Sports
Africa Beach Soccer Union Unveils Headquarters In Abuja
The headquarters of the Africa Beach Soccer Union, ABSU, has been officially commissioned in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja ,Nigeria.
Tidesports source reports that the NFF President and member of the FIFA Council, Mr Amaju Pinnick, who was represented by the General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, was impressed, having donated the offices earlier in 2020, pledging more support for the young continental body.
An elated Dr Sanusi, commended the ABSU President, Mahmud Hadejia, and his team for the giant strides in promoting beach soccer in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
“I remember receiving members of the body some time ago at our secretariat and they shared their vision with us, which made us support them with these office spaces. I’m glad today we are here to commission the offices. It shows how dedicated and focused they are,” Sanusi stated.
Dr Sanusi also used the occasion to applaud the Nigeria Beach Soccer Association for seeing through its first league season successfully, which was wrapped up in July earlier in the year, maintaining that with the commencement of a privately driven Nigeria Beach Soccer League (NBSL), there is hope on the horizon for the return of the Nigeria Beach Soccer National team at the international scene.
“You will recall Nigeria was doing very well in beach soccer, but all of a sudden we started dwindling and the problem was traced to lack of a functional league. That was why we put a hold on our participation in international events and said we must start our local league. With a functional local league, now I can assure you that we will go and sit down at our level (NFF) to review our stand (on Super Sand Eagles) so that we can resume participation in international beach soccer again,” he said.
Sanusi pledged to work more closely with the association and ABSU to promote the game in Nigeria and Africa.
Earlier, ABSU President Mahmud Hadejia, said the aim of the continental body was to promote and develop a strong beach soccer culture and league across Africa.
He said the commissioning of the headquarters in Abuja will go a long way in fast-tracking the development of the game.
“Today is historic for stakeholders of beach soccer across Africa, because we have been pushing for a functional headquarters for a long time as this will help facilitate the needed growth of the game in Africa,” Hadejia said.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Nigeria Beach Soccer Association, Suleiman Yahaya-Kwande, in his remarks, said the association will continue to work round the clock to improve the beach soccer league in Nigeria.
Recall the Africa Beach Soccer Union was formed in 2020, with its members across the continent, who are key players in their respective national federations.
While the event was streamelined for members across Africa, who joined the historic event, present at the commissioning alongside Dr Sanusi were NFF executive committee member and Chairman of the Nigeria Beach Soccer Association and Hon. Suleiman Yahaya Kwande; the President of the Nigeria Volleyball Federation/Chairman Kaduna Beach Soccer Association, Engineer Musa Nimrod; representative of Chairman Wacot Rice Ltd a subsidiary of Tropical General Investments Group.
Sports
Kenya Keeper Under Investigation For Match-Fixing
The Kenya Football Federation (FKF) has launched an investigation into allegations that goalkeeper Patrick Matasi has been involved in match manipulation.
The 37-year-old, who plays for Kenyan Premier League club Kakamega Homeboyz, has won over 30 international caps.
His most recent appearance for the Harambee Stars came in October last year, in a qualifier for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
An undated video posted online appears to show Matasi agreeing a deal to influence the outcome of a league game.
“I have spoken to him. He was also shocked at what he was seeing in the video and he told me he doesn’t know about match-fixing,” Homeboyz owner Cleophas Shimanyula told Tidesports source .
The FKF said it would work with world governing body Fifa, the Confederation of African Football and other “relevant authorities” during its investigation.
“We reaffirm our zero-tolerance policy on match manipulation and are committed to safeguarding the credibility of our competitions,” a statement added.
“This investigation will adhere to FKF’s anti-match manipulation regulations and Fifa guidelines, ensuring a fair, transparent, and thorough process.
“The rights of the player and his club will be respected, and appropriate action will be taken based on the findings.”
Shimanyula backed Matasi, pointing to the fact the veteran has kept three clean sheets in as many games since joining the club a month ago.
“When we watched this video, we found that Matasi has not wronged the club,” he said.
“In a video there can misinterpretations and false narratives and we cannot trust everything.
“He will keep playing for us because there’s no wrongdoing on his part as far as we are concerned – unless there’s evidence or the FKF writes to us to say they are suspecting the player of some wrongdoing.
“He is innocent until proven guilty and then we will act.”
The FKF has called on anyone with credible information to assist its investigation, with any reports to be handled with strict confidentiality.
Shimanyula also challenged the Kenyan footballing community to provide evidence against Matasi.
“Kakamega Homeboyz is against any form of match manipulation,” he said.
Sports
UEFA Probes Real Players Over Indecent Conduct
Uefa has opened an investigation into allegations of indecent conduct by four Real Madrid players during their Champions League last-16 win against Atletico Madrid.
Antonio Rudiger, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Dani Ceballos allegedly made gestures towards the home fans after Real Madrid beat their city rivals on penalties to book their place in the quarter-finals.
TV pictures showed German defender Rudiger appearing to make a throat-slitting motion, apparently towards the crowd after the shootout victory, while Mbappe was shown seemingly making a crotch-grabbing gesture.
Spanish media said Atletico reported the actions to Uefa last week.
The players could be at risk of suspension but there is no guarantee the case will be heard before their quarter-final with Arsenal. The first leg for that tie is at Emirates Stadium on 8 April and the return leg a week later.
In a statement, Uefa said: “[An] ethics and disciplinary inspector has been appointed to investigate allegations of indecent conduct” made by the four Real Madrid players.
“Further information regarding this matter will be made available in due course.”
Sports
EPL To Have Two Transfer Windows
The Premier League has announced it will have two transfer windows this summer to allow Manchester City and Chelsea to sign players before the Club World Cup.
The window will open between Sunday, 1 June and Tuesday, 10 June, then close for five days before running again from Monday, 16 June until Monday, 1 September.
This summer features the first expanded Fifa Club World Cup, which involves 32 teams and adopts the format of the regular World Cup of the past few years.
Chelsea and Manchester City are the Premier League teams in the tournament which takes place in the United States from Sunday, 15 June.
But the Premier League can only have 12 weeks of a summer window – hence the five-day break in order to run it until 1 September.
Fifa has allowed new players to be registered for the Club World Cup from 1-10 June, and again from 27 June-3 July for the knockout stage.
This is happening firstly, to bring order to the global registration system, world governing body Fifa only permits the transfer window in any individual country to be open for 16 weeks in any calendar year.
In Europe, precedent dictates four of those weeks are for the winter window, leaving 12 in the summer. In 2024, the Premier League transfer window opened on 14 June and closed on 30 August.
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