2 years after losing his wife, Rebecca to breast cancer, ex England captain, Rio Ferdinand has said he is yet to grieve properly for his late wife. He made the disclosure on a new 60-minute BBC documentary on parents who lose partners.
“I don’t think I’ve grieved properly. I’ve not given myself that time to sit down and really flush everything out and go through it.” The father of 3 said.
The ex-Manchester United defender has been praised by Alison Kirkham, the BBC’s controller of factual commissioning and events, for participating in a “revealing and immensely personal documentary exploring the complexities of grief”. According to her, the “candid” hour-long film – called Rio Ferdinand: Being Mum and Dad – would offer audiences “an intimate exploration of the ways in which men similarly bereaved cope with their loss.”
“Rio Ferdinand has courageously allowed the cameras to follow him in this revealing and immensely personal documentary exploring the complexities of grief. This candid film will offer BBC One audiences an intimate exploration of the ways in which men similarly bereaved cope with their loss.” She added.
Source: BBC
Yaya Toure wins BBC African Footballer of the year award
Manchester
City star, Yaya Toure has won the BBC African Footballer of the year award. He
defeated Yacine Brahimi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Andre Ayew and Sadio Mane
to clinch the coveted prize in London. He has also joined the likes of Kanu
Nwankwo.
and Jay Jay Okocha who have won the award twice,
having won it in 2013.
City star, Yaya Toure has won the BBC African Footballer of the year award. He
defeated Yacine Brahimi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Andre Ayew and Sadio Mane
to clinch the coveted prize in London. He has also joined the likes of Kanu
Nwankwo.
and Jay Jay Okocha who have won the award twice,
having won it in 2013.
“I am very proud. To receive this dedication from the
fans is unbelievable. Also I want to pay tribute to the other nominees. African
football is growing up, becoming much better and we have fantastic young
players coming through now. I am delighted and very happy. And as an African
player, I want to lead all my younger brothers to be successful in the future.
When I was a kid I was always dreaming of being an important player. I have
sacrificed a lot. I will continue to try to win a trophy every year, I will
fight to win a personal trophy.” The Ivorian told BBC
Angry Mourinho tells reporter to google answers to stupid questions
Chelsea Boss, Jose Mourinho’s mood has been far from pleasant lately and the reason isn’t far-fetched. Losing their games three consecutive times and being 17th on the table, it has been the English club’s worst start to a season since 1986.
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A BBC reporter however irked the living daylights out of the Portuguese today after he asked if he is being affected by the ‘third season syndrome.’ Excerpts from his conversation with Ben Smith, BBC sports news correspondent below.
A BBC reporter however irked the living daylights out of the Portuguese today after he asked if he is being affected by the ‘third season syndrome.’ Excerpts from his conversation with Ben Smith, BBC sports news correspondent below.
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“Jose Mourinho was sporting a new haircut at today’s press conference and, just like his mood, it was short and spiky. This was the Chelsea manager at his emotional best. Smiling and laughing at one stage and delivering that famous death stare at others. He was fiercely protective of his players, robust in his defence of his own record and proud to remind the rest of English football that ‘I am a champion’.
“Jose Mourinho was sporting a new haircut at today’s press conference and, just like his mood, it was short and spiky. This was the Chelsea manager at his emotional best. Smiling and laughing at one stage and delivering that famous death stare at others. He was fiercely protective of his players, robust in his defence of his own record and proud to remind the rest of English football that ‘I am a champion’.
//
Jose: “Talk is cheap. Chelsea need results. This is their worst start to a top-flight season since 1986, their manager must hope his new haircut will bring a change in form. I promise you I am fine. I am not happy. I am not used to losing so many times but I am adapting to the situation.
Jose: “Talk is cheap. Chelsea need results. This is their worst start to a top-flight season since 1986, their manager must hope his new haircut will bring a change in form. I promise you I am fine. I am not happy. I am not used to losing so many times but I am adapting to the situation.
“You cannot expect me to say it is all smiles, laughing and jokes. When people are not getting success we work for, we are going to be frustrated.
“We know what we are – champions of England. The fans sing that. Nobody can steal what we are or our trophies or our history, you can try but you can’t do that.
“When you are used to winning all the time, then when you don’t it is a strange feeling. Some people deal well with it, others not as good.”
Ben Smith: Do you believe that you still have all the qualities that made you such a great manager? A lot has been made of the third season in your time at clubs – what do you say to that?
Jose Mourinho: Look, my third season – in Porto, I didn’t have a third season. My third season in Inter, I didn’t have a third season. My third season at Chelsea the first time, I won the FA Cup and the Carling Cup, and I played the Champions League semi-finals. My third season in Real Madrid, I won the Super Cup, I lost the cup [Copa del Rey] final, and I went to the Champions League semi-finals. These are my third seasons…
BS: Sure, but you know what I’m getting at…
Jose Mourinho: So click Google, instead of making stupid questions, click Google and try to find.
BS: Jose, you know what I’m getting at though, don’t you, how important is it for you to build…
//
Jose Mourinho : No, you spoke about the third season, and I am telling you that the question is stupid, because the third season is what I told you.
