...Turkmenistan, the domestic league has taken a strange turn – via a former dictator
WEIRD WORLD OF FOOTBALL
As FourFourTwoalways says, are you really a dictatorship until an unexpected team with links to the president has won the league in slightly dubious circumstances?
Central Asian former Soviets Turkmenistan took note of some similar instances elsewhere over the years, and decided to turn things up a notch – courtesy of the country’s former dictator Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov (don’t pronounce it all at once).
The 66-year-old was ruler of Turkmenistan for 16 years from 2006 to 2022, going full cult of the personality thanks to giant banners of his face, as well as TV appearances of him riding horses, cuddling puppies and playing basketball while riding a bicycle. Because why not?
After handing over his role as leader to his son Serdar, he then formed brand new football club FK Arkadag in a tiny new city that itself was only founded in 2019. They were immediately entered into the top flight in April 2023 and signed most of the country’s best players.
How did it turn out? Recently, they bagged the league title by winning every single match, amid reports that fans of other clubs were raising eyebrows at refereeing decisions.
Despite that, they still went through three managers during the campaign – it makes even Massimo Cellino seem patient...
A CUP DRAW CLAW
Belgians know how to live life on the edge – instead of boring cup draws, they determine the ties using an arcade claw.
Mo Messoudi did just that for the quarter-finals of the Belgian Cup – the ex-Gent midfielder operated the claw, lifting balls from a machine full of crisps.
The draw threw up ties like Oostende vs Molenbeek and OH Leuven vs Antwerp – the most exciting thing was still the claw.
• Welsh club Pontypridd United have been hit with a potential 141-point deduction – six points for player contract breaches, plus a further 135 points if they do it a
