Forest promoted to Premier League for first time in 23 years

Lewis Grabban lifts the Championship Playoff trophy after Nottingham Forest defeated Huddersfield Town in the Championship play-off final, Wembley Stadium, London, England, May 29, 2022. (AFP)
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Updated 29 May 2022
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Forest promoted to Premier League for first time in 23 years

  • Levi Colwill’s own goal, late in the first half at Wembley, was enough for Steve Cooper’s side to hit the jackpot in the most lucrative match in world football
  • For the first time in the 21st century, Forest can look forward to welcoming the EPL’s elite to the City Ground stadium on the banks of the River Trent

LONDON: Nottingham Forest clinched promotion to the Premier League for the first time in 23 years with a 1-0 win against Huddersfield in the Championship play-off final on Sunday.
Levi Colwill’s own goal late in the first half at Wembley was enough for Steve Cooper’s side to hit the jackpot in the most lucrative single match in world football.
Promotion to the top-flight is estimated to be worth at least £170 million ($214 million) in increased revenue.
Forest will gratefully accept the huge financial windfall, but it was the relief at ending their long exile from English football’s elite that spurred the frenzied scenes of celebration among their thousands of red and white-clad fans.
For the first time in the 21st century, Forest can look forward to welcoming the Premier League’s elite to their City Ground stadium on the banks of the River Trent.
The promotion was a personal triumph for Cooper, who has revitalized Forest since replacing the sacked Chris Hughton in September
Forest were bottom of the table after taking one point from their first seven games, but Cooper had the midas touch as he erased the bitter taste of his defeat with Swansea in last year’s Championship play-off final against Brentford.
“I’m really pleased for the players and the supporters. Everybody connected with the football club deserves this today and we’re now really looking forward to a positive future,” Cooper said.
“It’s relief and pride. This isn’t about me but it’s changed my life, potentially anyway.
“We’ve brought Nottingham to Wembley today, we’ve taken over the place and here we are in the Premier League.”
Cooper repaired the wounds of Forest’s worst start to a season for 108 years and ensured they remained focus after losing a shot at automatic promotion in their penultimate game of the season against top-two rivals Bournemouth.
Fourth placed Forest beat Sheffield United on penalties in the play-off semifinal and held their nerve again to earn the ultimate prize against Huddersfield.
Having knocked Arsenal and Leicester out of this season’s FA Cup before losing narrowly to Liverpool, Forest’s sleeping giants have awoken from their slumber at last.
Forest’s golden period came under legendary boss Brian Clough, who led them to the English title in 1978 and won the European Cup in 1979 and 1980.
Clough’s retirement in 1993 triggered a steep decline in Forest’s fortunes, with their wilderness years featuring a three-season spell in the third tier.
Forest had been regular visitors to Wembley during Clough’s heyday but this was their first appearance at the national stadium since 1992.
No wonder the Forest supporters in the 80,000 crowd were in fine voice from the moment Ryan Yates headed James Garner’s free-kick wastefully wide from six yards.
Forest were the better side in a frantic encounter, but there was more perspiration than inspiration for long periods as passes went astray from both teams.
Driven forward by on-loan Manchester United midfielder Garner, Forest broke the deadlock in the 43rd minute.
Garner whipped a dangerous inswinging cross into the Huddersfield area and Colwill inadvertently deflected it into his own net as the on-loan Chelsea defender tried to get to the ball before Yates.
Rocked by that blow, Huddersfield finally raised their tempo after half-time and Jonathan Hogg should have done better with a header that failed to hit the target from a corner.
The decisive moment came in the 73rd minute when Huddersfield were left fuming after being denied a strong penalty claim.
Harry Toffolo went down under a challenge from Jack Colback but referee Jon Moss booked the Huddersfield wing-back for diving and VAR refused to overturn the decision.
Huddersfield’s frustration increased when another penalty appeal was rejected after Max Lowe bundled into Lewis O’Brien.
Forest’s nerves frayed when Samba limped off injured in the final minutes, but the Reds held on to earn their return to the big time.


Sevilla beat Al-Ittihad 1-0 to take Antonio Puerta Trophy

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Sevilla beat Al-Ittihad 1-0 to take Antonio Puerta Trophy

  • La Liga club host annual match in honor of former player who died aged 22 in 2007
  • Match is latest pre-season friendly for both clubs ahead of the start of their domestic leagues in August

DUBAI: La Liga club Sevilla FC defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad 1-0 to claim the Antonio Puerta Trophy at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium in Seville on Friday night.

Lucas Ocampos  scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot after 42 minutes.

The annual friendly has been hosted by the Andalusian club since 2008 in honor of former player Antonio Puerta who died from heart disease in 2007 at the age of 22.

