A lot has been said about the World Cup Hero Josimar José Évora Dias, commonly known as Vozinha, the goalkeeper of Cape Verde, but there are things that really standout of the rest and makes his story a Hollywood fairytale.
Whereas most Cape Verde players were born abroad, in Spain, France, Portugal Netherlands, etc, Vozinha was born in Cape Verde in 1986, 40 years ago. He was never exposed to better football academies, never exposed to elite youth league systems, nor did he get exposure to European leagues during his youth.
He joined his first club in 2007, a local club Batuque, when he was already 21. At an age when players are starting to get moves to dream clubs in Europe, Vozinha is just singing for his first ever club. At the age of 25 in 2012, he left Batuque for another Cape Verde club, Mindelense. It was at the age of 26, a year later, that he debuted on the national team!
Vozinha left Cape Verde for Angola league, which was more advanced in 2012, and he joined the Luanda side Progresso Associação do Sambizanga before coming back to Mindelense in 2015. At the age of 29, no one seemed to know who Vozinha was except on the island of Cape Verde, one of the smallest countries in Africa.
In 2015, he left Cape Verde for European football. He didn't get signed in England, France, Germany, or spain leagues. He joined the Moldovan National League side Zimbru Chișinău. That's how he started his European expedition.
One special thing about Vozinha is that everywhere he goes, he leaves a mark! His excellent work in Moldova attracted the Portuguese club Gil Vicente, who signed him in 2016 when he was 30 years old. Who would know that a 30 year old goalkeeper in 2016 with probably two or three years left to retire would be a hero 10 years later? Only God!
At Gil Vicente in Portuguese Liga two, Vozinha saved 5 penalities in 32 games. He has always been a hero but not at a podium everyone one watches.
He signed for the Cyprot Top Division club AEL Limassol where he spent 5 years and left in 2022 when he was 36 joining the Slovak side As Trencin before returing to Portuguese Liga 2 side, this time to Chaves.
Helping the smallest country by size ever to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, Cape Verde lost one game in 10 matches leading a group that had African giants Cameroon.
Debuting in the World Cup at 40 years against 2010 World Champions and reigning European Champions, standing behind two center backs from Northern Ireland and UAE leagues, while facing a team that has some of the world's best players like Rodri, Yamal, Gavi and Torres, all we would expect was total humiliation.
Vozinha however had other plans, in a rain of 27 shots, 8 of them being on target, he braved through, made 8 saves and helped his country to keep a cleansheet and take a much needed point home.
Fast foward, his Instagram account has skyrocketed in following from as low as 43,000 followers to 6.1 million in less than a day.
One sad part is that his grandmother and grandfather, who have always supported him, are no longer alive to see the world appreciate the greatness of a person they always believed is that great. But his mom, much as she couldn't afford a ticket and related travel costs to the U.S., is at home in Cape Verde seeing her son making her country and the whole world proud.
At 40
Vozinha is:
-making a World Cup debut.
becoming a man of the match vs. Spain.
- Helping his country get their first world cup point.
-Gaining millions of followers on social media.
- Getting the world recognition he has always deserved.
It is never too late. Your time to shine will come no matter how old you are, and may your parents be alive to witness your success.
Most heroes wear caps, Vozinha wears gloves!
In Uganda, the main opposition figure, Dr. Kizza Besigye has been in prison for close to 2 years after he was abducted from Nairobi with the help of Kenyan President William Ruto. The son of President Museveni, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has been threatening to hang him.
The New Opposition candidate Robert Kyagulanyi also known as Bobi Wine who challenged Yoweri Museveni in 2021 and 2026 elections was witch hunted by Museveni's son after elections for two months as he promised soldiers a bounty and promotion if they brought him Bobi Wine dead or alive. He looked for an escape root and fled to the United States.
Right now, the lawyer to Dr. Kizza Besigye, Hon. Erias Lukwago who is also a former member of parliament and former mayor of Kampala city is currently abducted by the President's son and was tortured trans night as the President's son who also heads military boasted on X (formerly Twitter).
Yoweri Museveni has been the president of the East African country since 1986. His son is expected to succeed him.
Ugandan lawyer Erias Lukwago is arrested, taken to torture chambers for attempting to serve the son of the president court summons!
