分类： sports

LOS ANGELES – In a development that has roiled global football circles, FIFA confirmed Monday that award-winning Somali referee Omar Artan will not officiate at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, after U.S. border authorities denied him entry into the United States over the weekend.

Artan, who made history earlier this year as the first Somali ever selected to referee at a men’s World Cup finals, arrived at Miami International Airport Saturday to begin pre-tournament training and preparations, only to be turned away following additional routine vetting. A FIFA spokesperson confirmed to AFP that the ruling means Artan is ineligible to participate in any capacity at the co-hosted 2026 tournament, which is being held across Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

In its official statement, FIFA emphasized it has no ability to overturn or alter the U.S. government’s decision, noting that immigration vetting and visa approval fall entirely under the authority of host nations. “FIFA is not involved in host country immigration processes, including visa adjudications, and has been informed by authorities that Mr Artan’s status will not be changed at present,” the spokesperson said, adding that host governments retain final say over entry for all event participants, consistent with long-standing FIFA event policies.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed the denial in its own statement, framing the additional inspection as standard procedure when admissibility requires further verification. “Following inspection, the traveler, a referee for the FIFA World Cup, was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry,” a CBP spokesperson said.

The denial comes amid long-standing U.S. travel restrictions placed on Somalia, which was added to a sweeping immigration travel ban enacted during the Donald Trump administration as part of a broader crackdown on entry from several majority-Muslim nations. Notably, Somali government officials confirm Artan held a valid U.S. visa at the time of his arrival in Miami.

Ciise Aden Abshir, senior advisor to Somalia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports and a former captain of Somalia’s national men’s football team, called the decision a blow to the core principles of global football. “Omar Artan is among Africa’s most respected referees and deserves the support of the entire football community,” Abshir said. He added that “denying him entry to the United States and preventing him from officiating scheduled matches harms not only him personally but also undermines football’s commitment to fairness, merit, and the spirit of fair play.” Following the denial, Artan departed the U.S. for Istanbul, per Abshir.

Artan’s path to the World Cup was a landmark moment for Somali football. FIFA named Artan one of 52 top referees selected for the 2026 tournament earlier this year. He earned his FIFA referee badge in 2018, and has since officiated top-tier matches across Somalia’s national league, the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Algeria, and was named Confederation of African Football’s Men’s Referee of the Year in 2025 in recognition of his consistent, high-level work.

When Artan’s historic selection was announced in April, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud praised the referee as a beacon of hope for young Somalis. “I commend the effort, professionalism, and integrity shown by referee Omar, as he has become a symbol of inspiration for the new generation of Somalis,” Mohamud said at the time.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Fresh off a narrow 1-0 opening win over Panama in their two-match international friendly series, the Jamaican senior women’s national soccer team has shaken up its starting eleven for the second fixture, set to kick off Tuesday at Panama City’s Estadio Rommel Fernandez. Coaching staff have announced five new names in the starting lineup, with a mix of fresh faces and experienced core players to balance energy and tactical stability for the rematch.

Nyema Ingleton, Nikaya Small, Paige Bailey-Gayle, Trudi Carter and Natasha Thomas have all earned starting spots for the upcoming contest, building on the momentum from Jamaica’s opening victory. That opening win on Friday was secured by a first-half free kick goal from Shania Hayles, who retains her place in the starting eleven for the rematch.

In a move to maintain defensive solidity and on-field leadership, the coaching staff chose to keep several key regulars in the starting rotation. Starting goalkeeper Liya Brooks, as well as veteran defenders and midfielders Konya Plummer, Allyson Swaby, Deneisha Blackwood and Atlanta Primus all retain their positions from the first match.

The full starting lineup for Tuesday’s friendly is: Liya Brooks, Nyema Ingleton, Konya Plummer, Allyson Swaby, Deneisha Blackwood, Nikaya Small, Atlanta Primus, Paige Bailey-Gayle, Trudi Carter, Shania Hayles, and Natasha Thomas.