This was the 13th hosting of the match, which was not contested in 2015, 2018, 2020 or 2021. Sevilla now have won won the trophy 11 times.  

The match was also the latest outing for both clubs ahead of start of their respective domestic campaigns.

Al-Ittihad will play two more friendlies against Real Betis (Aug. 3) and Inter Milan (Aug. 7) before kicking off their Saudi Pro League season with a match against Al-Kholood on Aug. 24.

Sevilla will launch their La Liga campaign on Aug. 16 at Las Palmas.


Rahm leads by 2 after first round of LIV Golf UK

Updated 27 July 2024
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Rahm leads by 2 after first round of LIV Golf UK

ROCESTER: Jon Rahm is accustomed to being in contention after most of his LIV Golf rounds this season. But for the first time since joining the league, he has the outright lead.

Thanks to a bogey-free 8-under 63, Rahm has a two-stroke lead over Abraham Ancer and Andy Ogletree after the first round at LIV Golf UK by JCB. Meanwhile, his Legion XIII is atop the team leaderboard by one stroke over Smash GC, HyFlyers GC and Fireballs GC.

Friday’s round was the 29th that Rahm has completed in LIV Golf. He has been inside the top 5 after 13 of those rounds, including a tie for the lead after the first round in Jeddah.

Six other times, Rahm has been inside the top 10. In each of his nine completed tournaments — he had to withdraw in Houston due to a foot infection — he has produced a top-10 result, and he is currently second behind Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann in the season-long points standings.

It is an impressive show of consistency that Rahm hopes will peak with his first individual LIV Golf title this week at JCB Golf & Country Club.

“Nothing much to say obviously but good things,” said Rahm, who entered the week off a tie for seventh at The Open Championship, his best major result of the year. “Played really good golf all day. With days like this, it almost feels effortless.”

Rahm played in the same group with his teammate and former Ryder Cup partner, Tyrrell Hatton, along with another Legion XIII player, Caleb Surratt, as the LIV Golf captains were grouped with their top-two teammates for the first round.

Not only did Rahm go low — the 8-under score matches his lowest LIV Golf round relative to par — but Hatton shot 66, bouncing back from an opening double bogey. The duo fueled Legion XIII’s 12-under total that also included a counting score of 72 from Kieran Vincent. Legion XIII has won three team titles during its inaugural season and is second in the points standings behind Crushers GC.

“It was the first time I played with any teammates in LIV Golf,” said Rahm, who had six birdies in his final nine holes to pull away from the pack. “I wasn’t sure how that was going to go. I was a little curious.”

Hatton said: “We’ve shared some pretty cool stages over the last few years, and we generally play well when we play together. So, it was nice for both of us to have a good round of golf and have some momentum going into the weekend.”

Ancer, the winner via playoff earlier this year in Hong Kong, finished with a flourish. The Fireballs star birdied four of his last five holes during a brilliant putting round in which he led the field.

Ogletree’s best finish during his first full LIV Golf season is a tie for third in Adelaide. He has battled a wrist injury that may require offseason surgery and forced him to make some swing adjustments to alleviate the pain.

“I’ve had a lot of days where I’ve played 13 and 14 really good holes and then kind of held myself back by a bad stretch,” said the HyFlyers member. “Today, I was in it all day and played some solid golf.”

Hatton and Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith are tied for fourth, while a group of seven players — including Smash GC Captain Brooks Koepka and local resident Sam Horsfield of Majesticks GC — are four strokes off the lead in a tie for sixth.

On a course that was unfamiliar to most players and expected to give up low scores grudgingly, 35 of the 54 players in the field broke par, with a stroke average of more than one shot under par.

It was not a surprise for Rahm. “You can’t really say surprising when the best players in the world show up at a course,” he said.

 
Standings and counting scores for Friday’s opening round:

The three best scores from each team count in the first two rounds while all four scores count in the final round. The team with the lowest cumulative score after three rounds wins the team title.


1. LEGION XIII -12 (Rahm 63, Hatton 66, Vincent 72)

 
T2. FIREBALLS GC -11 (Ancer 65, Garcia 68, Puig 69)

 
T2. SMASH GC -11 (Koepka 67, McDowell 67, Gooch 68)

 
T2. HYFLYERS GC -11 (Ogletree 65, Tringale 67, Mickelson 70)

 
T5. RIPPER GC -9 (Smith 66, Herbert 69, Jones 69)

 
T5. RANGEGOATS GC -9 (Wolff 67, Uihlein 68, Watson 69)

 
7. STINGER GC -8 (Oosthuizen 67, Burmester 68, Schwartzel 70)

 
8. TORQUE GC -6 (Munoz 68, Niemann 69, Pereira 70)

 
T9. CRUSHERS GC -5 (Casey 67, Lahiri 69, Catlin 72)

