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Former Mancity striker set to become Georgia’s Far Right president
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Georgian ex-footballer turned far-right politician Mikheil Kavelashvili is set to become Tbilisi’s next figurehead president in an indirect election denounced as “illegitimate” by the current pro-EU leader
Picked by the governing Georgian Dream party as a loyalist, the former forward for the English Premier League’s Manchester City is known for his expletive-laden parliament speeches and tirades against government critics and LGBTQ people.
He is expected to be voted into the role by an electoral college controlled by Georgian Dream, after the party abolished the use of popular votes to elect the president under controversial constitutional changes passed in 2017.
Kavelashvili being catapulted to the role comes at a dramatic moment as thousands of anti-government protesters have flooded Tbilisi for weeks, furious at Georgian Dream for shelving EU accession talks.
Protesters have described Kavelashvili as a “puppet” of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgian Dream’s founder, who in turn has called him “the embodiment of a Georgian man”.
Sporting a moustache and combed back hair, his comments on LGBTQ people have raised alarm, as Georgian Dream has adopted Kremlin-style laws curbing their rights.
The ex-footballer slammed the West for wanting “as many people as possible (to be) neutral and tolerant toward the LGBTQ ideology, which supposedly defends the weak but is, in fact, an act against humanity.”
Football roots
Born in Georgia’s tiny southwestern town of Bolnisi in 1971, Kavelashvili began his career as a professional footballer in the 1980s, playing for clubs in Georgia and Russia and becoming a striker for his country’s national team.
The 53-year-old played for Manchester City between 1995-1997, scoring on debut against bitter crosstown rivals Manchester United.
He then joined Swiss club Grasshoppers, where he spent most of his time on the bench, before stints elsewhere in Switzerland at Zurich, Luzern, Sion, Aarau and Basel.
Kavelashvili was disqualified from running for president of the Georgian Football Federation in 2015 due to a lack of higher education, a requirement for the role.
He has served as an MP for Georgian Dream since 2016 and was elected to the legislature on the party’s list in October 2024 polls — which opposition groups say were rigged and do not recognise.
In 2022, Kavelashvili, alongside other Georgian Dream lawmakers, established a parliamentary faction called People’s Power — an anti-Western group that officially split from the governing party but was widely seen as its satellite.
far-right ideologies.
‘Oligarch’s puppet’
He is known for obscenity-laced statements against opponents and has accused Western leaders of trying to drag Georgia into Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Georgian Dream nominated Kavelashvili for the largely ceremonial post in late November, aiming to strengthen its grip on power.
But the nomination outraged many in Georgia, especially those who have been taking to the streets daily for two weeks to protest Georgian Dream’s drift from its aim of joining the EU.
On the 14th day of mass protests this week, demonstrators did not hold back in expressing their disdain for Kavelashvili.
“I can hardly imagine anyone less suited for the role of head of state,” historian Nika Gobronidze, 53, told AFP.
He said Ivanishvili, the businessman widely believed to be pulling the strings in Georgian politics, chose Kavelashvili as a tool he could control.
“Caligula wanted his horse to be a consul, our oligarch wants his puppet Kavelashvili to be a president,” he said, referring to the Roman emperor.
‘Illegitimate’
The new electoral process makes it a foregone conclusion that Kavelashvili will be the next president, with incumbent Salome Zurabishvili set to lose office.
But Kavelashvili will see his legitimacy undermined from the onset, with constitutional law experts — including an author of Georgia’s constitution, Vakhtang Khmaladze — saying the election will be “illegitimate”.
Tbilisi is currently engulfed in a constitutional crisis, with Zurabishvili demanding a re-run of October’s parliamentary elections.
Parliament had approved its own credentials in violation of a legal requirement to await a court decision on Zurabishvili’s bid to have the election results annulled.
Zurabishvili has declared the new parliament and government “illegitimate” and vowed not to step down at the end of her term on December 29 if Georgian Dream does not organise a fresh vote.
AFP
MOHAMED SALAH has agreed to join Turkish side Tranzonspor on a free transfer.
The Liverpool legend had been a free agent since his contract at Anfield expired at the end of the 2025/26 campaign.
