Sports
Govt Should Encourage Grassroots Football – Coach
The Director of Rivers Blue FC of Port Harcourt, Reward Amadi, has appealed to the Rivers State Government to encourage and show more support to grassroots football for the development youths in the game.
He said that it is very discouraging when youths are not given enough encouragement in the round leather game, adding that if given adequate encouragement, youths would be pulled off the streets.
Amadi, who is also the Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of the club, made the appeal in a telephone interview with Tidesports on Monday when asked why his team failed to honour the playoffs of the Nationwide League 2 match in Yenagoa zone.
He explained that they failed to attend the playoffs in Yenagoa due to lack of sponsorship, adding that it was quite unfortunate that the Champions of this year’s Rivers State Super League could not attend the playoffs in their backyard.
The Director of Rivers Blue FC said he was told by the Rivers State Football Association (RSFA) that winning the Super League will automatically qualify for the playoffs of the NWL adding that he was surprised that after winning the tournament, even a sachet of pure water was not given to them for winning competition.
“ It is quite unfortunate that we failed to attend because of lack of sponsorships.
“ I was surprised that after winning the Super League, nothing came out in form of encouragement from the State Football Association.
“ We approached the State FA for help but they said they were running the State Football Association from their pockets.
“ We are just a new team, we do not have a sponsor.
“ The team is being run by one man who is willing to encourage the youth, steer them away from the streets and get them involved in the round leather game.
“ I am begging the Rivers State Government and the Football Association to encourage grassroots football teams in the state because what happened to us was very discouraging,” Amadi said.
He revealed that failure to attend the playoff will not stop his team from playing the game, explaining that maybe next time by the grace of God they will attend if they have the opportunity.
It is worthy to note that teams from Enugu, Cross River, Abia and Edo also failed to honour the playoffs, leaving the slot for Benel Insurance FC Feeders, who were the only team available for the playoff matches.
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.