– Liverpool sign defender Steven Caulker from QPR on loan until the end of the season.
– Palermo have completed the signing of Polish international defender Thiago Cionek from Modena
– Lazio have completed the signing of midfielder Ronaldo Pompeu Da Silva from Empoli.
Today’s reports and rumours:
– Newcastle United are being linked with former Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner, according to reports.
– According to ESPN Soccernet sources, Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink is yet to decide whether to keep Christian Atsu or loan him out again.
Luis Enrique, credit fcbarcelona.com
– Barcelona boss Luis Enrique admits he is looking to strengthen his squad in a bid to retain their treble crown.
– Inter Milan have terminated Nemanja Vidic’s contract at the club, according to reports in Italy.
– Norwich City end interest in George Santayana transfer after failed medical.
– A host of Premier League sides, including Aston Villa, Norwich, Newcastle and Swansea, have enquired for Paul Pogba’s brother and St Étienne defender Florentin Pogba, according to reports.
– Chinese Super League club Guangzhou Evergrande are interested in signing West ham striker Nikica Jelavic.
– AEK Athens are interested in signing Aston Villa’s Charles N’zogbia, ccording to reports in England.
– Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone is looking to sell Jackson Martinez to Arsenal, according to reports in Spain.
– According to reports, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Branislav Ivanovic are both in contract talks with Chelsea.
– Claudio Ranieri says Leicester’s January transfer business is already over after signing Demarai Gray from Birmingham.
– Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores has said he’s interested in signing Emmanuel Adebayor and Andros Townsend.
– Bayer Leverkusen striker Javier Hernandez hasn’t ruled out a future move to Arsenal.
– Crystal Palace have joined Southampton in the chase for Juventus midfielder Stefano Sturaro, according to talkSPORT.
– Dele Alli has signed a new contract with Tottenham, which will run until 2021.
– L’Equipe claims that Edinson Cavani does not feel he is sufficiently valued by Paris Saint-Germain and is considering pushing to leave the club at the end of the season.
– Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has ruled out adding more firepower in the January transfer window to bolster his side’s Premier League title challenge, saying Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho is adequate back-up.
– Fiorentina full-back Gilberto is in negotiations to join Genoa on loan, confirmed his agent.
– Hull boss Steve Bruce said he would be “off his rocker” to consider selling Tom Huddlestone to Championship promotion rivals Derby.
– Dwight Gayle can leave Crystal Palace but only on a permanent deal, according to Sky Sports sources.
– Alessandro Diamanti is set to leave Watford to join Atalanta on loan, according to reports.
– According to reports, Sunderland have revived their interest in Lamine Kone and talks are continuing.
– Everton boss Roberto Martinez is hopeful of adding to his squad before the end of the January transfer window.
– AC Milan confirmed Luiz Adriano is not called up for the Coppa Italia tie with Carpi as “he is in transfer negotiations.”
– Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich are said to be tracking Torino winger Bruno Peres.
– Hector Herrera’s agent confirms talks with Napoli, but warns “he won’t leave Porto until June.”
– Bayern Munich chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge admits “we like Gonzalo Higuain, but I doubt Napoli will sell.”
– Reports in Italy suggest Borussia Dortmund have given the green light for Ciro Immobile to return to Torino for €11million.
– Fiorentina have reportedly joined the race for Andrea Ranocchia, but Inter Milan would prefer a sale to Liverpool.
– Napoli have reportedly raised their bid for Nikola Maksimovic to €22million, but Torino are holding out for €25million.
– Lazio have received an offer of €10million from Swansea for Spanish striker Keita Balde, according to reports in Italy.
– Everton and Newcastle are keen on signing Espanyol striker Felipe Caicedo, according to reports.
– According to reports, Manchester United have £15million bid for Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez rejected.
Football tit bits:
– Roberto Carlos has said he is in talks to join Zinedine Zidane’s backroom staff at Real Madrid and hinted he may be
able to persuade Neymar to join him.
– Mathieu Valbuena has said he would have “no problem” playing alongside Karim Benzema should they both be
chosen to play for France in the Euros.
– Manuel Pellegrini has admitted Vincent Kompany may not return until the “last part of the season” due to his latest calf
injury.
– Louis van Gaal has admitted there have been times this season when Manchester United have left him feeling “bored
or angry”
Luis Suarez
– Barcelona forward Luis Suarez will serve out his two-match ban for his role in a Copa del Rey tunnel bust-up after the Spanish federation appeals committee overruled the Catalan club’s bid on
Tuesday.
– Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is “not interested” in criticism from Yaya Toure after being named African Footballer of the Year.
The IAAF Taskforce has concluded its second day of meetings in Moscow with their counterparts from the Interim Coordination Committee (ICC) of the Olympic Committee of Russia on Tuesday (12).
The meeting discussed the arrangements that are being put in place for the speedy resolution of pending doping cases, the thorough investigation of matters raised in the WADA Independent Commission’s report, the collection of ‘whereabouts’ information from and the rigorous testing of Russian track and field athletes pending WADA’s reinstatement of RUSADA, as well as education and other measures to embed a new culture of zero tolerance for doping in Russian athletics.
IAAF Taskforce independent chairperson Rune Andersen said: “We have today continued our frank and open discussions with representatives of ARAF and the Interim Coordination Commission, led by Mr Gennady Aleshin. The Taskforce has emphasised the need to demonstrate a recognition of current problems and a determination to effect real and lasting change in Russian athletics, and that has been recognised by Mr Aleshin and his colleagues.”
ICC chairperson Mr Aleshin said: “We are glad to have had the opportunity to meet with the IAAF Taskforce for constructive and professional discussions. We are committed to working with Rune Andersen and his colleagues moving forward to meet all IAAF requirements.”
The ICC is coordinating Russia’s cooperation with the IAAF Taskforce, and supervising the inspection and verification process for the re-entry of Russian Athletics into the IAAF family of nations following the full suspension of ARAF (the Russian athletics federation) on 26 November.
The IAAF Taskforce will only recommend reinstatement of Russian Athletics to IAAF membership if, and when, it is satisfied that the Reinstatement Conditions set out by the IAAF on 11 December have been met, and will continue to be met moving forward.
NEXT STEPS
ARAF elections take place this coming weekend (16 January). Within the next month, following these elections, members of the IAAF Taskforce will return to Moscow for their next meeting with the Interim Coordination Commission.
Lionel Messi won the FIFA Ballon d’Or for the fifth time, while US midfielder Carli Lloyd claimed her first-ever FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award. FC Barcelona coach Luis Enrique and United States national team coach Jill Ellis have also been named for the first time as FIFA World Coaches of the Year for Men’s and Women’s Football respectively. The winners were chosen by the coaches and captains of the national teams as well as by international media representatives invited by FIFA and France Football. The entire electoral procedure was overseen and monitored by PricewaterhouseCoopers Switzerland (PwC).
Lionel Messi, FIFA Ballon d’Or
• 165 national team coaches, 162 national team captains and 171 media representatives submitted their votes for the FIFA Ballon d’Or award. Lionel Messi won the title with 41.33% of all votes ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (27.76%) and Neymar (7.86%).
• 136 national team coaches, 135 national team captains and 106 media representatives voted for the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award. Carli Lloyd came out on top with 35.28% of all votes, ahead of German Célia Šašić (12.60%) and Japan’s Aya Miyama (9.88%).
• 167 national team coaches, 161 national team captains and 171 media representatives voted for the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men’s Football award. Luis Enrique won the award with 31.08% of all votes after leading FC Barcelona to four titles (La Liga, Copa del Rey, UEFA Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup) in 2015. Second and third place were claimed by Pep Guardiola (FC Bayern Munich, 22.97%) and Jorge Sampaoli (Chilean national team, 9.47%) respectively.
• 137 national team coaches, 137 national team captains and 106 media representatives voted for the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Football award. Jill Ellis won this prize after leading the US women’s national team to glory at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada. She secured 42.98% of all votes, ahead of Japan coach Norio Sasaki (17.79%) and England women’s national team coach Mark Sampson (10.68%)
2014 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Star Player, Aruna Quadri and six-time Olympian, Segun Toriola as well as Olufunke Oshonaike and Edem Offiong have been confirmed as Nigeria’s representatives at next month’s ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup holding in Khartoum, Sudan.
In the list of qualified released by the Africa Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Quadri who won the tournament in 2014 in Lagos will battle for the title against his rival, Egypt’s Omar Assar who has remained a threat to the Nigerian dominating the continent.
The tournament scheduled to hold on February 14 to 15 has the top 15 players on the continent including a player from the host country to complete the top 16.
Segun TORIOLA
Toriola will join Quadri to compete for the laurel in the men’s event while Oshonaike who has already secured a place at this year’s Rio Olympic Games in Brazil will be joined in the women’s event by Edem Offiong who is at present plying her trade in the Portuguese elite league.
