World Cup
Liberia coach, Ansu Keita misses World Cup qualifier after death threats
Head coach Ansu Keita missed Liberia’s most recent 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier after receiving death threats made by angry supporters.
He was absent from the 1-0 defeat by Equatorial Guinea in Monrovia on Monday – a result which was Liberia’s sixth consecutive loss, leaving the Lone Stars winless in seven matches under Keita.
Some fans demanded the 63-year-old’s resignation after Liberia opened their qualifying campaign in Group H with a 1-0 loss to Malawi on Friday at the Samuel Kanyon Doe sports complex, the same venue which hosted the subsequent defeat by Equatorial Guinea.
Supporters broke a glass shield at the media centre and prevented a post-match news conference from taking place by barricading Liberia’s dressing room, with Keita and his players taking refuge inside for more than two hours.
Several Liberia Football Association (LFA) officials, including president Mustapha Raji, were also forced to remain within the complex for fear of reprisals.
Keita subsequently received a call from LFA vice president Adolphus Dolo on Saturday morning advising him to skip Monday’s game for his own safety.
“I told him that I would still go to the game,” Keita told BBC Sport Africa.
“If Liberians want to kill me for football, then let them kill me.”
However, Keita changed his mind after an LFA committee visited his hotel.
“I knew what the outcome of the meeting was when they came,” said Keita, who called for patience when he succeeded former international Thomas Kojo in January.
“So I told them, ‘I will not go for the game. I will recuse myself.’
“I didn’t want to be part of the match, for my own safety and in the best interests of the country. I am still the national team head coach because I have a two-year contract.”
Liberia’s deputy sports minister, Andy Quamie, said Keita had been threatened because of the team’s winless run.
“His life is very, very important,” added Quamie.
“It was important that he stayed away to save him from attacks.
“The LFA will decide whether Keita’s contract will be reviewed, he will be dismissed, or they will reach a mutual understanding. The government will support whatever decision they will reach.”
Keita has more than 15 years’ experience as a technical director and coach and was given an initial target of qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations in neighbouring Ivory Coast in 2024.
The Lone Stars were in contention to achieve that aim after a comeback 2-2 draw in South Africa in Keita’s first game as manager in March, but finished on one point following subsequent defeats to the same opponents and then Morocco.
“Death threats are not welcome and an investigation into [Keita’s] protection has got to take [precedence],” said former LFA vice president Wilmot Smith.
Charles Massaley, president of Liberian top-tier side FC Kallon, has given his backing to the under-fire boss, claiming youth projects were Keita’s “destiny”.
“Liberia needed him to build a foundation where we could all build the roof afterwards,” he said.
“I feel for him but I think he will be axed like others. He is not the national team’s problem. He is leaving the problem behind.”
Liberia are not scheduled to play again until they resume their qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup in June next year.
-BBC
Saudi Arabia would be ready and willing to host a 64-team World Cup in 2034 if FIFA accepts a controversial proposal to expand the tournament from 48, according to the kingdom’s sports minister.
South America’s CONMEBOL has officially suggested staging the centenary 2030 World Cup in Spain, Portugal and Morocco with 64 teams, but the idea has been opposed by some other continental confederations.
Next year’s tournament, hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, will have 48 countries participating, up from 32 in 2022.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal told a select group of reporters at the Saudi Arabian Formula One Grand Prix in Jeddah that his country would have no objection to an increase in the numbers for 2034.
“We’re ready, or we will be ready, inshallah (God willing). If that’s a decision that FIFA takes and thinks that that’s a good decision for everyone, then we’re more than happy to deliver on it,” he said.
He pointed to the infrastructure already in place for Islamic pilgrims, with four million people attending Mecca for Umrah during Ramadan this year and five million expected for the Hajj.
FIFA expected to confirm Saudi Arabia as 2034 World Cup hosts – Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – December 11, 2024 A model of the proposed Roshn Stadium is seen inside the Saudi Arabia World Cup bid exhibition REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
The global soccer governing body officially announced Saudi Arabia as hosts of the 2034 men’s World Cup in December, a bid that was uncontested but strongly criticised by rights organisations.
The Kingdom has invested heavily in sport over the last few years, but critics accuse it of ‘sportswashing’ its human rights record. The country denies accusations of human rights abuses and says it protects its national security through its laws.
The bid book pledged 15 stadiums, new or refurbished, by 2032 and which are expected to be completed with the help of migrant labour.
Al-Faisal said worker safety was of the highest priority and Saudi organisers were talking regularly with FIFA and 2022 hosts and neighbours Qatar, the first World Cup in the region, to learn from their experience.
He said the death, reported last month, of a worker at the Aramco Stadium construction site in Al Khobar had come after millions of hours without issue.
“Every incident we take seriously, we file an investigation, we look what went wrong,” said the minister. “Unfortunately, in construction, these things happen.”
