International Football
NFF: WE ARE KEEPING ALL COMPETITIONS IN FULL FOCUS
The Nigeria Football Federation says it is keeping good focus on the several competitions in which the various national teams are participating this year, beginning with the trio of FIFA U20 World Cup in Poland, FIFA Women’s World Cup in France and the Africa Cup of Nations that are in full swing between this week and next month.
On Thursday, the FIFA U20 World Cup finals, in which Nigeria’s U20 squad is one of the 24 participating teams, will kick off in Poland.
The Flying Eagles, who spent three weeks at a final training camp in Germany, will open their account, against Qatar, on Friday.
African champions, Super Falcons, arrived at the Avita Resort, Bad Tatzmannsdorf in Austria on Tuesday, for a two –week residential camping leading to their departure for the 8th FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in France, starting on 7th June.
The Falcons will play Norway in Reims on Saturday, 8th June in their first match of the championship.
On Sunday, 2nd June, the Super Eagles will begin to gather in Asaba as they begin preparations for the 32ndAfrica Cup of Nations taking place in Egypt 21st June – 19th July.
“We are very focused and not distracted by anything. The well-being of these teams, as well as their adequate preparation to go to their different championships and do the country proud, is of utmost concern to us and that is what is receiving our full concentration, not anything else.
“Football is a global unifying force, and even in our country we know the importance of the performance of these teams and how almost every Nigerian at home and in the disapora are looking forward to the matches. Nothing else matters,” NF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi said on Wednesday.
While the Flying Eagles qualified for the U20 World Cup after reaching the semi finals of the U20 AFCON in Niger Republic in February, the Super Falcons made sure of a ticket to France after winning their ninth Women AFCON title in Ghana in December 2018.
The Super Eagles, just as they did in the race to the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals, earned a ticket to this year’s AFCON finals with a match to spare in the qualifying race.
“There are many more competitions this year, even after the U20 World Cup, FIFA Women’s World Cup and the AFCON. We are also focusing on them and will do everything necessary to prepare our different teams for glory.”
Nigeria is one of the eight teams that has qualified for this year’s Women’s Football Tournament of the 12thAll-Africa Games, coming up in Rabat, Morocco between late August and early September.
Around the same period, the Super Eagles B will be engaged in the qualifying campaign for the 2020 African Nations Championship – the tournament for senior players plying their trade in their country’s domestic league. Nigeria finished as runners-up in the fifth edition of the championship in Morocco early last year.
The Eagles B are also scheduled to take part in the WAFU Cup competition (in which they finished as runners-up in the last edition in Ghana in September 2017). The draw for this year’s championship will hold in Dakar next week Wednesday.
The U23 National Men Team, having defeated Libya in the second round of the race to the 2019 U23 AFCON (for which Nigeria is the defending champion), will take on Sudan in the last hurdle in September. The finals will hold in Egypt in November 2019.
The U17 National Boys Team, Golden Eaglets, will take part in the FIFA U17 World Cup finals in Brazil in November, having qualified from the U17 AFCON held in Tanzania in April this year.
The Beach Soccer team, Supersand Eagles, will feature in this year’s FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Paraguay in November, having finished second at the Beach Soccer AFCON in Egypt in December 2018 to emerge as one of Africa’s two flagbearers.
Yet, the Super Eagles will kick –start their race to the 2022 FIFA World Cup later this year, while the U20 and U17 girls will also begin their race to their different FIFA World Cup competitions in 2020.
This year is, indeed, the busiest ever for all National Teams in the history of Nigerian Football.
International Football
Players’ union, FIFPRO, wants 20-minute halftimes, more cooling breaks amid extreme heat
Global players’ union FIFPRO is exploring whether extending halftime to 20 minutes and introducing more frequent cooling breaks could better protect players from extreme heat.
Nine of the 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup face conditions considered “extreme risk” for heat-related illness.
Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, Monterrey and Philadelphia are expected to face dangerous levels of heat and humidity, posing player safety concerns and fuelling calls for mandatory cooling aids or schedule changes.
FIFPRO’s heat risk assessments are based on wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), a measure combining temperature, humidity, solar radiation and wind speed to estimate how environmental conditions affect the body’s ability to cool itself.
Under FIFPRO guidelines, a WBGT reading above 28 degrees Celsius indicates conditions in which matches should be postponed or rescheduled to protect players’ health.
By comparison, world soccer governing body FIFA’s own guidelines set the extreme risk threshold higher, at 32 degrees Celsius WBGT – but even by that standard, six of the nine cities are still projected to exceed safe limits.
Major League Soccer in the U.S. has a threshold of 29 degrees Celsius WBGT.
“Cooling breaks at the 30th minute and 75th minutes are quite traditional, but from a physiological point of view it does not make sense,” said Vincent Gouttebarge, FIFPRO’s Medical Director.
“Even if you ingest more than 200 millilitres of fluid, you already cannot take it all. So I would definitely like to see some project where we look at the efficacy of perhaps more frequent but shorter cooling breaks – every 15 minutes, rather than only one during each half.”
