International Football
DESPITE BEING LEFT OUT, NIGERIA’S ONOME EYES TOKYO 2020
Despite being left out of the squad, veteran and decorated Nigeria defender, Onome Ebi, is confident the Super Falcons can overcome their Ivorian counterparts in the third round of the qualifying series to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Record nine-time African champions, Nigeria, are seeking a return to the quadrennial event since their last appearance in 2008 in Beijing, which Ebi, then 25-years old featured.
However, they will have to overcome the Ivorian hurdle in a back-to-back encounter to reach the penultimate round of the qualifiers.
The first leg is due for Abidjan on Thursday and the return match in Lagos on Monday.
Now 36, Ebi who hit the milestone last July as the first African to play in five FIFA World Cups following her appearances at the 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019 editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, believes her storied career would further get a facelift if she can eventually make her second appearance at the Olympic next year in Tokyo at the twilight of her career.
“As a footballer, you have to be ready for big games such as the upcoming match against Cote d’Ivoire.
“We (Super Falcons) know that this fixture is going to be tough,” the China-based Ebi who was not selected by caretaker coach Chris Danjuma for the crunch encounter against Cote d’Ivoire, told CAFOnline.com
Despite being left of the squad for the Ivorian two-legged affair, Ebi will be following with keen interest as she keeps her eyes on her dream of playing at yet another Olympics.
“We have worked hard to reach this round and we must be ready to put everything into the games against Cote d’Ivoire because victory will take us a step closer to Tokyo.”
Though Nigeria failed to progress to the knockout stages from a tough group in 2008 after losing all the three preliminary matches to Brazil, Germany and North Korea, Ebi is still nostalgic about her first Olympic experience in the Far East.
“It was definitely a great feeling to have played at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Apart from the opportunity of playing against top stars from around the world, it was also an opportunity to meet top starts from different sports,” noted the famous lady at the heart of the Nigerian defence, currently with Henan Huishang in the Chinese Women’s Super League.
“It was also a special experience for me relating with stars from different countries at the Games Village and this is something I will like to experience again with the Super Falcons in Tokyo.”
Undoubtedly, Ebi is one of the most experienced players to have donned the Super Falcons shirt with varied experiences with clubs in Sweden, Turkey and Belarus where she was decorated with the Belarusian Women’s Premier League, the Belarusian Women’s Cup and the Belarusian Women’s Super Cup twice.
At the continental level, Ebi has also been one of the pillars of the Super Falcons and has been at every edition of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations since 2008, and winning the title on four occasions – 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2018.
“One of the best moments of my career was winning the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title for the first time in 2010. The second thing that came close to that happened at the last FIFA Women’s World Cup in France where I became the first player to appear in five FIFA World Cups and I feel so honoured.”
Incidentally, Ebi was honoured in April as Nigeria Women’s Player of the Year ahead of her pals Asisat Oshoala and Francisca Ordega and opined that her steadfastness coupled with penchant to sleep deeply before strutting her stuff on the pitch have accounted largely for her career’s longevity.
“I would say football chose me but my parents did not want me to play football initially,” revealed Ebi who was audacious to pick herself and Argentine legend, LioneMessi as her favourite footballers.
“But I had to proof to my parents that I could combine playing football with my education by ensuring I had good grades in my studies; and they had no choice than to support me love for football.
“Of course, other things that have kept me going is that I try to eat healthy train well; stayed focus; mind my business and the most important thing is that I tried to get enough rest by ensuring that I sleep very well playing any match.”
Going forward, Ebi who made name with Omidiran Babes and Bayelsa Queens on the Nigerian domestic scene before travelling abroad in 2009 to join Pitea IF in Sweden’s Damallsvenskan, said Nigerian women’s football needed retooling for the country to maintain her prominence on the continent.
“I think the standard of women football in Nigeria is getting better,” she affirmed.
“But we can’t compare such standard with what we have outside the country; I’m looking forward to establishing a foundation to help younger ones to be exposed to better ways of playing the game.”
Fixtures
Third Round First Leg
Wednesday
- Lusaka – Zambia vs Botswana
Thursday
- Abidjan – Cote d’Ivoire vs Nigeria
- Yaounde – Cameroon vs DR Congo
Friday
- Accra – Ghana vs Kenya
Third Round Second Leg
Monday
- Lagos – Nigeria vs Cote d’Ivoire
Tuesday
- Kinshasa – DR Congo vs Cameroon
- Nairoboi – Kenya vs Ghana
- Francistown – Botswana vs Kenya
– CAF
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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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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