News Update

The Board of Directors of the Olympic Refugee Foundation held its annual meeting for the year 2024 in Doha, in the presence of His Excellency (HE) Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee and member of the Foundation's Board of Directors. The meeting was chaired by Thomas Bach, President of the ORF and President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and attended by Mr Filippo Grande, Vice-President of the ORF and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and members of the…

China emerged victorious against a revamped women's recurve team from South Korea at the inaugural stage of the Archery World Cup in Shanghai. Second-seeded athletes An Qixuan, Li Jiaman, and Yang Xiaolei capitalised on robust crowd support to secure a 6-2 victory over the top-seeded trio. In the individual semifinals, Jiaman faced a defeat against top qualifier Lim Sihyeon in a shoot-off. However, the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Champion bounced back to claim bronze by defeating Lim's teammate Nam Suhyeon,…

The 2024 edition of the World Taekwondo President's Cup - Europe was held in Tallinn, Estonia on 26-28 April. The adult division had some star names among the participants. The men's -80kg division featured two Olympic medallists - Tokyo 2020 runner-up Saleh Al-Sharabaty from Jordan and Seif Eissa from Egypt. Both reached the final in Tallinn and Al-Sharabaty won the contest to take gold. 2022 World Champion Carlos Sansores won the gold medal in the men's +87kg category, while 2023 European Games runner-up Jack…

In a joint statement, the US and Mexican football federations announced their decision to withdraw their 2027 bid in order to pursue a successful bid for the 2031 tournament. With just over two weeks to go before FIFA officials gather in Bangkok on 17 May for the world governing body's Congress to decide who will host the 2027 tournament, Mexico and the United States have withdrawn their bids to host women's football's premier event. The withdrawal of the USA and Mexico leaves two rival bids in the running for the…

Denmark has been selected to host the 2025 European Badminton Championships and the 2026 Thomas & Uber Cup. Forum Horsens has been confirmed as the venue for these prestigious events following a recent meeting of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in China. Horsens, a city known for its large-scale concerts and cultural festivities in the past, is poised to host these badminton championships for the very first time. The choice brings elite badminton competition to Danish territory, where the finest players from…

A French ecological association has refused to carry the Olympic torch because of the presence of official sponsor Coca-Cola, whose cans are among the "most collected" rubbish when cleaning the coastline, it was announced on Monday. "We are not going to carry a torch paid for by those who make us bend down" to collect rubbish, Éric Akopian, founder of the 'Clean my Calanques' association based in Marseille, told AFP. The Olympic flame will arrive in the southeastern French Mediterranean city on 8 May aboard the sailboat…

Indonesia were beaten 2-0 by Uzbekistan in the semi-finals of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup, setting up a showdown with Iraq, who were beaten by Japan to secure an eighth place at the Olympics. Indonesia's U-23 football team failed to reach the final of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup, losing 2-0 to Uzbekistan, but they remain in the hunt for a place at Paris 2024. They must now earn their place at Paris 2024 by taking on Iraq next Thursday. Should they lose, they still have a chance of reaching the French capital by beating Guinea in…

Russia topped the medals table at the EUBC Elite European Boxing Championships with 11 gold medals, but at least one of them remained under the shadow of suspicion. Tarkhan Idigov denied two-time World and European silver medallist Lasha Guruli of Georgia another continental title by winning the men's 67kg final in a refereeing decision that caused a worldwide scandal. Lasha Guruli, 27, an Olympic qualifier for the Paris Games, stopped the fight before the second round in protest at unfair refereeing. The Georgian…

Real Madrid's Vinícius Júnior scored twice, including an 83rd minute penalty, to snatch a 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich in an entertaining Champions League semifinal, first leg on Tuesday, leaving the tie wide open. The Brazil international struck against the run of play when he slotted in to give the visitors the lead from Toni Kroos' defence-splitting pass after 24 minutes. READ ALSO: Fulham fined £75,000 over Carvalho rule breach Bayern struck twice in four minutes early in the second half to turn the game around,…

Fulham have been fined £75,000 by the Premier League and given a suspended six-month ban "from registering any academy players currently or previously registered with another club". The punishment, external relates to a payment made by the Cottagers to Balham Blazers FC following Fabio Carvalho's move to Liverpool. Attacking midfielder Carvalho joined Fulham's academy from Balham Blazers in December 2014. READ ALSO: PSG make transfer decision on Man Utd’s Marcus… The Premier League said, external Fulham…

Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will miss Euro 2024 following a knee ligament injury despite a potential return for Real Madrid. Courtois, 31, has missed the entire season and needed another operation on his knee in March when he had a setback. He might return for Real Madrid before the end of the campaign but Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco has ruled him out of Euro 2024 selection. READ ALSO: Man Utd star on the run Courtois, who has 102 caps for Belgium, said in December, external he would not recover fully…

Two top clubs are monitoring the situation of Arsenal youngster Charlie Patino. The 20-year-old is eager to move on from North London at the end of this season. READ ALSO: Osimhen named in Serie A Team of the Week  The midfielder has spent over two years trying to get more first team game time. Per Calciomercato, Juventus and Roma are interested in bringing him to the Italian Serie A. Patino has been at Swansea this season, last starting a game in January for the Championship club.

Borussia Dortmund are eyeing Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk. With less than 18 months to run on his contract, Van Dijk has so far resisted Liverpool's efforts to open new contract talks. The Mirror says Borussia Dortmund are among those interested in the Dutchman. Clubs from Spain, Turkey, England and the Netherlands are also said to be keen. READ ALSO: Osimhen named in Serie A Team of the Week  Arne Slot himself now wants to push ahead with an extension with Van Dijk. The captain's future is the top priority…

Man United star Sofyan Amrabat will return to his parent club Fiorentina at the end of the season and will search for a new club away from the Serie A side. The midfielder joined United on loan for the season last summer but the move has not worked out for both parties. The Morocco star has barely featured for the Manchester club in 2024 and they have decided to not make his loan move a permanent one. Amrabat was signed off the back of a very impressive campaign at the 2022 World Cup with Morocco but that player has…

Paris Saint-Germain have reached a decision on a potential Marcus Rashford pursuit as they attempt to find a replacement for Kylian Mbappe.PSG are reported by inews to have "cooled" their interest in Rashford and are expected to actively pursue other targets instead during this summer's transfer window. The French champions are looking at "three or four" strikers to replace Kylian Mbappe, including Victor Osimhen, but Rashford is not believed to be among them, despite attempts to sign him last year.An earlier report…

Super Eagles star striker Victor Osimhen has been named in Whoscored.com's Serie A gameweek 34 team of the week having starred in Napoli's 2-2 draw with Roma at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday. The 25-year-old scored from the penalty spot in the 84th minute but that wasn't enough to secure the maximum points as Tammy Abraham restored parity four minutes later. Besides his goal, the Nigeria international was a thorn in the flesh of the Yellow and Reds, attempting more shots than the away side and could have…

Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi's Leicester City secured the Championship title on Monday night following a 3-0 rout of Preston North End at Deepdale.  City legend Jamie Vardy scored a goal in each half and Academy graduate Kasey McAteer added the third as the Foxes won for the 31st time in this season's Championship With one game left to be played by the Foxes, they have an unassailable seven-point lead at the top of the table. After earning promotion and winning the title, Leicester City's next target is…

Tottenham Hotspur are persistently engaging in dialogue with representatives of Fulham's Nigerian defender, Tosin Adarabioyo, as they strive to secure a summer transfer. The 26-year-old center-back has declined multiple contract extension offers from Fulham, indicating his intention to depart the club upon the expiration of his current deal at the end of June. More recently, West Ham United have also entered the fray, joining the competition for the highly sought-after defender. READ ALSO: Liverpool expect Salah to…

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has not discussed the contract details of the appointment of former Super Eagles winger, Finidi George before he was announced as the substantive as Super Eagles Coach. Finidi George who led Super Eagles to two international friendly matches after the former Coach, Jose Peseiro left was announced on Monday afternoon as the replacement for Jose Peseiro and to resume duty with immediate effect. With this, the Enyimba FC coach becomes Nigeria's 41st Super Eagles Coach and will be on…

South African footballer, Percy Tau, is set to become the highest-earning player on the African continent when he pens a new contract with Egyptian giants, Al Ahly. The Bafana Bafana star has become a key member of the Egyptian club since arriving in Cairo in 2021, playing a pivotal role in their CAF Champions League success in 2023. Tau’s proposed new three-year contract could see him pocket $5 million over the next three seasons, which is made up of yearly salaries of $1.2mil. The former Mamelodi Sundowns forward will…