Author: Bonface Osano

PSG star Kylian Mbappe feels that AS Monaco and fellow French international Wissam Ben Yedder also deserves a piece of Ligue 1 golden boot award. For the second time on the bounce Mbappe was declared the league’s top marksman after the 2019-20 season was cancelled over Coronavirus. The 21-year-old World Cup winner scored 18 goals same as Yedder, but he bagged the golden boot accolade for netting most of his goals from open play. “Thank you for all your messages. I think that Wissam also deserves a trophy, like the Premier League did last season, to reward his year,” he…

Shanghai Shenhua expect Odion Ighalo to return from his loan spell at Manchester United in time for the start of the new Chinese Super League season, which is scheduled to begin in July. Manchester United are keen to extend Ighalo’s loan to cover the end of the Premier League season, the date of which remains unclear amid the coronavirus pandemic. As it stands, Shanghai Shenhua will only allow Ighalo to remain at Old Trafford if it is on a permanent deal and the Chinese club value him upwards of £20m. It is thought Newcastle United would be interested in Ighalo…

Police FC coach Charles “Korea” Omondi has applauded move by Football Kenya Federation (FKF) to end the 2019-20 season, saying it will give clubs enough time to plan for next season. Korea also congratulated Gor Mahia for being declared the Kenyan Premier champions. “This move is going to positively impact the teams in the various leagues financially, in that it gives them ample time to find a financial source to back them up ahead of the pre-season,” said Coach Omondi. With the country pressed by tight timelines due to the spread of coronavirus and measures to control the same, the…

Teams will be allowed to use five substitutes when the season resumes after a Fifa proposal to help with fixture congestion was approved. The change applies to competitions due to be completed within this calendar year, and the decision on whether to implement the changes is for each relevant competition organiser. There is also an option to stop using the video assistant referee system because of safety concerns over officials working together in a small room for the duration of matches. Most leagues around the world have been halted by the coronavirus pandemic. Germany’s Bundesliga is due to resume next…

Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min has completed his three-week mandatory military service in South Korea – and won an award for the best performance. Officials said the 27-year-old excelled in shooting skills and was the top performer among 157 trainees. Son had returned to his homeland in March to continue his recovery from a fractured arm while the season is suspended because of coronavirus. All South Korean men must complete military service by the age of 28. Son had earned exemption from the mandatory 21-month military service after helping South Korea win the 2018 Asian Games. He graduated at a…

It goes without saying departed former Gor Mahia bus driver Patrick “Agwambo” Osewe was an affable character, at least going by glowing tributes spouting from those who closely worked or interacted with him. Agwambo, who passed on Wednesday after battling suspected kidney complications, will be laid to rest Sunday at his Karachuonyo home, Kibiri Ward, Homabay County. Meanwhile, former Gor Mahia coaches; Frank Nuttall, Daylan Kerr and Frank Ouna have joined the larger K’Ogalo family in honoring the departed with kind words, a clear testament his humble work and deeds touched so many. Nuttall, who won the Kenyan Premier League…

Yaya Toure is backing former Ivory Coast team-mate Didier Drogba’s bid to become president of the Ivorian Football Association (FIF). “It’s time for change in our football. It needs modernity,” said Toure. “When I say I support Drogba, it’s also for the good of the country, to have a former player of his kind investing himself in Africa.” Drogba represented his country 105 times and announced his intention to run for the post back in September. However, due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, no date has been scheduled for the election. The former Ivory Coast captain faces competition from incumbent…

Having largely ground to a halt around the world during the coronavirus pandemic, football is finally beginning to re-emerge. In Europe, the German Bundesliga was given the go-ahead on Wednesday to resume behind closed doors this month, with the Turkish Super Lig set to follow in June. But in one Asian country friendlies have already been played and a competitive campaign will belatedly get under way this week. South Korea was one of the first nations outside China to be hit by a Covid-19 outbreak and consequently its K-League, scheduled to start in February, was postponed indefinitely while much of…

Gor Mahia are mourning death of their long serving bus driver Patrick Osewe, fondly known as Agwambo. “It’s with profound grief that we announce the passing on of our long serving driver Mr Patrick Osewe. Fondly known as Agwambo, he died on Wednesday after a long illness; kindly put his family and relatives in your prayers,” the club tweeted. https://twitter.com/FCGorMahia/status/1258153333069615104?s=19 Agwambo passed on Wednesday from suspected kidney complications, according to the club’s Deputy Secretary General, Ronald Ngala. “He has been in and out of hospital for a long time unfortunately he left us on Wednesday. As a club we have…

The German Bundesliga season can resume this month, Chancellor Angela Merkel has confirmed. It will become the first major league in Europe to return to competition, with a date for resumption to be confirmed by the German Football League (DFL) on Thursday. All matches will be played behind closed doors. With nine games remaining, Bayern Munich are top of the table, four points above Borussia Dortmund. The announcement comes a day after clubs in the top two German divisions returned 10 positive results from 1,724 coronavirus tests. The DFL had warned that many top-division teams would be in an “existence-threatening”…

Former Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor has denied that he made any negative comments about Liverpool duo Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah. It had been reported that Adebayor had criticised Africa’s football governing body, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), along with the Reds duo. It was claimed that Adebayor was unhappy with players winning the CAF Player Of The Year award when not playing in the continent, and was quoted taking a dig at Mane and Salah. Salah picked up the award in 2017 and 2018, before Mane became the latest player to win the prestigious accolade last year. Adebayor…

Mauritania has set aside over Kshs300 million to support football community in the country during this Coronavirus period. The country has recorded only 8 positive COVID-19 cases, 6 have recovered, while one person has died. Like in most countries, sporting activities were postponed to help curb spread of the disease hence affecting livelihoods of many people. To help mitigate the effects, each premier league club will receive Kshs7 million, while each player will pocket Kshs 140k. Each coach in the top flight will get Kshs260,000, with the rest of the money (Kshs59 million) going to regional leagues, referees and others.…

Sports Dispute Tribunal (SDT) chairman John Ohaga on Tuesday urged protagonists in the stalled Football Kenya Federation (FKF) elections to embrace dialogue as a means of breaking the impasse. Ohaga, for the second time in March, annuled the elections, ruling that the FKF eligibility criteria for aspirants was against Kenyan laws as it restricted competition and fairplay. Ohaga further determined the FKF National Executive Committee (NEC) term had expired and sent them home, including the president Nick Mwendwa. As a way forward, he requested FIFA, the world’s football body, to form a Normalisation Committee to run affairs of the federation…

Two Kenyan Premier League players have moved to court to challenge rules governing practice and procedure of Sports Disputes Tribunal (SDT) which they claim are “irregular, illegal, unlawful and/or unconstitutional.” In a petition before the High Court of Kenya at Kericho, seen by Kahawa Tungu, Kefa Ondati, Bernard Odhiambo of Zoo FC and Alfred Kirui, chairman of Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Kericho Branch, want “Rules of the Sports Dispute Tribunal” quashed. The Attorney General, CS Sports Amina Mohammed, SDT chairman John Ohaga and the Chief Justice have been listed as respondents. The petitioners are accusing Judge Ohaga of assuming legislative…

Former Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou has been suspended by his German Bundesliga club, Hertha Berlin after filming himself flouting social distancing rules on his return to training. Kalou appeared to make light of the coronavirus pandemic live on social media even as Bundesliga attempts to return to action later this month. The Ivorian also filmed himself interrupting a team-mate’s test while screening it live on Facebook – an act that was branded “absolutely unacceptable” by the German league. It comes just days after Kalou admitted to the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC that it “would be awkward” returning to playing top-level…