World Soccer - UK (2022-07)

“Iamstayingnextseasonforsure”

LiverpoolforwardMohamedSalahdiscusseshisfuture

ECUADOR

FIFAopen

investigation

intopotentially

ineligibleplayer

Ecuador’splace at the 2022 WorldCup could
beunderthreatafterallegationsaboutthe
eligibilityofoneoftheirplayers.
TheChileanFootball Federation(FFC)
demandedthe investigationafterclaiming
thatfull-backByronCastillouseda false
birthcertificate to register forEcuador.
“Thereareinnumerableproofs thatthe
player wasbornin Colombia, in thecity
ofTumaco,onJuly25, 1 995,andnoton
November 10 ,1 99 8,intheEcuadoriancityof
GeneralVillamilPlayas,” saidanFFC statement.
AccordingtotheFFC,theeightqualifiers
thatCastilloplayedinshould be forfeitedby
Ecuadorand theiropponentsawardedthree
points.Thiswouldseeseventh-placedChile
leapfrogColombia, Peru andEcuadorinto
fourthplaceandWorldCupqualification.
“FIFAhasdecided to opendisciplinary
proceedingsinrelationtoByron DavidCastillo
Segura’spossiblebreachofthecallcriteriafor
theindicatedmatches,” saida FIFAstatement.

ENGLAND

Britain’sfirst

openlygaymale

footballerin

over 30 years

Ina landmarkmomentin thebattleagainst
homophobiainfootball,Blackpoolforward
JakeDanielsbecamethefirstplayer in the
men’sprofessionalgametocomeoutas
gaysinceJustin Fashanuin 19 90.
The 17 -year-oldonlysignedhisfirst
professionalcontractinFebruary, andwason
loanatnon-leaguesideBamberBridgelast
season.“SinceI’ve comeouttomyfamily,
mycluband my team-mates,thatperiod
ofoverthinkingeverything– andthe stress
itcreated– hasgone,” he toldSkySports.
“NowI am justconfidentandhappyto be
myselffinally.”
Danielsreceivedoverwhelmingsupportfrom
large swathesofthe footballcommunity, who
praisedhiscourage,honestyandmaturity.

WORLDSOCCER 13

GLOBALFOOTBALLINTELLIGENCE

2

Twocountries– ZimbabweandKenya–will

nottakepart in the 2023 AfricaCup of Nations

qualifiersafterfailingtooverturntheirFIFAbans.

6

Mauritiuswillcompeteinthegroupstage

qualifyingroundsofthe AFCONfor thefirst

timeinsixyearsaftertheirpreliminary round

opponents SaoTomee Principewerekicked

outfor fieldinganineligibleplayer.

344

NumberofgamesthatittookforPepGuardiola

toreach 25 0 PremierLeaguewins– thefastest

managertodosointheleague’shistory.

101

YellowcardsshowntoLeedsUnitedin 2021 -22,

a newPremierLeaguerecord fora singleseason.

17

Teamsthatwilltakepartin the 2022 Chinese

SuperLeaguecampaignafterChongqing

LiangjiangAthleticbecamethe country’s

latest clubtogooutofbusiness.

£ 4. 25 bn

Valueofthe dealtopurchaseChelsea,completed

byLADodgersbaseballteamownerToddBoehly.

323

KarimBenzema’s strikev Levante sawhimequal

Raul’s goaltally forRealMadridandbecomethe

club’s jointsecond-highestgoalscorerof alltime.

$ 440 m

ReparationsthatFIFA shouldpayto migrant

workersinQatar as partof a compensation

fund,accordingto AmnestyInternational.

Themonth numbers

Eye-catchingfactsandstatsfromtheworldoffootballthismonth...

in

Reallegend...

KarimBenzema

2023

TheAsianFootballConfederationisonthe

huntfor a new venuefornextyear’sAsian

CupafterChinawithdrewfromhostingduties

duetothecountry’s“Zero-COVID”policy.

22

SeattleSoundersbecamethe first Major

LeagueSoccerteamin 22 yearstowin

theCONCACAFChampionsLeague.

9

MonthsbanforTottenhamHotspurWomen’s

forwardChiomaUbogagu aftershetested

positiveforbannedsubstanceCanrenone.

26

Playersthathavebeenbannedfollowing

anallegationintomatch-fixingin Ghanaian

football – 14 fromAshantiGoldand 12

fromInterAllies.Bothclubshavealsobeen

relegatedfromthetopflighttothethirdtier.

5

YearsbetweenBrazilianwingerKenedy’s

lasttwoPremier Leaguestartsfor Chelsea

• in May 2017 andMay 2 022.Coincidentally,
  bothappearancescameagainst Watford.

15

Arsenal’s BukayoSakaandEmileSmithRowe

becamethe first U 21 playerstoeachscoreten

goalsina singlePremierLeagueseasonsince

CristianoRonaldoandWayneRooneydid

sofor ManchesterUnited 15 yearsago.

6

JulianAlvarez,theManchester Citystrikeron

loanatRiver Plate,scoreda doublehat-trick

inthe CopaLibertadoresagainstAlianzaLima.

Banned...

Ubogagu