#champions of african football league

[dreamstz1]

Mamelodi Sundowns FC: South Africa's Footballing Titans

Nestled in the vibrant city of Pretoria, South Africa, Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club stands as a symbol of pride, tradition, and footballing excellence. With a rich history spanning over four decades, Mamelodi Sundowns has solidified its position as one of the most successful and iconic clubs in South African and African football. Today, we’ll delve into the journey, recent triumphs, and…

[footballmanageraddict]

Pentagon Pursuit | Part 27 | The Ultimate Revenge

#FM24 #PentagonPursuit Part 27: The Ultimate Revenge. Robaato Rasamu leads @KaizerChiefs to the South African title but has his eyes on a much-bigger prize. And a refereeing catastrophe results in an epic performance from his exciting team. Read here:

The magic touch of Japanese manager Robaato Rasamu was rubbing off on his Kaizer Chiefs side as they looked set to qualify from their African Champions League group and led the way in South Africa’s DStv Premiership. A welcome two-month mid-season break moving into 2035 gave Rasamu and his players a little time to recover, reset and refocus ahead of a huge few months. African Champions League…

[pedripics]

Pedri: The island boy with the world at his feet

(via The Athletic - December 2020)

“It is very easy to say it now but the people who know me know that it’s true,” Ruben Delgado tells The Athletic. “When Pedri was nine years old, he reminded me of Iniesta. I always say that the first time I saw him, I knew he had something special."

“His way of playing — everything very simple but very important at the same time. He was not looking to nutmeg people or do lots of stepovers: just the simple thing and the right thing. He was just different: the way he saw football, understood the game, found spaces nobody else could, the maturity he had compared to his team-mates. That is very difficult to find in the world of football but he does it. And it does remind you of Iniesta; looking for the simple thing. It’s a gift. Not very common in football.”

Delgado is a youth football coach with the team in Tegueste, a village on the island of Tenerife. When Pedro Gonzalez Lopez, known then as now as Pedri, turned nine, Andres Iniesta had scored Spain’s winning goal in the World Cup final the year before and later that season won the third of his eventual four Champions League trophies with Barcelona.

Iniesta was also then maybe the most popular footballer in Spain, winning over team-mates, opponents and neutrals with a becoming mix of quiet good manners off the pitch and unshowy genius as he decided games for club and country.

So it was quite something to say that this shy young kid was like Iniesta, but Delgado has not changed his mind over the eight years since he first started coaching a shy, unassuming boy with the gift for playing simple but special football who has settled naturally into the Barcelona midfield since his arrival last summer.

“Pedri just transmitted something different than the other kids of his age,” he says. “Not just how he played with the ball but the respect he showed to his teammates, rival players, the coaches, everyone. One game he scored a super goal, dribbling (past) many players and finishing it perfectly. All of us on the sideline — our fans, and the opposition too — all just had to applaud. At the end of the game, I asked him, ‘Pedri, how did you do that?’ and he just looked at me and said, ‘I don’t know. it just came out naturally’. And I told him, ‘No, no, Pedri — that is not natural’.”

Pedri was born in November 2002 — just a few weeks after Iniesta made his Barcelona first-team debut — in Tegueste, a small town in the northwest of Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands.

He was also born into Barcelona — given that, eight years previously, his grandfather Fernando Rodriguez had established the Peña Barcelonista de Tenerife-Tegueste, one of the first official Barcelona supporters clubs in the Canary Islands. Pedri’s father, also Fernando, still runs it, along with family friend Oscar Ledesma.

“Tegueste is a small town of around 10,000 people, with a healthy rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid supporters, and the Rodriguez family were always known as ‘the Catalans’ as they were all Barca fans,” Ledesma tells The Athletic. “His grandfather was president of the town’s football club (Union Deportiva Tegueste) for many years and also president of the ‘Lucha Canaria’ club (a local form of wrestling developed by the Guanches, the earliest known natives of the archipelago off the north west African coast). His father was a goalkeeper for many years and had some trials with Tenerife, although he never played for them. The family has a restaurant here in Tegueste, which was established by his grandfather. His grandmother worked there, now his parents, his uncles; they all work together.”

Naturally, Pedri and his older brother Fernando (the third generation) began to play for Tegueste’s youth teams, where Delgado was their coach. Although two years younger than his brother, Pedri’s displays soon started to draw attention in their hometown and elsewhere on the island.

“There were people who came to our games just to watch Pedri,” Delgado says. “There was admiration from the parents of the other kids, from the opposition teams. He did not stand out just for the way he played: his dribbling or finishing, like some kids of this age do. With him, it was his maturity and way of understanding football, knowing very quickly to take the correct decision in every moment. You do not see that very often in a kid of nine or ten years old. People could see the potential that he had but also how humble he was, how normal. Tegueste is a small place where everybody knows their neighbours and it’s a family club which transmits those values — respect for referees and opponents, friendliness, to enjoy yourself.”

Tenerife-born Pedro was an important player in Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Barcelona team of that time, while the Spain side which won Euro 2008, World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012 had David Silva, from the neighbouring island of Gran Canaria. Lionel Messi was by now the favourite player of most Barcelona-supporting kids the world over. However, the young Pedri and his father had a clear idea of who his model players should be.

“Pedri always says that Iniesta was his hero and his reference from when he used to go to the peña (supporters’ club) to watch the games with his father and grandfather,” says Ledesma. “He also spoke a lot about (Michael) Laudrup, even though he moved to Madrid and he never saw him play for Barca. His father used to show him videos.”

When the family realised that Pedri needed to be challenged more on the pitch, the two brothers joined Juventud Laguna, a bigger club in San Cristobal de La Laguna, still just a 10-minute drive from home.

“Pedri was the smallest on the team but every coach he had could see that they had a special talent,” Ledesma says. “He did not want to leave at first for Laguna as he was happy playing with his friends and there were also offers from stronger clubs, like Tenerife. The first time he made his debut on the Laguna juveniles (the under-18s, when he was 14), the senior side immediately called him and wanted him to play with them. His dad was worried that he would get broken up, with those little sticks of legs he had, but he just went with them and did amazing things. He is very special.”

By now, Pedri had also started to play for the Canary Islands’ representative side and scouts from some (but not all) Primera Division clubs had taken notice. Although there was still a reluctance to move and leave his friends and family behind, Las Palmas’ academy director Manuel Rodriguez made a persuasive case for him to move to another of the Canary Island clubs to progress his career.

“Offers kept coming and Las Palmas have a very good reputation in the Canaries for their youth system, and very good residences for the boys to live in,” Ledesma says. “It was tough for his parents to accept. He was moving to another island but they assured him about his studies too and they convinced the whole family with their ideas: where he would play, how they would help him to progress. He was very happy there.”

Delgado says that each step of the way, Pedri had help in keeping his career progressing forward at just the right pace.