Reporting by Paul A Reid

Even as the early favorite to land the permanent head coaching role for Jamaica’s senior men’s national football team, the Reggae Boyz, interim boss Rudolph Speid has openly thrown his support behind the Jamaica Football Federation’s (JFF) decision to open a broad, extended search for the full-time position. Speaking after Jamaica’s 1-1 draw with South Africa in a recent international friendly held in Pachuca, Mexico, Speid emphasized that casting a wide net for candidates is the correct approach to finding the best fit for the program.

The top job has sat vacant for seven months, ever since former England manager Steve McClaren stepped down last November. McClaren’s departure came after a 0-0 draw against Curacao left Jamaica unable to secure automatic qualification for the 2025 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Speid, who also serves as head coach of domestic side Cavalier, stepped into the interim role immediately after McClaren’s exit. He led the Reggae Boyz through the final interconfederation playoff round last March, but a defeat to DR Congo in the playoff final extended Jamaica’s 28-year drought without a World Cup appearance.

JFF officially opened applications for the permanent position last Thursday, laying out clear criteria for candidates: applicants must hold a Concacaf A coaching license or its global equivalent, have elite-level coaching experience at either the club or international level, and demonstrate a proven ability to perform in high-pressure competitive environments. The JFF aims to appoint a new permanent head coach before August, giving the successful candidate ample time to build tactics and squad cohesion ahead of the Concacaf Nations League A campaign, which kicks off on September 21.

Speid was widely regarded as the front-runner for the role after turning in solid interim performances, even earning a public endorsement from JFF President Michael Ricketts, who named Speid and assistant coach Miguel Coley as ideal candidates to lead the program moving forward. A final decision on the appointment was originally scheduled for the end of April, but the process stalled when the JFF board failed to reach a unanimous agreement on hiring Speid permanently. The federation’s technical committee subsequently recommended extending the search through the summer, asking Speid to remain in the interim post for the recently concluded Unity Cup in London and last Saturday’s friendly against South Africa.

To date, early applicants include former Reggae Boyz players Darren Moore and Michael Johnson, both born in England, alongside Speid and Coley. In recent weeks, the applicant pool has grown to include multiple international coaches from Europe and North America, expanding the range of options for the JFF selection body.

Despite being the presumed leading candidate, Speid says he holds no resentment over the extended search process. “I don’t know if I’ll be the person — if I’m selected I’ll continue. But it’s the right way to go about it, get other people to apply and see if they can get the person that fits what they’re trying to do,” he said.

In the friendly against South Africa, a warm-up match for the World Cup-bound South Africans ahead of their opening clash with tournament hosts Mexico, Speid’s young Jamaican side earned a credible 1-1 draw. Winger Dwayne Atkinson scored a stoppage-time equalizer in the second half to cancel out a first-half goal from South Africa’s Oswin Appolis.

With Jamaica entering a new rebuilding phase following their March World Cup qualification failure, Speid noted that the recent friendly and Unity Cup fixtures have served as critical development time for a young, emerging squad. Both rosters for the recent matches carried an average age of under 22, with a large contingent of homegrown Jamaican-based players getting valuable senior international minutes. “We have the Nations League coming up in September, so this was a good way for us to get some games,” Speid explained. “Clearly we have to rebuild the team after failing to go to the World Cup last March. We have carried a lot of young players, this is probably the youngest national team ever, and we are trying to see what these players are made of.”

Against all expectations, Jamaica’s senior women’s national cricket team has built one of the most impressive dynastic runs in regional Caribbean cricket over the past half-decade, a streak of success that has confounded fans and analysts alike given the severe structural and resource constraints the squad operates under.

