With the recent commendable the rise in youth basketball programmes in Nigeria, which has directly influenced the success of national U-16 teams and the resurfacing of Nigeria as a powerhouse in Africa.
The ancient city of Ibadan with a rich history of basketball will on Saturday 30th January 2016 be added to the conveyor belt of talent production as one of the former players of the Oluyole Warriors basketball club in the 80’s, Barr. Damola Awosika launches the Hoops Dreams Basketball Academy.
President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) Mr. Tijjani Umar thanked the initiator of the programme, Barr. Damola Awosika for his proactiveness and drive to build a structure that will sustain youth development and talent discovery in the State and the South West sub-region, adding to the Youth Alive basketball programmes exsisting in Lagos and recently extended to Ekiti State last year.
Mr Umar said “I acknowledge the opening of the Hoops Dreams Academy in Ibadan. I am excited about this and i hope to do everything within my power to support your vision as a federation”.
The Academy which will cater to atleast 200 kids, teaching fundamentals of the game of basketball and supplying equipments to kids from as little as 6-18 years of age, drives to produce the next big stars for Nigeria at the youth level whom will hopefully graduate to the Senior national teams.
Barr. Awosika said the discovery of Nigerian youth sensation Charles Bassey, now making waves in the US, courtesy the Youth Alive Basketball programme in Lagos motivated the Hoops Dreams Academy.
” We have kids everywhere who have talent to play basketball big time, we just have to create opportunities and a structured, sustainable programme to teach them the right basics and monitor their progress.
Damola Awosika who is also one of the directors of the Youth Alive Programme in Lagos, also revealed the lack of developmental programmes in his boyhood home motivated his choice of Ibadan.
“Having been part of the lagos Youth Alive programme and witnessing the results it is producing, I felt Oyo State is almost being left out of the rising tide of youth basketball development programmes in Nigeria. I was motivated to go back and contribute to Ibadan where I grew up and played basketball to the level of representing Oluyole Warriors in the Premier league”
The first edition of the North-Central Junior Tennis Clinic served of in Abuja on Wednesday with no fewer than 49 players from seven states in attendance. The states are Kaduna, Kano, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Plateau and FCT.
Coordinator of the event Sunday Samuel informed that the tournament which is being bankrolled by the Chairman of the FCT Tennis Association Mr. Ifedayo Akindoju through Dayak Nigeria Limited is designed to produce tennis talents from the North and Central part of the country.
Samuel, who is also a coach and an NTF badged referee said: “You will discover that at the last AJC West and Central Africa Qualifiers which Nigeria won here in Abuja, majority of the players are from the region and this shows that there is a lot of talents in this place hence our resolve to catch them young in this particular part of the country.”
Tennis equipment and medals will be presented to the players that distinguish themselves in the four day tourney scheduled to end on Saturday.
Prominent among the participants are Friday Gabriel who won two gold medals for Nigeria at the recently held AJC qualifiers as well as Musa Sani and Saminu Abubakar, who also bagged silver medals in the 14&u doubles.
The Minister of Youth and Sports Barrister Solomon Dalung has commended the University of Port Harcourt for setting high standards in the development of modern sports in Nigeria.
Barrister Dalung gave the commendation when he visited the High Performance Center which is sited in the University.
The Minister thanked the Vice Chancellor of the University Prof. Ndowa E. S. Lale for providing facilities, accommodation and warm hospitality for athletes to train ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
I visited the the garden city to see Nigerian athletes training in High Performance Centre in the University of… https://t.co/RK7XJlILNK
“In African tradition, if somebody offers accommodation to your children, it is natural that you follow their footsteps to see how they’re faring. We’re here to convey the appreciation of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari to the university for providing the facilities and accommodation for training our athletes for the Rio Games.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports is also grateful for your innovation to drive sports to an advanced stage of scientific development. There is no doubt that sports has graduated from sheer determination and skill to science. Nigeria’s sports cannot remain stagnant and expect to cope with the dynamics of modern sports. This is the area we will wish the University of Port Harcourt to be a key partner” Dalung stated.
Barrister Dalung pledged government’s continuous support to the University of Port Harcourt in ensuring that all necessary facilities that will lead to the attainment of a modern and functional high performance center is realized despite the paucity of funds.
