Ëœ ÍšÍ˝Ëœ ͺ͸͚Ϳ Ëž T H I S D AY
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THURSDAYSPORTS
African Champions Cameroon Land in Moscow African champions Cameroon touched down in Moscow yesterday afternoon ahead of their third appearance in the FIFA Confederations Cup. The Indomitable Lions will open their campaign against Chile in the Spartak Stadium in the Russian capital on Sunday before facing Australia in Saint Petersburg on June 22 and current world champions Germany in Sochi on June 25. Cameroon’s best FIFA Confederations Cup achievement to date was reaching the final of the 2003 edition. Cameroon’s preparations for the upcoming FIFA Confederations Cup received a setback with a 4-0 defeat to Colombia in their final tune-up match before Russia 2017. James Rodriguez opened the scoring for Los Cafeteros before Yerry Mina struck a brace for the South Americans at the
Coliseum Alfonso Perez in Getafe, Spain, on Tuesday. Jose Izquierdo completed the scoring late on. Cameroon were forced to play the majority of the second half with ten men after Robert Ndip Tambe was sent off. It proved a tough outing for the reigning CAF Africa Cup of Nations holders, with coach Hugo Broos making several changes from his usual firstchoice starting line-up.
2017 Confederation Cup Matches Live on StarTimes The 2017 FIFA Confederation Cup is scheduled to begin in Russia on June 17 through July 2. The matches will be played in four Russian cities of Moscow, Sochi, Saint Petersburg, and Kazan. Eight teams, including host Russia, are to compete for honours in the Confederation Cup. These include; Germany, winner of the 2014 World Cup; Portugal, 2016 Euro title champions and Chile, the Copa America 2015 title holder. Others are; Australia, winner of the 2015 Asia Cup; Mexico, champions of CONCACAF Cup; New Zealand, winners of OFC Cup and Cameroon, 2017 Africa Nations Cup champions. Pay TV company, StarTimes, has concluded arrangement to beam live coverage of the global football competition to the living rooms of its Nigerian subscribers. The Confederation Cup has become a tradition preceding the World Cup to make the host country and the teams gear up for the main event. This tenth edition promises to be a great show as the tournament serves as a dress rehearsal for the host country of the 2018 World Cup. Formerly known as the
Intercontinental Championship or the King Fahd Cup, the Confederations Cup is an international competition that began in 1992 and is played only by men’s national teams. However, since 1997 and in order to give it legitimacy, FIFA took charge of its organisation. StarTimes has assured football viewers can enjoy the best of the Confederation Cup and other thrilling sporting actions on its ST World Football Channels 244 and 254. Speaking on these coming Confederation Cup matches, Acting Brands and Marketing Director, StarTimes, Mr. Qasim Elegbede, said StarTimes remains commitment to delivering quality sporting content to its subscribers. “Quality sporting content was the reason behind the acquisitions of sporting rights like the FIFA World Cup in over 48 territories in Africa and other sporting event such as the Serie A, Bundesliga, French Ligue 1, Chinese Super League, Eredivisie. He said StarTimes will be showcasing the best of these football actions live from the various match centres to its subscribers.
Lucky Shoots Finbarr’s to GTBank Masters Cup It was football at its best in the semifinals of the GTBank Masters Cup between St. Finbarr’s College, Akoka and defending champions, Greensprings School, Lekki, at the Onikan Stadium, Lagos Island on Tuesday as both schools showed good football artistries. It was the Akoka Bombers that shot into the lead midway in the first half through Akpan Moses, while Greensprings equalised in the second half. Just as spectators were already warming up for a penalty shootout, Finbarr’s, backed by their vociferous supporters
that came in their numbers struck in added time through Jeremiah Lucky to set up an epic final against Anwar-Ul Islam College, Agege, who defeated Jubril Martins Memorial Grammar School, Iponrin 11-10, via penalties. Both sides played 1-1 in regulation time. However, it was goals rain in the female semifinals earlier in the day. In the first game, Ansar-Ud-Deen Girls Senior High School, Itire, walloped Ansar-Ud-Deen College, Isolo 4-0, while Queens College, Yaba defeated Greensprings School, Lekki, 3-0, in a one-sided affair.
