Other Leagues
Ghanaian footballer Okyere recounts earthquake escape
Ghana midfielder Priscilla Okyere is terrified of going to sleep, afraid that another earthquake might happen when she is in bed. The 27-year-old plays for Hatayspor in southern Turkey, and is a survivor of the devastating quake that struck there on Monday.
The earthquake is already considered the worst worldwide in a decade. So far it is known to have killed over 20,000 people in Turkey and Syria – a toll that will certainly rise.
Hatayspor is the club whose men’s team Okyere’s compatriot Christian Atsu plays for. Atsu, along with the club’s sporting director Taner Savut, remains missing.
“I have not been sleeping for four days – I’m so scared to go to sleep,” Okyere told BBC Sport Africa.
“Even today, we had a safe place to sleep. I haven’t closed my eyes from 5am til now.
“When someone bangs the door, I wake up because I’m scared. I don’t want to close my eyes and realise this thing is happening again.”
Okyere is now in Ankara, Turkey’s capital, after her coach arranged for her and her seven roommates to leave Hatay after the earthquake.
But the ordeal left her scarred.
“I was terrified. I cried for days,” she explained.
“I can’t imagine how lucky we were to get out from that situation, because most people couldn’t get out. But we were able to.”
Okyere joined Hatayspor six months ago from Israeli club Tel-Aviv Beersheva.
Like most people who live in southern Turkey, the club’s players had felt tremors before. So when the earthquake struck in the early hours of Monday, she believed it was normal.
“We were coming from a game in Istanbul and we weren’t home until around 2am,” she said.
“We had to shower and then get some sleep. At first, I thought I was dreaming because since we came to Hatay, I experienced (tremors) it two times. Sometimes the building would just shake within 30 seconds and it stops.
“When it happened, I thought it was a normal thing but I realised this was much more intense than the previous ones.”
She went to check on her team-mates, and then hurried outside as all around her began to crumble
“When I got down, the buildings were just collapsing, and everybody was crying, trying to find shelter,” she said.
“It was raining heavily outside, and everyone was cold. We were not wearing any jackets – nothing. We had gone outside barefoot.
“We weren’t even thinking about how cold we were at that moment. What we wanted to think about was how to get our passports.
“We had to find a shelter in someone’s car for almost five hours before the whole thing calmed down, and then we were able to go back to the house.”
Though badly damaged, the building Okyere and her teammates lived in had not collapsed. But they had to leave the area, and with all public transport suspended, they wandered the streets looking for food.
They were immediately concerned that there was no way to get in contact with their families back home, even as news began to filter out to the wider world of the quake.
“The first thing that came into my mind was my mother, because she’s always worried about where I am always want to know what is going on,” Okyere said.
“But we couldn’t communicate directly to our family because all the networks were not working.
“But you could call within Turkey, So I spoke to my agent, and I gave him my mother’s number so he could to talk with her and make sure that everything is okay.”
Eventually, Okyere and her teammates were able to leave Hatay.
While she and her teammates are safe, she said concern remains for other members of the wider Hatayspor club, including the men’s team and officials.
“We don’t know anything about the men’s team because they live far from us, even though we live in the same city,” she explained.
“But our brother (Christian) Atsu, we always talk to him on phone. He texts us all the time.
“Since the incident happened, nobody knows his whereabouts. We don’t even know what is happening.”
Okyere said she is trying to remain positive in the face of all the devastation, and her biggest wish right now is to go home to Ghana to spend some time with her family.
“For Hatayspor our season is over because the city is destroyed,” she said.
“For management, we don’t know anything about their whereabouts. So for us we know that for the men and the women the season is over,.
“We will try to look for another club because I think that most clubs are also interested in some players from Hatayspor. I think hopefully maybe we will get something.
“For me, only thing that is in my mind right now is I just want to go back to Ghana. At least have one week or two weeks rest with the family.”
