Sports
Could LA Move Help Troost-Ekong Lead Super Eagles into Successful New Era?
Plenty has been written about Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, and many heads are still being scratched as to what exactly went wrong during qualifying.
Some of those questions have been answered with the sacking of Augustine Eguavoen and his coaching staff, and so the Nigerian Football Federation will now need to oversee a rebuilding operation that gets the right head coach in.
Of course, the players have to take some responsibility for the failure to qualify for Qatar too, and nobody has shouldered that burden more than the captain, William Troost-Ekong, who has apologised for the Super Eagles’ dismal efforts.
The 28-year-old’s own future in club football has come under scrutiny after it was reported that Los Angeles Galaxy was interested in signing the defender from his current employer, the English Premier League side Watford.
Would that be a wise career choice for him? There are critics of Major League Soccer (MLS), who claim it is of low quality or sees it as a footballing retirement home for faded stars. But in LA, Troost-Ekong could join the likes of Mexico international Javier Hernandez and former Bayern Munich and Juventus attacker Douglas Costa, to name just a few.
And so it would be wrong to suggest that his game would suffer, especially as so many of the successful United States and Canada national teams – both of whom have qualified for the World Cup – play their club football in the MLS. The leading betting sites, such as bet365, give the US odds of 100/1 to win in Qatar, which is roughly the same as the likes of Switzerland, Senegal, and Serbia. But these bookmakers also offer prices on each team to qualify from their group, and they believe that the United States is an even-money shot to make it out of Group B.
Once the Premier League season is over, Troost-Ekong will have to decide on what his future holds – will he stay at Watford, who are likely to be relegated from the Premier League, or pack his bags and try his luck in America?
If he opts for the latter, don’t write the Super Eagles captain off – the standard of play in the MLS is improving with every passing year.
Out of the Hornets Nest?
Troost-Ekong is just one of three Nigerians to ply their trade at Watford, with Peter Etebo and Emmanuel Dennis also flying the Super Eagles flag with the Hornets.
Like their international captain, both will have big decisions to make if/when Watford are relegated to the Championship, and in Dennis’ case in particular you suspect there will be no shortage of interest in his signature.
The 24-year-old has contributed ten goals and five assists in 30 Premier League outings so far this season, and that is a tremendous effort given just how badly the Hornets have struggled.
What’s more, he has achieved those attacking feats despite featuring in the starting eleven of two defence-minded coaches – first Claudio Ranieri, and then Roy Hodgson when the former was sacked back in January.
Eagle ???pic.twitter.com/5qD0cQJYk2
— DENNIS BLESSED (@dennisblessed42) March 28, 2022
Dennis, who was born in Yola and played his junior football at the Kwara Football Academy in Kwara State, would be one of the most saleable assets at Watford should they decide to balance the books following relegation – it has been reported that the club could be as much as £139 millionin debt, a situation exacerbated by being demoted to the second tier.
The striker only cost the Hornets an estimated £3.5 million when he joined Club Bruges in the summer of 2021. Dennis had already scored goals in the Champions League against Real Madrid, so he clearly has the ability to play in football’s top tier.
But current club Watford is unlikely to be able to offer him that chance in the 2022/23 season, so is a move away now a formality?
A transfer to a higher quality team could not only improve the 24-year-old’s game but also help Nigeria in the future, and as the Super Eagles look to begin their rebuild it is Dennis who they could and perhaps should use as the lynchpin for the next generation.
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.
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.”
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.