“Good players always need new challenges and to move up,” he says. “The process has been ideal. He has overcome every challenge that came along each step of the way. He had various offers at different moments but they have known how to choose the right option. Not everybody has that good fortune and it has gone well for him. His father, his brother, his uncles, his friends; they have all kept his feet on the ground. They did not let him grow further than was best in every moment. That has helped him to get to where he is now.”

It was summer 2018 when Pedri moved into the Casa Amarilla youth academy of Las Palmas. After one year as the youngest player among the club’s under-18s, he was ready to move up the levels again.

Then-Las Palmas technical secretary Toni Otero picks up the story.

“I first saw him playing aged 15 and we decided to bring him up to the first team,” Otero tells The Athletic. “We just could not believe what we were seeing, that a player at that age could do what he was doing. We knew he had a lot of potential, could reach the very top. We were afraid that he was still too young but once we saw him train and then play for the first team, we realised he was an extraordinary player.”

Otero signed Pedri to his first professional contract in July last year but was still unsure whether the slight 16-year-old was ready to be pitched into a first team playing in Spain’s second tier.

“The only fear we had was that, physically, he was not ready for professional football with grown men, as he is not a big kid,” he says. “But from the first training session with the first team, we could see he would adapt very well. His first game with us was a pre-season friendly in Marbella against Almeria, after just two weeks of pre-season training with the first team — and he was the best player on the pitch. He did whatever he wanted: played comfortably, passed the ball, ran the game, dribbled past players. He was showing that, ‘I’m here now. I don’t care who you are but I am a proper football player’. That game told us that this kid has everything to reach the top.”

Las Palmas’ coach Pepe Mel was also convinced and Pedri started the first game of the season, doing well even though his team were beaten 1-0 by Huesca. A week later, he got the assist on veteran striker Ruben Castro’s goal in a 1-1 draw away to Malaga. The following month, his first goal in senior football brought Las Palmas’ first win of the season, at home to Sporting Gijon.

Except when called up for Spain’s age-group teams, including to play at the Under-17 World Cup in Brazil, Pedri played each week for Las Palmas. Opponents quickly realised their main creative threat was the tiny kid in midfield but he still finished last season with four goals and seven assists in 36 league games. Otero says that everyone in the dressing room automatically took to this quiet teenager who did his talking on the pitch.

“He was a young kid; skinny, very shy,” Otero says, “so the other players did not know what to expect, but that also helped them to take him into the dressing room. At Barcelona now, from Leo Messi to the groundsman, everyone naturally wants to look after him. And at Las Palmas, it was the same. We had to go along learning with him. I always think age is not important in football — some players of 40 seem like kids, others of 16 are already like men.”

Otero agrees with Ledesma and Delgado that Pedri had good people around him, including his agents Leaderbrock Sports, who also represent other younger Spanish talents including Manchester City’s Ferran Torres and Athletic Bilbao’s Unai Nunez.

“Pedri is very close to his family and they protect him,” Otero says. “His agents look after many young players and know how to protect these kids. Everything related to football and outside of football was looked after. He was playing in the Las Palmas first team and living in the residence at the training ground. We had to take the basketball hoop down as he just wanted to play it all the time, but he was not going out at night. He is not a party kid."

“He likes his PlayStation, his friends, going to the park. He is just such a quiet kid, which is helping him at the moment. It is very important that he is kept away from the parts of football which are not good.”

Given the family connection to Barcelona, it might have seemed obvious that Pedri would end up at the Nou Camp at some point but things could easily have turned out differently.

“Pedri was very close to joining Real Madrid,” says Ledesma. “When he was still playing for Laguna, and began to draw attention, various clubs came here — Deportivo La Coruna, Atletico Madrid, Villarreal and also Real Madrid. The Barca scout here did not rate him. At that moment, they did not think he was an interesting player."

“Madrid took him for a trial. He was there for a week but there was tremendous snow, so he could only do a couple of training sessions. They told him they would be in touch but nothing came of it. It is very funny, as he said he did not recognise himself wearing a Madrid jersey when he was there on trial. All of us here in the peña, including myself, tried to make contact with Barcelona in some way to tell them that this kid is going on trial at Madrid, and he’s Barca to the core — but nobody took any notice.”

Barcelona then had another stroke of luck. Otero had spent two years working as a scout at the Camp Nou and personally knew those running their youth structures, including the club’s former midfielder Jose Mari Bakero.

“When I saw this player, after just 10 minutes, I called Barcelona to talk to Jose Mari and tell him to come and look at this kid,” Otero says, “as he is a Barca player — not 100 per cent but 1,000 per cent. ‘You have to come here, even though he is just 16 years old, but if you take him now, it will be a lot easier than if you wait another year as by then, he will already be a ‘crack’.’ And Jose Mari took me at my word, came here and he could see it too after just 10 minutes.”

So, in early September last year, when he had still only played three senior games for Las Palmas, it was agreed that Pedri would join Barcelona this past summer for an initial fee of €5 million plus add-ons, including 15 per cent of the profit in any future sale. The deal did not make huge headlines at the time but, more recently, Barcelona figures including current sporting director Ramon Planes and former club president Josep Maria Bartomeu have taken credit for their supposed foresight.

“I imagine that many people want to put medals on their chests as now we can see Pedri is going to be a world-class player,” Otero says. “I made the first call, to Jose Mari Barkero, as I had worked at Barca and I knew perfectly well what was the best to do.”

Ledesma says Pedri and his family also received offers from other big clubs at that time. However, the connection with Barcelona was too strong to consider going anywhere else.

“When he was at Las Palmas, the offers started to come, and Barca got involved then,” says Ledesma. “There were various offers on the table but he told his father that if it were possible, he only wanted to join Barca. I believe there were better offers from other teams but both he and his father were clear they wanted Barca.”

After completing the season with Las Palmas, Pedri formally arrived at Barcelona to start pre-season in early August — just as most of his new team-mates were in Lisbon, about to crash out of the Champions League with an 8-2 quarter-final loss to Bayern Munich.

When Ronald Koeman took over as coach a few weeks later, he spoke publicly about Pedri needing to be sent on loan as he was too young to be considered for the first team.

Koeman has a reputation for showing confidence in youth but had also spoken a lot about giving a chance to Philippe Coutinho, who was returning from a season on loan at Bayern. The competition for places in attacking midfield roles also included World Cup 2018 winner Antoine Griezmann, €130 million France international Ousmane Dembele, €30 million Portugal international Francisco Trincao, homegrown fan favourite Riqui Puig and a certain guy called Messi.

However, Pedri’s performances in training, and in the first few friendlies before all the senior players had returned to full fitness after their brief close-season break having played on into August, led to a quick change of plans.

