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EGYPT 2023: MOROCCAN OFFICIAL TO OVERSEE NIGERIA, SENEGAL CLASH

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The Confederation of African Football has appointed Moroccan Jalal Jayed as referee for today’s Africa U20 Cup of Nations Group A battle between seven-time champions Nigeria and Senegal at the Cairo International Stadium.

Jayed will be assisted by Tunisian Mohamed Bakir (assistant referee 1), Algerian Hamza Bouzit (assistant referee 2) and Ivorian Clement Franklin Kpan, in the match that will kick off at 7pm Egypt time (6pm Nigeria time), three hours after the tournament opening game between hosts Egypt and Mozambique at the same venue.

While Hussein Jenayah from Tunisia will be the match commissioner, Burundian Jean Claude Birumushahu will serve as referee assessor and Imade El Fahouss from Morocco will be general coordinator.

The Flying Eagles had their first official training session in Cairo on Friday at Jewel Hotel training field as the team gets set for the clash with Senegal.

Nigeria, two-time FIFA World Cup silver-medallists and one-time bronze medallists, will be gunning for an eighth continental title at the finals in Egypt. They play host nation Egypt and Mozambique in other games in Group A.

Only the top four-placed teams at the 12-nation tournament will qualify to represent Africa at this year’s FIFA U20 World Cup finals in Indonesia, 20th May – 11th June.

Meanwhile, the Flying Eagles trained under the supervision of Coach Ladan Bosso and his technical team for 90 minutes on Friday. The session focused on players’ recovery after the trip from Casablanca to Cairo on Friday.

Another session was held Saturday evening at 8:30pm local time (7:30pm Nigerian time).

Belgium -based Ahmed Abdullahi has joined the Flying Eagles’ squad in Cairo. The KAA Gent of Belgium forward arrived in Cairo in the early hours of Friday morning. Abdullahi was part of the team that emerged WAFU B U20 Champions in Niger Republic in May last year.

The nifty forward scored one goal at the regional tournament despite injury ruling him out of the tournament after he suffered head injury during a match with Burkina Faso, and is expected to offer more attacking options upfront to Coach Ladan Bosso.

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LIONEL MESSI’S PREFERRED MOVE WOULD BE BACK TO BARCELONA, FATHER AND AGENT SAYS

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Lionel Messi's father says his son's preferred move is back to Barcelona.

Lionel Messi’s father and agent, Jorge Messi, says his son’s preferred move would be a return to Barcelona during the summer transfer window.

Messi played his last match for Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday, ending a two-year stay in the French capital which had become tumultuous of late.

The World Cup winner was booed on more than one occasion by PSG fans this season, including when he walked onto the pitch at the Parc des Princes stadium to celebrate the team’s Ligue 1 title on Sunday.

Among the clubs vying for his contract is Al-Hilal, with Reuters reporting last month that Messi had received a formal offer to join the Saudi club.

However, when asked by journalists if returning to Barcelona, where Messi spent 17 trophy-laden years, would be his son’s preferred move, Jorge answered: “Yes.”

Jorge was then asked if the Messi family was confident of a return to the Catalan club, to which he responded: “I would love it.”

Messi left Barcelona in tears in 2021 after financial mismanagement at the club, which was exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, meant it was unable to offer its talisman a new contract.

The Argentine won two Ligue 1 titles in his two seasons at PSG, but was unable to help the club win the Champions League for the first time in its history.

Messi’s time at the club ended acrimoniously after PSG suspended him for taking an unauthorized trip abroad, with the Argentine later apologizing.

Barça legend

Now a move back to the club where Messi turned from schoolboy to sporting legend is on the cards.

At 17 years old, he made his first of 778 appearances for the Blaugrana, becoming the youngest player to represent the club in an official game at the time.

He went on to break the club’s goalscoring record and won 35 trophies during his time at the Camp Nou – including 10 La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues.

Under new coach and club legend Xavi, Barcelona this year won its first La Liga title in four years.

“For me, there’s no doubt that if Messi comes back, he will help us on a football level,” Xavi told Barcelona-based newspaper SPORT in a recent interview.

“I let the president [Joan Laporta] know this. I have no doubts, no doubt at all that he will help because he is still a decisive footballer, because he still has hunger, because he’s a winner, because he’s a leader and because, also, he’s a different, different player,” added Xavi, who told SPORT that he still talks to Messi.

“We don’t have a Barça on a talent level like 2010, for example. And what would Messi bring? He’d bring talent. Final pass, set pieces, goals … in the final third, he’s a player on a different level.

“As such, and because of the way I want to play, the way the staff wants to play too, for me there’s no doubt that he would help us a lot, but it all depends on him. In the end, the one who calls the shots at this time is Leo. There’s no doubt.”

