The Olympic Torch is lit and the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics is 99 days away.
The countdown clock in Paris hit the 99-day mark Tuesday. That came on the same day the torch was lit at the birthplace of the sporting competition in Ancient Olympia, Greece.
A relay of torchbearers will carry the flame along a 5,000-kilometer (3,100-mile) route through Greece until handing it over to the Paris Games organizers in Athens on April 26.
The French capital is due to see a wildly ambitious waterborne celebration on the Seine River on July 26 to officially open the Games.
But President Emmanuel Macron has been among the officials to admit the plans for the ceremony could be adjusted due to security concerns.
By promising socially positive and also less polluting and less wasteful Olympics, the city synonymous with romance is also setting itself the high bar of making future Games generally more desirable.
Critics question their value for a world grappling with climate warming and other emergencies. Potential host cities became so Games-averse that Paris and Los Angeles were the only remaining candidates in 2017 when the International Olympic Committee selected them for 2024 and 2028, respectively.
After scandals and the $13 billion cost of the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021, unfulfilled promises of beneficial change for host Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi tarnished by Russian doping and President Vladimir Putin’s subsequent land grabs in Ukraine, the Switzerland-based IOC has mountains of skepticism to dispel.
Virtuous Summer Games in Paris could help the long-term survival of the IOC’s mega-event.
At close to 9 billion euros ($9.7 billion), more than half from sponsors, ticket sales and other non-public funding, Paris’ expenses so far are less than for the last three Summer Games in Tokyo, Rio and London in 2012.
Including policing and transport costs, the portion of the bill for French taxpayers is likely to be around 3 billion euros ($3.25 billon), France’s body for auditing public funds said in its most recent study in July.
Security remains a challenge for the city repeatedly hit by deadly extremist violence. The government downsized ambitions to have 600,000 people lining the River Seine for the opening ceremony. Citing the risk of attacks, it shelved a promise that anyone could apply for hundreds of thousands of free tickets. Instead, the 326,000 spectators will either be paying ticket-holders or have been invited.
Hosts Morocco produced a scintillating performance to beat Zambia 13-0 in front of a sold Prince Moulay Abdellah Hall while Angola cruised past Ghana 11-3 at the Salle IBN Yassine on Monday night.
The flawless Atlas Lions finished as Group A winners with 9 points to book a place in the semifinals of the TotalEnergies CAF Futsal AFCON.
The Sable Antelopes of Angola finished second with 6 points three more than Zambia in third and Ghana without a point sit at the bottom of the table.
Hicham Dguig’s ruthless side made their intentions known early when captain Soufiane El Mesrar broke the deadlock just two minutes into the one sided match.
Idriss Raiss El Fenni doubled the two time champions advantage before three more goals in the space of three minutes from Ismail Amazal and Soufian Charraoui’s brace made it 5-0.
Zambia’s Prince Lungu saw his effort blocked by the keeper before Bilal Bakkali crashed the Chipolopolo post with a fierce drill from distance.
Idriss Fenni doubled his tally and Morocco’s sixth of the match before the impressive Anas El Ayyane hit a quick brace to make it 8-0 going into the break.
The hosts returned from the break with more purpose and zeal to score more goals and stamp their authority on the game.
Bilal Bakkali latched on to a clever Khalid Bouzid back heel pass to increase the lead before Otmane Boumezou fired his effort through the legs of the keeper to hit double digits.
Backed by their home fans Morocco added more salt to Zambia’s injury with goals from Anas Dahani’s back heel, an own goal by Jackson Simwami and Youssef Jouad’s strike at the stroke of full time completed the hammering.
The Atlas Lions will face the runners-up of Group B in the semifinals on Friday, 19 April at 19:00 GMT while Angola have a date with the winner of Group B on the same day at 16:00 GMT at the magnificent Prince Moulay Abdellah Hall.
Fulham’s Calvin Bassey (left) and West Ham United’s Edson Alvarez battle for the ball during the Premier League match at the London Stadium, London. Picture date: Sunday April 14, 2024.
There were some standout performances from African players on matchday 33 in the Premier League as Alex Iwobi got two assists for Fulham, while Frank Onyeka scored his first goal in a Brentford shirt.
