Sports
Two Players Are Not Nigerians – Morocco Says As It Drags Super Falcons To CAF After Defeat
Morocco said the manner of their switch of nationality is faulty, citing some irregularities in their claims to be Nigerians.
A petition against Nigeria has been filed by Morocco.
Morocco filed the petition before CAF as it questions the eligibility of two players who played for the women’s team of Nigeria in the final of the WAFCON, which Nigeria won 3-2 on Saturday.
It was gathered that before the game, there was a protest lodged by Morocco on the eligibility of two of the Nigerian players in Ashleigh Plumptre and Michelle Alozie.
Both players were born outside Nigeria but made the decision to play for Nigeria at senior level.
In their protest, Morocco said the manner of their switch of nationality is faulty citing some irregularities in their claims to be Nigerians.
They expressly want Nigeria to lose the title by virtue of fielding both players in the tournament.
Plumptre was granted approval by FIFA to play for Nigeria in 2021 after it was established that her paternal grandfather is a Nigerian. Alozie’s case is more straightforward as she was born in the USA to immigrant parents from Nigeria.
Nigeria are however not losing sleep over the protest with a top member of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) terming it as dead on arrival.
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Luis Diaz said former Liverpool teammate Florian Wirtz told him he would “enjoy” a move to Bayern Munich as the Colombian was unveiled by the Bundesliga champions on Thursday.
The German giants reportedly paid a fee which could rise to 75 million euros ($86.5 million) for the 28-year-old, whose deal runs until 2029.
Heavily linked with a move to Bayern, Wirtz left Bayer Leverkusen and signed with the Reds in June.
Diaz only had a few weeks with the German international at Liverpool but revealed Wirtz’s advice encouraged him to move to the Bundesliga.
“I spoke to Florian a few times and he told me that the Bundesliga is very intense, similar to the Premier League, that it was very physical, the stadiums are always full,” Diaz said Thursday.
“He said that I’d enjoy it. He wished me luck. I thank him for that”.
Diaz arrives as the third most expensive signing in Bayern’s history, but said he was unconcerned about the pressure the price tag would bring.
“I can’t say if I’m worth 70 million. I just want to settle in here as quickly as possible. That’s the most important thing,” he said.
The only two bigger transfer fees paid by Bayern were 95 million euros for England captain Harry Kane in 2023 and 80 million for French international Lucas Hernandez in 2019.
Diaz won the Premier League, FA Cup and two League Cups during his three-and-a-half years at Anfield.
The winger made 50 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool last season, scoring 17 goals and providing eight assists as Arne Slot’s team clinched the English league title for a record-equalling 20th time.
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FC Barcelona, on Thursday, produced a dominant attacking display to defeat FC Seoul 7–3 in an action-packed pre-season friendly.
The Spanish giants wasted no time asserting their superiority, with Robert Lewandowski opening the scoring in the 8th minute.
Rising star Lamine Yamal quickly followed up with goals in the 14th and 45+3 minutes, the latter coming just moments after Al-Arab had equalised for the hosts on the stroke of half-time.
Earlier, FC Seoul had found the net through Young-Wook in the 26th minute to briefly level the tie before Barcelona pulled away decisively.
Andreas Christensen added a fourth goal for the Catalan side in the 55th minute, setting the tone for a flurry of late strikes.
Ferran Torres and Gavi added goals in the 74th and 76th minutes respectively, before Torres sealed his brace with a second goal in the 88th minute.
FC Seoul’s Han-Min grabbed a consolation in the 85th minute, but it did little to take the shine off Barcelona’s commanding performance.
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Nigerian striker Umar Sadiq is in discussions with Deportivo Alavés over a potential summer move, even as his former club Almería have also renewed their interest in bringing him back ahead of the new season.
According to Onda Vasca, the 27-year-old is currently in contact with Alavés as the Basque club look to bolster their attacking options following the departure of Joaquín Panichelli to Strasbourg for €16.5m.
With only Asier Villalibre and Toni Martínez available to coach Eduardo Coudet, the club’s technical director Sergio Fernández has made signing a new striker a priority.
“Sadiq is in conversations with the Vitoria-Gasteiz side,” journalist Samu Valcárcel said on La Movida Deportiva Gipuzkoa, affirming Alavés’ intent to pursue the Nigerian, despite Real Sociedad president Jokin Aperribay recently suggesting the player could still remain at the San Sebastián-based club.
Sadiq, who joined Real Sociedad in 2022 from Almería for €20m, has struggled to settle following a long injury layoff after an anterior cruciate ligament tear in September of that year.
A six-month loan spell at Valencia earlier this year helped him regain form, as he scored six goals to help the club avoid relegation.
While Alavés continue negotiations, they are also considering other targets, including Lucas Boyé, while Mariano Díaz remains in pre-season contention but is not being considered a formal signing, Onda Vasca reported.
Meanwhile, Almería have re-entered the race for Sadiq, who played a starring role in their promotion to La Liga in 2022.
According to Super Deporte, the Andalusian club see him as the ideal striker to spearhead their bid for a return to the top flight after relegation.
The club have recently banked €22m from the sale of Luis Suárez to Sporting CP and are looking to reinvest that fee in proven talent.
The report notes that “Almería longs for one of the main architects of their promotion in 2022” and now join Alavés on the list of suitors, with Valencia also monitoring developments.
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