International Football
Remo Stars’ loss to Enugu Rangers headlines CAF’s African Club Round-up
In this Monday’s review of the domestic leagues in African countries, CAF’s website focused on the duel between Enugu Rangers and Remo Stars as the major event in the continent. Remo Stars’ unbeaten streak was suddenly terminated as the team had hoped to strengthen their hold on the top position in the Nigeria Premier Football League.
Remo Stars had gone on a 77-day winning streak and inflicted home and away defeats on some of Nigeria’s legacy clubs.
Their Sunday encounter with Enugu Rangers ended in a 2-1 loss. CAF website captured it thus:
African football is alive every weekend with exciting league action around the continent and our weekly round-up of league action highlights a selection of the most important results.
NIGERIA
Remo Stars lost to Enugu Rangers in the Professional Football League on Sunday but still have a comfortable eight-point lead at the top of the table.
Rangers beat them 2-1 in Enugu on Sunday allowing them to move into third spot and to within two points of second-placed Shooting Stars, who lost 2-1 to Heartland in Owerri on Sunday.
Remo Stars had been unbeaten in their last eight league games but were undone through goals in the first 50 minutes from Isaac Saviour and Kingsley Maduforo, before a late consolation from Hadi Haruna set up a nervy conclusion to the contest.
Two of the three goals in Shooting Stars’ loss at Heartland came from the penalty spot after Chukwuma Agor had the hosts ahead with a deflected effort.
Stars equalised from the spot through Mustapha Adams, who had been fouled and got up off the grass to convert.
Four minutes later, the home side was awarded a penalty and although Stars goalkeeper Mustapha Lawal saved John Bassey’s kick, the referee ordered a retake with Bassey making no mistake the second time around.
Rivers United slipped to fourth after a 1-0 loss to Enyimba in Aba where Imo Odot scored the game’s only goal.
ALGERIA
A five-goal thriller saw Mouloudia Alger edge JS Kabylie 3-2 in Algiers on Thursday and restore a two-point advantage at the top of the standings as Ligue 1 returned to regular action after a six-week break.
The club competing in the CAF club competition have played catch-up games throughout January and MCA were, therefore, a touch sharper than their visitors in the ‘classico’ with Tayeb Meziani’s 78th minute goal proving decisive.
MCA were 2-0 up after 65 minutes through Akram Bouras’ deflected effort and Zakaria Naidji’s tuck away.
New Russian signing Ivan Ignatjev came off the bench to score JSK’s first with a headed goal in the 72nd minute and a late consolation came from Redouane Berkane.
Chabab Belouizdad had gone top the previous evening with their 3-0 home win over Khenchela in Algiers in a dream start for new coach Sead Ramovic, who joined from Tanzania’s Young Africans. MC Alger sit on 31 points from 16 games and Belouizdad on 29.
In third place are USM Alger on 26, having dropped points in a goalless draw at bottom of the log US Biskra on Friday.
More key games are ahead in midweek with MC Alger at Paradou and Belouizdad away against Entente Setif on Thursday.
ZAMBIA
The top five teams in the Super League all won at the weekend, but defending champions Red Arrows were the big losers as they fell seven points behind after losing 1-0 to leaders ZESCO United as Pasco Phiri scored the only goal of the game in Ndola on Saturday.
ZESCO have 46 points from 24 games, two more than Kabwe Warriors in second place, and a further two ahead of third-placed Power Dynamos. Nkana and Nkwazi both have 40 points.
Warriors were 1-0 winners in Kabwe on Saturday as they edged Zanaco thanks to a strike seven minutes from full-time by Simon Tonga.
Power Dynamos claimed a 2-0 victory at Atletico Lusaka on Saturday to keep their title chances alive as Fredrick Mulambia and a penalty from Brian Masanyinga gave them the points while Nkana defeated 10-man Green Eagles 1-0 as Clement Mwape’s goal on the stroke of halftime in Kitwe on Sunday proved the difference.
UGANDA
Vipers extended their lead in the Premier League after two successive wins after the campaign’s restart last week.
They beat Marrons 1-0 in Kitende last Monday and followed that up with a 2-0 away triumph over Kampala Capital City Authority on Sunday.
It was a fifth successive league win for Vipers, who are now three clear of National Enterprise Corporation, who dropped points in a 1-1 away draw against Police in Wakiso on Sunday.
The two have a major points advantage over the rest of the pack with Vipers 10 points ahead of third-placed Uganda Revenue Authority.
MADAGASCAR
AS Fanalamanga, with seven points, lead after three rounds of the national championship despite being held at home in Ambatondrazaka by Elgeco Plus on Saturday.
The 0-0 draw moved Elgeco to five points. Fosa Juniors are third with four points but were held 0-0 by Disciples on Sunday in Mahajanga.
Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
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
Free Soccer-Themed Condoms to Welcome World Cup Fans
Magic Johnson Leads Campaign to Showcase Los Angeles Ahead of World Cup
Fallen Giants: Club Enyimba Beat for Historic CAF Title Suffers Relegation in Egypt
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 Cup5 days ago
FIFA Plans Three Opening Ceremonies in All Host Nations for 2026 World Cup
- World Cup4 days ago
United States Unveils Hollywood-Style FIFA World Cup 2026 Opening Ceremony
- World Cup4 days ago
Mexico president wavers on plan to cut school year by 40 days for the World Cup
- World Cup5 days ago
Burna Boy Joins Shakira for Official 2026 World Cup Song ‘Dai Dai’
- World Cup1 week ago
Despite 2026 Absence, Nigeria Still Leads Africa’s World Cup Winners’ Chart
- Premier League5 days ago
Man United’s Fernandes and City’s Shaw win FWA Footballer of the Year awards
- Nigerian Football5 days ago
Sporting Lagos Crowned 2026 NNL Champions After Dramatic Super Four Finale
- Premier League2 days ago
Arsenal survive huge scare to edge towards title