Goalkeeper:
Andre Onana (Manchester United) – The Cameroon international had a decent performance against Bournemouth on Saturday and wasn’t at fault for either of the two goals in the 2-2 draw at the Vitality Stadium. Onana made three saves, the most crucial of which came just before half-time when he instinctively denied an unmarked Justin Kluivert with the Cherries 2-1 up at the time.
Defenders:
Calvin Bassey (Fulham) – The Nigeria international didn’t really put a foot wrong in the 2-0 win over West Ham at the London Stadium on Sunday as he helped marshal a defence that kept their first clean sheet in four matches. Bassey managed 75 touches throughout the game and made four tackles, although Vladimir Coufal was able to get past him inside the box early on, only to see Michail Antonio blaze over on the rebound.
Nayef Aguerd (West Ham) – The Morocco international was recalled to the starting line-up for the first time in five games and looked assured for the most part, having done just enough to put Rodrigo Muniz off in an aerial challenge from a corner in the first half. Aguerd had the third-most touches on the ball for West Ham with 87 and made three tackles.
Ola Aina (Nottingham Forest) – The Nigeria international looks to have made a full recovery from the injury he picked up at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after being handed his fourth consecutive start in the 2-2 draw with Wolves at the City Ground on Saturday. Aina was heavily involved in Nottingham Forest’s build-up play down the left flank, getting 68 touches on the ball, while making two tackles.
Midfielders:
Mohammed Kudus (West Ham) – The Ghana international was one of West Ham’s better performers against Fulham and came close to breaking the deadlock when he curled a shot narrowly wide of the left post from the edge of the box on the right early in the first half. It was one of four attempts on goal from Kudus – more than any other Hammers player – although he failed to hit the target on each occasion.
Alex Iwobi (Fulham) – The Nigeria international played a starring role in the 2-0 win over West Ham and had a hand in both goals. Iwobi’s searching ball into the box wasn’t dealt with by Konstantinos Mavropanos, who gifted possession back to Andreas Pereira to score the opener and the duo combined again for the Brazilian’s second goal following a pin-point pass from the Nigerian, which saw him register his first two assists of the season.
Pape Sarr (Tottenham) – The Senegal international was introduced from the bench on 57 minutes with Tottenham trailing 3-0 to Newcastle at St James’ Park on Saturday and he did a good job of shoring up the midfield after the hosts had exploited gaping holes in the middle of the park prior to that. Sarr managed 41 touches on the ball and completed 33 passes, almost identical figures to Rodrigo Bentancur, whom he replaced and played 12 less minutes.
Yasser Larouci (Sheffield United) – The Algeria international made only his sixth start of the season as he replaced the injured Jack Robinson for the 2-0 defeat to Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday. Larouci got involved in the action early on when he had a shot deflected behind for a corner and he created a chance for Ben Brereton following a powerful run down the left flank. The 23-year-old midfielder was substituted on 57 minutes as Blades manager Chris Wilder opted for fresher legs.
Forwards:
Simon Adingra (Brighton) – The Ivory Coast international produced another lively display in the 1-1 draw with Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday, hitting the target with three of his four shots on goal. Adingra managed 43 touches on the ball as most of Brighton’s play was focused on the opposite flank, although he still got himself involved in the game.
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) – Not one of the Egypt international’s better performances against Crystal Palace, although he still had an opportunity to equalise late on, only to be denied by a goal-line block from Tyrick Mitchell. Salah failed to hit the target with his only other shot and got 46 touches on the ball, more than the other attackers for Liverpool.
Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford) – The Cameroon international made just his second start since returning from an ankle injury that ruled him out of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. Mbeumo released Neal Maupay through on goal with a lovely pass in the first half, only for the Frenchman to miss the target and he set up Mikkel Damsgaard to score on volley from his free-kick, although the goal was ruled out for a block on Oli McBurnie inside the box.
Roma defender Evan Ndicka has been discharged from hospital after collapsing during his side’s Serie A match at Udinese on Sunday.
Roma said the 24-year-old Ivory Coast international had suffered chest pains on the pitch but hospital tests showed he did not suffer a heart attack.
“The player has been discharged and will carry out further checks in Rome,” the club said.
Roma also sent their thanks to Udinese, the referee and the hospital.
“AS Roma would like to thank Udinese and the referee Luca Pairetto for their great professionalism and the medical and healthcare staff of the Santa Maria della Misericordia hospital in Udine.
“All together, in those apprehensive minutes, we demonstrated the values of sport and put the protection of life first.”
