Sports

6, April 2020

Football: Bayern Munich to resume training despite coronavirus pandemic ⁰

Bayern Munich have confirmed that players will return to training on Monday for the 1st time since the Bundesliga was suspended due to the coronavirus.

The Bavarians said in a statement that the training session will be held in coordination with government policy and the relevant authorities. It added that players will train in small groups and that all hygiene regulations will be strictly observed.

The club also urged supporters to stay away from the training ground in order to further slow the spread of the deadly virus. Bayern’s return to training is in line with the German Football League’s policies.

DFL had recommended that clubs should not train until the 5th of April. Germany’s top flight, which was initially halted on the 13th of March, will remain suspended until at least the 30th of April, with Bayern sitting atop, 4 points clear of Borussia Dortmund.

Source: Presstv

3, April 2020

Coronavirus Pandemic: Dortmund football stadium to be used as medical centre ⁰

Germany’s biggest football stadium, Borussia Dortmund’s Signal-Iduna-Park, is to be partially transformed into a medical centre to help treat patients during the coronavirus pandemic, the German Bundesliga club announced Friday.

“Our stadium is a symbol of the city… its technical, infrastructural and spatial set-up make it the ideal place to help people who are potentially infected,” said club directors Hans-Joachim Watzke and Carsten Cramer in a statement.

Dortmund said they had transformed the north stand of the 81,000-capacity stadium — the one opposite the famous “Yellow Wall” — into a treatment centre in collaboration with a local medical association.

The centre will provide check-ups, issue prescription medicines and even offer initial treatment for those diagnosed with COVID-19.

It will be available only to those who are showing symptoms of the disease, and will be open daily from 12 noon to 4.00 pm.

“In this way, possible chains of infection can also be broken by avoiding contact to other patients, doctors and staff in the individual doctor’s surgeries,” the club said.

“It’s obviously strange at first to go to a football stadium when you have fever and breathing difficulties, but we actually do have optimal conditions here,” said Dirk Spelmeyer, chairman of the local Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KVWL).

He added that the stadium would relieve pressure on the other specialised coronavirus treatment centre in the north of the city.

The Signal-Iduna-Park is the second major European stadium to be used in the fight against the virus, after Spanish giants Real Madrid offered their Santiago Bernabeu — another 81,000-seater — to store medical equipment.

Source: AFP

2, April 2020

Mikel Obi en route to Brazil ⁰

Botafogo are interested in former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel, according to Yahoo! Esportes.

The 32-year-old left previous club Trabzonspor over their handling of the coronavirus pandemic and has reportedly been in talks with the Brazilian side.

He played 23 times in Turkey after spending the second half of last season in the Championship with Middlesbrough.

Source: Goal.com

2, April 2020

Wimbledon cancelled for first time since WWII over coronavirus ⁰

The Wimbledon championships were cancelled for the first time since World War Two on Wednesday as the coronavirus pandemic struck another blue-ribbon sports event off the calendar and wiped out the entire tennis grasscourt season.

While the decision had looked inevitable for some time, since the virtual shutdown of world sport and the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, Wimbledon had been one of the few events not to have been officially cancelled or postponed.

But after emergency talks between the various stakeholders over the last few days, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) announced that it was impossible for the grasscourt Grand Slam, scheduled for June 29-July 12, to take place.

“It is with great regret that the main board of the All England Club and the committee of management of the championships have today decided that The Championships 2020 will be cancelled due to public health concerns linked to the coronavirus epidemic,” the AELTC said in a statement.

“The 134th Championships will instead be staged from June 28 to July 11, 2021.”

Following the cancellation of the grasscourt major, and with the pandemic worsening in Europe and the U.S., the men’s ATP Tour, women’s WTA Tour and the International Tennis Federation extended the suspension of professional tennis for another five weeks to July 13.

“At this time, tournaments taking place from July 13, 2020 onwards are still planning to proceed as per the published schedule,” a joint statement from the three governing bodies said.

Britain’s death toll from the virus reached 2,352 on Wednesday, according to NHS figures.

The French Open, originally due to be held from May 24-June 7 has been postponed and controversially rescheduled by the French tennis federation for Sept. 20-Oct. 4, shortly after the end of the U.S. Open.

