International Football
My encounter with Grandmaster, Fabio Lanipekun
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Within a space of eight days, I lost my two mentors in sports journalism. First it was Sunny Ojeagbase who died penultimate Saturday in the US. Then this last Sunday, Fabio Lanipekun took his last breath.
Both were the two parishioners who shaped me in thought and in practice.
At first, it was like re-enacting the popular photo magazine – Sadness and Joy – of my youthful days. Last Monday I got the sad news of the death of Ojeagbase but two days later, it was the joy that my other iconic mentor, Fabio Lanipekun was going to clock the milestone of 80.
Now, both are gone. I had followed Fabio for years even before I had personal contact with him. He was then a sports presenter at the WNTV in Ibadan.
At the time, he was presenting Star Soccer, a package of English football, Sports Round up and Sports Galore on Saturday.
With his afro hairstyle and smiles on his face, he would always sign off the programme with the phrase: “Am backing sports all the way, what about you?” That was in the early 1970s. I developed a magnetic interest in him as I watched his presentations.
I did not get to meet him in person until the summer of 1986 when we met in St. Johns, New Found land in Canada when we both covered the second edition of the FIFA under 16 Tournament.
He was there with Charles Ojugbana, while I represented the African Concord magazine. I had a first hand knowledge of my childhood hero.
He was humane and hardworking. He had the nose for details. He thought me not to always adapt the often bias of the western press in sports coverage. It was like going back to the classroom.
We were again together at the Italia ‘90 World Cup, the first of the now eight coverage of the most coveted football trophy on Planet Earth. Of course, I drank satisfactorily from his well of wisdom.
Almost like a guarding angel, he was with me at the Barcelona ‘92 Olympics, my first coverage of what is popularly believed to be the ‘Greatest Show on Earth.’
Even though I never worked under him, I am qualified to be called a student of Fabio Lanipekun. It was not therefore a surprise that when I became the Group Sports Editor of Concord Press of Nigeria in August 1989, he would always admonish me when he spotted errors in my pages.
Of course, I got accolades too, when he felt impressed of any write-up especially if it was a product of either historical recall or research.
It was in the course of such research that I once asked him how he came about the name Fabio, which I knew was Italian and that Nigeria had no link with Italy to make us adopt their names.
He told me that the name was actually a nickname that stuck. His real name was Adesola Lanipekun.
According to him, while at Methodist Boys High School in Lagos, he read an 1886 romance book titled “Vendetta”. It was a story of a forgotten fellow, Fabio Romani, an Italian count who was thought to be dead. The novel was written by Mary Corelli.
Lanipekun said he was fascinated by the central figure of the novel, Fabio Romani. “I enjoyed the book that I started calling myself ‘Fabio”.
That was the origin of the nickname that has over seven decades become his name. He remarked that his parents initially objected to it each time school friends came to ask after ‘Fabio’. But somehow, it has stuck.
He began his journalism career in 1962 at the now defunct Daily Express in Lagos before travelling abroad in 1964 to study Sports Journalism at the Regent Street Polytechnic in London.
He is one of the earliest Nigerian media practitioners to train specifically in sports journalism. He joined the Western Nigeria Television (WNTV) on February 17, 1969. On May 18, 1969 he had his first coverage of a football match for the WNTV when he ran commentaries of the Ghana versus Nigeria World Cup qualifying match in Accra.
According to him, sports were placed under the programmes department at the WNTV which is today’s NTA Ibadan.
The department was geared towards entertainment and featured sports at irregular intervals and mostly on weekly basis.
Among the three sports programmes was “Star Soccer”. The two others were “Wrestling from Britain” and “Sports Review”.
But a survey conducted among viewers in Lagos and the then Western State (now Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Ekiti states) places sports as fourth among the 20 programmes analysed.
According to Lanipekun, that enabled the creation of another slot to sports which increased his contributions to the station.
He rose to the position of Manager, Sports at the NTA before retiring in 1994. May his soul rest in peace.
The ‘Finalissima’ match between Spain and Argentina that was scheduled to be held in Qatar has been cancelled due to the conflict in the Middle East, while the South American side rejected multiple alternatives, UEFA said on Sunday.
The U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran have affected countries throughout the Gulf, disrupting travel in some of the world’s busiest transit hubs and forcing several sporting events to be cancelled due to safety concerns.
The contest between European champions Spain and Copa America winners Argentina was scheduled for March 27 at Doha’s Lusail Stadium, where fans would have had the opportunity to watch Lionel Messi go head-to-head with Lamine Yamal.
UEFA said they held discussions with the organising authorities in Qatar and concluded that the match could not take place due to the “current political situation” in the region.
“It is a source of great disappointment to UEFA and the organisers that circumstances and timing have denied the teams of the chance to compete for this prestigious prize in Qatar,” UEFA said in a statement.
Qatar’s Local Organising Committee said airspace disruption and travel restrictions led to the cancellation of its Qatar Football Festival, where the host country, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Serbia were also set to play friendly games this month.
The Football Association of Serbia later announced they would play away in Spain on March 27 and host Saudi Arabia four days later.
