International Football
ROHR PUTS SUPER EAGLES PLAYERS UNDER STRICT COVID-19 RULES
According to a report by ThisDay newspaper in Nigeria, ahead of the first international match on Friday in Austria by the Nigeria national team since the pandemic era, Super Eagles’ Head Coach, Gernot Rohr, is said to have put all the players under strict Covid-19 rules.
Nigeria play against African champion, Fennes of Algeria at the Jacques Lemans Arena in Austria with no fans allowed at the arena but the team’s handlers are also playing strictly by the rules on the players.
According to the team’ Media Officer, Toyin Ibitoye, “everything is going well in the camp and we are looking forward to a good game with all the players staying safe since arrival in camp.
He said that since the team’s arrival at Hotel die Zeit an der Glan in Austria, all the preparations towards the two matches have been going according to plans with all the conventional and health rules been applied on all the players.
“So far, there is no injury worry for the coach and we have been training twice on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“We are looking forward to a good game against Algeria and the players have put the loss at AFCON behind them meaning it’s not a question about revenge but preparation towards forth coming major qualifying tournaments.
“All the players are acquainted the global health challenge and because of this, coach had placed all of them under strict protocol rules with nose mask within the hotel, social distancing and regular sanitising after every outing outside of the hotel and training ground.
“Ahead of the match tomorrow, all the players will undergo mandatory Covid-19 text on Thursday which is aimed to clear all health doubt from both teams.
“The players are positive about the match and are looking forward to a favourable result that will gladden the heart of Nigerian back home and worldwide,” Ibitoye told ThisDay.
Three –time African champions Nigeria file out against the in-form Fennecs at the Jacques Lemans Arena on Friday before taking on 2004 African champions Tunisia at the same venue on Tuesday next week.
Coach Gernot Rohr is without three of his initial invitees, with Turkey –based midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo suffering a knock on Sunday, following earlier injury to Wilfred Ndidi and permission granted Italy –based forward Victor Osimhen to sit out the matches.
It is the first gathering of the Super Eagles this year, with the coronavirus pandemic shutting down football globally since the month of March, just before a quick-fire double AFCON qualifying series with Sierra Leone that will now hold in November.
Match organisers, Eurodata Sport has clarified that no fan will be allowed inside the stadium for any of the two matches, in conformity with extant protocols on the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, in part of their training, team’s captain, Amed Musa proved his positive postures towards Friday’s match with a brace in Tuesday’s training.
Just as new invitee, Samson Tijani was also on target haven’t played on same side with the team’s captain while Paul Onuachu scored the consolatory goal for the opposing training side.
According to Thisday newspaper, Musa’s team included Dele Alampasu, Mathew Yakubu, Kenneth Omeruo, Chidozie Awaziem, Chidera Ejuke, Samuel Chukwueze, Mikel Agu, Kelechi Iheanacho, Samson Tijani, Jamilu Colins and Frank Onyeka.
The match comes up on Friday from 7:30 pm Nigerian time.
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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