Archive | March 9, 2016

Edzai Kasinauyo in match fixing allegation….

https://i0.wp.com/nehandaradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Edzai-Kasinauyo.jpg

The Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) has provisionally suspended committee member Edzai Kasinauyo over allegations of match-fixing. The former international has denied the allegations in the local press. A statement from Zifa said the investigations are ongoing. “The suspension has been occasioned by allegations of match fixing ahead of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations match between Zimbabwe and Swaziland,” it read. “Zifa president Dr Phillip Chiyangwa will issue a statement after consultations with Cosafa, Caf, Fifa and the Government of Zimbabwe.” Kasinauyo was quoted in the Zimbabwe Herald newspaper as saying: “I have never been involved in such things all my life and the only relief that I have right now is that I am being told there is evidence and that will paint the correct picture and help set me free.” The 40-year-old was elected to the Zifa executive committee in December and was part of his country’s squad at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2006.

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UEFA grants Man United request….

United's usual Manchester base is 34 miles from Anfield

Manchester United will be able to stay and train at their usual base ahead of Thursday’s Europa League game away at Liverpool, after being awarded special dispensation by UEFA. Under current UEFA rules the visiting side in European competitions must stay within 27 miles of the host’s stadium the day before a game. The United squad usually stays at an hotel in Salford ahead of a domestic away match. However, the 34-mile distance to Anfield meant the club faced the prospect of having to travel to Liverpool a day early ahead of the last-16 first-leg tie. United’s training complex, Carrington, is also seven miles outside the usual distance permitted by UEFA. However, following an appeal from United, UEFA has now granted special dispensation allowing the club to remain in Manchester on Wednesday night. Louis van Gaal’s squad is expected to train as usual at Carrington on Wednesday morning and travel to Liverpool the following day. Thursday’s match will be the first time the two English clubs have met in European football. Liverpool are expected to stay in Manchester the day before next week’s second leg.

 

Premier League announces away tickets cap….

Football supporters have staged a number of protests against ticket pricing in recent months

Premier League clubs have agreed to limit away ticket prices to a maximum of £30 for the next three seasons. The clubs announced the new deal on Wednesday after unanimously agreeing to the new price cap at their last meeting in February. The new initiative comes after a number of high profile protests against ticket prices in the Premier League. The league has enjoyed a record average attendance of 96.2 per cent this season but a number of supporter groups have raised concerns about increasing prices, particularly for away supporters. The away ticket cap replaces the existing Away Supporters Initiative – a set of travel and ticket subsidies originally introduced by clubs in 2013. The new cap is set to run for three years and will apply from the start of next season to the end of the 2018/19 season.

Barcelona unveil stadium plans….

The images show upgrades to the stadium's councourses and walkways ©fcbarcelona

Barcelona have unveiled plans to upgrade the club’s Nou Camp stadium to a 105,000 capacity ground. The Spanish and European champions released a statement on Monday announcing the plans alongside concept images of the four-year upgrade. The stadium’s revamp is set to be led by Japanese architectural company Nikken Sekkei alongside Catalan architects Pascual i Ausió Arquitectes. The plans, which were selected ahead of six other bids, were chosen by a jury made up of Barcelona members, Catalan based architects and City of Barcelona officials. A statement released on Barcelona’s website read: “The Nikken Sekkei + Pascual i Ausio Arquitectes proposal stands out for being open, elegant, serene, timeless Mediterranean and democratic.

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Afghanistan women’s football kit now includes a hijab….

Female football players in Afghanistan’s national team have a new kit – complete with a hijab. The design by Danish sportswear brand Hummel isn’t compulsory but it means women who would normally wear a headscarf to cover their hair now have a more practical option for playing football. There’s also a base layer and leggings, allowing players to be covered from head to toe, if their faith requires it. Shabnam Mabarz, 20, is one player of Afghanistan’s national football team who has tried the hijab kit. Mabarz and her team-mates will be the first to wear a new hijab that is connected to the base layer under their national team shirt. Khalida Popal, the team’s former captain, said: “This jersey is the Afghani team uniform and I am proud to be a role model for thousands of young girls and women back home in Afghanistan. “It is very special to me. It is our identity.”

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Sunderland sign ex-Arsenal defender Eboue….

#SAFC have completed the signing of former @Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboue – safc.com/news/team-news…

Sunderland have signed former Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboue on a short-term deal until the end of the season. The Ivory Coast full-back, who was a free agent after leaving Galatasaray in the summer, started training with the Black Cats in February. Eboue, 32, spent eight seasons at Arsenal after arriving from Belgian side Beveren in 2004. He moved to Turkey in 2011, where he won three Super Lig titles and five domestic trophies.

UEFA Champions League results….

Cristiano Ronaldo

Tuesday 8 March, 2016:

Real Madrid 2 – 0 Roma (aggregate 4 – 0)

Wolfsburg 1 – 0 Gent (aggregate 4 – 2)

*During the Madrid game, Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 90th champions league goal and also his 40th goal of the season. He has now scored 40 or more goals in six successive seasons at Real Madrid. Great!