Jose Mourinho : No, you spoke about the third season, and I am telling you that the question is stupid, because the third season is what I told you.
BS: Jose, you know the point of the question…
Jose Mourinho: No, I know the point, the point is that the question is stupid. I am sorry…
Was there any correlation between his haircut and his mood, “My haircut isn’t as radical as it has been. I am fine, I promise you.” He concluded.
Credit: BBC
Video: The priceless moment Asisat Oshoala found out she won the BBC WFOTY award
The kind of picture I had in mind was that of an event, but this wasn’t the case. She was in a classroom (sort of) with her colleagues when a lady walked in and announced that she won the maiden edition of the BBC Women’s Footballer Of The Year award.
Congrats to Asisat Oshoala. More feathers to your cap.
Credit: Nigeria Football Federation.
She's a Champ! Nigeria's Asisat Oshoala named BBC Women’s Player of the Year.
The plaudits keep rolling in for Nigerian soccer star, Asisat Oshoala. The Super Falcons forward has been named the BBC Women’s Player of the Year. She received the award yesterday after a friendly game between the Nigeria and Canada senior women teams at the Kia Training Ground, Toronto.
“I would like to say thank you to the BBC, to my fans around the world and to everyone who voted. I feel very happy and appreciated. It’s a very good thing for me and also motivation for the World Cup. I had a very good 2014 and had the opportunity of going to the under-20s Women’s World Cup with Nigeria and also won the Golden Ball and Golden Boot so I think maybe that added to the reason why people voted for me.” The award winning player said.
The Liverpool Ladies’ striker scooped the prize ahead of Veronica Boquete of Spain, Germany’s Nadine Kessler, Scotland’s Kim Little and Brazilian forward Marta.
Recall that the 20-year old was named the African Woman Player of the Year and African Youth Player at the Glo-CAF African Football Awards in Lagos in January, she was also awarded the Most Valuable Player and top goal scorer of the Tournament at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.Super Falcons' Asisat Oshoala shortlisted for BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year award
Super Falcons striker, Asisat Oshoala, has been shortlisted for the maiden edition of the BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year. The Liverpool forward was nominated alongside Spain’s Verónica Boquete, Germany’s Nadine Kessler, Kim Little of Scotland and Marta of Brazil.
“The five shortlisted players represent an incredible array of talent and show the growing strength of the women’s game. The vote is now open to fans to choose their favourite player.” Controller of BBC World Service English, Mary Hockaday said.
Voting for the best player has commenced and it is expected to close on May 11. The eventual winner will be announced on May 26.
Vincent Enyeama nominated for 2014 BBC Footballer of the Year award
Super Eagles goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama has had a fantastic season at his club side Lille and is one of Nigeria’s decisive players, his nomination for the BBC African Footballer of Year for 2014 however comes as no surprise.
The father of three joins 6-time title holder; Yaya Toure, Gabonese striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Algeria’s Yacine Brahimi and Gervinho of Ivory Coast’s on the list.
The winner according to BBC will be decided by fans of African football, who have until November 24 to vote for their choice online or through SMS. The winner will be announced on December 1.
Photocredit: Instagram
3 Boko Haram escapees tell their stories
3 of the Chibok Girls who escaped Boko Haram captivity months ago tell their kidnap and escape stories to BBC.
Best friends Lami and Maria (not real names) escaped by jumping from the back of a truck. Hajara was taken to a camp but later fled with another girl.
Lami:
It was Monday night. We had exams the following day. Then we started to hear shootings in the town. So we went out. We phoned our parents to tell them what was happening in the town. They told us to run away when we got the chance. We told them that the town was already surrounded so there was no way we could run.
Maria:
Lami woke me up saying: “Maria didn’t you hear what’s happening? Haven’t you heard sounds of shooting from the town?” I said we should climb the wall and run away. She said: “No. No-one has run away. We should gather in one place and wait to see what’s going to happen.”
Other girls said nothing would happen to us. “We’re girls. They don’t do anything to girls. We should wait and see what God would do.”
Lami:
We were at the school when suddenly three Boko Haram members entered.
They said: “If any of you attempt to leave we’ll kill all of you.” When we went out they were everywhere. They gathered us where we have our school assembly. As we were there they kept burning the school. They burnt everything.
Hajara:
They asked us to get out of the gate, saying that when we were out they would let us go back to our homes. They said whoever did not have a headscarf or shoes should go and get them. They then asked us to climb on to a lorry, on top of the food loaded in it. The lorry was so high that we couldn’t easily climb on.
Maria:
They said to us: “You’re only coming to school for prostitution. Boko (Western education) is haram (forbidden) so what are you doing in school?”
We kept quiet. I think there could have been about 100 Boko Haram members – they were all over the school. They outnumbered us. They took us away in their vehicles. We were sitting on oil drums in the vehicle. Our vehicle was really overloaded. We were saying to one another that we should throw away our shoes and scarves so that if our parents came they would know the road we had taken.
