TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon shared his displeasure with how he thinks the NFL’s collectively bargained rules prevent defensive players from becoming better tacklers.

With a number of missed tackles playing a factor in Sunday’s 40-20 loss to the Houston Texans, Gannon was asked Wednesday how Arizona practices tackling during the week. He responded that it’s a topic the Cardinals’ coaching staff was discussing this week.

“How the rules are set up, it’s hard to get better as a tackler being in the NFL, I’ll say that,” Gannon said.

While the data on missed tackles hasn’t been perfected, the Cardinals have allowed 40 rushes with at least 5 yards after first contact, the third most in the NFL. Arizona also is ranked 18th in yards allowed after contact per rush this season, according to ESPN Research.

Gannon said the Cardinals practice tackling drills in “some way, shape or form because that’s one of the top skills of any defense player.” However, he added that there’s “no drill you can do that can mimic a game.”

According to the NFL’s 2020 collective bargaining agreement, teams are allowed only 14 padded practices, but 11 of them have to take place during the first 11 weeks of the season. Contact is prohibited during the offseason, which includes OTAs and minicamp.

When asked if he would like to see the rules changed, Gannon said he will not be lobbying for changes.

“The rules are the rules,” he said.

However, the lack of opportunities to tackle in practice limits skill development. Gannon compared the NFL’s rules to the PGA Tour telling Scottie Scheffler he can’t hit a wedge during the offseason.

“It’s set up how it’s set up, that’s fine,” Gannon said. “But to get better at a skill, you have to practice the skill. You practice skill, you can scale it, you can scale the tempo, you can scale how you do it, but to practice a skill, you need to practice the skill.

“And so it’s a conundrum I think all defensive guys face and there’s risk-reward to trying to practice it with it however you set things up. But you definitely have to be a good tackling defense to play good defense.”

Gannon laughed when it was brought up that the lack of opportunities to practice tackling was the product of rule changes. He said it’s a topic that is discussed every year by head coaches and defensive coaches, and impacts personnel decisions for some teams.

“A lot of people think [that if] you can’t practice it you better just acquire people that can tackle because you ain’t going to help them at all,” Gannon said. “That’s a thought process, too. To each their own. But it’s a challenge.”

Nigeria are hoping to revive their hopes of appearing at the 2026 World Cup with complaint to FIFA over the use of up to nine ineligible players by Congo DR in their qualifying playoff last month.

The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) join Cameroon, who had initially filed a similar complaint to FIFA about the eligibility of some of the players who were born in Europe but switched nationalities to represent Congo internationally.

– Nigeria’s ‘voodoo’ accusations were ‘nonsense’ – Ex-DRC coach
– What’s next for the DRC’s Leopards after bewitching their way past Nigeria?

The Super Eagles lost 4-3 on penalties to Congo DR in the final of the CAF Playoffs on Nov. 16, which meant the Congolese advanced to the FIFA intercontinental playoffs.

Congo DR have been drawn to play the winners of the semifinal between New Caledonia and Jamaica, with the victors in the final earning one of the final spots at next year’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

But the NFF are now challenging Congo DR’s use of several dual nationality players during the World Cup qualifying series, claiming they were ineligible on the basis of not being properly cleared to switch nationalities.

Reports have claimed that between six to nine players used by Congo DR during the qualifiers may have switched international allegiances, but may not have gone through the process of giving up their European passports in line with Congolese law before representing the country.

“The Congolese rules say you cannot have dual nationality,” NFF general secretary Mohammed Sanusi told reporters on Tuesday. “There are so many of them that have European passports, some of them French passports, some of them Dutch passports. The rules are very clear. We cannot say anything now but we have submitted our protest to FIFA.

“There are players that got theirs in just three months. So there is to us, what is considered as a breach of the regulation. That is why we took that decision.”

While the Congolese Constitution does not recognize dual citizenship, FIFA’s own regulations only require players to hold the passports of the representative country in order to be cleared to play for that country and it was on the basis of holding valid Congolese passports that FIFA cleared the players to play.

All the players involved hold Congolese passports, but Sanusi claims that FIFA were deceived into issuing those clearances.

“The FIFA rules are different from DR Congo rules, that is why FIFA cleared them,” he said. “FIFA regulations say once you have the passport of your country, you are eligible. As far as we are concerned, they are eligible that is why they are cleared by FIFA.

“But our contention is that FIFA was deceived into clearing them because it is not the responsibility of FIFA to make sure that the regulations of Congo are abided by. FIFA goes by its own regulations, and it was on the basis of what was presented to FIFA that they cleared them. But we are saying that it was fraudulent.”

FIFA has yet to respond to the complaint, but NFF officials told ESPN that the issue is being investigated by world football’s governing body and a decision is expected before the intercontinental playoffs in March.

It is unclear if this appeal will be successful, but if it is, it would provide the Super Eagles a pathway back into World Cup qualifying, their second in the same series.

During the previous round, South Africa were sanctioned for fielding an ineligible player and docked three points, but Nigeria failed to take advantage and ultimately finished second in the group behind Bafana Bafana.

The winners of the 2026 World Cup will receive $50 million in prize money as part of a record financial contribution for the tournament from FIFA, world football’s governing body announced on Wednesday.

The total World Cup prize fund of $655 million represents an increase of almost 50% from the $440 million distributed to teams taking part in the last tournament in Qatar in 2022.

However, next year’s World Cup — to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19 — will be the first to feature 48 teams, a 50% increase from the 32 teams last time.

The Argentine Football Association received $42 million in prize money after Lionel Messi inspired them to glory three years ago, when they won on penalties in the final against France.

France received $30 million for their run to the final. This time, the beaten finalists will pocket $33 million, with the third-place finishers collecting $29 million and the other defeated semi-finalists getting $27 million.

Teams eliminated in the group phase will receive $9 million, while all 48 participating nations will get an additional $1.5 million to cover “preparation costs.”