“I imagine Koeman had the same experience we did,” Otero says. “I was fully sure that if he did pre-season with Barca, then he would stay (rather than being loaned out) — no doubts at all — because Koeman would have seen that he was ready. Even though he looks small, he is physically strong and he is just a Barca player. After seeing him train for 10 minutes, Koeman realised that he had a player who was going to be one of the best in the world, for sure.”

Ledesma says that even those closest to Pedri thought it most likely he would spend another year gaining experience and playing time on loan somewhere else, possibly in Germany.

“We thought that he would go and do pre-season at Barcelona but we were sure they would loan him to another team where he would be able to play every week,” Ledesma says. “He could not go to Barca B. That was in his contract. There were many teams interested, including Borussia Dortmund, and we thought he could be loaned back to Las Palmas. He was prepared for that but the circumstances at Barca, the time of transition there, have helped for younger players to get opportunities. And he has taken it, and settled in there, playing a lot more than we expected.”

Delgado says that Pedri himself was always convinced that if given a chance, he could show he was ready to play in Barcelona’s first team.

“I am only surprised by how fast it is happening; that he has earned his place in the XI at Barcelona so quickly,” Delgado says. “We all expected it to happen but to take a bit more time. I remember talking to him in the summer and he was convinced he wanted to stay at Barca this season, and when this kid decides to do something, he usually does it.”

Most new players who have come to Barcelona in recent years have needed time to adapt, including many who were much older and with a lot more experience than Pedri, with Coutinho and Griezmann being obvious examples. This year could have been extra difficult, given all the turmoil around the club, including Messi’s attempt to leave last summer and Bartomeu’s resignation as president in October. However, those around Pedri say he has settled in remarkably easily.

“He speaks wonderfully about the atmosphere in the dressing room: above all, about the older players who have taken to him and to the other younger players, like Trincao and Ansu Fati,” says Ledesma. “Even at the start, when the mood was a bit strange and the president resigned, and all that, he felt very comfortable. He has that character — that people warm to him quickly. He speaks very well about everybody: (Sergio) Busquets, (Gerard) Pique, Messi and all of them.”

Pedri came off the bench in the first three La Liga games of the season, then was given a first start at Getafe in week four, with Coutinho dropping out. Barcelona lost 1-0 but the 17-year-old was one of their best players, with a strong run and clever pass that was key to a move which saw Messi hit a post from the visitors’ best chance to equalise.

“Since the start, Koeman has treated him with a lot of care, given him lots of advice,” says Ledesma. “Above all, he has given him confidence. When he trains and plays, he keeps telling him he is doing very well, to keep going like this, to use his imagination and not be afraid to try things, to do what he knows he can do — and for a kid so young, that gives you a lot of confidence.”

Four days later, he came off the bench to make his Champions League debut and marked the occasion with his first Barcelona goal in a 5-1 victory over Ferencvaros  He was back in the XI for October’s Clasico at home to Real Madrid but did not have his best game and was taken off early in a 3-1 defeat. Koeman kept faith, though, and started him again four days later at Juventus — and Pedri produced a phenomenal performance, regularly skipping away from Juan Cuadrado and frustrating the Colombian by stealing the ball from him, too. A few weeks later came his first La Liga goal, another confident finish in a 5-2 victory over Real Betis.

“As a 17-year-old, you have to understand there will be ups and downs, and better and worse games,” Otero says. “Maybe he did not stand out so much against Madrid but then, a few days later, everybody saw what he did against Juventus. But if the coach keeps putting him in the team, it is because he is happy with his performances.”

While Pedri’s season has been progressing as well as anyone could have hoped, his team have stumbled along and mixed some decent performances with other horror-show displays. Many local pundits say it is no coincidence that they have been playing better in recent weeks because Pedri has more responsibility in the team, and €155 million Brazil international Coutinho is featuring less. Koeman has also been experimenting with the team’s shape, and Pedri played a deeper role in the recent 2-1 win over Real Sociedad, when he drew even more admiration for a brave last-ditch Javier Mascherano-style challenge on Alexander Isak which prevented an almost certain late equaliser.

“Pedri is a player who understands football,” Otero says. “It is not that he is focused on playing in one position or another, or that the coach has told him he must do this or that. No. He understands what he has to do before a coach or anybody can tell him. He has the game in his head and knows perfectly well what he needs to do. It is something great that he has.”

The most difficult challenge for many new Barcelona players is to get on the same wavelength as Messi, something neither Griezmann nor Coutinho have managed to do yet. However, Pedri has quickly struck up an understanding with the Argentinian. Against Real Sociedad, 10 of the 31 passes Pedri completed were to Messi, while Barca’s No 10 found him nine times in return. Their connection was again clear in the 3-0 win at Real Valladolid just before Christmas, especially with the back-heel assist from Pedri for Messi’s strike and the joyous goal celebration between the pair.

“At Las Palmas, the players who he connected best with on the pitch were the most technical: Jonathan Viera and Ruben Castro,” says Ledesma. “When Viera arrived on loan, he told Pedri, ‘You look for me on the pitch and you and me, we are going to understand each other’. Maybe with Messi, it is not the exact same words but something similar has happened."

“Messi knows that if you give him the ball, you will get it back in a better position, and that is important when you play with these technical players. Pedri is also bursting with pride that Messi talks with him, gives him advice, having been his hero almost since he was born. That, for him, is something incredible. Messi speaks more in the dressing room than in front of the cameras. From what I hear, he is more a leader inside the dressing room than it might seem from outside. He lifts the others, he supports them, and that is helping Pedri a lot.”

Otero says Pedri has not had to change anything about his personality or his style of play to fit in at Barcelona — and has not tried to show off with any special tricks or unnecessary demonstrations of skill, instead just continuing to play the same simple way he always has.

“He has that humility and simplicity and naturalness,” Otero says. “With this kid, everything he does is so natural. He just has that talent inside him. That is what talent is: knowing what to do in each moment and being able to do it. Not just heading off on a dribble to show off. Messi has that, and Pedri too. It is all natural talent. He was born with it. He is too young to have learned to play like this. I am convinced he will be a world-class star and mark an era in Spanish football.”

While the Clasico was maybe his quietest game for Barcelona so far, little seems to have fazed the teenager so far. He has even played some of his better games when the team were struggling: such as in that first start at Getafe or in the 1-1 draw at Alaves when far more experienced colleagues let their team down.

After their title hopes took a huge blow in the 1-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid on November 21, he did the post-match Spanish TV interview, admitting that Barcelona had not played well and would have to look at their mistakes and improve — all this from a supposedly shy kid, just four days before his 18th birthday, and only a few months after moving to Catalonia.

“He is a little bit introverted or shy when he does not know the people he is with,” says Ledesma. “But afterwards, when he gets to know you and feels confident, he loves to joke around. It is true that on the pitch he changes, and he always has. When he was playing, he always took it seriously. Every game was very important; even just a kickaround with his friends, he always wanted to win."

