Sports

South African police have launched a manhunt for suspects who stole a boxing belt donated to Nelson Mandela by US champion Sugar Ray Leonard. The world champion belt, worth about $3,000 (£2,500), had been on display at the Mandela House museum in Soweto. Police spokesperson Col Dimakatso Sello told the BBC that a case of theft was opened with the police on 2 July. It is alleged that staff who reported for duty at the famous museum on Vilakazi Street, where the anti-apartheid icon lived between 1946 and 1962, noticed that the locks had been tampered with the day before.…

The CAF Champions League will return to the two-legged format for the final from next year, African football’s governing body has confirmed. The last three CAFCL finals in 2022, 2021 and 2022 were decided in single ties. CAF opted to play the final in a single tie, changing the two-legged format which had been in place for over four decades, in order to emulate the success of the UEFA Champions League. However, difficulty in finding countries to host the match has resulted in those plans hitting a snag, as the last two finals have been played at the same venue.…

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced that Morocco will host the 2022 edition of the Women’s Champions League. CAF said it opened the bidding process for the tournament twice but only received a bid from the North African nation. “The Executive Committee, therefore, resolved to award the competition to Morocco as the only bidder,” CAF said in a statement. Ampem Darkoa Ladies will hope to represent Ghana in this year’s competition after beating Hasaacas Ladies to the Ghana Women’s Premier League title in June. Hasaacas Ladies were themselves the country’s representatives in the inaugural edition in 2021, reaching the…

A church elder named Jonathan has revealed that his addiction to gambling caused him to lose GHc800,000 to sports betting. According to the church leader, he once owned three houses and a fleet of cars but lost everything to gambling. He narrated that a friend introduced him to sports betting and he was winning at first, which prompted him to bet with more money. Elder Jonathan Jonathan said he won up to GHc80,000 but wanted more, so he staked a bigger amount on his third attempt, which was the beginning of his gambling addiction. “A friend introduced me to betting, and…

Leeds United forward Raphinha is set to join Barcelona after the two clubs agreed a deal. The move for the 25-year-old Brazil playmaker is reportedly worth an initial 58m euros (£49m). Both clubs announced “an agreement in principle” had been reached, pending the player passing a medical. In two seasons at Elland Road Raphinha played in 65 Premier League games, scoring 17 goals and providing 12 assists. Leeds head coach Jesse Marsch had earlier confirmed the player was leaving. “I’m hopeful for him to get this deal done because I know it’s his dream to play for Barcelona,” Marsch said…

Chelsea have confirmed the signing of England forward Raheem Sterling from Manchester City in a £50m deal. Earlier the 27-year-old posted a heartfelt goodbye message saying he was leaving City “as a man”. City signed Sterling from Liverpool in a £49m deal in 2015. He went on to score 131 goals in 339 games, winning four Premier League titles. Capped 77 times by England, Sterling is Chelsea’s first major signing since the Todd Boehly-led takeover. Sterling will now link up with the rest of the Chelsea squad, which flew out for a pre-season tour to the United States on Saturday.…

Contrary to reports that Thomas Partey has been omitted from Arsenal's squad for their US tour, the club has announced that the Ghana midfielder is part of the travelling party. On Wednesday morning, The Times reported that Partey would not be part of Arsenal’s squad that will be jetting off to America for a pre-season tour. The UK-based media claimed the 29-year-old would remain in London to build up his fitness as Mikel Arteta’s side departs for America, alongside teammates Bernd Leno and Folarin. https://twitter.com/julietbawuah/status/1547214825373286402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1547214825373286402%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpulsembed.eu%2Fp2em%2FIYA4A1nnw%2F However, it has now been confirmed that Partey and his two aforementioned teammates have been included…

Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter and vice-president Michel Platini have both been found not guilty following their fraud trial in Switzerland. The pair stood trial over a payment of 2m Swiss francs (£1.6m) made by Blatter to Platini in 2011. Both men had denied wrongdoing and said the transfer was belated payment for Platini’s advisory work for Fifa. On his arrival at the court on Friday, Blatter said: “I am not innocent in my life but in this case I am innocent.” Blatter, 86, and former Uefa president Platini, 67, were banned from football in 2015 and indicted last November. I…

A family member of Inaki Williams has revealed that former Ghana Football Association (GFA) Kwesi Nyantakyi was involved in the striker’s decision to play for the Black Stars. Williams announced on Tuesday that he will play for Ghana, much to the delight of Ghanaian football fans. The 28-year-old, born in Bilbao to Ghanaian parents, has played for Spain’s Under-21 team and made one senior team appearance in a friendly against Bosnia in 2016. In an interview with Onua Sports, Inaki’s uncle Richard Ahenkorah revealed that Nyantakyi had begun the process of bringing Athletic Bilbao forward to represent Ghana. He stated that Nyantakyi…

Borussia Dortmund have signed Ivory Coast international Sebastien Haller from Dutch giants Ajax for 31m euros. It is a return to German football for the 28-year-old striker, who played for Eintracht Frankfurt from 2017-2019. He has signed a four-year deal with Dortmund, last season’s runners-up in the Bundesliga, for a free that could increase to 34.5m euros. https://twitter.com/BVB/status/1544717266989752323?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1544717266989752323%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcitisportsonline.com%2F2022%2F07%2F07%2Fsebastien-haller-joins-borussia-dortmund-from-ajax%2F “I can’t wait to feel the support of more than 80,000 spectators in the future,” Haller told the club website.  “We’ll hopefully achieve great things together in the next few years and be able to celebrate together too.” In his 18 months…