England vs Nigeria @ Wembley; Mark your calendar

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“It’s my dream to make it as a professional footballer. To play against some of football’s biggest legends is going to be remarkable,” the Jamaican sprinter said.

Robbie Williams will captain rivals England for the Unicef match.

Usain is a Manchester United fan
Usain has spoken previously about wanting to get into professional football after retiring from athletics last year.

And over the weekend he put out a cheeky tweet – which led to much speculation – hinting he’d been signed to a club.

Usain St. Leo Bolt
@usainbolt

I’ve signed for a football team! Find out which one this Tuesday at 8am GMT

10:59 AM – Feb 25, 2018

“Robbie and his England team better watch out as I won’t be going easy on them,” said Usain, adding that he’s got a “special celebration” planned should his team win.

The 31-year-old is a Manchester United fan, and once even made a surprise call to MUTV, its TV channel.

“I always said that I want to cope in more of a team sport because the track is individual,” he told the football club.

“I catch along easily and understand what I need to do when I get a job. When I get instructions, I can carry them out really well,” he said.

The Soccer Aid game at the team’s home ground will see celebrities and former world-class footballers playing together on the same team.

The event, which takes place biennially, has raised £24 million to help children since its launch in 2006.

The match has seen the likes of footballers Maradona, Alan Shearer and Ronaldinho play alongside celebs like Mark Wright, Jack Whitehall and Olly Murs.

Will Ferrell, Gordon Ramsay, Mike Myers and Craig David have also played in previous years.

“Reclaiming the title for England this year is going to taste so much sweeter with Usain leading the Soccer Aid World XI,” said Robbie Williams, who co-founded Soccer Aid.

“I can’t wait to lead out the England team.”

Tickets for the match are priced between £10 and £50, and it will be broadcast live on ITV from 8pm BST on Sunday 10 June. – BBC

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Mason Raymond of Canada, skates off as Germany players celebrate after the semifinal round of the men’s hockey game against Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Feb. 23, 2018.

Germany is warning its citizens in Canada to exercise “a high degree of empathy,” after the men’s hockey team beat Canada to advance to the gold-medal final at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Team Canada lost to Germany in a hard-fought semifinal match going down 4-3.

Shortly after Canada’s loss, the German Foreign Office, based in Berlin, tweeted a “travel warning” for Germans in Canada, urging them to “hug” a Canadian.

“Travel advisory: Germans in Canada should exercise a high degree of empathy. Be nice, don’t gloat, give hugs, buy rounds of hot chocolate. Just imagine how you would feel if Canada beat us in soccer,” reads the tweet.

Canada returned a diplomatic tweet, to point out the fact that the Germans are playing for their first-ever Olympic hockey gold.

“Thanks @GermanyDiplo. Congrats on your first shot at gold! We remember our first gold medal match in #IceHockey like it was yesterday… 1920 to be exact,” reads the tweet from Foreign Policy CAN.

The bronze-medal match is Saturday. Canada will face the Czech Republic.

The Germans will face the team of Olympic athletes from Russia for the gold medal on Sunday.  – GlobalNews

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#UCL Who will win today? Sevilla vs Manchester United

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Adigun was the pilot at the two sessions of Training  Heats 3 and 4. In Heat three,  starting as the ninth team, the Nigerian girls clocked 52.96. In Heat Four, they were slower, with 53.6 seconds.

The Jamaican team of Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian and Carrie Russell in contrast are doing much better. They made a time of 51.78 in the third heat, the 16th best time and 51.71 in the 4th heat, the 11th best time.

There are still no sure leaders in the training heats, after four sessions. Team USA of Elana Meyers Taylor and Lauren Gibbs, won in the third heat  with a time of 50.90 secs. Germany’s Stephanie Schneider and Annika Drazek returned the second best time of 50.93.

In the fourth heat, the two teams reversed their positions. Schneider and Drazek ended slower but with the session’s best 51.25, while team USA led by Elana Meyers Taylor made the finish line in 51.33 secs.

Two more training heats will be held on Monday. Hopefully the Nigerian representatives can show some improvement before the real heats begin on 20 February.

