16 teams across four different age groups compete to earn a spot in the MLS NEXT Cup Finals

FRISCO, TX (Thursday, June 30, 2022) – The stage is set for the second-ever MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs Semifinals with 11 MLS academy programs and five Elite academies advancing. Real Salt Lake’s U15s and Orlando City SC’s U17s were the only two clubs to advance to the semifinals in consecutive years. All four finals will be played on the FC Dallas first-team pitch, Toyota Stadium. 
 

Kamaldeen SULEMANA of Rennes during the UEFA Europa Conference League match between Rennes and Mura at Roazhon Park on November 4, 2021 in Rennes, France. (Photo by Eddy Lemaistre/Icon Sport)      
Ghana winger Kamaladeen Sulemana has been nominated for Young Player of the Year at the 2022 CAF awards.
Sulemana had an impressive first season with French club Rennes, earning him a nomination.
The 20-year-old also made his debut at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year and performed admirably.

Organic Honico Chocolate Spread & Beverage manufacturers have promised to support the historic cycling event coming up in September this year in Ghana. 
In an exclusive interview with Mr. Dickson, a director of the company and Mr. Kwadwo Larbie, marketing manager, they expressed their joy to be part of the project which would see five European cyclists being joined by Ghanaian counterparts who are going to ride over many kilometers in different parts of Ghana. 
According to the organisers, the routes are from Elmina to Kakum in the Central Region, Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, Aburi and Nsawam to Kyebi in the Eastern Region and Akosombo to the Volta Region. 
Mr. Gabriel Ammah of Urban Sports Champions said the project is to promote sports and tourism in Ghana. 
He thanked the officials of Honico for their interest and urged them to take advantage of the event to spread the good news about the product. 
He advised Ghanaians to patronize made in Ghana quality products.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has met his Comoros counterpart, Said Ali Said Athouman, to discuss football development in the country which provided one of the biggest upsets in Africa Nations Cup history

ZURICH, Switzerland, June 30, 2022/ --  Artificial pitches and renovation of training centre are among key projects in Comoros; Comoros national team made their AFCON finals debut this year; FIFA (www.FIFA.com) a key partner for the Comoros federation.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has met his Comoros counterpart, Said Ali Said Athouman, to discuss football development in the country which provided one of the biggest upsets in Africa Nations Cup history by reaching the Round of 16 earlier this year. "We spoke about football: football in Comoros and football in Africa," said Mr Athouman after meeting the FIFA President in Paris. "We spoke about the development of football, about how to mobilise more resources, and, ultimately, what reforms should be set in motion. So, we had a good discussion about a number of topics."

CAF has released the first list of nominees for the CAF Awards 2022 which will be held on 21 July 2022 in Rabat, Morocco.
The revealed nominees are mainly for the Men’s categories namely Player of the Year, Interclub Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year, National Team of the Year and Club of the Year. The nominees for the Women’s categories will be announced in due course.


A stakeholder panel made up of Technical Experts, CAF Legends and Journalists decided on the list for the various categories taking into the consideration the performance of the nominee from September 2021 till June 2022 at all levels.
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The winners of each category will be decided by a voting panel made up of CAF Technical Committee, media professionals, Head Coaches & Captains of Member Associations and clubs involved at the group stage of the Interclub competitions.

ForeverLawn Partners with Andretti Autosport to Sponsor Romain Grosjean at the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio


Louisville, Ohio | June 30, 2022 - ForeverLawn, Inc.® has announced its sponsorship of Romain Grosjean and the “Black and Green Grass Machine” at the Honda Indy 200 in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Sunday. This is ForeverLawn’s first race as a primary sponsor, acting as an associate sponsor for the rest of the season with Grosjean and the Andretti Autosport team. The race is broadcast live from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington at 12:30 p.m. EST Sunday, July 3, on NBC.

The historic first Caribbean Games are underway following a party full of music and color in Guadeloupe. 

More than 800 athletes from 29 countries were represented in front of sport leaders and fans during the athlete parade. The competitions officially begin today.

GUADELOUPE (June 30, 2022) -- The excitement and energy could be felt in the stadium as history was made. It was a moment to remember not only for Guadeloupe, but also the entire continent as the first Caribbean Games officially began. Once CANOC President Brian Lewis finished his the speech by inviting everyone to enjoy the Games and join in the celebration, he raised his arms and went to embrace the Guadeloupe 2022 President Alain Soreze.

The eleventh edition of The World Games will be officially opened in Birmingham, USA next Thursday, 7th July. On behalf of the International World Games Association (IWGA), President José Perurena will welcome a total of 3,600 athletes from 106 countries during the ceremonial opening event at the Protective Stadium. 


