Stadium
Manchester United edging closer to Erling Haaland transfer decision
Manchester United are edging increasingly closer to a decision on Erling Haaland. Though they’d love to sign the Borussia Dortmund striker, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also have several other transfer targets in mind. And much will depend on Edinson Cavani, whose future will soon become clear. Manchester United wanted to sign Haaland in January 2020. And, though they ultimately missed out to Borussia Dortmund, they’ve retained a strong interest ever since. Haaland has been in sensational form for the Bundesliga giants this season, scoring 35 goals in the Bundesliga and Champions League combined. United, as a result, have put the 20-year-old on their shortlist of potential signings ahead of this summer’s transfer window. However, the Red Devils appear to be edging closer to a development when it c...
UEFA confirms Rome as Euro 2020 host city
Rome’s Stadio Olimpico has been “fully confirmed” as a venue for Euro 2020 matches after the Italian government guaranteed the presence of at least 25 per cent of fans, UEFA announced on Wednesday. Rome was one of four of the 12 host cities threatened with having its matches removed because it could not give assurances that spectators would be allowed into grounds given the ongoing Covid-19 situation. “The authorities have guaranteed at least 25 per cent of the stadium’s capacity will be filled,” European football’s governing body said. “As a result, UEFA considers Rome to be fully confirmed as a venue for the tournament.” Three other cities — Munich, Bilbao and Dublin — have until April 19 to provide UEFA with additional information on their plans for spectators. Rome is set to host the o...
AFCONQ: CAF confirms new date for Sierra Leone vs Benin clash
The Confederation of African Football has announced the postponed Africa Cup of Nations qualification encounter between Sierra Leone and Benin Republic will now take place during the June international window. The Group L fixture initially billed for Tuesday, March 30, at the National Stadium, Freetown did not take place owing to a Covid-19 controversy. However, both teams will now square up against one another in three months’ time – a game that will determine the last team to secure a place for Cameroon 2022. “The Africa Cup of Nations organizing committee has decided to postpone the above-mentioned match to the next Fifa international window scheduled for June 2021. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and understanding,” a post from Benin Football Federation Facebook page read....
Chad president kicks off campaign for sixth term
President Idriss Deby of Chad kicked off his campaign for a sixth term on Saturday, calling for unity after rival protests were banned. The first rally since the start of the official election period on Thursday was held by Deby’s Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) at a packed stadium in the capital, N’Djamena. Deby, who has ruled for 30 years and is widely deemed a shoo-in for another term, said he had fought for national unity, while also drawing a line in the sand for his opponents. “People must know that democracy is not synonymous with disorder,” the incumbent warned. “Those who believe that should go elsewhere.” On Thursday, three opposition candidates quit the race ahead of the April 11 ballot with one of them — Mahamat Yosko Brahim — saying the climate was “not favourable for fair ...
Super Eagles boss wants Ahmed Musa to sort out his career before Afcon qualifiers
Nigeria national team coach Gernot Rohr hopes to see his captain Ahmed Musa back to action ahead of their 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in March. The three-time African champions will take on the Republic of Benin and Lesotho in their last Afcon qualifying games next month. Musa has been without a club since October when he left Saudi Arabian side Al Nass by mutual agreement. The forward starred for Russian Premier League club CSKA Moscow before moving to England to team up with Leicester City. The Super Eagles winger struggled to establish himself at the King Power Stadium and in an effort to enjoy more playing time, he left for Saudi in 2018. The forward is now looking to returning to Europe and has been heavily linked to Premier League club West Bromwich Albion. Rohr is hopeful ...
Rivers United defeat Bloemfontein Celtics in CAF Confederation qualifier
Rivers United are through to the final playoff round of the CAF Confederation Cup after they again defeated South Africa’s Bloemfontein Celtics on Saturday. Despite playing at a neutral ground, at the Charles De Gaulles Stadium in Port Novo, Benin Republic, Rivers United posted a 3-0 win over Celtics to progress on 5-0 aggregate scoreline. The Pride of Rivers had registered a 2-0 win when they played the first leg in South Africa in December and despite the uncertainties that postponed and rescheduled the second leg, Stanley Eguma’s men delivered yet another flawless performance. Just as it was in the first leg, the duo of Fortune Omoniwari and Godwin Aguda were again the goal scorers for Rivers United on Saturday with the latter scoring twice this time. Rivers United now have their work w...
