Sabrina Zeender, 49, has been appointed FEI Secretary General following a proposal to the FEI Bureau from FEI President Ingmar De Vos which received unanimous support. Zeender, who first joined the FEI in 1991, has been interim Secretary General since De Vos’ election to the FEI Presidency on 14 December 2014.
Sabrina Zeender holds a bachelor’s degree in Science in Communications and History from Boston University and a diploma in Sociology, Politics and Management of Sport Science from the Universities of Lausanne, Leicester, and Montpellier.
Zeender, who has been with the FEI since 1991, has served as FEI Director, Governance and Executive Affairs since 2011. She has previously held the positions of Human Resources, Finance & Administration coordinator; Sports administrator; and Manager of the Secretary General’s office. She left the organisation briefly in 1995 to work in her family’s business in the USA, returning to the FEI in 1998.
Sabrina Zeender has today been appointed FEI Secretary General, and becomes the first woman in the history of the FEI to hold this position. (FEI)
Prior to working for the FEI, Sabrina Zeender was with Telecom Japan TV Productions in New York (USA) and the Fédération Internationale de Natation Amateur (FINA) in Lausanne (SUI).
“I would like to warmly congratulate Sabrina on her appointment as FEI Secretary General,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos commented. “She is the first woman to hold this key management position in the FEI and the fact that we have been able to fill such an important position in-house clearly demonstrates that the FEI has grown into a professional organisation with a highly qualified team.
“Sabrina’s deep understanding of the FEI rules and regulations, of which she has a long experience, and her knowledge of equestrian sport will be invaluable in her new role and I would like to thank the FEI Bureau for their full support for this appointment. I proposed Sabrina on the basis of her qualifications but also for her unfailing work ethic, reliability, dedication, and team spirit. The spontaneous and warm applause from the National Federations following the announcement at the General Assembly in Baku that Sabrina would take over the post on an interim basis shows the high regard in which she is held. I am confident that Sabrina will do an outstanding job as the new FEI Secretary General.”
“I am honoured and humbled by this appointment and I would like to thank the FEI President and Bureau members for their trust,” the new FEI Secretary General Sabrina Zeender said. “I have been with the FEI for a long time and have seen it grow and develop. I am very aware of the potential this great organisation has and am thrilled to play a part in its future. The FEI Family feels like a true family to me and I undertake this new challenge with joy and enthusiasm.”
Sabrina Zeender is a Swiss national of Salvadorian, American, and Austrian descent. She is fluent in English, French, and Spanish and has two sons aged 18 and 21.
The six captains participating in Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 2 (WCL Div.2) have spoken about their sides’ chances in the tournament, which gets underway in Windhoek, Namibia, on Saturday.
The tournament sees Canada, Kenya, Nepal, Netherlands, Uganda and host Namibia lock horns in an eight-day, round robin tournament. The final and play-offs will be played on Saturday, 24 January, with the top two teams qualifying to play in the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2015-17 and Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Championship.
The opening day of the tournament will see three matches played, with host Namibia taking on Kenya at Wanderers, Netherlands squaring off against Canada at United and Uganda facing off against Nepal at Wanderers Affies.
Nicolaas Scholtz, Namibia, credit ICC.
Namibia captain Nicolaas Scholtz said that he is confident of success on home soil. “My hopes are very high because I know the amount of work that has been put in by every individual member of the team. We believe in each other and are a very tight knit group; I hope that we can finish in the top two and win the final at the end of the week.
“As the hosts we will try and use all our knowledge about the grounds and pitches to help us in performing to our best. I am really looking forward to the tournament and to play some hard, competitive cricket in the right spirit,” said Scholtz.
Rakep Patel, Kenya. credit ICC
Kenya captain Rakep Patel is in a positive frame of mind looking ahead to the start of the tournament. “I think we fancy ourselves to do well in the tournament and in tomorrow’s match. If we click as a unit I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t do well, there are fantastic individuals in our team and we just have to work together as a group. We don’t want to look too far ahead, we just have to concentrate on one game at a time and do the basics well.”
