The move, according to the post, is in response to CAF’s decision to strip Senegal of the 2025 AFCON title, which sparked several controversies.

A part of the claim reads, “ This movement could reshape African football, with Eto’o and Weah emerging as potential leaders. Eto’o’s experience and Weah’s prestige as the only African World Player of the Year make them strong candidates for the top roles.”

The post identified several African past footballers pushing the breakaway faction, including Samuel Eto from Cameroon, Didier Drogba from Cote d’Ivoire, and Samuel Osei Kuffour from Ghana, amongst others.

The post has since then garnered 1,000 likes, 500 comments, and 128 shares as at March 25, 2026.

ROUNDCHECK observed that several Facebook users had conflicting views about the claim.

Facebook user Eghwubare Ogberahwe noted that “ This is a very good move to break out of the lackadaisical attitude of CAF in Africa”.

Another user, Muhammad Nasir Shuaibu, however, had a conflicting opinion. He said, “ It is a great move but breakaway and forming a parallel organisation will not get FIFA’s approval. FIFA is to mend fences in international and regional footballs not to support regional nations disunity. The best option is to fight the injustice meted on Senegal. I am a Nigerian, I stand for Senegal  I stand for justice”.

This claim is spreading weeks after CAF removed Senegal as the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 champions and awarded the title to Morocco.

The African football body noted that Senegal players’ walk-off during a penalty protest in the January 18 AFCON final breached Articles 82 and 84 of the Regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations.

In reaction, the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) rejected the decision and appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

However, the Facebook claim of a breakaway faction can mislead the public, fuel tensions among fans and also affect trust in football governance, hence the need for ROUNDCHECK to dig into it.

ROUNDCHECK FINDINGS

ROUNDCHECK conducted a keyword search on Google. We found no verified information relating to the claim.

Further findings by ROUNDCHECK revealed that several people are pushing this narrative in reaction to the CAF decision that stripped Senegal of its title.

In a Facebook post that has gone viral, Desmond Ekwueme urged several African football stars to emerge if there will be a breakaway faction from the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

This wasn’t directly said by the football stars highlighted in the claim.

We checked several social media accounts of some of the African football stars that were included in the claim ( Didier Drogba X and Facebook; Emmanuel Adebayor Facebook), and found nothing regarding the claim.

Also, we checked through several media platforms, and there has been no report of African football stars making plans to form a breakout faction from CAF.

Verdict

The post claiming that African football stars are leading a breakaway faction from CAF is MISLEADING. Based on our findings, there is no evidence of African football stars forming a breakaway from CAF.

Digital Satellite Television (DStv)– a Sub-Saharan African direct broadcast satellite service owned by MultiChoice and based in Randburg, South Africa has debunked the widely circulated post claiming that it has added new Channel 240 for Saudi Arabia league following Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to new club, Al-Nassr.

DStv debunked the claim a few hours after we published a fact-check report on the claim. The satellite service replied to an earlier mail message sent by ROUNDCHECK.

According to the reply of DStv, SuperSport has no right to the Saudi League, stating that Channel 240 is Racing 240.

“Super sport do not have the right to the Saudi League. Channel 240 is Racing 240.”

Similarly, DStv via the comment session of the fact-checking post on Twitter reaffirmed that they do not have rights for the Saudi League.

The full text of the reply reads: “Thank you for being in touch,  please note that communication from our content team is that we do not have rights for Saudi League.”

Recall that ROUNDCHECK finding earlier revealed that Channel 240 was added in January 2022 and went live on DSTV on Wednesday 19 January, 2022.

Further Information obtained from the DStv website also shows that Channel 240 was launched as a Racing channel.

A part of the launching message shown on the official DStv website said “MultiChoice and 4Racing usher in Channel 240 as an exciting new world of broadcast entertainment for the horseracing industry.”

The message from DStv confirmed ROUNDCHECK findings that Channel 240 also known as Racing 240 existed before Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia’s club and it is a horse racing channel.

Channel 240 wasn’t created to show Saudi Arabia’s league.

Claim

A widely circulated post claimed that DSTV has added Channel 240 for the Saudi Arabia league following Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to new club, Al-Nassr.

Viral messages on different social media platforms from December 2022 claimed that Digital Satellite Television (DSTV)– a Sub-Saharan African direct broadcast satellite service owned by MultiChoice and based in Randburg, South Africa– has added Saudi League to its channel (Channel 240) after the Portuguese international striker and five-time Ballon d’or, Cristiano Ronaldo was announced by Al-Nassr FC, a Saudi Arabian club as their new player.