“For a high performance center to be effective, it must be housed in an academic environment, because it is not only for training but there are also curricula that are associated with it. After my visit, you may guide in taking a proper decision as to what should be the status of a national high performance center in Nigeria”.
In his response, the Vice Chancellor Prof Lale extolled the University as a citadel of sports excellence in the country adding that they were grateful to have the High performance center cited in the institution.
Honourable Minister For Youths and Sports Solomon Dalung
“This University ranks very high, not just in Nigeria but in West Africa when it comes to university sports so we need facilities to justify that status. I therefore implore you to assist and position us adequately for the status conferred upon us”.
The President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria Dr Solomon Ogba said in a vote of thanks, that he was excited to have the minister visit the high performance center at a very short notice. He said the HPC was the latest and scientific way of training athletes.
“Those who are involved in the running of the HPC including the exercise physiologist, bio mechanics, human kinetics etc are professionals which could only be gotten from a university environment. This center has been training our athletes for the Olympics since November and the minister has come to see how the athletes are faring with their training. I urge the University authority to support the minister to achieve success in sports development”.
Barrister Dalung visited the High performance Center, students hostel, dinning area and held a private meeting with the athletes. He is due to visit the High performance center in Pretoria this weekend to compare notes that will help in re- positioning Nigeria’s HPC to international standards.
It may have been just three weeks ago that the event was awarded to the Italian capital, but already the 100-day countdown has begun for the IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships Rome 2016 on 7-8 May.
It will be the fourth time that the competition has been held in Italy. Varese and Pescara hosted the second and third editions of the event in 1963 and 1965 respectively, while Turin staged the competition in 2002.
Since the last edition in 2014, the event’s name has changed from the IAAF World Race Walking Cup to the IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships. But the competition rules, detailed below, have largely remained unchanged.
Scoring
Each race is scored separately. Team results are decided by the aggregate of places recorded by the scoring athletes of each team. The team with the lowest aggregate of points will be judged the winner.
The first three finishers in the senior races shall score points for their team, while the first two finishers in the junior races shall score points.
If a team fails to finish with a complete scoring team, the athletes finishing shall be counted as individuals in the race result and be eligible for the individual awards.
No adjustment to the scoring places of the finishing teams shall be made in respect of any non-scoring team athletes or of individual entries.
In the event of a tie, it shall be resolved in favour of the team whose last scoring member finishes nearer to first place.
Entries
For the senior races, countries may enter a maximum of seven athletes; no more than five shall be allowed to start in the race with three to score. Countries may enter a team in both the senior men’s races (20km or 50km) but no athlete may compete in both.
For the junior races, countries may enter a maximum of five athletes; no more than three shall be allowed to start in the race with two to score.
Junior athletes born in 1997 or 1998 may compete in the senior 20km race or the junior 10km race. Youth athletes born in 1999 or 2000 may compete in the junior race only. No athlete born in 2001 or later may be entered.
The senior races will be held on a two-kilometre loop, while the junior races will be held on a one-kilometre loop.
The pit lane rule will be applied in the junior races. After receiving a third red card, athletes will serve a penalty time of 120 seconds in the pit lane. If the athletes then receive a fourth red card (from judges who had not previously issued them one), they shall be disqualified.
His Excellency, Akinwunmi Ambode,Lagos State governor, has been commended by stakeholders for latest appointment in the sports sector in the state.
Oladele Gbajumo, General Manager of newly promoted premier league side, Ikorodu United FC commended His Excellency, Governor Ambode for appointing Bolaji Yusuf as SSA, Sports Facilities/ General Manager, Sports Facilities in Lagos State. This is “square peg in a square hole”.
Gbajumo noted that Bolaji Yusuf”s exeprenice and background in facility management will go a long way in helping the state to realise his potenial of providing first class sporting facilities that all will be proud of.
In a similar vein, Deji Beecroft, Team Manager, Messiah Football club noted that Yusuf’s performance and blistering record as the Facility Manager, Campos Square mini stadium and Onikan stadium shows that the governor is a sport loving governor that has the interest of the masses at heart, hence this worthy appointment.
Akinwunmi Ambode Governor Lagos State photo credit: Akinwunmiambode.com
Looking through the appointments made so far by Governor Ambode to steer football and other sporting matters since the inception of his administration in Lagos means the dawn of a new day and new beginning has started for the most populous cosmopolitan city in Africa.