Hajara:
The vehicle became full before I could get on. There were about 100 of us walking. We stopped at one town and people brought us water. I saw one of those who brought us water changed his clothes and joined the Boko Haram men. They then put us in other vehicles.
They put the rest in the boots of cars. Some of the Boko Haram members were so small that if I were to grab their necks I could break them. Some couldn’t even carry their guns properly.
Maria:
We were wondering where we were being taken to. When we entered the vehicle, Lami said to me: “Shouldn’t we jump out of the vehicle here so that we may possibly escape? There are no other vehicles close by.”
Hajara:
I thought, it’s preferable to have these people shoot me as I run than have them humiliate me. They kept saying to us: “Make sure you put on your scarves. Make sure you put on your scarves. We’ll shoot any girl we see without a scarf. And any girl who jumps out will die.”
I was about to jump out when one girl held me back and said they’d shoot me if I did.
“What’s the difference,” I said. “Is it not to the same death we’re going? They should shoot me here and let my corpse be collected.”
I was crying and praying until we reached the camp.
L
Lami:
There was a lot of dust on the road, they couldn’t see us. When we jumped out, we started to run. We were running without shoes. We found other people. We started to run away from them thinking they were Boko Haram. But they too had run from the town.
Hajara: Boko Haram gathered us in a forest around noon. Some of the girls were tired and were lying down. But I couldn’t lie down. The spirit of God was asking me to go. It was telling me: “Get up and go. Get up and go.”
So I went. Another girl followed me. When we were going I saw some of them [Boko Haram members] performing ablutions. We stooped as if we were trying to pull out thorns from our shoes, as if we were just going to wee. We’d walk a little then bend down for a little while as if we were looking for something we’d lost.
After walking for a while they couldn’t see us properly since it was forest. We then started to run. After we had run for a short distance, we heard them saying “catch those girls.” We kept running. Whether they came after us not, we didn’t know.
Hajara:
We kept going and our shoes were ripped. We found a house, where a girl could speak Hausa. Her parents gave us a place to sleep. We reached the Chibok area in the morning. A man looking for a relative among the missing girls drove us on motorbike into town.
When I saw my elder and younger brothers, I fell to the ground crying. My mother and father were crying and all members of my family cried. Before I reached home it was as if there was a death in the house. Mats were spread. People were consoling my father and mother thinking that I had die
Lami:
The people we met said: “Your town is far away. You can’t go there now. Come here and wait until morning when we’ll take you into the town to get transport back home.” We stayed there till morning when they asked us to get up so that we go to the town. We couldn’t walk. Our feet were full of thorns.
They said: “Let’s go find a vehicle to take you home.”
Maria:
The men who helped us took us to Chibok, and I cried. It was the second time that something like that had happened to me. My dad was a pastor; Boko Haram went to our house and killed him. They also shot my mum in the stomach; they gave her 2,000 Naira ($12) to have the bullet.
Lami: My parents warmed up water and cared for my feet. I was taken to the hospital and it was two weeks before I could stand up.
Maria:
I continued to live with the thought that Boko Haram members were coming to get me. I couldn’t sleep.
Hajara:
I was having nightmares every day. There was even a day when I dreamed that they gathered all of us who fled in one place, and said to us: “You girls have defied us and fled. We’re now going to burn you alive.”
I haven’t forgotten about the other girls who are still in the hands of those people. I keep praying for them.
Lami:
God will never make us meet these people again. And for our sisters who are still in the forest, may God help them. And may the whole world cry out for these girls to get out so that we continue with our education in school again.
Maria:
They should pray to God to forgive them their sins. I’d also ask them to bring back the girls they have kidnapped because their parents are in distress. Some of the parents of the girls have already died. It was the thought of their girls that killed them.
Hajara:
God will do what he wills, but I don’t want to look at them because of what they have done to my life. They think they’ve ruined me, but God willing, they haven’t ruined me. I’ll continue with my education.
Credit: BBC
Yaya Toure makes a case for undervalued African players
Three-time African player of the year, Yaya Toure during an interview on Football Focus segment on BBC World News made a case for undervalued footballers in Africa. Toure who has netted a total of 22 goals this season for his club, Manchester City says African footballers deserve to be celebrated like their European counterparts. The 30 year-old UN ambassador believes the media has a major role to play in the recognition/celebration of African players.
“To be honest, proper recognition has only come from the fans, I don’t want to be hard and I don’t want to be negative, but I want to be honest. If we play well and we don’t have the recognition from the media, we are not going to be where we want to be. If you go to any part of Africa now, people will say, ‘yes, we know Messi, but when you come to Europe and say ‘Yaya Toure’ people will say, ‘who is that?’ Some will say they know my name but not know my face. But they will know Messi’s face.” He stated
Citing the likes of Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o who are un-appreciated despite their significant contributions at their various clubs. The Ivorian believes they also deserve to win the Ballon d’Or award, adding that there has only been one African winner of the award, which is former AC Milan and Liberia striker George Weah who won in 1995.
“Those players are more than legends for me and Africa. I am very proud to be African, I want to defend African people and I want to show to the world that African players can be as good as the Europeans and South Americans.”