“He has a sense of calm, even when Pepe Mel called him to the Las Palmas first team just past his 16th birthday. They all said he had the character, a security in himself that it seemed he had always played there. We were all confident that if Barca gave him a sniff of a chance, he was going to take advantage of it. He gets nervous sometimes, like everyone, but he does not show it. And once he is playing, even in front of fans, he puts everything else to the side.”

Recent months have also seen Pedri make his debut for Spain Under-21s while it would be no surprise if senior side coach Luis Enrique takes both he and close friend Ansu Fati to next summer’s European Championship.

Meanwhile, he has just been getting on with his normal life. He lives in Barcelona with his big brother Fernando, who cooks and looks after the apartment. They play a lot of FIFA in the afternoons while Pedri is also a fan of strategy board game Catan. Their parents have visited when possible amid the pandemic and their own work commitments. The only headlines he has made so far off the pitch have been for using a simple supermarket plastic bag to bring his personal effects to the stadium instead of the designer gear favoured by most of his team-mates, and using taxis to get to and from training and games.

“Pedri will keep his feet on the ground. He is very well supported by his family,” says Ledesma. “His parents still have the restaurant — the mother runs the kitchen and his father runs the dining room — but they go there when they can. With the character he has, it would be strange if he changed.

“He was surprised at all the noise made about him taking a taxi or bringing his things in the plastic bag. He says everyone has a bag like that for their clothes, due to COVID. The only thing is he did not then put it inside a Dolce & Gabbana bag, he just carried it in his hand. And if he does not have a driving licence, and his brother also does not have it yet, then he needs to get a taxi. He just gets on with things. He is a very normal kid.”

Back on Tenerife, the locals have recovered from the strangeness of supporting usual rivals Las Palmas last season and the Pena Barcelonista de Tenerife-Tegueste is packed for each Barcelona game.

“I don’t know what he can achieve. I can only say that if he aims for something, he will get it,” Delgado says. “I just hope he keeps going, keeps enjoying this moment and what is to come. I am convinced he will go very, very far. He is still the same kid I coached at nine years old, with the same friends and loved ones. He responds to your messages, shows respect, does not dominate the conversation, asks about you and your family. I am super proud to be able to say that.”

Nobody who knows Pedri thinks that he will plateau now and not aim to keep developing his game and become an even more important player for Barcelona over the next decade or more.

“He says that he wants to improve in everything,” says Ledesma. “Often, he speaks about scoring more goals, his finishing, shots from long range. He scored more for Las Palmas as he took more shots but he always says that he is happier to give an assist than score a goal. But he knows he is learning things every day, being with the best players in the world. It is an incredible opportunity for as long as it lasts at Barca, and I hope he retires there, to keep learning and improving.”

Such a strong confidence in one’s own ability, despite appearing shy and unassuming at first, also brings back the comparison with Pedri’s childhood hero.

“Hopefully they are similar in how they play, although Pedri still has a long way to go — achieving half of what Iniesta has would be marvellous,” says Ledesma. “Although he admires Iniesta a lot, he does not really like the comparisons. He knows he is Pedri and needs to play like Pedri.”

[mimi-0007]

1904Robert Wells Marshall (March 12, 1880 – August 27, 1958) was an American sportsman. He was best known for playing football; however, Marshall also competed in baseball, track, boxing, ice hockey and wrestling. When Marshall played baseball for Minneapolis Central High School, he played first base for three years. Central was the champion of the Twin Cities High Schools for Marshall's junior and senior years, of 1900 and 1901.

When he played baseball for the University of Minnesota, he also played first base for two years, 1904 and 1905, helping the university to win the Western Conference Championship in 1905.[4]

Marshall played end for the football team of the University of Minnesota from 1904 to 1906. In 1906, Marshall kicked a 48-yard field goal to beat the University of Chicago 4-2 (field goals counted as four points). He was the first African American to play football in the Western Conference (later the Big Ten). He graduated in 1907 and played with Minneapolis pro teams, the Deans and the Marines. From 1920 through 1924, he played in the National Football League (NFL) with the Rock Island Independents, the Minneapolis Marines, and the Duluth Kelleys. Along with Fritz Pollard, he was one of the two first African Americans to play in the NFL.

[cryingforcrocodiles]

helloooo!

— i'm genesis! but you can call me gen or croc | they/them lesbian | writer [on occasion] | sports fan of many genres [american football, football/soccer, basketball, tennis, badminton, PDC + PREM darts] (yes i watch darts)

♣︎ clubs = red devils & milanista + bvb on the side

♥︎ players = marcus rashford¹⁰– hakim ziyech²² – demarai gray¹² – licha martinez⁶ – 🐐¹⁰ – andre onana²⁴ – olivier giroud⁹ – jude bellingham⁵ – granit xhaka³⁴ – alejandro garnacho¹⁷ – rasmus højlund¹¹

★ fav national teams = 🇲🇦 🇧🇷 🇯🇲 🇫🇷 🇨🇲 + ALL (and i mean all) asian + african nteams.

other = i am silly. i do 'teamflipflop' (reblogs gifs/photos/celebrations of teams i do not die hard support. i do not care much for fan rivalry 🙏🏿) big rambler in tags.

#gen.txt = rambles, football/soccer talk, and stuff unrelated to both! usually me related.

#gen & live footy = live blogging

#daily champs = daily [... occasionally!] clips of youtube series "champions" that imagines the champions league stars living together in a giant mansion, reality show style.

#card collecting shit = my journey start to (hopefully soon) finish about my panini qatar 2022 sticker album. if you enjoy stuff like that :)

backup incase of emergencies: @crocycries4u

🪽 thank you for reading 🫶🏿

(gif by hojlundaise)

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil to play two African nations in anti-racism campaign to support Vinicius Junior

Brazil will play friendlies against two African nations as part of an anti-racism campaign in support of their Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior, who has been racially abused in Spanish League games this season, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said on Friday.

The five-time world champions will face Guinea in Barcelona on June 17 and Senegal in Lisbon three days later.

The CBF has also launched a national campaign against racism in Brazilian league matches starting this weekend following the racist insults 22-year-old Vinicius suffered in a LaLiga match at Valencia on Sunday, the 10th such episode against the player that LaLiga has reported to prosecutors this season.

With the slogan "There is no game with racism," the CBF aims to extend the fight started in 2022 under its new president Ednaldo Rodrigues, who pushed for changes in legislation that saw the football authorities and Brazilian justice system apply more severe punishments against racism in stadiums.

"We want Brazil to lead the fight against racism worldwide," Rodrigues told Reuters in a interview in March.

Continue reading.

