Sports

*35th Edition Kicks Off Tomorrow In Morocco Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will be held every four years instead of every two from 2028, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced today. The tournament, which brings in an estimated 80% of CAF’s revenue, has been held every two years since its inception in 1957. Tomorrow (Sunday) marks the start of the 35th edition, hosted in Morocco with the home team taking on Comoros. CAF President, Patrice Motsepe, said the next finals, scheduled for 2027 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, will go ahead and another tournament would be held in 2028,…

A boxing champion in prison in Iran is thought to be at imminent risk of execution after his request for a retrial was rejected by the country’s Supreme Court. Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, 30, from Mashhad in north-east Iran was arrested in 2020 for taking part in nationwide democracy protests in 2019 and accused of supporting an opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK). He has spent five years in prison, where he has been tortured and put in solitary confinement. His request for a retrial was turned down on 15 December this year. On the same day,…

*Calls Nigeria 'Bad Losers' Apparently bemused that Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) petitioned FIFA over alleged use of ineligible players by the Leopards during the 2026 World Cup playoffs in Morocco, Congo DR has mocked Nigeria. Reacting to the said petition in which NFF sought Congo DR's disqualification and their replacement by the Super Eagles at the oncoming intercontinental playoffs, the Congolese team, in a post on its official Instagram page on Tuesday night, warned Nigeria against attempting to qualify for the World Cup “from the back door” after losing to them on penalties. Congo DR wrote: “If you can’t win…

*Club Boss Ezeaku Hails Gov Mbah By Sylvia Kodilichukwu, Enugu The Enugu football renaissance received another moved another notch up as Rangers International FC Under-19 team played a pivotal role in Nigeria’s triumph at the Pan-African G.O.A.T (Game On Afrika Tournament) in Accra, Ghana. Nigeria emerged champions after a tense 1–1 draw against hosts Ghana, before sealing victory 4–2 on penalties at the Madina Zongo pitch. The success bore a strong Enugu imprint, with six players from the Rangers Youth Academy, alongside their coach, forming the backbone of the Nigeria selected squad. Coached by Felix Ifeanyi, the Rangers U19 players…

*Literally Roast Liverpool, Carragher By Yara El-Shaboury Mohamed Salah’s stature in Egypt means his every move dominates public discourse. It was therefore entirely predictable that the forward’s comments after Liverpool’s 3-3 draw at Leeds – where he was relegated to the bench for a third consecutive game – would become the singular, all-consuming topic across his homeland’s sports media. “Egyptian media was always going to stand by Salah,” says the Egyptian journalist and co-founder of the sports website KingFut, Adam Moustafa. “When you look at the content over the last five years or so of Egyptian football, 60-70% has been…

Really The End For Salah At Anfield? So, is this really it? After 250 goals in 420 appearances, Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup and Club World Cup titles, plus numerous individual awards and records, is this the day Mohamed Salah says goodbye to Liverpool? Will he even get the opportunity? Arne Slot’s side are unbeaten in the four games since Salah was dropped. In his now infamous interview at Elland Road, Salah claimed he had asked his parents to join him at Anfield on Saturday (tomorrow) when he will bid farewell to Liverpool fans before departing for…

By David Hytner, at the Bernabeu, & Ed Aarons, at Jan Breydel Stadium For Xabi Alonso, the slide towards the abyss has looked sudden from the outside, especially after Wednesday's match. Everything was fine at the beginning of November, the results excellent. Since then precious little has gone his way. The Real Madrid manager desperately needed something here. When this latest game eluded him, it was easy to fear the worst. Time is not a commodity afforded to men in his position. Alonso has now won only twice in eight matches in all competitions and if his pain was deep,…

By Sean Ingle It is known as the sport of the sheikhs, with thousands of fans packing desert tracks to watch robot jockeys compete for huge prizes. Now professional camel racing has a new high-profile investor: Paul Pogba. The Monaco midfielder said he had become a shareholder in the Saudi Arabia-based Al Haboob, the world’s first professional camel racing team competing across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Gulf, because he wanted to “elevate the sport on to a global stage”. “I’ve always been someone who wants to try new things and do things differently – whether it’s how…

*Barca Overcome Frankfurt From Behind By Nick Ames, at Stadio de Bergamo, & Andy Hunter, at San Siro There were no answers to Chelsea’s search for consistency here. Instead there was a late, potentially damaging defeat that leaves them staring down the barrel of a February playoff for the last 16, along with further suggestions they lack what it takes to face down a tough away assignment at this level. Enzo Maresca’s side looked well set when João Pedro scored against the run of play after 25 minutes. Atalanta had begun to flounder before Gianluca Scamacca’s leveller but grew in…

*Finally, Isak Scores For Liverpool Arsenal would surely have taken a draw beforehand against a Chelsea team that have emerged as surprise title rivals in recent weeks – and especially when they realised they had to play without William Saliba, who injured himself in training on Saturday. It was a different story on Sunday, 30 November when, in the 38th minute, Chelsea were reduced to 10 men after Moisés Caicedo’s X-rated challenge on Mikel Merino. It was one of those that made you wince upon each replay, the stand-in Arsenal striker fortunate to emerge unscathed. It was Chelsea’s sixth red…