Outside of the Training heat, the Nigerian girls are still basking in the spotlight of being their country’s first representatives at the Winter Olympics.

“Each person we see, we’re like, ‘Let me hug you’, because we know it’s not easy to get here and we know the things we had to do to get here. So any time we see another African country we embrace them.” – Nigerian bobsledder Akuoma Omeoga said in Pyeongchang on Sunday.

Source: NAN

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Dutch second tier club, Fortuna Sittard, has denied that former Nigeria captain Sunday Oliseh was suspended due to his “refusal to to participate in illegal activities”.
Oliseh was suspended on Wednesday for what the club termed “unacceptable actions”.
In response, Oliseh claimed the club wanted him to “violate the law”.
On Thursday a statement from Sittard said they would be taking legal advice and look to sacking Oliseh.
“Fortuna does not recognize itself at all in these accusations, which were not highlighted by Sunday Oliseh to the club,” the club wrote on its website.
“The case will be presented by Fortuna Sittard to the arbitration committee of the KNVB (the Dutch Football Association), an independent body, which will now make an assessment of whether there is sufficient grounds to terminate the employment contract of Sunday Oliseh.”
The club also insisted that it did not rush into its decision to suspend Oliseh.
“Fortuna Sittard expressly did not take the decision to suspend Sunday Oliseh overnight,” the statement continued.
“The innumerable culpable acts as well as the disrupted employment relationship on the part of Sunday Oliseh have unfortunately led Fortuna to make him non-active.
“Fortuna Sittard has been legally advised by the Federation of Paid Football Organizations (FBO) during the entire process.”
They outlined why they took the decision to put Oliseh on “non-active” duties.
“The suspension of the trainer is emphatically not motivated by the four successive losses, although it is fair to say that the disrupted employment relationship between Sunday Oliseh, the group of players and other employees of Fortuna Sittard has had a negative influence.”
Oliseh was appointed as Sittard coach in late December 2016.

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He said this was in order to enable the Argentine striker stay fresh for his country ahead of the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia.

Argentina will face Nigeria, Iceland and Croatia in Group D of the preliminary round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The World Cup is expected to kick off from June 14 and end on July 15 in Russia.

Tapia’s plea has however largely gone unheeded by Barca coach Ernesto Valverde, who has started Messi in 33 of the team’s total 39 games this season.

He only left him out of the match day squad in three King’s Cup games.

The coach did leave Messi out of the starting line-up for the first time in the league against Espanyol on Feb. 4.

But he later threw the Argentine on as a substitute to help salvage a 1-1 draw.

“I hope all the players arrive at the level they are at the moment. Sergio Aguero is playing outstanding football right now and Messi is always at the top of his game,” Tapia said.

“That’s vital for the directors and the coaching staff. We have spoken to Messi about taking care of himself and about playing less for FC Barcelona.”

Tapia also said Argentina are planning to play a friendly against Catalonia in June as part of their preparations for the World Cup in Russia. (Reuters/NAN)

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Eden Hazard brace puts Chelsea back in fourth place as he singlehandedly wins it for Chelsea

Chelsea eased the growing pressure on Antonio Conte and returned to the Premier League’s top four with a convincing 3-0 win over West Brom.

Two goals from Eden Hazard and another from Victor Moses ended a run of five fixtures without victory, took them back above rivals Tottenham and up to fourth – and left 20th-placed West Brom seven points from safety.

The visitors also remain five points behind Stoke, the team nearest to them in the table, and with 11 fixtures remaining are facing a battle for survival.

Daniel Sturridge’s arrival on loan from Liverpool was widely considered a coup for Alan Pardew’s team but the former Chelsea striker lasted just three minutes on his return to Stamford Bridge before succumbing to an apparent hamstring injury.

Jay Rodriguez, recently charged by the Football Association with racially abusing Brighton’s Gaetan Bong, came on as Sturridge’s replacement but soon wasted their finest chance.

Eden Hazard celebrates with Alvaro Morata against West Brom. Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
His strike partner Salomon Rondon had already headed over the crossbar when, from an aimless long ball, Moses carelessly directed a header into Rodriguez’s path, sending him clear on the edge of the area. Despite time and space he then struck first time, harmlessly stabbing wide of the left post.

