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  • Rugby World Cup 2021 Europe Qualifier dates confirmed

    RWC has announced that the rescheduled Rugby World Cup 2021 Europe qualifier will be hosted by Italy on 13th, 19th, and 25th September 2021 in Parma’s Stadio “Sergio Lanfranchi”, home of the Zebre Rugby Club following postponement as a result of the ongoing global pandemic.

    Italy, Spain, Ireland and Scotland will compete for Europe 1st place in RWC 2021 Pool B. Runners up will progress to the final qualification tournament.

    The winner of the RWC 2021 will secure a place at Rugby World Cup 2021 and play in 2022 in New Zealand during games scheduled to take place between 8th October to 12th November 2022.

    Teams from different countries like USA, Australia, New Zealand, England, France, Canada that qualified from the regional tournament finals at Ireland 2017, South Africa and Fiji have booked spots.

    Italy will compete against Ireland, Scotland and the winners of the Rugby Europe Women’s Championship 2020, in Spain.

    The RWC director Alison Hughes said “we are pleased to be able to share the details of the rescheduled Rugby World Cup 2021 Europe Qualification. The global disruption caused by COVID-19 has been frustrating for all unions still within the pathway but we appreciate the patience and flexibility shown by our unions and their efforts to ensure the qualification process can be completed safely and fairly. Next year’s Rugby World Cup is shaping up to be a truly spectacular event and we can’t wait to see the world’s top women’s 15s players take the stage in New Zealand.”

    The FIR President said “I can’t and won’t hide we’re extremely proud for hosting the event, a pride I want to share with every single Italian rugby player. I’d also want to thank the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Parma’s municipality, the Zebre and the local Clubs for immediately making themselves available to host, support and make this event the best possible one for the Teams.”

    “Our women built their international credibility over the years, earning respect from their opponents on the test arena and a brilliant place in the World Rugby ranking, boosting the growth of the Game in our Country and across the whole Italian sporting community. I do know how brilliant this bunch of women is, and how strong is the bond between the players and their coach Andrea Giandomenico, they will go on to the end in playing their chances to reach the qualification and represent our Country and our jersey later in 2022 in such an iconic rugby country, as I had the privilege to do when I skippered Italy at the 1987 inaugural Rugby World Cup. Shouldn’t it be the case, credit to the RWC Qualifier winner which will be however bringing a little piece of Italy to New Zealand with them. Maybe, the Final Qualification Tournament will give us a further chance. Go Azzurre!” He added.

    A full match schedule for the RWC 2021 Europe qualifier and details in relation to the final qualification tournament will be announced.

  • Messi set to Leave Barcelona

    Messi set to Leave Barcelona

    Lionel “Leo” Andrés Messi, a professional footballer who plays for and captains the Argentina national team is all set to leave FC Barcelona, Mazima has learnt. Officials from Barcelona have informed the public about financial and structural obstacles.

    “Despite the club and player reaching an agreement and their clear intention to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of financial and structural obstacles. As a result of this situation, Messi shall not be staying on at FC Barcelona. Both parties deeply regret that the wishes of the player and the club will ultimately not be fulfilled.” Officials from the club said in a statement.

    “FC Barcelona wholeheartedly expresses its gratitude to the player for his contribution to the aggrandizement of the club and wishes him all the very best for the future in his personal and professional life.” The statement adds.

    Messi has made 778 appearances for Barcelona, scoring 672 goals which have helped the club to claim 10 league titles, four Champions Leagues and three Club World Cups among his haul of 35 trophies.

    Last month Messi agreed to a five-year deal on reduced wages rather than a two-year extension initially discussed. The agreement was expected to keep Barcelona within the boundaries of La Liga’s financial fair play regulations but that has proved impossible.

    Barcelona needed to move players out to renew Messi’s deal and they have not been able to find the solution. The club, whose total debt is about €1,173m, is constrained by the league’s salary cap. Messi had agreed to a 50% pay cut, dropping from about €45m basic after tax closer to €20m.

    The question is where will Messi play this season. He tried to leave Barcelona in August 2020 after the collapse of his relationship with the then president Josep Maria Bartomeu but was forced to stay. Now, when he was keen to continue for longer, it appears he is being forced to go.

