— UEFA

According to a UEFA statement on Monday, FIFA has “crossed a red line” with the controversial decision to suspend US star Folarin Balogun one game ban for a year.

The European football’s governing body said this after the intervention of Donald Trump, permitting Balogun to play in the co-hosts’ World Cup last 16 match with Belgium later on Monday.

“Yesterday’s decision to suspend for a probationary period of a year the implementation of the one-match automatic suspension following the red card issued to the player Folarin Balogun crossed a red line,” read UEFA’s strongly worded statement.

“Football, like any other sports, relies on rules, which are the basis for fair, honest and transparent competition. Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not.”

UEFA warned of the ramifications for the sport as a whole.

“Football is the most loved sport in the world because it is a beautiful game and is trusted because it is played everywhere with the same laws,” the statement added.

“A tournament is never a pure standalone and, if the tournament in question is the World Cup, it has the power to drive positive or negative consequences on the game as a whole.

“We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.”

Meanwhile, Balogun has scored three goals at the World Cup, was set to miss the clash in Seattle after receiving a straight red card following a video review for stepping on a Bosnia-Herzegovina defender’s foot in the round-of-32 match the US won 2-0.
Under FIFA rules, a straight red card automatically triggers a one-game ban.
Trump called FIFA chief Gianni Infantino asking him to review Balogun’s punishment, two sources familiar with the matter told AFP.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also publicly called for the card to be rescinded.

The decision to suspend the ban was taken by FIFA’s disciplinary committee.

World football’s governing body said Sunday the ban will now be suspended for a year, in a stunning move for which no specific explanation was offered.

“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

The Belgians were stupefied by the ruling.

“I didn’t know that at the FIFA World Cup, the 5th of July is now the 1st of April, and that it’s April Fool’s Day,” Belgium coach Rudi Garcia told reporters.

By Seyi Balogun, Lagos

Nigeria’s inability to qualify for the world cup has been squarely blamed on the country’s football governing body, Nigeria Football Federation, NFF.

The calibre of people constituting the body with their selfish and unpatriotic behaviour are believed to always deny the country of its deserved success during the qualifiers. It is their interests-first posture that runs counter to the country’s which have forced widespread agreement among stakeholders, sporting icons, and the public that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is a body of saboteurs that requires an immediate, top-to-bottom structural overhaul.

Reports show that for billions of fans across the globe, the tournament represents the pinnacle of sporting competition — unity, passion, and fair play on the grandest stage.

‎But unfortunately, even as the World Cup always carries a deeper resonance among Nigerians, the Super Eagles’ inability to secure a spot at the global tournament has diminishing the international marketability of Nigeria’s top talent and stunted the growth of the domestic game, does not bother NFF.

It is believed by stakeholders and sporting icons that until the NFF is overhauled and depoliticised, the country’s immense footballing talent will continue to waste.

‎Incompetence and sabotage are often widely cited as the root cause of the Super Eagles’ consecutive failures to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. These are , reportedly rooted in pervasive mismanagement, delayed player bonuses, and chaotic terms of coaching appointments all of which devastate the team’s playing momentum.

‎To Vanguard, “This failure represents something far deeper than poor performance on the pitch. It is the inevitable culmination of years of institutional rot, a systemic collapse engineered by a football federation that has perfected the art of self-sabotage.

“From financial mismanagement and chronic player neglect to the abject decay of youth development structures, Nigerian football has been methodically stripped of its competitive edge by the very federation meant to nurture it.”

‎To former Nigeria international, Segun Odegbami, who has become the strident, lone voice in the wilderness, the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is an unacceptable situation for one of Africa’s biggest football nations.
‎“The government must act,” he insists.

‎According to him:
“It’s not an Odegbami project, it’s a national call to save our football from the stranglehold of scavengers who have nothing to offer other than what they grab in the process. If people decide to peep from the window, I’ll go all the way,” Odegbami said.

‎‘Mathematical’, as he was fondly called in his hay days, said World Cup qualification should be considered a minimum expectation for a nation with Nigeria’s football pedigree.

‎Economically, Nigeria’s absence from the 2026 FIFA World Cup denied the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, a guaranteed $10.5 million (over N15.5 billion) in direct FIFA prize and preparation funds.

The country also loses crucial sponsorship investments, global player marketability, and local economic revenue from tourism and broadcast subscriptions.

‎Participating nations in the expanded 48-team tournament are guaranteed at least $10.5 million, which represents up to 87 percent of NFF’s projected annual budget.

‎These ‘missing’ FIFA funds would have been deployed for grassroots development projects to build sustainable football infrastructure beyond the World Cup cycle.

It’s sad to note that in a country as big as Nigeria, there’s no stadium one can point at as a standard and functional stadium to meet the Confederation of African Football’s, CAF, and FIFA’s standards.

The Godswill Akpabio International Stadium (also known as Nest of Champions) in Uyo is fading away from its beauty and functionality because of over use.

Yet, there are over 30 stadia scattered across the country, but decades of negligence and poor maintenance have left many in unfit for international playing standards.

