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Beach Volleyball Ticket Excites Board Member

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A  board member of the Ni
geria Volleyball Federation (NVBF), Alhassan Yakmut, has hailed the national under-17 male and female beach volleyball teams for qualifying for the 2014 Youth Olympics Games (YOG).
Yakmut said in an interview with newsmen in Abuja that the qualification of both teams was an indication that the future of Nigerian volleyball lay in the youth.
Both teams qualified for the YOG after participating in the African qualifiers held in Ghana from April 10 to 13.
“That feat at the Youth Olympics beach volleyball qualifier is a confirmation of the fact that clearly the future of Nigerian volleyball in terms of performance on the court is in the youth.
“And no sooner than that statement and observation was made, the dividends are beginning to show, and I think that is just the beginning.
“I see much coming from their side and if we apply the same approach to the regular volleyball teams by laying emphasis on youth aspect of the game, no sooner than the next two years, we will be able to reap some very reasonable dividends in terms of performance.
“What I will be expecting is that we are not going there as green horns, it may be our debut at the YOG. We have been doing very well in beach volleyball at the African scene.
“So, my advice to my colleagues in the federation is that we should give the best support we can to the beach volleyball youth team, preparatory to the YOG in Nanjing, China.
“But, be that as it may, this will now become the sole responsibility of the National Sports Commission (NSC) to take over the responsibility of preparing the team.
Yakmut, who is also NSC’s Director of Grassroots Sports Development, added that both teams should be given adequate preparations to have a good outing at the YOG.
“What is required of Olympic preparations is that everything has to be in place.
“A very conducive camping environment, nutritionally balanced catering arrangement, high quality of equipment and good exposure to technical and coaching crew of high standard.
“These will be able to yield dividends up to the podium level in the YOG. Anything short of that will be very difficult.
“(This is because) the players have to be very fit, exposed to scientific preparation, good medical exposure, and fantastic welfare package for motivation and good psychological state of mind.
“All these are requirements for high performance in elite championships.’’
He, however, noted that although beach volleyball had been in Nigeria for a long time, poor followership and lack of sponsorship had been the bane of its development.
Yakmut, therefore, added that plans were on to come up with strategies to attract potential sponsors to the sport.
“We have debuted a very long time ago in beach volleyball but the challenge is that we don’t have the right followership and sponsorship.
“But the only thing is that most corporate outfits in Nigeria find it difficult to invest in an upcoming sport, they only end up clustering around the ones that have been made.
“But it is easier to identify with the developing sport in order to claim monopoly by the time the sport becomes well established,’’ the NVBF board member said.
With the qualification, Nigeria will join six other African countries to hoist Africa’s flags at the YOG.
The YOG is the youth edition of the Olympics Games with athletes’ age stipulated between 14 years and 18 years.
Beach volleyball which replaced indoor volleyball is one of the 28 events to be competed for at the YOG billed for China from August 16 to 28.

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Tottenham Fight Back To Hold Brighton

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Tottenham fought back from two-goals down to secure a deserved point against Brighton.

The Seagulls were second best for much of the match but found themselves 2-0 up after 31 minutes thanks to Yankuba Minteh’s early strike and Yasin Ayari’s powerful drive.

However, Richarlison halved the deficit just before half-time when he stopped a shot by Mohammed Kudus before slotting in.

Spurs dominated the second half but their finishing let them down as Richarlison and substitute Xavi Simons were both unable to make the most of promising opportunities.

But the equaliser came eight minutes from time when Jan Paul van Hecke turned Kudus’ cross into his own net.

Spurs then pushed for a winner as they looked to continue their impressive start to the season, but Brighton held on for the point.

Bundesliga: Kane Continues Goal Harvest (5)

Harry Kane scored his second hat-trick of the season as Bayern Munich overcame a shaky start to win at Hoffenheim and continue their 100% start.

The England captain, 32, broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time with a clinical first-time finish from a cleverly worked low corner, and doubled Bayern’s lead from the spot after Albian Hajdari was harshly penalised for a handball.

That broke Hoffenheim’s resistance and Kane completed his ninth Bundesliga hat-trick with another penalty, given for a foul on substitute Michael Olise after a video assistant referee (VAR) check.