[swaggypsyduck]

Are you interested in Argentina football? If you're interested or not, River Plate or Boca Juniors?

hi anon!! honestly i want to get into more south american football. i tune into brazilian club football every now and then but other than european club football (mostly la liga and the ucl) i watch african club football. i keep up w the moroccan league (bc im moroccan), the algerian league (bc of my friends), and then the caf champions league (its like the ucl but for african teams). cameroonian and egyptian teams r SO GOOD i dread when my teams face them!! the current champs r wydad (a moroccan team)!!

[whatm0vesyou]

Burna Boy - I Told Them… thoughts of a music fan

Like all truly great artists, Burna Boy’s music, confidence, hard work, spirit, and just his being have the power to inspire and bring together not just Nigerians and Africans, but the whole entire world. 

I can’t tell you I understand every word he says in his songs. But I don’t have to, which I believe speaks to his comments regarding lyrics not mattering on Afrobeats. He and his collaborators have an incredible way of conveying and evoking joy greatly through sounds and melodies. And like joy, sometimes you don’t need to rationalise music. You only have to feel it. 

What matters is that his music makes you feel good, it makes you feel confident, it makes you dance. And Burna Boy’s music, including his latest album, does just that. He’s not trying to tell you who he is, what he does, or what he can do. It’s a record that signifies “I was here. I was right. I told you all from the beginning. And now I’m celebrating the success with this album.” You get a glimpse into his perspective that got him where he is through the voice recordings of Wu-Tang Klan, Virgil Abloh and J. Cole’s verse. 

Yes, it might not be the most experimental or thought-provoking album, but I think its existence and success are integral to Burna Boy’s story - at least from my perspective. So, I wanted to share how I’ve seen the growth of the African Giant as a Greek girl who always truly loved music and its power. 

I couldn’t tell you exactly when I heard a Burna Boy song for the first time, but an educated guess would be around 2017 or 2018 when I started going to club nights in Athens, where DJ Kas would play. I was already listening to a fair amount of R&B and Hip-Hop, which was what he would primarily play and why I was there. Often, Afrobeats would get thrown into the mix, and I grew to love the genre and the positive energy it had the power to transmit to people. 

Moving to the UK a year later and getting involved in the music scene through radio, club nights, genuine curiosity and friends who were kind enough to put me on to some great stuff, Afrobeats grew to have a special place in my heart and Spotify library, with Burna Boy and his authenticity occupying most of the space for a while. 

The moment I genuinely realised Burna Boy’s superpower was when I saw him perform at Nostos Festival while I was visiting Athens in 2021 (it's important to note that it was free to attend that!). Having lived in the UK and seen his growth there, and having an awareness of his influence within the African scene, I felt more than lucky to be part of that crowd. Most of my Greek friends at the time had never heard of his name, let alone my parents, but I went with my dad anyway.

At the festival grounds, the presence of Nigerians was strongly felt - it was a genuine moment of community coming together. But the crowd was also filled with people of all trades, ages, races and nationalities. From artists, NBA players, and Greek and Nigerian people I look up to, to kids I grew up with and everyday people, simply coming together and enjoying a moment of bliss and community. Burna Boy also fully bodied the performance. You could clearly hear and see the joy and happiness to be performing in his voice, moments, face, and interactions with the crowd. That’s when I understood that his music and performance are meant to be experienced globally. I saw his vision clearly. 

Since then, he’s had Last Last become one of the biggest songs last year, the success of Love, Damini, and his sold-out London Stadium show. And now, "I Told Them..." is the Number 1 album in the UK charts, making him the first African artist to ever achieve that. Literally making history.

However, my favourite highlight of his over the past year is his Champions League final performance. My mum, a Greek, non-football fan, recognised him from the 2021 show (that she didn’t even attend) and texted me saying that my dad is watching it. As I received it, one of his songs came on at a block party in Stratford, London I was at. Soon after I received that text, Jim Legxacy started performing to a crowd that truly celebrated him, and I felt like I just saw the cycle of inspiration and power of music unfolding in front of my eyes. I’ll let you unpack that one yourself. 

-antigoni

[mariacallous]

Of the 20 games Australia played on its journey to qualify for this year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar, 16 games were held abroad. Australia has been a member of the Asian Football Confederation since 2005, and its players’ passports include stamps from Kuwait, Taiwan, Jordan, Vietnam, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. But several members of the Australian team can claim an even longer journey to the tournament.

“Pressure is me as an 18-month-old baby fleeing a war. Pressure is me as a 6-year-old being in the middle of a war. Pressure isn’t a must-win football game because you can win or lose, but I don’t think anyone’s going to die,” defender Milos Degenek told ESPN before Australia’s Nov. 26 group-stage game against Tunisia.

Degenek was born in Knin, Croatia, in 1994. The city was the self-declared capital of the unrecognized Republic of Serbian Krajina during the 1991 to 1995 conflict that led to the breakup of Yugoslavia and was taken by the Croatian military in 1995. Degenek’s family fled to Belgrade, Serbia, in 1995 to avoid the worst of the war before immigrating to Australia as refugees when he was 7 years old.

“I can remember pretty much everything from that time,” Degenek said in a 2017 interview with FIFA.com. “Not knowing if you are going to wake up tomorrow because of the bombings. You would see a lot of crazy things the next morning when you woke up. A lot of things in flames. And a lot of things that a normal human mind can’t comprehend. You just have to deal with it at a young age.”

Australia’s national soccer team has long revealed the country’s migrant history. Its teams of the 1960s and 1970s featured mostly first-generation migrants from Europe. At the 1974 World Cup in West Germany, Australia’s squad included a roll call of immigrants from England, Scotland, Germany, and then-Yugoslavia—with Australian-born players a minority. Decades later, Australia’s 2006 “golden generation”—who reached the World Cup knockout rounds for the first time ever—included just one player born outside Australia, New Zealand-born Archie Thompson. But the team nevertheless championed its multicultural origins. Soccer was a constant presence in migrant families, and Australian-born children and grandchildren played soccer rather than rugby or Australian rules football. Media coverage at the time celebrated how this particular team reflected Australia’s makeup rather than the cricket or rugby teams.

Australia’s 2022 squad is diverse once again. And if the results of today’s group stage matchups hold, the team may also advance to the knockout rounds. Four players were born in Africa, and three of those were refugees. Forward Awer Mabil was born in 1995 in the United Nations-run Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya after his family fled war in Sudan. Mabil lived at Kakuma until the age of 10, when his family received asylum in Australia. Defender Thomas Deng was similarly born in Kenya in 1997 to parents who had fled Sudan and moved to Australia in 2003.

Garang Kuol is the third Australian player with Sudanese heritage. Kuol was born in Egypt to South Sudanese parents in 2004 before moving to Australia with his family at the age of 6. Twelve years later, during the closing minutes of Australia’s 4-1 loss to France last week, he took the field to become the youngest player to represent the Socceroos at a World Cup. After Australia qualified for the tournament in June 2022, Mabil said the country had given him and his family “a chance of life.” In January, he will join the English Premier League Newcastle United.