The Serie A game was abandoned after Ndicka collapsed in the 72nd minute and was taken off on a stretcher.
He appeared to be conscious as he left the pitch, with the score at 1-1, and the remainder of the match is set to be played at a later date.
Roma posted a photo of him in hospital on Sunday night, saying he “feels better” and that his team-mates had visited.
After Ndicka’s collapse, Roma’s medical staff and emergency services were called on to the pitch and after discussions with the referee, the match was abandoned.
Ndicka joined Roma on a free transfer from Eintracht Frankfurt in 2023 and has made 19 appearances for the Italian club.
Roberto Pereyra had given Udinese an early lead before striker Romelu Lukaku equalised for Roma on Sunday.
The Mourabitones of Mauritania marked their first ever TotalEnergies CAF Futsal AFCON match with a scintillating 5-4 victory over Namibia in Group B.
The two newcomers put up a show at the magnificent Prince Moulay Abdellah Hall on Friday night at the ongoing seventh edition of the tournament.
The west Africans had a nervous finish to the match as Namibia staged a late fight back to score four goals in the second half.
Abdallah Selami’s team got off to a great start when captain Abderhemane Bouhoumadi headed in the opener from close range.
The goal rattled the Brave 5 of Namibia and it allowed Mauritania to move forward and create more chances.
Dioncounda Sow saw his efforts agonizingly missed the target on three occasions.
The Torcy Futsal ace forced a smart one hand save from Usurua Riya with just six minutes on the clock before hitting the woodwork and firing over the goal.
Yakhouba Sylla scored twice in a minute to extend Mauritania’s advantage and send their fans into wild celebrations.
The France based star who was named the Man of the Match scored his first with cool finish from close range after his initial effort was blocked by the goalkeeper.
Sylla made it 3-0 right after the restart when he arrived late at the back post to slot in Dioncounda Sow’s low cross seven minutes before halftime.
Moudery Drame scored with a lowe drive on 18 minutes to hand Mauritania a comfortable 4-0 halftime advantage.
M’hamed M’hamed turned home captain Abderhemane Bouhoumadi’s cross to score the Mourabitones’ fifth of the night.
The Brave 5 pulled a goal back courtesy of captain Ken Salote’s fierce drive from distance to beat Imam Saff in the Mauritania goal.
Remario Mathys slotted in the second for Ryan Jawo’s team ten minutes from time. The diminutive star wriggled away from his marker before hammering his effort past Imam.
The Namibians continued to pile more pressure on Mauritania who locked nervous in defense and were forced to concede two more goals from George Haikali and Ken Salote.
Jago’s team came close to scoring a fifth and force a draw but Clive Willemse’s effort canoed off the post in the last minute of the brushing match.
The Mourabitones held on to win it 5-4 and join Egypt who earlier beat Libya 4-0 with three points
The Pharaohs of Egypt beat Libya 4-0 in the opening fixture of Group B in the ongoing TotalEnergies CAF Futsal AFCON in Rabat, Morocco.
The winners of the first three editions of the quadrennial competition showed their dominance against the Mediterranean Knights at the Salle Prince Moulay Abdellah on Friday evening.
Mohamed Abdelrazek Koki scored twice and a goal each for Alaa Eissa and Mohamed Mohamed Careca handed Egypt the perfect start to the tournament.
The three-time champions started brightly at the Prince Moulay Abdellah with Essam Ramadan and Khaled Abdelhalim pulling the strings for Gehad Arafa’s side.
Ramadan who plys his trade in the Saudi championship with El Nasr warmed the hands of the Ziyad Azeez in the Libyan goal with a fierce toe-poked effort inside sixty seconds of the highly charged first half.
Khaled Abdelhalim hit the side netting of Ziyad Azeez’s goal with a first time smart effort as the Pharaohs dominated possession and the chances.
The Mediterranean Knights weathered the early Egyptian storm and came close to breaking the deadlock through Mohamed Said.
The 29-year-old latched on to a through pass in the heart of the Egypt defence rounding the onrushing keeper before seeing his composed effort cleared off the line by Alaa Eissa.
Mohamed Mohamed was denied a goal by the Libyan keeper Ziyad with eight minutes on the clock. The confident Ziyad Azeez made himself big in front of Mohamed who fired straight at him.
