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Category: Sports

  • Barcelona vs Celtic: 2-1

    Celtic produced a performance full of heart and tactical discipline but lost out to an injury-time Jordi Alba goal.

    The visitors led after the presence of Georgios Samaras helped force Javier Mascherano to divert a Charlie Mulgrew free-kick into his own net.

    Barcelona were not at their best, but produced a moment of sheer class to allow Andres Iniesta to equalise.

    Celtic stood firm in the face of relentless pressure until the dying seconds when Alba stole in to score.

    It was incredibly cruel on Celtic, who were outstanding to a man.
    They remain second in Champions League Group G but now trail Barcelona, who maintain their 100% record, by five points.

    Spartak Moscow, who beat Benfica earlier in the day, are a point behind Neil Lennon’s side with the Portuguese side bottom with a single point.

    It had looked ominous for the visitors as early as the second minute when Barcelona sliced through their defence for the first time, Iniesta providing the killer ball, only for Alexis Sanchez to dink the ball wide of Fraser Forster’s right-hand post.

    That apart though, Celtic began the match comfortably, coping well with the constant passing and movement of the Catalan side.

    Forster’s first major test came 17 minutes in, and he dealt with it brilliantly.

    Lionel Messi floated the ball over the Celtic defence, Iniesta turned it across goal where Marc Bartra flashed a header on target, only for the giant Celtic keeper to push it away.

  • Armstrong Asked to Pay US$11m to US Insurance Company

    A Texan insurance company is pursuing Lance Armstrong for US$11million.

    SCA Promotions insured performance bonuses paid to the American after he claimed his fourth, fifth and sixth Tour de France victories.

    As the International Cycling Union (UCI) has now stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour titles, SCA will demand the money back from Armstrong.

    “We will make a formal demand for return of funds,” SCA’s lawyer, Jeffrey M. Tillotson said.

    “If this is not successful, we will initiate formal legal proceedings against Mr Armstrong in five business days (Monday 29 October).”

    The insurance policy was taken out by Tailwind Sports, owner of the US Postal team, to cover performance bonuses that would be due to Armstrong if he won the Tours.

    SCA initially refused to pay out money covering the bonus for Armstrong’s sixth Tour de France win in 2004, totalling $5m, because it argued Armstrong was not a clean rider.

    Armstrong took the company to an arbitration hearing in Dallas in 2005 and won, because the contract between the parties stipulated the insurance money would be payable if Armstrong was the “official winner” of the Tour.

    It meant SCA was forced to pay out US$7.5million – a US$5million bonus, plus US$2.5million in interest and legal fees.

  • QPR manager: Eradicating Racism Will Be Difficult

    QPR manager Mark Hughes has warned it will be almost impossible to completely rid football of racism.

    More than 30 players from eight Premier League clubs chose not to support the annual Kick It Out campaign over the weekend by refusing to wear a T-shirt.

    Among them was QPR defender Anton Ferdinand, who was racially abused by Chelsea captain John Terry last season.

    Hughes said: “It’s very difficult to eradicate totally. Let’s hope that will happen but we will be a lot greyer.”

    Ferdinand was joined by team-mates Djibril Cisse, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Nedum Onouha and Junior Hoilett in making his protest at the perceived lack of action about racism during the warm-up before Sunday’s 1-1 draw Everton – three visiting players, Victor Anichebe, Sylvain Distin and Steven Pienaar also chose not to wear the T-shirts.

    “My understanding at the beginning of the week was that everyone was going to comply,” said Hughes.

    “But a lot of people have made stands and possibly some of our guys felt that they needed to stand shoulder to shoulder which I think you have to accept.

    “Any campaign that looks to address an ill in our game and in society needs to be supported irrespective of the fact of whether they are doing enough or not.

    “[Some] players feel it’s time to make a stand and try and affect the authorities in terms of what they’re doing, and if it does that and they are better in fighting racism in sport then it’s a good thing.”

    Everton manager David Moyes backed his trio of players, although he conceded he did not necessarily agree with them.

    “I spoke to the players and they decided it was their decision,” Moyes said.

    “I listened to their reasons and I told them my reasons why I thought they should [back the campaign by wearing a T-shirt] but ultimately it’s one of these things. They have to make that decision.”

    Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand, Anton’s brother, incurred the wrath of his manager Sir Alex Ferguson by electing not to wear a T-shirt prior to their game against Stoke on Saturday.

    Ferguson felt he had been embarrassed by Rio’s decision and that he had let the club down after having said on Friday that “everyone should be united”.

  • Exploring Witchcraft in Tanzania

    Around the world a sense of mystery and fear engulfs witchcraft and nowhere is this more evident than in the East African nation of Tanzania.

    Here, faith in this specific form of African tradition can turn deadly.

    People with albinism have been dismembered in western parts of the country because so-called witchdoctors perpetuate a belief that albino body parts bring great wealth.

