While there’s been a raft of talks about lesbianism hitting the women’s game, Ghana Women’s national team captain Elizabeth Addo has moved swiftly to pour cold water on the claims. Team coach Yusif Basigi instigated the issue when he claimed the act is running deep in women’s football prompting reaction from captain Addo to repudiate the assertions.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“We don’t engage in lesbianism acts, it has never happened in our camp. This perception is borne out of how female footballers dress and walk but trust me, I have not seen any Ghanaian footballer who is a lesbian,”[/perfectpullquote]
The Caf African Women’s Player of the Year tells Ghana Soccernet.
Still in Ghana, reports are being bandied about midfielder Mohammed Abdul Basit possibly joining French giants Monaco. 26-year-old is believed to have passed a trial with the Ligue One outfit, posting a collage of photos posing with Monaco players suggesting he’s already on the brink of signing the dotted lines.
Over to Nigeria where controversy never seems to cease, former referee Linus Mba hugged the front pages when he suggested, in a chat with footballlive.ng, that the reason for Nigerian referees being overlooked in Caf Awards is a result of age-cheating and selection of unqualified persons to take up the whistle.
The dust is far from settling in the brouhaha involving the Nigerian Football Federation and the Super Falcons.
Latest is the National Association of Nigeria Professional Footballers urging the cash-strapped NFF to pay up the outstanding allowances due to the Super Falcons. The body also subjected to derides the Sports minister for his remarks that preparation wasn’t put in place beforehand because they didn’t expect the Falcons to win the continent’s senior Women’s Championship.
In a statement copied to the press, the NANPF advised the NFF against going ahead with plans to ban Falcon players for demanding ‘their rights’, warning such a move could be recipe for further discord between the two parties.
Trending, is the appointment of ex-Black Star player Yaw Preko as Interim coach of FC IfeanyiUbah.
Preko’s ascension to the helm comes on the back of Kenichi Yatsuhashi’s decision to vacate his coach responsibilities in reaction to the team’s abysmal performances in the NPFL-Super Four.
The NFF is again in the spotlight amid wide spread media reports they’re crafting out way to interfere with coach Gernot Rohr selection by imposing players on him.
Writing on the story, Soccernet.com.ng featured a source from the federation rebutting the claims.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”It’s surprising to hear that the Nigeria Football Federation wants to enforce players on Gernot Rohr because we have never thought of such plans. Like you know, people are meant to express their thought on any matters just to arouse reader’s interest,”[/perfectpullquote]
the source says.
The Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations is also up and running in Nigeria.
It’s good news for Kenneth Muguna after being voted Kenya Premier League’s Most Valuable Player.
The 20-year-old’s achievement is one of rare feat after clinching the gong in his debut season. Adding to his trophy cabinet, Muguna also scooped the best midfielder award and came second in the player of the year category.
In South Africa, the country’s football house is not intent on hiring a new coach.
The SAFA rubbished speculations linking De Sa to the Bafana Bafana coaching role. The reports are fueled by the suspension of Shakes Mashaba.
Zamalek and Ismaily last week fronted the news with the two threatening to boycott the Egyptian league citing biasness of referees. Whether this is true will be matters for football mad fans to decide but it does seems referees in Cairo aren’t accorded breathing space with Hondura’s footballer Mario Martinez, now plying his trade in the North African country, the latest to take a swipe at arbiters there.
The EPPN free transfer acquisition claimed, Zamalek and Al Ahly are given preferential treatment by referees even when they do not appear to need it.
In quotes reported by KingFut, the midfielder said of his experience about Egyptian football: “Al Ahly and Zamalek do not need referees help, that’s why I don’t understand why they are getting a hand from them most of the time.
“There is too much respect from the referees to their players. I guess that’s fear from these two clubs.”
Tiptoe-ing back to Nigeria, player agent Mark Williams has weighed into the long drawn out argument of whether Nigerian league players are any better than Academy players.
His verdict borders brutality.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“I will give you a straight forward answer, Nigeria League players are above all scared of going on trials to top clubs in Europe. They prefer a deal with any team abroad as long as the pay is higher than what they are earning in Nigeria.”[/perfectpullquote]
“ Players from Academies in Nigeria are quick to jump at trial opportunities. It has helped them make their mark in top European teams and league, beside due to their age teams believe they can still improve.
“Aside that they have more quality than players in the league. It hurts to say so but the facts don’t lie. They are more enterprising, not scared of taking risks and above all very dedicated,” he tells Own Goal Nigeria.
Featured Photo: Mohammed Abdul Basit. Courtesy of GHANA soccernet
