After the Confederation of African Football (CAF) gave the green light to the Champions League games to resume next September, Wydad de Casablanca defender Mohamed Nahiri announced that his team s game against Ahly in the semifinals will be a do or die mission. Prior to the CAF competitions’ postponement, Egypt’s big names Ahly and Zamalek had been set to play Champions League semi-finals against Moroccan sides Wydad de Casablanca and Raja de Casablanca, respectively. "We don t have any chance except winning when we face Ahly in the Champions League semifinal game," the Wydad Casablanca defender told "le 360". "We have to concentrate to go through the Egyptian team and reach the final game for the third successive time," All continental sports activities have been suspended since March due to the coronavirus pandemic, including the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup, which were originally scheduled to be played on 1 May. CAF executive committee held a meeting on Tuesday to decide on the fate of its competitions amid the pandemic as they gave the green light for the Champions League and Confederation Cup games to resume in September in a final four format. The semi-finals will be played in a single match. "Wydad players won t accept any result except beating Ahly as well as reaching the final game," Nahiri added.

Liverpool s challenge after wrapping up their first English league title in 30 years is to maintain their intensity and keep pushing for trophies, skipper Jordan Henderson has said. The club sealed their 19th league crown with seven Premier League matches remaining after having won the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup last year. Henderson told British media the mentality of his team would never change. "They ll want to keep going and keep improving because the hard bit now is continuing that consistency and intensity to keep going at the highest level, keep winning trophies," he said. "That s going to be a new challenge for us to cope with and I ve got every confidence from us that we ll meet it." Henderson said manager Juergen Klopp would help them maintain their focus. "... We see the manager as being someone who would never let distractions get in the way of what we re trying to achieve," Henderson added. "After the Champions League (final) you could have asked would they still have that drive, that hunger to go on and win more? And I think we have proven this season we do." Liverpool visit second-placed Manchester City in the league on Thursday.

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers says the club’s King Power Stadium is “a very safe environment” and his team will continue to work in the same way unless told otherwise by local authorities as the number of COVID-19 cases rise in the area. The government has imposed a lockdown on the city of Leicester, which has a higher infection rate than anywhere else in the country, in its first major attempt to curb an outbreak with local rather than national measures. Speaking before Monday’s decision, which could see Leicester play their three remaining Premier League home games at neutral venues, Rodgers said his team had to be flexible. “Nothing has changed in terms of how we have been working thus far throughout this situation,” Rodgers told reporters. “It’s a very safe environment for the games to be in. We will just keep working until we are told otherwise. “I have always said we will react accordingly. We have to have agility in this period. I think in this moment in time we are in the safest place we can be in terms of our work, the stadium also.” Leicester visit Everton on Wednesday and are then set to host Crystal Palace on Saturday. Palace manager Roy Hodgson said he would follow the league’s guidelines on where his team have to play that fixture. “We’re happy to go up and play Leicester wherever the Premier League feels we should play... I’m perfectly happy to let the Premier League take care of that,” said Hodgson.

Burnley must start spending more to stay competitive in the Premier League because their current transfer strategy is not sustainable in the long term, manager Sean Dyche has said. Midfielders Aaron Lennon and Jeff Hendrick and goalkeeper Joe Hart left the club this week, while 11 more players will be out of contract at the end of next season. Dyche, whose team are 11th with seven games to go, said bargains were hard to come by these days. “The days of us nicking Nick Pope for 1.5 million pounds ($1.85 million), Johan Gudmundsson for 2.2 million pounds, James Tarkowski for 4 million pounds and Andre Gray for 6 million pounds, they’ve gone,” Dyche said. “We’re not sure how COVID-19 is going to affect the market, but if you took that away, I have said for a long time that we need to get in front of the curve. But doing that costs a lot of money. It’s a vicious circle.” Dyche, who has managed Burnley since 2012 and has always operated on a tight budget, said he had been asking the club’s hierarchy to consider tweaking their spending model for the past couple of seasons. “Can we do it? Yes. Does it need stretching? Yes, it does,” he added. “You can’t forever just work on a net spend of 9 million pounds a year. It’s not impossible, but it’s improbable that is going to work over a long period.” ($1 = 0.8088 pounds)

Liverpool cannot afford to get carried away by their Premier League triumph and must remain hungry for success if they are to compete with nearest rivals Manchester City next season, according to experienced midfielder James Milner. Liverpool s 30-year wait for their 19th English top-flight title ended on Thursday when two-times defending champions City lost to Chelsea, giving Juergen Klopp s side an unassailable 23-point lead with seven games left. Englishman Milner, who won two Premier League titles with City before joining Liverpool in 2015, expects a strong response from Pep Guardiola s team. "You see how difficult it is for any team to defend the title,” Milner, 34, told the Times. "City managed it last season.. but they tried twice before and failed. "The two times I was there in seasons after winning titles we were never at the races... That’s something I’ve learnt from. "This Liverpool team has shown we can deal with disappointment. Can we now show that we can deal with success? Being as good next year as we ve been this year won’t be enough, City will raise their game and so will other clubs." Milner said his side have the strength of character to cope with the pressure of being champions. “We are now there to be shot at and we have to be big enough to deal with that. It’s not a team that would ever go into autopilot. I don’t think we have those sort of characters and attitude," he added.