“On the journey my mum and her parents went through to reach the camp, many people died,” Mabil told the Guardian in an interview. “They were captured by the rebels trying to leave. The way they escaped, we could talk about it all night. It sounds like something from a movie, but it’s something they actually went through. The war, the journey, what they faced. For me, hearing it, it’s like: ‘Woah.’ What people do to keep their kids safe, what they sacrifice to give them a better life. They didn’t know how long they would be in the refugee camp; they thought they would return home. But there’s no returning home.”

The racial makeup of Australia’s 2022 team reveals an uncomfortable truth about the country’s immigration history. In 1901, the Immigration Restriction Act became one of the first laws of the new Australian federation. Alfred Deakin, then attorney-general and soon-to-be prime minister, said the new law “means the prohibition of all alien colored immigration … the policy of securing a ‘white Australia.’” It was not until 1975 that the Gough Whitlam government formally ended the policy with the introduction of the Racial Discrimination Act. Local Black faces are rarely seen in mainstream media in Australia, and while Australians with Indigenous or Pacific Islander heritage have played prominent roles in the sport, it is only in recent years that African Australians have stepped into the spotlight.

Australia’s more recent policies toward refugees and asylum-seekers have also been mired in controversy. Players like Mabil entered Australia through formal offshore refugee application programs, but informal arrivals to Australia face huge hurdles that have often proved insurmountable. The government began detaining asylum-seekers who arrived on the country’s shores by boat in 1992. The policy was politicized and hardened by then-Prime Minister John Howard, who governed from 1996 to 2007, and had a no-compromise approach to asylum-seekers who arrived in Australia by boat.

In 2001, in the run-up to the federal election, Howard’s government refused to grant permission to the MV Tampa, a Norwegian cargo ship, to enter Australian waters. The Tampa had rescued more than 400 mostly Afghan refugees from a fishing vessel stranded in the Indian Ocean. Australia’s stance sparked a diplomatic incident among Australia, Norway, and Indonesia over which country had responsibility for the initial rescue and subsequent destination of the asylum-seekers. Ultimately, New Zealand accepted many of the refugees with the remainder detained by Australia on the Pacific island of Nauru. In another incident in 2001, top officials in the Howard government claimed refugees had thrown “children overboard” when a Royal Australian Navy ship intercepted another boat carrying asylum-seekers. An Australian Senate inquiry later found the story to be untrue.

“We will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come,” Howard said in 2001, announcing what would become known as Australia’s Pacific Solution. It included establishing an Australian-run offshore detention center on Nauru, the third-smallest country in the world, and on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island. The Manus Island facility became infamous for its brutality—in 2014, an asylum-seeker was murdered by facility workers during a riot protesting living conditions, and in 2015, detainees held a hunger strike by sewing their lips together—and was briefly shuttered between 2008 and 2012. In 2021, the Australian government handed control of the Manus Island facility to the government of Papua New Guinea. Nauru’s detention center remains open.

The Pacific Solution has remained popular with the Australian electorate even as asylum-seekers are held indefinitely without charge and criticism that conditions are inhumane remain. Detention centers on Australian soil have also been criticized for being dangerous; asylum claims take an average of 761 days to process, and asylum-seekers are held in what are effectively jails for that time. The new prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has said he’s investigating alternatives.

Australia’s soccer players put a positive face on the refugee experience in Australia, and Mabil acknowledges that his story is alluring to the media.

“I’ve got that title now of ‘oh, refugee kid,’” he told the Guardian. “It’s more for the headlines, for people to try to feel sorry for me, but they never try to understand who I am. … I want to tell that story too, inspire people from my country, my mother’s country, around the world.”

Mabil, Deng, and Kuol are prominent positive examples of African Australian success. Since the mid-1990s, approximately 30,000 people identifying as South Sudanese have immigrated to Australia. The community has produced top athletes in multiple sports, fashion models, musicians, and prominent lawyers. It has also been marginalized, associated with crime and violence in the media, and subjected to racism.

“There were times where I’d play for [Melbourne] Victory [his local team] on the weekend, then I’d be walking through the shops and there will be security guards looking at me strangely or following me around, thinking that I’m going to steal something,” Deng said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “I’ve had that multiple times in my life, but I’ve just learned to ignore it. … I’ve tried to block it out.”

[cookies-sports]

The CAF Women’s Champions League starts tomorrow, consisting of 8 teams: Group A is Aigles de la Médina, FAR Rabat, TP Mazembe, and UWC; Groupe B is CBE, Edo Queens, Mamelodi Sundowns, and Masar.

I am struggling to find where it can we watched in the UK. The qualifiers were streamed on FIFA Plus but the tournament isn't on the schedule. Last year CAFA TV's YouTube channel streamed matches, but again there's none scheduled currently. The streams might appear on the day.

There do seem to be some places streaming the games in other countries, so worth having a search.

2023 Highlights on CAFA TV Youtube:

Qualifier Highlights and Full Matches on FIFA+:

[laresearchette]

Friday, October 19, 2024 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: FBI TRUE (Paramount+ Canada) LAZARETH (Paramount+ Canada) HOLIDAY CRASHERS (W Network) 8:00pm

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

AMAZON PRIME CANADA AFRICAN THRONE NWSL SOCCER: SEATTLE REIGN FC V HOUSTON DASH

CRAVE TV BLIPPI WONDERS (Season 2) THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW DEBUG HAPPY’S PLACE (Season 1)

NETFLIX CANADA AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR: NINJA VS NINJA (Season 3) AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR (Season 14)

HORSE RACING (SN360) 10:00am: British Champions Day

NHL HOCKEY (SN) 1:00pm: Lightning vs. Sens (SN) 4:00pm: Oilers vs. Stars (CBC/SNEast/SNOntario) 7:00pm: Rangers vs. Leafs (CityTV/SNEast) 7:00pm: Habs vs. Islanders (SNPacific) 7:00pm: Canucks vs. Flyers (CBC/SN) 10:00pm: Flames vs. Kraken

NWSL SOCCER (TSN/TSN4) 1:00pm: Kansas City Current vs. San Diego Wave

MLS SOCCER (TSN4) 6:00pm: CF Montreal vs. NYCFC (TSN4) 9:00pm: Dallas vs. Kansas City

MLB BASEBALL (SN1) 7:00pm: Yankees vs Guardians - Game 5

CFL FOOTBALL (TSN) 7:00pm: Alouettes vs. Lions

KILLER FORTUNE TELLER (Lifetime Canada) 8:00pm: Shane Settel starts to believe in fate after a chance tarot reading. He has the largest success in his professional career and falls in love, but then tragedies begin to follow him.

