World Cup
Breaking! Zimbabwe players boycott training ahead of match with Nigeria
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Officials of the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) had to run around on Friday to source for money to pay the allowances of the national team players who boycotted training ahead of Sunday clash with Nigeria.
The Warriors of Zimbabwe had a good result in their Wednesday’s match with Rwanda, playing a goalless draw. But the euphoria of their getting a point from the game soon faded as the players demanded for their allowances.
A training scheduled for Friday afternoon was feared to suffer another boycott.
Sports Village Square gathered from Zimbabwe that some players arrived Rwanda on the morning of Wednesday opener against Rwanda and did not train for the match.
On Thursday, while Coach Baltemar Brito went to the bus at the agreed time, players remained in their rooms and after about 45 minutes the Highlanders FC mentor abandoned the mission and left the bus.
Coach Baltemar Brito was made to sit on the bus for about 45 minutes waiting for players, who stayed in their rooms, and later disembarked in frustration. The team later visited the Zimbabwe embassy in Kigali for a date with the ambassador, Professor Charity Manyeruke after a brief “recovery session” in the gym at the hotel.
The ZIFA Normalisation Committee immediately tried to play down the discontent and, instead, attacked the Zimbabwe newspapers for focusing on “negatives.”
The players want their daily allowances paid and are also demanding they get something from their draw against Rwanda.
The Normalisation Committee reportedly promised US$2 000 for a win but said nothing on drawn matches. And the players flatly refused to go for a scheduled session in Kigali’s favourable weather demanding they get paid first. Although there were some social media reports back home suggesting that the players had not trained due to rains that supposedly poured in the Rwandan capital, Zimpapers Sports can reveal that there was no rain or any signs of rain in Rwanda.
As players remained in their rooms, members of the Zifa NC, who took with them a bloated delegation, were engaging in a marathon meeting downstairs of their Kigali hotel.
ZIFA NC chairperson Lincoln Mutasa tried to play the strike down. “This is not a strike. We had to wait for the embassy to give us time to visit them. This is why as the ZIFA NC, we are creating our own media within ZIFA,” he fumed. “Why do you guys want to dwell so much on something that you see is negative?
Veteran Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa has hinted that the upcoming FIFA World Cup could mark the final chapter of his illustrious international career after announcing that he has joined what he described as his “last training camp” with the national team.
The 40-year-old shot stopper is widely expected to be named in coach Javier Aguirre’s squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which Mexico will co-host alongside the United States and Canada from June 11 to July 19.
In an emotional message posted on social media on Monday, Ochoa reflected on his long journey with the Mexican national team.
“Putting this shirt on again was never routine … it was a privilege,” he wrote. “Today begins my last training camp. But this time I see it differently. With a fuller heart, more scars, more memories, and the same excitement as the child who once dreamed of defending this badge.”
If selected, Ochoa will join an exclusive group of players to feature in six FIFA World Cups, alongside football icons Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The experienced goalkeeper previously represented Mexico at the Germany 2006, South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 World Cups.
Ochoa, who currently plays for AEL Limassol in Cyprus, also recently suggested that the tournament could signal the end of his professional career.
Speaking to Mexican broadcaster TUDN last month, he admitted that the World Cup “could be the end for me after the World Cup” as he prepares for what is expected to be his final season in football.
“I’ve experienced unforgettable nights, endless matches, anthems that still give me goosebumps, and moments that changed my life forever,” Ochoa added in his social media post.
“And still, every time Mexico calls, something inside me begins again.”
Widely regarded as one of Mexico’s greatest goalkeepers, Ochoa has earned more than 150 international caps and produced several memorable World Cup performances during his career.
Among his standout moments were a remarkable display against Brazil at the 2014 World Cup and his penalty save from Poland captain Robert Lewandowski during the Qatar 2022 tournament.
Mexico will continue their preparations for the World Cup with friendly matches against Ghana on May 22, Australia on May 30 and Serbia on June 4 before opening their Group A campaign against South Africa on June 11.
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Mexico’s education authorities agreed on Monday to keep the 2025-2026 school calendar unchanged, reversing a proposed early end to the academic year that had drawn criticism from parents and raised questions about disruptions linked to the World Cup.
Related Story: https://sportsvillagesquare.com/2026/05/09/mexico-president-wavers-on-plan-to-cut-school-year-by-40-days-for-the-world-cup/
The federal education ministry and state authorities unanimously agreed to preserve the existing 185-day school calendar, Education Minister Mario Delgado said, meaning the school year will still end on July 15 as originally scheduled.
Delgado said the agreement came in response to a call from President Claudia Sheinbaum, while also giving certainty to millions of Mexican families that organise their daily routines around the school calendar.
Authorities said states could still make local adjustments in extraordinary circumstances, including extreme heat or logistical challenges related to the World Cup.
Delgado had previously floated ending the school year on June 5 instead of July 15, citing high temperatures and the need to ease pressure in host cities during the tournament, which Mexico will co-host with the United States and Canada.
-Reuters
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Thousands of people, led by mothers of those who have disappeared during decades of drug violence, marched in Mexico’s capital on Sunday, protesting the violence and impunity plaguing the country as it prepares to co-host the FIFA World Cup.
Collectives of mothers of the missing, who march every Mother’s Day, called on soccer fans to join them, saying in a statement that “there is nothing to celebrate, because the mothers of Mexico are playing the most difficult match: the one for justice.”
“Mexico, champion in disappearances,” protesters chanted as they marched down Paseo de la Reforma, the signature boulevard in Mexico City, holding banners and signs emblazoned with pictures of missing people. They passed a roundabout surrounded by metal barriers that are permanently covered with pictures of the disappeared.
“We had to start fighting, because no one wanted to take charge of the disappearance (case),” said Graciela Perez Rodriguez, whose daughter and four other relatives disappeared in 2012 in the northern state of Tamaulipas as they travelled on a highway after a trip to the U.S.
Mexico has more than 130,000 missing people, with disappearances surging after 2006, when the country launched its war on drug cartels.
Police and other government officials are often implicated in the crimes. Mothers who search for their missing children themselves when authorities fail to act are sometimes also targeted by criminal groups and killed.
In March, Mexican authorities said they had potentially identified more than 40,000 people listed as disappeared who may be alive, after a review of the national registry of missing persons showed some activity across other government records.
But the public policy group Mexico Evalua found there has been a 200% increase in disappearances over the last decade, due to the growing power of organised crime groups.
Rodriguez said she worries that the case of her missing family members is no longer a priority since almost 14 years have passed.
-Reuters
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