OTHER ALTERNATIVES REJECTED BY ARGENTINA
The Finalissima’s cancellation was not just about Qatar’s security concerns, however, with UEFA saying they explored other feasible alternatives, but they proved to be ‘unacceptable’ to the Argentinian Football Association (AFA).
UEFA first offered to stage the match at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid with a 50:50 split of supporters in the stadium.
A second option was to stage the Finalissima over two legs — at the Bernabeu on March 27 and the second leg in Buenos Aires during an international window before the next Euros and Copa America in 2028.
However, the AFA rejected both options. UEFA said Argentina made a counter offer to play the game after the World Cup but Spain had no available dates.
“Ultimately, UEFA sought a commitment from Argentina that, if a neutral venue in Europe could be found, the game could go ahead on 27 March… or on the alternative date of 30 March. This proposal was also rejected,” UEFA added.
SPAIN WERE READY TO PLAY
The Spanish football federation (RFEF) said they had offered Argentina “all possible options” in collaboration with UEFA to ensure the match went ahead, adding that they had the organisational capacity to stage the clash on short notice.
“From the very outset, the Federation has expressed its absolute commitment to ensuring this match goes ahead, as it believes it brings prestige and international reputation at a crucial time in a World Cup year,” the RFEF said.
“Furthermore, it has worked tirelessly to achieve this. Spain was prepared to play, as has always been stated.”
The 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada kicks off on June 11.
The 2022 edition of the Finalissima was held at Wembley Stadium in London where Argentina beat Italy 3-0.
-Reuters
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Soccer chiefs from Europe and South America will hold a final meeting before a Thursday deadline to decide whether and where this month’s “Finalissima” between Spain and Argentina will be played, with London emerging as the leading candidate after doubts over Doha, multiple sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
The match between European champions Spain and Copa America holders Argentina had been scheduled for March 27 at Lusail Stadium in Doha.
However, it has become increasingly unlikely that Qatar will host the fixture after the Qatar Football Association suspended soccer tournaments indefinitely following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory missiles fired at the Arabian Peninsula.
The Spanish FA (RFEF) has been pushing for a swift resolution, mindful that the March international break is viewed as vital preparation ahead of the June-July World Cup in North America.
“I know that negotiations are underway,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente told Spanish Public Radio (RNE) on Monday. “The first thing, as a society, is to stop the conflict, but once you are immersed in it and you don’t know how long it will last, the solution would be, as long as you can’t play there, to find another venue as soon as possible.
Wembley Stadium staged the previous edition in 2022, when Argentina beat Italy, but it is set to host England v Uruguay on March 27. London, however, has other stadiums capable of staging the showpiece, leaving the English capital as the most likely alternative should Doha be ruled out, sources confirmed.
ALTERNATIVE OPPONENTS CONSIDERED
While keen to face Argentina and high-profile players such as Lionel Messi, sources told Reuters that Spain had made clear their priority was not to waste the last window of international fixtures before the World Cup and they were already contemplating alternative opponents.
With Spain also due to face Egypt three days later, any change would require agreement between the RFEF and European soccer body UEFA, South American confederation CONMEBOL, global governing body FIFA and the Argentine FA (AFA).
The RFEF, AFA and UEFA did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
A spokesperson for South American confederation CONMEBOL told Reuters that several meetings between the parties had taken place in recent days but did not confirm Thursday’s deadline or London as the preferred venue.
Madrid was initially proposed by the RFEF but rejected by the AFA, who preferred a neutral venue rather than giving Spain home advantage.
Morocco offered to stage the game, but the RFEF was unwilling to back their Mediterranean neighbours amid tensions behind the scenes over the 2030 World Cup, which Spain, Morocco and Portugal will co-host. Both Spain and Morocco are campaigning to stage the final.
Miami was also considered, with Messi based there at Inter Miami, but Hard Rock Stadium is hosting the Miami Open tennis tournament at the same time.
-Reuters
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International Football
Spain-Argentina ‘Finalissima’ in Qatar at risk amid US, Israel attacks on Iran
The match between Spain and Argentina, tagged “Finalissima” in Doha, is in doubt after the Qatar Football Association suspended soccer tournaments indefinitely following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory missiles fired at the Arabian Peninsula.
The contest between European Championship winners Spain and Copa America champions Argentina was scheduled for March 27 at Doha’s Lusail Stadium, with potential big-name draws including Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi.
“Qatar Football Association announces the postponement of all tournaments, competitions and matches, effective from today and until further notice,” the association said in a statement on Sunday.
“The new dates for the resumption of competitions will be announced in due course through the Association’s official channels.”
The final call on whether to postpone the game rests with event organisers UEFA and CONMEBOL.
The Bahrain Football Association postponed all its matches until further notice, while the Asian Football Confederation on Sunday announced it was delaying Champions League Elite fixtures in the region.
The Asian Champions League Two, currently at the quarter-final stage, has also been impacted, along with games in the Challenge League.
Countries across the Middle East have been on high alert since Saturday, when the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes against Iran, aimed at diminishing Iran’s military capability.
Iran retaliated by attacking U.S. targets around the region, including in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
On Sunday, Qatar’s interior ministry reported a fire in an industrial zone after debris fell from an intercepted missile.
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