He said Saudi Arabia was part of the International Labour Organisation and a 2021 Labour Reform Act had abolished the kafala system that binds migrant workers to one employer and prevents them from leaving without the employer’s approval.
Alcohol, prohibited for observant Muslims, is banned in Saudi Arabia and Al-Faisal confirmed the World Cup would be dry.
“The law now here in Saudi is that there’s no alcohol. Will that change in the future? We don’t know. But I don’t see it really affecting our sporting events at all,” he said.
“We’ve had more than 100 international events so far. We’ve had people come from all over the world to attend these sporting events. And everyone’s happy with the hospitality, the setup, the experience that they get.
“I don’t see it as an issue, to be honest. So I hope it’s not going to be an issue”.
Alcohol was not sold at stadiums in Qatar, where drinking in public is illegal, in 2022 but beer was available at designated fan zones and in some hotels.
-Reuters
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A 64-team World Cup in 2030 should not be considered, CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani has said, joining some other confederations in opposing a plan presented by CONMEBOL.
CONMEBOL President Alejandro Dominguez last week officially proposed staging the 2030 World Cup with 64 teams, up from the 48 set to take part in next year’s edition, with the tournament to be hosted largely by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.
The opening matches will take place in Uruguay, where the first World Cup was hosted in 1930, along with Argentina and Paraguay.
“I don’t believe expanding the men’s World Cup to 64 teams is the right move for the tournament itself and the broader football ecosystem, from national teams to club competitions, leagues, and players,” Montagliani told ESPN, opens new tab.
CONCACAF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The CONMEBOL plan would have a long way to go for approval, with the 48-team 2026 edition already expanded from the 2022 tournament, when 32 countries took part.
The 2026 tournament is set to be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.
“We haven’t even kicked off the new 48-team World Cup yet, so personally, I don’t think that expanding to 64 teams should even be on the table,” said Montagliani.
His comments echoed complaints by UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin, who this month voiced opposition to the idea, and Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, who told AFP, opens new tab he fears expansion would lead to chaos.
-Reuters
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Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa has strongly opposed South American football body CONMEBOL’s proposal to expand the 2030 FIFA World Cup to 64 teams, warning such a move would lead to “chaos” in the tournament structure.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 35th AFC Congress in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, Sheikh Salman rejected the expansion plan put forward by CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez earlier this week.
“Personally, I don’t agree,” the Bahraini leader told AFP, insisting the 2030 edition had already settled on 48 teams “so the matter is settled.”
The AFC president warned that continually increasing the tournament size would create significant problems for the competition’s structure and organization.
“If the issue remains open to change, then the door will not only be open to expanding the tournament to 64 teams, but someone might come along and demand raising the number to 132 teams,” said Sheikh Salman. “Where would we end up then? It would become chaos.”
The 2030 World Cup, set to commemorate the centenary of the tournament, is already planned as an unprecedented multi-continental event.
While Spain, Portugal and Morocco will host the majority of matches, three opening games will be staged in South America – in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay – recognizing Uruguay as the host of the inaugural 1930 World Cup.
The tournament will feature 48 teams, expanding from the 32-team format used in Qatar 2022. This expansion was already approved for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
CONMEBOL’s Dominguez formally proposed the further expansion to 64 teams during the South American body’s 80th Congress on Thursday, suggesting it as a one-time increase to celebrate the centennial.
“We are proposing, for the only time, to hold this centennial with 64 teams on three continents, simultaneously, so that all countries have the opportunity to experience a World Cup and so that no one on this planet is left out of this celebration,” Dominguez said.
The South American proposal would likely guarantee all 10 CONMEBOL member nations a place in the tournament. Venezuela is currently the only South American country that has never qualified for a World Cup.
If approved, the expansion would effectively double the tournament size to 128 matches, compared to the 64-game format used from 1998 through 2022.
While Sheikh Salman rejected changes for 2030, he did not dismiss potential format adjustments for future tournaments beyond the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia.
“If we want to discuss subsequent tournaments… that’s a different matter,” he said.
The proposal has received a mixed response from football’s governing bodies. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin previously dismissed it as a “bad idea,” while FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom said the world governing body would “analyse” the suggestion.
“There are many things that need to be studied, and we will take our time, consult everyone,” Grafstrom said.
Critics argue that expanding to 64 teams would dilute the quality of play and devalue continental qualifying competitions, while supporters suggest it would give more nations the opportunity to participate in football’s premier event.
The idea was initially raised at a FIFA Council meeting in March by Uruguay Football Federation chief Ignacio Alonso, before being formally proposed by CONMEBOL’s Dominguez this week.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who participated in Thursday’s CONMEBOL Congress via videoconference, has previously supported tournament expansions during his presidency, which began in 2016, seeking increased revenue for FIFA’s 211 member federations and more opportunities for national teams to qualify.
The final decision on the tournament structure remains with FIFA, which must balance the celebration of the World Cup’s centenary with maintaining the tournament’s competitive integrity and logistical feasibility.
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