International Football
Desperate Liberia ring changes in squad, recall Spanish-born goalkeeper
With fate of topping the Group C of the African World Cup qualifiers dangling on a thread, Liberia Lone Star have recalled Spanish-born goalkeeper, Boison Wynney De Souza for the make or mar tie with Nigeria next week.
Liberia’s possible qualification is merely arithmetical, hoping to beat Nigeria and Central African Republic (CAR) and all the same expecting that neither Cape Verde nor CAR as well as Nigeria will win any of their remaining two matches.
That was the underlying reason their home match with Nigeria was further taken farther to North Africa hoping to diminish possible support for the Super Eagles.
They have also have to recall a goalkeeper that has been absent from the squad for nearly two years. According to Front Page Africa, it is a reward for the goalkeeper’s display with his new club FC Someșul Dej în România.
The shot stopper plays for FC Someșul Dej in Romania’s third tier will have to challenge Tommy Songo or Ashely Williams for the starting position in the Red White and Blue two reminding matches in the matches with Nigeria and CAR.
The news of the player being recalled was confirmed by his club on October 29, 2021 that they have received official communication for the keeper.
“We are happy to inform you that our team goalkeeper Boison Wynney De Sousa has been summoned to the Liberia national team, Good luck Boison” the club statement said.
Wynney who was given his Lone Star debut by James Debbeh in 2017 has been overlooked by the current coach and past coaches but he now has a chance to make things right.
The LIberi9an Far is yet to confirm the news of the return of the shortstopper to the national team but it is believed that their list of players for the two games will be released before November 3, 2021.
Liberia will face Nigeria on November 13 and take on Central African Republic on November 15.
He received his first call for the Liberia National Team on November 2, 2016.He made his international debut in the 0-3 away loss to Zimbabwe in the 2019 Africa cup of Nations qualifying rounds on june 11, 2021
Boison was born in Palma, Majorca to a Liberian father and a Brazilian mother. He was therefore eligible to represent Spain, Liberia or Brazil.
In another development young Liberian defender Daniel Paye has departed Liberian Club Bear Mountain for Danish second division club Jammerbugt.
The Liberian central defender has joined Danish first division club Jammerbugt Fodbold signed a three year deal with the club for an undisclosed fee.
The defender who spent the last three years playing in the Liberian league with Bea Mountain FC will now continue his football career in Europe.
Paye has been one of the outstanding defenders for Bea Mountain FC during his time at the club.
The player wrote on his official facebook page “After 3 fantastic years with Bea Mountain, I have now officially left the club to join Jammerbugt FC on a 3-year- deal.
I’ve loved every moment playing for Bea Mountain and leaving with memories that I will cherish forever.
I have always appreciated the love and support shown to me during my time at Bea Mountain and would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone connected to the club, with a special mention to the incredible fans who always supported me.
I would like to wish the club success. Thank you for everything. I’ll always have Gold in my heart
Paye made his debut for the Liberia national team in a 1-0 friendly loss to Mauritania on 11 June 2021.
Jammerbugt Fodbold Club is a Danish association football club currently playing in the Danish 2nd Division. They play at Jetsmark Stadion in Pandrup, North Jutland, which has a capacity of 6,000. The club was formerly known as Jetsmark IF, which still is the name of the amateur department, and has also been known as Blokhus FC between 2008 and 2013.
Representatives from four national players’ unions on Thursday launched a new global organisation in Madrid, which they say will strengthen footballers’ rights and improve dialogue with governing bodies.
Opening a new front in the battle over who speaks for players, the International Footballers’ Association (AIF) was unveiled, with David Aganzo, president of Spain’s Association of Footballers (AFE) and a former head of the global union FIFPRO, appointed to lead the organisation.
Players’ unions from Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland were also represented.
The initiative drew a swift rebuke from FIFPRO, which said in a statement that Aganzo was acting out of self-interest and aligning himself with organisations linked to football governing bodies, as well as groups expelled from FIFPRO over alleged mismanagement.
Aganzo rejected the criticism, saying he “will not seek confrontation with FIFPRO”.
The launch comes amid strained relations between players’ unions and football authorities, particularly over the expanding international match calendar.
Relations between FIFA and FIFPRO deteriorated in 2024 after the union lodged a complaint with the European Commission, arguing that the global governing body was abusing its dominant position by adding competitions without sufficient consultation.
Aganzo denied suggestions that the new initiative was backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but said “direct dialogue with FIFA” was essential.
AFE’s Extraordinary General Assembly approved the initiative in February with 99.8% of votes cast in favour of spearheading the creation of the AIF.
The same assembly also backed AFE’s withdrawal from FIFPRO, citing what it described as a “complete lack of transparency, as well as its total lack of dialogue with international bodies.”
“We represent over 30,000 footballers, and we come here with a new model aimed at safeguarding players’ rights and facilitating direct communication with all international bodies,” Aganzo told reporters.
“We are in contact with 15 to 20 unions already who were very aware of this moment and waiting for this announcement to make their move and join our initiative.”
He declined to identify any unions beyond those present.
Asked about a report that a senior envoy to U.S. President Donald Trump had urged FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the upcoming World Cup, Aganzo urged caution.
“These are more political issues; on April 30th, I’ll be speaking to Gianni (Infantino) at the FIFA Congress, and we will discuss those things,” Aganzo said.
“People who want to go to the World Cup have to earn their place on sporting merit.”
-Reuters
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A new trial over the death of Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona will begin on Tuesday, with seven members of his medical team charged with negligent homicide nearly a year after a previous case collapsed in a mistrial.
An enduring presence in Argentina – from towering murals to tattoos, opens new tab – Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at 60, after a heart attack while he was recuperating from brain surgery to remove a blood clot.
A court in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, will hear testimony from just under 100 witnesses as it tries Maradona’s medical team over alleged negligence in the death of the 1986 World Cup champion.
His medical team has denied wrongdoing. The defendants are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Angel Diaz, physician Nancy Edith Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almiron, head nurse Mariano Ariel Perroni, and physician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna. An eighth defendant, nurse Dahiana Madrid, will be tried in a separate jury trial, with no date yet set.
Two months into the first trial, which started last March, a mistrial was declared when one of three judges, Julieta Makintach, resigned after video surfaced showing her being interviewed by a camera crew in the corridors of the courthouse and in her office as part of a documentary, in breach of judicial rules.
The retrial will require both prosecutors and defense lawyers to reassess their strategies after the first trial aired photographs, videos, audio recordings and forensic evidence. Many witnesses, including Maradona’s children and his former wife, Claudia Villafane, have already testified.
Prosecutors argued in the initial trial that medical professionals broke treatment protocols and that the home where Maradona was recovering from surgery amounted to a “theatre of horror,” where necessary care was not provided.
The defense countered that his death was inevitable given his longstanding health problems. Maradona struggled for decades with cocaine and alcohol addiction.
The negligence charges emerged in 2021 after prosecutors appointed a medical board to investigate Maradona’s death. The panel concluded his medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless” manner.
-Reuters
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Aliou Cisse has been named coach of the Angola national team, the country’s football federation (FAF) announced on Thursday, 24 hours after the Senegalese left his post in Libya.
The 50-year-old coach, who led Senegal to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022, ended his short stint with the Libyan national team on Wednesday, after taking charge in March 2025.
“Welcome, Aliou Cisse, head coach of the Angola national team,” the FAF said on Facebook. Angola, which failed to reach this year’s World Cup, will start their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign in September.
-Reuters
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