GLOBAL ASSOCIATION NEWS
Two Thailand players have been banned for six months for their part in mass brawls during the men’s football final at the Southeast Asian Games.
The Football Association of Thailand said goalkeeper Soponwit Rakyart and substitute Teerapak Pruengna were given shorter bans because they are “young” and were “under match pressure and have apologised”.
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NIGERIA
Flying Eagles head coach, Ladan Bosso has backed his team to out run Italy when both teams clash in the 2023 FIFA Under-twenty World Cup Group D clash on Wednesday.
Both teams made a winning start to the competition with the Flying Eagles edging out debutants Dominican Republic two-one and Italy beating Brazil three-two.
Bosso who reflected on his team’s victory against the Dominican Republic, stated that it was important for his team to start the competition on a winning note.
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Flying Eagles midfielder, Victor Eletu says the Young Azzurri of Italy will be a tough nut to crack for his team in their second group game at the ongoing 2023 FIFA Under-twenty World Cup.
Eletu who posited that the Flying Eagles have enough quality to beat the Europeans, warned his teammates to play as a team to emerge victorious.
Meanwhile, Flying Eagles winger, Jude Sunday, hopes to open his goal account at the World Cup.
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Organisers of the Nigeria Professional Football League NPFL, the Interim Management Committee, in conjunction with GTI and Propel Sports Africa have secured a five million dollars deal to stream the league matches on digital platforms from the 2023/24 season.
The NPFL announced that the innovation had been enabled by world’s most advanced Artificial Intelligence, making the league the first in Africa to deploy the technology.
The point of the innovation is NPFL Live, a dedicated streaming app that will allow fans to enjoy live matches and exclusive content with seamless user experience for football enthusiasts in Nigeria and throughout the world.
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Remo Stars head coach, Daniel Ogunmodede is hopeful his side will replicate their impressive performance in the Nigeria Premier Football League Super Six playoffs.
The Sky Blues were unbeaten in the second stanza finishing in second position on the Group A table.
Remo Stars, Enyimba, Bendel Insurance, Rivers United, Lobi Stars and Sunshine Stars will compete in the Super Six playoff at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena Onikan, Lagos next month.
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Dakkada has penned an apology letter to the club supporters following their relegation from the Nigeria Premier Football League.
The Uyo club’s four-year stint in the Nigerian top flight was cut short following a disappointing campaign.
Dakkada finished in tenth position on the Group B table.
Nasarawa United, El-Kanemi Warriors and Wikki Tourists are the three other clubs relegated from the NPFL.
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Akwa United head coach, Ayodeji Ayeni, has expressed disappointment in his side’s failure to qualify for the Nigeria Premier Football League Super Six playoffs.
The Promise Keepers lost out from the playoff spot to Enyimba despite recording an away victory against Gombe United on the final day of the season.
He said it was tough for his players to miss out of the competition despite their spirited effort.
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The first Lagos International Draught Competition has been unveiled to boost youth activeness in sporting activities, reduce youth restiveness and crime in the state.
Director General, Lagos State Sport Commission, Oluwatoyin Gafar, while unveiling the competition, organised by TRS Promotions, said the game would be used to discover raw talents and prepare them for national and international games.
Gafar who promised to help grow the sports, stated that the commission is partnering with the organisers to ensure the sport became a counting event in the state.
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According to the General Manager, TRS Promotions, Babatunde Amosu said the group hope to create a legacy for traditional games and sports in the state and ultimately in the country.
Amosu described draught as a physically engaging sport which requires intelligence and deployment of strategies.
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Also Speaking, the Director of the competition, Tunde Sobowale, said part of the objectives of the game was to allow for rurality people to understand sports, stressing that it would serve as a way to ensure youths have an analytical mind.
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ENGLAND
The Premier League title was won by Manchester City following Arsenal’s defeat to Nottingham Forest, but there is still plenty to be decided, heading into the final weekend of the season.
Leicester City blew a big chance to climb out of the relegation zone following their goalless draw against Newcastle.
It means that Dean Smith’s side will be involved in a relegation scrap on the final day of the season with Everton and Leeds.
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Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola has lavished praise on Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi.
Guardiola said Roberto is one of the most influential managers in the last twenty years.
Under De Zerbi, Brighton have qualified for Europe for the first time in their history, and Guardiola added that there is no team playing the way they play.
