CELEBRITY
Argentine corn field planted with face of World Cup winner Messi
Lionel Messi has been immortalized in Argentina in tributes ranging from tattoos to murals after leading the national team to win the soccer World Cup. Now his face can be seen from the heavens too – on a specially designed corn field.
The field in Los Condores in central Cordoba province was sown using an algorithm that calculated where seeds would need to be planted so that when the corn grew it created a huge visual image of Messi’s bearded visage.
“For me Messi is unbeatable,” said Maximiliano Spinazze, the crop farmer who planted the unusual crop formation as a celebration of the team’s victory, their first World Cup since Diego Maradona led the team in 1986.
“Now they are world champions, I am delighted this can be expressed by planting the crop.”
The soccer-mad South American country is a major agricultural producer, the third largest global exporter of corn. Farming is its main export driver, though football may be its top claim to fame.
Carlos Faricelli, a farming engineer, designed the coding for the machines sowing the seeds that enabled them to plant in a precise pattern to create the eventual image, with certain areas more dense with seeds than others.
“I had the idea to make a code that goes in the seeders with Messi’s face as a tribute,” he said, adding he had then made the code available for any farmers “who dared to plant it.”
Using geocoding tools, the machinery knows how much seed per square meter it has to put in certain places to create the contrast for different parts of Messi’s face, Faricelli said.
“So when this corn grows and an aerial shot is taken, where the plants are closer together and the ground is less visible, a more intense green contrasts with where there are fewer plants and then this kind of agriculture art is created.”
-Reuters
ADWAIDH RAJAN, BBC
He’s better known as a Premier League and international footballer, but Alex Iwobi wants his music – as well as his on-pitch exploits – to inspire young people.
After starting his rap career earlier this year, the Fulham and Nigeria midfielder has released his second single, titled What’s Luv?.
Iwobi’s debut offering was Don’t Shoot in June, which has been streamed almost 60,000 times on Spotify.
The 28-year-old, who goes by the name ’17’, collaborated with his former Arsenal team-mate Chuba Akpom (performing as Skoli) and former England youth international Medy Elito (Don-EE) for his first release.
Iwobi’s debut song was aimed at deterring youngsters from street violence, while his latest release is a “celebration of his African roots”.
“Growing up in an area of London that is challenging for some people, I know how hard it can be and I’m grateful to have a platform to try and make a difference,” Iwobi said.
“I hope that my music is another way of proving that young people do not have to feel they have to fit in just one box. I want them to be encouraged to achieve their dreams, to put their focus into positive things.”
Iwobi has started all nine Premier League matches for Marco Silva’s Fulham this season and scored his second goal of the campaign in a 1-1 draw against his old club Everton last week.
“Creating music doesn’t take anything away from my football, it helps me switch off. I will always work hard and try to improve in my sport, but this is a good use of my spare time,” he said.
Footballer forays into music
Iwobi, however, is not the first footballer to go into music.
A reworked version of folk rock band Lindisfarne’s track Fog on the Tyne, with vocals by Paul Gascoigne, reached number two on the UK singles chart in 1990.
Former England striker Andy Cole’s cover of the Gap Bands’ song Outstanding peaked at number 68 while then Tottenham and Three Lions team-mates Glenn Hoddle and Chris Waddle released Diamond Lights, which reached number 12 in 1987.
Kevin Keegan’s 1979 song Head over Heels in Love made it to 31 in the charts.
Former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech is an accomplished drummer, while former Aston Villa striker Dion Dublin invented his own musical instrument which he called the Dube.
A masked rapper named ‘Dide’ rose to fame last year, claiming to be a Premier League footballer.
-BBC
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo crossed one billion followers across his social media accounts, aided by his newly-launched YouTube channel that has attracted more than 60 million subscribers in just over three weeks.
Ronaldo, who scored his 900th career goal last week to help Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in the Nations League, is the first human being to reach a billion followers on social media, global media reports said.
“We’ve made history, one billion followers! This is more than just a number, it’s a testament to our shared passion, drive, and love for the game and beyond,” Ronaldo posted on X.
“You’ve been with me every step of the way, through all the highs and the lows. This journey is our journey… thank you for believing in me, for your support, and for being part of my life.”
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player reached the milestone with over 639 million followers on Instagram, 170 million on Facebook and 113 million on X.
The 39-year-old topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes this year, with off-field earnings of $60 million, boosted by his large social media following.
Ronaldo’s club Al-Nassr will host Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.
-Reuters
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo launched his YouTube channel on Wednesday and hundreds of thousands of subscribers signed up within a couple of hours.
The 39-year-old five-times Ballon D’Or winner plays for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.
“The wait is over. My @YouTube channel is finally here! SIUUUbscribe and join me on this new journey,” Ronaldo posted on his social media accounts.
A couple of hours after posting his first video, 1.69M subscribers had joined he channel.
Ronaldo has 112.5 million followers on the X platform, 170 million on Facebook and 636 million on Instagram.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United player is preparing for his team’s Saudi Pro League opener against Al-Raed on Thursday.
-Reuters
Gusau becomes the fifth Nigerian to hold WAFU’s top position
Panama pitches camp with Morocco in another blow to SADR
Dollar rain for Women’s AFCON teams
Breaking! Uzoho suspended from Super Eagles’ next match with Sierra Leone
No longer Super League as CAF changes name of its new clubs competition
AIU releases its report on Tobi Amusan
-
AFCON1 week agoBREAKING! Super Eagles qualify for Morocco 2025 even before Benin Match
-
AFCON7 days agoBREAKING! Ghana Black Stars out of 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
-
CAF Women's Leage3 days agoHistory-chasing Edo Queens produce two of Africa’s best 11
-
Governing Bodies1 week agoBukola Olopade is Director-General, National Sports Commission
-
AFCON1 week agoAgainst Benin and officiated by Issa Sy, Osimhen equals Segun Odegbami’s feat
-
AFCON1 day agoLibyans accuse Super Eagles of match-fixing
-
AFCON4 days agoAnother load of rubbish by the Super Eagles!
-
AFCON1 week agoSuper Eagles goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali bereaved