Egypt s Minister of Sports and Youth Ashraf Sobhi has confirmed that all sports competitions in Egypt will be completed according to cabinet decision, including the domestic handball league. Sports activities have been suspended since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the government has decided to allow teams to resume training starting 20 June. The reopening is part of a wider relaxation of restrictions that will see restaurants, sporting clubs and mosques open their doors starting Saturday, alongside scrapping the country s nighttime curfew. "We will do like all the world countries did, including [easing] precautionary measures," the Egyptian sports minister added. Cairo s popular club Zamalek said Wednesday they will not play when the Egyptian Premier League resumes in late July, citing concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. The Egyptian Handball Association announced last week cancelling the league due to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as starting a new season in August. "The decision of of Handball Association to cancel the current season was suspended, as International Handball Federation boss Hassan Mostafa told us that canceling the league could affect organising for the World Cup," Sobhi said. Egypt is scheduled to host the 2021 World Men s Handball Championship from 14 to 31 January 2021. The tournament will be the first handball championship, with 32 teams instead of 24.

Veteran defender David Luiz has signed a new one-year deal with Arsenal, the Premier League club announced on Wednesday. The 33-year-old Brazil international joined the Gunners last year from Chelsea on an initial 12-month deal. He was heavily criticised after being sent off in last week s 3-0 loss to Manchester City -- when the Premier League resumed after the coronavirus shutdown. But Arsenal technical director Edu hailed Luiz s influence on and off the pitch. "David is a really important player for us," he told the club website. "He has played most of our matches this season and has been important for the team. His passing, his communication with the team on and off the pitch -- he helps everyone." Arsenal have also moved to make the temporary moves of fellow defenders Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares into permanent arrangements, while midfielder Dani Ceballos s loan from Real Madrid has been extended until the end of the 2019/20 season. "I am really happy that we will have these players in our squad for the future," said Edu. "They have been part of the long-term technical plan (manager) Mikel (Arteta) and I have developed. They bring the right balance to our squad." Arsenal, who are 10th in the table, will bid to end a run of two defeats since the resumption away at Southampton on Thursday.

Pyramids FC are the first Egyptian team to resume training sessions on Tuesday, after the sports minster gave the green light for clubs to do so. Sports activities have been suspended since mid-March due to the coronavirus, but the government had decided to allow sports to resume starting from 20 June, part of a wider relaxation in restrictions that will see restaurants, clubs and mosques open their doors. Footballing activity will be resumed starting from 25 July, and clubs may start training before then, once they have completed required medical tests for players and staff. “We were granted the permission from the Egyptian Football Association and its medical committee, headed by Dr. Mohamed Soltan, to carry out the trainings in separated groups starting from Tuesday at Al-Defaa Al-Gawi stadium,” Pyramids FC football director Hani Said said in a statement published on the club’s official Twitter account. The EFA medical committee had said the club was allowed to let players train individually until they take a second coronavirus test scheduled for Wednesday, Said added. After the results come in, the team will return to group training sessions. Egypt will reopen restaurants, sporting clubs and mosques and will lift a daily curfew from Saturday, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and a cabinet spokesman said on Tuesday.

Jose Mourinho strongly defended his record of getting the best from top strikers on Monday after criticism the Portuguese manager s style could see Harry Kane look for pastures new. Kane played his first game for six months in Tottenham s 1-1 draw against Manchester United on Friday, but failed to get a single touch in the opposition box. Mourinho s tactics were again in the spotlight as Spurs tried to hold onto a 1-0 lead for most of the second half before Bruno Fernandes s penalty secured a point for United. Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson said he "worried" for Kane under Mourinho and a lack of trophies could also force the England captain to move on. Mourinho addressed Merson personally during a videoconference ahead of Tuesday s clash with West Ham and reeled off a list of statistics detailing the scoring rates of Didier Drogba, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Diego Milito and Zlatan Ibrahimovic during his time in charge of Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan. Kane scored seven goals in 10 games following Mourinho s appointment before tearing his hamstring on New Year s Day. "Harry Kane has no problems at all to score goals in my team," said Mourinho. "Especially when he is fit, when is fresh, when he has routines of playing that s my message to somebody." Mourinho was also criticised for leaving a visibly tiring Kane on the field for the full 90 minutes last week. Spurs wilted in the final quarter as Mourinho made just two of five allotted substitution compared with United s Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who used his full complement. Mourinho bemoaned his lack of options from the bench, with Dele Alli suspended and Lucas Moura injured. Alli and Lucas will be available for selection against West Ham and Mourinho is looking forward to having six attacking players to choose from for the first time as Tottenham boss. "(Steven) Bergwijn and (Erik) Lamela, Lucas and Son (Heung-min), Dele and Harry, six attacking players, all different, all very good and it is the first time I have all of them available, which is the kind of problem which we coaches love."

