Britain’s Dillian Whyte said he was devastated after an “adverse finding” from his random dope test led to the cancellation of next week’s heavyweight fight with former world champion Anthony Joshua.

The two had been due to meet at London’s O2 Arena on Aug. 12 in a rematch of their 2015 bout, won by Joshua, at the same venue.

Promoters Matchroom said in a statement on Saturday that the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) had informed them that Whyte “returned adverse analytical findings as part of a random anti-doping protocol.”

“In light of this news, the fight will be cancelled, and a full investigation will be conducted.”

Whyte, who lost a title challenge to WBC world champion Tyson Fury in April 2022, reacted to the news on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“I can confirm without a shadow of doubt that I have not taken the reported substance, in this camp or at any point in my life,” he said.

“This is not the first time that I have been reported as having an adverse finding for a substance which I have not taken, and as I did last time I will again prove that I am completely innocent.”

Whyte served a two-year ban from 2012 to 2014 after testing positive for a banned stimulant contained in a nutritional supplement.

In 2019 he tested for traces of a banned steroid but was cleared of any wrongdoing by the UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD), which withdrew a charge of a doping violation.

Joshua lost his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts to Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk in September 2021.

The outcome of the Joshua v Whyte fight could have put either fighter in the frame for a lucrative clash with former WBC champion Deontay Wilder.

Matchroom were caught up in another anti-doping controversy recently involving British welterweight Conor Benn , who failed two voluntary drugs tests last year.

UKAD said in July that Benn, who had been due to fight Chris Eubank Jr in London last October, was no longer under suspension.

[OpinionNigeria]

Alhaji Oshoala, the father of Super Falcons of Nigeria and FC Barcelona forward, Asisat Oshoala, has revealed that he tried to stop her from being a footballer because he wanted her to get a formal education.

Mr Oshoala said he didn’t see a bright future in the sport for his daughter, who has gone on to become the most successful Nigerian footballer in terms of club and individual honours.

“We didn’t see a bright future for her in football, and I planned to make sure all my children attained a high level of education and do better than us parents,” he told the BBC.

Despite her father’s resistance to her desire to become a footballer, Asisat Oshoala pushed on until she landed her first professional contract at a Nigerian local Women’s club, Robo, in 2009.

From there, Asisat joined Rivers United in 2013, where she won the 2014 Nigerian Women’s Championship. From there, she ventured into mainstream Europe when she joined Liverpool in 2015.

About a year after, she joined Arsenal in 2016 but couldn’t establish herself as she had to fly to China, where she joined Dalian Quanjian in 2017.

It was in China that the 28-year-old Nigerian forward fully unleashed her football potential to the extent that FC Barcelona noticed how good she is and signed her first on loan in 2019 and then permanently a few months after.

Since 2019, Asisat Oshoala has won three Primera División, two UEFA Women’s Champions League, three Supercopa de España Femenina, and three Copa de la Reina.

Asisat, who made her international debut in 2013, has helped the Super Falcons of Nigeria to win three African Women’s Championships, and she has won five African Women’s Footballer of the Year awards for herself, amongst other individual honours.

Asisat Oshoala is currently leading the Super Falcons of Nigeria in the 2023 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, where she has scored a goal in three games to become the first African woman to score in three different World Cup editions.

Also, Asisat is the first and only African woman player to be nominated for the prestigious Ballon d’Or.

When she scored against the 2023 Women’s World Cup co-hosts Australia to help Nigeria win 3-2 in a group stage game, Asisat Oshoala celebrated so wildly that she had to remove her jersey, a celebration that sparked mixed reactions across Nigeria.

She even came on social media to tell the world that her father was not happy with her for such a celebration and some concerned Nigerians used social media to apologize to her father on her behalf.

While reacting to the incident via the BBC, Asisat Oshoala’s Father said, “It was an outpouring of emotions and it was not intentional. I am proud of my daughter”.

Asisat Oshoala is expected to step up for the Super Falcons of Nigeria at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, August 7, when the Nigerian team faces the Lionesses of England in the round of 16 stage of the 2023 Women’s World Cup at Suncorp Stadium in Milton, Australia.

Nigeria have won the 2023 FIBA Women’s Afrobasket Championship, making it a record fourth title in a row.

Nigeria’s female basketball team, D’Tigress defeated the 11-time African champions 84-74 to claim their sixth championship at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda on Saturday

Nigeria are now the second African side, after Senegal, to have won the championship four consecutive times.

The victory means that D’Tigress will now compete for a spot at the women’s basketball event of the 2024 Olympics.

D’Tigress quickly established their dominance with a nine-point lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Senegalese kept it close in the second quarter with a 24-21 margin for D’Tigress extending their lead to 12 going to the halftime break.

Coming out for the second half, Senegal played with more urgency and were able to take the third quarter 26-19 reducing the deficit to five.

The fourth quarter was back and forth between the two best teams of the tournament as Senegal continued to close the gap but D’Tigress took it to win the game by 10 points.

The Lionesses have now lost to the D’Tigress in four Afrosbasket finals (2005, 2017, 2019, and 2023).

For newly appointed D’Tigress Head Coach, Wakama became the first woman to lead a team to the Afrobasket title.

Nigeria’s Amy Okonkwo who finished the final with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 assists, was named the Most Valuable Player of the final.

See photos from the championship below.

There was an endearing folksiness about Bettina Stark-Watzinger's tweet following the Germany team's exit. 

“I really would have liked to see you win,” wrote the country's education minister. “Cheer up, we are nevertheless proud of you!”

Such chirpiness amid the angst – probably part and parcel of the minister's portfolio.

“Some things are just not meant to be," said foreign minister Annalena Baerbock. "Chin up, dear DFB women.”

This exit will resound in the corridors of the football federation. In the previous eight World Cups, Germany reached at least the quarter-finals.

And that's exactly where they appeared to be heading after they began the tournament with a 6-0 thrashing of Morocco.

But that was so last month. Ten days on from that annihilation, Germany were on their way home and Morocco – who edged past Colombia 1-0 – were into the last-16.

That unexpected passage combined with South Africa and Nigeria's progress prompted a paean from Patrice Motsepe who heads the Confederation of African Football (CAF) which runs the game on the continent.

Praise

"The Super Falcons, the Atlas Lionesses and Banyana Banyana have made the people of Nigeria, Morocco and South Africa, as well as the people of the rest of the African continent, very proud with their outstanding performances and hard-earned victories," Motsepe enthused. 

"The future of women’s football on the African continent is bright."

But to a certain extent the teams should be reaching the knockout stages. They all featured in the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations last year and though none of the trio won their pool, they deserve credit for their belief especially Morocco.

On Monday, before hosts Australia face Denmark in Sydney, Nigeria's Super Falcons will take on the European champions England at Brisbane Stadium while on 6 August South Africa's Banyana Banyana will play the Netherlands at the Sydney Football Stadium.

That match will be followed by an intriguing clash between the defending champions the United States and Sweden.

"We could be going home," said Megan Rapinoe after the side scraped into the last-16 with a 0-0 draw with Portugal on 1 August.

"We have to keep perspective. I've never been at a tournament where you think you're doing amazing all the time," added the 38-year-old who won the title with the US in 2015 and 2019.

"There's always someone saying: 'You're not good enough. You're not playing well enough.' We're through to the next game and that's the most important thing. You know that's what it's really all about."

Truly sagacious especially when three of the world's top 10 teams – Germany, Canada and Brazil – have been dispatched.

Departure

Brazil's departure meant the end of the veteran striker Marta.

 "Twenty years ago, nobody knew who Marta was at my first World Cup," she said – speaking in the third person. "Twenty years later, we have become a reference for many women all over the world, not only in football.

"The only old one in the team is me, most of the others are young girls with enormous talent, it's just the beginning for them.

"Marta ends here, there is no more World Cup for Marta."

At 37, she leaves as the tournament's most prolific scorer with 17 goals during her six World Cups.

Jamaica did for Marta with a 0-0 draw that took them from Group F into the knockout stages for the first time. Their clash with Colombia on 8 August at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium should be intriguing.

"I said if after the first game that we're here to shock the world," said Jamaica midfielder Drew Spence.

"And I think we've done that. The country is so small but look at what we've done. We've got out of one of the toughest groups. Everyone wrote us off but we're really proud of one another."

Morocco's clash with France at the Hindmarsh Stadium in Adelaide will end the last-16 action on Tuesday afternoon. France will go into the game as favourites .

