Central defender Sviatchenko has signed a four-and-a-half year deal after joining from Danish champions Midtjylland for a fee in the region of £1.5m. The 24-year-old is, according to the Daily Record, “a fashion blogger and the son of a leading conceptual artist”. He seems a right good talker. “It means a lot,” he said after his £1.5m move from Midtjylland. “It means I’m finally away from Denmark. It has been a tough wait for me. When Celtic came in for me, I felt this was a very good decision. This is a winning club. “The fans can expect someone who will give everything, who will connect with them. I walked around Celtic Park and had goosebumps. I could have gone to Italy and the Championship and, last year, to the Premier League but when this opportunity came along I was so happy we could connect the dots.”

The home based Super Eagles of Nigeria will today play their opening game of 2016 CHAN against Niger in far away Rwanda. The match will be played by 5pm Nigerian time. Good luck to the coach Sunday Oliseh boys!

Continue reading →

Novak Djokovic says match-fixing is not prevalent at the top level of tennis, as allegations of corruption overshadow the start of the Australian Open. The world number one, who says he rejected £110,000 to lose a match early in his career, says there is “no real proof” of fixing among the elite. “It’s just speculation,” said the Serb 10-time Grand Slam champion. BBC and BuzzFeed News are said to have obtained secret files that contain evidence of suspected match-fixing in tennis. The coming days will tell.

Remember him? Former Chelsea forward Adrian Mutu has joined ASA Tirgu-Mures in a bid to try to win a place in Romania’s Euro 2016 squad. They become the 13th club of the 37-year-old’s career and follows a spell with Pune City in the Indian Super League. Mutu was sacked by Chelsea in 2004 after he tested positive for a banned substance.

Danish club FC Copenhagen have confirmed they have reached agreement with Leicester City over the transfer of Ghana international Daniel Amartey. Amartey won a silver medal with the Black Stars of Ghana at the 2015 African Cup of Nations.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has landed a four-year deal to be the face of a campaign promoting a non-alcoholic German beer in England. The former Borussia Dortmund coach has been chosen by brewers Warsteiner after winning admirers across the country with his charismatic nature. ‘I am particularly pleased about this partnership because I associate the taste of Warsteiner with home,’ said Klopp. ‘My grandparents owned a small brewery and I do enjoy a good beer. ‘I am a German football coach and one of the ambassadors of our national sport, just like Warsteiner beer is one of the best ambassadors for the German beer tradition.’ Although the German company makes alcoholic beers, Klopp will be promoting their alcoholic-free ‘Warsteiner Fresh’ variant, which claims to provide ‘100% premium enjoyment’, and ‘the perfect refreshment for sports, meetings or just to enjoy between meals’.

Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney set a new Premier League record for most goals scored for a single club on Sunday with 176, passing Arsenal legend Thierry Henry’s mark of 175 with a 78th minute late strike against Liverpool at Anfield.

Continue reading →

Defending women’s champion Serena Williams reached the second round of the Australian Open with a tense 6-4 7-5 win over Italian Camila Giorgi in her first tour match in four months. The American, 34, had been struggling with a left knee injury in the build-up, but came through unscathed. Men’s champion Novak Djokovic eased through in straight sets, beating South Korea’s Hyeon Chung 6-3 6-2 6-4. Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova are also in action in Melbourne on Monday. Djokovic is bidding to equal Australian Roy Emerson’s record of six Australian Open crowns.

Ashley Cole has reached agreement with Roma for the termination of his contract and is discussing a move to LA Galaxy. Former Chelsea and Arsenal defender Cole made just 11 appearances for the Serie A side, who earlier this week sacked their manager.

Sunday 17 January, 2016:

Liverpool 0 – 1 Man Utd

Stoke 0 – 0 Arsenal

Saturday 16 January 2016:

Tottenham 4 – 1 Sunderland

Bournemouth 3 – 0 Norwich

Chelsea 3 – 3 Everton

Man City 4 – 0 Crystal Palace

Newcastle 2 – 1 West Ham

Southampton 3 – 0 West Brom

Aston Villa 1 – 1 Leicester

Hosts Rwanda got their African Nations Championship (CHAN) campaign off to a winning start with a 1-0 victory over Ivory Coast. Rwandan defender Emery Bayisenge scored the game’s only goal on 15 minutes. The Amavubi had a chance to go 2-0 up on the hour mark but the Elephants’ goalkeeper Badra Ali Sangare managed to keep it out. Despite that miss, the hosts went on to secure a crucial opening win in front of their home fans in Kigali. The tournament for locally-based players is the biggest sporting event Rwanda has ever hosted. It involves 16 teams playing in three cities – with the capital Kigali, as well as Gisenyi in the west and Butare in the south all hosting games. The hosts performed well in the run-up to the tournament and Northern Irish coach Johnny McKinstry will be pleased to see his team carry that form into the finals. The Elephants, meanwhile, are making their third appearance at this tournament and have yet to get beyond the group stage. The Ivorians are the reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions, but that was achieved with a squad that included only one home-based player. Gabon and Morocco drew 0-0 in the day’s other Group A game  on Saturday.

Southampton have signed QPR striker Charlie Austin for a fee reported to be about £4m. The 26-year-old has joined the Saints on a four-and-a-half-year contract after passing a medical. Austin scored 18 Premier League goals as QPR were relegated last season, and was rewarded with an England call-up. The former Burnley player, whose contract at Loftus Road was due to expire in the summer, has scored 10 goals in 16 appearances this season. He has not featured for Rangers, who are 17th in the Championship, since mid-December because of injury. QPR director of football Les Ferdinand said the decision to sell Austin was “made in the best financial interests of the club” as he could leave on a free transfer at the end of the season. Austin joins a Southampton side 12th in the Premier League.

FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali of Jordan says a co-operation agreement between the African and Asian football confederations is a “blatant attempt to engineer a bloc vote” in the election. Prince Ali, 40, has asked the game’s world governing body to investigate whether the pact breaks its rules. The two confederations account for 100 of the 209 votes to be cast in the presidential election on 26 February. “I have always promoted cross-regional understanding, however the timing of this Memorandum of Understanding looks like a blatant attempt to engineer a bloc vote,” said Prince Ali in a statement. “Questions must be asked: was this deal approved by the members of the executive committees of both the AFC and CAF and is the timing of the announcement, prior to a presidential election, acceptable?”

Continue reading →

Newcastle United have confirmed that midfielder Cheick Tiote is meeting with Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua over a potential move. “Cheick is currently on his way to meet them,” said boss Steve McClaren. “But nothing has been finalised.” Tiote is an Ivorian international.

Manchester City are set to sign midfielder Anthony Caceres from Australian A-League Central Coast Mariners. The Mariners have said the deal is done but there are still a few loose ends to tie up. It is expected the transfer will be confirmed shortly. City have yet to decide whether the 23-year-old will go out on loan, which could be to one of their sister clubs in Melbourne, New York or Yokohama, or a club in England. Caceres has made 73 appearances for the Mariners, scoring three goals.

Watford duo Quique Flores and Nigeria’s Odion Ighalo have been rewarded for the Hornets’ remarkable form in December by winning the Premier League manager and player of the month awards respectively. Flores’ side took 10 points from five fixtures to finish the calendar year, including victories over Norwich, Sunderland and Liverpool. Ighalo was the star turn for the top-flight new boys, netting five times, including a brace in the 3-0 win over the Reds at Vicarage Road. A creditable draw at Stamford Bridge followed four wins in a row including the victory at Aston Villa at the end of November, before Watford finished the year with a last-ditch loss at home to Spurs.

Odion is going places!!!

FC Copenhagen have confirmed that they are in negotiations with Leicester City over the possible transfer of defender Daniel Amartey. The 21-year-old Ghana international has been the subject of interest from the Foxes for some time and was linked with a move to England last summer. A possible fee of £5-6m has been reported in the Danish media.

On this day (15th January) in 1999, Nigerian legend and two time African Footballer of the Year, Nwankwo Kanu joined Arsenal from Inter Milan. He won Premiership and FA laurels with Arsenal during his time with the team.

Spanish giants Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have been banned from registering players for the next two transfer windows. They have been punished by world governing body Fifa for breaching rules over the transfer of minors – both clubs say they will appeal. The ban does not cover the current January transfer window. Atletico were fined 900,000 Swiss francs, while Real were told to pay 360,000. Real said that the claim that they had signed foreign players under the age of 18 without being properly registered was “absolutely untrue”. “Real Madrid will appeal this decision of Fifa in all the sporting incidents, considering them absolutely inappropriate,” said the club. Real director general Jose Angel Sanchez called the ban “absolutely unjustified” and “totally unexpected”, saying he had “high hopes” of overturning it on appeal.

Continue reading →