‘No vaccine = no tennis’

Former Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo doubts whether either tournament will be played though.

“I think we’re going to have to draw a line under the 2020 tennis season,” Mauresmo said on Twitter this week.

“International circuit = players of all nationalities plus management, spectators and people from the 4 corners of the world who bring these events to life. No vaccine = no tennis.”

Unlike the French Open which is played on clay, Wimbledon’s scope for re-arranging the start date was extremely limited.

While Centre Court and Court One boast a roof, playing elite level tennis outside on grass would have been extremely challenging in late summer or autumn with a lack of light and problems caused by dew forming on the surface late in the day.

Shortening the format of the tournament, or playing behind closed doors, would also have proved extremely unpopular with the players.

“While in some ways this has been a challenging decision, we strongly believe it is not only in the best interests of society at this time, but also provides certainty to our colleagues in international tennis given the impact on the grass court events in the UK and in Europe and the broader tennis calendar,” AELTC chief executive Richard Lewis said.

Tickets holders will be offered the chance to purchase tickets for the same day and court for 2021 championships as well as being issued with a refund for this year’s event, organisers added.

Wimbledon has been held every year since 1946 after a six-year hiatus because the country was at war.

(REUTERS)

31, March 2020

Former Olympique de Marseille president Pape Diouf dies of coronavirus aged 68 ⁰

He is the latest victim of the coronavirus outbreak. The former president of Olympique de Marseille (OM) Pape Diouf died after being hit by Covid-19. His death has been confirmed by RTS, Senegal’s public television channel. He was 68 years old.

Hospitalized in Dakar, where he was under respiratory assistance, Pape Diouf was to be repatriated from Dakar to Nice by medical plane but his condition deteriorated, the plane could not take off and he died on Senegalese soil.

A former journalist, players’ agent and then head of OM from 2005 to 2009, Diouf had notably contributed to building the 2010 French championship team after 17 years without a title for OM.

By Haggai Fung Achuo

27, March 2020

Messi, Guardiola donate 1 million euros each to coronavirus battle ⁰

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola have each donated One million Euros to fight the coronavirus outbreak in Spain.

Messi donated a total of 1 million Euros to 2 hospitals, one in Barcelona and the other in his own country Argentina. Guardiola’s contribution will go to a campaign being promoted by the Medical College of Barcelona and the Angel Soler Daniel Foundation.

The money will be used to help purchase medical equipment and protective material for the hospital staff involved in treating those admitted to hospital. Spain is one of the worst affected countries in Europe, with nearly 2,700 deaths and almost 40 thousand positive cases.

Source: Presstv

25, March 2020

Cameroonian basketball star to donate Sh53 million for coronavirus relief ⁰

Cameroonian basketball player Joel Embiid, of the Philadelphia 76ers, is donating $500,000 (Sh53,201,100) to coronavirus relief and helping team workers who have had their salary temporarily cut due coronavirus outbreak.

The Sixers announced they will slash salaries up to 20% for a few employees to help the franchise stay afloat throughout this 2019-20 season hiatus.

In a statement regarding the temporary salary reductions for some employees, Sixers CEO Scott O’Neil said, “To ensure we can continue to support and operate our businesses during these uncertain times without reducing our workforce, we are asking our full-time, salaried employees to temporarily reduce their pay by up to 20 percent and move to a four-day week.”

And according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Embiid is donating $500,000 to help survival and protection efforts in the community.

“Philadelphia 76ers star has decided to pledge $500K to COVID-19 medical relief—to help survival and protection efforts in the community. AND he’s committed to helping Sixers employees who will suffer financial hardship in light of the franchise’s salary reductions,” Ramona Shelburne tweeted.

Embiid, who has been in self-isolation since March 11, is the third highest-paid player on the team, making $27.5 million this season as part of his max-scale rookie contract extension.

The Sixers announced last Thursday that three members of the organization tested positive for the coronavirus.

The NBA suspended their regular season on March 11 after Utah Jazz centre Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. A total of nine players have tested positive for the virus.

About Joel Embiid

Joel Embiid was born on March 16, 1994, to a military officer, Thomas Embiid, and his wife, Christine Embiid, in Yaoundé, Cameroon. His father was also into sports and played handball.

