This August and September, a wealth of talents will make their debut on the international stage in four FINA disciplines – synchronised swimming, water polo, open water swimming and diving – with the organisation of FINA World Youth and Juniors Championships.
The 14th FINA World Junior Synchro Championships kick off Yesterday, July 30 in Helsinki, Finland with more than 260 swimmers from 34 countries to fight for top honours in solo, duet, team and free combination for five days.
Meanwhile in Istanbul, Turkey (August 2-10) the second edition of the FINA World Men’s Youth Water Polo Championships (18 & U) will bring together 20 teams from the strongest and rising nations in the sport. The women’s Championships will follow two weeks later in Madrid, Spain with 16 teams.
In September (5-7), fresh faces of the open water stage will take the plunge in the Lake of Balaton, Hungary for the second edition of the event while Penza, Russia will welcome the world’s best diving talents from the 9th to 14th for a 20th edition of Junior Worlds.
Nigerian pair of Aruna Quadri and Funke Oshonaike overcame Northern Ireland’s duo of A. Robinson and A. Givan 3-0 to set up a clash against Singapore on Thursday.
On Friday, Nigerian players will be in action in the mixed doubles, doubles and singles events of table tennis.
In the women’s singles, the trio of Edem Offiong, Cecilia Otu-Akpan and Ganiat Ogundele had an easy passage into the main draw (round of 64) but they will face a Herculean task when they begin their campaigns with Offiong pitched against England’s Joanna Drinkhall while Otu-Akpan will battle Singapore’s Taiwei Feng.
Ogundele will tackle India’s Shamini Kumaresan.
The men will also taste action as the main draw of the singles event serves off on Friday with the trio of Quadri, Segun Toriola and Bode Abiodun battling it out for the title.
Meanwhile, Offiong believes the vital win recorded by the men’s team against Indian in the team event would spur them on in the competition.
Edem Offiong
“Our guys did really well. We’re very happy with the bronze medal. I’ve played so many international tournaments. I’ve played in the world tour, the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games, and the world championships. Nigerian table tennis is in a good place right now. It’s very good,” she said.
Romelu Lukaku’s Record signing by Everton Fc is definitely the biggest deal of the moment, But Our Reporter Paul Ayorinde has also Compiled other done deals and rumours mixed with some interesting football stories.
You can follow Paul Ayorinde on twitter: @El_Pauleta on twitter and also follow @NewFanzone and we will follow you right back, lets keep the discussion going
David Trezeguet
Done Deals:
– Everton fc have announced the signing of 21-year-old striker, Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea for a Club record transfer fee of £28million on a five-year contract.
– Rennes have completed the signing of Christian Bruls from Gent.
– FC Porto has completed the signing of goalkeeper Andres Fernandez from Osasuna.
– Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo has signed a one-year loan deal with Watford.
– Evian have signed Belgian striker Gianni Bruno from Lille.
– Southampton has signed Chelsea left-back Ryan Bertrand on a season-long loan deal
– Stefan de Vrij 0f Feyenoord as joined Lazio for an Undisclosed fee.
– Former Monaco and Juventus striker David Trezeguet has signed for Indian Super League side FC Pune City.
Romelu Lukaku signs for Everton Fc- photo credit evertonfc
Today’s Report and Rumours:
– Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has admitted he would have liked Divock Origi available for the new season, but accepts that the transfer depended the striker being loaned back to Lille
– Stuttgart defender Antonio Rudiger insists he is not thinking about the interest being shown in him from from England
– Marco Reus’s agent has admitted that a number of top European clubs are looking at the Borussia Dortmund star.
– Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has revealed he’s actively trying a sign a defender.
– Former Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia is on the verge of joining Serie A side Cagliari.
– Brazilian striker Brandao is set to sign for Bastia on loan from Saint-Etienne
– Hellas Verona are closing in on a deal for Fiorentina defender Mavin Compper.
– Newcastle United are willing to offload Hatem Ben Arfa for £12million with AC Milan very interested in securing the Frenchman’s signature.