    Spanish media reported that the club had been in talks with their top-earning players such as Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and Sergi Roberto about reducing their salaries in return for contract extensions.

    The club had also been trying to sell high-earning players including Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho, Samuel Umtiti and Martin Braithwaite but have not yet found suitors for them.

    The club’s president Joan Laporta will hold a news conference on Friday morning in the wake of Messi’s exit.

  • PUMA Terminates Four-year Contract with Athletics Federation of Nigeria

    PUMA Terminates Four-year Contract with Athletics Federation of Nigeria

    German sportswear manufacturing giant PUMA has terminated its four-year contract with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria. According to PUMA, the termination of the deal was a result of Nigeria’s athletes’ failure to wear the brand during the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

    This news website understands that several efforts were made to give the athletes the PUMA kits including; shipping bags of kits with 40 items each to Tokyo through the Nigerian Embassy in Japan but the athletes chose not to wear them. PUMA terminated the contract in a letter dated Wednesday, August 4, 2021 which was signed by the company’s Director, Manuel Edlheimb.

  • Athletes Cheptegei & Kiplimo Win First 2020 Olympics Medals for Uganda

    Athletes Cheptegei & Kiplimo Win First 2020 Olympics Medals for Uganda

    Ugandan athletes Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo have earned the country her first ever double medals in the Olympics men’s 10000m final.

    Cheptegei secured silver in 27:43.63 with teammate Jacob Kiplimo taking bronze in 27:43.88 as Uganda registered her maiden medals at the summer games.

    During the final, Cheptegei put up a spirited last minute run to catch up with Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega, the men’s 10000m final winner.

    The 21 year old Barega timed his last-lap sprint to perfection to win the first athletics gold of the Games in 27min 43.22sec.

    Meanwhile Uganda’s Stephen Kissa pulled out of the race after almost 19 minutes over unclear reasons.

  • World Cup in Calgary – Swiss feminine soccer gamers have additionally efficiently prevailed towards the USA

    The Swiss national team celebrated their 10th victory in their eleventh World Cup game in Calgary with a score of 5-6 against the USA.

    After Skipp Silvana Terenzoni’s Swiss team took part in the knockout round against the Russians early on Thursday evening, they also won the next game. Switzerland won the duel against the USA with Tabitha Peterson Scape 6: 5.

    This means that CCAraw’s Melanie Barbizat, Esther Neuschwander, Trinzoni and Alena Batz have won 10 times after 11 games. In their pursuit of victories, the current world champions are on the verge of setting an impressive record in Swiss curling for women.

    Admission is still possible

    Patz, who always plays fourth place in the Terenzone crew and always plays the last pair of stones, became world champion in Sapporo in 2015 after skipping Baden Reggio. He won 12 of 13 games, averaging 92.3 percent. The proportion of women in Aarau is currently 90.9%.

    You still have two Robben rounds to play (against Germany and Estonia), then the “quarter-finals”, the semi-finals and either the final or the game for third place. If you go undefeated for the rest of the World Cup, you will break the record.

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  • Manchester United Defeat Condemns Guardiola to most losses in a league season

    United did the double over their local rivals for the first time in a decade as their unbeaten run stretched to 10 games

    In going down to defeat to Man Utd in the Manchester derby Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola set an unwanted personal record.

    His team have now lost seven games in the league this campaign, more than the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach has ever lost in a season before.

    United capitalised on two errors by Ederson to emerge 2-0 winners despite Guardiola’s men having 72 per cent of the possession.

    Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team did muster 12 shots in the game while City only had seven.
    The win means the Red Devils have done the league double over their fierce rivals. The last time they achieved that was in 2009-10, when Sir Alex Ferguson was still in charge.

    They are only the third team ever to do the double over a side coached by Guardiola, following Wolves this season, and Antonio Conte’s Chelsea side in 2016-17.

    United also defeated City in the Carabao Cup this season, meaning that Sunday’s result made them just the second team to defeat a Guardiola-coached team three times in the same season.

    The other was Liverpool, coached by Jurgen Klopp, in 2017-18. The latest loss by City this year means Liverpool need just six points to clinch the Premier League title for the first time in 30 years.
    They could do so at Goodison Park in the Merseyside derby on March 16th, if City lose either of their games between now and then.