Cameroonian players and oďŹƒcials on arrival in Moscow yesterday
Chelsea to Host Burnley on Opening Day of Premier League Season Chelsea will begin their title defence at home to Burnley when the 2017-18 Premier League season kicks off on the weekend of 12-13 August. Newly promoted Newcastle host Tottenham, while Brighton welcome Manchester City and Huddersfield visit Crystal Palace. Spurs’ first game at Wembley will be against Antonio Conte’s champions on the second weekend of the season. The precise date of games will be set once TV schedules have been decided. The league season is set to finish on Sunday, May 13, 2018 - a week earlier than last season - with the World Cup finals in Russia starting on June 14.
The English Football League fixtures will be released on Wednesday, June 21, and Scotland’s fixtures two days later. Questions have been raised about Tottenham’s potential to perform at Wembley after a miserable run of results there in last season’s Champions League, and Mauricio Pochettino’s side will have a tough first test at their temporary home. The last time Spurs visited the national stadium was in the FA Cup semi-final, a game they lost 4-2 to this season’s first visitors - Chelsea. But it could prove a tricky opening few weeks for the defending champions too, with Chelsea hosting Everton (August
26), visiting 2015-16 winners Leicester after the international break and then welcoming Arsenal (September 16). Arsene Wenger’s Gunners have a chance to show their top-four credentials in week three when they visit Liverpool. Another early indicator in the race for the Champions League places comes in the following round of games, with Liverpool travelling to Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City. Europa League winners Manchester United do not face another Champions League qualifier until they visit Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool on the weekend of 14-15 October. English football’s top-flight sides
will face four league games in nine days over Christmas and new year, with eight in total from December 2 to January 1. The final round of the Champions League group stage also takes place during that period, as traditionally does the fifth round of the League Cup. Arsenal welcome Liverpool two days before Christmas, while Brighton go to Chelsea on Boxing Day and Newcastle host Manchester City. West Ham make the trip across London to face Tottenham in the round of games scheduled for December 30, with another London derby taking place on New Year’s Day as Arsenal host Chelsea.
Four Nigerian Tennis Majors Launched in Lagos An ambitious new plan to put Nigeria’s tennis on the global map has been launched in Lagos with the introduction of Nigerian Tennis Majors to the national calendar. According to Tennis Management Company, a Lagosbased sports marketing firm, Plans to organize an annual four tennis majors in four Nigerian cities have reached advanced level. Speaking at the launch of the tennis major expected to also have junior version on Monday afternoon at the Savoy Suites in Ikeja GRA, the organisers promised a new era for the game in the country with the high stakes, high rewarding tournaments. Managing Director of TMCL, Kenneth Ezaga, explained explained that two tournaments will be held next year, including the Abuja Open which would be the maiden edition and will
be held in May, while the Lagos Open will follow in October before the first four slam calendar rollout in 2019. He further explained that while Lagos and Abuja have been confirmed as hosts of two of the slams, the other two cities will be decided possibly by bids, with one each in the south and northern part of the country. He assured tennis aficionados that the tour will not only provide regular competition for the best local talents, it would pay the champions the biggest purses in Nigerian sports. Defending this, Ezaga said “While fans around the world love sports, it is the well paid stars they follow. Stars pull in audiences and sponsors. You cannot have a sports business without major stars, that is why every serious sports organiser in the world is always looking for
the next Michael Jordan, the next Tiger Woods, the next Usain Bolt, the next Nduka Odizor. We will be no different.� The Chairman of the company, Anire Kanyi, was optimistic that the initiative will help the government in its bid to diversify the economy and create new jobs and wealth within the country. “Government alone cannot solve all our problems,� Kanyi said. “Now is when we must all rise to create a more compelling future for our young. Sports offers a great opportunity for us to make an impact – to unite our people, engage our youth, create thousands of new jobs and stir up a deeper love of country.� Another director of the company Lolu Akinwunmi, the marketing communications heavyweight who built the Prima Garnet Group, argued that sports has become a great
way for brands to not only promote their offerings, but to meet their customers and forge deep emotional bonds with them. “No longer are brands just contented with reaching their target market by planting their logos on events, they practically want to touch these people through intelligent leveraging and activations. The Nigerian Tennis Majors will offer them a superb opportunity to do this,� the former AAAN and APCON president declared. He added: “Sports, after all, brings consumers and brands together in an atmosphere of extreme passion. Another key strength of sports is that it has the ability to focus audiences on a single idea for a period of time, largely increasing the effectiveness of your promotional spend.