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Spanish Cup Final-Williams: "Now it's our turn to put the icing on the cake".

 

Athletic Bilbao face Mallorca in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday April 6. Inaki Williams talked about the atmosphere ahead of the final, and the Basque team's approach to the match."Incredible!You can see the enthusiasm, that people are very enthusiastic and have a lot of confidence in the team. Now it's our turn to put the icing on the cake. We know Mallorca: a great team who are going to make things very difficult for us.Girona and Real Sociedad have been left in their wake. They have quality up front, an excellent defensive block and a coach with the experience and wisdom of Aguirre. This will surely convey to them the importance of this match. As we've done all season, we'll be keeping a low profile. But that doesn't hide the desire and enthusiasm on the street."

The Ghanaian international was asked to reflect on the possibility of victory. Here's his response. "The truth is that we're not aware of it and we don't think about it much. What we have to do is face a tough battle.There's nothing easy about it. You have to do it very well.You have to be able to handle all the emotions that come with the final. We have a lot of confidence in ourselves to come out on top in a 50-50 final."

South Africa: Kaizer Chiefs player shot dead

 

Tragedy struck South Africa on Wednesday, April 3. Luke Fleurs, a Kaizer Chiefs defender, was killed during an attempt to steal his vehicle. "It is with great sadness that we announce that Kaizer Chiefs player Luke Fleurs tragically lost his life last night during an attempted robbery in Johannesburg," the South African club announced on its X account.

The South African Football Association (SAFA) said it was "saddened" by the disappearance of the 24-year-old player. "We woke up to the heartbreaking and devastating news of this young man's passing. It's a huge loss for his family, friends, teammates and soccer in general. We all mourn the loss of this young man," said SAFA in a statement published on X.

The thieves made off with the Bafana Bafana vehicle. No arrests have yet been made.

It is with a great deal of sadness that we announce that Kaizer Chiefs player, Luke Fleurs tragically lost his life last night during a hijacking incident in Johannesburg.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this difficult time.

 

German Cup: Amine Adli scores, Boniface returns, Leverkusen in the final

The crazy season continues for Bayer Leverkusen. On Wednesday April 03, Xabi Alonso's side beat Düsseldorf 4-0 in the German Cup semi-final to book their place in the final. Morocco's Amine Adli (20th) scored the game's 2nd goal and provided the assist for Wirtz's 3rd. Victor Boniface also made a welcome return, coming on in the 66th minute. The Nigerian had not played for three months. Their opponents in the final will be Kaiserslautern.

Moreover, this is the 40th unbeaten match for Tapsoba's team-mates. What's more, Leverkusen could complete a hat-trick of league, German Cup and Europa League titles. A crazy season!

Olympic Games 2024: 3 African referees selected including Bouchra Karboubi

From July 26 to August 11, 2024, the Olympic Games will take place in Paris. Among the competitions will be the men's (July 24-August 9) and women's (July 25-August 10) soccer tournaments. The list of selected referees has been unveiled. 89 referees have been chosen. Of these 45 nationalities, Africa will have three representatives. The Mauritanian Dahane Beida, the Sudanese Mahmood Ismail and the Moroccan Bouchra Karboubi.

Cross-Country Tour: Beatrice Chebet and Rodrigue Kwizera win the 2023-2024 edition

 

Kenya's Beatrice Chebet and Burundi's Rodrigue Kwizera finish top of the rankings at the end of the 2023-2024 Cross-Country Athletics World Tour. Athletes are ranked according to their three best cross-country performance scores achieved between September 2023 and March 31, 2024, at least two of which had to come from World Cross Country Tour meetings.

Chebet scored victories at the Gold-level meetings in Atapuerca in October, then in Elgoibar in February. She then successfully defended her title at the Belgrade 24 World Cross Country Championships, which propelled her to the top of the overall standings with a score of 3880. Chebet's compatriot Edinah Jebitok, winner in Seville, Venta de Banos and Hannut, shares second place with Ethiopian Likina Amebaw, victorious in Amorebieta, Soria and Alcobendas.

Kwizera, who shared the lead in the Cross Country Tour rankings last season, this time finished the tour as the sole winner of the men's competition. He won the Gold-level meetings in Soria and Alcobendas last November, then was runner-up in Elgoibar earlier this year, giving him an overall score of 3700 points.

Fenerbahçe: No sanctions for Bright Osayi-Samuel

Following the scuffles after Fenerbahçe's 2-2 win over Trabzonspor, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has not brought any charges against Bright Osayi-Samuel. The Nigerian defender, who had fought with a fan, was not sanctioned after his appearance before the disciplinary board. "The conditions for a breach of disciplinary rules were not met", said the body.

Trabzonsport, on its part, was heavily punished. The Turkish club, whose supporters invaded the pitch and attacked Fenerbahçe players, has been given a 6-match suspension and two fines of 900,000,000 euros.

Cameroon: Marc Brys' first words

Cameroon's new coach, Marc Brys, takes over from Rigobert Song on the Indomitable Lions' bench. The 61-year-old Belgian technician spoke for the first time since the official announcement of his new position. "The puzzle was perfect in Cameroon, both athletically and financially.It's also a challenge to work in a different way. I've never been national coach before. You have to try and bind together a group that you don't see very often. Cameroon isn't the only country to have sounded me out in recent months. I've also spoken to Ghana. And a week ago, Tunisia entered the fray. Have any Belgian clubs sounded me out? I absolutely didn't want to go back to Belgium. I was a bit tired of doing the rounds there," Marc Brys told Sporza.

Ghana: Asamoah Gyan wants Kudus to take charge of Black Stars

Asamoah Gyan has a big suggestion for Ghana coach Otto Addo. The former Ghana striker advises his compatriot to build his team around Mohammed Kudus, who is currently shining with West Ham.
"When I was young, we had Michael Essien, Stephen Appiah, Sulley Muntari and at one point, it had an effect on me. Players come and go. We've had the Abedi Pele era, the Stephen Appiah era, the Michael Essien era and the Asamoah Gyan era, and now it seems to be the Kudus era," he confided during an appearance on Asempa 94.7 FM, a Ghanaian radio station.

He added: "He's the only Ghanaian player playing in Europe. And not just in any league, but in the Premier League. He's not only succeeding in Ghana, but also in Africa. He's the only African player doing so well at the moment. So we have to support him.

Mohammed Kudus arrived at the Hammers last summer, and has made a name for himself. He has scored 13 goals and provided 4 assists in 36 games in all competitions. With the Black Stars, he has 11 goals in 32 appearances.

 

NBA: Embiid is back, Phily smiles

After an absence of over two months, Joel Embiid made his return to the game. The Cameroonian, who watched helplessly from the infirmary as his team plummeted down the Eastern Conference standings, brought home a victory over the Thunder (109-105), third in the West.

Despite his physical shortcomings, The Process weighed in with 24 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals in 29 minutes.

With the return of Joel Embiid, the Sixers, now seventh in the standings, can hope to climb a little higher and qualify directly for the play-offs. However, the Cameroonian pivot will need to recover 100% physically in order to tackle this phase in the best possible way.

Coupe de France: Gift Orban sends Lyon through to the final

Despite a complicated season, Lyon are through to the final of the Coupe de France. On Tuesday April 2, Olympique Lyonnais hosted Ligue 2 side Valenciennes in the semi-finals. In this confrontation, the hierarchy was respected. After a brace from Alexandre Lacazette (51st and 57th), it was the Nigerian Gift Orban who sealed qualification for the final by scoring the last goal of the game in the 75th minute. Lyon will know its opponent today after the second semi-final between Paris Saint-Germain and Stade Rennais.