Eaglets battle Mexico for trophy

Golden Eaglets striker, Kelechi Iheanacho


Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets will be the favourites on Friday when they face Mexico as the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup comes to an end in Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

Their meeting, at the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium from 5 p.m. Nigerian time, is in the final match of the biennial competition, now in its 15th edition. They had met earlier, at Al Ain City on Oct. 19 in the opening Group F match, with the Eaglets winning 6-1 with Kelechi Iheanacho scoring four times.

The Nigerian side had since then gone on to crush all opponents, the only blemish on their record being the 3-3 Group F draw with Sweden on October 22.

Kanu fires up Eaglets for fourth title

Japan ’93 FIFA U-17 World Cup winner, Nwankwo Kanu, believes the Golden Eaglets will overcome Mexico in Friday’s final of the 2013 edition in the United Arab Emirates for their fourth title.

Kanu’s goals two decades ago propelled Nigeria to their second title of the U-17 competition and he believes the present squad have what it takes to add a record fourth trophy.

The retired Nigerian player, who went on to help Nigeria win a gold medal at the Atlanta ‘96 Olympic Games, left Lagos on Thursday, to cheer the Eaglets to victory in Abu Dhabi.

Federer defends doping procedures

Tennis | More Tennis

Roger Federer said he trusts the anti-doping procedures in tennis despite rival Novak Djokovic's claim that fellow Serb's Victor Troicki's one-year ban was the result of negligence by the authorities.
The 17-time grand slam champion still thinks that players are not tested regularly enough, however, even if the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has taken steps to bolster its stance against doping.
Troicki learned this week that his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against an 18-month ITF ban for refusing to give a blood sample at the Monte Carlo Masters in April had been only partially successful with his sanction reduced to 12 months.
That prompted a furious response from Djokovic at the ATP World Tour Finals this week with the world No 2 declaring he no longer trusted the sport's anti-doping controls.
Federer offered a more measured view on Thursday after beating Richard Gasquet 6-4 6-3 to stay on course for the semifinals at the season-ending tournament.
"Overall I trust the system," the 32-year-old told a news conference. "I think they're all very professional.
"I just think it's very important that they treat us like normal human beings, not criminals. It's fine to treat a guy bad if the guy tested positive, the guy needs to feel the pain, but not if you haven't done anything yet."
Troicki blamed his ban on a Doping Control Officer (DCO) at Monte Carlo, insisting that the official told him he could delay giving a blood sample until the following day because he had felt unwell and had a phobia for needles.

Stosur hires former Murray coach Maclagan

Tennis | More Tennis

Former US Open champion Samantha Stosur has turned to Andy Murray's former coach Miles Maclagan to help reverse her slide down the world rankings, Tennis Australia said on Thursday.
The 29-year-old Australian, who has dropped to 18th in the world from fourth in 2011, failed to get beyond the third round at any of the year's grand slams and split with her long-time coach David Taylor shortly before this year's US Open.
Briton Maclagan joined Murray's camp in 2007 and helped the Scot develop into a grand slam contender before parting ways in 2010. He recently split with British women's number Laura Robson after a four-month stint.

Nadal revels in return to the top

Tennis | ATP

Rafael Nadal believes his return to the top of the world rankings after a seven-month injury nightmare is one of the greatest achievements of his remarkable career.
Just 12 months ago, Nadal was sitting at home in Manacor watching the ATP World Tour Finals on television as he contemplated the depressing thought that he may never again get the chance to compete for the sport's top prizes.
At the time the Spaniard was in the midst of a draining battle to recover from a severe bout of the knee tendinitis which has plagued him for years and, with no cure in sight, he was starting to fear the worst.
But fast forward one year and Nadal's present and future suddenly look a whole lot brighter.
The 27-year-old eventually found a solution to ease his knee pain and, after returning to the Tour in February, he quickly made up for lost time.

Nadal, who was fifth in the world when his comeback started, won the French and US Open titles, as well as eight tournaments, and in the process reclaimed top spot from Novak Djokovic – a supremely dominant run which reached a new peak at the Tour Finals in London on Wednesday.
He arrived in England knowing two wins in Group A of the round-robin event would ensure he finished 2013 top of the world and he did just that, defeating Swiss seventh seed Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (8/6) after beating David Ferrer 24 hours earlier.

Pakistan Taliban Appoints New Leader

 

Maulana Fazlullah

Maulana Fazlullah has been elected by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as their new chief, after the death of the previous leader in a US drone strike, a spokesperson for the group has said.

The spokesman told the Reuters news agency that his appointment meant that peace talks with the Pakistan government were now off the table.

DRC Rebels Surrender In Uganda

 

An end is finally in sight for the 18-month armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo as the M23 group, including their commander Sultani Makenga, surrendered in Uganda, officers have said, signalling the end of an 18-month armed conflict.

Massacre Evidence Uncovered In CAR

 

Armed forces in the Central African Republic were responsible for a massacre that took place on October 26, a few kilometres from the centre of the town of Bouar, Al Jazeera has said after uncovering evidence.
Eighteen people were killed in the incident, the youngest victim just two weeks old.

