International Football
England takes solidarity protest to World Cup
In today’s opening match with Iran, England players will take the knee and captain Harry Kane will wear the One Love armband.
On Sunday, Coach Gareth Southgate confirmed that the team will bow on their knees while the skipper will have message inscribed on his armband.
England have knelt before games since 2020, initially in solidarity with protests over America’s George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer and then in support of equality.
The gesture is no longer a feature before kickoffs in the Premier League, where it is selectively used, but Southgate believes it is important his team continue it at the World Cup.
“It’s what we stand for as a team and have done for a long period of time,” he told reporters on Sunday.
“We feel this is the biggest (stage) and we think it’s a strong statement that will go around the world for young people, in particular, to see that inclusivity is very important.”
Kane, along with the captains of the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales, will wear the One Love armband on Monday.
The armband represents support for equality and while it is not solely aimed at the rights of the LGBTQ community it is significant in Qatar where homosexuality is illegal.
World soccer’s governing body FIFA takes a dim view of political statements and according to reports could punish those wearing the One Love armband with fines or disciplinary action.
Kane, however, said he would wear one.
“We’ve made it clear as a team, the staff and an organisation that we want to wear the armband,” Kane said. “The FA are talking to FIFA at the moment and I’m sure by game time tomorrow we would have had their decision.”
Southgate has become used to dealing with social issues in his time as England manager and Sunday’s media conference again went beyond the field of play.
The former defender was asked, in a question from an Iranian reporter lasting several minutes, whether he supported those protesting against the Iranian regime, a cause supported by some of Iran’s players.
“I don’t feel informed enough to comment on what’s going on in Iran, and I don’t think it’s really my place to comment on it either,” Southgate said.
“I think the Iranian players and manager (Carlos Queiroz), I understand them, they are in a difficult position but I think they’re better informed to speak about those things.
“If we were asked by their team to support them in some way, we would obviously have to listen to that and consider that but at the moment that hasn’t happened.”
Southgate said his main priority was that his team spread a little joy back home where political upheaval and a cost-of-living crisis make a gloomy backdrop to the World Cup.
“We’re all hoping to focus on football now,” he said. “Our country is also going through a difficult spell, not the same as some of the other countries, but we’re in an economic recession and life has been difficult for a lot of our people.
“So we want them to enjoy their football, have a journey with the team and bring them some happiness.”
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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Chelle Names Blend of Stars, New Faces For Unity Cup, European Friendlies
Group I: Algeria Face Tough Challenge from Zambia in AFCON 2027 Qualifiers
Group J: Senegal Begin AFCON 2027 Campaign Against Mozambique
Breaking! Uzoho suspended from Super Eagles’ next match with Sierra Leone
No longer Super League as CAF changes name of its new clubs competition
NIGERIAN FOOTBALL CHIEF EXECUTIVE, SANUSI CHARGES NIGERIAN COACHES TO BE UPRIGHT, DILIGENT
- World Cup1 week ago
US drops bond requirement for World Cup ticket holders
- Nigerian Football1 week ago
NPFL at 36: From Long Debate to Nigeria’s Football Showpiece
- Nigerian Football1 week ago
NPFL at 36: Why Nigeria’s League Top Scorers Rarely Become Super Eagles Legends
- World Cup1 week ago
Magic Johnson Leads Campaign to Showcase Los Angeles Ahead of World Cup
- World Cup1 week ago
White House: No visa issues for Iraq’s World Cup team
- Governing Bodies1 week ago
Nigeria To Host CAF General Assembly For Third Time, CAF Awards For Seventh
- Premier League1 week ago
Arsenal survive huge scare to edge towards title
- World Cup1 week ago
Mexican goalkeeper joins camp for 6th World Cup appearance