Meanwhile, Guardiola has now won eleven league titles in three different nations following Manchester City’s fifth Premier League triumph in six seasons.
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he wants the one hundred and fifteen Premier League financial charges against the club to be dealt with as soon as possible.
In February, City were charged with breaches of the league’s financial rules from 2009 to 2018, as they were also accused of not cooperating since the investigation began in December 2018.
The team denied financial wrongdoing and said their innocence is supported by a “body of irrefutable evidence.
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Arsenal star, Buyako Saka has signed a new deal to stay at Arsenal until 2027, saying the club is the right place to make the next step.
The England forward scored fourteen goals for the Gunners this season, contributing eleven assists.
Just twenty-one years old, he has already made one hundred and seventy-eight appearances for the club and featured in all Arsenal’s Premier League games over the past two campaigns.
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West Ham security staff will visit Prague to inspect fan zones being prepared by UEFA for next month’s Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina amidst concerns they will be too small to accommodate the supporters.
As many as twenty-five thousand ticket-less fans are expected to descend on Prague for the final seventh June, as West Ham and Fiorentina have been given just four thousand, eight hundred and ninety tickets for the twenty thousand capacity Fortuna Arena.
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Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp has paid a glowing tribute to outgoing Liverpool icon Roberto Firmino praising his ‘incredible football brain’ at the player’s leaving party.
The player looked visibly touched by his manager’s words as Klopp gave a short speech to tables packed with his team-mates and their families, the coaching teams, and Liverpool staff members.
Firmino is leaving Anfield after calling time on a decorated eight-season spell at the club which has seen him win the Premier League, the Champions League, the Carabao Cup, and the FA Cup under Klopp.
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Everton are increasingly resigned to the fact that they will be without star striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin for their do-or-die match against Bournemouth.
The relegation-threatened Toffees that only a win will guarantee their Premier League status going into Sunday’s season finale, with a draw or defeat at Goodison Park potentially meaning they drop down to the Championship depending on Leicester City and Leeds United’s results.
Also, Everton have triggered a one-year option to keep midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure at the club until the end of the 2023-24 campaign.
Doucoure was out of contract this summer but the Toffees have exercised the choice of a further year.
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Manchester United are keeping tabs on Bayer Leverkusen star Moussa Diaby in an effort to lure the Frenchman to Old Trafford this summer.
Diaby has been Xabi Alonso’s star man with fourteen goals and eleven assists across all competitions this campaign and riveted the gaze of several top-flight European clubs ahead of the summer window.
Bayer reportedly want upwards of seventy million pounds for the French international, whose contract expires in 2025.
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Julen Lopetegui will hold talks with Wolves chiefs to establish the club’s transfer plans this summer.
The Spaniard took over last autumn with the club bottom of the Premier League but led them to a comfortable survival in the top flight.
Wolves invested heavily in January and will be unable to do so again this summer, with captain Ruben Neves among the leading candidates to depart for a fee of about forty-five million pounds.
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Arne Slot will be the new Tottenham manager if his agent Rafaela Pimenta can negotiate an exit from his Feyenoord contract.
The Dutchman is the number choice of Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy but nothing can be confirmed until Pimenta met Feyenoord CEO Dennis te Kloese in Rotterdam.
Slot has a five million pounds release clause in his contract but it is not possible to activate it until next summer.
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Manchester United legend, Gary Neville and former Liverpool defender, Jamie Carragher have agreed that Liverpool will be the team to most likely challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title next season, rather than Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta’s side were top of the table for two hundred and forty-eight days before several slip-ups in recent weeks saw City leapfrog them before going on to lift their third Premier League title in a row.
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Aston Villa midfielder, Jacob Ramsey has won the Premier League’s Academy Graduate award after a brilliant breakout campaign at the team.
The award is handed out to some of the game’s brightest young talents that have made the transition from a club’s academy to the senior team.
Ramsey was named as this year’s outstanding candidate at an annual Development Conference put on by the division on Monday.
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Former Tottenham Hotspur striker, Darren Bent has told Brighton’s Moises Caicedo to join Liverpool, saying they make the most sense for him.
While Bent would like to see the midfielder at Arsenal, he said Liverpool would be perfect for him.