The competition’s most successful side broke the deadlock midway through the first period courtesy of Mohamed Abdelrazek Koki’s close range effort. The Eleelameen ace made no mistake from just outside the area with a poachers toe-poke goal to give Gehad Arafa’s charges the lead.
Abdulhakim Rashid should have drawn Libya level after 15 minutes when a slick interchange of passes in the Pharaohs half set him free but he failed to hit the target.
Koki doubled his tally on the stroke of half time with a cool finish to beat the helpless Azeez and tightened Egypt’s grip on the game.
The second half saw a more spirited Libyan side who tried to find a way back into the game but couldn’t beat Gamal Badawy in goal for Arafa’s team.
Mohamed Said Careca made it 3-0 on 29 minutes from Essam Ramadan’s assist. Ramadan won possession in the Libyan half before playing in Careca who stylishly side-footed his effort into the far corner.
Alaa Eissa completed the rout with an audacious chip from his half to beat Ziyad who was off his line.
Ghana international Mohammed Kudus has named former Nigeria superstar Augustine “Jay-Jay” Okocha as the greatest African to have played football.
Okocha won the hearts of many during his playing days with his style and flair. The ex-Super Eagles star also chalked many successes including winning back-to-back BBC African Footballer of the Year in 2004 and 2005.
The 50-year-old won the Nigerian Footballer of the Year on seven occasions and though he never won the CAF African Player of the Year award, he was part of the top three thrice (1998, 2003 and 2004).
In an interview with Sky Sports, Kudus spoke highly of Okocha, highlighting the long-term influence of his creative talent and ability to entertain audiences.
“I will say [Jay-Jay] Okocha,” the West Ham United midfielder said when quizzed about who he thinks is the greatest African player ever.
“I will say explaining from my lens how I see creative players and trying to entertain the game. That can never be washed away. The fans can never forget the experience and the entertainment you give them on the pitch.
“I know now goals and assists are important but I like creative players and players that like to entertain the fans. I like to do something that is different from what everyone is doing.”
Kudus has become a fan favourite at the London Stadium despite only arriving last summer from Ajax.
The Ghanaian has racked up 12 goals and 4 assists across all competitions for the Hammers.
Black Stars and AS Monaco defender, Mohammed Salisu, provided support to orphans and the needy in Kumasi over the Eid period as goodwill to many in the Ramadan Islamic season.
The Ramadan season is a time of fasting and prayer with community involvement across the world for many Muslims in the ninth month of the Islamic Calendar.
Salisu has taken it upon herself to contribute to society in this Islamic season, particularly in Kumasi, and has donated money and foodstuff to the Malama Sadia Abdulai foundation to feed over 500 orphans.
Salisu also partnered with Hajia Sadia Asuame to feed over 300 poor and needy people in Kumasi, with the sick also granted medical attention.
The Monaco defender began his footballing career with Kumasi Barcelona Babies in Ghana and burst onto the scenes of Europe in 2017 with Real Valladolid in Spain, and he has gone on to make a strong case for himself with impressive performances including a three-year stint in England with Southampton.
However, Salisu now finds himself in France, and although he is yet to launch his own foundation which will be geared towards improving and contributing to society across many ways, his decision to help others in this Ramadan season is a stepping stone to attaining the goal he pursues.
University of South Florida sprinter Saminu Abdul Rasheed has set his sights on Olympic qualification after recording a season-leading time in Division I NCAA.
On Friday, April 5, 2024, Abdul Rasheed ran a program record of 9.95 seconds in the men’s 100m dash at the South Florida Invitational in Tampa.
Forty-five minutes later, Saminu recorded a time of 20.34 seconds, the fifth-fastest Division I NCAA time in the 200m this season.
Saminu who represented Ghana at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England said he was looking forward to qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
‘‘It means a lot. It is going to be like a dream come true. I will be happy to represent my country. The village is looking up to me and I am looking forward to it too.’’
Despite his time, he is yet to qualify for the Olympic Games since his performance was wind-aided (+3.6). The Olympic Games threshold for wind-assisted performances is +2.0.
Before the Olympics however, Abdul Rasheed’s focus is on the four regular season meets, AAC Outdoor Championships, and NCAA Regionals.
‘‘There is no doubt that we have a good team coming on this season. So everybody is trying to get ready for our team. The boys are not playing (around) this season so…’’ he concluded.
World Athletics has announced it will become the first international federation to award prize money at the Olympic Games.
