Sports
Osimhen gets new coach as Napoli hire Calzona to replace sacked Mazzarri
Osimhen gets new coach as Napoli hire Calzona to replace sacked Mazzarri
Struggling Napoli sacked Walter Mazzarri on Monday and brought in Slovakia coach Francesco Calzona just two days before hosting Barcelona in the Champions League.
The 62-year-old Mazzarri became the second man to be sent packing this season by the ailing Italian champions.
Mazzarri took charge in November after Rudi Garcia was dismissed but Napoli then fell to ninth in Serie A ahead of Wednesday’s last 16, first leg with barca at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
“I thank Walter Mazzarri, a friend of the De Laurentiis family and Napoli, for having helped the team in a tricky period,” said Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis on X, formerly Twitter.
De Laurentiis confirmed that Calzona has been hired, reportedly until the end of the season, and will be in charge on Wednesday night.
“It’s always painful to sack a friend,” said De Laurentiis in a short interview with Sky Sport.
“But we need to consider that in Naples you have to give Napoli fans something extra. Now we’re going to try to do that with Francesco Calzona.”
Calzona guided Slovakia to Euro 2024 but has a huge job on his hands as he returns to Napoli, where he was an assistant under Maurizio Sarri and during Luciano Spalletti’s trophy-less first season with the club.
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The 55-year-old will reportedly keep his job with Slovakia while also trying to drag Napoli back up the table after the disappointing end to Mazzarri’s brief second spell in charge of southern Italy’s biggest club.
Mazzarri helped return Napoli to the upper echelons of Italian football between 2009 and 2013.
He guided Napoli to the 2012 Italian Cup, beating undefeated league champions Juventus in the final to win the club’s first trophy in over two decades.
Sports
BREAKING: Super Eagles qualify for AFCON 2025
BREAKING: Super Eagles qualify for AFCON 2025
The Super Eagles of Nigeria have secured their qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco, following Libya’s 1-0 victory over Rwanda in Kigali.
This result leaves Rwanda with five points from five matches, rendering them unable to surpass Nigeria in the standings, even if they win their upcoming match against the Super Eagles in Uyo.
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Currently, Nigeria leads Group D with 10 points, followed by Benin with six points, Rwanda with five, and Libya at the bottom with four points.
Benin remains in contention for the second qualification spot and will face Nigeria in a crucial match tonight.
Libya is set to host Benin in the final Group D game on Monday.
BREAKING: Super Eagles qualify for AFCON 2025
Sports
Mike Tyson back in ring to face Youtuber Paul
Mike Tyson back in ring to face Youtuber Paul
Nearly 40 years after making his professional debut, and 19 years after being battered into retirement, a 58-year-old Mike Tyson will climb back into the ring on Friday for a Netflix-backed bout that has drawn widespread condemnation across the boxing world.
Tyson, who terrorised the heavyweight division during an imperious reign in the late 1980s, is lacing up the gloves once more to take on Youtuber Jake Paul, 27, in an officially sanctioned fight at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, Texas.
The fight, which will be comprised of eight two-minute rounds, was initially due to take place in July but was postponed in May after Tyson required medical treatment on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles after vomiting blood due to a bleeding ulcer.
That gory mid-air emergency has provided another piece of ammunition for the numerous critics who have condemned Friday’s contest as a macabre circus act that poses an unacceptable level of risk for Tyson, who last graced a professional ring in 2005, when he was beaten via a technical knockout after quitting on his stool against Irish journeyman Kevin McBride.
– ‘It shouldn’t be happening’ –
“Twenty years ago, Mike Tyson retired from boxing, and was shot to pieces, right? I mean, completely shot,” the prominent British fight promoter Eddie Hearn said this week.
“If anyone thinks that Mike Tyson should be in a ring at this age, you either have absolutely no emotional feelings toward the man, or you’re an idiot. It shouldn’t be happening.”
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Hearn’s rival promoter Frank Warren echoed those sentiments.
“Mike Tyson is 58 years of age and he shouldn’t be fighting,” Warren said after the bout was announced. “It’s as simple as that.
“Anyone with an ounce of brains knows that it is ridiculous. You can be on a motorway stuck in a traffic jam and you get to the end of it and all it is is people who have stopped to look at a crash — and that’s what this is.”
Tyson, who US reports say is being paid around $20 million for Friday’s contest, has brushed off the concerns for his wellbeing, insisting when critics from the boxing world are motivated by jealousy.
“I’m beautiful, that’s all I can say,” he said earlier this year. “The people who said that wish they were up here. No-one else can do this.”
Mike Tyson back in ring to face Youtuber Paul
Sports
Alleged fraud: South Africa FA President, Danny Jordaan, arrested
Alleged fraud: South Africa FA President, Danny Jordaan, arrested
South African Football Association (SAFA) President Danny Jordaan was arrested on Wednesday amid allegations that he misused the organization’s funds for personal purposes, as reported by local media.
Jordaan, renowned for his pivotal role in securing South Africa as the host for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, sought to block his arrest on Tuesday by filing an urgent application.
However, the Johannesburg High Court is scheduled to hear his case only on Thursday, leaving him vulnerable to arrest.
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The arrest stems from a raid by police on the SAFA offices in March, after which police spokesperson Katlego Mogale said the allegations are that “between 2014 and 2018, the president of SAFA used the organisation’s resources for his personal gain, including hiring a private security company for his personal protection and a public relations company, without authorisation from the SAFA board.”
Jordaan, 73, and his reported co-accused, SAFA chief financial officer Gronie Hluyo and businessman Trevor Neethling, are due to appear in court later on Wednesday.
Neither Jordaan nor SAFA responded to a request for comment from Reuters, but in his affidavit to court seeking to block his arrest, he denies any wrongdoing.
Alleged fraud: South Africa FA President, Danny Jordaan, arrested
(Reuters)
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