Previewing his side’s first match, Netherlands captain Peter Borren said: “The whole squad is pumped and ready to hit the ground running when we face Canada tomorrow. They are a side which we’re reasonably well-acquainted with, and a team whom we have had success against in the past. I am confident that given our fantastic preparation, we will perform to our potential. Canada have some dangerous players in their team, though we will leave no stone unturned in an effort to come out on top on the day.”
Looking ahead to the first-day clash against Netherlands, Canada skipper Jimmy Hansra said: “We are preparing for tomorrow’s game with great intensity, and focusing on our strengths. We have played against the Netherlands on a few occasions in the past, and we both need to hold our nerve during this important tournament opener. An unknown combination of turf wickets, grounds, and recent team form will have a big impact on the outcome of this game.”
Paras Khadka, Nepal. credit :ICC
Looking ahead to his side’s match against Uganda, Nepal skipper Paras Khadka said: “It is the first match in the tournament and we want to start on a positive note. We need to stick to our basics and believe in our strength and play to our potential. It is important to get a strong start as we have seen in previous Pepsi ICC World Cricket League tournaments; every team must be prepared well, so we cannot take any game or any team lightly.”
Uganda captain Frank Nsubuga said his side must start well against Nepal: “I think it is going to be a tough game as both teams are well balanced. My boys are very confident; we have played Nepal many times and we want to use that experience to perform well tomorrow.”
Tournament schedule:
17 Jan – Namibia v Kenya (Wanderers), Netherlands v Canada (United), Uganda v Nepal (Wanderers Affies)
18 Jan – Namibia v Uganda (Wanderers), Nepal v Netherlands (United), Kenya v Canada (Wanderers Affies)
19 Jan – Rest/reserve day
20 Jan – Nepal v Canada (Wanderers), Kenya v Uganda (United), Namibia v Netherlands (Wanderers Affies)
21 Jan – Kenya v Netherlands (Wanderers), Namibia v Nepal (United), Canada v Uganda (Wanderers Affies)
22 Jan – Rest/reserve day
23 Jan – Netherlands v Uganda (Wanderers), Namibia v Canada (United), Nepal v Kenya (Wanderers Affies)
24 Jan – Final (Wanderers), 3rd v 4th play-off (United), 5th v 6th play-off (Wanderers Affies)
Top two teams will qualify for the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2015-17 and Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Championship
Lausanne, Switzerland, Januray 15, 2015 – Both Ukraine Otamans and Mexico Guerreros had disappointing adventures in Season IV of World Series of Boxing, which makes this match a perfect opportunity for one Franchise to begin Season V with plenty of momentum.
The Acco International Exhibition Center in Kiev is the venue for this contest, and it all kicks off at 19:00 GMT +2. Boxing fans in Ukraine can view the event live on Friday 16th January at 8.30pm (local time) on 2+2, while fans across the world can watch the action free, live and on demand on AIBABoxingTV.com.
In fight number one of the evening, the speedy Light flyweights (49 kg) are in action, with Uzbekistan’s Hasanboy Dusmatov representing the Otamans against Mexico’s Joselito Velázquez.
Dusmatov won the World Summer Universiade back in 2013, and had an impressive win in WSB last season against David Ayrapetyan, while 2011 Pan American Games winner Velázquez also has plenty of WSB experience.
At Bantamweight (56 kg), Ukraine’s Mykola Butsenko is one to watch, with the AIBA World bronze medalist, and European silver medalist a top ten ranked Bantamweight last season.
He faces Sergio Chirino who reached the semi-finals of November’s Central American & Caribbean Games.
A great Light welterweight (64 kg) contest follows between exciting Volodymyr Matviichuk and Mexico’s 2012 AIBA Youth World Championships silver medalist Raúl Curiel.