On December 31, 2022, one Hon. Otaigbe Imade with the handle @Imudia_se2 tweeted “Dstv has added Saudi League Channel… Check Channel 240…Ronaldo. “

The post had 33.7k views, 94 retweets, 7 quotes and 545 likes as at the time of filing this report.

Hon. Otaigbe Imadegbelo tweet screenshot.

Similarly, on January 3, 2023,  another Twitter user, @bankychummZ tweeted “Just in… Dstv has 240 as a Saudi sport channel… All for one person… Why has France ligue 1 not been airing on Dstv yet after all this while.”

A close check (as at the time of filing this report) on the post shows that the tweet was viewed by 783 persons, with nine retweets and 24 likes on the same day.

A check conducted shows that the news started trending from December 31, 2022 (after the announcement of Ronaldo joining the Saudi Arabia club) up till the time of this report.

Also on Facebook, we found out that the same news circulated. On Monday January 2, 2023 at exactly 9:46 am (WAT), a Facebook user with the name Juntiano Jude Ikpozu posted on his page that DSTV has added Channel 240 for Saudi Arabia league where fans can now watch Ronaldo.

Ikpozu post has seven comments,  one share and 46 likes, as at when filing this report.

Full text of Ikpozu’s post: “WHEN YOU ARE BIG YOU CAN ARE BIG. DSTV has already added the Saudi Arabian league on channel 240 where you can now watch Cristiano Ronaldo.

“We’ll be Watching Saudi League on Dstv channel 240 while we can’t Bundesliga and French Ligue 1 that means Ronaldo is bigger than Bundesliga and French Ligue 1.”

“Cristiano Ronaldo was a major reason why we can now watch Serie A on Dstv when he first joined in 2018 after they lost hosting right to star times in 2015. Cristiano Ronaldo’s influence is out of this World. I know my Goat”

Another user, Opti Smith posted a video record of his plasma TV with a caption that the channel is now showing the Saudi Arabia league due to Ronaldo’s influence, adding that the language is in Arabic.

Smith’s full text: “Breaking. DSTV has added A Saudi League channel. Check channel 240. Ronaldo effect.  Language in Arabic though. “

We found out that the video, though not in English language has 150 views,  3 comments and 14 likes (as at when filing this report).

Further checks by ROUNDCHECK revealed that the claim was also circulated on Whatsapp status.

The claim has also been published here on Nairaland, a Nigerian-based online forum.

Through a keyword search on Google, the claim was also found on a blog, theGeniusmedia with scanty information and screenshot of DStv and Al-Nassr Instagram page.

No reputable media organizations reported any news relating to DStv creating a new channel for Saudi Arabia’s league.

Ronaldo’s Journey To Al-Nassr

Cristiano Ronaldo joined the Saudi Arabian club, Al Nassr on Friday, 29th of December 2022 following his departure from Manchester United.

The club announced that Ronaldo’s contract will run for two-and-a-half years until June 2025, with a total salary of €200m (£177m) per year with commercial agreements included.

The Portuguese Superstar was officially unveiled by Al-Nassr as a player on Tuesday, January 3, 2023, at Mrsool Park, Saudi Arabia.

ROUNDCHECK findings  

After a thorough check, ROUNDCHECK found out that Channel 240 was added in January 2022. The channel went live on DSTV on Wednesday 19 January, 2022 at exactly 17:30.

Information obtained from DSTV website shows that Channel 240 was launched as a racing channel.

A part of the launching message shown on the official DSTV website said “MultiChoice and 4Racing usher in Channel 240 as an exciting new world of broadcast entertainment for the horseracing industry.”

Full text on the launching of Channel 240: “The brand new 24-hour channel exclusively brings DStv viewers the glitz, glamour, entertainment, speed, adrenaline and drama of the big ticket South African race days such as the Cape Town Met presented by World Sports Betting, the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate, Derby Day, Charity Mile and the World Sports Betting Summer Cup.”

“Racing 240 is a 24- hour horse racing channel operating under the auspices of 4RacingTV and is available in South Africa to all DStv Premium, Compact Plus, Compact, Family and Access customers on DStv (Channel 240).”

“Racing 240 features top international race days from global racing hotspots such as Dubai, United Kingdom, United States, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Singapore, Turkey, France, Sweden, Kenya, and Zimbabwe.”

“Major global racing events that viewers can look forward to on Racing 240 include the Dubai World Cup, Kentucky Derby, The Grand National, Epsom Derby, Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Melbourne Cup, Hong Kong Vase, and Royal Ascot.”

This confirms that Channel 240 also known as Racing 240 existed before Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia’s club, Al-Nassr in December 2022. It is a horse racing channel and wasn’t created to show Saudi Arabia’s league.

Also, ROUNDCHECK reached out to DSTV via Facebook message and email to confirm the credibility of the news making round that a new Channel 240 was added for Saudi Arabia league because of Ronaldo’s move.

DSTV revealed that it has no such information on the claim.

Full text of the reply: “Hello, sincere apologies. Please be informed that we currently do not have information on the below request. Do revert back for further assistance.  Thank you Chil91”.

Verdict

The circulating posts on social media platforms claiming that DSTV has added Channel 240 as Saudi Arabia league following Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr is INCORRECT. 

As at the time of this report, there is no official announcement from DSTV that a new channel has been added to accommodate Saudi Arabia’s league. The circulating claim is created to mislead members of the public.

Surprisingly, some of these high-value squads that witnessed an increase in eight years did not make it out of their group stage but a low-value Morocco team made it to the semifinal.

This article talks about the valuable squad at the 2022 World Cup that rose in value within the last eight years – since the 2014 World Cup.

England topped the list of teams whose transfer values have increased outlandishly over the past decade.

Despite cash being king in the world of football, a study conducted by Bonusetu has revealed much about the changing finances within the game, and one team defies the odds to become the semi-finalists with the lowest valuation.

England’s 26-man squad has a total estimated transfer value of over £1.08 billion, an increase of just below £800 million from their value at the 2014 World Cup.

That equates to 277% of their transfer value at the tournament eight years ago in Brazil.

These figures are not only an indicator of the drastically increasing stakes in the world’s richest sport, but of the talent pool England Manager Gareth Southgate was able to pick from.

Transfermarkt.com’s 25 most valuable players across the tournament feature as many as six English stars including Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham.

The Lions featured more than any other team on this list with English players worth nearly £500 million between them. Despite their large price tag, they lost 2-1 to France in the World Cup quarter-finals.

Quick Facts

•Morocco became the cheapest side by far to advance to the semi-final.

•Just two of the world’s most expensive squads remained in the competition.

•England left the competition despite their billion-pound price tag.

Brazil team were the second most expensive squad in the World Cup with a total value of £980.4m, up £578m from their 2014 total worth – the second-highest rise of any squad.

The South American football giants boasted five players in the most expensive 25 categories including Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior who holds the tournament’s second-highest price tag at around £105m.

The famous footballing nation was the betting favourites to win the tournament but despite this, were beaten on penalties by Croatia, a side worth a staggering £650m less than them.

France team, the third most valuable side on the list, have become the priciest team that remained in the World Cup till the final.

Their value has increased by over £530m since 2014 giving them the price tag of £885m in the 2022 tournament.

The fourth-valued team overall Portugal team, became the victim of a giant killing in the quarter-finals suffering a defeat to Morocco.

The Portuguese price tag of £805m is almost four times that of the Moroccans who are valued at just £207.35m and become far the lowest-valued side to advance to the semi-finals.

The Netherlands come in fifth on the list of inflating squad values with a worth of £505m compared to their 2014 price of £178.5m, they are the only side in the top ten not to have qualified for the intervening World Cup of 2018.

With the previous two World Cup tournaments having been won by sides with the second-highest (Germany – 2014) and the highest (France – 2018) total transfer values, the reigning champions became the betting favourites after they defeated England in the quarters.

The French also boast the tournament’s most expensive player, Kylian Mbappe, valued at around £140 million.

Having finished a meagre third in their group, Germany became the priciest side to drop out of the tournament before the knockout stage with a total transfer value of £761.5m.

Germany’s World Cup started with a one-all draw to Spain followed by a 2-1 loss to Japan who topped group E despite amassing a total squad value of just £132.4m.

The scale of this feat is revealed when comparing the Japanese side’s price to that of the German side, and that of Spain which comes out at just over £754.2m.

A spokesperson for bonusetu commented on these findings: “These price tags are an interesting tool to analyse the game alongside. The sheer numbers are fascinating but it’s also great to see that money isn’t the be-all and end-all, namely with Morocco’s tremendous success against some of the world’s priciest teams”.

While the England squad boasted the largest increase in squad value over the past eight years, throughout the tournament squad prices are up massively compared to those of 2014.

The average increase for the 18 teams competing in the last three tournaments is just over £266 million.

Costa Rica has become the only side possessing a total transfer value less than that they held at the last World Cup with their modest £16 million price tag has fallen from their 2018 total worth of £36 million.

The football power continents of Europe and South America maintain a stronghold on the game in terms of player value with the top 14 valued teams all residing within their borders.

The United States constitutes the most valuable squad outside of this with a total value of £238.5m, Senegal was the highest-valued African side at a similar price, and Japan was the most expensive side from Asia.

Meanwhile, the hosts Qatar claimed the lowest price tag in the tournament at an accumulated worth of just £12.8m.

EDITOR’s NOTE: This research was conducted by Bonusetu.com, a Finnish casino review site providing recommendations, ratings and reviews. It is reviewed and republished by ROUNDCHECK.

•France and Mexico rank as the second and third most popular clubs on social media, respectively.

•England ranks as the fourth most popular, with 23.9 million followers.

New research reveals that Brazil is the most popular 2022 FIFA World Cup team on social media.

Research conducted by online casino comparison experts CasinoAlpha examined the verified social media profiles of each country’s National football team in the World Cup to reveal which country has the highest social media following.

The analysis was based on each team’s combined number of followers across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The study revealed that Brazil is the most followed 2022 FIFA World Cup squad on social media, with more than 33.6 million combined followers across different platforms.

As one of the most widely supported teams worldwide, Brazil’s National team has the highest number of Instagram and Facebook followers out of all the World Cup countries.

When broken down, Brazil has 12.4 million followers on Facebook, 15.6 million Instagram followers and 5.6 million Twitter followers. 

France is the second-most followed country in the World Cup, the study revealed. With more than 25.5 million combined followers, France holds the second-highest amount of Twitter followers, 5.9 million, and is the second most popular club on Instagram, with more than 12.8 million followers.  

The third most followed World Cup team is Mexico, with a combined 24.3 million followers across social media. Mexico has the second-highest number of followers on Facebook, with more than 11.2 million followers, and is the most popular club overall on Twitter, with 6.6 million followers.  

England places as the fourth most popular team in the FIFA 2022 World Cup, raking in more than 23.9 million followers across multiple social media platforms. When broken down, England has 5.8 million followers on Twitter and 9 million on Facebook, both the third highest overall, and 9.1 million Instagram followers.

Currently, captain Harry Kane is the most popular England player on Instagram, with 13.5 million followers.

The research found that Argentina has a combined total of 19.4 million followers, ranking as the fifth most popular team on social media. Argentina is the fourth most popular club on Instagram, with 9.4 million followers, as well as the fifth most followed club on Twitter, with 4.9 million followers.

Lionel Messi is currently the most popular Argentina player on Instagram, with a whopping 388 million followers.

The study placed Portugal next in the ranking, with the sixth-highest number of followers across social media, with 19.2 million followers.

The top ten is rounded out by Germany ranking in seventh place with 15.2 million followers, followed by Spain, the United States, and Morocco in eighth, ninth and tenth place, respectively.

A spokesperson for CasinoAlpha commented on the findings: “The World Cup is the most prestigious and followed football tournament in the world, which is demonstrated in each country’s vast social media following. Today, social media completely dominates how fans interact and engage with their home teams, so it is fascinating to see how this is highlighted in each team’s social media popularity.” 

“As the most successful nation in World Cup history, Brazil’s success is clearly reflected in the team’s social media dominance. Although Brazil has been knocked out of the 2022 World Cup following a 4-2 loss to Croatia, the team’s supporters will no doubt hope the team can convert their online success into real-life trophies in 2026.”

EDITOR’s NOTE: This research was conducted by online casino comparison service Casino Alpha NZ, a website aimed at educating and helping New Zealanders. It is republished by ROUNDCHECK.

The caption of the post says: “We need N560 Billion to Fix and rehabilitate MKO stadium destroyed ——–sports minister.” 

This post was made a day after the vandalization of the MKO stadium at the end of the match between Nigeria and Ghana. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, making Nigeria unable to qualify for the 2022 World cup in Qatar. 

At the time of fact-checking, the Facebook post has gathered 58 likes, 39 comments, and 29 shares. 

Another post that is similar to Prince Eniola Ojajuni’s post was found on the Sports by ACB page and also on LIKA Online TV. 

