June 19, 2022
The brief from today:
Question marks over Nkala signing
South Africa’s second division, the GladAfrica Championship, is where local team, Free State Stars, currently play. It was reported that they signed the footballer with the best nicknames in the world game, Xolani “Blackberry” “Scary Movie” Nkala, today. Such a move would be a step up from his current side Mambas FC, as it would mean playing in one of the country’s professional leagues. Despite those reports yesterday, he denied the move had taken place earlier today calling the story, “Just rumors.” He did admit to being eager for such an opportunity, however, and he remains “ready to grab it with both hands” should Free State Stars come calling. Nkala doesn’t just have some of the best aliases in the sport, he’s also an entertainer. Some of the skills he displays on the field are in the gray area between impressive and hilarious, and it would be interesting to see if going up a level will tame such things.
Le Graet seems out of touch
The president of the French Football Federation (FFF), Noel Le Graet, made some public comments today that upset France’s biggest star: Kylian Mbappe. France were eliminated from Euro 2020 in the Round of 16 after a penalty shootout against Switzerland a year ago. The decisive penalty was missed by Mbappe, which resulted in him being on the receiving end of racial abuse on social media. He disclosed all of this to Le Graet, and even said he was contemplating quitting the national time shortly after the elimination. Despite that disclosure, the federation president conducted an interview today and said Mbappe had wanted to stop playing for France for other reasons. In his rendition, the attacker wanted to quit because of the miss, and also the lack of support he received for the general criticism he faced online. Curiously, no mention was made about the racism he was told about by Mbappe. Le Graet has a bit of a reputation on this subject unfortunately. Last September, while discussing racism in football, he was quoted as saying, “It does not exist or hardly exists.” Unsurprisingly, Mbappe took to Twitter today to respond to Le Graet’s latest comments by saying, “I explained to him above all that it was in relation to racism, and NOT to the penalty.” Rather concerning that the head of the country’s football federation is displaying such conduct, and time will tell what impact it will have on the players.