Having claimed three titles in 2015, the Egyptian duo of Omar Assar and Dina Meshref top the list of invitees for the two-day tournament to be staged at the International Conference Centre in Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan.
Winners in the men and women events will represent the continent at the 2016 World Cups.
Abia Warriors Football Club of Umuahia have continued their build-up to the forthcoming Nigeria professional Football League season with victories in-two pre-season friendly matches.
The Warriors, who finished 10th last season, have indicated their resolve to go for the title in its third year in the Premier League and have engaged some local sides in tune-up games.
At the weekend, Abia Warriors beat LEGENDS FC of Aba 1-0 at the Umuahia Township Stadium with youngster, Michael Olaha netting the only goal through a trade mark free kick.
In another friendly, Enize Emmanuel and Agoha Chinenye scored as the Warriors defeated visiting FOOTPRINTERS Football Club of Owerri 2-0 at the same venue.
Speaking after the friendly match, Godstime Enyerenwa who took the FOOTPRINTERS to Umuahia said the outcome was harsh on them as the team deserved a better result.
Enyerenwa, who revealed that he has bankrolled the National Division Two outfit within the last five years, said the team just regrouped after the Christmas and New Year break, pointing and that they will be stronger and more cohesive before the National League kicks off.
On his own part, Abia Warriors Manager, Kennedy Boboye said he was using the friendly matches to tune-up the boys for the challenges ahead adding that he was happy at the progress made so far.
According to him, the team will soon go into closed camping to finalize strategies for the forthcoming season.
After a resoundingly successful 2015 for boxing, in which the 2015 AIBA World Championships in Doha were as ambitious as they were spectacular, another epic season of World Series of Boxing action unfolded and the first AIBA Pro Boxing champions were crowned, AIBA is preparing to unveil innovations and initiatives to help grow the sport even further in 2016.
Tuesday 12th January 2016: AIBA celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2016 and will reach the symbolic milestone of 200 National Federation members, underlining boxing’s position among the world’s farthest-reaching, most popular sports and a central pillar of the Olympic Games themselves in this Olympic year.
Rio Test Event
Rio 2016 – the calendar’s grandstand event
Rio 2016 will serve to further enhance both the men’s and women’s boxing prestige, and with 60 boxers out of 286 already qualified, the remaining quota places available at continental championships and International tournaments taking place throughout the first half of the year mean they assume an added importance.
“Olympic qualification opportunities are sure to bring out the very best in our boxers in the first half of this year”, said AIBA President CK Wu. “This is the world’s biggest sporting stage and the competition for places at Rio 2016 will make for an unmissable series of major tournaments, as well as the Women’s World Championships.”
Astana 2016 – To showcase the best women boxers
In 2016 we will also be looking forward to the ninth edition of AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships, which will light up Astana, Kazakhstan on 19-27 May and will provide an opportunity to twelve medalists from the three Olympic weight classes – flyweight, lightweight and middleweight –to book their flights to Brazil for August’s grandstand competition. Thus, Rio will further enhance the reputation and standing of women in our sport as the Olympic Games represent a fantastic stage to foster gender equality in the world of sport.
Putting boxer’s first with HeadsUp!
AIBA’s ongoing commitment to putting its boxers first was cemented in 2015 with the launch of a new HeadsUp! campaign to nurture and extend athletes’ careers all the way from grassroots to life outside the ring. The official launch of the far-reaching HeadsUp! campaign in Doha, anchored in the re-education of boxers, coaches and officials to teach the correct way of boxing and make the athletes adopt a better stance, was followed by an important new scholarship program for young boxers in one of Rio de Janeiro’s poorest neighbourhoods. It is a policy that National Federations will be encouraged to follow as AIBA highlights the importance of investing in the sport at every level, with further initiatives to be rolled out throughout 2016.
“We always want to move forward, evolve and look to broaden the appeal of our great sport”, said the AIBA president, “but we will never lose sight of our guiding principles, at the centre of which is the health and wellbeing of our boxers.”
Astana Arlans Kazakhstan WSB Season V Champions
WSB Season VI
AIBA’s unique World Series of Boxing team competition will begin its sixth season on 15 January 2016. Defending champions Astana Arlans Kazakhstan start their campaign against Azerbaijan Baku Fires, and the arrival of two new franchises, Uzbekistan Tigers and Turkey Conquerors, has expanded the preliminary-stage format from two to four groups. Following a busy Draft Pick in December that saw several teams snap up squad members from the considerable pool of extra international talent available, Season VI once again has the potential to provide real fireworks for boxing fans the world over.