For instance, despite being the commercial capital, Lagos struggles to host top-tier games because the National Stadium in Surulere is in a state of extreme disrepair, and the Teslim Balogun Stadium requires constant upkeep to maintain certification.

The massive funds from FIFA would have gone a long way in revitalising the stadiums if we had competent and accountable people in charge of football.

‎Nigeria, is expected to follow Italian government’s reaction after their national team, the Azurris, failed to qualify for the third World Cup.

The government swiftly reacted to the national team’s playoff elimination by demanding a total overhaul of the country’s football federation. Sports Minister, Andrea Abodi, explicitly called for the resignation of Italian Football Federation, FIGC, president, Gabriele Gravina, while lawmakers demanded structural reforms and stricter limits on non-European Union, EU, players to help nurture domestic talent.

Abodi publicly stated that the FIGC President, Gabriele Gravina, should step down. Multiple lawmakers echoed this demand, stating that the leadership needed to be held accountable for the decline of Italian football.

The government of Nigeria can and should do same but despicable is being mute, not even a word from it. No government statement as if to endorse the failure.

The fellows at the Football House rolled their sleeves and tossed gullible Nigerians around with a petition challenging the eligibility of some Congolese players.

FIFA originally rejected the petition, but the NFF determined to toy with the hopes of Nigerians, appealed that decision, seeking to overturn the outcome of their 2026 World Cup playoff.

Yet, government did not respond, thereby heightening fears that the same government might be complicit in the affairs of NFF.

Former Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung said the problems undermining the country’s football development dated back decades and have remained largely unaddressed because of entrenched interests.

He narrated an encounter with an elderly man who told him that “in sports, we work harder for failure than for success.”

He said the man had also told him that tournament budgets were prepared up to the final stage, but noted that administrators benefit more financially when teams exit early because unspent funds are rarely accounted for.

He said this revelation proved true during his time in office, noting that attempts to demand accountability were often misrepresented as “ministerial interference.”

The deafening silence from those with the constitutional authority to checkmate corruption in the beautiful game that relieves pain and suffering of citizens has heightened fears that Nigeria may miss the next FIFA World Cup in 2030 to be jointly hosted in two continents by three countries (Morocco, Spain and Portugal) to celebrate the tournament’s centenary.

Government’s indifference since the Eagles failed to qualify for the World Cup has been interpreted to mean passive enablement, or a lack of accountability. It encourages the misfits in NFF who may lead Nigeria to another failure. They have clearly shown that they have nothing to offfer.

Reactions from governments whose teams even qualified for the World Cup but didn’t shine in the first round, have shown that the silence of Nigerian government over our back-to-back non-qualification is suspicious.

Saudi Arabia’s early FIFA World Cup exit prompted their federation chief to resign.

“The failure of the national team to qualify for the next round of the World Cup is a result that falls short of all our ambitions, and I bear full responsibility for it. I offer my apologies to everyone who hoped to see our team in a better position,” Yasser al-Misehal wrote before throwing in the towel.

“A sense of responsibility requires giving the opportunity to open a new chapter, and I have decided not to continue,” he added.

Saudi Arabia played in their third consecutive World Cup this year. They were among the seven Asian teams who were knocked out in the group stage as only Japan and Australia advanced to the round of 32.

Saudi Arabia has invested nearly $2billion in football over the past three years, luring Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema to the Saudi Pro League, now one of the most lucrative competitions in the world.

The backlash over the team’s performance reached the highest levels and they decided to go for a clean sweep and introduce the spark of creativity in their football administration.
The reaction of Uruguay is equally noteworthy. Uruguayan Football Association, AUF, and government did not hide their anger and dissatisfaction with their team when they cancelled the national team’s scheduled private charter flight back from North America, following their disastrous group-stage elimination from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Instead, players and staff were left to arrange their own travel individually on commercial flights.

This is a typical government swift, decisive action that shows to whom much is given, much is expected.

In the case of South Korea, following their shock elimination from the group stage of the World Cup, President Lee Jae-myung publicly apologised to the nation and ordered the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to launch a full-scale government investigation into the Korea Football Association, KFA.
The government’s rapid intervention brought great relief to the people as they try to fashion a way of making progress with fresh and progressive minds.
The country’s leader said he felt “not just confusion but utter bewilderment at the unexpected outcome,” adding that the early exit “appears to be a failure of organisation and personnel.”
The government rebuked the football authorities and took prompt actions. Keeping quiet like the Nigerian government has done could imply consent.
That is why when the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, expressed frustration over Nigeria’s absence from the tournament, Nigerian football fans hailed him for speaking out.
He remains the only cabinet minister who has expressed angst over the management of football in the country.
Wike, who spoke at the commissioning of the Gwagwalada-Kuje Road project, where ex-Super Eagles’ captain, Joseph Yobo, was among dignitaries, expressed sadness over Nigeria’s failure to feature at the World Cup.
The minister said that despite Nigeria’s credentials and the number of players of Nigerian heritage featuring at the World Cup, not seeing the Super Eagles play on the biggest stage was hard to accept.
“Yobo, go and tell them. We are not happy,” Wike said.
Nigeria failed to reach a second consecutive World Cup tournament after losing to DR Congo in the African playoff tournament last year.
The Super Eagles, who first featured in the competition in 1994, made the play-offs after losing the direct ticket to South Africa, despite beating neighbours, Benin Republic, 4-0 in the final match of the qualification series.
Legendary Odegbami vowed that he would not let the sleeping dog lie until government comes out of its shell to “chase out those who have long overstayed at the football house and breathe new life to reposition football for the betterment of the game.”
He wants them voted out in the next elections. Like many Nigerians, he is calling for change of the NFF statutes so that those on board now can be legitimately voted out.
Chikelue Iloenyosi, FA Chairman of Anambra State, has urged ex-internationals to go into football politics to be able to have a say in Nigeria’s football governance.