He grew up playing volleyball and soccer and didn’t start playing organized basketball until 2011 when he was 17 years old.

Joel Embiid was discovered by Luc Mbah a Moute, another Cameroon native, and an NBA player, at a basketball camp in the country. Embiid moved to the US at the age of 16 taking Moute as his mentor.

He played one season of college basketball at the University of Kansas before declaring early for the NBA.

Joel Embiid declared for the 2014 NBA Draft on April 9, 2014. He was selected for the third overall pick by Philadelphia 76ers six days after his declaration.

He signed a rookie contract with the 76ers on August 26, 2014.

Culled from Standard Media

24, March 2020

International Olympic Committee sets deadline for decision on Tokyo games amid coronavirus ⁰

The International Olympic Committee is considering a postponement of the Tokyo 2020 games and has given itself a deadline of 4 weeks to make a decision.

The IOC’s executive board met on Sunday amid mounting pressure from athletes and national Olympic committees for the games to be delayed because of the coronavirus crisis.

The IOC said cancellation is not on the agenda but a scaled-down games will also be considered. However postponement by either several months or probably a whole year is thought to be the most likely outcome.

The development marks a significant shift by the IOC which as recently as 5 days ago, said it was “fully committed” to go-ahead with the Tokyo Olympics.

23, March 2020

Coronavirus Lockdown: Sao Tome’s women’s U17 team stuck in Cameroon – after 10-0 defeat ⁰

People around the world have had a challenging week as cities and even whole countries go into lockdown with efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus. But perhaps few have had a week quite as tough as Sao Tome and Principe’s under-17 side.

After losing 10-0 on aggregate to Cameroon in a qualifier for the Fifa U-17 women’s cup, the team have been stuck in Yaounde as successive countries closed their borders just as the flights they were meant to take home were scheduled to leave.

Their original return flight, the day after the heavy loss, was for Sunday, via the Equatorial Guinea capital Malabo.

But that morning, Equatorial Guinea closed its borders, so the flight never happened.

Instead, the team were booked for the following morning to go home via Gabon.

But come Monday morning, the same thing happened.

And Cameroon itself has now closed its own borders, meaning the team remain in the country with no exact idea when they might be able to leave.

However, the President of Cameroon’s Football Federation (Fecafoot), Seidou Mbombo Njoya, has told the BBC that his organisation will take responsibility for the team’s stay in the country for as long as they are there.

“We have decided to take charge of the Sao Tome team’s expenses because we feel it’s the safest thing to do at the moment,” Njoya told BBC Sport Africa.

“It’s a pretty difficult situation for that team but we believe it can happen to anyone and now that the coronavirus is spreading panic in the world, we have to support one another.”

Fecafoot’s commitment to its visitors includes covering expenses such as hotels, food, and healthcare.

Cameroon’s football governing body has now liaised with the country’s sports ministry as they push for special measures that could see the women depart the Central African nation soon.

“These are very young girls and we must understand that most of them haven’t thought or had to deal with this sort of situation. It must be a traumatizing situation for them being unable to return to their country,” Mbombo Njoya added.

“These are very difficult times and with the coronavirus wreaking havoc across the world, there’s no doubt these players will feel safer around their parents, friends and loved one.

“Most of them are students who’ve missed a week of studies and we feel very concerned about this because it could’ve been us in this situation.

“Thanks to the intervention from Caf and Fifa, we have been able to charter a flight for the Sao Tome delegation and we’re working closely with the ministry of transport to see if they could be granted special permission to fly out of the country.”

BBC Sport Africa reached out to the head of the Sao Tome and Principe delegation but he has declined to comment on the situation. However, BBC Sport Africa understands the team has remained in high spirits amid the uncertainty.

Source: BBC

23, March 2020

Former Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz dies of coronavirus ⁰

Former Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz has died at the age of 76 after contracting coronavirus.

Sanz had been admitted to a Madrid hospital on Tuesday after suffering the symptoms of the coronavirus.

His son said he had a respiratory disease. Sanz was in charge of the Spanish Giants from 1995 to 2000 overseeing two champions league titles, with the 1st coming after a 1-0 win over Juventus in 1998.

The 2nd was in 2000 when they crushed Valencia 3-0 in Paris. He was ousted as president of the club by Florentino Perez that same year.