FIFA World Cup: Morocco is not joking about the 2026 world cup bid

The Kingdom of Morocco has set the record straight about their 2026 world cup bid, alluding that it’s not just a publicity stunt. The chief executive and his team have expressed their determination towards landing the bid.

"We are not here for a communications stunt - we are here to win," El Amrani told BBC Sport.

Morocco is setting out to be the second African country to host the FIFA World Cup tournament after South Africa 2010. They are not new to bidding processes, having already campaigned to host the tournament on four occasions. This time, they will have to outcompete a joint bid by Canada, USA and Mexico and perhaps the public backing by former FIFA boss, Sepp Blatter could help them get this one over the line. The process involves the aspiring country submitting bids which are then reviewed for legitimacy and then the decision left to FIFA’s 207 member associations through a voting process. This year’s 2026 hosts on the 13th of June 2018, in Russia. The 2022 World Cup Finals will be held in Qatar.

Zimbabwe: Hardlife Zvirekwi suffers serious injury to his hand

The Warriors international, Hardlife ‘Nairobi’ Zvirekwi got a scare on his career as a result of a car crash after failing to negotiate a curve. Hardlife popularly known as Nairobi amongst the locals was returning from a friend’s birthday celebration in Harare when the mishap fell on him. The doctors have had to amputate his hand will miss the first half of the 2018 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League competition. The CAPS United captain, led the Makepekepe, “Green Machine,” to their a league title in 2016, also winning the award for the top footballer in Zimbabwe for that year. Prayers for Zvirekwi, we hope you have a speedy recovery.

Internationals: As far as African football is concerned, Tunisia still reign

FIFA’s latest monthly rankings have reviewed that Tunisia still occupies the top spot in men’s football. The Carthage Eagles last cup triumph came in the AFCON 2004 but they have been consistent enough in their performances to keep their place amongst the elite. All of North Africa’s five countries made it to the top 10, except Libya while Southern African countries occupy spots other than the top 10. This year’s five world cup representatives featured in the top seven and Southern Africa. Here is the full list:

African rankings (global position in brackets):

1. Tunisia (23)

2. Senegal (27)

3. DR Congo (39)

4. Morocco (42)

5. Egypt (44)

6. Cameroon (51)

7. Nigeria (52)

8. Ghana (54)

9. Burkina Faso (56)

10. Algeria (60)

South Africa: Cape Town City edge Pirates to reach the Nedbank Cup quarter final

Benni McCarthy’s Blue and Gold Army has once again set the record straight that they belong among the big boys as far as South African football is concerned. Ayanda Patosi’s solitary goal was enough to see off the inform Soweto giants, Orlando Pirates and progress to the last 8. Cape Town City got re-formed in 2016 and we have already seen them win the Telkom Knockout cup, finish as runners’ up in the 2017 MTN 8 cup and now the possibility of another cup is undoubtedly wetting their appetite. Maybe the win was inspired by McCarthy’s return from Pep Guardiola’s camp or purely the ingenuity of Ayanda Patosi, who has now scored winning goals for his team in three consecutive matches. Either way, the Cape Town boys will be happy to await to learn of their opponents in Thursday’s draw featuring, First Division side Ubuntu Cape Town, Free State Stars, Baroka FC, Kaizer Chiefs, Bloemfontein Celtic, Maritzburg United and Mamelodi Sundowns for South Africa’s equivalent of the English FA cup.

The Austrian side terminates Stoger’s team

RB Salzburg held on to a goalless draw to eliminate one of the title favorites from the competition. The club won the first leg 2-1 away and many were hoping to see a mean-attacking Dortmund that sought to regain control over the tie and qualify to the next round. With all due respect to Salzburg, a Dortmund vs Atletico Madrid clash in the last 8 would have been more attractive but fair play to them. They did bits in their first leg and shuttered Dortmund in the return. They deserve to go through to the next round.

In other news, Atletico Madrid won 5-1 on Thursday to make it an 8-1 aggregate against Lokomotiv Moscow as they cruise to the quarterfinals. Fernando Torres was the star of the show as he scored a brace in a match where Saul Niguez, Correa and Griezmann all scored past Kochenkov. Rybus’ goal was not enough to rub the blushes of a poor Russian side. Do you know who else has made it to the last 8? Drop your comments below

Arsenal win 3-1 at home

Arsene Wenger set up his Arsenal team to play out their way into the quarter-final. It was clear from his tactics that the team went into the match just to dominate possession and frustrate Milan with an aim to counter them on the break. Calhanoglu’s goal came as a shocker for the Gooners and acted as a wakeup call for the home side as Danny Welbeck was tripped in the 18 area and scored the resulting penalty kick. The referee blew the whistle for halftime with the teams at level pegging. The second half was not the same. Granit Xhaka did what he does best in the 71st minute as he scored a long-range effort past Gianluigi Donnarumma who should have done better as the ball slipped under his arms and into the net. At 2-1, it was a mountain to climb for Gattuso’s men and Arsenal rubbed the salt on the wounds when Danny Welbeck scored the third in the 86th minute. That goal confirmed the elimination of the Milan giants who really deserve better. It is a shame that such a match between the two clubs has lost the hype as the teams have dropped a level and are no longer competing at the highest level. Next up is the UEFA Europa League draw. Will Arsenal have what it takes to sweep past everyone that comes their way and qualify for next year’s UEFA Champions League? Only time will tell.  