LOVE’S FAST LANE (Super Channel Heart & Home) 8:00pm: After accidentally ruining a wedding, mechanic and all-round bad ass Nikki Turner finds herself falling for bookish ivy league professor Jeremy Mitchell as she helps him try to win back his fiancée.

IMAGINARY (Crave) 9:00pm: When Jessica moves back into her childhood home, her youngest stepdaughter, Alice, finds a stuffed bear named Chauncey; Alice's behavior becomes more and more concerning, Jessica soon realizes that Chauncey is much more than a toy.

KILLER COWORKER (CTV Life) 10:00pm: When a spa employee is framed for the murder of a jealous co-worker, she must uncover the culprit before she becomes the next victim.

SISTER OF THE GROOM (Crave) 10:45pm: During a destination wedding weekend, a woman and her loyal husband plan a series of embarrassing mishaps to ruin the relationship between her brother and his new bride.

DOCTOR SLEEP (CTV) 12:30am: Traumatized by the sinister events from his childhood, Dan Torrance meets a teen who shares his extrasensory gift of the "shine." They must soon join forces to battle a cult, whose members try to feed off the shine of innocents to become immortal.

[karimsa22]

The Rise of Egyptian Football: A Historic Overview

Egyptian football, or soccer as it is known in many parts of the world, holds a prominent place in the heart of the nation and has a rich history filled with triumphs, legends, and memorable moments. As one of the most successful footballing nations in Africa, Egypt's national team, affectionately known as the Pharaohs, has made significant contributions to the sport both on and off the pitch.

A Storied History

Egypt's football journey dates back to the early 20th century, with the national team first competing internationally in 1920. However, it was in 1957 that Egypt made its mark on the continental stage by winning the inaugural Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). This victory set the tone for the team’s future successes and established Egypt as a dominant force in African football.

The Pharaohs continued their impressive form by securing a total of seven AFCON titles as of 2024, making them the most successful team in the history of the competition. Their triumphs in 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, and 2010, during a period often referred to as the "Golden Era" of Egyptian football, solidified their reputation. The 2010 AFCON victory was particularly remarkable as it completed a hat-trick of consecutive titles, a feat unmatched by any other team.

Iconic Players and Legends

Egyptian football has been home to some of the most talented and influential players in the sport's history. Among them, Mohamed Salah stands out as a global superstar. His dazzling performances for clubs like FC Basel, Chelsea, Roma, and Liverpool have earned him widespread acclaim and numerous individual awards, including multiple Premier League Golden Boots. Salah’s impact extends beyond club football; his leadership and skill have been pivotal in Egypt’s international campaigns.

Another legendary figure is Mahmoud El Khatib, a revered striker who shone in the 1970s and early 1980s. Known for his exceptional goal-scoring ability and technical prowess, El Khatib is celebrated as one of Egypt's greatest footballers. His contributions to Al Ahly SC and the national team have left an indelible mark on Egyptian football.

Domestic and Continental Success

At the domestic level, Egyptian football clubs, particularly Al Ahly SC and Zamalek SC, have been extraordinarily successful. Al Ahly SC, often referred to as the "Club of the Century" in African football, has won a record number of Egyptian Premier League titles and CAF Champions League trophies. Zamalek SC, their arch-rivals, has also achieved considerable success in both domestic and continental competitions.

These clubs have not only dominated local football but have also contributed significantly to the national team by providing a strong pool of talent. The intense rivalry between Al Ahly and Zamalek, known as the "Cairo Derby," is one of the most fiercely contested and watched football matches in Africa, drawing immense crowds and generating passionate debates among fans.

Challenges and Future Prospects

Despite its historical successes, Egyptian football has faced its share of challenges. The national team's performance in recent years has been somewhat inconsistent, with notable underperformances in recent World Cup qualifiers and AFCON tournaments. Issues such as administrative challenges, the need for improved infrastructure, and the development of young talent are areas that require attention.

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) has been working on addressing these issues, with a focus on grassroots development and investing in youth academies. Additionally, there is a renewed emphasis on strengthening the national team’s coaching and technical staff to better compete on the international stage.

Looking ahead, there is a sense of optimism among fans and analysts that Egyptian football can regain its former glory. The emergence of young talents, combined with the experience of seasoned players, could pave the way for a new era of success. The goal for the Pharaohs will be to harness their rich footballing heritage and adapt to the evolving landscape of the sport to achieve future victories.

Conclusion

Egyptian football remains a beacon of success and passion in African football. With a storied past, legendary players, and a fervent fan base, the Pharaohs have left an indelible mark on the sport. As they navigate through contemporary challenges, the hope is that they will continue to build on their illustrious history and inspire future generations with their footballing prowess.

[lboogie1906]

Kenneth Stanley Washington (August 31, 1918 – June 24, 1971) was a football player who was the first African American to sign a contract with an NFL team in the modern era. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins.

He was born in Los Angeles. His parents, Marian Lenàn and Negro League baseball player Edgar "Blue" Washington. He was raised by his grandmother Susie Washington, his uncle Rocky, the first African American uniformed lieutenant in the LAPD, and his aunt-in-law Hazel. He was a star in both baseball and football at Abraham Lincoln High School, where he was nicknamed "Kingfish". He led both teams to city championships in the same calendar year.

He attended UCLA, where he was a member of both the baseball and football teams.

His position was a tailback, and he passed as much as he rushed. He rushed for 9,975 yards in his college career, a school record for 56 years. He was one of four African American players on the 1939 UCLA Bruins football team, the others being Woody Strode, Robinson, and Ray Bartlett. The Bruins played eventual conference and national champion USC to a 0-0 tie with the 1940 Rose Bowl on the line.

He was the first Bruin to lead the nation in total offense and became the first consensus All-American in the history of the school's football program. Despite these achievements and the fact that he doubled as a defensive back, he was named to the second-team All-America selection instead of the first and was omitted from the East-West Shrine Game that year.