CNN

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MOHAMED ALI ON SONY LISTON

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He said:

“He knows I’m great. He went to school, he’s no fool. I predict that he will go in eight to prove that I’m great, and if he wants to go to heaven, I’ll get him in seven. He’ll be in a worser fix if I cut it to six.

“And if he keeps talking jive, I’ll cut it to five. And if he makes me sore, he’ll go like Archie Moore, in four. And if that don’t do, I’ll cut it to two. And if he run, he’ll go in one. And if he don’t want to fight, he should keep himself home that night. Just before the fight, when the referee was giving us instructions, Liston was giving me that stare.

“And I won’t lie, I was scared. Sonny Liston was one of the greatest fighters of all time. He was one of the most scientific boxers who ever lived, he hit hard, and he was fixing to kill me. It frightened me, just knowing how hard he hit.

“But I was there, I didn’t have no choice but to go out and fight. The first round, I was dancing, moving back and side-to-side. I hit him with a couple of combinations, and he got me once with a right hand to the stomach.

“At the end of the round, I went back to my corner, and I felt good because I knew I could survive. Round two, I made a mistake and he caught me against the ropes. I got away from most of the punches, but he hit me good with a left hook that shook me up. Round three, I changed my strategy.

“I’d planned to fight hard the first two rounds, and then coast while Liston got tired. That way, by round five or six, I’d be rested and he’d be out of energy, and I’d start coming on strong. But at the start of round three, I could see he was frustrated and getting tired already, so I decided to test him then.”

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HOW OSIMHEN’S STRIKE ENDED NAPOLI 33-YEAR WAIT FOR SERIE A TITLE

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Napoli finally ended their long wait to win Italy’s Serie A on Thursday after a 1-1 draw at Udinese secured their third league title with a record-equalling five games to play.

Thousands of fans in Udine, at the Stadio Maradona in Naples and all around southern Italy’s biggest city exploded with joy at the final whistle as 33 years of waiting came to an end.

Supporters streamed onto the pitch at the Dacia Arena to celebrate after a season dominated by Luciano Spalletti’s side, creating moments of tension with home fans not happy at such open partying on their ground.

Victor Osimhen scored the decisive goal in the second half as Napoli’s current stars came back from trailing to Sandi Lovric’s opener at half-time and emulated the teams led by Diego Maradona which won the league in 1987 and 1990.

Spalletti and his squad will receive an emotional welcome when they return to Naples, where the partying is set to continue to until at least their next home fixture against Fiorentina on Sunday evening.

“Seeing Neapolitans happy is enough to give you a sense of that joy they are feeling,” Spalletti told DAZN on the verge of tears.

“These people will look to this moment when life gets hard, they have every right to celebrate like this. You feel a bit more relaxed knowing that you’ve given them this moment of happiness.”

It was appropriate that Osimhen was the man to take Napoli over the line as the Nigeria striker has had the best season of his career and been key to Napoli’s historic charge to glory.

Osimhen’s title-deciding strike was his 22nd goal in 28 league appearances and rightly caused bedlam among the massed ranks of away fans who took over Udine.

Napoli’s 16-point lead over second-placed Lazio leaves them with a month-long parade between now and the end of the season which will allow their long-suffering supporters to fully unload more than a generation of frustration.

Osimhen seals deal

Napoli were straight on the front foot but as on Sunday looked worryingly bereft of ideas in the final third, and the away side were stunned in the 13th minute following the first spell of play in Udinese’s favour.

Lovric was given the freedom of the penalty area after being fed by Destiny Udogie, and the Slovenia midfielder took advantage by placing a lovely shot in the top corner.

Lovric stung the fingers of former Udine youth product Alex Meret in the Napoli goal just after the half-hour mark, by which point Napoli hadn’t created a single goalscoring opportunity.

Seconds later Osimhen, who looked like Napoli’s only hope of scoring in the opening period, headed a deep cross just the wrong side of the post.

And in the 52nd minute the 24-year-old stepped up as so often he has this season to unleash a wave of relief and blue smoke from the stands with his 27th goal in all competitions.

Osimhen was on hand to ram home the leveller when, after a corner, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s low shot was blocked and fell to the clinical striker.

He had the ball in the net again in the 67th minute but was denied by referee Rosario Abisso who rightly whistled for a foul by Eljif Elmas.

But by that point the fans grew ever more sure that Thursday night would be the night, chanting victory songs in Udine while flares billowed and fireworks were set off at the other end of the country.

While fans had to be cleared from the pitch in Udine to avoid clashes with home supporters the Stadio Maradona was lit up by phones held by teary-eyed Neapolitans singing along to songs by late local singer-songwriter Pino Daniele.

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