You will recall that, Hon Deji Tiunbu was appointed SA Sports and Chairman, Lagos State Sports Commission while Hon Adeyinka Adeboye was also appointed as SSA on Sports. This tag-team will take sports to its rightful place in the history of Nigeria and beyond Beecroft concluded.
Biscayne Bay provided the 711 sailors from 64 nations with a welcome breeze for Wednesday’s racing at Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella.
Following two challenging days of racing a breeze, albeit light in between 6-10 knots, sustained throughout the day enabling the ten Olympic and two Paralympic events to complete their scheduled races.
The leader boards in all of the fleets are starting to shape up and for the 49er, Laser and Laser Radial qualifying is over with two days of Gold and Silver racing to ensue.
As of 17:45 local time, a number of protests were on going ensuring a late evening for the jury with a number of scoring changes possible. View the protest summary web page here – http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/protest-summary.php
Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, USA is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay.
Men’s and Women’s RS:X
Three races apiece in the Men’s and Women’s RS:X satisfied the burning racing desire within the windsurfers hearts following two frustrating days.
Just two men’s and one women’s RS:X race had been completed over Monday and Tuesday and even though the breeze remained light, three races apiece played out on Biscayne Bay on Wednesday.
In light breeze the RS:X is physically demanding. Competitors have to chisel their bodies and watch their weight in the build up to an event and then push their aerobic capacity during racing whilst reading the wind and tidal patterns across a wide body of water.
In short, it isn’t easy. Poland’s Pawel Tarnowski explained, “In these conditions it is really hard to have a good race in the RS:X as you have to pump all the time in the upwind and in the downwind. It affects your body from your legs, your arms and back.
“You have to be very well prepared physically plus have some good tactics. Sailors say it is like playing chess with a huge heart rate.”
Tarnowski was one of the chess masters on the third day, picking up a 2-5-1 scoreline to occupy second overall.
However, the grand master of RS:X chess playing has to be Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) who continued his exceptional consistency. A third and a second kicked off his competition and he added his first bullet, a third and a discarded fourth to his tally to lead the pack on nine points.
“It’s pretty brutal out there when it’s light,” explained Van Rijsselberge when messaging @isafworldsailing on Instagram via his account @lifeofdorian after racing.
In between sending selfies with compatriot Kiran Badloe, Van Rijsselberge continued, “It was nice to get some races done. For sure the last couple of days were a bit slow so it was so much better to do what we came here for, racing at the top level.
“The conditions are hard out there but the top five are all in it to win it.”
The top five the London 2012 Olympic gold medallist speaks of is the second place Tarnowski on 12 points, Nick Dempsey (GBR) on 12, Chunzhuang Liu (CHN) on 13 and Aichen Wang (CHN) on 14.
Lilian de Geus, compatriot of Van Rijsselberge, continued the trend of Dutch consistency in the RS:X and holds first overall in the Women’s pack.
De Geus won the opening race on day one and picked up where she left off, recording a 2-1-(5) score line to lead Patricia Freitas (BRA) by four points.
Freitas started the day off by claiming the opening bullet, following up with a fifth and a discarded eighth. “I had a good day,” said Freitas. “The wind was really tricky and it was coming and going. There was a lot of cloud so the pressure was on and off. There were shifts on both sides and the race course was very short as we have a target time of 30 minutes.”
There was minimal separation amongst the top racers in the Women’s RS:X over their three races and that is evident by the scores at the top of the leader board. De Geus sits top on four points followed by Freitas on eight, Bryony Shaw (GBR) and Peina Chen (CHN) on nine, Marina Alabau (ESP) on 11 and Poland’s Malgorzata Bialecka on 14.
Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, USA is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay.
Finn
The 2016 Sailing World Cup Miami may be the biggest regatta of Caleb Paine’s (USA) sailing career. But the towering Finn sailor is trying to treat this event, which doubles as the first part of the U.S. selection series for the Rio Olympics, just like the many other Olympic-class events he’s sailed over the past decade. “I try to get into the mindset I know works for me and keep that repetition going,” said Paine after a solid day on the water. “Hopefully it all works out in the end.”