– Algeria’s heroic World Cup goalkeeper Rais M’Bolhi looks set for a move to the MLS with Philadelphia Union.
– Valencia are set to announce the arrival of Colombian defender Eder Alvarez Balanta from River plate for a reported fee of €15million.
– Napoli are set to make a move for Borussia Monchengladbach star Granit Xhaka.
– Lazio have reportedly join the race to sign Dutch World cup star Ron Vlaar in an attempt to reunite him with Netherlands team mate Stefan De Vrij.
– Crystal palace hopes of signing Serge Gnabry on loan have been dashed afater the youngster decided to fight for his place at Arsenal.
– Galatasaray are set to make a move for Herta Berlin star Anis Ben-Hatira.
– According to reports in Italy, Juventus target Romulo has received an ‘interesting’ offer from La Liga and that is why Hellas Verona are stalling on rubber-stamping the deal to Juventus.
– According to reports, Chelsea winger Christian Atsu has been given permission to discuss a loan move to Sunderland.
– According to reports, Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin has handed in a transfer request.
– Rumours of a Thomas Vermaelen to Manchester United deal have intensified with new Arsenal signing Calum Chambers pictured wearing his No 5 in training.
– Sheffield United are keen on Manchester United striker Davide Petrucci and are seeking a long-term loan for the 22-year-old.
– Sunderland are in talks with Lazio over a deal to sign their Belgian defender Luis Pedro Cavanda.
– Arsenal have reportedly started talks with striker Olivier Giroud over a new contract.
– Morgan Schneiderlin says his six happy years at Southampton have been destroyed by the club’s decision not to let him leave the club this summer.
Football Tit bits:
– Julio Grondona, head of the Argentine FA (AFA) since 1979, member Fifa’s executive committee since 1988 who until his death was also Fifa’s senior vice-president as died at age of 82.
Grondona, was hospitalised in his native Buenos Aires on Wednesday with a heart failure.
– The premier league has announced that vanishing spray will be introduced in all premier league games this season. UEFA has already decided to adopt it for Champions league and Europa league games this season and the premier league has now followed suit.
– Brazilian and Barcelona player Neymar has gone to see foremost back specialists Enric Cáceres in a bid to accelerate his return to the game.
– Former Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic admits it was a tough experience playing against his old side in pre-season, but is relishing a new challenge at Inter Milan.
– Steven Gerrard says the last three months have ‘probably been the worst of my life’ after suffering pain with Liverpool and England. “I’ve been through the pain in the dressing room afterwards and in the weeks and months after it.”It’s probably been the worst three months of my life. But you have to accept it happened, you can’t change it. “It (the slip) was cruel. I haven’t lost my man at a set-piece, I haven’t missed a penalty or made a bad pass or a mistake. “Every person on the planet slips at some point in their life, whether it is on the stairs or the floor. For me it happened at a bad moment.” He said
– Argentina Football Association President and FIFA vice President Julio Grondona is dead. Grondona, 82, died at the Sanitarium Mitre, Buenos Aires, as he was to undergo surgery after being hospitalised having suffered a heart attack earlier on Wednesday.
– Manchester United’s owners the Glazer family are set to sell eight million shares, which is about 5% of the business valued at about £88.7m on the New York Stock Exchange.
The organizers of the Nigeria Spots Award (NSA), Unmissable Incentives Limited has commended the Nigeria Track and Field Queen, Blessing Okagbare for winning the 100m gold medal at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland and setting a new game record of 10.85 seconds.
Okagbare, who won the Track and Field Star and Sports Woman of the Year awards at the 2013 edition of the Nigeria Sports Awards, has been in fantastic form this year with an outstanding performance at the IAAF Diamond League and other competitions preceding the Commonwealth Games.
According to the General Manager, Unmissable Incentives Limited, Mr. Kayode Idowu, Blessing Okagbare has justified her place in history and also justified winning the Track and Field Star and the Sport Woman of the Year awards last year. She has also justified the investment of the Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan led Delta State Government.
