were relegated from the Premier League last season and were struggling in the early part of this campaign until a storming finish in which they went unbeaten in 19 league games to finish fourth and enter the playoffs.
The south-coast club are the first to fall foul of the Football League’s regulation 127 — brought in after Leeds United were found guilty of spying on Derby County seven years ago, an offence for which they were fined 200,000 pounds.
-Reuters
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