2013 AIBA World Championships competitor Hurshidbek Normatov is another Uzbek fighter representing Ukraine, and his opponent in the Middleweight (75 kg) fight is Misa el “Chino” Rodríguez who has a 45-5 career record in boxing, and an ambition to fight in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. A win here would set him nicely on his way to that achievement.
The last fight of the evening is at Heavyweight (91 kg) with 2006 European Champion Denys Poyatsyka aiming to end the night off on a high for Ukraine against Albania’s Christian Demaj who is representing Mexico this season.
On a huge weekend of action in WSB, this particular matchup between two legendary boxing nations is one of the most anticipated, due to the ramifications for the rest of the season a win or loss can bring to either team.
Here are the top transfer rumours, done deals and football transfer gist making the rounds as compiled by our man Paul Ayorinde.
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Done Deals:
– Chievo have announced the signing of Anders Christiansen from Danish side Nordsjaelland.
– Malaga have completed the loan signing of Spanish striker Javi Guerra from Cardiff until the end of the season.
– Stephen Warnock has signed for Championship side Derby from Leeds on an 18-month deal for an undisclosed fee
– Lorient have confirmed the loan signing of Gianni Bruno from Evian until the end of the season with an option to buy the striker
Today’s football report and transfer rumours:
– According to reports, Real Madrid have agreed a €25m fee with Dortmund to sign Marco Reus this summer. He will sign a 5 year contract.
– QPR are reportedly interested in signing Standard Liege winger Paul-Jose M’Poku
– Liverpool will not be selling Mario Balotelli in January, Brendan Rodgers insists.
– Gonzalo Higuain’s brother and agent insists he has not spoken to Liverpool and claims the Argentina striker is happy at Napoli.
– Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that Liverpool are in talks to cut short Divock Origi’s season-long loan spell at Lille and bring him to Anfield before the end of January.
– Mark Hughes says Stoke are in the market for January additions, though refused to reveal who the Potters are after.
– Arsenal have reportedly told Sky Sports that they have no re-call option in Carl Jekinson’s loan deal to West Ham
– Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are in the market for January recruits. “Yes we are more [in the market now],we have Chambers and we have Bellerin, who is coming on well, and I want to give them a chance as well, but of course we are in the market like many other clubs. We work really hard morning until late night to try to get one or two players in.” Wenger said
– Udinese have called off the transfer of Luis Muriel and Andrea Coda to Sampdoria due to a price disagreement and summoned the two players back to the club.
– 17-years old midfielder Krystian Bielik will have a medical in Arsenal on Friday, his current club Legia Warsaw have confirmed.
– According to reports, Tottenham will rival Arsenal in the chase for West Ham defender Winston Reid.
– Gokhan Inler will not leave Napoli in the transfer window, according to sporting director Riccardo Bigon.
– Roma reportedly have a deal to sell defender Tin Jedvaj to Bayer Leverkusen for €7.5million
– Warri Wolves appear to have knocked back an offer from West Ham for Nigerian international defender Azubuike Egwuekwe. Warri Wolves spokesman said: “We rejected a bid from West Ham because we had a disagreement with the agent handling the issue.”
– Antonio Nocerino looks set to join Parma on loan, with reports indicating he will depart current club Torino.
– It’s reported that Roma are considering a move for Tottenham Hotspur’s Emmanuel Adebayor.
– According to reports, Bundesliga duo Borussia Dortmund and Schalke have joined the race for Swansea striker Bafetimbi Gomis.
– Hajduk Split’s sporting director admits that Tino-Sven Susic is close to joining Inter, saying the Nerazzurri are ‘really interested’.
– Liverpool are reportedly keen on signing Australian goalkeeper Matthew Ryan from Club Brugge
– It’s reported that Roma forward Mattia Destro has rejected a move to Torino which would have seen Fabio Quagliarella move the other way.