    From the archives: Scores of albinos in hiding after attacks
    Those suspected of witchcraft are also targeted; an estimated 600 elderly women were killed in 2011 due to the suspicion they were witches, according to the Legal and Human Rights Center in Tanzania.

    In fact, the Pew Forum on Religious and Public life conducted 25,000 face-to-face interviews in 19 African nations and found that among them, Tanzanians hold the strongest belief in witchcraft.

    It says 60% of the Tanzanians interviewed believe that sacrifices to ancestors or spirits can protect them from harm, and that many Christians and Muslims incorporate elements of traditional African beliefs into their daily lives.

    Dark arts flourished in Tanzania partly because, compared to its neighbors, it was “less colonized” by European powers, explains Joachim Mwami of Dar Es Salaam University.

    The anthropology professor says for centuries, witchcraft has “served to explain anything inexplicable,” in rural villages like a severely sick child or strange illness.

    Professor Mwami admitted that, “even in my own family, I was advised [as a child] not to visit certain relatives considered to be witches,” even though there was no proof.

    He says without access to education, people are more likely to follow the claims of traditional healers and pass down those beliefs to the next generation.

    Students at Dar Es Salaam University were reluctant to talk about opinions relating to witchcraft. Some explained, even if they don’t personally believe in the practice, their relatives take it seriously.
    Others feel one must believe in the practice for it to have any power over them.

    So even with a university education, some students retain some faith in witchcraft.

    CNN

  • Basketball Coach Kickedout

    The Rwanda basketball Coach Nenad Amanovic has been suspended for failure to fulfill his duties as required.

    He has been suspended by the Basketball federation.

    This follows Rwanda’s humiliating defeat in Mozambique when the Under 18 team came last on the list 11 teams that competed in Maputo.

    However, the federation has not yet announced a new replacement to Amanovic.

  • Bafana Bafana Assistant Coach Dies

    Thomas Madigage, assistant coach to South Africa’s national football team Bafana Bafana, died in a car crash late Thursday October 18.

    South African Police confirmed his death saying, “We can confirm that Mr Madigage passed away last night between 10pm and 12am (2000 GMT and 2200 GMT),” said police spokesman Hangwani Mulaudzi.

    “It was an accident. He was alone. There was a stray donkey that was crossing the road.”

    The 40-year-old Madigage was declared dead on the scene.
    Bafana coach Gordon Igesund appointed the former national midfielder as assistant coach in July.

    “Tommy Madigage is without a doubt the most successful assistant coach in this country in the last 10 years,” Igesund said at the time.
    He played for FC Zurich from 1995 to 1996 and several national clubs before his retirement in 2002.

    After this Madigage worked as assistant coach at local club SuperSport United until July, helping the team win several league titles.

    News of the popular trainer’s death shocked the country on Friday, with tributes pouring in on radio news and social media.

    “We are shocked and at a loss for words,” said South African Football Association president Kirsten Nematandani in a statement.

  • Botswana U17 in Rwanda for Return Leg

    The Botswana U17 national side is currently in Rwanda where they are in vigorous training ahead of saturday encounter with the Amavubi U17 of Rwanda in a return Leg.

    Amavubi was hit by Botswana U17 recently. However, the Amavubi is expected to toughen following the enthusiastic fans at home.

  • Senegal Kicked out of Africa Cup of Nations

    Senegal have been disqualifed from the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations after crowd trouble forced their qualifier with Ivory Coast to be abandoned, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) governing body said Tuesday.

    The decision was taken at a CAF disciplinary meeting in Cairo after violence flared in Dakar on Saturday, with Ivory Coast players and fans pelted with stones, bottles and chairs, fires lit in the stands and firecrackers thrown.

    “As a result, CAF decided to officially confirm the result of the match as 2-0 in favour of Ivory Coast… and to consider Senegal the loser of the match and eliminated from the competition”.

    Further sanctions may be taken against the east African side, the CAF said in a statement on its website.

    The violence erupted after Ivory Coast took a 2-0 lead for a 6-2 aggregate advantage in a qualifier for the finals in South Africa.

    The match was suspended for 40 minutes while police tried to restore order but the referee abandoned the game.

    Senegal football chiefs said on Sunday that they would accept any punishment and apologised to Ivory Coast and their fans.

  • Fela Kuti Museum Inaugurated

    The family of the late musical icon Fela Kuti on October15, inaugurated a museum dedicated to his life at the site of his last house in Lagos as part of events celebrating what would have been his 74th birthday.

    The museum is not yet complete, but his family wanted to use the date — October 15 was Kuti’s birthday — to raise awareness of it. An annual range of events and concerts labeled “Felabration” is being held over the coming days.

    “The museum is not finished, but we had to make the opening today,” Kuti’s musician son Femi said at the inauguration amidst a party atmosphere, with a crowd of supporters gathering at the house where the musician is also buried.

    The launch “symbolises his birthday and his struggle,” he said.

