International Football
AMAJU PINNICK LAUDS FIFA FOR APPROVING STEPHEN KESHI STADIUM FOR INTERNATIONAL MATCHES
Amaju Pinnick, the President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Sunday said world football body FIFA deserves commendation for approving the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba for international football matches.
Pinnick said this at the Asaba International Airport, where Delta’s Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa received the Super Eagles on arrival from their 2019 AFCON Qualifier in Johannesburg against South Africa.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Amaju Pinnick, on Sunday said world football body FIFA deserves commendation for approving the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba for international football matches.
Pinnick said this at the Asaba International Airport, where Delta’s Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa received the Super Eagles on arrival from their 2019 AFCON Qualifier in Johannesburg against South Africa.
The Super Eagles on Saturday drew 1-1 with the Bafana Bafana on Saturday to qualify from Group E of the qualifiers for the 2019 AFCON in Cameroon.
The NFF president said it was “a thing of pride for the Super Eagles’’ to travel through the Asaba International Airport.
“When it was announced on Saturday that we are boarding and flying to Asaba, it gave me great joy. It shows that God rules supreme in Delta.
“We have qualified for AFCON and we are going to Cameroon to make great impact.
“On behalf of the NFF, I thank the governor and the good people of Delta for their show of enthusiasm since the Super Eagles came here.
“That stadium (the Stephen Keshi Stadium) is wonderful and the Super Eagles will beat Uganda in their friendly match, even as we know that the Ugandan team has also qualified for AFCON.
“I am therefore excited that FIFA has approved the Stephen Keshi Stadium for international football matches,” Pinnick said.
The governor, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Tam Brisibe, said the Super Eagles’ flight from Johannesburg was the first international flight into the airport and it was “momentous’’
“This is momentous, bearing in mind that the flight successfully took the Super Eagles to South Africa and came back without hitches.
“It is more gratifying to note that the Super Eagles trained at the Stephen Keshi Stadium before leaving for South Africa through the Asaba Airport. They went to South Africa and qualified for Cameroon 2019.
“The principal thing was qualifying for Cameroon and by God’s grace, we have qualified for AFCON. We congratulate the Super Eagles for making Nigeria proud,” Okowa said.
Austin Ayomedejor, the airport’s Special Project Director, said the airport has been upgraded to a Category C Airport which allows it to take bigger planes.
“I feel excited, and we give God the glory for using the state governor to achieve this great feat.
“What is important is that we have been upgraded to a Category C airport, which allows bigger planes to land,” he said.
Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.
Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.
Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.
They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.
-Reuters
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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.
The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”
When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.
Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.
He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.
-Reuters
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In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.
This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.
The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.
Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.
As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.
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