New Horizons for AIBA Pro Boxing (APB)
When APB boxers David Graf and Anton Pinchuk went toe-to-toe in Dusseldorf on the undercard of one of the biggest boxing event of last year, Klitschko vs. Fury, it heralded the arrival of AIBA’s Pro Boxing competition onto the world circuit as featured in the Saturday night of boxing in Kyiv on December 12 where two key AIBA Pro Boxing contests starring local talent, the experienced Middleweight Dmytro Mytrofanov facing Ecuador’s Marlo Delgado and Light Welterweight Vyacheslav Kyslytsyn against Qatar’s Thulasi Tharumalingam in the sold out Palace of Sports.
Last year APB’s first cycle crowned 10 World Champions from 7 different countries illustrating the remarkable success of the newborn competition and the pro-style boxing opportunities offered to AIBA Elite boxers.
“For seventy years, AIBA has striven to provide the best possible platform for its boxers to thrive upon”, said President Wu. “More recently, we have nurtured a culture of excellence and professionalism that can be felt at every level of the sport, and one that will be showcased perfectly for the world’s boxing fans in this Olympic year.”
General Manager of Umuahia based Diamond Football Academy Prince Victor Okechukwu Apugo has stated that the club are taking extra care to study offers on the table for their two prized assets Kelechi Nwakali and Samuel Chukwueze before reaching a decision on which club they will join next.
Prince Apugo who oversees the day-to-day running of the model academy said the players career development is uppermost in their minds and that the Academy will pick a club where they are comfortable that their players will benefit and develop at.”Samuel is like my son, I am his legal guardian and I have been taking good care of him for many years now. Likewise Kelechi, so naturally I would want the best for them.
Golden Eaglets Captain Kelechi Nwakali in action
“Both players have great potentials and we cannot afford to let money becloud our judgement in choosing a club for them. Our priority is their development and we are determined to ensure this is put into consideration before we accept any offers for them. Already we are deep in discussions and have gone very far with a big club with a rich history of encouraging young players and giving them chances. At the fullness of time, when the deal is sealed the whole world will know and agree with us that we made the best choice for the players,” said Prince Apugo who aside being the General Manager of Diamond Academy is also into large scale farming and oil and gas.
Prince Apugo further revealed that his academy is more than just about their U17 World Cup Chile 2015 winning stars Kelechi Nwakali and Samuel Chukwueze. According to him, there are many more Nwakalis and Chukwuezes in Diamond Academy and with the way the academy is modelled, very soon many more of these budding talent will be brought to the limelight.
“We are a model academy, with a structure that is second to none in the whole country and this attracts the best young players to us. Our scouting network is nationwide, and we make sure every thing is provided to our scouts to ensure they do their job well. Furthermore, our welfare package is great and the players know this and tell others. We spend more money on the team’s welfare than any other academy around, almost like league clubs. Many of you don’t know that our player Chukwuebuka Iroha was amongst the U23 squad that won the African Championship, and we have boys scattered amongst clubs across the globe,” concluded the soft spoken Chief Operating Officer of Diamond Academy
We take a trip down the memory lane to relive the highlights of previous events that featured players who went on to become household names:
1988
Hosts: Australia
Winners: Australia
A brainchild of the then Australian Cricket Board’s General Manager, Graham Halbish, the inaugural ICC U19 Cricket World Cup – then named as the Youth World Cup – was staged across venues in Victoria and South Australia.
The tournament featured seven Test nations – Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the West Indies – besides an ICC Associates squad that comprised four players from Zimbabwe and two each from Bangladesh, Bermuda, Canada, Denmark and the Netherlands.
Among those who took part in the inaugural event and went on to become international captains were Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain of England, Lee Germon of New Zealand, Inzamam-ul-Haq of Pakistan, Brian Lara, Jimmy Adams, and Ridley Jacobs from the West Indies and Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya.
Other star players included Mark Ramprakash of England, Aminul Islam of Bangladesh, India’s Narendra Hirwani, the Pakistani trio of Mushtaq Ahmed, Basit Ali and Aqib Javed, and Romesh Kaluwitharana and Chandika Hathurusinghe from Sri Lanka.
