Marie-Louise Eta /Credit: Getty Images

Marie-Louise Eta has made history after being appointed interim head coach of Union Berlin, becoming the first woman to manage a men’s team in one of Europe’s top five football leagues.

Her appointment runs until the end of the season following the dismissal of head coach Steffen Baumgart after Union Berlin’s 3-1 defeat to bottom-placed FC Heidenheim.

Union Berlin currently sit 11th in the Bundesliga table, 11 points clear of the relegation zone with five matches remaining.

However, the club has struggled for form, winning only twice in their last 14 league matches in 2026.

Club director of men’s football Horst Heldt said in a statement on the club’s website that the decision was driven by recent performances and the need for a fresh approach in the final stages of the season.

“We have had a hugely disappointing second half of the season. The performances shown in recent weeks do not give us confidence that we can turn things around with the current set-up,” Heldt said.

Eta is no stranger to breaking barriers at the club. She became Union Berlin’s first female assistant coach in November 2023 and later made history again in January 2024 when she led the team from the touchline during a Bundesliga match while then-manager Nenad Bjelica was suspended.

Seven players from the Eritrea national football team have failed to return home after their side secured a historic victory over Eswatini national football team.

A source close to the squad told the BBC on Monday that while part of the team travelled back via South Africa after the match, the seven players are believed to have absconded.

The development comes shortly after Eritrea’s 2–1 win in Eswatini, which secured a 4–1 aggregate victory and a return to the qualifying group stages of the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 19 years.

Sources said only 10 members of the 24-man squad were based in Eritrea, and just three of those players—including team captain Ablelom Teklezghi—have returned to the country.

Although the whereabouts of the missing players remain unclear, reports indicate that some may have been seen in South Africa. Among those who failed to return are goalkeeper Kubrom Solomon and veteran winger Medhanie Redie.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed the 16 countries that will compete at the 2026 Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The 16 teams set to feature at the tournament are :

Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire; DR Congo Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Morocco (hosts); Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.

The competition is scheduled to take place in Morocco from April 25 to May 15, 2026, and will also serve as Africa’s qualification route for the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.

With the global tournament expanding to 48 teams, the top 10 finishers at the AFCON finals will secure qualification.

However, Nigeria is missing from the tournament for the second consecutive edition.

Nigeria’s absence follows their elimination in the WAFU Zone B qualifiers, where the Golden Eaglets suffered a 2-0 semi-final defeat to Ghana in September 2025, ending their hopes of reaching the continental stage.

CAF’s qualification process is organised across six regional zones—UNAF, WAFU A, WAFU B, UNIFFAC, CECAFA, and COSAFA—with each region hosting its own tournament to determine representatives for the AFCON finals.