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Covid-19: FIFA to release $150 million in cash reserves.

World football governing body, FIFA has disclosed plans to release the 2019/ 2020 operation funds worth $150 million to its member associations as the first step to help mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The pandemic has caused unprecedented challenges for the entire football community and, as the world governing body, it is FIFA’s duty to be there and support the ones that are facing acute needs.  This starts by providing immediate financial assistance to our member associations, many of which are experiencing severe financial distress.

Also Read: No match is worth risking life for.

“This is the first step of a far-reaching financial relief plan we are developing to respond to the emergency across the whole football community. Together with our stakeholders, we are we assessing the losses and we are working on the most appropriate and effective tools to implement the other stages of this relief plan.” FIFA stated in a statement.

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 Africa, Sports

Why Emmanuel Adebayor won’t donate to Togo’s coronavirus fight.

Emmanuel Adebayor has said he won’t be coerced into donating to the coronavirus fight in his country.

The Togo legend currently playing for Paraguayan giants, Olimpia who recently faced criticisms for his failure to contribute financially to his country, Togo’s covid-19 fight was also compared to his counterparts, Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o who have made massive investments through their respective foundations in Ivory Coast and Cameroon.

“I am compared with Drogba and Eto’o,” he said on Facebook Live. “However, I am neither of them. I am Emmanuel Sheyi Adebayor and I will always do what I want. I do what I want, I eat what I want, and this is the most important thing. Of course, there will be those who criticise me because I did not create a foundation in Lome.”

Also Read: Neymar, Alves, Alisson support poor Brazilian families.

The former Arsenal and Real Madrid striker continued, “For those saying I do not donate, let me be very clear: I do not donate. It is very simple. It is like some people believe that I brought coronavirus to Lome. It is very unfortunate but that is how it is and that is how this country is. I’m just living my life, I’m just enjoying myself. A lot of people are coming on my page and asking why are you not doing a charity.”

Also Read: How the Footballing world is joining the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

He added: “For God’s sake. Why are you asking me to do a charity? I do what my heart asks me to do, not what you people ask me to do. I hate it. If I have 10,000 in my pocket and someone comes across my page and will say use that 10,000 to do something. Whatever you have in your pocket, use it as you wish. It’s as simple as that.”

 

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 Sports

Neymar, Alves, Alisson support poor Brazilian families.

As the corona virus pandemic spreads all over the world, Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker and Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar and Barca legend, Dani Alves have  joined players and coaches who have donated to Brazilian families facing economic hardship due the coronavirus pandemic. Brazil has so far reported 43,079 cases of COVID-19, with 2,741 fatalities.

Also Read: Barcelona to sell Camp Nou ‘title rights’ to raise money for the fight against Covid-19.

A group of 57, have donated 2.5 million reais (£376,718) which the country’s football federation (CBF) will match. Funds will go to three organisations  to provide food and sanitary products for 32,000 families for two months, CBF president Rogerio Caboclo said.

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Brazil coach Tite and his players encouraged fans to donate and athletes from other sports to participate in the campaign.

“In difficult times like these lots of families need help, our help,” Neymar said in a video posted on the CBF website.

 

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 Sports

Gareth Bale donates £500,000 to help Welsh NHS workers.

Real Madrid star, Gareth Bale and his wife, Emma have donated £500,000 to the charitable arm of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, to help NHS staff in Wales, fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The donation was made to the official NHS charity of Cardiff and Vale Health Board which focuses on providing extra services for patients and staff that normal NHS funds don’t provide.

Also Read: Premier League players make £4m worth of contribution to the NHS.

Bale said in a video posted online, “I just wanted to thank everybody in the NHS for all their hard work and sacrifice during the Covid-19 crisis, The University of Wales Hospital holds a special place in my heart. It is where I was born and it has provided great support to my family, friends and the wider community. Me and my family would like to show our support. Keep up the good work, you are doing an amazing job. Thank you very much.”