The tournament was played on a single league format with Australia and Pakistan qualifying for the final by topping the league. The host avenged their defeat at Pakistan’s hands in the league to bag the title with a five-wicket win at the Adelaide Oval.
Australia’s Brett Williams was the tournament’s leading scorer with 471 runs, while team-mate Wayne Holdsworth and Pakistan’s Mushtaq Ahmed headed the bowlers’ list with 19 wickets apiece.
1998
Hosts: South Africa
Winners: England
The next edition was held after a gap of 10 years with the ICC deciding to make it a biennial tournament. Hosts South Africa joined eight other Test-playing nations and seven qualifiers –Bangladesh, Denmark, Ireland, Kenya, Namibia, Papua New Guinea and Scotland – in a 16-nation event.
With an enlarged field, the format was also revised with teams divided into four groups named after former greats Don Bradman, Colin Cowdrey, Sunil Gavaskar and Garfield Sobers. The top two teams from each group qualified for the Super League, while the bottom two contested a separate Plate championships.
England defeated New Zealand by seven wickets in the Super League final while Bangladesh indicated they were ready for Test status by beating the West Indies by six wickets in the Plate final.
Star cricketers to emerge from the tournament included Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh of India, Shoaib Malik and Abdul Razzaq of Pakistan, England’s Graeme Swann, Kyle Mills of New Zealand, Imran Tahir of South Africa (who played for Pakistan), Sri Lanka’s Dilhara Fernando, and Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Darren Ganga from the West Indies.
Tim Anderson, the ICC’s Head of Global Development, captained Australia.
Gayle was the tournament’s leading scorer with 364 runs, while team-mate Ramnaresh Sarwan and Zimbabwe’s Mluleki Nkala were the top bowlers with 16 wickets each.
The tournament was hosted in Asia for the first time and featured seven qualifiers – the Americas Region, Bangladesh, Ireland, Namibia, Nepal, Kenya and the Netherlands – alongside the nine Test nations.
In a fitting climax, two Asian teams contested the Super League final with India defeating hosts Sri Lanka by six wickets at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. Nepal became the first non-Test nation to progress to the quarter-finals, but South Africa won the Plate championships with an 80-run win over Bangladesh.
Graeme Smith, who went on to captain South Africa, was the tournament’s leading scorer with 348 runs and Pakistan’s Zahid Saeed topped the bowling charts with 15 wickets. Yuvraj Singh of India was named the man of the tournament.
Other future stars who competed in the tournament were Michael Clarke, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson of Australia, New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum, Ian Bell of England, Imran Nazir, Faisal Iqbal and Mohamamd Sami of Pakistan, Albie Morkel of South Africa and Zimbabwe’s Tatenda Taibu.
Jonathan Trott, who made a name for himself in England colours, turned out for his native South Africa in the tournament.
2002
Hosts: New Zealand
Winners: Australia
The Test group, now enlarged to 10 nations after the admission of Bangladesh following the 2000 event, were joined by six qualifiers — Canada, Kenya, Namibia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Scotland for the next edition in New Zealand.
Australia claimed its second ICC U19 Cricket World Cup title with a seven-wicket win over South Africa in the Super League final, while Zimbabwe cantered to a 137-run victory against Nepal in the Plate final.
Cameron White of Australia was the leading scorer with 423 runs and team-mate Xavier Doherty finished as the top bowler with 16 wickets.
The tournament provided international audiences their first sighting of South Africa batting star Hashim Amla. Other notable players who took part were Mohammad Ashraful of Bangladesh, Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy of the West Indies, Parthiv Patel and Irfan Pathan of India, Brendon Taylor and Elton Chigumbura of Zimbabwe, Tim Bresnan and Samit Patel of England, New Zealand’s Jesse Ryder, Azhar Ali and Umar Gul of Pakistan, and the Sri Lankan duo of Upul Tharanga and Dammika Prasad.
Pakistan won its first ICC U19 Cricket World Cup title when the tournament was held in Bangladesh in 2004. The event featured six qualifiers – Canada, Kenya, Namibia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Scotland – along with the 10 Test nations.
Pakistan defeated the West Indies by 25 runs in a closely-contested Super League final, while hosts Bangladesh stunned Australia by eight wickets in the Plate final.
Current India star Shikhar Dhawan was the leading scorer with 505 runs and was named the player of the tournament. Bangladesh’s Enamul Haque Junior was the leading wicket-taker with 22 wickets.