Early in 2024, the Jamaican side pulled off one of the most dramatic tournament turnarounds in recent regional cricket history to claim the prestigious Super50 Cup title hosted in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Entering the final matchday of the group stage, Jamaica sat in fifth place in the standings, but a dominant victory over the already crowned T20 regional champions Leeward Islands earned them critical bonus points that pushed them all the way to the top of the table and secured the championship. This latest trophy adds to an unprecedented streak: in the last five consecutive years, Jamaica’s women have claimed five regional titles, including a historic T20 and Super50 double championship in 2024.

But behind this extraordinary run of success lies a growing conversation about unmet potential. Head coach Shane Brooks, the strategic leader who has guided the team’s victories since 2022, argues that with improved institutional support from the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA), the team could reach even greater heights. In an interview with the Jamaica Observer following the 2024 Super50 win, Brooks emphasized that the current system is leaving the team unnecessarily unprepared for competition.

“We have a group of ladies that is the most successful in the last decade. They have won more trophies than anybody, yet the preparation is watered down,” Brooks said. “What I’d love is for us to have a programme that’s operational, one that is running. We really don’t have a [women’s] cricket programme in the country. We gather a month, or sometimes two months, before a tournament — and that’s not sufficient.” Unlike top regional competitors that offer full-time contracts and year-round training programs for elite female players, Jamaica’s structure lacks even consistent domestic club competition to keep players match-fit between national tournaments. The rushed crash-course preparation before major events has even led to preventable health issues, Brooks explained: “A lot of times these ladies find themselves on the injury list because of the crash course in getting them ready for a tournament.” Reflecting on the 2024 Super50 turnaround, Brooks noted that the squad entered the tournament underdone: “We had a shorter time to prepare the team. We were not as sharp as we would have liked but the duration of the tournaments allowed us to get better each passing day.”

JCA leadership has acknowledged the gaps in the current system, citing chronic underfunding and conflicting scheduling priorities as the core barriers to building a consistent year-round program. O’neil Cruickshank, JCA’s manager of cricket operations and development, explained that while the association regularly includes women’s domestic tournaments on its official calendar, logistical and financial hurdles often derail those plans. Scheduling conflicts with regional tournaments organized by Cricket West Indies (CWI) and unavailability of top Jamaican players competing in overseas franchise competitions force regular rescheduling, he said. When push comes to shove, the association prioritizes preparing the national squad for regional competition over running domestic events when resources are tight. “When they come back it might be a case of having national teams to prepare, and if at the time the cash flow is not able to run [both] we would prioritise the national team preparation,” Cruickshank explained. Despite these ongoing challenges, Cruickshank confirmed that the JCA has formal plans in place to host both domestic T20 and 50-over tournaments for women in the upcoming summer, and acknowledged that more work is required to keep female cricketers active consistently.

JCA President Dr Donovan Bennett echoed Cruickshank’s note that limited funding is the primary barrier to structural reform, but highlighted progress in youth talent development as a bright spot for the future of the sport. The association runs an active nationwide talent identification program led by former men’s national coach Junior Bennett, which has worked across the island to spot and nurture young female cricketing talent from a young age. That early development work, paired with Brooks’ skilled coaching at the senior and under-19 levels, has been key to delivering the team’s current streak of titles despite limited resources.

Still, Brooks warns that Jamaica risks falling behind rival regional programs that have already prioritized investment in women’s cricket. Top competitors including Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana have implemented sustainable year-round programs, offered full-time contracts to elite female players, and support 12 months of annual training — a model Jamaica needs to adopt to maintain its competitive edge, Brooks argued. Without a full overhaul of the current underresourced structure, even the team’s remarkable current run of underdog success may not be sustainable against increasingly well-funded competition in the region.

On the sun-drenched streets of Monte Carlo, one of Formula 1’s most anticipated opening laps ended in dramatic disappointment for four-time world champion Max Verstappen on Sunday. The Red Bull driver, who had lined up on the front row of the grid for the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix, suffered a crippling technical issue that left him stationary as the starting lights went out, ending his race barely moments after it began.