Ahly winger Hussein El-Shahat will not be playing for at least two months after undergoing a hernia surgery on Sunday. The player s brother posted a picture of him online before heading into surgery, which will force him to rest for weeks before resuming full training. The 28-year-old winger had been struggling with his injury since February, but the operation was postponed first due to Ahly s matches in the CAF Champions League then the coronavirus outbreak, which has put much pressure on the health system since March. El-Shahat joined the Red Devils in January 2019 from UAE side Al-Ain for a reported fee of $5 million, making him the most expensive signing by an Egyptian club. He made an immediate impact with the club, leading them to the 2019 Egyptian Premier League title and on verge of defending their title following a whopping 16-point lead at the top. However, he has been struggling with his fitness this season, failing to live up to expectations. Egypt’s government has given the green light for clubs to resume training starting 20 June. The Egyptian FA has set 25 July as an initial date to resume the league, which is only halfway through the season.

Gennaro Gattuso hailed the God of football after he lifted his first coaching trophy as Napoli beat Juventus 4-2 on penalties to win the Italian Cup for the sixth time on Wednesday. The final had ended 0-0 in an empty Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Paulo Dybala and Danilo both missed their spot-kicks for record 13-times Italian Cup champions Juventus with Arkadiusz Milik slotting in the winner for Napoli past veteran keeper Gianluigi Buffon. It is the first trophy for the southerners since 2014, and also a maiden coaching trophy for Gattuso, who took over from Carlo Ancelotti in December. For former Italy World Cup winner Gattuso his first coaching success comes after the death of his 37-year-old sister Francesca from a rare illness. "In life you cannot accept some things, but football has given me a lot and a great passion," said the 42-year-old former AC Milan great. "I feel I have a great responsibility. I know I cannot give up and I have never done in my career. "I saw a team tonight that wanted to win, we deserved it. "There s a God of football, who makes you reap all that you ve sown. "I am proud of what my lads have done. Now we must continue with this spirit also in the championship, to recover the disadvantage." Napoli have been reborn under Gattuso and are now sixth in the league table as they target the Champions League places when Serie A returns this weekend after a three-month absence due to the coronavirus. But the defeat was a worrying sign for Maurizio Sarri s Juventus, who also lost the Italian SuperCup final last December to Lazio. The 61-year-old former Napoli coach had also been chasing his first coaching trophy in Italy, and second in his career after leading Chelsea to the Europa League last season. "There is disappointment for the lads, for the club, for the fans," said Sarri. "At this moment we lack brilliance to make the game dangerous, and without that brilliance, it becomes more difficult." - Ronaldo lacking sharpness - The final was played behind closed doors, in the silence of Rome s Stadio Olimpico which should have hosted Italy versus Switzerland in Euro 2020 on June 17. Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo missed a chance to break the deadlock after five minutes, having also missed a penalty in a goalless semi-final, second leg match against AC Milan last weekend. "It s unusual two 0-0 draws for us but that just shows the lack of sharpness after such a long break," said Sarri. "Ronaldo s in the same shape as the others, like Paulo Dybala and Douglas Costa, he is lacking the sharpness to do what works best for him." Napoli had the best chances of the first half with Lorenzo Insigne s curling effort denied and Buffon clearing Diego Demme from close range. Buffon pulled off a last-minute save on Nikola Maksimovic to send the game into penalties with extra-time scrapped to minimise injuries after the coronavirus shutdown. Sarri said he hoped the players would now "put the anger and hunger from this disappointment" into their Serie A challenge with the eight-time reigning champions just one point ahead of second-placed Lazio in the table.