Other notable members of the class of 2004 were England’s Alastair Cook, Luke Wright, Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan (representing Ireland), India’s Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa and Dinesh Karthik, William Porterfield of Ireland, Pakistan’s Wahab Riaz, New Zealand’s BJ Watling, South Africa’s Vernon Philander, Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews and Denesh Ramdin of the West Indies.
2006
Hosts: Sri Lanka
Winners: Pakistan
Pakistan retained the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup title when the tournament returned to Sri Lanka for the second time with the 10 Test nations joined by qualifiers, Ireland, Namibia, Nepal, Scotland, Uganda and the United States of America.
In two edge-of-the-seat thrillers, Pakistan defeated arch-rivals India by 38 runs to win the Super League final and Nepal pipped New Zealand by one wicket to lift the Plate title.
Pakistan, led by current wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed, was skittled for 109 but then hit back to bundle out India for 71 in just 18.5 overs. Anwar Ali claimed five for 35, Akhrar Ayub took three for nine and Jamshed Ahmed chipped in with two for 24.
Cheteshwar Pujara of India, who was the leading scorer with 349 runs, was named player of the tournament. Australia’s Moises Henriques was the leading bowler with 16 wickets.
Other notable players who took part were Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqar Rahim of Bangladesh, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja of India, Australia’s David Warner, New Zealand’s Martin Guptill and Tim Southee and England’s Moeen Ali.
2008
Hosts: Malaysia
Winners: India
The tournament was hosted for the first time by a non-Test playing nation when Malaysia organised the 2008 event. This time the qualifiers were Bermuda, Ireland, Malaysia, Namibia, Nepal and Papua New Guinea.
India’s current Test captain Virat Kohli led his team to victory by beating South Africa by 12 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method after a rain-affected final at the Kinrara Academy Oval ground on the outskirts of capital Kuala Lumpur.
The West Indies defeated Nepal by seven wickets to win the Plate final.
India’s Tanmay Srivastava was the leading scorer with 262 runs, while South Africa’s Wayne Parnell took the bowling honours with 18 wickets. New Zealand’s Tim Southee was the player of the tournament which featured, among others, the late Phillip Hughes, Steven Smith and Josh Hazlewood of Australia, New Zealand’s star batsman Kane Williamson alongwith team-mates Trent Boult and Corey Anderson, and Dinesh Chandimal of Sri Lanka.
Also taking part were Steven Finn of England, Junaid Khan and Umar Akmal of Pakistan, and Thisara Perera of Sri Lanka.
2010
Host: New Zealand
Winner: Australia
Afghanistan, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Papua New Guinea and the USA were the qualifiers in the next edition in New Zealand which was won by Trans-Tasman rivals Australia. Australia beat Pakistan in a repeat of the 1988 final, this time by 25 runs, to grab its third U19 title.
Bangladesh whipped Ireland by 195 runs to win the Plate final.
South Africa’s Dominic Hendricks was the leading scorer with 391 runs and was also named the player of the tournament. Papua New Guinea’s Raymond Haoda surpassed expectations to emerge the leading wicket-taker with 15 scalps.
The class of 2010 included such notable names as Joe Root, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes of England, South Africa’s Quinton de Kock, Jason Holder of the West Indies, India’s Lokesh Rahul, Mitchell Marsh of Australia and Doug Bracewell of New Zealand.
Ireland’s Isobel Joyce strikes the ball as Zimbabwe wicketkeeper Chipo Mugeri looks on. Credit: @ICC
2012
Host: Australia
Winner: India
India joined Australia as a three-time winner of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup with a commendable six-wicket victory over the hosts at the Tony Ireland stadium in Townsville.
Sri Lanka won the Plate championships after beating fast-improving Afghanistan by seven wickets.
The tournament was competed by the 10 Test-playing nations and six qualifiers — Scotland, Nepal, Ireland, Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea and Namibia.
Australia was restricted to 225 for eight in its 50 overs with Will Bosisto, later named the player of the tournament, top-scoring with an unbeaten 87. Seamer Sandeeep Sharma claimed four wickets.
India captain Unmukt Chand anchored his team to victory with 111 not out that included six sixes and seven boundaries. Opening the batting, Chand stayed till the end as India coasted home with 14 balls to spare.
Bangladesh’s Anamul Haque was the tournament’s leading scorer with 365 runs, while England’s Reece Topley was the top bowler with 19 wickets. Among others who took part were Bangladesh’s Taskin Ahmed, Australia’s Ashton Agar and Afghanistan’s Najibullah Zadran.
