Author: Xoxo

 Chelsea boss, Mauricio Pochettino has explained his decision to allow striker, Armando Broja to leave the club on January transfer deadline day without signing a replacement.

Recall that Broja joined Chelsea’s Premier League rivals, Fulham on loan until the end of the season a few days ago.

Asked why Chelsea let Broja leave, Pochettino said at his pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Wolves on Saturday, “It is a very good opportunity for him to play maybe more.

“It is a good move for him and he can take the opportunity to play more.

“It is important to recover Christoph [Christopher Nkunku] and it is important for Nico Jackson to arrive. Also, sometimes we forget, but Deivid Washington is here with us. The options we have up front are enough.”

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 Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen has said that ‘talk is cheap’ amid the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.

The Napoli star said this after Nigeria defeated Angola 1-0 in the quarter final encounter on Friday.

The 25-year-old, who congratulated Jose Peseiro’s men for reaching the last four of the tournament, also offered his respect to the Angola team.

In a post via his Instagram story, Osimhen wrote:

“Talk is cheap!!! Na on top field we go dig am, congratulations to the team! Unto the next one. Respect to the Angola team.”

Osimhen has scored one goal in five matches at the AFCON so far.

He will hope to lead Nigeria to victory when they face either Cape Verde or South Africa in the semi-final on Wednesday.

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 Barcelona manager, Xavi Hernandez has claimed Real Madrid are “conditioning” referees in Spain through their TV channel.

Xavi, in the past, claimed that LaLiga officials were favouring Madrid and that is why they cannot compete with them in the title race.

Now, he has doubled down on his view, but admits Barca’s Caso Negreira scandal has not helped their cause.

“I already said that I don’t like that they [Madrid] condition the referees, but they continue to do it every week. The referees are going to whistle- conditioned.

“The ‘Negreira case’ hasn’t helped us either, but that’s what we have to compete with.

“I agree one hundred percent with the president’s words. It’s a reality and we can’t deceive Barcelona fans,” Xavi said.

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The January transfer window came and went without the usual flurry of activity from Premier League clubs as spending by the English top-flight collapsed to its lowest level in a non-pandemic season since 2012.

English clubs spent just £100 million last month, down from a record £815 million 12 months ago, as for the first time since 2011, the Premier League was not the highest spending division in Europe for a transfer window.

According to figures from financial experts Deloitte, France’s Ligue 1 led the way with a 190 million euro spend ($206 million, £162 million).

AFP Sports looks at the reasons why Premier League clubs’ spending power dried up in January.

– Financial rules finally have teeth –

The Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) have been in place since the 2013/14 campaign but had not resulted in a sporting sanction for any club until this season.

English top-flight clubs are allowed to lose a maximum of £105 million across a three-year assessment period.

Everton have been plunged into relegation danger by a 10-point deduction for exceeding those limits at the end of the 2021/22 season.

The Toffees and Nottingham Forest face further sanctions as they were in breach again at the end of last season.

A restrained January followed a record summer as Premier League clubs spent £2.3 billion.

That left a number of clubs treading a fine line on PSR, most notably Saudi-backed Newcastle.

Despite an injury crisis that saw the Magpies tumble down the table, Eddie Howe was unable to add to his squad last month and admitted Newcastle may have to sell before they can buy again.

However, the impact of PSR should ease again come a new financial year for football clubs in the summer transfer window.

Those at the top of the division can also look forward to greater revenues next season thanks to an expanded Champions League format.

“As we move towards this summer’s window, and a new financial year, we expect to see spending return to similar levels we have seen in the last two record-breaking summer transfer windows,” said Calum Ross, assistant director in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group.

– Saudi sales dry up –

Another factor was the lack of a market to move players on to free up cash reserves and headway for PSR

Last summer Premier League clubs were able to cash in on the influx of money from the Saudi Pro League to offload some ageing stars on big contracts for inflated transfer fees.

Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City were among those to benefit the most, but there was no such release valve from the Gulf last month.

According to Deloitte, the Brazilian Serie A was the second highest spending league globally as Saudi Pro League clubs combined for only $27 million of transfer fees, compared to $1.1 billion in the summer window.

– No panic buying –

January has often been the market of the panic buyers, desperate to secure their Premier League status rather than those battling at the top of the table.

Last season’s three relegated clubs — 

Leicester, Southampton and Leeds — combined to spend £115 million last January.

This year there was barely any money spent to avoid the drop.

The battle to avoid finishing in the bottom three looks set to come down to the three promoted clubs from last season — Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton — plus Forest and Everton.

The promoted trio are not flush with cash and have hedged their bets on at least having parachute payments to rely on should they drop back into the Championship.

Forest and Everton, meanwhile, were extremely limited by their ongoing PSR problems.

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Real Madrid announced a sleeve sponsorship deal with information technology company HP on Friday worth a reported 70 million euros ($76 million).

