Olympian
China joins calls for IWF to publish list of election candidates
Nations from around the world have written to the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) to express their dismay at the governing body’s failure to publish the list of candidates for forthcoming elections. There have been complaints of poor governance, a lack of transparency, and giving an unfair advantage to certain candidates on the current IWF Executive Board who have the information that is denied to others. For the last elections in 2017 the list was published five days after the nominations deadline. This year, eight days have passed already and there is no sign of the IWF naming the candidates for President, first vice-president, vice-president, and a place on the Executive Board. The IWF is entitled, under current regulations, to wait until 30 days before the elections – Febr...
Senegalese midfielder Pape Gueye ‘proud’ to join Marseille
Pape Gueye has expressed his delight after completing his move to French side Marseille on a four-year deal. The Olympians recently confirmed the signing of the Senegalese on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract with Le Havre last month. The highly-rated defensive midfielder has been with the men in Sky-and-Navy since 2012 after joining the youth setup from Blanc-Mesnil SF. He signed his first professional contract with the side in 2017 after he was promoted to the senior team and made his debut against Chamois Niortais. The Franco-Senegalese played 39 league games for Le Havre, including 25 in Ligue 2 in the 2019-20 season before his departure from the French side. In April, Premier League club Watford announced the signing of the midfielder on a five-year deal only fo...
Didier Drogba beats Zlatan Ibrahimovic as best Ligue 1 striker in last two decades
Former Marseille and Guingamp star Didier Drogba has been crowned Ligue 1’s greatest striker of the past 20 years, ahead of PSG legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Drogba was recognised by Ligue 1 on Saturday after collecting 51 per cent of the 40,094 votes cast by fans on social media. He spent two-and-a-half years in the French top-flight and played for Guingamp between 2001 and 2003 before moving to Marseille where he spent a season. The two-time African Player of the Year scored 39 goals in 81 Ligue 1 games – 20 goals at Guingamp and 19 efforts at Marseille while Ibrahimovic scored 113 goals in 122 Ligue 1 matches between 2012 and 2016 at PSG. On his run to the final stage, Drogba saw off competition from Fernando Morientes, Alexander Frei, Karim Benzema and Pauleta. The former Ivory Coast forw...