2014
Host: United Arab Emirates
Winner: South Africa
South Africa dominated from start to finish as it emerged unbeaten through the tournament before beating crowd favourites Pakistan by six wickets in the final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Bangladesh won the Plate final with a 77-run win over New Zealand.
Having lost two finals – to Australia in 2002 and to India in 2008 – South Africa was desperate to end on the winning side in its third attempt. It bowled Pakistan out for 131 with seamer Corbin Bosch taking four wickets for 15 runs in 73 overs. It was only a defiant unbeaten 37 from Amad Butt that prolonged the Pakistan innings till the 45th over after it was reduced to 72 for seven by the 30th over.
South Africa rode on an unbeaten 66 from skipper and opening batsman Aiden Markram, and 40 by Greg Oldfield, to romp to victory in 42.1 overs after being 28 for two at one stage. Markram was named player of the tournament, in which Shadman Islam of Bangladesh was the leading scorer with 406 runs and Anuk Fernando of Sri Lanka was the leading bowler with 15 wickets.
Players who made an immediate impression at the senior level after the 2014 tournament were Kagiso Rabada of South Africa and Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh.
World Sailing has appointed Andy Hunt, former CEO of the British Olympic Association and a non-executive Director of the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games as its new Chief Executive Officer.
Hunt (52) has most recently been Chairman & Managing Partner of Progressive Media Group, an International Media & Business Information group of companies, as well as serving as a non-executive Director of England Hockey & Gloucester Rugby. Hunt has has had a highly successful career across both sport and business over the past 30 years.
World Sailing President Carlo Croce said, “I am delighted that we have found an outstanding candidate to fill the role of CEO. Andy combines exceptional business leadership credentials, with an excellent track record in sports administration, a deep understanding of the Olympic & Paralympic movement, strong relationships with the IOC and ASOIF and enjoys a lifelong passion for Sailing. Andy will work closely with me and the Executive Board to continue to deliver on our vision and strategy for World Sailing.”
Andy Hunt, World Sailing C.E.O
“I am delighted to have been selected by the Executive Board to lead World Sailing,” commented Hunt. “It is a real honour to be able to serve a sport that I have participated in since an early age. I look forward to working with all of the stakeholders within our sport to further drive the organisation and sport forward.”
Angel McLeod on Tuesday made a winning return to competitive tennis following the death of her mother by beating Mattu Kamara of Sierra Leone 6-2, 6-3 as the 2016 ITF/CAT Africa Junior Championships West & Central Africa qualifiers continue in Abuja.
The right-handed 15-year-old endured a torrid start to the round-robin girls’ 16&u match as her Thailand-based opponent hit some early winners but she responded with great effect hitting her own winners in-between a couple of aces to the delight of the spectators which include NTF President Sani Ndanusa, CAT Zone 2 Vice President, Yemi Owoseni and Athletics Federation of Nigeria(AFN) boss Solomon Ogba.
Nigeria’s Adetayo Adetunji also got a 6-2,6-2 win over Fatoumata Kaita of Mali while Christopher Bulus and Christopher Itodo both secured wins over Fetege Coulibaly of Cote d’Ivoire and Felix Hammong of Ghana 6-2, 6-1 in the boys 16&u. Ibrahim Souleyman also beat Amza Kabba of Sierra Leone 6-0, 6-2.
The major shock of the day saw Nigeria’s Oyinlomo Barakat Quadri lost 6-3,6-0 to Anna Lemongo of Cameroun.
“It was a very poor match for me; I know I could have done better because I beat her in straight sets at the main AJC in Morocco last year. I will work harder to qualify from the group,” the12-year-old said as she look towards her next match against Naa McKorley of Ghana on Tuesday.
Nigeria’s dominance of the tournament met further resistance as David Amusu lost 6-3, 6-4 to Benin’s N’tcha Delmas while Chidinma Eze and Favour Moses were beaten 6-0,6-0 and 6-2, 7-5 by Aichata Keita of Mali and Vania Dotze of Togo respectively.
One more African giants Egypt and Tunisia will fight to earn the 2016 Rio Olympic Games ticket after both sides beat their opponents in the semifinal of the 2016 Men’s African Olympic qualifiers at Elende Hall in Brazzaville, Congo on Sunday.
It was easy for the three time Olympians Egypt to overcome Cameroon in straight sets 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-19), while six time qualifiers Tunisia had to fight aggressively for 133 minutes to overpower Algeria in grueling five setter 3-2 (24-26, 25-22, 15-25, 28-26, 15-13).