– Paris St-Germain, Porto and Juventus are all considering a loan deal for Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj.
– QPR striker Charlie Austin has put other clubs on alert by stalling over a new contract
– There are reports Genoa have a deal with Red Star Belgrade wide attacker Darko Lazovic.
– Everton forward Kevin Mirallas, 27, says he will decide where his future lies at the end of the season.
– According to reports, Jozy Altidore will be presented as a Toronto FC player on Friday
Football tit bits:
African Nations Cup Equatorial Guinea
– Ghana cancelled a practice match after striker Asamoah Gyan suffered an injury scare in training.
– Argentine winger Jonas Gutierrez says playing for Newcastle United again after overcoming cancer will be the best moment of his career.
– Congo coach Claude Le Roy has claimed that his side have not been given hotel rooms after arriving at the African Nations Cup in Equatorial Guinea and hit out at the standard of the facilities on offer. port city of Bata. “There are not enough places for my staff and it’s even difficult to find rooms for the players. The electricity is terrible, everything is exposed. I wanted to wash my hands. There was no water. Some of my assistants went around to see if there were rooms available somewhere but it seems very very difficult. I’m not disappointed, that’s what I was expecting. I don’t want a big five-star hotel. I just want something very clean.” Le Roy said
– Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has urged frustrated fans to call off a planned protest at the start of Saturday’s home match with Liverpool. “We’ll certainly have a better chance of winning the game if they don’t do it. You want the fans to stay with us. The players need them. Psychologically, you never know. There are individuals who can get through it but there can be one or two who don’t want to take the ball. Whoever has planned it, I hope the guy next to them tries to keep them on their seat,” Lambert added. I don’t think you can look at the chairman and say it’s one guy’s fault. It’s unfair. He has the club’s interest at heart.” Lambert said
– Arsenal pair Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Debuchy have been ruled out for three months each after having surgery.
– Algeria have suffered another injury blow ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations finals with goalkeeper Mohamed Lamine Zemmamouche ruled out after getting hurt in training.
– Senegal coach, Alain Giresse, wants his players to stay focused despite a good 5-2 win in a pre-Afcon friendly match. The Frenchman did praise his lads for their gutsy 5-2 pre-Africa Cup of Nations friendly win over Guinea, but has cautioned that Ghana on Monday will offer a different kind of opposition.
After emerging the overall winners of the first leg which was concluded on Wednesday, Nigeria stepped up the gear for what promises to be another memorable campaign in the ongoing 2015 ITF West and Central African Junior Circuit in Togo with no fewer than eight of the countries players bagging passage to the semifinals as the second leg of the tournament served off on Thursday.
In the boy’s 16&under category, Nigeria’s Michael Oshewa recorded a 6-4,6-4 win over Robert Ochili of Benin to book a place in the semifinal where he is joined by his compatriot, Ayoola Michael who overpowered Alitto Charles of Ghana 6-4, 6-1.
Martins Abamu, who lost to Togo’s Anthony Gabdoe in the final on Wednesday of the first leg, returned to winning form as he defeated Amadou Diarra of Mali 6-2, 6-3 while his younger brother, Mathew continued to be the player to beat in the boys 14&U category following his capture of the gold in the first leg as he also earned a place in the last-four by beating Michael Dosso of Benin Republic 6-3, 6-3.
Port Harcourt-based Kodian Academy’s Godsgift Timibra also kept the Nigerian flag high among the nine countries that are featuring in the point-winning tournament with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Abdulahi Balyomo of Cote d’Ivoire.
In the girls’ 16&under, Adetunji Adetayo and Angel McCleod respectively defeated Patricia Nyako of Ghana and Bisola Lassisis of Benin Republic 6-3, 6-2 and 6-2, 6-2 while Barakat Quadri also won against Modinat Dogbe of Togo 6-0, 6-1 in the girls’ 14& under.
Nigeria emerged overall champions of the first leg with four gold and one silver.
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