Two nations, four points, one crazy World Cup day.

There may be about 5,000 miles between the Netherlands and their former colony Curacao but the World Cup meant members of the Dutch royal family managed to see both sides play on Saturday.

King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Princess Ariane of the Netherlands were in Houston for a noon kick-off and saw the Dutch side power to an impressive 5-1 win over Sweden.

A mere 800-mile trip north to Kansas City later and the royals were able to see Curacao claim their first ever World Cup point against Ecuador.

All but one of the Curacao squad was born in the Netherlands, with the royal party ending the day celebrating with the players in the dressing room.

“It is an extra-special World Cup because we have both the Netherlands and Curacao,” Willem-Alexander said.

“So we have twice as many teams to cheer for. It’s a great opportunity to cheer on both the Blues and the Oranges.

“All in all, it will be a special World Cup for me with two teams, and I naturally hope they go extremely far.”

Queen Maxima is from Argentina and could squeeze in the holders’ match against Austria if she pops to Arlington, Texas on Monday.

Curacao is smaller than the Isle of Man with a population of 158,000 and remains part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

During the 17th Century the Netherlands conquered large swathes of territory in regions that now make up Indonesia, South Africa, Curacao and West Papua.

Thousands of people were trafficked from Africa to Dutch colonies in the Caribbean and South America – amounting to about 5% of the entire transatlantic slave trade – before the practice was banned in 1863.

King Willem-Alexander formally apologised for his country’s role in the slave trade in 2023, saying he felt “personally and intensely” affected.

Somali referee Omar Artan, who was denied entry to the United States to officiate at the World Cup, will still receive his full tournament fee.

Artan was interrogated for 11 hours by US immigration authorities at Miami International Airport on Monday before being told he would not be allowed into the country after his diplomatic passport and single entry US visa were rejected.

A US government official said Artan had not been allowed to enter the country because of an alleged “association with suspected members of terror organisations”.

Artan said he had been questioned by border officials over his links to Somali militant group Al Shabab and had told them he knew nothing about the organisation.

“I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa,” said Artan.

“I’m just simply a referee who’s trying to live his dream, the biggest dream of my life, to come to the World Cup.”

After being put back on a plane to Turkey, Artan received assistance from Fifa officials in Istanbul before boarding a flight to the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Sources said that even though Artan will take no part in the World Cup, Fifa has committed to paying his salary.

Referees do not know the actual fee they will receive for officiating at the World Cup, which is paid after the tournament is over.

Artan, the 2025 Confederation of African Football (Caf) men’s referee of the year, has since been invited to officiate the Uefa Super Cup between Paris St-Germain and Aston Villa in Salzburg, Austria on 12 August.

The 34-year-old, who thanked “my people and my country” after being welcomed in his homeland, has vowed to officiate at the 2030 World Cup.

Artan had a year to remember in 2025, becoming the first Somali to take charge of a continental final.

In June 2025, he officiated the second leg of Pyramids FC’s African Champions League final victory over Mamelodi Sundowns.

Fifa appointed Artan to the U-20 World Cup in Chile, where he took charge of three matches including the third-place play-off.

At the end of the year he refereed two group games at the Africa Cup of Nations, having also officiated at the tournament in 2024.

The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Anambra State Chapter, and the Anambra State Football Association (AnSFA) have officially resolved their two-year-old feud.

This was contained in a statement jointly signed by the leadership of SWAN led by Chimezie Anaso, its chairman and Chikelue Iloenyosi, Chairman, AnSFA in Awka on Monday.

The two bodies have had a faceoff that lasted for over two years before now.

The parties agreed to withdraw cases against each other wherever it was reported, including the Directorate of State Services (DSS).

Speaking on the development, Anaso said the truce was a positive sign and a turning point for sports in the state.

He said though there was no alternative to how the parties reacted to the impasse at the time, there was no doubt that there were collateral losses due to the frosty relationship.

“This is a new dawn for football and sports in Anambra, it is important to note that it happened organically, there was no mediator, no facilitator, it happened in the fullness of time, so, we thank God.

“I thank members of SWAN in Anambra and the national leadership under Isaiah Benjamin for their understanding, solidarity and interventions during this period,” he said.

The Vice President South East Zone, Ikem Asika, who expressed surprise as to how things went awry, said he was happy that everything was now in the past.

“Sports and media are like siamese twins, the misunderstanding was not necessary, so I am happy that we are back because football is an important sport that deserves all the attention it can get.

“We have come a long way; there was nothing personal in the faceoff, like the Bible will say, unless the two agree, they cannot work together, so now that we have agreed, it can only be better,” he said.

On his part, Iloenyosi recalled the smooth personal relationship he enjoyed with each member of SWAN and wondered how it collapsed.

He said he was fulfilled that the long days of faceoff had come to an end and promised to make SWAN an integral part of his administration going forward.

“I hold nothing against anybody; everyone is a personal friend to me, so I do not know why we should not work as a team. I am happy that we are back; let bygones be bygones,” he said.