Algeria sack coach Rajevac after Cameroon draw

Algeria sacked national team coach Milovan Rajevac yesterday, just over three months after he took charge, according to Algerian public television. “The Algerian Football Federation have decided to amicably terminate the contract of Milovan Rajevac,” the station reported, with the Serb having only replaced Christian Gourcuff in June.

Algeria drew 1-1 at home to Cameroon on Sunday in the opening round of matches in the final phase of African 2018 World Cup qualifiers. Assistant coaches Nabil Neghiz and Yazid Mansouri are expected to replace the 62-year-old Rajevac on an interim basis until a successor is appointed.

FAF president Mohamed Raouraoua met with Rajevac yesterday to sort out his future after several players reportedly called for his departure and blamed the Serb for Sunday’s draw in Blida. Algeria reached the last 16 of the 2014 World Cup but face a difficult task in qualifying for the tournament in Russia after being drawn alongside Nigeria, Cameroon and Zambia. Only the group winners qualify for the finals.

FIFA appoints first ever Chief Women’s Football Officer

Global football governing body FIFA has appointed Sarai Bareman as its first ever Chief Women’s Football Officer, the association announced yesterday. The New Zealand native will lead the newly created Women’s Football Division as part of FIFA’s management board, Zurich-based FIFA said.

“As the only female member of FIFA’s 2016 Reform Committee, Sarai was a strong advocate for change within the organisation, in particular calling for concrete requirements on women in leadership positions at FIFA,” FIFA said in a statement. Bareman, a former player on the Samoan women’s national team and deputy secretary general of the Oceania Football Confederation, will assume the role on Nov. 14.

Real Madrid stadium

revamp back on track

Spanish giants Real Madrid yesterday relaunched their 400mn euro ($443mn) bid to modernise their Bernabeu stadium paid for by an Abu Dhabi investor.

The project, less ambitious than the previous version blocked by the courts, includes the creation of a 6,000m2 public garden alongside the stadium, will be financed by Abu Dhabi-based sponsor IPIC, who will be given naming rights.

“It will be a spectacular transformation of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, which is one of the icons of our city and which we want to make one of the best stadiums in the world,” said club president Florentino Perez during a press conference at the Town Hall.

Perez added that investment company IPIC will pay for the refurbishment, due to begin next year, in its entirety in return for the stadium carrying the company’s name, although it will still also carry the name Bernabeu.

The new stadium will be furnished with a retractable roof without losing any of the 81,000-seat capacity. The agreement comes around a year after the Spanish courts blocked an original 2014 project plan, which included the enlarging of the stadium plot onto public land in order to build a hotel and shopping centre.

The shopping centre will now be included within the existing stadium while the hotel is no more than a “possibility”, according to Perez.

The original stadium was inaugurated in 1947 before being renamed in 1955 after iconic former president Santiago Bernabeu, who died in 1978. It has already undergone several makeovers since the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

Real’s great domestic rivals Barcelona have also announced plans to remodel their Camp Nou ground. That too will cost 400mn euros and will include a retractable roof while also increasing the capacity from 99,000 to 105,000.

Real’s cross-city rivals Atletico Madrid will for their part move to a new 73,000-seat stadium in the summer of 2017, leaving behind the 55,000-capacity Vicente Calderon stadium, which is set to be demolished and turned into a park.

Spanish clubs record

massive drop in tax debt

Spanish football clubs have slashed their tax debts to around a third of their 650mn euros ($720mn) apex from three years ago, La Liga officials said yesterday.

First and second division clubs have a cumulative 230-million-euro debt to the Spanish government, with six clubs — Atletico Madrid and Espanyol of La Liga and Valladolid, Mallorca, Zaragoza and Elche of the second tier — responsible for over 70% of that sum.

Neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona owe any tax to the government. “Thanks to a clean up in professional football the debt has been progressively reduced, as has global debt in the game,” La Liga’s internal affairs director Javier Gomez said.

The debtors have all been subject to La Liga safeguard measures and had negotiated gradual repayments with the tax authorities. La Liga predicts the debt control measures now in place will see the debt reduced to 50mn euros by 2020.

Roberto, Cillessen add to

Barcelona injury list

Full-back Sergi Roberto and goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen have returned to Barcelona from international duty injured, the Spanish champions said on Monday.

Dutch back-up keeper Cillessen is expected to be out for three weeks after suffering an ankle ligament injury while Roberto also faces a spell on the sidelines with a groin injury picked up during training with Spain. Barcelona were already without several first-team players.

Full-back Jordi Alba, who was injured in Spain’s 1-1 draw with Italy last week, is expected to be out for 10 days while Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitic (Achilles tendon) and French defender Samuel Umtiti (knee) are also on Barcelona’s growing injury list.

But at least Lionel Messi is on track to return in the coming week from the groin injury he sustained last month. Barcelona, fourth in La Liga, host Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday and then face Manchester City — led by former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola — in the Champions League on October 19.