Column

By Rasheed Adewuyi, New York Lessons on Teamwork and Emotional Control from the Tchouaméni and Valverd Training Incident The disagreement between Aurélien Tchouaméni and Federico Valverde during training offers several important lessons about teamwork and behavior in competitive environments. Situations like this remind people that even skilled professionals can face moments of frustration. However, the

By Paul Lucky Okoku Between Identity, Opportunity, and Performance: A Nation’s Football Dilemma When selection becomes perception, the soul of a footballing nation is tested. A national team must reflect not only the best players—but the system that produced them. Football rewards performance—but nations are built on development. There was a time when the journey

By Kazeem Ajibola Shoyebo When Michael Carrick was handed interim control of Manchester United following the dismissal of Rúben Amorim, the reaction was largely underwhelming. For many, it felt like a holding move rather than a bold reset, an internal appointment made to steady the club while the hierarchy searched for a more high-profile solution.

By Paul Lucky Okoku A reflection on leadership transition, experience, and the delicate balance between urgency and stability as Ghana prepares for the world stage. In football, a new coach does not just bring ideas, he inherits expectations, timing, and the weight of a nation. A late appointment can steady a team—or unsettle its rhythm. The

By Paul Lucky Okoku When preparation meets belief, criticism becomes background noise and history becomes unavoidable. A first Black champion in the Bundesliga, and a season that turned skepticism into submission. Vincent Kompany did not merely win the league; he won the argument. In football, and beyond, balance matters: merit must lead, but merit must

By Paul Lucky Okoku Ghana Fires Head Coach Weeks Before the World Cup: A Decision That Raises More Questions Than Answers A reflective examination of leadership decisions in African football, where preparation, pressure, and perception often collide at the edge of major tournaments. In football, as in life, the most dangerous decisions are not always

By Bolarinwa Olajide, Toronto Canada  Football gives joy, but it also delivers pain with frightening precision, and Nigerian fans know this better than most. Supporting the Super Eagles is a beautiful struggle: one moment you’re dancing, the next you’re staring at the TV in disbelief, hands on your head, wondering how life can be this

By Paul Lucky Okoku Fairness, Identity, and the Future of Women’s Football: Navigating a Global Sporting Crossroad Between inclusion and competitive integrity, football must find its balance in a rapidly evolving world When sport meets identity, governance must rise above emotion and anchor itself in fairness. “Football has always been a game of fairness—once that

By Kazeem Ajibola Shoyebo When the Nigeria Football Federation convened its much-anticipated Extraordinary General Assembly (EGA) on March 23, 2026, in Yenagoa, expectations were high that Nigeria’s football leadership would confront the deep-rooted challenges facing the game. Instead, what emerged from the gathering has left many stakeholders questioning whether the assembly lived up to its