Another ex-international, Austin Popo, concured saying, “This is the time for us to close ranks and save Nigerian football.’’
Stakeholders believe that, for Nigeria to avoid missing a third consecutive FIFA World Cup, the time to act is now. We must move beyond rhetoric and embrace meaningful reforms.
Football administration must be driven by competence, accountability and transparency, rather than politics and personal interests.

The Ghetto Kids, once street dancers in Kampala before turning a social media sensation, will join the anthem queen of the World Cup at the tournament’s first Super Bowl‑style halftime show.

The kids, whose moves have earned them millions of followers on social media, will bring their energy to the FIFA World Cup Final at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

A group of children from Kampala will stand at the centre of MetLife Stadium on July 19, and the woman beside them will look entirely at home. That image, equal parts improbable and inevitable, tells you almost everything about Shakira. When the 2026 World Cup final stages the first Super Bowl-style halftime show in the tournament’s history, she will headline it, and she will not arrive alone. She has invited Uganda’s Ghetto Kids to dance with her before the largest audience football can summon. The children have already appeared in the video for her song ‘Dai Dai’, the official anthem of the 2026 tournament.

No artiste is more bound to the sound of the World Cup than Shakira, and the bond was forged in a single summer. In 2010, ‘Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)’ became the actual pulse of a tournament, a chant that travelled from Johannesburg stadiums into living rooms where nobody spoke Spanish and everybody knew the words. It is still among the best-selling World Cup songs ever recorded. What gave it weight was the grace of the gesture. She built it on an African melody, performed it with the South African band Freshly ground, and handed the moment back to the place that lent it.

Singer Shakira performs during the opening ceremony of the World Cup | Photo Credit: AP

Consider the symmetry of what comes next. The Ghetto Kids were founded by Dauda Kavuma on the streets of Katwe, one of Kampala’s poorest quarters, and they turned scarcity into something joyful and ungovernable. Over a decade they danced into a French Montana music video and onto the stages of Britain’s Got Talent and America’s Got Talent. Now Shakira is pulling them onto her stage. The woman who once gave Africa its World Cup anthem is handing a group of African children the spotlight, and the circle she opened in 2010 quietly closes. This is the throughline I keep returning to with her: she is forever enlarging the moment to make room for others in it.

To understand why that instinct feels so natural, it helps to remember where she comes from. Born in Barranquilla in 1977 to a Colombian mother and a father of Lebanese descent, she turned that inheritance into the music itself. The hip movement the whole world now imitates began as an Arabic dance she learned as a child. The crossover that followed produced numbers that are difficult to overstate. She is the best-selling Latin female artiste of all time, the first Colombian to win a Grammy, and the holder of four Grammys and fifteen Latin Grammys. ‘Laundry Service’ made her a global name without asking her to abandon the strangeness that made her interesting, and in 2020 she stood beside Jennifer Lopez at the Super Bowl and reminded sixty thousand people that two Latina women could own the biggest stage in American television. Through ‘Hips don’t lie’, ‘She wolf’, and that voice which trembles and refuses to behave, she never asked the world to meet her halfway. She assumed it would come along.

There is another side of her that rarely gets highlighted but explains the rest. Long before the Ghetto Kids, Shakira built the Pies Descalzos Foundation, named after one of her own albums, to fund schools and nutrition for children in the poorest corners of Colombia. Philanthropy for her has never been a press release. It is the same impulse as the music: a platform is only worth having if you can pull others onto it.

Her most recent chapter is also her most exposed. After a public separation and a few hard years, she returned with Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, an album that turned heartbreak into something closer to resolve and won Best Latin Pop Album at the 2025 Grammys. The moments people remember from the tour that followed are rarely the pyrotechnics. They are the nights her sons, Milan and Sasha, walked out beside her in matching suits and sang their own small solos while she watched with undisguised pride. She folds her children into her work the way she folds in everything, openly and without apology.

That instinct is the real subject here. When she stands in that stadium this summer, the song will belong to the kids from Katwe finding their footing in front of a billion people, and to everyone watching them realise they were invited. That has always been the trick of her music: she makes the biggest possible stage feel like it has room for one more.

The Hindu