Uncategorized
BREAKING: ANOTHER WEATHER CONCERN STOPS PLAY AT AUSTRALIAN OPEN
An Australian Open that has been hit by weather extremes faced a new challenge on Thursday (Jan 23): dirty rain, after overnight downpours left courts muddy and unplayable.
Workers armed with squeegees and high-pressure hoses rushed to clean the surfaces, delaying matches on most of the courts.
The dirty rain, blamed on smoke hanging in the air from Australia’s raging bushfires, is just the latest hazard at a tournament that has been beset by meteorological mishaps
Further rain set back Thursday’s start still further, with most courts out of action until 3pm (noon in Singapore), four hours after they were due to begin.
“Due to the rain and dust overnight the outside courts need high pressure cleaning,” organisers tweeted. “Our team is working across Melbourne Park to prepare the outside courts for play.”
Smog from the deadly wildfires hit hazardous levels during qualifying, leaving players with coughing fits and breathing problems and triggering a rash of complaints.
Although the haze cleared before the tournament’s start on Monday it was replaced by torrential rain, which wiped out half of the day’s schedule and caused a backlog of matches.
Strong winds then buffeted Melbourne Park on Wednesday, giving players further problems as balls blew off-course and wobbled in the air.
The year’s opening Grand Slam is more accustomed to a different kind of problem: extreme heat, which frequently causes players to don ice towels and occasionally halts matches.
Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic was one of the few who were able to play on Thursday, as she beat Jelena Ostapenko 7-5, 7-5 on Margaret Court Arena, one of three stadiums with a retractable roof.
“I’m super-happy to get the match out of the way. I didn’t know the (other) courts were, like, wet and dirty and all that. But for sure it was difficult today,” Bencic said.
“It was sometimes sunny and then suddenly was almost raining. Then windy. Yeah, you just kind of have to accept it and go with it and try your best.”
Men’s champion Novak Djokovic, after contending with strong winds in his second-round win on Tuesday, said it was anyone’s guess what the weather would serve up next.
“I don’t know, you tell me,” he said. “It’s never pleasant to play in these kind of conditions when you have such a strong wind. Hopefully we won’t be affected here in Melbourne by the quality of air.”
Melbourne, on Australia’s southern coast, has a well-earned reputation for changeable weather, as it is prone to both cold Antarctic winds blowing across the Southern Ocean, and hot Outback breezes.
Extreme weather is a growing concern in Australia after the bushfire emergency of recent months, which has left 29 dead and ravaged vast swathes of the country, torching thousands of homes.
-AFP
An unspecified number of Nigerian journalists travelling to Uyo for Friday’s Nigeria versus Libya’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match have been rescued.
This is contained in a press release by the Sports Writers’ Association of Nigeria (SWAN) on Thursday. The association commended the Nigerian security forces for their efforts in the rescue operation.
From the press release, it was gathered that the media men were abducted within the Anambra and Imo states axis.
”SWAN therefore commends the security operatives, particularly the Nigerian Army and Police for their prompt action which ensured that up to six of the held Sports Journalists regained their freedom with efforts to get the remaining person freed”, reads the SWAN statement.
German coach Juergen Klopp has been appointed head of global soccer for Red Bull, owners of several clubs including RB Leipzig and New York Red Bulls, the company said on Wednesday, in his first job since leaving Liverpool earlier this year.
Klopp, who ended his successful nine-year stint with Liverpool at the end of last season, will be starting on January 1, 2025.
“After almost 25 years on the sideline, I could not be more excited to get involved in a project like this,” Klopp, who also coached Mainz 05 and Borussia Dortmund, said in a statement.
“The role may have changed but my passion for football and the people who make the game what it is has not.”
The 57-year-old joined Liverpool in October 2015 and won the Champions League, their first English League title since 1990, the Club World Cup, FA Cup, League Cup and Super Cup, as well as the Community Shield during his time in charge.
Klopp, who also led Dortmund to two Bundesliga titles, a German Cup and a Champions League final in 2013, had announced in January he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season.
Klopp will not be involved in the day-to-day operations of the Red Bull-owned clubs in Germany, United States, Brazil and Austria, the company said.
“He will provide strategic vision, supporting individual sporting directors in advancing the Red Bull philosophy,” Red Bull said.
Klopp will also support the organisation’s global scouting operation, and contribute to the training and development of coaches.
“I see my role primarily as a mentor for the coaches and management of the Red Bull clubs but ultimately I am one part of an organisation that is unique, innovative and forward looking. As I said, this could not excite me more,” Klopp said.
Some German media reported his Red Bull contract included an exit clause for the post of Germany national team coach.
Klopp has long been linked to that job, especially after his successful stint at Liverpool and with Germany struggling to make an impact on the international stage in the past decade.
-Reuters
The Confederation of African Football has appointed Delgado Santos Rocha Lenine, from Cape Verde, as referee for Tuesday’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match between the Super Eagles and the Mediterranean Knights of Libya at the Martyrs of Benina Stadium in Benina, close to Benghazi.
He will be assisted by compatriots Djêry Gomes Lopes (assistant referee 1) and Jorge Santos Fonseca Aritson (assistant referee 2), with Hamidou Diero from Burkina Faso as fourth official.
Amir Abdi Hassan from Somalia will be in the role of commissioner, with Malian Dramane Dante as referee assessor and Rachid Medjiba from Algeria as security officer.
Tuesday’s encounter, which is at the back-end of a double header between both nations, will kick off at 9pm Libya time (8pm Nigeria time).
NFF Communication director unfolds 20 Points of a 20-hour ordeal on Libyan soil
African football legends, Adebayor and Aubameyang condemn Libya’s treatment of Super Eagles
BREAKING! CAF wades into the Libya-Nigeria Airport episode
Breaking! Uzoho suspended from Super Eagles’ next match with Sierra Leone
No longer Super League as CAF changes name of its new clubs competition
AIU releases its report on Tobi Amusan
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
Players boycott Libyan national team
-
AFCON4 days ago
Billiat’s penalty seals Zimbabwe’s 1-0 win over Namibia
-
AFCON1 week ago
Eguavoen unfolds Super Eagles’ squad for back-to-back duel with Libya
-
AFCON6 days ago
Facts & Figures as AFCON 2025 qualifiers enter Matchday 3
-
AFCON6 days ago
AFCON 2025 in Morocco: Everything you need to know
-
AFCON5 days ago
Libya’s captain, Faisal Al-Badri alleges poor treatment in Nigeria
-
Uncategorized7 days ago
CAF compels Kwasi Appiah to step down from Ghana FA
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
Fastest World Cup final scorer is dead!