Sports
Beach Volleyball Ticket Excites Board Member
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.
Liverpool’s season of abject misery worsened as they were beaten with embarrassing ease by a hugely impressive Nottingham Forest at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s Premier League champions were looking to bounce back from a heavy defeat at Manchester City, but instead ran into a Forest side revitalised under new manager Sean Dyche and looking back to their best.
Liverpool head coach Slot gave £125m British record signing Alexander Isak a start, but he was totally anonymous once more and only lasted 67 minutes.
Forest went ahead after 33 minutes when defender Murillo shot powerfully past fit-again Liverpool keeper Alisson to subdue an already anxious Anfield.
Igor Jesus had a second ruled out for handball, but Forest doubled their advantage 39 seconds after the break when former Liverpool defender Neco Williams set up Nicola Savona for a crisp finish in front of The Kop.
Liverpool could barely raise a response in a desperate display, Forest increasing their lead 12 minutes from time when Morgan Gibbs-White scored after Alisson saved from Omari Hutchinson.
It means Liverpool, who lie 11th before Saturday’s late fixture, have now lost six of their past seven Premier League games as Slot’s near £450m summer spending spree comes under further scrutiny.
Forest, meanwhile, are surging away from the relegation zone and are up to 16th.
Michael Olise scored twice and provided a hat-trick of assists as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich came from two goals down to thrash Freiburg.
The visitors stunned the defending champions by taking a 2-0 lead after just 17 minutes when Yuito Suzuki scored from close range and Johan Manzambi rose highest to head home Jan-Niklas Beste’s corner.
Bayern, who had not lost in the league since March, responded superbly and had restored parity by half-time.
Teenager Lennart Karl fired into the bottom corner from Olise’s pass in the 22nd minute and set up the Frenchman for a fierce finish in first-half injury-time, although Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu should have done better.
Bayern took control in the second period as Dayot Upamecano headed home Olise’s corner to put them ahead for the first time.
England captain Harry Kane netted his 14th league goal of the campaign on the hour mark, before Olise made it three assists when he threaded a pass through for Nicolas Jackson to finish at the first time of asking in the 78th minute.
Winger Olise completed a sensational afternoon with his second of the game six minutes later, driving at the Freiburg defence and curling into the far corner.
A 10th victory in the first 11 games left Bayern eight points clear of second-placed Bayer Leverkusen, while Freiburg remain 10th in the standings.
Vincent Kompany’s side visit Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday with both sides having a perfect record of four wins so far in the league phase of the competition.
AS FAR Morocco Win African Women’s Champions League (8)
AS FAR held firm to beat debutants ASEC Mimosas 2-1 in the African Women’s Champions League final and become continental champions for the second time.
Hanane Ait El Haj put the Moroccan club ahead from the penalty spot in the 13th minute after Safa Banouk had been tripped by Aboa Yapo.
ASEC Mimosas rallied after the break and Ami Priscal Diallo netted a fine header from Sopie Brou’s cross to drag the Ivory Coast club level 10 minutes into the second half.
But AS FAR were handed a second spot-kick in the closing stages when Noura Diarra committed a rash challenge on Sofia Bouftini.
This time it was Zineb Redouani who stepped up to stroke home in the 85th minute and restore her side’s lead.
Asastasie Gbehi came close to forcing extra time but she poked wide of the post in stoppage time, and the centre-back was sent off after the full-time whistle for dissent.
AS FAR move level with South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns as two-time winners of the title, having first lifted the trophy in 2022.
The Rabat-based side will now take on Chinese’s Wuhan Jiangda on 14 December for a place at next year’s Fifa Women’s Champions Cup.
The winner of that match will face European champions Arsenal in the semi-finals of the inaugural competition early next year in London.
Barcelona moved to the top of La Liga on Saturday with an emphatic win over 10-man Athletic Club in their first match at the Spotify Camp Nou since May 2023.
Robert Lewandowski scored their first goal back in their iconic home, which had been closed for extensive renovations, in the fourth minute.
Ferran Torres then netted twice in the second half, each assisted by wonderful skill from Lamine Yamal, who was aged just 15 in his only previous Nou Camp appearance.
Fermin Lopez also struck in the 48th minute, while visiting midfielder Oihan Sancet was sent off for a crude challenge on Lopez just six minutes later.
Large sections of the Nou Camp remained closed for the game, which was played in front of a 45,157 crowd.
The rebuilding work, which was originally scheduled to be finished in November 2024, will eventually increase the stadium’s capacity to 105,000.
Barca moved to 31 points from 13 games and top on goal difference, but Real Madrid had the chance to replace them, if they won at Elche in their game in hand, late last night.
Poland striker Lewandowski got his side off to the perfect start when he drove his low shot in off the arm of Athletic Club goalkeeper Unai Simon for an eighth league goal of the season.
The home side extended their lead in first-half added time as Yamal’s superb pass off the outside of his foot set up Torres for a good finish.
Lopez made it 3-0 three minutes after the restart, drilling a shot past Simon from near the penalty spot.
Sancet’s tackle from behind on Lopez was initially deemed a yellow card, but upgraded to red after the referee consulted with the video assistant referee (VAR).
And just before full-time, Yamal twisted and turned before sending Torres away to claim his second goal, which was originally disallowed for offside but overturned following a VAR check.
It was a dream return to their ground, with the reigning Spanish champions having mostly played at the 55,000 capacity Olympic Stadium on the city’s Montjuic hill since renovations on the Nou Camp began in June 2023.
They were forced to play two matches at the 6,000-capacity Johan Cruyff Stadium, home to their women’s team, this season after failing to get a permit for the Nou Camp through safety reasons.
Pogba Returns To Action In Ligue 1 (6)
Paul Pogba played his first minutes of professional football in more than two years as he came off the bench during Monaco’s 4-1 defeat by Rennes at the weekend.
The 32-year-old was introduced in the 85th minute at Rennes’ Roazhon Park, though his side were already four goals and a player down, following a red card for captain Denis Zakaria.
French World Cup winner Pogba broke down in tears when he joined Ligue 1 club Monaco last summer, after his four-year doping ban was reduced to 19 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).
Pogba’s last competitive appearance was 811 days ago, when he featured for Juventus in a Serie A match against Empoli on 3 September 2023. He left Juventus by mutual consent in November 2024.
Pogba was provisionally banned from football for four years after a positive test for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in February 2024, following a doping test in August 2023.
Pogba maintained it was a mistake and that he was given a supplement without knowing it contained a banned substance.
The former Manchester United midfielder was permitted to return to football in March following the decision to reduce his ban.
Pogba watched from the bench as goals from Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal, Mahdi Camara, Breel Embolo and Ludovic Blas put Rennes out of sight.
Fellow substitute Mika Biereth pulled a goal back for Monaco in the 95th minute, but a second consecutive 4-1 defeat means Sebastien Pocognoli’s side drop to eighth in the table with 20 points after 13 games.