The Finn class was limited to just one race over the first two days. Now, with four races now in the books, it’s a good time to look at how the fleet is shaking out. Surprisingly, there’s no more space between the top six than there was after Race 1. Paine leads with 10 points, Lei Gong (CHN) is in second with 11, and Jake Lilley (AUS) is in third with 12. The pattern continues through Zack Railey (USA), the 2008 Finn silver medalist, in sixth, with 15 points.
Paine’s 4-3-3 was the best score on the day and the most consistent of the front-runners.
“We were all expecting a little more breeze,” he said. “But fortunately we had enough to get three races in. I still could improve on my starting, but for the most part it was all about just keeping your lane wide open and having the ability to make the right decisions instead of other people dictating it.
“Boatspeed was the king of the day. I’ve been working with my coach quite a bit and feel like I’m going pretty fast.”
In contrast to Paine’s steady performance so far, Railey, who is emerging as Paine’s chief rival for the Olympic berth after some time away from the dinghy, has been a bit up and down. Today he sandwiched two wins around a 15th; and he opened the regatta on Monday with a 13th.
“The first race of the regatta was a really difficult race, really big shifts, and I just wanted to get a solid result out of that one. I probably sailed too conservative, but I was OK with a 13th,” he said. “The second race today, I thought the right side was going to come in, and we were looking OK about halfway up the first beat. There was a 20-degree left shift with pressure. I just never made it out of the right side and rounded [in the bottom half of the fleet] at the first mark and caught back up as much as I could. That’s just part of sailboat racing.”
After the 2012 OIympics, when he finished 12th, Railey turned his focus toward a product development company. A half year ago he decided to get back into the Finn.
“I’ve got a great family that allows me to do it and I’ve got some really great business partners that allow me to step away from the business,” he said. “I’d done a lot of other sailing outside of Olympic sailing and I just really missed Olympic sailing. I missed the training and the grind that goes along with it. And I had a couple of really friends of mine that decided they were going to come back also, so many a little bit of peer pressure also.”
One of those close friends, 2012 silver medalist Jonas Hoegh-Christensen (DEN), is currently in fifth place. With the three races scheduled for each of the next two days, this event could turn into a test of strength and endurance. That might seem to favor Paine, who is younger than Railey and has been training for this moment for four years. But he’s not taking anything for granted.
“Everyone is fit and, being that it’s the Olympic Trials, everyone is ready for it,” he said. “It’s good to see everyone out there in the competition, and I look forward to see what the result brings.”
Laser Radial & Laser
After opening the regatta with a sixth, Laser Radial veteran Marit Bouwmeester (NED) has been unstoppable, winning all five of her remaining qualifying races to open up a four-point lead. Evi van Acker (BEL) another veteran and fellow Olympic medalist, has won a pair of races herself and was able to discard a black flag disqualification from today to sit second. Defending Olympic gold medalist Lilja Xu (CHN) in third, a point further back.
With qualification completed, the fleet will be split into a gold and silver grouping and winning the races will be that much tougher over the final two days.
The top American in the fleet is Paige Railey, who is currently 17th with 36 points. That’s good enough for a 9-point cushion over Ericka Reineke (USA), who is Railey’s chief rival for the 2016 Olympic berth in the Radial class. That battle will be an interesting one to watch during the next few days. This event is Part 1 of the two-stage selection series for that class.
The Laser class, one of only two to start the Day three on schedule, sailed a pair of afternoon races. Rutger van Schaardenburg (NED) won his final race of the day—as with the Radial fleet, the 98-strong Laser fleet has been sailing in two groups for qualification—and has built himself an impressive 16-point lead heading into the gold and silver fleet split. Jean Baptiste Bernaz (FRA) sits second with 27 points, but there is a pack of four sailors all within 5 points of the silver-medal position. At the back end of this group is 5-time Olympic medalist Robert Scheidt (BRA), who has rebounded from a tough start with three straight second place finishes.
Charlie Buckingam (USA) is the top American in 11th. While he has his sights focused on the top 10—only the top 10 in each class qualify for Saturday’s medal race, which will be carried lived on ESPN3—Buckingham has to be comforted by the knowledge that the next American sailor is 20 points behind. As with many of the other classes, this regatta serves as the first part of the selection trails for the U.S. Laser berth in the Rio Olympics.
Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, USA is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay.
49er and 49erFX
The 49er qualifying series concluded with three further races on Wednesday ahead of the fleets separating into Gold and Silver for the duration of the World Cup.