The son of the President, who is also the commander of Armed Forces Muhoozi Kainerugaba, confirmed that he is torturing Lukwago himself. "This fool will not sleep tonight. He'll be beaten trans night," he said.
Happy Birthday to the 45th and 47th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. A relentless patriot who fights every day for the country he loves, the people he serves, and the American Dream. 🇺🇸🇺🇸
Born in a refugee camp in Tanzania to parents who fled war in Burundi, Nesteroy Irankunda's journey to World Cup is one that you could hardly imagine.
His family relocated to Australia, and Irankunda's football script was starting to be written. His passion for football developed at home, where he used to play with his elder brother in the yard.
He wouldn't be spotted by any club till when he was eight and joined a local club in Parafield Gardens, where he played for two academies, Northern Wolves and Parafield Gardens
He didn't rise from elite academies of elite leagues in the world, Irankunda's growth is an example of hard work and resilience.
His talent attracted Australia National Premier Leagues side, Adelaide Croatia Raiders, at the age of 12 in 2018. 2 years later, he joined the youth system of A League club, Adelaide United.
From the refuge camps in Tanzania, to local clubs that don't exist in the league system of Australia, to A League, Bayern Munich, English Premier, and now scoring a goal for a country that became his home, giving Australia a win against Turkey in the most prestigious sporting event in the whole world, Irankunda's story an a testimony that we can dream beyond the environment that surrounds us.
The 45th and 47th President of the United States,
The 681st richest person in the whole world.
$6.1 billion net worth
The most powerful man on Earth at the moment.
A husband, father, and grandfather.
Happy 80th birthday, Donald J Trump.
African football fans claimed that the reason why they supported Mexico over South Africa is that South Africans are xenophobic and are chasing them from their country. Now, why hate Morocco?
Why are African football fans claiming that they will be supporting Brazil over Morocco, with social media full of a thousand hate-watch posts from Africans?
Is this not betrayal towards African brothers, and don't you think Africans need to change, unite, and support fellow African countries in such big tournaments? After all, a win for one African country is a win for all of Africa.
Morocco held the African Flag high in the 2022 World Cup, knocking out Football Giants like Belgium in the group stages, Spain and Portugal in progressive rounds. Why are you all against Morocco now?
U.S. Senetor Bernie Sanders calls for action against the sky rocketing Trillionaire Elon Musk.
Sanders says that there is a need to address the widening income inequality where wealth is accumulating in the hands of the few, leaving most Americans to work just to get what to eat.
"Elon Musk’s rise to trillionaire status is not a time to celebrate. It’s a call to action to take on the unprecedented income and wealth inequality, " Sanders said in a statement.
He further describes Musk as an oligarch who funded Donald Trump campaign in order to get power and control over the economy.
Elon Musk is said to have donated up to $290 million to have Donald Trump elected and has had his networth sky rocket to 1.1 trillion, a $700 billion increase in the last 1 and a half years when Trump has been the president, something Sanders doesn't believe is a coincidence.
"Our democracy can not survive when one man, who contributed $290 million to get Trump elected, becomes $700 billion richer since Trump’s election." Sanders added.
Elon Musk today became the world's first trillionaire after a successful SpaceX IPO, which lifted his net worth to $1.1T.
Sanders calls for the creation of government and an economy that works for everyone, not favoring a few individuals at the expense of many.
"This is not just about wealth. It’s about power. Musk and his fellow Oligarchs want it ALL.Together, we must fight back. We can and must create an economy and a government that works for all of us, not just Elon Musk and his fellow billionaires." Concluded Bernie Sanders.
Canada plays Bosnia and Herzegovina today on match day 2 of World Cup 2026.
Canada come as co-hosts, ranking higher in FIFA rankings in the 30th position and are favorites to win the tie. The team has played in 2 world cups before in 1986 and 2022, and they are yet to register a single World Cup win.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the other hand, have had only one World Cup qualification before, which happened in 2014. The Balkan country was eliminated from group stages after losing to Argentina and Nigeria getting their only win vs. Iran.
To qualify for 2026 World Cup, BIH defeated Italy in the UEFA Qualification play-off final. They rank 64th in the FIFA rankings.
Who will you support between Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina?