Saint George signed an attacker from Ghana to replace the outgoing Nigerian Alex Orotoma while relegation threatened new comers Debub Police signed two Nigerians with a lot of experience in Ethiopian Football.
The Ghanaian side All Star’s former striker, 25 year- old Richard Arthur joined Saint George on a two-year contract and the first to put pen to paper under the newly appointed English Coach Stewart Hall. Although other foreign players are expected to join Stewart soon, critics are suggesting Saint George already has a strong strike force comprised of home boys.
Getaneh Kebede and Salhadin Said’s return after months of injury turned out to be a success story in a 5-1 demolition of Mekelakeya and upcoming forward Abel Yalew has been impressive so far with four goals to his name. Saint George appears to have enough firearms to battle for the title. According to critics, the arrival of these foreign players in the absence of international fixtures for the first time in five seasons, could be considered a waste of finance and talent.
In the mean time new comers Debub Police managed to convince two Nigerians: Former Electric, Dedebit and NegedBank striker Philip Dawzi and compatriot Lucky Sunny to one year contracts. Late in appointing Coach Zelalem Shiferaw and even later in joining players’ transfer` market, Debub Police are struggling to survive at the upper tier sitting 15th in the table collecting five points from ten matches. Dawzi; once runner-up top scorer of the season bagging 19 goals is expected to bring a real difference for the relegation battlers Debub Police.

Ethiopian Football Federation’s meeting for Premier League club Presidents to discuss matters over the issue of creating a League Committee turned out to be a frustrating situation because stakeholders failed to appear. Only five out of the 16 presidents appeared for the meeting that took place at Inter Continental Hotel on Tuesday.
At the conference led by EFF President Essayas Jirra and Vice-President Colonel Awol Abdulrakim , Gezahgne Wolde presented a 140 page Study paper which defines the process of League Committee creation and experiences of other football nations on how they tackled the issue so that they could form strong leagues. Lack of standards in club formations, government and political interferences in organizing competitions, dependency on government finance are among the big issues addressed at the conference.
Though the absence of the League Committee is long considered to be one of the biggest factors for the failure of Ethiopian football, the clubs appeared to be reluctant to realize this. “We are leaving the stage for the clubs to run their own shows and ready to provide them with an office. But it is discouraging to discuss such huge undertakings among personalities that are unwilling to decide on these matters,” EFF President Essayas said to the participants.
Ethiopia Bunna Board Chairman Lieutenant Fekade Mamo who admired the initiative taken by the federation suggested that further in-depth studies should come to the stage. This is because the reality on the ground shows lots of hurdles to pass through. The Premier League clubs are being asked to submit a list of club representatives for further deliberations.

Nigerian international Okiki Afolabi joined Ethiopian Premier League defending champion Jimma AbaJifar on a one year contract. Afolabi’s loyalty is in question considering his past record.
The 24 year old giant striker Afolabi was an instrumental player in the club’s dream championship title winning the season’s top scorer award. Submitting a fraudulent document in order to move to Egyptian side Esmaelia, Afolabi was handed a six month ban from the Ethiopian Football Federation and fined about 250, 000 Birr.
After serving the six month term Afolabi is back to Jimma AbaJifar for his second spell signing a one r and half year contract agreement. Despite the team being in a chaotic situation including a nightmarish international campaign, Afolabi disproved the speculation of a move to join Mekele Seba-Enderta following Coach Gebremedin Haile who led AbaJifar to the EPL title.
There is no question among fans that the player’s return could bring a real impact on the team’s performance. But some have doubts that the player may not go through his contract term.
Afolabi’s loyalty to AbaJifar and whether Coach Zemariam W/Giorgis whose record shows no history as a footballer at the higher level could manage the player are the two of the main questions that worry club supporters. “He may walkout any time to try his luck in better leagues or life may be difficult for him under Zemariam with no history as a footballer compared to his former coach Gebremedin who has a higher caliber at the international stage,” remarked a coach who prefers anonymity.

Civil war raging at home.
Soccer players who struggle to play or get paid.
A coach who never enters the country.
It was not a surprise Yemen exited the Asian Cup after losing all three games.
But just qualifying for the continental tournament for the first time was an achievement for a country in the grips of what the U.N. says is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
With Yemen’s domestic football league suspended since 2014, there are few chances for players. Most of the 23-man squad at the Asian Cup plays in Oman and Qatar, where most of the federation is based. Only nine players in the squad are based in Yemen.
“There is no league at home and that does affect the national team in many different ways, especially physically,” goalkeeper Mohammed Ayash told The Associated Press. “It makes it much harder for us to play against strong teams like Iran, with players who play in Europe.”
Football in Yemen is virtually non-existent apart from the occasional informal tournaments held in the capital Sanaa. Most clubs have little to no income, often leaving professional players needing to seek alternative employment.
Ayash, who found work in the oil industry before securing a move to Iraqi club Erbil last November, said divisions in Yemen are not reflected in the national team.
“The spirit is strong, we are together on this journey,” Ayash said. “If we were not united then we would never have been able to come here at all.”
Yemen benefited from the expansion of the Asian Cup from 16 to 24 teams. Qualification was clinched in March 2018 with a victory over Nepal in the Qatari capital of Doha. Yemen has not played home games since 2011 when anti-government protests broke out during the Arab Spring.
Abraham Mebratu, an Ethiopian coach, delivered qualification but left the job after being unable to get financial backing for tournament preparations. Jan Kocian, a Slovakian, is in charge.
Ranked 135 in the world by FIFA, Yemen was thrashed in its opening game at the Asian Cup 5-0 by Iran, which is 106 places higher. Games against Iraq and Vietnam also ended in defeat. Yemen left the United Arab Emirates with no points and no goals but with pride at just having participated.
“Our problem is that the players abroad in Qatar and Oman did not have time for preparation and the players in Yemen can’t play football as there are no league games there,” said Kocian, whose contract states that he does not enter Yemen. “When you have more time, you can do more.”
The greatest achievement may be giving fans at home and in the UAE a chance to cheer on their team in a major international tournament.
“I’m very happy to see people from Yemen in the UAE,” Kocian said. “For people in Yemen the situation is very bad, for those who stay there the life is very hard. But maybe with victory we can give a good representation of them in the Asian Cup.”
(AP)