    The Blues play Arsenal and Burnley at home in that period.

    The signs are healthier for United at the moment. They have not lost in any of their last 10 games in all competitions, their longest undefeated stretch since 11 games between December 2018 and February 2019.

    Those were Solskjaer’s first games at the helm, a period that saw him assume full time control of the club he so famously represented as a player.

    The win takes United into fifth place in the table, which may be enough to see them qualify for the Champions League as City face a two-year ban from European competition for financial irregularities.
    The current Premier League champions are appealing the ban, with United three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.

  • Champions League: Will Manchester United Stop Messi?

    Manchester United host Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at Old Trafford tonight.

    The red devils have won twice, drawn four and lost four in last ten meetings with FC Barcelona. On form Argentina striker Lionel Andres Messi who has scored in each of the last final crashes with Manchester united in both 2008/2009 and 2010/2011 seasons is currently on steering having grabbed 43 goals in 40 appearances for Barcelona.

    United could be without Bailly and Valencia who are out with injury concerns while Sanchez is not fit.

    United’s probable lineup; DeGea, Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Dalot, Matic, Lingard, Pogba, Rashford, Lukaku, Martial in a 4-2-3-1 formation while Barcelona will miss Varmalean and Rafinha but could line up this way; TerStegen, Umtiti, Alba, Pique, Busquets, Raktic,Dembele, Malcom, Messi, Suarez, Coutinho in a 4-3-3 formation.

    It is on record that in last fourchampions league meetings, Who ever kicks out the other between ManUtd and Barcelona wins the title that very season.

    Ole Gunner Solkjaer says Only God is unstoppable despite Messi and Suarez’s current form.

    The clash will kickoff at 10:00pm at Old Trafford tonight.

    In other matches; Ajax hosts Juventus at the Johan Clyff stadium tonight.

    Yesterday Liverpool thrashed FcPorto in a 2-0 comfortable win while Tottenham punished Manchester City in a 1-0 victory through Heung Son Min’s 78th sole Goal.

    I haven’t sent you a photo on this story. This analysis is mine. I didn’t copy it anywhere.

  • Manchester United Appoint Solskjaer As Permanent Manager

    Manchester United have announced that current caretaker manager and former striker, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, has been appointed as the club’s full-time manager on a three-year contract.

    Solskjær scored 126 goals in 366 appearances for United between 1996 and 2007 and also managed the club’s reserve team until the end of 2010. He was appointed caretaker manager on 19 December 2018 and won his first eight games in charge on the way to an overall record of 14 victories and two draws in 19 games, amassing more Premier League points than any other club during that time.

    “From the first day I arrived, I felt at home at this special club,” said Solskjær. “This is the job that I always dreamed of doing and I’m beyond excited to have the chance to lead the club long-term and hopefully deliver the continued success that our amazing fans deserve.”

    Ed Woodward, Executive Vice Chairman, comments: “Since coming in as caretaker manager in December, the results Ole has delivered speak for themselves.”

  • Arsène Wenger To Get Honour From Liberia’s George Weah

    Liberian President George Weah is to award his former football coach, Arsène Wenger, his country’s highest honour.

    President Weah, the only African to have been named World Player of the Year, was signed by Wenger in 1988 when he coached Monaco.

    Wenger, who stepped down as Arsenal manager in May after 22 years, nurtured several African stars.

    The president retired from football in 2003 and went into politics. He won last year’s election by a landslide.

    Wenger is expected to be in Liberia’s capital, Monrovia, for the award ceremony on Friday, Liberia’s Information Minister Eugene Nagbe said,

  • Arsène Wenger to Get Honor From Liberia’s George Weah

    Liberian President George Weah is to award his former football coach, Arsène Wenger, his country’s highest honor.

    President Weah, the only African to have been named World Player of the Year, was signed by Wenger in 1988 when he coached Monaco.

    Wenger, who stepped down as Arsenal manager in May after 22 years, nurtured several African stars.

    The president retired from football in 2003 and went into politics. He won last year’s election by a landslide.

    Wenger is expected to be in Liberia’s capital, Monrovia, for the award ceremony on Friday, Liberia’s Information Minister Eugene Nagbe said,