“We at Nigerian Sports Award are very proud to be associated with Blessing, we are proud of her achievement and with this achievement, Blessing has lent credence to the credibility of Nigerian sports Award” he said.
Kayode Idowu also commended the unrelentless effort of Gov. Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State for the scholarship and immense support for Blessing which has brought her this far.
He noted that with this incredible achievement by Blessing, the organizers of the Nigerian Sports Award has also vindicated on the Sports Governor of the Year award bestowed on Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan in the 2013 edition of the Award.
He then urged Blessing to continue to give her best to win more gold medals in her other event at the Games while charging other Nigerian Athletes at the Commonwealth Games to put in their best in their respective games to win more medals for the country.
L-R-Mrs Bunmi Oke, President AAAN,Kola Oyeyemi,And Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan (Winner, Sport Governor of the year).
There are four more meetings left in the 2014 IAAF Diamond League series, but six athletes have dominated their disciplines to the extent that they have already done enough to win the Diamond Race.
US 400m runner LaShawn Merritt, French sprint hurdler Pascal Martinot-Lagarde, Kenyan steeplechaser Jairus Birech, French pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie, Jamaican 400m hurdler Kaliese Spencer, and New Zealand’s shot put star Valerie Adams are the Diamond Race winners in their respective events.
To seal their victory – and the USD $50,000 bonus and Diamond Trophy to go with it – they simply need to compete in their discipline at either of the IAAF Diamond League finals in Zurich and Brussels.
The other 26 events in the Diamond Race remain undecided. Four of them are extremely close, however, with just two athletes left in the running. US triple jumpers Will Claye and Christian Taylor are currently separated by just two points. Piotr Malachowski and Robert Harting are the only remaining athletes in with a chance to win the Diamond Race in the men’s discus.
Mark Clattenburg appointed for 2014 Super Cup English official Clattenburg in charge of the match in Cardiff
The UEFA Referees Committee has named England’s Mark Clattenburg as the referee for the 2014 UEFA Super Cup match between the UEFA Champions League winners, Real Madrid CF, and the UEFA Europa League winners, Sevilla FC, to be played at the Cardiff City Stadium in Cardiff, Wales on Tuesday 12 August (20.45 CET).
County Durham-born Clattenburg, who is 39, has been an international referee since 2006, and has so far officiated at a total of 46 UEFA fixtures in his career, as well as a considerable number of high-level English domestic encounters.
Last season, Clattenburg refereed five UEFA Champions League matches, including the quarter- final first leg between Real Madrid CF and Borussia Dortmund, as well as the UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg between Juventus and SL Benfica.
Mark Clattenburg-Referee For The 2014 UEFA Super Cup
He also took charge of the 2012 Olympic Games men’s football tournament gold-medal match between Brazil and Mexico at Wembley Stadium in London, and was an additional assistant referee at UEFA EURO 2012.
At the UEFA Super Cup match in Cardiff, Clattenburg will be accompanied by an all-English team of match officials. Simon Beck and Stuart Burt are the assistant referees, with Darren England acting as fourth official.
Two additional assistant referees, Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor, complete the referee team for the match.
The entries for the 2014 World Rowing Junior Championships have been released. The event will take place in Hamburg, Germany from Wednesday 6 August to Sunday 10 August 2014.
More than 730 junior athletes, under the age of 19, from 57 nations will compete in the 13 different boat classes. Germany, Italy and the United States have entered the largest teams; they have entered all 13 events with a total of 49 athletes each.
The women’s single sculls has an impressive turnout and with 35 crews entered, it is the largest field competing at the event. The men’s single sculls has 32 crews entered and the men’s pair and men’s quadruple sculls both with a field of 27.
This is the first FISA World Championship appearance for Nigeria and Togo, who will both compete in the women’s single sculls, with Nigeria also entered in the men’s quadruple sculls.
