BUDAPEST 2019

The official sports programme for the World Urban Games Budapest 2019 has been unveiled, with one month to go until the inaugural event.

One of the aims of the World Urban Games is to take urban sports to a new dimension and inspire a new generation of athletes around the world by creating a complete festival of urban culture, dance, music and sport.

Reports says that the Games, which will take place from 12-15 September at the Nagyvásártelep (Market Hall) in the south of Budapest is powered by GAISF, and features competitions to showcase sports.

A BIG MISS FOR SOUTH AFRICA

Caster Semenya would be a “big miss” for South Africa because she has been one of the country’s “key medal favorites” ,the South African athlete will not be able to defend her 800-meters title at the world championships in September after the Swiss Federal Tribunal reversed a ruling that temporarily lifted testosterone regulations imposed on her.

According to reports the Double Olympic champion who lost her case against the athletics' governing body in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on May 1, 2019,over her testosterone levels also came out to say that she has not felt supported by other women in sports during a women’s conference in Johannesburg where she was the headline speaker.

However Semenya is appealing the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) ruling that supported regulations introduced by the sport’s governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF),which say that XY chromosome athletes with differences in sexual development (DSDs) can race in distances from 400m to a mile only if they take medication to reach a reduced testosterone level.

Despite the IAAF receiving support from some current and former athletes, the decision to reduce testosterone levels in women’s athletics has also attracted criticism from human rights organizations.

Sadly recurring scepticism surrounding her femininity keeps clashing with her enviable athleticism. 

TOP 5s!

EPL Top 5 out of 100: Ranking of Premier League's Best Players After Match-day 3.

Top 5 Goalkeepers

No1. David De Gea (Manchester United)
No2. Ederson (Manchester City)
No3. Nick Pope (Burnley)
No4. Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea City)
No5. Jordan Pickford (Everton)

Top 5 Right-Backs/Right Wing-Backs

No1. Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
No2. Victor Moses (Chelsea)
No3. Matthew Lowton (Burnley)
No4. Antonio Valencia (Manchester United)
No5. Hector Bellerin (Arsenal)

Top 5 Left-Backs/Left Wing-Backs

No1. Andy Robertson (Liverpool)
No2. Fabian Delph (Manchester City)
No3. Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur)
No4. Marcos Alonso (Chelsea)
No5. Ashley Young (Manchester United)

Top 5 Centre-Backs

No1. Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur)
No2. Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
No3. Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City)
No4. Ben Mee (Burnley)
No5. James Tarkowski (Burnley)

Top 5 Defensive Midfielders/Central Midfielders

No1.David Silva (Manchester City)
No2.Fernandinho (Manchester City)
No3.N'Golo Kante (Chelsea)
No4.Nemanja Matic (Manchester United)
No5.Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal)

Top 5 Attacking Midfielders/Wingers

No1.Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
No2.Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
No3.Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
No4.Leroy Sane (Manchester City)
No5.Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur)

Top 5 Strikers

No1.Roberto Firmino (Liverpool)
No2.Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
No3.Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
No4.Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)
No5.Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)

Get Well Soon Sir!

Sir Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson is still in intensive care after undergoing an emergency surgery for a brain hemorrhage on Saturday.

According to reports the 76-year-old’s family have requested privacy as he recovers in a Salford Royal Hospital in the UK.

Goodwill messages However have continued to pour in
for Sir Alex who managed Manchester United from 1986 to 2013, and was the most successful manager in the history of the club.

Wenger's Out!

Arsene Wenger Wrapped up his stay at Arsenal as manager following a final home victory over Burnely.

According to reports Tributes were paid to the Frenchman throughout Sunday’s 5-0 thrashing of Burnley, starting with an appreciative guard of honor from both sets of players and ending with speeches and presentations on the pitch.

At the end of the day Arsenal awarded Wenger with the special trophy the club had been awarded with to commemorate their undefeated  “Invincible” title season of 2003-04.

Arsene Wenger

The last may not be heard of Arsene Wenger if reports emerging are anything to go by.

The soon to be Ex Arsenal coach is said to be in the fore for the chance to become the president of Paris Saint-Germain.