UEFA Champions League draw could bring out explosive matches

Spanish Marca has been looking at the UEFA Champions League draw and assessing top-notch clashes that could be juicy for the tournament in the quarterfinals. It has been confirmed that former AC Milan and Chelsea forward, Andrey Shevchenko will be the one to reveal the balls for the draw on Friday. Only 5 of the 8 teams left have won this competition before with Real Madrid leading the rest with 12 titles. Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Liverpool have all lifted the trophy on 5 different occasions. Juventus have only two. It is important to note that AS Roma, Manchester City and Sevilla have not yet enjoyed much success in this European competition but some of these teams have reached the semis and final of this tournament before. Some of the potential ties after the draw could be an El Classico which is Real Madrid vs Barcelona. This fixture is the biggest rivalry in the world and would be ideal to be reserved for the latter part of the competition like the semifinals. Next up could be Real Madrid vs Manchester City. Pep Guardiola has undeniably set up a fierce team that is capable of beating anyone on their day and it would be nice to see how they fare against the defending champions. Visit the link to see the rest of the potential fixtures.

Russia 2018: Egypt target Portugal scalp, Lions of Teranga face South Korea

In preparation for the 2018 FIFA World cup finals, the Pharaohs of Egypt will face up against Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal while Aliou Cisse and his lions will battle South Korea. Egypt’s head coach, Hector Cuper is confident that their recent studies on the European champions and the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has prepared them to be unrelenting in expressing themselves in the friendly clash between the two.

“We have studied Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo like we studied Uruguay and its stars Cavani and Suarez. We will see in the game how we will do.

We will try to play well at the World cup and we will try many things against Portugal and Ronaldo.” - Hector Cuper

The former Inter Milan coach also added the Egyptian Football Association is untiringly working with the team to ensure that players’ world cup preparations will not be adversely affected by Islam’s holy month of fasting in May (Ramadan).

Meanwhile, Senegal’s Lions of Teranga will face fellow world cup finalists, South Korea in a friendly match on 11th June in preparation to face another Asian opponent, Japan in their Group H alongside Poland and Colombia.

Transfers: McCarthy inspired to become one of the world’s greatest coaches

The former Bafana Bafana striker recently spent some time in England, working on his UEFA Pro License and got chance to be immersed in Manchester City’s football rhythms and culture - first hand. He would have loved to “witness Pep’s ingenuity at work” in one of the training sessions but the opportunity to attend the Under-21s session was good enough to inspire him to validate his dreams.

"How can it not inspire you because you see what you are working towards?" he added. "The end game is to be in charge of such a massive club as Man City one day, or hopefully grow [Cape Town City] to be as big." - Benni McCarthy

Benni is currently enjoying his debutant season as head coach of Cape Town City. He has already reached one cup final and is hoping that his boys will get the better of inform Soweto giants, Orlando Pirates to progress in South Africa’s Nedbank cup tournament.

At home: PSG boss fined in Egypt

Nasser Al-Khelaifi, in his capacity as President of BeIN Sports, has been fined €18 million for violating a competition act in the North African country. Reports suggest that the PSG chairman and CEO’s BeIN sports was found guilty of forcing subscribers to replace a domestic satellite operator, Nilesat with a Qatari one to continue enjoying their viewing.

The Qatari businessman has had to deal with a lot recently, as PSG works to stay afloat of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations which came under scrutiny when they acquired Neymar’s services from Barcelona for a transfer record fee of (USD) $263 million. He is also a subject of the FIFA corruption investigation regarding the 2026 and 2030 world cup television rights.

Abroad: Inter Milan chase Ghanaian midfielder, Kwadwo Asamoah

The 29-year-old’s contract will come to a close as at the end of the season and a host of Italian football giants have not been shy to honeypot him to their clubs. Inter Milan is reported to be offering the Ghanaian international, €3 million to draw him away from the Old Lady. Galatasaray and Napoli are understood to be also vying for the veteran midfielder. Kwadwo joined the Italian side, Juventus in 2012 and has won the five Serie A titles with the club.

Abroad: The Batman, Aubameyang is in predatory mode

The Arsenal forward is hungry to play more games and score more goals for his new club. The UEFA cup-tied rule that impedes him to participate in the Gunners’ Europa League campaign because he played champions league football for Borussia Dortmund, is a cause for frustration for the Gabonese international. He is having a relatively strong start to life in London, scoring 3 goals in 5 matches for the club and more than eager to add to his tally.

"I am really frustrated because the rules are a bit... I don't know how to say in English but I am disappointed because I can't help my team," Aubameyang told British media.

