Author: The Nation

FIFA will pay clubs $355million [£290m] for releasing players for the 2026 World Cup – an enormous 75 per cent increase from Qatar last year.

Under the Club Benefits Programme, introduced at the 2010 South Africa World Cup, FIFA compensates clubs around the world for each day their players are away at the tournament.

Manchester City profited most of any club from the 2022 World Cup, receiving £4.5m of the £169m [$209m] pot FIFA distributed.

But those sums are set to skyrocket after FIFA and the European Club Association [ECA] renewed their Memorandum of Understanding until December 31, 2030 at a summit in Budapest.

With the World Cup set to expand from 32 to 48 nations – and from 64 to 104 matches – from the 2026 tournament jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, the compensation pot has risen accordingly.

The £290m Club Benefits pot will also apply to the 2030 World Cup.

A FIFA statement released yesterday read: “The Club Benefits Programme, which compensates all clubs who release players for the men’s World Cup, will now increase from $209 million for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup to $355 million for the 2026 and 2030 tournaments.”

On the new agreement with the ECA, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: “This is a significant day for the future of football and its long-term stability. We are very happy to renew and strengthen our cooperation agreement with ECA, an important stakeholder representing clubs from all over Europe.”

It came as the ECA confirmed their backing for FIFA’s expanded 32-team, quadrennial Club World Cup which is due to launch in 2025.

Antonio Conte’s departure from Tottenham was the 11^th in the Premier League this term, a record for in-season managerial changes.

The Italian’s exit by mutual consent was announced by the club on Sunday evening, with his assistant Cristian Stellini placed in charge until the summer.

Eleven in-season departures breaks the record of 10, set on three previous occasions in the Premier League era.

The 2013-14 campaign was the first to hit double figures, with Fulham contributing two to that total as first Martin Jol and then Rene Meulensteen were shown the door.

West Brom and Tottenham’s in-season appointments, Pepe Mel and Tim Sherwood respectively, lasted only until the end of the season and Spurs then lured Mauricio Pochettino from Southampton, taking the season’s final total to 13.

There were a record 15 in total in 2017-18, with again 10 coming during the season including two each from Southampton (Claude Puel and Mauricio Pellegrino) and West Brom (Tony Pulis and Alan Pardew).

West Ham, Everton, Stoke and Swansea each made a second change when the season concluded, while Arsene Wenger resigned from his long reign at Arsenal.

Last season was the other to see 10 managers jettisoned during the season, including both Xisco Munoz and Claudio Ranieri being flung off the ever-erratic Watford roundabout.

An 11^th  departure came at the end of the season as Manchester United’s interim boss Ralf Rangnick, appointed in November to succeed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, left Old Trafford.

There have been three separate instances of nine in-season departures, in 1994-95 — when there were still 22 clubs in the Premier League — 2004-05 and 2008-09.

Eddie Hearn wants to kick-start talks for Anthony Joshua to fight Tyson Fury after his return against Jermaine Franklin.

Joshua welcomes Franklin to London for his comeback bout at the O2 Arena on Saturday night.

And he is looking to regain his confidence and bounce back from consecutive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk.

Usyk, 36, was in negotiations to take the WBA, IBF and WBO straps he won against AJ into an undisputed title decider with Fury, 34.

But talks for the division’s first four-belt unification collapsed at the 11th hour amid a disagreement over the financials for a potential rematch.

So with the historic bout all but KO’d promoter Hearn wants to capitalise by instead pitting Joshua against Fury in a British blockbuster.

 “It’s financially a much bigger fight for Tyson Fury than Oleksandr Usyk.

“It’s the biggest fight in world boxing by a mile. But if the Usyk fight does fall through then I think we should be kicking and screaming for the AJ fight.

“And sometimes things happen that enable fights that you never thought could happen to happen and maybe this is one of those moments.”

Usyk now looks set to face WBA mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois, 25, following the breakdown in undisputed talks.

Meanwhile, Fury could turn his attention to Britain’s Joe Joyce, 37, who first has to beat China’s Zhilei Zhang, 39, on April 15.

For Joshua, 33, victory is a must in his return against Franklin, 29, as a hat-trick of straight losses could spell the end of his illustrious career.

GOtv will be broadcasting match day 4 of the 2023 African Cup of Nations qualifiers today as the race to secure a slot at the group stage of the tournament set to hold in Cote d’Ivoire gets intense.

Malawi’s clash against Egypt will kick-off the games for the day, as the host will seek to avenge its 2-0 loss to the Pharaohs in the reverse fixture of the tie, to boost its prospects of qualifying for 2023 AFCON. The clash will be broadcast live on SS Select 2(GOtv Channel  34) at 2pm.

Reigning Champions, Senegal, will be visiting Estadio Nacional Do Zimpete, for the return leg of its clash with Mozambique. The Teranga Lions thumped The Mambas 5-0 in the reverse fixture of the tie.