Through to 17th July, 34 sports, 58 disciplines and 223 medal events are on the competition programme of the Games. The World Games 2022 will be the first international multi-sport event to be held in front of a public audience since 2020. The first World Games were held in Santa Clara, California in 1981, and now the event returns to the USA. For Birmingham, Mayor Randall Woodfin invites everyone coming to the Games to enjoy the best in Southern hospitality. 
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Originally scheduled for summer 2021, the Games have had to be postponed for a year. The Birmingham Organising Committee, headed by CEO Nick Sellers, has used the time to the advantage of The World Games. The new Protective Stadium is now one of a total of 23 competition venues. The modernisation of the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Centre (BJCC) was also completed last year.

FIFA and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 LLC (Q22) are pleased to announce that the media accreditation process for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ is now open for media and non-rights holders. The deadline for submitting accreditation requests is 15 August 2022. An explanatory video of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 accreditation process is available here .
Access to the media accreditation form requires a unique control key. FIFA’s member associations have received a quota of written press and photographer accreditations for distribution to their national media organisations and representatives. Once a media representative has received a control key from your member association or media organisation, they will be able to apply for accreditation via the FIFA Media Hub .

The first group of Ukrainian athletes and coaches depart today (Thursday) for the USA ahead of next month’s World Athletics Championships Oregon22.
World Athletics is distributing more than US$220,000 to support Ukrainian athletes preparing for the World Championships and the World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22 in response to the crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
World Athletics, the Member Meetings of Diamond League Association and the International Athletics Foundation launched a Ukraine Fund in April with the purpose of assisting professional athletes, immediate family members and their support personnel affected by Russia’s invasion of their home country.

The world's football governing body has set aside $1.696B for this year’s World Cup in Qatar. According to a Safebettingsites analysis, prize money will take the largest share of the tournament's allocations. FIFA has set aside $440M or 26% of its WC budget towards that cause. The figure represents a 10% increase in the kitty from its 2018 figures.


"Playing in the World Cup is every footballer's ultimate wish," says Safebettingsites' Edith Reads. She adds, "The legendary status that comes with playing in the event is enough to fire up the players to want to do well there. FIFA sweetens the deal with monetary incentives, especially for teams that progress beyond the group stages."

The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh has said that the company is intensifying its efforts to get customers registered as the SIM registration exercise draws to a close at the end of July 2022.  
Speaking at the 2022 MTN Media and Stakeholder Fora in both Accra and Kumasi, Selorm Adadevoh revealed that as at May 2022, 16.5 million customers had linked their Ghana cards to their SIM numbers, representing 58% of the customer base with 10.2 million completing the registration exercise representing 39% of the Customer base. 
“More work needs to be done and for the next five weeks, we are ramping up efforts to get more customers to register their SIM cards to continue to stay connected. I encourage all our customers to go and get the registrations done fully”.

Former Ghana international Ibrahim Tanko has been appointed as head coach of the Black Meteors team.
The Borussia Dortmund legend returns for a second stint with the national U-23 team.
Tanko was head coach of the Olympic team which placed fourth at the 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations in Egypt.
The team missed out of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games via the penalty shootouts.
Tanko has been appointed to lead the Black Meteors for the 2023 Africa Games in Accra.

…Record Breaking entries received in nearly 123 participants for 329 matches

It’s all coming down nearly a year in celebration, at this year’s 2022 All Ghana Open Badminton Championships in its unique way.
In nearly 123 participants of all ages, the 2022 All Ghana Open Badminton Championships for Sub-Juniors, Juniors, Seniors, and Masters (Veterans) from 09 to 10 July 2022 in Accra. The Sports Hall is an exciting four court Badminton Air-conditioned Hall, standard sport flooring, lighting that meet international standards, notable for hosting our prestige 2019 JE Wilson International Tournament, where we took pride in hosting 27 global countries here in Ghana.
The 2022 All Ghana Open Badminton Championships, presents an honour to have beginners, intermediate, professional, and refreshed sports competitors of your noble club to take part in this prestigious 2022 All Ghana Open Badminton Championships, aiming to foster the sport of badminton, revealing talents, and attracting more and more stars of our discipline.

The ANOCA Athletes’ Support Programme aims to provide support for the preparation and qualification of elite athletes

ABUJA, Nigeria, June 30, 2022/ -- The Athletes’ Support Programme Commission for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games met at the ANOCA (AfricaOlympic.com) headquarters, Abuja, on 20 and 21 June 2022.

It was an in-person session coordinated by the Commission Chair, Seydina Omar Diagne, who opened the deliberations. Then followed the Message of ANOCA President, Hon. Mustapha Berraf, which was delivered by ANOCA Treasurer General, Eng. Habu Gumel who chaired the meeting.

Mustapha Berraf’s message underscored that: "Supporting athletes is the unique way to create enabling conditions necessary for the performances of our African representatives to go beyond the usual records. This must be evidenced by Paris 2024."

The Commission members reviewed all aspects of the preparation of African athletes for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The athletes’ support programme is based on the judicious use of Olympic Solidarity budgets and the effectiveness of ANOCA grants.