    Kuti’s family has been seeking to promote the afrobeat musician’s legacy more than 15 years after he died aged 58 from an HIV-related illness.

    A recent Broadway musical about his life that drew rave reviews has also raised his stature internationally.

    Kuti’s outsized personality and social activism made him a hero to many while he was still alive, and his funeral in the giant economic capital of Lagos drew massive crowds into the streets.

    The saxophone player was a harsh critic of Nigeria’s corrupt elite, lashing out in songs like “Coffin for Head of State,” “International Thief Thief” and “Zombie,” but with irresistible grooves that combined jazz, traditional music and other sounds.

    His songs repeatedly landed him in trouble with the authorities, including arrests and the burning, allegedly by soldiers, of his compound, which he had christened the Kalakuta Republic and declared independent.

    His original Shrine club where he regularly performed was shut after his death, but his family later opened the New Afrika Shrine at another location. Femi Kuti and his half-brother Seun regularly perform at the club.

    Kuti was also known for marrying 27 women on the same day, most of them his dancers, and had a well-documented love of marijuana.

    One of his wives at Monday’s launch, Olaide, was moved by being back at the house.

    “This house — it’s a lot of memories,” she said. “I spent almost 30 years with Fela. I love what Fela’s children are doing.”

  • Ethiopia back as Cape Verde stun Lions

    Cape Verde Islands secured a place at the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time Sunday and former champions Ethiopia are back in the big time after a 30-year absence.

    The much-hyped return of striker and captain Samuel Eto’o helped four-time champions Cameroon to a 2-1 home win over Cape Verde, but a 3-2 aggregate loss means a second consecutive failure to reach the African football showcase.

    Alula Girma and Saladin Seid scored within three minutes during the second half in Addis Ababa to earn Ethiopia a 2-0 victory over Sudan and a ticket to South Africa next January on away goals after a 5-5 aggregate deadlock.

    An early Antonio Pereira goal was just what Cape Verde needed to settle the nerves in the intimidating cauldron of a packed 60,000-seat Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium in Yaounde.

    Achille Emana levelled soon after and there was relentless Indomitable Lions second-half pressure, including an Eto’o attempt that rebounded off the woodwork, but all they had to show for it was a late Fabrice Olinga goal.

    Eto’o was back after a year of international inactivity due to an eight-month ban imposed by the national football federation for instigating a bonus-related boycott of a friendly in Algeria.

    He also refused to turn up for the first leg in Cape Verde last month, labelling the national squad “amateurish and badly managed”, and his absence contributed to the worst day in Cameroonian football.

    Portuguese-speaking Cape Verde is an archipelago off the coast of Senegal with a population of just 500,000, and the national squad consists mainly of footballers at unfashionable European clubs.

    The qualification of the Ethiopian Black Lions confirmed a recent upsurge of fortunes that has seen them lead a 2014 World Cup qualifying group after holding South Africa away and defeating Central African Republic at home.

    They also won on away goals against Benin in the first elimination round for the 2013 Cup of Nations and now return to a tournament they won for the only time 50 years ago.

    Sudan won a goal-flush first encounter 5-3 thanks to a late Mohamed Al Tahir brace and were barely troubled during the opening half at the national stadium in the heart of the Ethiopian capital.

    As the hour mark passed without a goal it was looking good for the visitors, and then Girma and Egypt-based Seid turned the match on its head to the delight of a sell-out 30,000 crowd.

    Alain Traore struck five minutes into stoppage time to give Burkina Faso a 3-1 home win over giant-killers Central African Republic, who took a one-goal lead into the tie having stunned seven-time champions Egypt in the last round.

    Former Manchester United signing Manucho Goncalves scored twice in the early minutes in Luanda to secure a 2-0 win for Angola over Zimbabwe, overall victory on away goals after a 3-3 tie, and a fifth consective Africa Cup appearance.

    Niger left it much later to upset Guinea 2-0 and squeeze through on aggregate after a solitary-goal first leg loss with Mohammed Chikoto and Issoufou Garba netting in the closing stages.

    Emmanuel Adebayor of Tottenham was on target for Togo in a 2-1 win over 2012 co-hosts Gabon, who were held at home in the first leg. Wome Dove was the other Togolese marksman and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang grabbed a late consolation goal.

    Equatorial Guinea halved a four-goal first-leg deficit against the Democratic Republic of Congo after 35 minutes in Malabo, but Youssouf Mulumbu reduced the arrears before half-time and the home team had to settle for a hollow 2-1 win.

    Any hope Libya had of overhauling a one-goal loss first time out against Algeria did not last long in Blida with El Arbi Hilal Soudani and Islam Slimani scoring within seven minutes and the home side cruised to a 2-0 victory.

    An October 24 draw in Indian Ocean city Durban will divide the 15 survivors plus South Africa — automatic qualifiers as hosts — into four groups for the January 19-February 10 flagship tournament.