Olympics
Banyana banks on home comforts in crunchy tie with Super Falcons
Information from South African news outlets point out that Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis and striker Thembi Kgatlana remain optimistic they can overturn the 1-0 Olympics qualifying first-leg defeat they suffered away to Nigeria in Tuesday’s home leg in Pretoria.
The South African women’s football team lost narrowly at MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja on Friday night.
Banyana welcome the Super Falcons for the deciding leg at Loftus Versfeld Stadium 7.30pm local time but 6.30 pm in Nigeria.
“I think in the first half [in Abuja], we started a bit slow and coming into the second half we were better”, Kgatlana is quoted by TimesLive as saying.
“That’s the positive we need to take going back home with familiar facilities and knowing what to do in front of our fans,” Kgatlana further said.
“The good thing is [that] this is not a tournament. We know after the game in Pretoria whoever wins will go through, but they have the advantage after the first leg. There is no away-goal rule.
“I also think that gives us more confidence because we are not chasing the game.
“We have to win with a better score. We also have an advantage at home with better facilities.”
Ellis shared Kgatlana’s sentiments and said while her team need to score, they also have to make sure they don’t concede.
“We have to look at the footage to see how we can rectify things and how we can be better. We need to score, but we need to be aware to not concede and make sure we score first to get the game back on at even,” Ellis said.
The Banyana coach expects the Super Falcons to come to South Africa intent on protecting their advantage with defensive football.
“It’s up to us to take the game to them and make sure we score and also make sure we are settled in defence and we don’t concede,” she said.
“They don’t have to come [attack], they can sit back, but the onus is on us. We are going back to familiar surroundings and we hope to take the game to them.”
Banyana’s task is not an impossible mission as the African champions need a 1-0 win to force the fixture to a penalty shootout, or any two-goal margin victory to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The Olympic rings installed on the Eiffel Tower since June to celebrate the upcoming Olympic Games were removed from the Parisian monument early on Friday morning, as confirmed by an AFP photographer. But the Paris City Hall intends to replace them with a more permanent structure until 2028.
The five-coloured rings, measuring 29 metres in length and 15 metres in height, were placed between the first and second levels of the iconic iron structure on 7 June.
According to Inside the Games publication, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo wants the Olympic symbol to continue decorating the monument until the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
But the descendants of the tower’s creator, Gustave Eiffel are opposing the move. They are insisting that the Olympic rings are aesthetically in conflict with the concept and design of the Tower.
The 30-tonne rings initially installed on the Eiffel Tower were also not designed to withstand winter weather conditions.
Olympics
Despite Egypt winning 3 medals at Paris Olympics, President Al-Sisi orders sports system overhaul
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi ordered a comprehensive evaluation of sports federations that participatedat the Paris Olympic Games, following a mission report submitted by the country’s sports minister.
The mandate includes a thorough expenditure check and a performance review to better highlight areas of improvement and fund allocation in future Games.
Additionally, the president plans to take necessary measures against federations —such as limiting funds— that had negative results in the Paris Games.
Egypt’s participation in sports where it lacks a competitive advantage will also be limited, as the president aims to direct resources to promising athletes to ensure optimal results. The president also aims to reduce administrative and technical staff within Olympic delegations and task relevant ministries with preparing future Olympic athletes.
Al-Sisi’s Olympic overhaul is to be presented to the cabinet for approval and urged the government to prioritise amending the sports law for the House of Representatives for review.
Egypt took home a total of three medals in the Summer Games. Ahmed El-Gendy triumphed in modern pentathlon, Sara Samir claimed the silver in weightlifting, and 21-year-old fencer Mohamed El-Sayed earned the bronze.
-Insidethegames
Paris 2024 sold a record 12 million tickets for the Olympics and Paralympics, beating the Games record previously set by London 2012, organisers said on Sunday.
Some 9.5 million tickets were sold for the Olympics and 2.5 million for the Paralympics, which end on Sunday.
In 2012, London organisers set the record for the Paralympics with 2.7 million tickets sold but only 8.2 million were sold for the Olympics.
-Reuters
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