Aaron Ramsey also made several charity donations to the NHS in Wales and other charities. Other footballers world wide have also made several donations to hopitals and charity homes.

Also Read: Footballing world is joining the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’d like to say a big thank you to Gareth, Emma and their family for this fantastic donation. It’s so heartening to hear they have chosen to give something back to their local hospital to say thank you for the services both them, their family and friends have received and to recognise all the hard work the staff and all at our hospitals are doing at this very difficult time. I would also like to say that gestures like this are testament to the fantastic work that our clinical and support colleagues carry out every day. Thank you so much.” Len Richards, Chief Executive at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said.

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 La Liga, Sports, Uncategorized

Barcelona to sell Camp Nou ‘title rights’ to raise money for the fight against Covid-19.

Spanish giants, FC Barcelona have today announced they are selling the naming rights of the Camp Nou for the 2020/21 season to the Barça Foundation. The goal is to raise revenue that the Foundation will invest in research projects aimed at fighting the effects of Covid-19. The decision has been taken by the FC Barcelona board in a video-meeting on Tuesday  presided over by Josep Maria Bartomeu.

The Blaugrana wrote on their website, “In the next few weeks, the Barça Foundation, through the Club’s Commercial Area, will begin the process of finding a sponsor who wishes to acquire the title rights to Camp Nou for a season with the proceeds going to finance research projects and other projects involved in the battle against the effects of COVID-19, both at a local and international level. Barça are ceding those rights for a name to be put to Camp Nou for the very first time as the title rights are a commercial option that has never been exploited before. Now, the Foundation will put out on to the market the title rights and it will use the money a sponsor brings in the service of a vital cause and one that benefits everyone. The income generated will create a fund that will be divided in the following way: a part will be destined for a project on COVID-19 driven by the sponsors themselves and the rest will be shared out amongst other projects that are being developed in parallel.”

Also Read: Footballing world is joining the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are very happy to be able to drive forward this initiative that offers something as emblematic as the name of our stadium, so that institutions, organisations, businesses who wise may associate themselves with it and as such, contribute to the fight against COVID-19, given that their investment will used to finance research projects on the illness and projects that are working to eradicate or lessen its effects. Right now, we can quantify the effects of this health crisis but what we do know is that it will require all our resources to defeat it and for that reason it is so important that we all together make a solid, firm commitment. 

“We are facing a global crisis without precedent in our modern history and we have to assume with courage and calm the responsibility that we have. For that reason, from both the Club and the Foundation, we consider it vital at this time of humanitarian crisis to use all the resources available at the organisation to fight against the coronavirus pandemic and its consequences. It forms part of our way of doing things and of being as an institution.” Jordi Cardoner, the first vice president of FC Barcelona and of the Barça Foundation said in a statement.

The statement continued, “The cause, fighting against the coronavirus, is a global one. Being the top sporting entity on a world scale implies that we take on this challenge as fully as we can and if we can serve as inspiration for other organisations involved in the battle, perhaps we can create a wave of hope for millions of people around the world who are suffering due to this pandemic.”

 

 

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 Sports

Premier League players make £4m worth of contribution to the NHS.

Manchester United’s Harry Maguire, Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, others are offering their support to the National Health Service (NHS) through the Players Together initiative.

The system allows players at all of their clubs to make donations, donate a portion of their salary to ‘those fighting for us on the #NHS frontline as well as other key areas of need.’

This is coming days after Health Minister, Matt Hancock told  footballers to “do their bit”.  He later confirmed that 150 top-flight players had collaborated to form the voluntary movement in partnership with NHS Charities Together (NHSCT), an umbrella organisation that supports 250 separate NHS charities across the UK.

The campaign was spearheaded by Liverpool captain, Jordan Henderson, other players involved so far are include Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford, Virgil van Dijk, and Kevin De Bruyne.

Also Read: Covid-19: AS Roma players,coaching staff give up four months’ wages.