Salah, 34, has agreed to move to Turkey on a two-year contract.
Tranzonsport confirmed that they were in negotiations with the attacker on social media.
The club then revealed that Salah would be arriving in Istanbul on Wednesday ahead of finalising the transfer.
A statement read: “Professional footballer Mohamed Salah, with whom we have begun transfer negotiations, will be at Istanbul Atatürk Airport General Aviation Terminal at 12:00 on Wednesday, August 5 (tomorrow).
“The player is scheduled to arrive in Trabzon on the same day in the evening hours.
“The time and other details regarding the welcome program in Trabzon will be shared with the public through our club’s official communication channels during the day.”
It read: “Professional footballer Mohamed Salah, with whom we have begun transfer negotiations, will be at Istanbul Atatürk Airport General Aviation Terminal at 12:00 on Wednesday, August 5 (tomorrow).
“The player is scheduled to arrive in Trabzon on the same day in the evening hours.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino could have earned nearly £47 million ($63 million) annually if his controversial proposal to sell a stake in the FIFA World Cup had gone ahead, according to reports.
The proposed deal was abandoned following widespread opposition from football governing bodies and member associations, with reports suggesting it could have increased Infantino’s annual earnings by about £42 million from his current salary of approximately £4.5 million.
That would have taken his total annual compensation to almost £1 million per week.
The plan involved raising about £3.1 billion in private investment for FIFA’s Football Future Enterprise (FFE) project. Investment bank JP Morgan was reportedly advising on the initiative, while Thrive Capital, backed by Jared Kushner, was among the investors expected to acquire a 20 per cent stake.
Infantino had repeatedly insisted that “nobody is selling football” as criticism of the proposal mounted.
UEFA reportedly spearheaded the opposition, with its member associations threatening to boycott FIFA competitions, including the World Cup. Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation also voiced their opposition, while England’s Football Association backed UEFA’s position.
The FA called for a comprehensive review of FIFA’s leadership and governance, stressing the need for greater transparency and long-term protection of the global game.
Facing mounting pressure, Infantino eventually announced that the proposal would not proceed, saying the project had created divisions that were no longer in the interest of its intended objectives.
“Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place,” he said.
Infantino added that FIFA’s purpose remained to unite and improve the sport, while pledging to bring football stakeholders together and rebuild unity.
Despite the collapse of the proposal and the criticism surrounding his leadership, reports indicate that Infantino intends to seek another term as FIFA president at the organisation’s 2027 election.
After loosing to Malawi in there Opening match of 2026 WAFCON cracker, The Super Falcons dig deep to secure a vital victory over Zambia in Rabat, despite playing the entire second half with 10 players.
The Super Falcons stumbled to a catastrophic loss in their July 28 opener against Malawi but put up a disciplined display against Zambia, a tournament favourite, to earn their first three points of the tournament on Saturday night.
Head Coach Justin Madugu made five changes to the side, bringing in six-time CAF Women’s Player of the Year winner Asisat Oshoala in place of Toronto-based Esther Okoronkwo, and Rofiat Imuran for Shukurat Oladipo.
The Copper Queens of Zambia came into the side with a lot of confidence after thrashing Egypt 6–0 in their opener, and it showed from the first blast of the whistle.
A misplaced possession move led to a turnover, with Super Falcons captain Rasheedat Ajibade sending a long ball toward Oshoala, whose speed helped her beat the Zambian defence and allowed her to get to the ball before the Zambian goalkeeper, who saved the initial attempt but was unable to stop the ball from ricocheting off Oshoala for the only goal of the encounter.
It was Oshoala’s 15th WAFCON goal in a storied career.
The Super Falcons went a woman down when Oluwatosin Demehin got sent off for bringing down the Copper Queens’ captain, Barbara Banda.
The game plan changed from then, as the Super Falcons maintained a strong defensive shape and only attempted forays into the opponent’s half on the counter.
In the end, their defensive grit, captain Ajibade’s disciplined play, and good goalkeeping from Chiamaka Nnadozie helped the Super Falcons to secure their first three points of WAFCON 2026.
Attention will now turn to the Cleopatras of Egypt, whom they face on Wednesday for a chance to progress to the next round.
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