Monaco’s tight, unforgiving street circuit is famous for making overtaking all but impossible, meaning a strong starting launch is the single most critical factor for any driver gunning for victory. Verstappen had gone into the race poised to capitalize on his front-row starting spot, aiming to surge past the pole sitter into the first turn and seize the unchallenged lead that would all but guarantee a win. Instead, a failing power unit left him stuck on the grid as the rest of the field streamed past.

Speaking over team radio immediately after the incident, the Dutch driver, widely known by his nickname “Mad Max”, expressed shock and frustration over the unexpected failure. He noted that abnormal engine behavior had already emerged during the pre-race warm-up lap, and the issue spiraled out of control entirely while he waited on the grid for the race to start. “The engine was bizarre, even on the warm up lap. And then I could see on the grid the engine going crazy. The race was destroyed,” Verstappen told his team.

Showing quick, sportsmanlike reflexes, Verstappen was able to steer his disabled car left across the grid, clearing a path for oncoming drivers and avoiding a high-speed multi-car pileup at the opening turn. That quick action allowed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, a native Monegasque who entered the weekend to massive home crowd support, to sweep around Verstappen safely without incident.

At the head of the field, Mercedes’ young Italian driver Kimi Antonelli, who entered the weekend as the current Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship leader, held onto the lead he earned by claiming pole position on Saturday. Holding off all challengers through the first chicane, Antonelli emerged from the opening lap in first place, putting him in the perfect position to claim a historic fifth consecutive Grand Prix victory if he can maintain his pace through the 78-lap race.

On Saturday, June 6, the community of Olympic Gardens in Kingston, Jamaica played host to a vibrant celebration of emerging chess talent, drawing more than 120 young participants from across the St Andrew West Central constituency for the 2026 St Andrew West Central Chess Fun Day.

The oversubscribed community gathering, hosted by Jamaica’s Prime Minister and local Member of Parliament Dr Andrew Holness, was held at the Jamaica China Goodwill Infant School. The event brought together young players of all skill levels, from first-time beginners to seasoned competitive youth competitors, for a full day of structured coaching, ranked matches and youth engagement centered around the strategic board game.

This initiative is part of a long-term effort to provide children in the constituency with access to constructive, developmental activities that build core life skills including discipline, focused attention, critical analysis and self-confidence. Over the course of the day, certified chess coaches guided sessions tailored to each skill group: new players were walked through the fundamentals of the game, from how each piece moves to core defensive strategies for protecting the king and the importance of planning ahead before committing to a move. For experienced young players, the event offered a low-pressure, supportive space to refine existing skills and test their abilities against peers in structured competitive play.

Separate competitive divisions were held for beginner and advanced players, with MVP medals awarded to the top five performers in each category. Eight-year-old Je’Nasiya Mais, a local community resident and student at Morris Knibb Preparatory School who already holds the title of 2025 Central American and Caribbean Youth Chess Champion, claimed the top honor as Chess Champion of the Day. Prime Minister Holness personally presented Mais with a trophy, medal and new tablet for her outstanding performance. Eleven-year-old Tradail Boodie took home first runner-up, also receiving a trophy and medal for his strong showing across the day’s matches.

One of the most anticipated highlights of the event was Holness’ own participation in two friendly exhibition blitz matches. The prime minister first faced off against the day’s champion Je’Nasiya Mais, before taking on rising young chess star Jaden Shaw, drawing a crowd of excited young spectators who gathered to watch the casual, engaging contests.

In his address to participants after the matches, Holness encouraged the young players to continue pursuing chess and take the sport seriously, noting that it holds international recognition and delivers cognitive and personal benefits that extend far beyond competitive play. Sharing his own long history with the game—dating back to his high school years—the prime minister explained that he has personally experienced the transformative benefits of chess, which builds patience, discipline, sustained concentration, confident decision-making, long-term strategic thinking, and the ability to anticipate multiple steps ahead.

