Not even the possibility of a first win of the campaign could tempt relegated Brazilian clubs Colo Colo and Jacobina to play their final Bahia Championship fixture this week.

With nothing to gain from the dead rubber match, Jacobina felt the 1,200km roundtrip from their coastal city home of Ilheus into the interior of northeastern state was not worth it.

Colo Colo could have avoided the ignominy of bottom place in the league by winning the match but agreed, and the Bahia Football Federation (FBF) acquiesced by cancelling Saturday’s fixture.

“As both teams have already been relegated to Serie B in 2026, and the cancellation of the match does not cause any harm to the other participants in the competition, the FBF accepted the requests,” the federation said in a statement.

Both teams had three points apiece from three draws but Colo Colo will now finish the season bottom of the league courtesy of a goal difference of minus 15 compared to Jacobina’s minus 12.

The Bahia Championship, also known as the Baianao, is the second-oldest state championship in Brazil and has been played continuously since 1905.

-Reuters

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A Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Workshop commenced in the Zambian capital Lusaka on Monday, bringing together 40 male and female referees for an intensive five-day training programme.

This groundbreaking workshop is the first of its kind in East, Central, and Southern Africa, marking a major step forward in adopting VAR technology.

The workshop is being conducted by leading global and regional experts, including FIFA IT Technology Support and COSAFA VAR specialist Ramy Gamal,

FIFA VAR Instructor Carlos Astroza and COSAFA Referees Manager Felix Tangawarima, who also doubles as VAR project manager.

Speaking on the sidelines workshop, Tangawarima emphasised COSAFA’s commitment to VAR implementation, confirming that all COSAFA tournaments in 2024 will feature VAR.

“For this year 2025, all our tournaments in COSAFA will be done with VAR,” he said.

“Zambia is the first country in the Central, East and Southern zones to get the proper VAR project role out and we are going to be with the referees (in Lusaka) for the next five days where we anticipate every referee will do a minimum of 25 hours training.

“For a referee to be certified, they  have to be trained and go through a minimum of 25 hours.”

Tangawarima said the training programme is vital in preparing and equipping Zambian referees as the Zambian Super League gears up to introduce VAR in the upcoming season.

“Zambia intends to introduce VAR in the league in the coming seasons and for them to be able to do that, we have to train as many referees as possible.

“We have 40 Super League referees who will be trained and certified at this groundbreaking VAR proper package.

“We started a pilot project for the (2023 Absa) Cup final of the Zambian game. We didn’t use Zambian referees because we didn’t have VAR-certified referees,” explained Tangawarima.

FAZ President Andrew Kamanga, who officiated at the opening ceremony, thanked COSAFA for bringing the initiative to Zambia.

“Please deliver this message to the COSAFA Executive that we are indeed very grateful that you have been able to come and support us with this initiative.

“There can be no successful implementation of VAR without trained personnel. This exercise is critical in ensuring that we are ready for the undertaking that we have signed up,” Kamanga said.

“We are already doing a lot of work in our game to incorporate technology as witnessed by the recent handover of Global Tracking System equipment for all our Super League teams for both men and women.

“All these developments are embedded in our 10-year strategic plan that we are calling Vision 2030.”

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Former Nigeria Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro, who is now in charge at Zamalek of Egypt has promised to take the club to lofty heights.

He promised to lead the club to victory in the next matches, stressing that developing the team’s performance is also a priority for him.

On Friday, the Cairo giants unveiled the Portuguese as the coach, taking over from Swiss manager Christian Gross.

“My target is to win and develop the performance. Those who know Zamalek players realize that they are amazing,” the 64-year-old tactician told the club’s TV channel.

“Zamalek fans are wonderful, and they always provide an astonishing atmosphere. We want them to stand behind the team. Sometimes, they become angry when the team loses, but we want them behind us. All the club wants to please them.”

Peseiro arrived in Cairo on Thursday to finalize a one-and-a-half-year contract with Zamalek. No financial details were announced, but Peseiro will reportedly earn $70,000 monthly during the first six months.

The team’s uninspiring performance influenced the decision to part ways with Gross only two months into his second term with the White Knights, with eight wins, three losses, and two draws in 13 matches in the Egyptian Premier League.

Peseiro is set to assume his new role immediately as Zamalek prepares to face Petrojet on Sunday in the Egyptian Premier League before facing archrivals Ahly in the Cairo derby next Saturday.

Despite the challenges that await Peseiro, who worked previously in a short stint as Ahly’s coach during the 2015-16 season, the Portuguese tactician remains optimistic about delivering good results.

“My plan is to win in the next games. Zamalek coach should be always seeking victory whether in the home and away games,” the new coach explained.

“I promise to win and so I came here. I took the charge as I believe that we are capable of doing so,” he added.

Gross, 72, leaves Zamalek positioned third in the Egyptian League table with 26 points, trailing leaders Pyramids FC by four points and archrivals Ahly by three points.

Peseiro finally stressed that he prefers playing attacking football, adding that the team should always fight to win until the dying minutes.

Peseiro brings a wealth of experience from his stints with big names, including Porto and Sporting Braga in Portugal, Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, Panathinaikos in Greece, and UAE’s Al-Wehda.

Peseiro’s notable achievements include guiding Sporting to the Europa League final in 2005.

He also has experience on the international level, having managed Saudi Arabia and Venezuela and guided Nigeria to the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

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