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Salah, Asisat others win CAF awards

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Mohamed Salah, prolific Egyptian and Liverpool scorer was named African Player of the Year in Ghanaian capital Accra on Thursday, the first Egyptian to win the award since Mahmoud al Khatib in 1983.

Similarly, Women’s Footballer of the Year went to Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala.

The 25-year-old Salah has scored 23 goals in 29 matches in all competitions this season for the Premier League outfit after moving from AS Roma in the summer.

He also starred for resurgent Egypt, who last year finished runners-up to Cameroon in the Africa Cup of Nations and secured a first World Cup appearance since 1990.

In the penultimate round of World Cup qualifying, Salah scored the brace that edged Congo Brazzaville in Alexandria, including the stoppage-time winner from a penalty that sealed a trip to Russia.

Salah’s Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane, of Senegal, was runner-up and 2015 winner, Gabon and Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang third after a 30-player list had been trimmed to three.

National coaches, Confederation of African Football (CAF) officials, journalists and the public were involved in the voting.

The Egyptian succeeds Algerian Riyad Mahrez of Leicester City as holder of the most prized CAF individual award.

It is the first time since 1986 that stars from the north of the continent, which along with the west is the strongest football region, have won successive titles.

Victory on Thursday completed an awards hat-trick for Salah, who was named BBC African Footballer of the Year in December and Arab Player of the Year earlier this week.

Mane was voted 2016-2017 Liverpool Player of the Season, but the 25-year-old has since been overshadowed at Anfield by Salah’s scoring exploits.

He did stand out for Senegal, however, as they secured a first World Cup appearance since 2002, providing much of the creativity in a team stacked with physically formidable footballers.

Aubameyang was Bundesliga top scorer with 31 goals last season, holding off Bayern Munich and Poland ace Robert Lewandowski.

He flopped with Gabon, though, failing to take the 2017 Cup of Nations hosts past the first round and shunning several World Cup call-ups as Gabon failed to qualify.

Other award winners included Women’s Footballer of the Year Asisat Oshoala of Nigeria and Youth Player of the Year Patson Daka of Zambia.

Argentine Egypt manager Hector Cuper was named Coach of Year and other honours went to Egypt (national team), South Africa (women’s national team) and Wydad Casablanca (club).

Ahead of the awards ceremony, CAF president Ahmad Ahmad told a media conference why the Africa-based Player of the Year and Referee of the Year awards had been scrapped.

“When a footballer aims for excellence, they must rise to the highest standards, irrespective of where they play. We hope one day the best player will be based in Africa.

“Referees already have their rewards and marks of recognition. They are evaluated after every match and the best are designated matches like the CAF Champions League final.”

Shortlists had been drawn up for both awards when the CAF executive committee decided to dump them, initially without offering any explanations. AFP

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QNET and Man City Mark 10th Anniversary of their Partnership

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QNET and Manchester City 10th year anniversary ---
QNET and Manchester City 10th year anniversary (Photo: Techeconomy)

Man City counts 28 trophies in the last 10 yearsQNET,  an Asian direct selling giant and Manchester City, a top Football club in and outside England, are celebrating 10 years of partnership with great results. 

The anniversary was part of the 26th V-Malaysia Conference (VCON) at Penang in Malaysia.

The long-standing partnership will see QNET continue as Official Direct Selling Partner for City’s men’s and women’s teams, according to Techeconomy report.

This partnership marked a significant milestone in May 2018 when City welcomed QNET as the first sleeve partner in the Women’s Super League.

QNET and Manchester City 10th year anniversary
QNET and Manchester City celebrating 10 years of partnership

Throughout the next phase of this partnership QNET will continue to provide City-led football clinics to communities around the world, as well as engaging with consumers and distributors through this relationship with City. 

In a message to the leaders of QNET and the 8,000 VCON participants from over 30 countries, Ferran Soriano, the chief executive officer of Manchester City FC, said they are pleased to achieve great milestones that would not have been possible without the support and the commitment of everybody at QNET, “and every single one of you. I do remember back in 2014 when I met the leadership of QNET for the first time, and we discussed our plans, our ambitions, and we promised a lot. 

“We promised that Manchester City would be a great football team, and that they would play beautiful football. Now, 10 years since then, we hold 28 trophies. I have to be honest and say that when we promised we were going to do well, we didn’t think we were going to win 28 trophies.

“We’re excited now we’re starting a new season, and guess what? We want to win again, and if we do, it would be another record. Maybe we can win the fifth Premier League in a row. Obviously, something that hasn’t happened before. I can promise that we will fight for all the trophies like you fight for all your objectives. Manchester City and QNET have the incredible power to engage people from every country, create a sense of community and empower individuals and teams to achieve their aspirations”. 

He promised Manchester City’s support to the QNET brand to achieve even more successes in the coming years. 

Trevor Kuna, the CEO of QNET said that the partnership with Manchester City has made positive impacts on the business.

QNET’s grass-roots business model enables ordinary people from all walks of life to start their own business with minimal overhead. 

With hard work and dedication, QNET distributors, known as Independent Representatives (IRs) have the opportunity to become economically self-sufficient, raising the standard of life for their families and communities.

QNET is driven by two important philosophies: ​RYTHM (Raise Yourself to Help Mankind) and InService.

Meanwhile, the highlight of the QNET and Manchester City celebration was the presentation of a 10-year partnership anniversary plaque by John Kirton, senior partnership marketing manager, Manchester City Football Club to the QNET team. 

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Robinho To Serve A 9 Year Jail Term Over Gang Rape

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Former Manchester City and Real Madrid striker Robinho will reportedly serve a nine-year jail sentence for gang rape – Imposed on him by an Italian court — in Brazil, judges in Brasilia has ruled.

The 40-year-old was found guilty in Italy in 2017 and according to Globo, Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (BSCJ), made the ruling on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

The former Premier League player, whose real name is Robson De Souza, was one of six men who were found guilty of a§§aulting an Albanian woman in an Italian nightclub in January 2013.

In January 2022, the Supreme Court in Rome dismissed his final appeal against the conviction, according to the report.

Robinho claims he is innocent and has been living in Brazil for the past seven years. It came after nine of the court’s 15 ministers had voted in favour of the decision to incarcerate the footballer in Brazil.

Globo also claims that the ex-footballer, who also spent time at AC Milan and Real Madrid, will now be arrested in Santos, where he currently resides.

Robinho, who was 28 and was playing for AC Milan at the time, admitted during his appeal to having ‘contact’ with the woman, but the Brazilian insisted it was consensual.

The Milan Court of Appeals found Robinho had ‘belittled’ and ‘br¥tally h¥miliated’ the victim as it upheld his original sentence in December 2020.

Intercepted phone calls between the Brazilian and those allegedly involved in the assault were used as key evidence in his initial conviction.

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Former Tennis Champion, Tania Okpala Returns To Tennis After Rehabilitation

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Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, has revealed that former tennis champion, Tania Okpala, has resumed playing on the courts.

This development follows Soludo’s assurance that she would undergo rehabilitation after a video surfaced online showing her in distress on the streets of Awka, pleading for assistance.

In an update on his social media handle on Thursday, Soludo expressed his satisfaction with Okpala’s return, stating, “Tania Okpala is back on the courts!

“A few months ago, social media was flooded with a viral video showing Ms. Tania in a distressing state on the streets of Awka. I am pleased to report that we have successfully restored Tania to her winning ways.”

Okpala, who hails from Anambra and has a Belarusian mother, represented Nigeria in the 1990s.

Here are pictures of her in the tennis court.

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