Holness emphasized that every move in chess carries measurable consequences, making the sport a uniquely effective tool for teaching young people personal responsibility, the value of advance preparation, and clear, calm decision-making under pressure. He added that Jamaica already holds all the raw talent needed to produce more elite chess players and future grandmasters, particularly as more children gain access to the sport through structured community and national programs.

The prime minister also outlined his administration’s ongoing commitment to growing chess across Jamaica, highlighting the national government’s longstanding partnership with the Jamaica Chess Federation through the GM-in-10 Programme, a flagship initiative to develop elite Jamaican chess talent that has received a $40 million investment from the Sports Development Foundation. Looking ahead to local development projects in St Andrew West Central, Holness announced plans to integrate chess facilities into new and upgraded public parks and recreational spaces across the constituency, making the sport readily accessible to residents, especially children and young people.

The 2026 Chess Fun Day was staged in partnership with Ian Wilkinson, President of the Jamaica Chess Federation, who was publicly recognized for his decades of support and contributions to the growth of chess in Jamaica. Additional support for the event was provided by the Jamaica Chess Federation’s executive team and coaching staff, independent private chess clubs, the Jamaica Constabulary Force, the principal and staff of the Jamaica China Goodwill Infant School, the Penwood Cadet Unit, Porosi Procurement, and Genius Empire Sound.

In a startling incident that has echoed across the global football community, Danish star Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch Sunday during an international friendly against Ukraine, marking the second major cardiac scare for the 34-year-old midfielder five years after his life-threatening cardiac arrest at the European Championships.

The match, held in the Danish city of Odense, was halted permanently in the 64th minute when Eriksen fell to the turf with Denmark holding a 2-1 lead. Medical teams rushed onto the field to provide immediate care, and the referee called the contest 15 minutes after the incident, with Eriksen transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.

Contrary to initial widespread concern, early updates from the Danish Football Association and the national team’s medical staff have delivered reassuring news. Team doctor Morten Boesen confirmed that Eriksen briefly lost consciousness but recovered awareness rapidly, and was even able to walk off the pitch unassisted. Boesen added that the cardiac pacemaker Eriksen has worn since his 2021 Euro incident functioned exactly as designed during the event.

“Christian is doing well under the circumstances,” the Danish Football Association shared in an official statement posted to social media. Boesen also relayed a message from Eriksen himself: the player asked to extend his regards to all his teammates and confirm he is in stable condition. Medical teams are now conducting a full series of tests at the Odense hospital to pinpoint the exact cause of Sunday’s collapse.

This incident brings back painful memories of Eriksen’s 2021 cardiac arrest, which occurred during a Euro 2020 group stage match against Finland. On that occasion, Eriksen collapsed mid-game, requiring emergency on-pitch resuscitation to save his life. Unlike Sunday’s match, UEFA, European football’s governing body, ordered Denmark to resume the fixture just hours after the incident, a decision that sparked widespread outrage across the sport.

Danish legend Peter Schmeichel, whose son Kasper was Denmark’s starting goalkeeper at the time, labeled UEFA’s stance “absolutely ridiculous” and accused the organization of a blatant lack of compassion. Then-Denmark manager Kasper Hjulmand later admitted that the team never should have taken the pitch again that day. Despite the turmoil, Denmark rallied after the incident, advancing all the way to the tournament semi-finals before being eliminated by eventual champions England.

After the 2021 incident, Eriksen was sidelined from professional football for more than six months. He was forced to leave Italian side Inter Milan due to national rules barring athletes with pacemakers from competing professionally. He made his comeback seven months later with English Premier League club Brentford, before earning a transfer to Manchester United, where he lifted both the FA Cup and League Cup. Currently, Eriksen plays for German Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, where he has one year remaining on his current contract.

He also successfully returned to international football, representing Denmark at both the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and Euro 2024 hosted by Germany. Denmark ultimately failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, which is set to kick off next week in North America.