Diego Botin and Iago Lopez (ESP) advanced to top spot in the 49er, recording an 8-4-3 to leave them on 45 points. The Spanish duo tend to excel in the qualifying series and more times than not, come out at the top of the leaderboard.
When push comes to shove and they race in a top quality Gold fleet they fall down the pack. Six Gold races are ahead of them now to see if they can buck the trend. Carl P Sylvan and Marcus Anjemark of Sweden follow in second and Jorge Lima and Jose Costa (POR) are third.
Defending 49erFX champions Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (NZL) moved up to first after four good races. A pair of seconds, a seventh and a sixth hand them a ten-point advantage over Jena Mai Hansen and Katja Salskov-Iversen (DEN).
Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, United States of America, is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay.
Nacra 17
It’s common across Olympic sailing that one sailor or partnership will excel and shine on any given day. A pair of bullets, a trio of top three results or four top tens can often be seen on a daily basis at World Cup, World Championship and Continental Regattas but that common rule was broken today in the Nacra 17.
Each team picked up a mixed bag of results over four challenging races to open the scores up with six fleet races remaining.
Lucy Macgregor and David Evans (GBR) were the leading performers of the day, starting with a bullet and then a third. An 18th, which they count having already discarded a 33rd, followed before they concluded the day with a third to move to fifth overall.
They sit 42 points off leaders Mandy Mulder and Coen de Koning (NED) who have 49 points with overnight leaders Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AUS) second on 53 points.
Men’s & Women’s 470
Today wasn’t up to the standard of the previous two for the Brazilian duo of Fernanda Oliveira and Ana Luiza Barbachan, but a strong finish in the final of three races kept them in the lead for another day. Close on their heels is Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar (AUT), three points behind, and then there’s a gap of five points to third, currently occupied by Shasha Chen and Haiyan Gao (CHN). Consistency has been a challenge for every team outside of the top four, which has started to stretch away from the rest of the pack. With 29 points, Sydney Bolger and Carly Shevitz (USA) are in fifth. They showcased their potential by winning today’s first race. But will have to be more consistent to get on the podium.
In the men’s 470, we have a new leader. Onan Barreiros and Juan Curbelo Cabrera won the final two races of the day—and were able to discard an OCS from the first race of the day—and move past Stuart McNay and David Hughes (USA) into the lead. McNay and Hughes are just two points behind, and hold a seven-point cushion over third, Panagoitis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis (GRE) and Matthias Schmid and Florian Reichstäder (AUT).
Paralympic Classes
A jam packed day of Paralympic racing saw three races in both the 2.4mR and Sonar fleets completed.
Helena Lucas (GBR) showed her class in the 2.4mR advancing to top spot after a second and double bullets. The London 2012 Paralympic gold medallist is yet to taste that golden feeling in Miami after several attempts. Her performance today has boosted her chances as she tops the billing by top points over Bruce Millar (CAN) who had held top spot from day one.
Millar started the day with a bullet but couldn’t hold on to Lucas as two third followed. Peter Eagar (CAN) is third on 20 points.
Paul Tingley, Logan Campbell and Scott Lutes (CAN) were assertive in the Sonar, notching up two race victories to accompany their third. They lead 2015 World Champions John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas (GBR) by two points heading into the penultimate day of Paralympic racing this Thursday.
Racing resumes on Thursday 28 January at 10:00 local time.
The ITF has announced the official team nominations for the 2016 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group and World Group II first round ties taking place on 6-7 February.
Three Zone Group I events are also taking place on 3-6 February: Europe/Africa Zone Group I in Eilat, Israel; Americas Zone Group I in Santa Cruz, Bolivia; and Asia/Oceania Zone Group I in Hua Hin, Thailand.
All nations contesting the Zone Group I events will be bidding to qualify for the Fed Cup World Group II play-offs on 16-17 April, with two teams qualifying from the Europe/Africa Zone, and one team from both the Americas and Asia/Oceania Zones.
Live scoring will be available on the official Fed Cup website throughout the week. The English and Spanish websites will both feature a live blog, reports, photographs, audio interviews and live streaming. There will also be a fan zone showing the best social media content at http://www.fedcup.com/showyourcolours.
Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Trophy
WORLD GROUP FIRST ROUND
ROMANIA v CZECH REPUBLIC
Venue: Sala Polivalenta Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, ROU (hard – indoor)
Romania
Simona Halep
Irina-Camelia Begu
Monica Niculescu
Andreea Mitu
Captain: Alina Cercel-Tecsor
Czech Republic
Petra Kvitova
Karolina Pliskova
Barbora Strycova
Denisa Allertova
Captain: Petr Pala
GERMANY v SWITZERLAND
Venue: Leipziger Messe, Leipzig, GER (hard – indoor)
Germany
Angelique Kerber
Andrea Petkovic
Julia Goerges
Annika Beck
Captain: Barbara Rittner
The strongest ever field has turned up in Berlin, Germany for the 2016 ITTF World Tour German Open, which begins today 27 January 2016.
17 of the top 20 men and 15 of the top 20 women will battle it out for valuable world ranking points heading into the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, in front of a near sold out crowd at the Max-Schmeling-Halle Arena.
Dimitrij OVTCHAROV, 2015 ITTF World Championships, photo credit ITTF Media
Local favorite and the number two seed Dimitrij OVTCHAROV is eager to win his third German Open to give himself a boost ahead of next month’s World Team Championships: “It’s absolutely a top field, I never seen such a strong field in an ITTF World Tour event. I have practiced well and had a strong start to the year. This is my first international event for six weeks, so let’s see how I go. I will try my best to be champion again, and give myself confidence heading into the World Team Championships in one month’s time.”
For the German to win his third German Open title, he will have to get past the man who was unstoppable in 2015, the defending champion MA Long (CHN). The world number one won all the major world titles there was to win in 2015, including the World Championships, World Cup and the World Tour Grand Finals and only lost one match all year on the international arena.
If the prospects of playing MA Long was not daunting enough for OVTCHAROV, the German will also have to get past reigning Olympic Champion Zhang Jike (CHN) and team mate Timo BOLL (GER), who is making his international return after five months out.
The top three seeds in the women’s draw, Japan’s Ai FUKUHARA, Kasumi ISHIKAWA and
FENG Tianwei from Singapore will be looking to restore some pride after suffering early defeats at last week’s ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open.
Germany’s HAN Ying and SHAN Xiaona will lead the local charge in Berlin, with European Champion Elizabeta Samara (ROU) hopeful of continuing her career best form into 2016.
The German Open is the second of the 20 events on the 2016 ITTF World Tour and the first Super Series event of the year. The ITTF World Tour is categorized into three tiers: Super (six events) Major series (six events) and Challenge (eight events). The higher the tier, the higher the prize money, better playing conditions and tougher competition for the title.
All the players playing ITTF World Tour events are fighting for not only for prize money and world ranking points, but also World Tour ranking points to qualify for the lucrative World Tour Grand Final, taking place on 15-18 December 2016 in a location to be announced.
Liu Shiwen regains top spot in the world after Women’s World Cup victory
The 2016 ITTF World Tour is set to be the most extensively followed tour in history, with more events shown live throughout the world on television, and all the events being shown live on ITTF’s live streaming platform, ITTF.com/itTV.
In addition to the men’s and women’s singles event at the German Open, the world’s best players will also be playing men’s and women’s doubles and the stars of the future will be lining up in the men’s and women’s under 21 events.
The qualifications for the ITTF World Tour World Tour German Open starts today, 27 January 2016, with the main draw starting on 29 January and the finals matches on 31 January 2016.
Nigeria has been asked to be on standby to host the 2016 African Rugby Cup 1C Tournament in case Morocco fails to meet up with obligations to host the tournament. Nigeria lost the bid to the North African country due to security reasons.
It will be recalled that Nigeria placed a bid to host the 2016 Africa Cup 1C in Lagos but according to Rugby Africa, after careful considerations, the Executive Committee awarded the hosting rights to Morocco as they cited security reasons.
According to a mail sent to the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation last week, through Coralie Vandenberg; the operations manager of Rugby Africa, the apex rugby body in Africa; she said “despite agreeing that host city, Lagos might be incident free, some countries could feel unsecure and choose not to travel which would jeopardize the tournament”.
They resolved that should Morocco be faced with the same security threats or no longer in a position to host the tournament, the executive committee will reconsider its position and advise sufficiently ahead of time.
