International Football
We will feel Mane’s absence, Aliou Cisse, Senegal’s coach admits
Senegal’s coach, Aliou Cisse knows the enormity of the weight his team and himself carry as not just African champions, but also the best African ranked by FIFA for almost two years running.
Their anticipated good run at Qatar 2022 had been hinged on Sadio Mane, a humble but lethal striker who is now ruled out of the tournament owing to injury.
Ahead of their opening match with the Netherlands, Cisse said that Mane’s absence from the World C=up will be felt by not just Senegal, but by fans across the globe.
Mane has for two edition running the African footballer of the year and also the runners up to France’ s Karim Benzema in this year’s edition of the Ballon d’Or.
In a twist of fate, both Mane and Benzema are out of the World Cup on account of injuries.
Senegal coach Aliou Cisse said Sadio Mane’s absence from the World Cup will be felt by fans across the globe, after the forward was ruled out of the tournament with a leg injury.
Mane damaged his right fibula playing for Bayern Munich and his absence was confirmed on Thursday in a crushing blow to Senegal’s hopes for the tournament.
Cisse has remarked that the spectacle would be poorer without African football’s star attraction.
“We’re not just talking about the Senegalese people here. I think people all over the world,” he told reporters on Sunday.
“The whole football family is saddened by what has happened because he was the second best player in the world and he represents the African continent, as well as representing Senegal.
“It’s very, very sad for him… We wish him a speedy recovery. I hope he gets back to playing football as quickly as possible.”
Cisse also challenged his younger players to step up and shine on the global stage following injury to Mane, who has scored 33 goals in 92 internationals.
“Of course, we won’t hide the importance of Mane for the Senegalese team – he’s very important, a coach builds his team around his best players,” he said.
“But there’s also a group here with experienced players, with young players ready to step up. We’ve had to play matches before without Sadio Mane.”
The 46-year-old added that the African champions, who also face Ecuador and hosts Qatar in Group A, have “excellent young players”.
“I have a lot of depth on the bench, so I will be able to make good subs if someone is getting tired,” he said.
Senegal forward Krepin Diatta, 23, described Mane as the team’s leader.
“When you talk about the spirit and the morale, of course, it affects you,” Diatta said.
“He is our best player. He’s a leader in that respect. Of course, we would have liked him to be here, but God decided otherwise.
“We do though still have a very strong mentality. We are comfortable being together… It’s a big loss, but we have a strong mentality. We show teamwork and we’re good together. And I’m sure we’re going to get some good results at this World Cup.”
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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