Caicedo was linked with a move to Arsenal in January but ended up remaining with the Seagulls, helping them secure European football for next season.
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OTHER SPORTS
Indoor track and field competition will be renamed ‘short track’ in a change by World Athletics which the governing body hopes will help grow the sport.
Indoor championships will remain but the move is intended to encourage “competition innovation”, with the traditional indoor 200m track providing flexibility for outdoor use in cities.
Performances on outdoor or temporary 200m tracks would be recognised as official results, including records.
It will come into effect first November.
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In Cricket; Chennai Super Kings are through to their 10th Indian Premier League final after beating defending champions Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1.
Opener Ruturaj Gaikwad top-scored with 60 from 44 balls as Chennai posted 172-7 after being put in to bat.
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In Rugby; Steve Hansen has praised the Rugby Football Union’s decision to raise the Pride flag above Twickenham on Sunday.
World XV coach Hansen says the stance is a “positive consequence” of his controversial selection of Israel Folau against the Barbarians.
Folau, was sacked by Rugby Australia in 2019 for making anti-gay social media posts.
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In Tennis; Britain’s Harriet Dart, Liam Broady and Katie Boulter came through three-setters to reach the second round of French Open qualifying on Tuesday.
Dart was tested in a 6-3 4-6 6-4 win over American Katrina Scott, while Broady came from behind to beat France’s Arthur Gea 4-6 6-4 6-3.
Boulter cut her errors to beat Nuria Brancaccio 6-2 4-6 6-4 and Jan Choinski advanced when Nicolas Kicker retired.
But Katie Swan, Heather Watson and Lily Miyazaki were all knocked out.
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OTHER LEAGUE
Valencia have been sanctioned with a partial stadium closure for five matches following the racist abuse of Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior.
Spanish police detained three people in connection with the abuse directed at the Brazilian at Mestalla Stadium.
Valencia have also been fined forty-five thousand euros, as Valencia’s south stand will be closed and the club has ten working days to appeal.
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Real Madrid boss, Carlo Ancelotti, says the team’s star, Vinicius Junior would not be leaving the club this summer after the Brazilian was subjected to racial abuse at Valencia.
Ancelotti said Vinicius received support from his Brazilian international teammates.
Vinicius was targeted by Valencia fans during Real Madrid’s away La Liga one-nil defeat at the Mestalla with large numbers making monkey gestures and noises at the attacker.
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Ryan Kent, Allan McGregor, Alfredo Morelos, Scott Arfield and Filip Helander will all leave Rangers when their contracts expire this summer.
But Steven Davis, who will also be out of contract, remains in discussions with the club about his future.
Boss Michael Beale said the midfielder will decide if he will keep playing when he recovers from his ACL injury.
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Roma boss Jose Mourinho has labelled Juventus’ mid-season points deduction as a ‘joke’ in a fiery post-match interview.
The Portuguese manager oversaw his side’s two-all draw with Salernitana, which has left the Europa League finalists sitting sixth in the Serie A table.
It was Mourinho’s comments after the match that made reactions, as the Roma boss took aim at league officials over Juventus’ recent sanction.
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Florentino Perez has demanded change from the refereeing structure of LaLiga after his club’s star Vinicius Junior was once again subjected to racist abuse.
The Brazilian forward insisted that he had been targeted with abuse from fans at the Mestalla, as Real fell to a one-nil defeat to strugglers Valencia.
Play was briefly stopped during the game after complaints of the racist chants targeting the player, before resuming a few minutes later.
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Paris Saint-Germain midfielder, Marco Verratti is set against a move away from the Ligue 1 club, despite an inquiry from Manchester City.
The Italy international has been at the Parisian giants for over eleven years, but the club’s somewhat turbulent 2022/23 campaign has seen the player receive sharp criticism from fans.
Verratti was one of the players targeted by fan protests at the start of the month, along with Neymar Junior and Lionel Messi, when Collectifs Ultras Paris organised a gathering of fans to vent their concerns outside of the club’s Boulogne headquarters.
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TODAY’S FIXTURES
IN ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Manchester City
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IN SPANISH LA LIGA
Elche vs Sevilla
Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano
Villarreal vs Cádiz
Espanyol vs Atlético Madrid
Real Betis vs Getafe
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IN ITALIAN COPPA ITALIA
Fiorentina vs Inter Milan
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