Speaking with the President of The Nigeria Rugby Football Federation Sir, Fom Edward Pam in Abuja: he expressed his displeasure over the news saying that the move to host the African Cup 1C here in Nigeria is part of the Federation’s strategy to popularize the sport in the country. ‘However we will not let this distracts us from our goal to get promoted to 1B.
– Gary Cahill is reportedly planning to leave Chelsea, the defender is concerned about his chances of playing at Euro 2016 having been dropped by manager Guus Hiddink.
– Fiorentina are expected to sell Mario Suarez to Watford on Thursday for £4.1million.
– According to Sky Sport Italia, Swansea City have agreed an £8million fee with Chievo for striker Alberto Paloschi.
– Chelsea are lining up a shock move for former Arsenal and Manchester United striker Robin van Persie if Alexandre Pato’s deal falls through, according to reports in England.
– Genoa are reportedly in negotiations with Manchester United to take Guillermo Varela on loan.
– Alex Teixeira has said that Shakhtar Donetsk turned down a €32 million offer from Liverpool for his services, while adding that he is desperate for a move to the Premier League club.
– Borussia Dortmund are in negotiations with Atletico Madrid over Oliver Torres, according to report in Germany.
– Wolfsburg have confirmed that Basel have turned down a “serious offer” for Breel Embolo.
– U.S. international and New York Red Bulls defender Matt Maizga is set to join Chelsea within the next 24 hours, according to ESPN soccernet sources.
VINA DEL MAR, CHILE – NOVEMBER 08: Kelechi Nwakali (R) of Nigeria poses with the adidas bronze boot and team mate Victor Osimhen of Nigeria poses with the adidas golden boot after the FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup 2015 final match between Mali and Nigeria at Estadio Sausalito on November 8, 2015 in Vina del Mar, Chile. (Photo by Martin Rose – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
– Wolfsburg are set to sign Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen. The 17-year-old already is in Wolfsburg for contract talks, but will not join the club before 2017.
– Mainz will not sell reported Manchester United target Yoshinori Muto, the Bundesliga club have said. “We’ve put that to bed,” coach Martin Schmidt said.
– Borussia Dortmund have rejected a €10 million offer for Adrian Ramos from Chinese outfit Beijing Guoan FC, according to reports in Germany.
– Empoli sporting director Marcello Carli says Lorenzo Tonelli “is not for sale”
– Liverpool are interested in signing Borussia Monchengladbach’s Granit Xhaka after Jurgen Klopp met with the player’s agent in December, according to reports.
– Sporting director Carlo Osti says Sampdoria will “definitely” discuss Eder with Inter tomorrow.
– Shakhtar Donetsk forward Alex Teixeira is worth €50million and can be even better than Angel Di Maria, the player’s current coach Mircea Lucescu said.
Golden Eaglets
– Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has blocked the loan departure of Andreas Periera, according to reports.
– Marco Borriello is reportedly on the verge of leaving Carpi for Atalanta.
– Bordeaux want to sign Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa from Malaga before the transfer window closes, according to reports.
– According to reports in the United States, MLS side Colorado Rapids are negotiating with Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard.
– Juventus and Chelsea have reportedly opened talks for Juan Cuadrado’s future, as the Bianconeri want him permanently for less than the agreed €20million.
– LA Galaxy are keen on AC Milan midfielder Nigel De Jong, according to reports.
– Lorient have accepted a bid from Sunderland for defender Lamine Kone.
Alexandre Pato photo credit: .lemeilleurdupsg.com
– Alexandre Pato has arrived in London ahead of his proposed loan move to Chelsea.
– Swiss defender Philippe Senderos leaves Aston Villa after having contract terminated.
– Ogenyi Onazi’s agent confirms “there’s interest from Werder Bremen” for the Lazio midfielder.
Football tit bits:
– Juventus general manager Beppe Marotta insists Max Allegri won’t be tempted by Chelsea. “It’s not easy to find a better club than Juventus.”
– According to reports, Louis van Gaal is set to remain in charge for Manchester United’s FA Cup tie at Derby County on Friday, although the manager’s job is being reviewed on a match-by-match basis.
– A Chinese company that agreed to sponsor the Portuguese second division has been forced to row back on its demands that 10 Chinese players be included in the starting line-ups of the top teams following a national outcry.
– The Spanish Professional Football League (LFP) has reported offensive chanting last weekend by Málaga fans against Barcelona and Atlético fans against Sevilla to the Anti-violence Commission.
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