Golden Eaglets qualify for WAFU U17 Cup semi finals
Nigeria reached the semi finals of the WAFU U17 Cup Tournament ongoing in Lome, Togo on Tuesday evening after Group B pacesetters Cote d’Ivoire hammered the Black Starlets of Ghana 3-1 at the city’s Stade Municipal. Five-time world champions Nigeria, who lost by the odd goal to the Ivorians on the opening day of the competition and were forced to a 1-1 draw by the Starlets at the weekend, needed a favour from the Ivorians to progress to the knockout stage. And the Ivorians obliged. The Baby Elephants raced into the lead after only nine minutes and consolidated at 2-0 as the match wore on. But the Starlets, themselves two-time champions of the world, pegged back their neighbours to leave Nigeria’s chances on the wire. The Eaglets and their Ghanaian counterparts had both scored through penal...
Rangers seek winning start in Port-Harcourt
File Photo Technical adviser of Rangers International F.C., Coach Salisu Yusuf has assured the club’s teaming supporters of a winning start in the match Day 1 fixture of 2020/2021 NPFL season as he leads his wards on a visit to Port-Harcourt for a date with Rivers United. Coach Salisu who monitored his wards as they rounded off training in the morning of Christmas Day 2020 inside the main-bowl of Nnamdi Azikiwe stadium, was optimistic of getting a good result against continental campaigners, Rivers United in the opening day fixture. The former Super Eagles coach in a chat, said, “My immediate task is always to win and we have worked so hard and I believe we will have a good result there.” On the result achieved by the ‘Pride of Rivers’ in the CAF Confederations cup giving them an edge in t...
Qatar to host FIFA Club World Cup 2020 across three venues
Qatar will host the FIFA Club World Cup 2020 from February 1 to 11, 2021, after it was postponed earlier this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Six continental confederations, as well as the host nation’s league champions, will compete in the tournament, which will be held across three FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 stadiums — Ahmad Bin Ali, Khalifa International and Education City. The Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, inaugurated just last week on December 18, will stage the opening match between Qatari champions Al Duhail and Auckland City of New Zealand on February 1, and the final will be played at Education City Stadium on February 11. Joining the two teams will be European champions and German side FC Bayern Munich, CONCACAF champions Tigres UANL from Mexico, Al Ahly SC, Egyptian side and winners ...
Neymar: No place for racism
Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir played their Champions League match to a conclusion on Wednesday, 24 hours after it had been suspended, with Neymar scoring a hat-trick before saying both teams had felt compelled to make a stand against racism in what was an unprecedented protest over an alleged comment by an official. PSG won the game 5-1 after it restarted where it had stopped the previous day, in the 14th minute, following a touchline argument over accusations the Romanian fourth official, Sebastian Coltescu, had described Basaksehir’s Cameroonian assistant coach Pierre Webo as “black”, or “negru” in Romanian. “Sometimes in extreme circumstances these things need to be done to see if the world can change a little,” said Neymar, who together with other players and the new team...
Napoli stadium officially renamed ‘Stadio Diego Armando Maradona’
After city mayor Luigi De Magistris initially suggested the name change last week, the city of Naples has officially approved the proposal to rename the Napoli stadium in honor of Diego Maradona. As announced in an official statement this afternoon, the stadium based in the neighbourhood of Fuorigrotta in the west end of the city will formally change its name from the ‘Stadio San Paolo’ to ‘Stadio Diego Armando Maradona’. Napoli’s legendary number 10 had passed away on November 25 at the age of 60, having spent 7 years as a player in Campania, leading the club to its sole two league titles to date as well as a Coppa Italia and a UEFA cup success in 1989. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a datin...
Cristiano Ronaldo refuses to do a post-match interview
Cristiano Ronaldo appears to hint that all isn’t well with him at Juventus after refusing to make any post-match comments. The Portuguese attacker scored a hat-trick as the Bianconeri beat Cagliari 3-1 to boost their chances of retaining their league title. His performance was one that needed him to speak after the game, considering that he would take the match ball home and has never scored in the stadium before. Calciomercato reports that after the game, he was asked for an interview and he told the communications manager of the club that he didn’t want to make any statements. By doing so, he rejected the chance to put some news about his future to bed once and for all. He has been criticized for failing to help the Bianconeri win the Champions League after dominating the competition whe...