The course is located on the Dove-Elbe Water Park, which was officially opened as a regatta course in 1985. It is situated on a peaceful arm of the Elbe River and has hosted numerous national and international rowing events including the World Rowing Cup in 2011.
For rowers to be eligible to compete at the World Rowing Junior Championships, they must be 18 years of age or under. A rower can compete as a junior until 31 December of the year in which he or she reaches the age of 18; after that date the rower is classified as an under-23 rower.
Some participants from developing nations are able to attend the World Rowing Junior Championships through donations from participants at the World Rowing Masters Regatta (whose participants are all over the age of 27).
Live race tracker, audio streaming, results, race reports, live blog and a photo gallery will be available throughout the junior championships on http://www.worldrowing.com.
Dolphins’ head coach. Stanley Eguma insists his side is more determined than Prime to qualify for the Federation Cup final.
Dolphins play Prime on Thursday in Abuja in one of the semifinal games and Eguma says their determination knows no bounds.
“It’s different from the League. We have respect for our opponents, Prime, but we are not going to relent.
“We know victory can go either way but I do not think Prime will be an obstacle because we are very determined.
“I know it will be a very tough match though,” Eguma said.
To get to the semifinal, Dolphins beat Ingas 3-1, Kogi United 1-0, Elkanemi 1-0 and Lobi Stars 4-2.
The last four times Dolphins got to the semifinals they won- 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007 and also went on to win the Cup.
Dolphins have been in Abuja since Tuesday ahead of the game.
Stanley Eguma – Dolphins fc head coach
Will Dolphins prepare for penalties against Prime?
Prime FC have proved to be the giant killers of the Federation Cup and have won every game they have played so far via penalties.
But Dolphins, who made a giant killing run in 2001 to win the Cup as a 2nd division side will not underrate the underdogs or focus on penalty shootouts ahead of the game.
Prime have won every single game they have played in the competition via penalties, but coach, Stanley Eguma says that will not be his focus
“I will prepare for the game. I will prepare for all aspects and hope to win in regulation time, but if the game goes into penalties I will also be prepared for that too,” Eguma said.
The last time Dolphins won the Federation Cup in 2007, four games were won via penalty Shootouts.
Against FC Katsina, Dolphins won via penalties in the Round of 32; against Enyimba in the quarter final in Ilorin, Dolphins won via shootouts; against Sharks in the semifinal in Owerri, Dolphins progressed after full time ended 2-2 and in the final in Lagos against Rangers, Dolphins won via penalties after full time ended 1-1.
However, the last time a Dolphins game went to shootout in the Federation Cup was in in 2013 against Akwa Starlets in the Round of 64 and Dolphins lost that one.
Sunshine Queens FC have expressed confidence they will scale past the semi-final stage of the Nigeria Women Federation Cup slated for The Confluence Stadium, Kogi State on Friday.
The Queens defeated Edo Queens 1-0 in the quarter-final in Abuja and will now battle Nasarawa Amazons in the semi-final for the final ticket.
Head Coach of Sunshine Queens, Kayode Olujohungbe has stated that his team as not favourites for the trophy but believes they can string a surprise on Friday to book a spot in the final.
“We’re prepared for any opponent, we train hard everyday, No injury worries in the camp so we’re ready.
“Nasarawa is a good team, but we are concerned with only ourselves. At this stage of the competition, we must present our best and take our chances.
“I have confidence in the team to pick one of the final tickets”, the coach said.
Kazan, Russia will host the first FINA High Diving World Cup on August 8-10, 2014, bringing together the best high divers in action, one year after the successful staging of this new FINA discipline at the World Championships in Barcelona, Spain. A temporary tower is being erected on the Kazanka River, which will be used for the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan, as well.
A total 34 divers, 25 men and nine women, coming from 15 nations – Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Colombia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Luxemburg, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine and USA – will take part in the event, ready for eye-opening performances!
Two events are on the programme: a men’s competition in three rounds (August 8 and 10) and a women’s competition in one round (Aug 9). Men will perform five dives from the 27-metre high platform while women will take off at 20m, exhibiting three dives.