The global governing body said a total prize pot of $2.4m (£1.9m) has been made available for this summer’s Olympics in Paris, with gold medallists receiving $50,000 (£39,400).
This will be extended to silver and bronze medallists at Los Angeles 2028.
World Athletics president Lord Coe called the decision a “pivotal moment”.
He told BBC Sport the organisation wanted to create a “stable financial landscape” for athletes.
There will be 48 athletics events in Paris, with relay gold medallists to share their prize money among the team.
The prize money will not apply at the Paralympics, which takes place from 28 August to 8 September, as Para-athletics is governed by World Para Athletics.
“The introduction of prize money for Olympic gold medallists is a pivotal moment for World Athletics and the sport of athletics as a whole, underscoring our commitment to empowering the athletes and recognising the critical role they play in the success of any Olympic Games,” Coe said.
“While it is impossible to put a marketable value on winning an Olympic medal, or on the commitment and focus it takes to even represent your country at an Olympic Games, I think it is important we start somewhere and make sure some of the revenues generated by our athletes at the Olympic Games are directly returned to those who make the Games the global spectacle that it is.”
Greg Rutherford, who won gold in the long jump at London 2012, said: “This is a brilliant step in the right direction and I take my hat off to Seb Coe and the rest of the World Athletics staff for initiating this improvement.”
The former British athlete said the view that Olympic sports are still amateur “couldn’t be further from the truth”.
Asked if prize money went against the Olympic spirit, Coe replied: “I don’t see that making life a little easier for the athletes, allowing them maybe to stay on in the sport a little bit longer, to give them the financial independence to train, and maybe in a more sophisticated way is anything other than sitting behind good firm Olympic principles.”
World Athletics said the format and structure of prize money for the 2028 Games will be announced nearer the time.
It added that the payment of prize money will depend on athletes “undergoing and clearing the usual anti-doping procedures”.
Given the Olympics’ origins as an amateur sports event, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not award prize money but distributes funding through international federations (IF) and national Olympic committees (NOC).
Some national Olympic committees offer financial rewards to their medallists, though the British Olympic Association does not.
The IOC said: “It is up to each IF and NOC to determine how to best serve their athletes and the global development of their sport.”
‘Athletics has not been a rich sport’
Dame Denise Lewis, won gold in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics for Great Britain, said the announcement is “really positive”, but added athletics “has not been a rich sport”.
“This is nothing to do with ‘the Olympics is supposed to be about valour, about honour and representation of your country’, this is absolutely a gesture from World Athletics to its athletes,” Lewis told BBC 5 Live Drive.
“The Olympics earns billions – as we know, for a lot of people, but the athletes don’t always get that in track and field.”
Lewis, who also took heptathlon bronze at the Atlanta Games in 1996, said prize money would not devalue the achievement of reaching an Olympics, rather it would offer athletes a possible incentive to continue competing.
“And to just give them a little bit of assistance going forward,” she added.
Rutherford, who was also an Olympic bronze medallist in Rio in 2016, said he hopes other sports can adopt the same approach as World Athletics.
“Athletes from around the world sacrifice so much to achieve the most difficult accolade in sport, becoming Olympic champion – standing at the top of the podium and hearing your national anthem is one of the greatest feelings you can have,” he said.
“But, the scrutiny that the athletes are constantly under – along with the comparisons to other sporting success stories – always fail to mention the lack of financial support given.”
The 2015 long jump world champion added: “I really hope the athletes across all sports will now finally be supported by the multi-billion dollar IOC and their efforts, not just by individual sports, for the long-term health of the Olympic movement.
“We do this for the love of the sport, but it is also our livelihood.”
Swedish Olympic pole vault champion Armand Duplantis said World Athletics’ move was a “step in the right direction”.
Meanwhile, Norwegian Olympic 400m hurdle champion Karsten Warholm said the prize money did not change his motivation to win an Olympic gold medal, but he agreed it was the “right direction” for building a professional sport.
However, Jonathan Edwards, GB gold medallist at Sydney 2000 and still the men’s triple jump world record holder, said the decision was “a little bit odd”.
“It’s not [World Athletics’] event, it’s the Olympics. It feels like a bit of an undercut to the IOC, who have been very strict around saying ‘we’re not going to have prize money'”, said the 57-year-old.
“Athletes who win at the Olympic Games already get rewards.”
