Olympics
Paris 2024: Super Falcons to host Banyana Banyana in cracker on 5 April
Africa’s top-ranked team, Nigeria will host reigning African champions South Africa in the first leg of their Women’s Olympic Football Tournament final qualifying fixture at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja on Friday, 5th April.
The encounter at Nigeria capital’s magnificent facility will kick off at 4pm, with Algerian referee Ghada Mehat as referee. Mehat’s compatriots Asma Feriel Ouahab and Lamia Atman will be in the roles of assistant referee 1 and fourth official respectively, while Mariem Cheddad from Mauritania will serve as assistant referee 2.
Senegalese Fadouma Dia, a former FIFA referee, will be referee assessor while Ghanaian Chrstine Ziga will serve as commissioner.
For the return leg scheduled for South Africa (venue to be decided) on Tuesday, 9th April, the Confederation of African Football has appointed Tunisian official Dorsaf Ganouati as referee. She will be assisted by compatriots Houda Afine (assistant referee 1) and Emna Ajbouni (fourth official) with Egyptian Yara Atef Abdelfattah as assistant referee 2.
Agar Mezing from Cameroon will be the referee assessor while Cindy Dludlu from eSwatini will be commissioner.
The Super Falcons saw off the challenge of Cameroon’s Indomitable Lionesses in the penultimate round of the race, with a single goal over the two legs scored by Esther Okoronkwo at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, while Banyana Banyana trounced Tanzania 4-0 over two legs in Dar es Salaam and Nelspruit.
The winner over two legs in early April will join 15 other senior women teams from across the globe for the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament starting in Paris on 16th July.
Olympics
Olympic rings removed from Eiffel Tower
The Olympic rings installed on the Eiffel Tower since June to celebrate the upcoming Olympic Games were removed from the Parisian monument early on Friday morning, as confirmed by an AFP photographer. But the Paris City Hall intends to replace them with a more permanent structure until 2028.
The five-coloured rings, measuring 29 metres in length and 15 metres in height, were placed between the first and second levels of the iconic iron structure on 7 June.
According to Inside the Games publication, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo wants the Olympic symbol to continue decorating the monument until the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
But the descendants of the tower’s creator, Gustave Eiffel are opposing the move. They are insisting that the Olympic rings are aesthetically in conflict with the concept and design of the Tower.
The 30-tonne rings initially installed on the Eiffel Tower were also not designed to withstand winter weather conditions.
Olympics
Despite Egypt winning 3 medals at Paris Olympics, President Al-Sisi orders sports system overhaul
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi ordered a comprehensive evaluation of sports federations that participatedat the Paris Olympic Games, following a mission report submitted by the country’s sports minister.
The mandate includes a thorough expenditure check and a performance review to better highlight areas of improvement and fund allocation in future Games.
Additionally, the president plans to take necessary measures against federations —such as limiting funds— that had negative results in the Paris Games.
Egypt’s participation in sports where it lacks a competitive advantage will also be limited, as the president aims to direct resources to promising athletes to ensure optimal results. The president also aims to reduce administrative and technical staff within Olympic delegations and task relevant ministries with preparing future Olympic athletes.
Al-Sisi’s Olympic overhaul is to be presented to the cabinet for approval and urged the government to prioritise amending the sports law for the House of Representatives for review.
Egypt took home a total of three medals in the Summer Games. Ahmed El-Gendy triumphed in modern pentathlon, Sara Samir claimed the silver in weightlifting, and 21-year-old fencer Mohamed El-Sayed earned the bronze.
-Insidethegames
Olympics
Paris 2024 Games break record ticket sales
Paris 2024 sold a record 12 million tickets for the Olympics and Paralympics, beating the Games record previously set by London 2012, organisers said on Sunday.
Some 9.5 million tickets were sold for the Olympics and 2.5 million for the Paralympics, which end on Sunday.
In 2012, London organisers set the record for the Paralympics with 2.7 million tickets sold but only 8.2 million were sold for the Olympics.
-Reuters
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