Pierre will be watching from the stands on Thursday as Arsenal face AC Milan in a second leg match of the Europa League round of 16.

Transfers: Mohamed Salah’s transfer value rises to €162.8 million euros

If any club wishes to buy the Egyptian’s services from Liverpool, they will probably have to part ways with a handsome €162.8 million (£144.3m). The Merseyside club won Salah’s signature for just £34m in the summer and has seen his value skyrocket as a result of his blistering form for the Reds, scoring 33 goals in 42 appearances in all competitions. According to CIES rankings, Salah’s market value has risen the most ahead of all professional footballers in Europe’s top five leagues, who have not changed their club or extended their contracts in the last six months.

Domestic League: Egypt’s Al Ahly has become on the most successful clubs in the world

Last year’s CAF champions league finalists have wrapped a fantastic season in style by winning the Egyptian league title with six weeks to spare. The red devils have now 40 league titles since the club’s inception in 1907 and have their eyes set on bagging the Egyptian cup and reclaiming the champions league title from Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca. They may not be as wealthy as some global clubs, but this landmark win resembles a well-managed club which knows how to appease their fans. The leading club in England, the Red Devils of Manchester United, have won the EPL title 13 times which is only a third of the North African Red devils, perhaps the real red devils. Well, you just have to give credit where credit is due.

Sevilla grinded out a 2-1 win to join Madrid in the UCL quarters

A late show from Sevilla downed Manchester United who were below par on Tuesday night. Ben Yedder scored two goals in quick succession, one at the 74th and the other at the 77th minute to secure a comfortable 2 goal advantage before Romelu Lukaku scored for Jose Mourinho’s team on the 84th minute. This result can come as a shocker to a few, but those that followed the club during its Europa League campaigns should know that Sevilla are a well-disciplined team that can bring the game to you from the first minute till the final whistle. Manchester United have learned that the hard way as they have been knocked out of the competition which many hoped that Jose Mourinho would mount a challenge in. In other news, AS Roma also qualified into the last 8 teams in the tournament after beating Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 thanks to an Edin Dzeko goal. This means that they have qualified on away goal’s rule having scored one goal in the first leg of the clash. That’s a wrap! The rest of the teams will be confirmed on Wednesday.

Andre Gomes opens up about his frustrations

The 24-year-old Portugal international joined Barcelona from Valencia in the summer of 2016 for a fee rumored to be around €35m plus add-ons that can rise to €20m. He explained how desperate he was to integrate into the Barca style of play and succeed but he acknowledges that anxiety has held him back from progress. The midfielder joined around the time when Portugal were celebrating their success at the Euros in which he had played an integral role and huge expectations were placed on the young enforcer to replicate those performances and play even better at the Camp Nou. Since then, the player has suffered psychologically after receiving tantrum from the fans who call him a flop when all he needed was time to adapt to the demands of a massive club. He now shuts himself and avoids interacting with anyone. He has lost confidence in his play. This is a cry to the fans to sometimes think about the well-being of these players and show them some love when they need him the most. Sergio Busquets has come out to back him and explain that the team is doing all they can to make life easier for Gomes. His only plea is to the fanbase to reduce the level of negativity to a player who is in a delicate situation.

What’s happening to the World’s number one keeper?

Former World’s number one shotstopper Manuel Neuer is still in recovery after breaking a bone in his foot. He has had this injury three times already and this time it is proving difficult for him to get fit to compete again at the highest level. This raises some questions to the medical department at Bayern Munich who confirmed that the player had supposedly recovered in January. Bayern coach Heynckes is hopeful that the player can return to the training pitch at the start of April so that they can have a chance to compete for the Champions League. David De Gea has since overtaken the player as World’s best goalkeeper after some consistent displays in recent months. Some suggest that even with Neuer at his best, he cannot be compared to De Gea who has raised his game and is rumored to be a target of Real Madrid once again. Whether we will be able to see Neuer back in April is something that we will wait to see but we hope that he at least recovers in time to join the German squad at the FIFA World Cup in Russia 2018. The best of luck Manuel!

The German talks about how he signed his Arsenal contract extension

The 2017/18 season started off on a bad note for Arsenal as the news came in that Alexis Sanchez almost signed for Manchester City on transfer deadline day in the summer. The player was unsettled and needed a change but the manager chose to stick with him even against his will. Mesut Ozil was another name of a player who was rumored to be on the lookout for a new club as his contract was expiring in less than a year like Sanchez and Wilshere. At one point in the season, the Arsenal faithful were tired of Sanchez and Ozil’s performances and just wanted them to leave if they continued to disrespect the badge. But Ozil has come out to say that he did not think about leaving. The player was taking his time to sign the contract extension because he wanted to get his mojo back before committing long-term in order to get the backing of the fans. And so he did. It was coincidental that his extension was announced in January around the time when the club had signed Mkhitaryan and were almost done with talks for Aubameyang. Now he looks a different animal that is rich in confidence as he has been influential in Arsenal’s recent turn in positive results. Do you think Ozil made the right decision to stay at Arsenal? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.