“HP become the first brand in 121 years of the club’s history to have their logo on the sleeve of the Real Madrid shirt,” said Los Blancos in a statement.

The HP logo will appear on the sleeve of both the men’s and women’s shirts, along with the youth teams.

Madrid did not specify the length of the deal or the price but Spanish media reported they will make 70 million euros.

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Super Eagles of Nigeria have defeated the Black Antelopes of Angola 1-0 to qualify for the semi-final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Super Eagles of Nigeria have defeated the Black Antelopes of Angola 1-0 to qualify for the semi-final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Ademola Lookman, again, stole the limelight from Victor Osimhen by following his brace in the 2-0 defeat of Cameroon in the last 16 by breaking the deadlock four minutes before half-time at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium.

The Super Eagles then saw the game out before a crowd of 18,757 in Abidjan, with Osimhen finding the net only for his effort to be disallowed after the VAR ruled him to be offside.

The Napoli superstar, Africa’s reigning footballer of the year, remains stuck on just one goal at this AFCON, but Nigeria’s success has been built around an impressive defence that has now kept four consecutive clean sheets.

The three-time continental champions advance to a last-four tie next Wednesday against Cape Verde or South Africa in the central Ivorian city of Bouake — those sides meet in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

Angola almost took the lead inside four minutes, as a corner from their right was helped on to Mabululu, whose attempt at the near-post was kept out by Stanley Nwabili, the Nigerian goalkeeper who had passed a fitness test to play.

Osimhen tried his luck twice from headers but it was Lookman, the Atalanta forward and former England Under-21 international, who broke the deadlock in the 41st minute.

Moses Simon collected a pass on the left, accelerated away from Kialonda Gaspar and drove into the area before cutting the ball back for Lookman to finish emphatically.

Nigeria continued to create chances after the break, but Angola did pass up a glorious opportunity to draw level just before the hour mark.

AEK Athens striker Zini, on as a half-time substitute, was sent through on goal and his effort beat Nwabili, only to rebound back off the far post.

It was a major let-off for Nigeria, who then thought they had killed the game off when Osimhen rose to head home a Lookman free-kick with quarter of an hour left, the ball going in despite the Angolan goalkeeper getting a touch.

However, the effort was disallowed to the frustration of Osimhen, who carried on until the final moments despite taking a succession of knocks and being carried to the side of the pitch on a stretcher at one point.

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FIFA will announce which city will host the final of the 2026 World Cup when they unveil schedule details for the first ever 48-team tournament on Sunday.

The tournament is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico and FIFA will also announce which venue will host the opening game of the tournament.

Dallas has been reported to be favourite to clinch the big game, which will be held on July 19 with several media reports suggesting that AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys NFL team is set to win the honour.

But MetLife Stadium, home of the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets has also lobbied hard for the right to hold the game’s biggest match in New Jersey.

Los Angeles is also in the frame — the city had the World Cup final the last time that the tournament was held in the USA in 1994 when Brazil beat Italy on penalties after a goalless draw at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

The Rose Bowl is not a host venue for the 2026 tournament with games in Los Angeles scheduled for SoFi Stadium, another NFL stadium, where the Rams and Chargers both play and also a contender for hosting the final.

FIFA has had difficult talks with the SoFi Stadium owners about changes they want to see to the venue for 2026 which has raised questions of their chances of holding the final.

Both Dallas and Los Angeles can offer stadiums with roofs to protect from any stormy weather but New York/New Jersey organisers have emphasised their city’s track record in hosting major international events.

New York has also emphasised its easy transportation links within the region and internationally, along with a time-zone which is best suited for European fans.

– Indoor final? –

Dallas is only one hour different from New York in time-zone but their bid has also argued that the roof on their 80,000 venue in Arlington can better reduce the impact of the summer heat.

While Dallas is seen as less of a glamourous and ‘global’ city than both L.A. and New York, its backers have stressed it enjoys close connections to co-hosts Mexico.

FIFA has never organised a World Cup final in an ‘indoor’ venue.

While the three US venues have competed for the right to host the final, the recently redeveloped Azteca Stadium in Mexico City has long been viewed as the most likely host for the first game and opening ceremony.

The Azteca, the spiritual home of Mexican football, has hosted World Cup finals in 1970 and 1986 and it will become the first stadium to host games in three seperate World Cups.

The decisions will be announced in a television show broadcast in North America from Miami with FIFA president Gianni Infantino making the announcements.

The expansion of the tournament to 48 teams from 32 means there will be an additional 24 matches making up a total of 104 games across the 16 already chosen venues.

The tournament will take the format of 12 groups of four teams with the top two going through along with the eight best third-placed teams.

From then on the competition is a straight knock-out format with the finalists having to play eight games rather than the previous seven.

FIFA will also announce which games will be distributed to which venues, although specific match-ups won’t be known until the draw for the tournament after the qualification process has been completed.

The 16 host cities for the tournament are: 

Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Monterrey, New York New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver.

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