The Ligue 1 giants want the Frenchman to run the club with former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel, who is set to replace manager Unai Emery.

According to report PSG wants to tap into wenger's extensive knowledge of the game and its politics, as well as his unrivaled contacts book.

Wenger who announced his departure last week Friday was left with no choice but to stand down with the board deciding last two weeks that this would be his last season in charge.

Arsenal will pay Wenger £11 million in severance as a thank you for two decades at the club in which he won three Premier League titles and a record seven FA Cups.

HBD Great Josite!

Tributes have continued to pour in for super eagles captain, Mikel Obi on the occasion of his 31st birthday.

Mikel was born in Jos, North in Plateau state on April 22, 1987 and has represented the country at different youth levels (U-17, U-20 and U-23).

Mikel Obi was part of the team that won the Africa Nations Cup title in South Africa in 2013 and captained the U-23 side that won bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Kirby Wins!

Chelsea's Ladies striker Fran Kirby won the vote for the Professional Footballers' Association Women's Player of the Year.

She has scored 22 goals in all competitions so far this term and has been an Inspiration for the Chelsea
Ladies FC.

PFA Winner

Egyptian player Mohamed Salah has been voted the PFA Player of the Year for the 2017-18 season after a star performance at Liverpool.

Former Chelsea player Salah became the first person in Premier League history to claim three Player of the Month awards in the same season,winning it in November,February and March, and was the only member of Liverpool's squad to be named in the PFA Team of the Year.

Salah scored 41 goals in 46 appearances for his Anfield club.

Bayer Leverkusen vs Borusia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund will try to redeem a disappointing Bundesliga season with victory over fellow Champions League contenders Bayer Leverkusen today.

Dortmund,who will be without injured striker Michy Batshuayi, will face a Leverkusen side who are still nursing the wounds inflicted by Bayern Munich in a 6-2 loss at the German Cup semifinal.

Leverkusen are hungry for success and in third place with a slightly better goal difference than Dortmund.


Should Dortmund lose, then waiting in the wings for a shot at a top-four finish and a Champions League group stage spot next season are RB Leipzig in fifth on 47 ,they host sixth-placed Hoffenheim today.

Grigor's 1st Time!

For the first time Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov reached the Monte Carlo Masters semi-finals  with victory over David Goffin on Friday.

World number 5  Dimitrov now books a last four clash with defending champion and 10-time winner Rafael Nadal who produced a stunning performance to thrash Dominic Thiem and reached a record 14th Monte Carlo Masters Semi-final.

Dimitrov who has struggled on clay in the past and has never passed the French Open third round, wrapped up victory in the breaker on his second match point to claim one of the best wins of his career on clay.

Arsenal's Arsene bids..................................farewell!

Reports says Arsene Wenger will kiss his job good-bye at Arsenal at the end of the season.

Wenger who managed the club for 22-years will bid the gunners farewell a year before his latest contract  expires.  

The Gunners are sixth in the league and are set to miss out on a top-four spot for the second straight season, with their hopes of reaching the Champions League resting on winning the Europa League.

Arsene wenger was Appointed on 1 October 1996, he is the Premier League's current longest-serving manager and has taken charge of a record 823 games.

Bradley Banned!

Former Lincoln City defender Bradley Wood has been banned for six years and fined £3,275 pounds by an FA tribunal after being found guilty of match-fixing and betting offences.

The player was accused of getting himself booked on purpose in two FA Cup matches in January and February 2017 to influence a football betting market.

Woods was banned for five years for the match-fixing offences and a further year for 23 other charges of betting on the outcome of matches.

El clasico Confirmed!

La Liga has confirmed that the last El Clasico of the 2017-18 season will be played on Sunday, May 6th at the Camp Nou.

The last time the two teams met Barcelona beat Real Madrid 0-3 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

If the pains of the wounds inflicted by Blaugrana hasn't healed, then Los blancos will come to the match with ruthless vengeance.

Lions Vs Eagles!