Spain name strong squad, Costa in

Football | Bafana Bafana

Brazilian-born, naturalised Spanish striker Diego Costa was called up for the first time by Spain to play in a pair of friendlies in Africa.
Coach Vicente del Bosque named Costa in his 23-man squad on Thursday for the World Cup champions matches' against Guinea and South Africa.
Costa featured in two friendlies for Brazil but could still switch to Spain because he had never featured in a competitive match. The Atletico Madrid striker publicly declared his desire to suit up for the world champions despite the World Cup beckoning in Brazil.
"Seven months before the World Cup, we thought it would be a convenient time to try him out. He's going to provide a lot of solutions for us in attack," Del Bosque said on Thursday before warning the tournament in Brazil was still a long way away.
"This doesn't mean he's on the (World Cup) squad. There's still time between now and the World Cup. There's no unlimited credit for any player on this team."
Costa is the fifth Brazilian-born player to play for Spain.

Pirates, Ahly on brink of glory

Football | CAF Champions League

Orlando Pirates © Gallo Images

Holders Al Ahly are aiming for an unprecedented eighth title in the premier continental club championship but have to skip South African giants Orlando Pirates to realise that dream.
On Sunday, at the Arab Contractors Stadium in Cairo, the curtains for the 2013 Orange CAF Champions League will be drawn up with both Ahly and Pirates chasing a piece of history and also writing it their own way. Kickoff is at 6pm.
Unarguably the biggest game on the African club football calendar, Ahly will be seeking for their first back-to-back titles since 2005 and 2006, while Pirates are in the decider for the first time after their only triumph in 1995.
The stakes are high after the first leg last weekend ended one-all with the South Africans snatching a last-gasp equaliser through Thabo Matlaba, canceling out Mohamed Aboutreika’s first half goal.
It will be the fourth meeting between the two sides this season, with the visitors the better, thanks to a 3-0 win over their hosts at the group phase at the Red Sea resort of El Gouna.

Ahly have since recovered from that slip, coughing up an unbeaten spell in the remaining games on their way to the final. Experience-wise, the Cairo-based club are favourites, with veterans such as Aboutreika, Wael Gomaa, Ahmed Fathy, Sherif Ekramy among others inspiring their journey thus far.

However, the Buccaneers are probably most improved side in the campaign with a blend of youth and experience with players such as Andile Jali, Daine Klate, goalkeeper Senyo Meyiwa and Tlou Segolela earning rave reviews locally and outside.

Non-payment of players is still a significant problem in football and not enough is being done about it, the international union FIFPro said on Thursday.

 

Football | International

 

FIFPro's comments followed a two-day meeting of a working group, named Expert, which is discussing proposals for improvements to the transfer system.
"The experts consider the non-payment of players the most pressing matter," said FIFPro in a statement.
"It is an extremely stubborn problem and, in the opinion of the Expert group, the football world does little to address this urgent matter.
"The members of the Expert group welcomed the fact that Fifa has recently increased the capacity of its own arbitration committee (the Dispute Resolution Chamber).
"Nevertheless, the speed with which the disputes are handled is still unacceptably low. Too many players must still wait an irresponsibly long time for what is rightfully theirs: their salary."

Spurs, Fiorentina, Valencia advance

Football | Europa League

Jermain Defoe broke Tottenham's European goal-scoring record on Thursday as he steered his side into the knockout phase of the Europa League with a tough 2-1 victory over Moldova's Sheriff Tiraspol.
Spurs join Valencia, Salzburg, Esbjerg, Fiorentina and Dninpro in the last-32 who all booked their places with two matches still remaining in the group phase.
Defoe's clinical 67th minute penalty, which not only makes him the competition's top scorer with five goals from four matches, also gave him 23 European goals, one more than former England international Martin Chivers.
Chivers, who scored 13 goals in 24 matches for England, helped the side win the same competition in 1972 when it was known as the Uefa Cup.
"Some things are written, I couldn't get a lot of space in the first-half but I just tried to stay patient and top of the list now, I'm delighted," said England striker Defoe.
"I saw Martin (Chivers) at halftime, he's a legend and he just told me to get it so it's special for me."
Valencia, who won the tournament in 2004 and were twice beaten Champions League finalists, are also into the next round after a Sergio Canales' goal five minutes from time gave them a 3-2 victory at Swiss side St Gallen. Premier League club Swansea blew a victory chance against Kuban Krasnodar for the second time when they conceded a last-gasp equaliser but need only avoid defeat when they play St Gallen in their final game or beat Valencia at home in their next to ensure their passage to the knock-out stages.
Despite playing the last quarter of an hour with 10-men following defender Xandao's red card at the Kuban Stadium, the Russians netted two minutes into injury time through Ibrahima Balde to earn a 1-1 draw.
Ivory Coast forward Wilfried Bony had given the Welsh visitors an early lead but just as Djibril Cisse's penalty at the Liberty Stadium had cost them a win last month, so too this time Senegal forward Balde's clever lofted finish broke Swans' hearts.