France boss Hervé Renard vented his spleen after the 6-3 victory over Panama which secured their status as Group F winners.

"We were 5-1 up, with the game in the bag," said Renard. "You see this often in football. It was poor attitude from the girls for a few minutes that let them come back and score two goals.

"The devil is in the detail in games like this, and this shows the younger girls not to take anything for granted."

Dedication

Renard's counterpart at the helm of Morocco, Reynald Pedros, assured himself of everlasting royal patronage by dedicating qualification to the last-16 to King Mohammed VI.

"He supported us after the defeat to Germany," said the 51-year-old Frenchman. "We knew that he was behind us and gave us a lot of strength for the other games."

The king has also obtained a good boast. Morocco became the first Arab country to reach the last-16.

"It's absolutely brilliant," added Pedros who has been in charge of the national team since November 2022.

But outfoxing Renard on Tuesday would appear – on paper – to be beyond the Moroccans. France lie fifth in the Fifa world rankings – 67 places above Pedros's players who will go into the game as underdogs.

"I know the France team well," said Pedros. "It's a squad with lots of good players with lots of experience but if we show the same resolve and desire we can do something. It's the knockout stages from here," Pedros added. "Anything can happen."

Just the sort of stakes and spectacle the tournament needs.

[RFi]

KEY POINTS

• Several upcoming Women's World Cup matches feature former colonial powers playing against countries they colonised.
• In these games, France will face Morocco, South Africa will play the Netherlands and England will play Nigeria.
• The games have been labelled "coloniser derbies", "colonial derbies" or "decolonisation derbies".

A Flourish data visualization

The Federation of International Football Association confirmed on Friday that it is investigating an allegation of misconduct in relation to the Zambian women’s national team in the ongoing Australia and New Zealand 2023 World Cup.

Coach Bruce Mwape was accused of rubbing his hands over the chest of one of his players, The Guardian reported Thursday.

The allegation came two days before the team’s final group game against Costa Rica.

A FIFA spokesperson said, “FIFA takes any allegation of misconduct extremely seriously and has a clear process in place for anyone in football who wants to report an incident.”

He stated further details can’t be given as investigation is going on, but he confirmed that the football body has received the complaint.

“We can confirm that a complaint has been received in relation to the Zambian women’s national team and this is currently being investigated. We cannot provide further details regarding an ongoing investigation for obvious confidentiality reasons,” he stated.

The spokesperson further said, “Anyone who wishes to report allegations or information related to abuse in football can do so via FIFA’s confidential reporting platform, with all information that is submitted to FIFA handled in the strictest of confidence.”

He also said FIFA takes “the strongest possible sanctions” when guilt is established.

The spokesperson also mentioned that the world football governing body provides support to witnesses.

“In addition, FIFA offers support and assistance to ensure the safety of those who report a safeguarding issue, including witnesses who come forward and give testimony in FIFA Ethics cases. Where guilt is established, FIFA takes the strongest possible sanctions, including removing people from the game for life. Our track record demonstrates this,” he assured.

The Football Association of Zambia announced last September that it had referred a report regarding allegations of sexual abuse within the women’s football team to FIFA.

According to a report by The Guardian, Mwape was among those being investigated.

Upon the publication of The Guardian’s article, which featured an anonymous player saying “if he [Mwape] wants to sleep with someone, you have to say yes,” the FAZ referred to the statement it made last September.

This year’s FIFA World Cup tournament is the first in which the Zambian women team ever participated.

The team beat Costa Rica to record the country’s first-ever victory at the finals, although they exited the tournament at the group stage after defeats to Japan and Spain.

Zambia’s win in their World Cup debut has been overshadowed by the allegations against Mwape, who has been in charge since 2018. The news conference prior to their game against Spain ended early due to persistent questions about a prior investigation relating to misconduct within women’s football in Zambia.

Captain Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji were both on target as they recorded a first-ever victory in what was the first World Cup appearance for any Zambian team, men or women.

UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has expressed an interest in venturing into professional wrestling (WWE) but has said he won’t want to be involved in it for a long period.

While discussing his prospect of venturing into professional wrestling with “The Halfcast Podcast”, Israel Adesanya made it clear that, rather than committing to a full-time WWE career, he said he would prefer making one, two, or possibly three appearances.

He said, “I always thought maybe I would, but I think I’ll do like stints like one, two, or maybe three but not like a weekly thing”.

The 34-year-old Nigerian-born Australian mixed martial artist opened up about his concerns about taking a full-time job with WWE by stressing that he liked to write his own stories and not let others choose the characters or the overall course of the story.

Hence, Israel Adesanya believes that committing to a lengthy spell in wrestling will be a betrayal of his identity and what he represents.

“I like to write my own story, I don’t want a writer writing my story and making me a heel this month and then the good guy this month. I’d rather just write my own story and yeah, I just feel like it’ll take away from me and it’ll be a disservice to myself. If I let someone else write my story and dictate how I’m perceived”, he said.

On who inspires him to consider a spell in wrestling, Adesanya said, “Watching him (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) on the mic, just roast five people five minutes straight and that’s just like a stand-up show. You know, playing with the mic and that kind of stuff, it seeps in and then you take bits and pieces, you’re inspired by those things.”

FOLLOWING the round-up of the group stage matches, three out of four of the African women’s football teams have scaled the hurdles from their respective groups to qualify for the knock-out stage of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Out of the four African representatives that qualified for the world cup, they are Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia. Only Zambia failed to progress to the next round of 16.

The ICIR had reported that none of the four African teams won their opening matches, casting doubt on their strengths on the global stage.

But, The ICIR observed that out of the total 12 matches played by the African quartet at the ongoing FIFA women’s world cup in Australia and New Zealand, each one of them won at least one match apart from Morocco winning two in a row.

Results from the group stage revealed that African sides won 5, lost 4 and drew 3 matches.

Nigeria and Cameroon are the only two African countries that have reached the knockout stage in the past. Nigeria became the first African side to progress to the knockout rounds in the USA in 1999, while Cameroon matched them in 2015 later in Canada.

It is believed this is the first time Africa had more than two teams advance from the group stage at the Women’s World Cup. However, this feat falls in the context of the tournament’s recent expansion to include more teams.

Round of 16 encounters

All three African sides qualified as the second from their groups. Due to this, they will fight tough teams to get to the top.

As the group stage commences tomorrow, 5, August, African representatives have another barrier to break. South Africa will face the Netherlands on Sunday, August 6, while, the next day, Monday, Nigeria will slug it out against England.

On Tuesday, August 8, Morroco will square against France.

[ICIR]

Walsh missed the Lionesses’ 6-1 win over China on Tuesday after injuring her knee against Denmark this time last week.

Scans have since shown the 26-year-old has not injured the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee and England clearly hold some hope she can play again at this World Cup.

The Lionesses trained this morning at the Central Coast Stadium and Walsh was the only member of the squad missing.

She is a doubt for Monday’s last-16 game against Nigeria in Brisbane, but her recovery is progressing.

Walsh was at the Central Coast Stadium, where England are training here in Australia, for the first time since injuring her knee.

England played in Adelaide on Tuesday and Walsh did not travel to the game. The squad then had a recovery session on Wednesday before travelling back to their base in Terrigal.

The players had a rest day yesterday and trained this morning as they gear up for Monday’s game against Nigeria.

Walsh was training away from the group and has been given an individual programme to follow. England have built a temporary gym at the Central Coast Stadium, which is located behind one of the venue’s stands.

Without Walsh in the team, England played a 3-4-1-2 formation against China on Tuesday and it worked well.

Manchester United captain Katie Zelem came into the midfield for Walsh and she will hope to keep her place alongside Georgia Stanway.

Stanway is one of three England players who will be suspended for the quarter-finals if they are booked.

Lauren Hemp and Lucy Bronze are in the same position, with yellow cards not wiped at the tournament until after the quarter-finals.

[standard]

Arsenal midfielder, Thomas Partey has held talks over a possible transfer move to Juventus.

Sky Italy reports that Partey has agreed personal terms with Juventus to join the club this summer.

The Serie A giants will now lodge an offer for the Ghanaian international, but are aware they need to sell one or two players before they can buy him.

However, it is unclear whether Arsenal would let Partey leave Emirates after midfield partner Granit Xhaka also departed the North London club this summer.

Partey joined Arsenal from Spanish La Liga giants Atletico Madrid for £45million in the summer of 2020.

[DailyPost]