When the Cleveland Rams moved to Los Angeles, the team sought to play in the publicly owned Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum – a decision that created immediate pressure that the team be racially integrated. The team signed him on March 21, 1946, followed by Strode on May 7.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and his number 13 jersey was the first to be retired at UCLA. He was posthumously inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame. Abraham Lincoln High School has annually awarded the Kenny Washington Trophy to the school's best football player since 1949. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence #alphaphialpha

[ejesgistnews]

Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines online Today, What are the top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines for Today, Friday, 23rd August, 2024.   Staying updated on the latest developments in Nigeria is essential, especially in today's fast-paced world. Here are the top 13 Nigerian newspaper headlines for August 23, 2024, that capture the most significant news across the country. From breaking stories to in-depth analyses, these headlines reflect the top news in Nigeria this morning. Whether you're interested in politics, business, or social issues, these latest Nigerian newspaper headlines will keep you informed. Dive into the top stories in Nigeria today and stay ahead with the latest updates. The latest Nigerian headlines for August 24, 2024:   Here are the latest Nigerian newspaper headlines for Saturday:   1. Supreme Court Affirms Ododo’s Election as Kogi Governor: The Supreme Court has upheld the election of Usman Ododo as the Governor of Kogi State, dismissing the appeals challenging his victory in the gubernatorial election.   2. Supreme Court Affirms Diri’s Re-election as Bayelsa Governor: The Supreme Court has reaffirmed the electoral victory of Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye Diri, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), dismissing all petitions against his re-election. 3. Tinubu Promises to Equip Nigeria’s Military: President Bola Tinubu has pledged to further equip and empower the Nigerian military to enhance national security. This promise was made during a meeting with military chiefs in Abuja   4. Flood Risk in Abia, Ondo, 8 Others as Nigerian Govt Issues Alert on River Niger Rising Level: The Federal Government has issued an alert on the rising water levels of the River Niger, warning of potential flooding in Abia, Ondo, and eight other states. Citizens in these areas are advised to take precautionary measures.   5. FG Claims Over 20,000 Holding Fake Certificates in Nigeria: The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, revealed that at least 21,600 people are using fake certificates obtained from institutions in Benin Republic, Togo, and other countries. The government is taking steps to address this issue.   6. Tinubu Swears in Justice Kekere-Ekun as New CJN: In a significant milestone for Nigeria’s judiciary, President Bola Tinubu has administered the oath of office to Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, formally inaugurating her as the 23rd Chief Justice of Nigeria.   7. Afreximbank Finances Oando’s Acquisition of NAOC: The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has provided funding for the $783 million acquisition of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC) by Oando Petroleum and Natural Gas Company Limited   8. Dispatch Rider Dies in Lagos Auto Crash: A dispatch rider tragically lost his life in an auto crash along the Lekki-Epe Expressway in Lagos on Friday. The incident has raised concerns about road safety in the area.   9. Edo Queens Make History with WAFU Champions League Triumph: Edo Queens have become the second Nigerian club to win the WAFU B CAF Women’s Champions League qualifying tournament, marking a significant achievement in Nigerian women's football.   10. Leverkusen Begin Title Defence with 11th-Minute Stoppage-Time Winner: Super Eagles forward Victor Boniface played a crucial role for Bayer Leverkusen as they began their Bundesliga title defence with a dramatic victory, scoring an 11th-minute stoppage-time winner.   11. Police Rescue 20 Kidnapped Medical Students, House Officer: The Benue State Police Command has successfully rescued 20 medical students and a house officer who were abducted in Otukpo Local Government Area. The rescue operation, led by a tactical squad deployed by the Inspector-General of Police, was carried out without any ransom being paid.   12. Indians Taking Over Jobs in Nigeria’s Oil & Gas Sector – PENGASSAN Laments: The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has raised concerns over the increasing number of Indians occupying jobs in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

The association is calling for stricter regulations to protect local employment.   13. Lagos Diverts Traffic for Reconstruction of Lagos-Badagry Carriageway: The Lagos State Government has announced traffic diversions to facilitate the reconstruction of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway. Motorists are advised to follow alternative routes and adhere to traffic management measures put in place.   14. Nigeria Records 40 Confirmed Mpox Cases: The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed 40 cases of Mpox (formerly known as Monkeypox) across the country. The NCDC is urging the public to maintain good hygiene practices and report any suspected cases to health authorities. Nigerian Newspaper Headlines – Top 13 News Stories in Nigeria This Morning, August 23, 2024   15. Botswana Discovers World’s Second-Largest Diamond: Botswana has announced the discovery of the world’s second-largest diamond, weighing 1,174 carats. This remarkable find was made by the Debswana Diamond Company and is expected to significantly boost the country’s economy.     That is all for today on Nigerian Newspaper Headlines. Click here more Naija News.

[melodiousoblivionao3]

I completely forgot about this until now, but for that other anon shitting on the NWSL. Chawinga’s sister literally dominated the French ligue and Champions League this past season. Does this mean the French league and the champions league are bad since she walked into it and owned it?? No, maybe she’s just that talented like Banda and her sister are, and that other anon is just underestimating the talent of African footballers. Also Osohola came to the NWSL from Barcelona and hasn’t exactly been dominating. If the league was so easy then you’d think one of the top goal scorers from the best team in the world would be doing the same thing, but she’s not so 🤷🏻‍♀️

Period

[sportpeskenyateam]

Kiron Interactive grows African footprint with SportPesa Kenya partnership for instant virtual games

Kiron Interactive, a premier provider of virtual sports and numbers games, has significantly boosted its presence in Africa by partnering with SportPesa, a leading Kenyan-grown operator. This agreement will introduce Kiron's cutting-edge Kiron.Lite suite of games to SportPesa’s extensive player base, starting with the innovative Mobile Lite Virtual Leagues.

SportPesa, renowned for its popularity among bettors across Kenya, will now offer its users Kiron's agile, data-efficient virtual football experience. This collaboration promises round-the-clock betting opportunities across all regions served by SportPesa’s platform, with a primary focus on Kenya and Tanzania.

Kiron's Mobile Lite Virtual Leagues deliver the thrill of real sports betting while utilizing minimal data compared to traditional applications. The events are designed for in-play betting and are fully customizable, allowing SportPesa to tailor content, odds, and event frequency to meet the preferences of its growing player base.

SportPesa will initially roll out several Kiron.Lite games, including Ligi ya Mbogi (Virtual League), Champions League, World Cup, and Virtual Jackpot (Jackpot Chap Chap).

Steven Spartinos, Co-CEO of Kiron Interactive, commented, "SportPesa is a prominent name in Africa with substantial brand recognition, particularly in Kenya. Their success across various markets makes this partnership a landmark achievement for us. Our Mobile Lite Virtual Leagues are a game-changer for data-conscious players, significantly enhancing their betting experience. We’re confident this collaboration will yield immediate benefits for SportPesa."

A representative from SportPesa added, "This partnership with Kiron Interactive marks a significant milestone in our ongoing effort to enhance our customers' experience by offering a broader range of gaming options. We are thrilled to work with Kiron to deepen our virtual sports offerings.

"This alliance underscores our commitment to delivering high-quality gaming experiences efficiently. The Kiron.Lite suite strengthens the diverse range of experiences on our platform while boosting win potential. We are excited about the future and the possibilities this partnership brings."

This strategic partnership between Kiron Interactive and SportPesa promises to revolutionize virtual sports betting in Kenya, offering players an unparalleled gaming experience. Experience the fun of SportPesa instant virtuals! Register now and start playing instant virtual games on our platform.