Roundcheck Findings

The MKO Abiola Stadium located in Abuja was adopted for renovation by Aliko Dangote on  7, November 2019.

The stadium was vandalized during the Qatar qualifier match between Nigeria and Ghana which ended in a 1-1 draw. 

The full picture used in that claim was gotten online.

An image search was conducted and it revealed that the picture used is that of Thembelani Thulas Nxesi. Nxesi, former Minister of Sports and Recreation, is currently the South African Minister of Employment and Labour.

The Nigerian Minister for Youths and Sports is Sunday Akin Dare and his office hasn’t officially announced an estimated sum for renovating the vandalized MKO Abiola stadium. 

Additionally, the official website  Ministry for Youth and Sports hasn’t released any news about the vandalization of the stadium. Nor has it released an official estimated sum to renovate the vandalized MKO Abiola stadium.

Conclusion 

After findings, the claim that the Nigerian Sports Ministry needsN560 Billion to fix and rehabilitate MKO stadium is FALSE.

A Facebook user, Oyedokun Ayodele Oluwasemilore, claimed that this year, 2022, is the first time since 2006 that Nigeria will not be participating in the World Cup.

His exact statement is:  “Nigeria will not participate in this year’s World Cup. This is the first time since 2006”.

At the time of fact-checking, the post has gathered 25 likes, 2 comments, and 2 shares. 

The World Cup

The World Cup is a football competition that is held every four years in a selected country. Organized by the Federation of International football, FIFA, the competition comprises 32 teams and is usually played for a month.

France is the current champion of the last edition held in Russia in 2018 while Brazil stands as the most successful team with five trophies.

Only five African countries are usually given slots to participate in the World Cup.

This year’s world cup will be held in Qatar and will commence on Monday, 21 November to Sunday, 18 December.

The Super Eagles Of Nigeria

The male football team of Nigeria, Super Eagles have participated in the world cup six times, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014, and 2018. They reached the round of 16 in 1994, 1998, and 2014. 

Did Super Eagles Play In The 2006 World?

The 2006 FIFA World Cup held in Germany had five African countries, Togo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Tunisia, and Angola that participated in the competition.

What About Nigeria?

The Super Eagles failed to qualify for the World Cup due to their defeat to Angola. Nigeria played a 1-1 draw in Kano and the reverse fixture was a 1-0 defeat of Nigeria. Both sides had the same point of 21, but Angola proceeded to the World Cup on head-to-head records. 

Conclusion and Verdict

The Super Eagles never went to the 2006 World Cup in Germany but participated from 2010 till the last edition, 2018. However, the Super Eagles of Nigeria failed to progress to the World Cup which is scheduled to be held in Qatar in 2022 after their shocking 1-1 home draw to Ghana on Tuesday. 

They couldn’t progress due to the away goal rule and this validates the claim of the Facebook user which means that the Nigerian flag won’t fly in this year’s World Cup for the first time since their first exclusion in 2006. The claim is therefore TRUE.

By: Seun Muritala

CLAIM

BREAKING: Arsenal sack head coach Mikel Arteta following 1-0 defeat to Burnley. #Arsenal #Arteta #ARSBUR pic.twitter.com/477suz9Buw

— sky sports premier league (@Skysportsprem) December 13, 2020

There were tweets on the 13th of December, 2020 by @Skysportsprem and @SkeleSkito claiming that Arsenal Football Club had sacked the team’s head coach, Mikel Arteta owing to the Club’s 1-0 defeat to Burnley Football Club. The tweets generated reactions from football enthusiasts who expressed their mixed feelings. While some were skeptical about the news, others were glad to hear about it.

ROUNDCHECK FINDINGS

Findings by Roundcheck correspondent, Seun Muritala into the authenticity of the news has unravelled the truth behind the news. The news of Mikel Arteta’s sack has not been reported by any verifiable news source. The twitter accounts that reported this news are parody.

Checking through popular news websites such as goal.com, skysports.com and espn.com, nothing of such was reported.

On the official website of Arsenal Football Club, arsenal.com, nothing related to the sack of Mikel Arteta as the club’s manager was also reported. The latest news on the club’s website as at 23.11 hours on December 14th is that the match between the club and Southampton which is to take place on December 16th, 2020 will be played behind closed door. This means fans are not going to be permitted to enter the Emirates Stadium to watch the football match.

CONCLUSION

The tweets about the sack of Mikel Arteta is MISLEADING.