LONGER HALFTIMES
Gouttebarge also questioned whether the traditional 15-minute halftime interval is sufficient when matches are played in extreme heat.
“You can imagine that halftime of 15 minutes might not be enough in order to decrease the core temperature,” he said.
“It could be a halftime of 20 minutes which would be significant. That has been shown in the laboratory and FIFPRO, together with the national union in Portugal in August, we are going to test this kind of mitigation strategy.”
The urgency of stronger heat protocols became clear at this month’s Club World Cup where two matches — Benfica-Bayern Munich in Charlotte and Chelsea-Esperance in Philadelphia exceeded the WBGT threshold FIFPRO considers unsafe.
“According to our position, those games should have been postponed later that day or rescheduled,” Gouttebarge said.
FIFPRO officials acknowledged that FIFA has responded constructively during the tournament by lowering thresholds for mandatory cooling breaks and improving pitch-side hydration, but stressed that proactive planning is critical.
“FIFA have been quite responsive once the tournament was under way,” said Alex Phillips, FIFPRO General Secretary.
“They have actually modified how they’ve been dealing with heat during the matches based on FIFPRO’s input, which is credit to the work of the team. Obviously, it would have been better if that happened in advance, but it’s better that they have adapted.”
FIFPRO warned that the risks highlighted at the Club World Cup are a preview of what players could face at the expanded 2026 World Cup.
“This is not just affecting the Club World Cup, but also future tournaments either in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world,” said Alexander Bielefeld, FIFPRO Director of Policy & Strategic Relations.
“We need a better balance between commercial interests and the health and safety of players,” he added, referring to earlier kick-off times to accommodate European television audiences.
-Reuters
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Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Ince has been charged with drink-driving, police said on Monday.
Ince, who earned 53 caps for England and won two Premier League titles during his six years at United, has been released on bail and will appear in court on July 18.
“The incident involved a black Range Rover which had collided with the central reservation barrier. Officers attended the scene and arrested a 57-year-old man,” the Cheshire police said in a statement.
“Paul Ince, of Quarry Road, Neston, has since been charged with drink-driving.”
Reuters has contacted Ince’s representative for comment.
After retiring as a player, Ince led Milton Keynes Dons to a League Two title in 2007-08. He most recently managed Reading during 2022-23.
-Reuters
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International Football
From garbage collector to Starman of Ancelotti’s Brazil team: the story of Ribeiro
“I was without a team for a year and a half, doing trials… and no club in Brazil wanted me.!” Alex Ribeiro
Alexsandro Victor de Souza Ribeiro (Rio de Janeiro, 1999) was, until a few days ago, a semi-unknown to the general public in Brazil.
However, Carlo Ancelotti, impressed by his strong performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League, insisted on calling up the Lille centre-back… and giving him his debut.
Not only that. He started alongside Marquinhos against Ecuador (0-0) and Paraguay (1-0) and helped the Seleçao keep two consecutive clean sheets for the first time in the qualifying rounds.
Alex, as he likes to be called, impressed with his 1.92 meters (6′ 1″) frame and confidence. According to ‘R10Score’, he was the Brazilian player who completed the most actions with the ball (186) and the second with the most cuts (11).
He completed 154 of the 166 passes he made (92% accuracy) and won 12 of the 16 duels he was involved in: 5 of 7 at ground level and 7 of 9 in the air. “A gentleman defender,” boasted the official Ligue 1 Portuguese account.
His path to the elite wasn’t easy. “I don’t think you know this, but this is my first game as a professional in Brazil. Strange, isn’t it? There’s nothing better. To debut in Brazil like this, with a win and qualification,” he boasted after defeating Paraguay.
These first few days with Ancelotti have been unique; I’ll remember them for the rest of my life. I’ve responded well not only to myself, but also to the coach and the Brazilian people. I was able to demonstrate my ability to those who had doubts. Few people give me the opportunity that the manager has given me,” he insists
The Lille centre-back took his first steps in Flamengo’s youth system, where he even met Vinicius.
“When we played against Real Madrid, Vini came up to me and hugged me. He said, ‘I’m glad to see you here, brother.’ That inspired and motivated me even more,” he told ‘Globo Esporte’.
‘Fla’ cut him off. He had to make a living as a street vendor. He also collected trash, especially cans. “I was without a team for a year and a half, doing trials… and no club in Brazil wanted me, so I went to Europe to play in Portugal’s Third Division.”
Praiense (2018-20), Amora (2020-21), and Chaves (2021-22)—the latter already in the Second Division—were his springboard to Lille. The Bulldogs signed him in 2022-23 for €2 million. He has become a more than worthy successor to his compatriot Gabriel Magalhaes.
“Little by little, my name is spreading. My football is reaching everywhere. This includes Brazil,” he said before making his debut with the Seleçao. Now that he’s made it, he has another challenge: “I want to continue it.”
-Marca
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