Their launch statement said they were “collaborating together to create a voluntary initiative, separate to any other league and club conversation.”

Their contribution to the NHS as at now is said to be worth £4m.

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 Sports

Covid-19: AS Roma players,coaching staff give up four months’ wages.

Roma players and coaching staff have agreed to give up their wages for the next four months to help the club’s finances during the coronavirus crisis. All football activities have been on hold for about one month due to the covid-19 crisis.

Also Read: Marouane Fellaini discharged from hospital after contracting COVID-19.

The club confirmed this in a statement on Sunday adding that that the players would top up the wages of other club employees on the Italian government’s social safety net scheme to ensure they received their regular monthly income.

“We always talk about unity at Roma and in volunteering to cut their salaries for the rest of the season, the players, the coach, and his staff, have all proved that we really are in this together, (Club captain) Edin Dzeko, all the players and (coach) Paulo Fonseca have demonstrated they understand what this club stands for and we also thank them all for their superb gesture towards the employees at this club.” said chief executive Guido Fienga.

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 Sports

Ex Nigeria international, Dickson Etuhu handed 5-year ban.

Former Nigerian international Dickson Etuhu has been banned from all football activity for five years for match-fixing. The ex-Manchester City midfielder was found guilty of offering a goalkeeper around £180,000 to fix a match between IFK Gothenburg and AIK in May 2017. The Court of Appeal in Stockholm said it was clear that Etuhu and another player, Alban Jusifi, tried to influence the keeper.

Also Read: No match is worth risking a single human life -FIFA president, Gianni Infantino warns against leagues rushing back.

The Swedish Football Association said in a statement it had banned Etuhu and Jusufi for “deliberately trying to persuade an Allsvenskan player to under-perform in one of their team’s matches. The Disciplinary Board has decided to suspend two people because they have deliberately tried to persuade a football player to underperform in one of the team’s matches. Through their actions, these people have violated the anti-match fixing regulations, and they are therefore suspended for five years. The ban includes training, competing or performing any assignments in any sports.”

Etuhu, who also played for Sunderland, Preston, Blackburn and Fulham, made 33 appearances for Nigeria between 2007 and 2011, including twice at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2008 and 2010 as well as the World Cup in South Africa.

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 Sports

Real Madrid reveal details of the Santiago Bernabéu of the future.

Spanish giants, Real Madrid  have revealed the details of their new stadium, the Santiago Bernabeu. The futuristic facelift is expected to cost an estimated $600 million.

The Santiago Bernabeu was first completed in 1942 and last upgraded in 1982, the external facade of the stadium will be made up of strips of steel, the roof will have a retractable feature that will allow matches to be played under any weather conditions. Restaurant and entertainment areas will be featured. The rebuild of the stadium is expected to end right before the start of the 2022-2023 season.

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Construction work was supposed to start in April but has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown in Spain. Club president, Florentino Perez said, “the new stadium will be the best stadium in the world”.

 

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 Sports

Marouane Fellaini discharged from hospital after contracting COVID-19.

Ex Manchester United midfielder, Marouane Fellaini has been discharged from the Jinan Infectious Disease Hospital after a 3-week battle with COVID-19. The Belgian who is reportedly an asymptomatic patient has to be quarantined for another 14 days.

Also Read: Fair or not? Jerome Boateng fined by his club for visiting his sick son amid the corona virus pandemic.

During his recent stint in hospital, Fellaini posted a number of videos on his official Instagram account as well as  updates on his wellbeing.

The 32 year-old left Old Trafford for Chinese club, Shandong Luneng Taishan early last year.

 

“Fellaini was assessed and was deemed to have recovered, and was discharged today.”Shandong wrote briefly.

Other sports figures who have contracted the COVID-19 include Mikel Arteta, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Paulo Dybala, and Pepe Reina. We wish them speedy recovery too.

Additional information: Daily Mail. 

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