Sports
Squad Sizes May Increase For Euro 2024
European Football Federation (UEFA) is considering increasing squad sizes for this summer’s European Championship in Germany to 26 players following talks with coaches.
Discussions with international bosses whose teams had qualified for Euro 2024 were held in Dusseldorf on Monday.
“UEFA has taken note of the various opinions and points of view shared,” said a statement from European football’s governing body.
“A final decision will be made in the coming weeks.”
The subject was discussed as part of a wider two-day workshop for finalists, and now goes to UEFA’s national team competitions committee then its executive committee.
Squads are currently limited to 23 players, a return to the regulations used prior to Euro 2020. For that tournament, three further players were allowed to mitigate against the impact of potential Covid outbreaks in the squad.
UEFA’s statement added: “The positive discussions highlighted different points of view among coaches, with some expressing a desire to increase the squad size.
“Others stated their preference to cap the squad size at 23, pointing out the difficulty in training with additional players, group management and the increased financial burdens placed upon national associations.”
England boss Gareth Southgate was previously in favour of 23-man squads but recently spoke of a preference for three extra players to cope with a demanding end to a domestic season “complicated” by personnel returning from long-term injuries.
England and Scotland have two friendlies at the start of June before the deadline to submit their final Euros squads to UEFA on June 7.
Euro 2024 begins on 14 June with Scotland taking on hosts Germany in the opening game in Munich, while England get under way against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen on 16 June.
England captain Harry Kane netted a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to an impressive victory against Stuttgart.
Kane’s goals, plus one from Kingsley Coman, helped Bayern end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
They faced a tough task against a Stuttgart side who sat back and limited their chances, leading Vincent Kompany’s side to enter the break frustrated and with the deadlock unbroken.
Bayern eventually found a way past Stuttgart’s steely defence when Kane drilled a low effort into the bottom corner from around 30 yards out after Joshua Kimmich overturned possession.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor