Ivory Coast on track to host “beautiful” AFCON

Ivory Coast on track to host “beautiful” AFCON

All is on track for African football's biennial showpiece, the Africa Cup of Nations, according to organisers in the Ivory Coast who are confident their security measures will prevent a repeat of the tragedy that overshadowed the 2021 edition in Cameroon. Ivory Coast may be one of the heavyweights in African football but this will be only the second time they host the finals, after 1984 when the tournament […]

December 20, 2023 4

Namibia

Otjiungukua wins inaugural Nanaki Kandjii Cup

The Otjiungukua netball and football teams maintained their dominance in Omongua Sports Events after winning the Nanaki Kandjii Cup on Monday at Okomukaru. The tournament, which ran from Saturday to Monday, was held in memory of the late Nanaki Kandjii, who was the president of the Omongua Netball and Football Association. According to the tournament's organiser, Metarere Kazeurua, the late Kandjii played a significant role in the association's activities, […]

December 20, 2023 26

Opinion Pieces

‘Politically neutral’ Russian athletes can now enter the Olympics – but don’t expect many to compete

By Keith Rathbone, Macquarie University Earlier this month, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced Russian and Belarussian athletes will be able to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics if they are politically neutral. The decision from the committee’s executive board reversed an earlier ban. The IOC made this change even though the Russian National Olympic Committee remains suspended from competition for its violation of “the territorial integrity of the […]

December 20, 2023 11

Local

Chess improves players cognitive function

Chess players who participated in the recently concluded Bank Windhoek Kehat Beukes Legacy tournament hosted in Swakopmund said that the game helps build confidence and develop problem-solving skills and is an educational tool. The winner of the open tournament, Zhemba Jemusse said that chess is like any other subject in school. “When we play chess, we are quiet so that we can concentrate on communicating with the pieces. When […]

December 20, 2023 11

Sport

Paris hoteliers decry French Olympics price, tax hikes

Paris hoteliers were up in arms on Tuesday over a government plan to triple the tax paid by visitors on nights at hotels next year when the capital hosts the Olympics.The tourist tax in Paris now varies from 0.25 euros ($0.27) a night for the most basic accommodation to five euros ($5.5) a night for luxurious establishments.The government is to triple that fee as part of its 2024 budget, which […]

December 20, 2023 8

Opinion Pieces

Morocco’s fabulous football year – what’s behind their success on and off the field

By Mahfoud Amara, Qatar University In 2022 Morocco became the first African and Arab national football team to reach a Fifa World Cup men’s semi-final; and Wydad AC won the Africa Champions League. The good news continued in 2023 with the women’s team making history by reaching the final 16 at the World Cup and the news that Morocco will host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament […]

December 20, 2023 41

Sport

Steve Cooper sacked by Notts Forest

Steve Cooper was sacked by Nottingham Forest on Tuesday amid reports the Premier League strugglers are set to hire Nuno Espirito Santo.Cooper was axed after a dismal run of one win in 13 Premier League games left Forest just one place above the relegation zone.The 44-year-old had been under fire throughout a dismal run of just one win in 13 league games, including five defeats from their last six matches.Forest […]

December 20, 2023

Sport

Vuelta a Espana 2024 route revealed

The course for the 2024 Vuelta a Espana was announced on Tuesday, the 79th edition of the race will start in Portugal on August 17 and end September 8 in Madrid.The riders will get underway with a 12 km time trial in the Portuguese capital Lisbon, which in 1997 was the first city outside of Spain to host the Vuelta's grand depart.The race's opening three stages will take place in […]

December 20, 2023 6

Sport

Olympic surfing controversy deepens

The International Surfing Association (ISA) said it proposed next year's Olympic competitions be judged remotely after plans to build a new tower at a famous Tahiti beach sparked fierce local resistance.A proposal made to Paris 2024 organisers and the Polynesian government suggested the use of "live images shot from land, water and drones" to judge events at Teahupo'o on the French Pacific island.The proposition, revealed by the ISA in a […]

December 20, 2023