SPORT - The African Mirror

Jun

04

2023

Verstappen on pole for Spanish Grand Prix

SPORT

ALAN BALDWIN RED Bull's championship leader Max Verstappen flew to pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz alongside on the front row after a dramatic qualifying. Verstappen was nearly half a second clear of the Spaniard and so good was his first lap in the final phase that he aborted the second, which was merely a protective gesture, once it became clear nobody else was going to beat him. It might have ended up being even faster. "The car was on rails, it was really enjoyable to drive today," said the happy Dutch driver, who took…

Jun

02

2023

By The African Mirror

Saturday’s game to be last of Messi ‘this season’, says club

SPORT

PARIS ST GERMAIN's home game against Clermont will not necessarily be Lionel Messi's last for the capital side, a club source said after coach Christophe Galtier said it would be 'his last match at the Parc des Princes'. Messi, who has 21 goals and 20 assists for PSG in all competitions this season, moved to the French capital from Barcelona in 2021 on a two-year contract. He has not yet renewed his deal with the Ligue 1 champions. "It will be his last game this season," the source told Reuters. The 35-year-old, who led Argentina to the World Cup title…

Jun

02

2023

By The African Mirror

Hamilton sees Spain as a perfect test for Mercedes

SPORT

SUNDAY'S Spanish Grand Prix should give Mercedes a better picture of the true potential of its upgraded Formula One car, seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton said. Mercedes introduced the upgraded car for last weekend's race in Monaco, with changes to the side pod and suspension, but the nature of the slow and twisty street circuit made it hard to draw any conclusions. "You can't really tell a lot from Monaco, you would never choose to test an upgrade at Monaco," Hamilton told reporters at the Circuit de Catalunya on Thursday. "This is a perfect test track, a lot of…

Jun

02

2023

By JANINA NUNO RIOS

Bolt desperate for impactful role in track and field

SPORT

USAIN Bolt said he is desperate to play a role in reviving the sport that made him a global superstar but has experienced something of a decline since his retirement six years ago. The Jamaican, who dominated men's sprinting for nearly a decade after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, said he had found plenty to do to keep himself busy but was really keen to remain involved in sport. "I spend my time doing a lot of family things, when it comes to track and field, not as much as I would want to but I still try and stay in…

May

30

2023

By OKWI OKOH

Hear Them Roar: Kenya’s Lionesses hunt for rugby greatness

SPORT

THE early morning air is crisp and the sky is several shades of grey above the Moi International Sports Centre 15 kilometres northeast of Nairobi’s central business district. The turf is green and soft, even though Kenya's “short rains” are petering out and winter is coming. These are ideal training conditions for the Lionesses, Kenya’s national women’s rugby team, and their captain Sheila Chajira doesn’t want to waste a minute of it. On that day in early May, Kenya was preparing to face South Africa’s Springbok Women, Cameroon’s Indomitable Lionesses and Madagascar's Lady Makis for the chance to play in…

May

27

2023

By The African Mirror

LaLiga calls for sanctioning powers to fight racism more effectively

FOOTBALL

SPANISH law permits LaLiga only to identify and report incidents, but not sanction. LaLiga feels powerless given the lack of sanctions that often result from its reporting. Madrid, May 23, 2023 - LaLiga is to request more sanctioning powers, with the aim of being more agile and effective in the fight against violence, racism, xenophobia, and intolerance in sport, where LaLiga has been leading the identification and reporting of such behaviour in football stadiums for years, but the organization feels powerless when observing how its reporting ends. Despite its relentless fight against violence and racism to the full extent of…

May

25

2023

By SILALEI SHANI, BIRD STORY AGENCY

The stage is set for Africa’s biggest basketball event of the year: BAL playoffs in Kigali

BASKETBALL

THE Basketball Africa League’s Nile Conference which took place between April 26 and May 6 at the Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall in Cairo ended with Petro de Luanda defeating Al Ahly in a game that went to the wire; Gerson Goncalves scored a buzzer-beating tip-in to win the Nile Conference for his team, 91-90. The win will see the Angola team enter the playoffs in Kigali as the league favourites, after finishing third and then second in the previous two editions of the competition. Angolan Carlos Morais was a standout player during the tournament and continued to set an exemplary…

May

24

2023

By The African Mirror

Spain arrests 7 after racist incidents targeting Vinicius Jr

FOOTBALL

POLICE detained seven men over separate alleged hate crime incidents against Real Madrid football player Vinicius Jr as Spain's main soccer league urged changes to Spanish law that would enable it to take steps to curb racism in stadiums. Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti expressed support for Vinicius Jr, whom he expected would remain at the club. He lambasted Spain's "obsolete" protocols to deal with racism in the sport and said he would consider taking his players off the pitch if they were to be abused again during a game. Full Real Madrid statement here "At PUMA, we do not tolerate racism,…

May

21

2023

By The African Mirror

Holders Wydad Casablanca reach African Champions League final

FOOTBALL

A late own goal sent holders Wydad Casablanca of Morocco into the African Champions League final on away goals after holding Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa to a 2-2 draw in Saturday’s semi-final second leg. Sundowns’ defender Mothobi Mvala powered a header into the back of his own net in a botched clearance eight minutes from time to hand Wydad a ticket to next month’s decider against Al Ahly of Egypt. The first leg of the semi-final in Casablanca ended goalless and the two away goals in the return ensured Wydad’s progress. Sundowns went ahead early in the second half…

May

19

2023

By The African Mirror

Young Africans to meet USM Alger in African Confederation Cup final

FOOTBALL

YOUNG Africans became the first team from Tanzania in 30 years to reach a continental club competition final when they beat Marumo Gallants of South Africa 2-1 away on Wednesday to book a date with USM Alger in the final of the African Confederation Cup. Congolese forward Fiston Mayele scored the first goal and set up the second for Kennedy Musonda with a mazy run from inside his own half as Yanga won away at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace, some 200km from Johannesburg, in the second leg of their semi-final. It ensured a 4-1 aggregate triumph as they followed…