Aliou Cisse’s men, who are unbeaten in the qualifier group, head into this game as favourites. Mozambique, however, would be keen to cause an upset and steal a historic win in front of the home fans. The game will air on SS Select 2 (GOtv Channel 34) at 5pm.

Liberia will be keen to seize its home advantage against South Africa and get closer to securing a ticket to the AFCON. The reverse fixture of this game ended in a draw, after the Lone Star fought back from two goals down to earn a point against the Bafana Bafana. This match will air on SS La Liga (GOtv Channel 32) at 5pm.

Tanzania has to ward off any challenge from Uganda on home turf to retain its place as second place in Group F. Having won the reverse fixture 1-0, Tanzania may expect a tougher clash against an opponent keen to secure its first victory in the group.

Nigeria Breweries  Plc  trio of Goldberg, Life Continental beer and Zagg Energy Drink has congratulated the Super Eagles’ yesterday’  brilliant outing against Wild Dogs of Guinea Bissau in the Match-day four of the AFCON 2023 qualifiers.

The Eagles yesterday  showed great promise as they battled to a lone win over their opponent at the Estadio 24 de Setembro in Bissau.

Goal from the spot and neatly converted by Moses Simon in the 30^th  gave Nigeria maximum points and returned the team back to the log of the table in Group A in the qualifying tournament.

Goldberg and Life Continental are the official beer of the national football team had galvanised teeming football fans and consumers to stand behind the Super Eagles in the quest for the qualification for AFCON and lead them to the main tournament in January of next year in Cote d’Ivoire and the Super Eagles did not disappoint as they make Nigerians proud with the outcome of the match.

While congratulating the Eagles for their victory over Egypt, the Senior Brand Manager, Goldberg, Oluyemi Ekudayo, charged the team to remain focused on their ultimate goal in the quest for final qualification into the main tournament.

He said: “Of course, we are very happy with the victory, the Eagles demonstrated the true Naija spirit which is always championed by Goldberg and other brands on our stable, we enjoin the team to take each game as it comes while we countdown to lifting the trophy next year in Cote d’Ivoire.”

In its usual tradition and style on match-days, the brands engaged millions of soccer fans across several digital platforms urging them to stand by the team in spite of the upset by the Guinea Bissau at the MKO Abiola Stadium last Friday.

Zagg Energy Drink, a recent addition to the Nigerian Breweries portfolio, is focused on providing its consumers with a boost of energy and mental focus.

The Energy Drink aims to energize the team and the Nigerian fans, fuelling their passion and drive for success.

The three Nigerian Breweries brands have joined forces to bolster the team’s confidence and encourage fans to rally behind the team, seeking to push the team back as the best on the continent.

In the course of the on-going qualifying tournament, the brands will engage fans in multiple bar activations where Super Eagles’ jerseys, match ball and other souvenirs would be won by loyal consumers.

Nigerian Breweries’ brands are one of the longest corporate sponsors of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and since coming on board, the Super Eagles’ support has indeed soared and is comparable to followership of top clubs in European club football.

The Super Eagles will be up against Sierra Leone in Freetown in June and will host Sao Tome in the final qualifying match in September.

Former Arsenal winger Alex Iwobi has backed his old side to win the Premier League title over Manchester City this season.

The Gunners are currently in a commanding position at the top of the table after they extended their lead to eight points before the international break.

Manchester City do have a game in hand over Mikel Arteta’s men though and the two sides will face-off once again at the Etihad Stadium next month.

But it’s certainly Arsenal’s title to lose right now and Alex Iwobi is backing his former club to get over the line.

Speaking on The Beautiful Game Podcast, Iwobi was asked if he thinks Arsenal will win the league this season.

 “Yeah, I believe so,” the Everton man said. “I want them to, to be fair.”

Arsenal fans will love to hear that Iwobi is backing them to get over the line and it should come as no surprise considering he came through the Hale End academy set-up.

There will undoubtedly be plenty of twists and turns between now and the end of the season, but the Gunners are in the driving seat right now.

Arteta’s men navigated their way through a difficult run of form last month, while also dealing with the absence of Gabriel Jesus.

Of course, City have shown they are capable of putting a flawless run of form together. But Arsenal have been near-flawless themselves since the 3-1 defeat to Guardiola’s side in February.

Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, said the promotion of unity among people of the state was paramount to his administration even he revealed  the underlying factor behind the first Bayelsa State Sports Festival  in conjunction with Access Bank.

The governor  who flagged off the festival tagged the “Prosperity/Access Unity Games” at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex in Yenagoa on Sunday, said his government realised that sports was the best medicine for the mind and body hence it is investing much resources in the sector.

A statement by his Chief Press Secretary,  Daniel Alabrah, quoted him as saying that the best way to be prosperous was in one’s health, stressing that sports was not only a competitive event but also medicinal.

He also stated that his administration, known as the Prosperity Government, decided to domesticate the National Sports Festival to meaningful engage youths of the state and encourage initiatives that empower and create jobs as launch pad for national development.