There will be required, intermediate and optional dives (with no limit of degree of difficulty). The top 12 divers, among men, will advance to the final.
Top qualifiers include world champions Orlando Duque (COL) and Cesilie Carlton (USA), and all medallists from Barcelona: Gary Hunt (GBR), current leader of the Red Bull World Series, Jonathan Paredes (MEX), Ginger Huber (USA) and Anna Bader (GER). All will be chasing their first World Cup title in Kazan.
The world governing body of baseball and softball, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), has announced a new partnership that brings on one of baseball and softball’s most iconic brands, Combat, as an Official Bat Supplier of the 2014 U-15 Baseball World Cup.
World Baseball Softball Confederation
The most elite selection of 15-year-old baseball players in the world will be representing their countries in the II U-15 Baseball World Cup — the highest level of competition in baseball for this age group — from Thursday, 31 July to 10 August across Sinaloa, Mexico.
As part of the agreement, Combat will supply its high-quality, high-performance bats to the National Teams for use in the eighty-three games of the world championship showpiece, and the Combat brand will have a presence around the competition venues in Culiacan, Los Mochis and Mazatlán.
“We are proud to partner with such an industry leader in innovation and performance, like Combat, to put its elite products in the hands of the world’s most elite and most exciting young baseball players, who will be united on their National Teams for the U-15 Baseball World Cup,” said WBSC International Baseball Marketing Manager, Masaru Yokoo. “And the Combat brand will also ensure that we not only meet the needs of the world’s top young players, but also the Baseball World Cup’s strict competition safety-standards.”
In heightened safety regulations enacted by WBSC’s International Baseball executives earlier this year, all bats to be used in the U-15 youth world championship must comply with the strictest of standards to ensure the maximum level of player safety.
Combat International Sales & Marketing Director, Dave McNally, commented:
“We are extremely delighted to partner with the WBSC and to have our product connect with baseball’s future stars on baseball’s biggest stage in this youth age group. We are confident the upcoming U-15 Baseball World Cup will be a premier platform from which Combat can further its position and brand awareness globally.”
The global spread of the 2014 U-15 Baseball World Cup, in terms of participating countries, will expand across Africa, the Americas (i.e., the Caribbean, North-, Central- and South America), Asia, Europe and Oceania.
The qualification system to the ISAF Sailing World Cup Final – the world’s pinnacle sailing regatta contested by the best Olympic class competitors – has been published.
Fleets of twenty boats in the Olympic events and Open Kiteboarding will race in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in and around Lulu Island off the UAE capital’s stunning Corniche from 27-30 November 2014.
The first qualification places will be awarded at the Santander 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships which takes place in the Spanish city from 8-21 September. The top ten finishers in each Olympic event will be rewarded with a spot on the Abu Dhabi start line.
The next places will be awarded based on the ISAF World Sailing Rankings issued on 22 September 2014. The top six highest ranked sailors who have not qualified at Santander 2014 will be awarded a place.
Two more spots will be up for grabs at the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Cup Qingdao which will be held in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition venue from 12-18 October 2014. The highest placed finisher and highest placed Asian sailor, who has not already qualified, will take an ISAF Sailing World Cup Final spot.
Up to two places in each event may be awarded as wild card places at the discretion of ISAF.
The kiteboarding fleet at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Final will be made up of 16 male and four female racers. The top two male and first female sailors qualified for a spot at the Delta Lloyd Regatta. At the 2014 IKA World Championship in Istanbul, Turkey the top five male and top three females will take spots on the start line.
The male winner of each Continental Championship (South America, North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania) will be also be awarded a spot. The remaining places will be awarded to the four highest IKA World Ranked individuals as of 10 September 2014.
2014-2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Qingdao – 12-18 October 2014 Melbourne – 7-14 December 2014 Miami – 25-31 January 2015 Europe1 – TBC Europe2 – TBC 2015 Final Abu Dhabi – November 2015
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