While West Brom had already lost their new striker, Chelsea had given a first start to theirs, but it was Davide Zappacosta and not Olivier Giroud who first tested Ben Foster. When Cesar Azpilicueta’s right-wing cross just evaded Giroud and Craig Dawson, Zappacosta struck at the back post before watching the goalkeeper save.

Giroud, an £18 million signing from Arsenal, then impressed with the same build-up play he regularly demonstrated at his former club in helping the hosts take the lead in the 25th minute. After Hazard collected Cesc Fabregas’ pass on the edge of the penalty area and resisted pressure he found Giroud, who laid the ball off to him in front of goal, from where the Belgian powerfully finished into the bottom left corner.

The hosts’ confidence and dominance of possession thereafter continued to grow, and Rondon posing so little threat from another rare chance that came West Brom’s way highlighted the visitors’ problems.

After outmuscling Andreas Christensen following another long ball the striker went one-on-one with Thibaut Courtois but saw his low shot well saved by the goalkeeper.

It was 2-0 in the 63rd minute when Fabregas’ attempted pass to substitute Alvaro Morata was deflected by Ahmed Hegazi into the path of Moses in front of goal, gifting him the close range finish he routinely rolled beyond Foster.

A good night for the hosts was wrapped up in the 71st minute when the superb Hazard scored his second, and the hosts’ third. He received possession from Morata on the edge of the area and shot early, classily curling the ball just inside the near post to spark further chants of support for Conte from the home support.

ESPN

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• Conte: “I’m going nowhere; I remain committed to the Chelsea football club”.
• Back-to-back defeats against Watford and Bournemouth have put increasing pressure on Conte

Antonio Conte has admitted to being “a disaster” when it comes to persuading Chelsea to sign players.

The Italian was regularly outspoken in his criticism of Chelsea’s transfer policy during the recent January window and has suggested that he does not have much say on who the club sign.

Sky Sports reported last month that Chelsea were becoming increasing frustrated with Conte’s public outpourings, and poor performances on the pitch recently have added to the pressure on the head coach.

The reigning champions have dropped to fifth in the Premier League table after back-to-back defeats against Bournemouth and Watford and are 22 points behind leaders Manchester City ahead of the visit of West Brom on Monday Night Football.

Asked if he thought Chelsea’s current squad could be improved, Conte said: “I don’t know. Usually in my experience, I reached the best results possible with the players I have to work with.

“I think that I’m the type of coach who if I have a player who is 6/10, I bring him to an 8/10. If I have a player who is 8/10, I take him to 10/10. I’m this type of coach.

“My task is this and, for this, I’m very good. But I think I’m a bit of a disaster to convince the club to buy players. I think in this aspect I can improve a lot.

“I have to learn a lot from the other coaches, the other managers, in that aspect. I have to speak more with the managers who are very, very good at persuading their clubs to spend money to buy top players.”

Despite their struggles, Chelsea look set to stick with Conte until at least the end of the season with owner Roman Abramovich understood to be against employing a short-term fix.

According to reports in Spain, former Barcelona manager Luis Enrique is being lined up as a replacement for Conte, though the club have not approached any potential candidates.

Chelsea face the La Liga leaders in the Champions League knockout stages and Conte, who knows Luis Enrique from when the pair both worked in Italy, was full of praise for the Spaniard.

Back-to-back defeats against Watford and Bournemouth have put increasing pressure on Conte

“I have spoken with him, and he’s a really good person,” Conte said. “I have great admiration for Luis Enrique and he is a fantastic coach.

“He reached his targets with Barcelona, and also with Roma. You could see a well-organised team. I can speak about him very well, as a person and a coach.

“We do this job, and our job is not ‘difficult’, but you must be open and understand the situation can change. A club can take different decisions. It’s the same for me.

“But, I repeat, I’m not jealous or envious of other managers. Everyone knows his job, his work. I have, usually, a great respect [for fellow managers].”

Sky Sports

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People in downtown Seoul, South Korea were thrilled to see U.S. president Donald Trump hand in hand with his North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walking together and taking selfies.

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