In the fifth place match hosts Congo Brazzaville crushed their neighbours RD Congo 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-18).
Egypt’s coach used most of his line up in their match against Cameroon to distribute the efforts to all players ahead of the final on Tuesday, but still they could dominate the match completely till they won in straight sets.
Tunisia came twice from a set behind to beat the struggling Algerian new formation hardly in epic tiebreaker that made the spectators on their toes throughout the 133 minutes.
Tunisia’a outside hitter Ismail Moalla in action
Egypt meet Tunisia officially for the fourth time this year after Egypt won the final of the 2015 Men’s African Nations championship 3-0, the World Cup encounter 3-2 and their first round Pool A match 3-0.
The winner of the tournament will book a direct ticket to Rio de Janeiro 2016, while the second and third placed teams will earn another opportunity to qualify through the World Olympic Qualifiers.
– Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has ruled out a move for Brazilian forward Alexandre Pato.
– West Brom, Besiktas and AC Milan are all interested in Lyon’s Henri Bedimo, according to L’Equipe.
– Brazilian defender Dante has vowed to stay at Wolfsburg amid MLS links.
– Mauricio Pochetinno says Andros Townsend remains part of the squad and could be involved in the coming games.
– Steven Pienaar might leave Everton for Ajax Amsterdam, according to his business manager Rob Moore.
– Barcelona have opened talks with Ivan Rakitic over a new deal, the midfielder has revealed.
– Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel says he is not planning to sell reported Liverpool target Neven Subotic, calling him “an important part of the group” despite his lack of game time this season.
– According to reports, Federico Fazio is nearing a Tottenham exit having failed to impress at White Hart Lane, with former club Sevilla a likely destination.
– Zenit St Petersburg and Guangzhou Evergrande are preparing offers for Inter midfielder Fredy Guarin, according to reports.
– Barcelona are interested in Manchester City target Leroy Sane, reports German publication Kicker.
Lionel Messi credit: hy.wikipedia.org
– Chelsea defender Baba Rahman will remain at the club until at least the summer, his advisor has confirmed.
– Inter President Erick Thohir says they have ‘an ample squad’ but ‘it’s possible we’ll make some good buys in the market.’
– Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels has insisted that he is not feeling any pressure to sign a new deal with the club.
– Tottenham have emerged as the bookmakers’ favourites to sign Fulham forward Moussa Dembele, ahead of Crystal Palace and Manchester United.
– Lyon have rejected a loan offer from Hellas Verona for the services of Lindsay Rose, according to L’Équipe.
– Sergej Milinkovic-Savic’s agent assures it’s “too early” for his client to consider leaving Lazio.
– Fiorentina and Spartak Moscow have agreed terms for on-loan Genoa midfielder Tino Costa, according to reports.
– Torino have reportedly submitted a bid for Sevilla’s Ciro Immobile.
– PSG winger Ezequiel Lavezzi’s move to Inter in January ’is possible’ according to his agent’s associate.
– Swansea manager Alan Curtis has said the club are willing to listen to offers for Jonjo Shelvey.
– Acccording to reports, Aston Villa manager Remi Garde hopes to be handed a large transfer fund to turn around the club’s season after talks with the board.
Football tit bits:
Lionel Messi, FIFA Ballon d’Or
– Louis van Gaal believes Manchester United supporters should be happy their team are through to the fourth round of the FA Cup and suggested that traffic around Old Trafford, rather than apathy, was one of the reasons why many supporters left before the end of the 1-0 win over Sheffield United.
– Paris Saint-Germain have become embroiled in a row with the London-born rapper M.I.A after she wore a modified version of the club’s shirt in one of her music videos. Via Twitter, the 40-year-old has revealed a letter sent to her
record company, Universal Music, by Jean Claude Blanc, PSG’s deputy CEO, last month complaining about the fact she
can be seen in the video for Borders, a song about the global migrants crisis, wearing a white PSG shirt with the words ‘Fly Pirates’ across the middle, as opposed to ‘Fly Emirates’, the French club’s sponsor.
– Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or award for an unprecedented fifth time. The 28-year-old Argentine had 41.33% of the vote, with Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo (27.76%)second and Barca’s Neymar (7.86%) third. “It’s a very special moment for me to be back here on this stage winning again, after being there in the audience watching as Cristiano won for two years “, Messi said after picking up the award.
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