Tickets for the June 2 friendly between the Three Lions of England and the Super Eagles slated for the Wembley Stadium are almost sold out. 

President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick who revealed
this added that from the interest shown by fans, the match promised to be exciting.

Nigeria is yet to beat England after two meetings,the best result for the Super Eagles against the Three Lions was a 0-0 draw in group D of the 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup.

5 years On! Get Well Soon Schumacher!

Reports says Micheal Schumacher’s family have issued a touching message about the seven-time Formula One champion, who has been in a coma since 2013. 

The message was relayed through his manager Sabine Kehm who according to reports said the family appreciates all the messages of support from fans around the world,however the message issued four years on from his tragic accident, did not include any updates about Schumacher's current condition.

Micheal Schumacher

Schumacher’s family seldom comment on his condition and his wife has previously said: “The decision to protect his privacy from the public has been taken in Michael's interest.

Michael Schumacher suffered a terrible head injury while skiing in the French Alps on December 29th 2013 and due to the extent of his injuries the record-breaking Formula One driver was put into a medically induced coma.

Schumacher was later brought out of coma in April 2014 but subsequently underwent two complex and life-saving operations after which he was moved to a hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland.

He was later moved to the family home near Lake Geneva in Switzerland, where a team of specialists provide around the clock care.

Schumacher’s wife, Corinna Betsch, has been silent about her husband’s condition along with son Mick, 19, and daughter Gina-Maria, 21.

NFF writes FIFA!

The Nigeria Football Federation is reported to have asked world soccer governing body, FIFA to release to it $2 million to pay the Super Eagles their qualification bonus ahead of the 2018 World Cup tournament in Russia. 

According to an online medium, NFF general secretary Mohammed Sanusi wrote a letter dated April 9 requesting for the fund, which is to be drawn from the money to be paid the country for qualifying for Russia 2018. 

Last year, the NFF and the Super Eagles reached an agreement as it concerns how much they should be paid for qualifying for the World Cup as well as their match bonuses at the various rounds of the global championship.

Meanwhile President of the Nigeria Football Federation Amaju Pinnick,(NFF), has said the Super Eagles stand the chance of pocketing $24 million if they play in the final of the 2018 World Cup.

Pinnick told newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday at a parley that the money was part of the agreement reached with the players to share 50-50 of whatever would accrue to the country if they get to the final and lift the trophy. 

According to the NFF boss adequate preparation including grade A friendly matches have been secured with England and Czech Republic to ensure the team does well at the World Cup. 

Pinnick further said that the glass house had already secured $2.8 million to pay the players allowances and bonuses during the mundial,adding that the football house met with some state governors who were ready to assist the NFF financially to achieve the country’s World Cup dream.

BUSTED!

Reports says The president of the DR Congo Football Association (Fecofa) Constant Omari has been taken into custody as part of a probe into embezzlement of $1m (800,000 euros) earmarked for four matches.

His detention was confirmed on Wednesday by an investigating magistrate.

Omari, who is also on the Fifa Council and a vice-president with the Confederation of African Football, is being held along with the sports ministry secretary-general and two Fecofa vice-presidents.

Banned!

Mexican professional middleweight boxer Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez has been banned for six months after failing two drugs tests earlier this year.

Alvarez's ban has been backdated, so he will be free to fight from 17 August.

The hearing panel voted to hand down a one-year ban, reduced to six months because Alvarez had cooperated with their investigation.

According to reports Alvarez's promoters said meat contamination had "impacted dozens of athletes in Mexico over the last years",Clenbuterol is used to treat asthma but can also help build lean muscle mass and burn off fat. It is sometimes illegally mixed into livestock feed to make meat leaner.

Alvarez who has won 49 and drawn two of his 52 fights had his only defeat in 2013. against Floyd Mayweather.

Aguero OUT!

Manchester City’s top scorer Sergio Aguero is unlikely to play again this season after undergoing a knee operation.

Aguero flew to Barcelona where he went under the knife to address a cartilage damage.

Man city coach Pep Guardiola who has cast doubt over Sergio's fitness will watch City’s season finish on May 13 away at Southampton.