Sports

Premier League announces new rules for 2024/25 season

Published

4 months ago

August 10, 2024

Admin

The English Premier League has announced new rules for the upcoming 2024/25 football season.

As the domestic league games begin on Friday, August 16, 2024, with an opening match between Manchester United and Fulham, there will be a significant difference in the rules guiding the games, a statement on the EPL website read on Thursday.

“There will be a difference this campaign in how match officials will be applying the rules of the game,” the statement partly read.

Subs warming up

The number of substitutes in a single match is five players which started in the previous season. During warm-up, only three substitute players from each team are allowed to warm up at the same time.

However, starting this coming season, “the number of substitutes allowed to warm up at the same time on the perimeter of the pitch during a match has gone up from three to five players per team.

“This is to correspond with the fact that teams are able to make five substitutions at any one time.”

Multiball

The statement on the website stated that the EPL “will practise the multiball system in 2024/25, with 15 balls in use to speed up the game.

“When the match ball goes out of play and is not quickly retrievable, players must go to the nearest cone to collect a replacement ball themselves to restart play.”

The statement warned that “ball assistants are not permitted to return a ball to a player but should return it to a vacant cone.”

However, starting this new season, an exception to the rule is that “the ball assistants positioned behind the goals at the end where the ball goes out are allowed to return a ball to the goalkeeper who will take the restart.”

The statement also added that the referee would send off a club’s technical area staff who deliberately delays the restart of play by holding on to the ball, kicking the ball away, etc.

Also, any players who do the same in the technical area will receive a yellow card.

More accurate calculation of added time

“From this season, when a goal is scored, match officials will only start adding time on to the end of the match when the delay between the goal and the subsequent kick-off exceeds 30 seconds. This will allow natural time for both teams to resume their restart positions after each goal.

“Given that there were 3.28 goals scored per match last season on average, this change may result in a significant drop in stoppage time this season,” the statement noted.

Sports

I Failed In Front of the World Four Years Ago — Lookman’s Touching Speech After Winning CAF Award

Published

9 hours ago

December 19, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Super Eagles star, Ademola Lookman had delivered a touching speech after winning the 2024 CAF Men’s Player of the Year award.

According to him, he learned from his failure four years ago which made him a better player.

He said: “Just over four years ago I failed in front of the world. Fast forward four years, I’m the best player in Africa,” Lookman said after receiving the award.

“I want to say to the young children and people watching this: don’t let your failures weigh you down that they break your wings. Matter of fact, turn your pain into your power and continue to fight.

“Firstly. I want to thank the Almighty God for everything he has been doing in my life, and everything he has been blessing me with.

“I want to thank the president, I want to thank all my teammates- club and country. I want to thank them for all their support and love that they gave me.”

“This award today is a blessing to me, to my family, to my nation, and to be recognized as the best player in Africa. It’s something incredible and I’m extremely proud of.”

Sports

CAF Awards 2024: Full List of Winners

Published

1 day ago

December 18, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman, South Africa’s Ronwen Williams, and Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie emerged as some of the standout winners at the 2024 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards.

Lookman, who plays for Atalanta, clinched the prestigious CAF Men’s Player of the Year title, beating contenders such as Simon Adingra, Achraf Hakimi, Ronwen Williams, and Serhou Guirassy.

South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams dominated the night, bagging both the Men’s Interclub Player of the Year and the Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year awards.

Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie, known for her stellar performances, was named Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year.

Full List of CAF Awards 2024 Winners
CAF Men’s Player of the Year: Ademola Lookman (Nigeria)
Women’s Interclub Player of the Year: Sanaa Mssoudy
Men’s Interclub Player of the Year: Ronwen Williams (South Africa)
Women’s Club of the Year: TP Mazembe
Men’s Club of the Year: Al Ahly FC
Men’s National Team of the Year: Ivory Coast
Women’s National Team of the Year: Nigeria
Men’s Young Player of the Year: Lamine Camara
Women’s Young Player of the Year: Doha El Madani
Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year: Chiamaka Nnadozie (Nigeria)
Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year: Ronwen Williams (South Africa)
Women’s Coach of the Year: Lamia Boumehdi
Men’s Coach of the Year: Emerse Faé
Goal of the Year: Mabululu (Angola)

Sports

Ronaldo To Contest Brazilian Football Federation Presidency

Published

1 day ago

December 18, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Brazil legend Ronaldo has confirmed he wants to become president of the country’s football governing body to address a “deep crisis” the sport is facing nationally.

“I have hundreds of motivations, but I think the biggest of them is really to restore international respect to Brazilian football,” he said in an interview on Monday with the Globoesporte website.

Ronaldo said he wanted to be an “alternative for significant change” as candidate for the job of running the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF).

“O Fenomeno” (“The Phenomenon”), as the 48-year-old became known over the course of his 1993-2011 career, said he wants to use the CBF presidency to help Brazil’s national team to regain its glory as five-time world champions.

“The Selecao has to recover its prestige. I’ll do everything so that the players understand the historic importance of playing for the national team,” he said.

Ronaldo scored both goals when Brazil beat Germany in the 2002 World Cup final in Japan, and was twice winner of the Ballon d’Or.

To lodge his CBF candidacy, he needs the support of Brazilian regional clubs and federations.

To get those, he promised to travel “all around Brazil” and share the “incredible plans” he has for the sport.

The date of the next CBF election has not yet been set, but should happen between March 2025 and March 2026, according to Brazilian media.

‘Much deeper problem’

Current CBF chief Ednaldo Rodrigues has been criticized for slotting in temporary coaches for the national team after Tite’s 2022 exit while waiting for Carlo Ancelotti to arrive — something that did not happen when the Italian decided late last year to extend his contract as manager of Real Madrid.

Currently coached by Dorival Junior, the Selecao are fifth in South America qualifying for the 2026 World Cup tournament, seven points behind leaders Argentina.

“My problem is not Ednaldo. The problem is much deeper. My goal is to bring the people closer to the Selecao. Today, the people are indifferent when the Selecao plays,” Ronaldo told Globoesporte.

“I am an alternative of significant change for Brazilian football, which is going through a deep crisis,” he said.

Ronaldo, a former star for Barcelona, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, already has leadership experience.

In 2018, he took majority control of Spain’s Real Valladolid, and in 2021 did the same for Cruzeiro, the Brazilian club where he started his career.

He sold his Cruzeiro stake in April this year.

In his interview, Ronaldo said he was in talks to “very soon” sell his Valladolid stake to avoid “any obstacle” to his CBF candidacy.

AFP