• FIFA+, the new digital destination bringing football fans closer to the game than ever before, is to launch on Hisense’s VIDAA-powered TVs from this summer
• Originals, live matches, and extensive archive all to be available on Hisense connected devices
• Hisense to also headline partner a new FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ daily show

FIFA+ is to launch on Hisense VIDAA-powered devices from this summer onwards, making thousands of free hours of original, live and archive football available directly to fans in their homes.
Hisense, an existing Official Sponsor of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, will make the new platform available on the company’s VIDAA-powered TVs, and will be downloadable directly on to devices.
In addition, Hisense will also headline sponsor an exclusive daily show throughout the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, featuring highlights from the matches, star guests and live reaction – all broadcast directly from the official FIFA Fan Festival – putting fans at the heart of FIFA+ tournament coverage.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 30 June 2022 - Team Qhubeka is proud to announce a series of exciting, innovative activations in the lead up to ‘Mandela Day’, offering the opportunity to show your support of the team and raise funds for the Qhubeka Charity.
The team’s purpose-led approach has seen us take the next step in our journey, in launching and building the member-driven Team Qhubeka Community. The latest exclusive offering sees us partner with Endurance Zone and will look to further add to what’s already proved to be a unique and exciting addition to our team.
Douglas Ryder, Team Principal, said: “Team Qhubeka is a professional cycling team, racing to win to mobilise people on bikes in Africa through the Qhubeka Charity and our #BicyclesChangeLives Campaign. Through our team community we are bringing people together that care as much about sport for good and making a difference to the world we live in as we do.”

President of the Ghana Taekwondo Federation  (GTF), Mr. Frederick Lartey Otu has been appointed as Technical Delegate for two Africa Senior Championships taking place in Kigali, Rwanda.
Mr. Otu, a Principal Revenue Officer of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, would supervise the Poomase to be held on July 14-15, 2022 and Kyorugi at the same venue on July 16-17, 2022.
The President of World Taekwondo, Chungwon Choue commended the GTF president in a correspondence for his dedication to the successful organization of the championship.
Mr. Otu would ensure that the tournament takes place in strict compliance with World Taekwondo Competition Rules in fair judging and smooth operation.

JUNE 29, 2022 POITIERS (France) - Just a few days after a disappointing early exit at the Crelan FIBA 3x3 World Cup 2022, Germany redeemed themselves with their second consecutive FIBA 3x3 Women's Series stop win in Poitiers on June 28-29, 2022.
Four weeks after winning the first stop of the season in Tel Aviv, the reigning champs continued their domination of the Women's Series in France. The team stayed undefeated (5-0) and beat the United States (21-17) in the final.

​Some 1900 athletes have qualified to compete at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 from 15-24 July.

The qualification period for individual track and field disciplines closed on 26 June following a busy weekend of national championships action, while the invitation process for relays ended on 28 June.

About 63 percent of athletes have qualified by entry standard, 33 percent by world ranking position and four percent by designated finishes in qualifying competitions (such as area championships). 75 countries are expected to enter athletes through universality places.

The Road to Oregon tool on the World Athletics website shows which athletes – subject to being officially selected by their member federation – have qualified to compete at the World Championships, either by entry standard or world ranking position within a discipline’s quota.

• Sales period to begin on 5 July, now that all 32 qualifying teams are known
• Total of 1.8 million tournament tickets sold already
• Ticket holders encouraged to pledge to reduce their carbon emissions with all flights to be offset by FIFA

Remaining tickets for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ will be back on sale next week, giving fans an unmissable chance to secure their place at the greatest football show on Earth. This time, tickets for the first-ever FIFA World Cup™ to be held in the Middle East will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis, allowing fans to confirm their purchase immediately after making their selection and processing the payment. The new sales period opens via FIFA.com/tickets on Tuesday, 5 July at 11:00 CET/12:00 noon in Doha.

Accra Hearts of Oak top star Samuel Inkoom is delighted to have contributed to the team's FA Cup win against Bechem United.
The 32-year-old wins his first title with The Phobians since joining the club mid-way in the 2021/22 season as a free agent.
Inkoom who has displaced captain Fatawu Mohammed at the right-back position has been impressive since joining the club.
The former Asante Kotoko right-back registered an assist in the game with his fine cross which helped Hearts of Oak to get the equalizer through Caleb Amankwah's volley.

The Premier League is not only the richest football league in the world but also outshines other leagues in terms of popularity. According to the numbers presented by SafeBettingSites.com, Premier League clubs have the most combined followers on various social media platforms, totalling 820 million. ​

More people are playing video games than ever before. According to the numbers presented by SafeBettingSites.com, the overall video-gaming base is expected to cross 3 billion in 2022. Considering the current global population stands at 8 billion, almost 40% of the entire world has recently played a video game on consoles, PCs, or mobile devices. 
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54% Of Gamers Come From Asia-Pacific

According to the Newzoo report on global gaming, the global size of video gamers will be 3.09 billion in 2022. The report defines a gamer as someone who has played a game on consoles, PC, or mobile devices during the past six months. The size of the global gaming community is set to grow by 4.3% from 2021. However, most of the growth has come from emerging markets in Latin America, the Middle East & Africa.