 
T9. CLEEKS GC -5 (Meronk 68, Bland 69, Samooja 71)

 
11. MAJESTICKS GC -4 (Horsfield 67, Stenson 70, Westwood 72)

 
12. 4ACES GC -1 (Varner 69, Johnson 71, Reed 72)

 
13. IRON HEADS GC Even (Na 70, Vincent 70, Kozuma 73)


Final four battle it out for MLBB Women’s Invitational title at Esports World Cup in Riyadh

Updated 27 July 2024
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Final four battle it out for MLBB Women’s Invitational title at Esports World Cup in Riyadh

  • Hometown heroes Falcons Vega in the running for $180,000 first prize alongside Team Vitality, Victory Song Gamers and Omage Empress

RIYADH: Audiences are set to witness a monumental moment in professional women’s esports history as the Esports World Cup hosts the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women’s Invitational 2024 semifinals and Grand Final on Saturday.

One of the most highly anticipated competitions heading into the eight-week tournament at Boulevard Riyadh City, the MLBB Women’s Invitational debuted on Wednesday by welcoming 12 clubs on the world stage.

After three days of matchups, the last four standing are within touching distance of legacy status — with one assured of a place in the women’s esports hall of fame come Sunday morning.

The first semifinal between hometown heroes Falcons Vega and French club Team Vitality is at midday on Saturday. Saudi Arabia’s Falcons Vega head into the contest with confidence sky-high after whitewashing every opponent that they have faced — and many are tipping them to go all the way.

Awaiting the victors are the winners of the other semifinal featuring Victory Song Gamers of Russia and Filipino outfit Omega Empress. This showdown starts at 3 p.m. live from the SEF Arena where the grand final takes center stage hours later at 6 p.m.

The Esports World Cup is running from July 3–Aug. 25 with 22 tournaments across 21 titles during its eight-week duration.

Alongside the MLBB Women’s Invitational, audiences can also catch the Overwatch 2 quarter-finals and main tournament action from the PUBG Mobile World Cup 2024 on Saturday. Both these competitions end on Sunday before new tournaments headline Week 5, starting on Wednesday, July 31.


Emirati referee to officiate Dominican Republic vs Spain match at Paris 2024 Olympics

Updated 39 min 51 sec ago
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Emirati referee to officiate Dominican Republic vs Spain match at Paris 2024 Olympics

DUBAI: Emirati referee Adel Al Naqbi has been selected by FIFA to officiate an intriguing clash between Spain and the Dominican Republic at the Summer Olympic Games Paris 2024 on Saturday. 

FIFA selected Al Naqbi to officiate the Dominican Republic vs Spain - Men's Group C Match 14 and he will be assisted by his countrymen Ahmed Al Rashidi (First Assistant) and Sabit Obeid (Second Assistant), according to WAM.  

Al Naqbi has officiated matches in the UAE football league as well as continental championships, most notably the AFC Champions League.

He also officiated several friendly international matches since 2016.  

The world football governing body has selected referees and assistant referees from 45 countries to officiate matches at the Olympic Football Tournaments Paris 2024.

Athletes from 184 countries will take stage to compete in various sports at the Paris Olympics over a two-week period between July 26 and Aug. 11.


South Korea expresses regret after its athletes introduced as North Korea at Olympics opening ceremony

Updated 27 July 2024
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South Korea expresses regret after its athletes introduced as North Korea at Olympics opening ceremony

  • South Korea’s delegation includes 143 athletes competing in 21 events
  • North Korea, which is returning to the Games for the first time since Rio 2016, has sent 16 athletes

SEOUL: South Korea expressed regret that its delegation of athletes at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday was introduced as from rival North Korea and has demanded assurances from organizers the mistake will not happen again.
As the boat carrying South Korean athletes passed on the Seine, the announcer introduced them as the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” — the official name of North Korea — in French and English.
The announcer used the same introduction when the North Korean delegation passed.

Team North Korea travels along the Seine River in Paris during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics on July 26, 2024. (AP)

South Korea’s vice minister for sports and culture, Jang Mi-ran, who was in Paris, had requested a meeting with International Olympics Committee President Thomas Bach, the ministry said in a statement.
“We express regret that the country was introduced as North Korea at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games when the athletes of the Republic of Korea were entering,” it said.
South Korea’s National Olympic Committee immediately referred the incident to the Games’ organizers and requested that the error will not be repeated.
South Korea’s delegation includes 143 athletes competing in 21 events. North Korea, which is returning to the Games for the first time since Rio 2016, has sent 16 athletes.