He said: “Sports is not only a competitive event. Sports also stops you from visiting the hospital frequently.

 “For us as a government, the idea is that we want to prevent our citizens from being regular customers at hospitals and one sure way to achieve that was through sports.

 “This is one of the reasons we are replicating the National Sports Festival that we have been participating in over the years by bringing it home to also have the Bayelsa Sports Festival.”

Diri expressed optimism that as the only homogeneous Ijaw-speaking state, the festival would cement the cord of unity among the eight local government areas participating in the games.

He thanked  his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, the Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Daniel Igali and all those that worked assiduously to ensure the colourful showpiece became reality.

In a goodwill message, Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank, Dr. Herbert Wigwe, who was represented by the bank’s Relationship Manager, Mr. Kakiri Miebi-Flint, said the bank was pleased to collaborate with the state government to actualise its prosperity mantra.

Dr. Wigwe noted that the state has had tremendous achievements in the sporting sector in the last three years, noting that the bank was working towards building a prosperous Bayelsa through sports partnership.

In an address of welcome, the Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, Daniel Igali, appreciated the state government and Access Bank for the foresight in hosting the inaugural Prosperity Games.

He said the games provide a veritable platform to discover untapped talents in the state.

Igali further stated that the festival will feature 240 team officials, 140 technical officials and 194 officiating officials.

More than 1,200 athletes would also participate in 14 events jostling for 293 gold, 293 silver and 387 bronze medals.

Highpoint of the opening was a colourful march-past by athletes from the eight local government areas of the state as well as the lighting of the games torch by renowned athletes from the state, which included Olympic silver medallist, Blessing Oborududu, another Olympian, wrestler Victor Kodei and Binaebi Numa, a member of the Golden Eaglets to the 1985 Kodak/FIFA U-16 World Championship in China.

In attendance were the wife of the governor, Dr. Gloria Diri, the Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, members of the State House of Assembly, Secretary to the State Government, Alabo Gideon Ekeowei, chairman of the Bayelsa chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Solomon Agwana and other top government functionaries.

Photo caption: Blessing Oborodudu lighting the Bayelsa Sports Festival torch

Nigeria started their campaign in the 3^rd  NCF Women’s T20i Invitational at the Tafawa Balewa Cricket Oval in Lagos with a six wicket win over Sierra Leone, while defending champion Rwanda also beat Ghana by 117 runs.

Nigeria won the toss and elected to field, sending the Sierra Leonean side to bat first, scoring 69/5 in 19 overs. 

Looked like an easy chase for Nigeria, but the hosts were put under pressure in the power play, losing four wickets in the process.

The team has to rely on the partnership of Peity Lucky and Agatha Uadiale to see the team to a six wickets victory, after scoring 67 runs for four wickets in 14.1 overs.

At the end of the game, captain of the Nigerian team, Blessing Etim, lauded the team for the efforts but assured that they would improve in their subsequent matches.

 “Sierra Leone is always a tough side but I know that my team is very capable of facing any opposition here.

 “Although, we are not very satisfied with our efforts today, we will go back and work on our lapses and come stronger in our next game against Cameroon,” Etim said.

Fatumata Parkinson, captain of the Sierra Leone team said the team was not satisfied with the number of runs on board for the team but will improve as the tournament progresses.

Player of the Match is Piety Lucky of Nigeria after scoring 22 runs off 24 balls not out for the side.

Nigeria’s coach, Leke Oyede said that he is sure that the team would improve as the tournament progresses.

 “Yes, there were hitches here and there in the opening match but the girls delivered. I believe that the players will get better as the game progresses.”

Benin national team coach German Gernot Rohr said  The Cheetahs will be up and running  when they class against The Wasps of Rwanda in their reverse  2023 AFCON double header  tie today at the  Kigali Pelé Stadium otherwise known as the Nyamirambo Regional Stadium.

Rohr, the immediate  past foreign manager of the Super Eagles, saw his wards played a pulsating 1-1  draw last Tuesday in  a spirited  second half display against  the East Africans to secure  their first point in the campaign after three rounds of matches.

“ It was important that we were able to stop the haemorrhage because  they ( The Cheetahs) had lost their last  four games (including  the first two matches in the 2023 AFCON qualifiers,” Rohr told NationSport. “We had  a good first match  (against Rwanda in Cotonou) despite the fact that we had less than  48 hours to prepare the team like every other teams.

“Of course, it was my first match with   a new team , we conceded   early in the match  and we had little problem with our striker Steve Mounie  initially in the first half.

“But we showed a lot of character and a lot of fighting spirit especially in the second half  and it was nice that  he eventually scored  the equaliser .

“The fans were happy because they saw a very good match against Rwanda in Cotonou and we can build on that performance  for the future,”

 Though the chances of the Beninese side is hanging in the balance, Rohr is upbeat that  they can  bounce back  if they can pull  a win in Kigali .

“ Of course, we are still in with a chance if we can win in Kigali  and I know everybody is looking forward   to a very good match in the return leg in Kigali.”