This time Kane sent home keeper Oliver Baumann the wrong way for his 13th Bayern goal in seven matches across all competitions this season, adding to his Champions League double against Chelsea last Wednesday.

“Hat-trick Harry is what they called me in school,” Kane told Tidesports source after the match. “That one kind of stuck when I was younger.”

“Any ball in the box, whether penalty or not, I back myself to hit the target.”

Hoffenheim had the better of the first 45 minutes, Fisnik Asllani only able to hit the post after goalkeeper Manuel Neuer passed straight to the Kosovan.

They eventually got some reward for their efforts, former West Ham full-back Vladimir Coufal’s deflected free-kick beating Neuer to earn the Czech his first goal for the club.

Ex-Liverpool winger Luis Diaz hit the top of the bar late on as he failed to continue his record of scoring in every Bundesliga game this season, but Serge Gnabry added a fourth for Bayern with the last kick, converting a rebound from a tight angle after Baumann saved from Joshua Kimmich.

Nicolas Jackson made his first start since joining Bayern on an initial loan deal from Chelsea, but the Senegal striker had a very quiet game before being replaced in the 62nd minute.

In Italy, Lorenzo Pellegrini fired Roma into the Serie A top four as Lazio had two players sent off in a fiery derby.

The midfielder found the bottom corner in the 38th minute as Roma extended their unbeaten run to four games against their city rivals.

Lazio have lost three of their opening games of the season and had Reda Belahyane and former Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi dismissed in late drama.

Roma started well and Rome-born Pellegrini claimed the vital goal – his fourth in a Rome derby after being available for transfer in the summer – following good work down the right by Matias Soule.

But the hosts will rue missed opportunities as Boulaye Dia, Mattia Zaccagni and Alessio Romagnoli all had openings.

With four minutes left substitute Belahyane was shown a red card for a late studs-up challenge on Manu Kone.

Danilo Cataldi struck the outside of the post for Lazio in a last-gasp effort to snatch a point, while team-mate Guendouzi was sent off for dissent after the final whistle.

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Zidane’s Son Switches Allegiance To Algeria

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Luca Zidane, the son of France’s World Cup-winning playmaker Zinedine, has switched his international allegiance from France to Algeria.

Born just outside Marseille, the 27-year-old goalkeeper had appeared for France at various youth levels.

The move, which was approved by Fifa, may enable Zidane to follow in his father’s footsteps by appearing at a World Cup, with Algeria expected to secure a place at the 2026 finals in North America in their qualifier against Somalia next month.

Zidane, who is the second of four brothers, all of whom came through the Real Madrid academy, currently plays for Spanish second tier side Granada.

He played two matches for Madrid and has La Liga experience at Rayo Vallecano, but dropped a level in 2022 to play for Eibar before heading to Andalusia in 2024.

Zidane qualifies for the North African country through his father, whose parents hailed from the Kabylie region of Algeria.

Zinedine Zidane, who is regarded as one of the games greatest players scored twice for France in their 1998 World Cup final victory over Brazil, but was famously sent-off in the 2006 final, which was won by Italy after a penalty shootout.

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Man Utd Beat Chelsea To Ease Pressure 

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Manchester United capitalised on Robert Sanchez’s fifth-minute red card to secure a crucial victory over Chelsea in torrential rain at Old Trafford.

The first match in Premier League history to see two or more goals, red cards and substitutions in the first half was settled by goals from United skipper Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro, who was the other player sent off before the break.

It was Sanchez’s dismissal that set the course of the game though.

The Spain international raced from his goal to meet Bryan Mbeumo as the striker ran beyond the Chelsea defence.

Sanchez then upended the forward outside his area rather than allow him past to tap the ball into an empty net.

Enzo Maresca’s response to the red card was to take off both Pedro Neto and Estevao Willian and, as Cole Palmer had to be replaced after suffering a recurrence of a groin injury, Chelsea had lost three attacking players in the space of 20 minutes.

Trevor Chalobah pulled one back for Chelsea with a header 10 minutes from time but United kept their nerves at bay to make it to the final whistle with their lead intact.

The victory was United’s second of the season and came in front of minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who gave head coach Ruben Amorim assurances over his future 48 hours earlier.

It also means Chelsea have still not won at Old Trafford since 2013, when Sir Alex Ferguson was United manager.

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