SPORT - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Petro de Luanda fires head coach Jose Neto, African players continue to shine at the annual Nike Hoop Summit, and Rwandese national Bella Murekatete is named to the 2024 Women’s College All-Star game

AFTER disappointing results in the conference stage of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), Angolan side Petro de Luanda have fired head coach Jose Neto. The Brazilian head coach has been with Petro for four seasons and is a former BAL Coach of the Year. However, he experienced tensions with Petro de Luanda’s front office and multiple players on the squad leading up to their most recent outing in the Kalahari Conference. While the decision to part ways with Neto may have surprised some fans, the latest outcome following a fourth-place finish in the 2023 season and a second-place finish in…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

African club semi-final fails to take place following dispute over Moroccan club’s jersey

FOOTBALL

ALGERIAN side USM Alger's African Confederation Cup semi-final first-leg tie against Morocco’s Renaissance Berkane did not go ahead because of a political dispute over the visiting team’s jersey, leaving the outcome of the tie in doubt. The Berkane shirt features an expansive map of Morocco, including the disputed Western Sahara which has been a bone of contention between Rabat and Algiers, with the border between the neighbouring North African countries closed since the 1990s. When the Moroccan side arrived in Algeria on Friday, their kit was confiscated by customs and the team detained at the airport for several hours before…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Jepchirchir crushes women’s-only world record in winning London Marathon

ATHLETICS

REIGNING Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir crushed the women's-only world record in winning the 44th London Marathon, while Kenyan compatriot Alexander Mutiso Munyao pulled away from Ethiopian distance great Kenenisa Bekele to win the men's race. The 30-year-old Jepchirchir crossed the finish line in front of Buckingham Palace in two hours 16 minutes 16 seconds to break Mary Keitany's mark of 2:17:01 set in a women-only race at the 2017 London event. Jepchirchir pulled away from a group of four in a sprint finish before collapsing to her knees in tears having beaten the fastest field of women ever assembled. "I…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Premier League talking points

FOOTBALL

TALKING points from the latest round of Premier League games. ARSENAL SHOW GRIT TO PROVE DOUBTERS WRONG Defeats by Aston Villa and Bayern Munich in their last two matches called Arsenal's backbone into question but Mikel Arteta's side answered the doubters with a gritty 2-0 win at Wolves to show that their title challenge is not over yet. It was a dour affair and though the statistics might suggest that Arsenal had it easy, they had to grind it out, scoring late in each half to show a different side of themselves that might prove vital as the title race…

Apr

2024

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Basketball’s influence in Africa is growing, latest NBA data shows

BASKETBALL

FROM growing live game viewerships to a surge in social media numbers and an increase in merchandise sales, a new NBA Africa report shows a growth in the number of Africans interested in basketball. According to Silalei Shani, a basketball commentator and former Kenya basketball team captain, “What is happening now is that the basketball audience is connecting more and can be measured because of central areas of interest and at large scale basketball events that have come up in recent years, such as the BAL.” “Credit has to go to social media, marketing and content creators. Basketball content is…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Everton grab 2-0 victory over Forest to boost survival hopes

FOOTBALL

EVERTON secured three crucial points when they beat relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest 2-0 at Goodison Park to improve their own Premier League survival hopes and move five points clear of the drop zone. With Everton and Forest being docked eight and four points respectively for financial breaches, Everton is 16th in the standings with 30 points, having played one game fewer than Forest, who sit four points below in 17th place. Forest was furious at being denied three penalty claims and issued a strongly worded complaint on social media immediately after the game. There was little to separate the two sides…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

China’s federation promises action after half marathon debacle

ATHLETICS

THE Chinese Athletics Association (CAA) has vowed to strengthen the supervision of its road-running events after a video of Sunday's Beijing half-marathon showed three runners appearing to slow down to allow China's He Jie to overtake them and win. He won in a time of 1:03:44, a second ahead of Ethiopian Dejene Hailu Bikila and Kenyans Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat, who all tied for second place. Videos shared online showed the three runners waving He, who was slightly behind them, in front and gesturing towards the finish line. All four had run together for the entire race of just over 13…

Apr

2024

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

NBA Africa-Africell collaboration points to the growing influence of private sector in Africa sport

BASKETBALL

THE recent unveiling of a new indoor basketball court by NBA Africa and Angolan telecoms company Africell is another example of how private sector partnerships are helping to fast-forward sports development across Africa, while governments are missing the opportunity, according to a Nigerian sports analyst. Sports and entertainment expert Adedamilola Adedotun, lead sports strategist at The Temple in Nigeria, explained that partnerships with non-state entities in the sports sector are key to unleashing Africa's sports potential. "Sports infrastructure gaps would have been an ideal investment opportunity for governments to leverage to drive economic growth… what they lack, in my opinion,…

Apr

2024

By JOE CASH

F1 faces a fresh challenge on return to China

MOTORSPORT

FORMULA One returns to China for the first time since 2019 with even world champion Max Verstappen facing a new challenge at a circuit that provided his Red Bull team's first Grand Prix victory 15 years ago. The weekend will host the first sprint of the season, with only one hour of free practice on Friday to fine-tune the cars and do tyre assessments, and the teams have only simulator data to go on. The last time they raced at the Shanghai International Circuit, the cars had 13-inch tyres and a flat floor instead of the current 18-inch Pirelli rubber…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Roma players did right refusing to play after Ndicka collapsed, says coach

FOOTBALL

AS Roma coach Daniele De Rossi defended his players who did not want to continue their Serie A match at Udinese on Sunday after defender Evan Ndicka collapsed onto the pitch. The score was 1-1 when the Ivory Coast central defender fell backwards onto the pitch 18 minutes from time and had to be taken off on a stretcher. "First and foremost he's okay, which is the most important thing," De Rossi told a press conference on Wednesday before Roma host AC Milan in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday. "He's as good as a lad who's just…