-BBC
Paul Onuachu is back where the goals flowed after the Nigerian striker completed a 5.6 million euros ($6.60 million) move to Trabzonspor from Southampton on Friday, turning a successful loan spell into a permanent stay on Turkey’s Black Sea coast.
Nicknamed “Tall Paul” by Saints fans, the 2.01-metre forward never found his stride in the Premier League, scoring just four goals as Southampton dropped out of the top flight.
But in Turkey, he looked like his old self — hitting 15 goals in 21 league games while on loan last season and quickly winning over the fans and board alike.
Once prolific at Genk, with 73 goals in 103 league games, 31-year-old Onuachu’s return to Trabzonspor feels more like a reset than a gamble.
The new Super Lig season kicks off on August 8, with champions Galatasaray defending their crown. Trabzonspor, who finished seventh last term, will hope their returning striker picks up right where he left off.
-Reuters
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A celebration turned tragic on Saturday, June 22, 2025, when three spectators lost their lives and more than 70 others sustained injuries following a fence collapse at the July 5 Stadium in Algiers. The incident occurred after MC Alger clinched the Algerian top-flight football title for the second consecutive season.
According to a statement released on Facebook by the Algerian Ministry of Health, the collapse took place in the stadium’s south bend upper stand. Emergency services responded swiftly, with 38 injured fans taken to Beni Messous University Hospital, 27 to Ben Aknoun Hospital, and 16 to Bab El Oued Hospital.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune expressed condolences to the victims’ families and extended wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured.
MC Alger also mourned the loss of one of their fans. “It is with great sadness and sorrow that we received the news of our supporter Younes Amguzzi, who passed away after falling from the upper stands,” the club said in a statement posted on Instagram.
The club has not yet issued a formal comment on the additional reported fatalities.
Local media attributed the tragedy to a structural failure, reporting that part of the upper-tier fencing gave way, causing fans to fall into the lower stands. A video posted by El Heddaf TV showed the damaged railing and the chaotic aftermath.
The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals, while MC Alger players, staff, and club officials visited to donate blood in support of the victims. The trophy presentation ceremony was postponed out of respect for the incident.
Authorities are expected to launch an investigation into the cause of the collapse and the safety standards at the stadium.
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Libyan football is once again under fire after a highly anticipated derby match between Al-Ahli Tripoli and Al-Ittihad spiralled into chaos on Wednesday evening, forcing an early end to the game and leaving a trail of violence and destruction in its wake.
What was meant to be a showcase of local rivalry quickly turned into a disaster.
The match, part of Libya’s national championship, took a dark turn in the 38th minute when Moroccan midfielder Nawfel Zerhouni curled in a beautiful free-kick to give Al-Ittihad the lead. But the celebrations were short-lived. Tensions flared, players clashed, and a full-blown melee broke out on the pitch.
Things only got worse from there.
Despite being officially designated a behind-closed-doors fixture, fans from both clubs found their way into the stadium and took over the stands. Fights erupted, and the terraces turned into battlegrounds. The referee had no choice but to abandon the match.
The violence didn’t stop at the stadium gates.
Reports suggest that live ammunition was fired at Al-Ahli supporters, and the Al-Ittihad team bus was set ablaze in the aftermath. Shocking scenes like these are a grim reminder of how unchecked football passion can spiral into outright mayhem.
Both clubs reacted swiftly with official statements condemning the violence. Al-Ahli Tripoli and Al-Ittihad called for calm and restraint, stressing the importance of upholding the values of sport. They also urged authorities to launch a full investigation to uncover those behind the violence and ensure accountability.
This disturbing episode comes on the heels of previous controversies involving Libya’s football scene, including the troubled AFCON qualifier against Nigeria and riots during the Libya–Benin Republic match. It raises fresh concerns over the safety and stability of football in the country.
Libyan football is at a crossroads. Whether this serves as a wake-up call or just another chapter in a worrying trend remains to be seen.
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