Supporters must be consulted over their return to stadiums but also football s current model which is "flawed, unfair and unsustainable", a collective of 27 national fan organisations across Europe said Wednesday. The resumption of leagues behind closed doors following the coronavirus shutdown has demonstrated "fans are the lifeblood of the game", said Football Supporters Europe (FSE), a grass-roots network of fans across the continent. "It is therefore more important now than ever for supporters to be included in discussions that will determine the immediate and long-term future of the game." Among the statement s signatories were major supporters groups from England, France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, who all urged "multi-stakeholder dialogue" on the game s long-term future. "The coronavirus crisis has yet again shown that the current model of football is flawed, unfair, and unsustainable," it read. "Football needs to change dramatically. Any reform process must include fan representatives, on local, national, and European level. "Fans must be engaged and involved in decisions that relate to the wider future of the game, including the necessary overhaul of governance structures and financial regulations." The statement also called for the safe return of spectators to be "accompanied by a meaningful consultation with fans representatives at every level of the game on health safety protocols." Broadcasters have attempted to compensate for the absence of supporters by adding crowd sounds and chants to hide the drab atmosphere, efforts described by FSE as a "rebuke to match-going fans". "We have significant concerns regarding attempts by broadcasters to replace or imitate the unique atmosphere produced by fans." "There can be no return to normal," it concluded. "Lasting change is needed to make the game sustainable from top to bottom, and fans stand ready to play a part in shaping that change."

The world s top players, including Egypt s star winger Mohamed Salah, will see a decline of 13% in their market value due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to KPMG. The suspension of soccer leagues across Europe will see overall player value drop by 6.6 billion euros ($7.5 billion), or about 18%, in the transfer market, KPMG s global head of sports Andrea Sartori said on Tuesday.

Egyptian clubs could resume trainings starting from next Saturday 20 June, after been given the green light by the government on Monday. The Minister of Youth and Sport Ashraf Sobhi said in a press conference that the Egyptian Football Association may restart its competition starting from 25 July. More details soon …

After extending his stay with the Egyptian Premier League outfit Zamalek, French coach Patrice Carteron has expressed his pleasure with the new deal. "I am happy and proud of continuing with Zamalek as well as being a technical manager of the Whites players," Carteron told the club s television channel. Zamalek announced on Saturday that Carteron would remain in his post with the team for another season. The 49-year-old Carteron, who took charge of the Whites last December, helped Zamalek snatch the African Super Cup and Egyptian Super Cup titles and reach the African Champions League semi-finals. "Zamalek players are part of a big team with great supporters, those fans enjoyed great moments when we won two titles and we want to continue with the same strength," the Zamalek coach said. "I promise Zamalek fans to do my best to achieve more trophies," Carteron added.

Egypt s Minister of Sports and Youth Ashraf Sobhi said on Thursday that sports activities will likely resume in August. "Sports teams will start training in July," Sobhi told a television programme. "All sports halls will be sterilised by the end of June to be ready for hosting the trainings," he added. The cabinet announced on Thursday that sports clubs and youth centres will be allowed to accept members subscriptions from 15 to 30 June, provided they raise the efficiency of the facilities, and perform sterilisation procedures during that period. The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) suspended all football activities on 15 March as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, but has not yet made an official decision regarding the future of the season.

Egyptian club Ittihad of Alexandria announced on Tuesday night it has reached agreement to renew the contract of coach Talaat Youssef for one year. “The board, headed by club president Mohamed Mosselhi, reached an agreement with coach Youssef to maintain his post in the coming season 2020/2021,” read a statement on the club s official website. The 65-year-old former Ittihad player Youssef, who started his managerial career in 1999, previously took charge of the Alexandria-based club on various occasions. He guided the team to deliver good performances in both the domestic league and the Arab Cup this season before the suspension of football activities in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Keeping Youssef as a coach will be a strong addition to the team in the next season. We are confident in our coach,” Mosselhi said after the renewal. Ahead of the current league suspension, Ittihad were at the fifth place of the league table with 27 points from 17 matches, 22 points behind leaders and holders Ahly.

Madrid s mayor has said Spanish capital is in talks about hosting this year s Champions League soccer final if organisers decide to move it from Istanbul due to the coronavirus crisis. European football s biggest game was scheduled to be played at Istanbul s Ataturk Stadium on May 30 until the competition was postponed at the last-16 stage in March due to the pandemic. "I know arrangements are being made, and I want to declare the city hall s absolute support for this Champions League final being held in Madrid," Tuesday s Marca newspaper quoted the city s mayor Jose Luis Martinez as telling network 13tv. No official announcement has been made about whether the re-arranged final will take place in Istanbul. A New York Times report last month said the showpiece event will not be held in the Turkish city and alternative venues were being considered. UEFA, which declined to comment on Almeida s remarks, said that a working group had been set up and "a variety of options" were being looked at, adding that an Executive Committee meeting on June 17 would provide more clarity. The final is likely to be held without spectators, as has been the case in the major European leagues such as the Bundesliga, which returned last month, and Spain s La Liga. Spain is among the worst affected countries by the coronavirus pandemic, recording more than 27,000 deaths. Madrid had the country s highest number of deaths and infections. But with the infection rate falling significantly, normal life is slowly resuming in Spain. "We have the adequate safety conditions, we have the infrastructure and public services to hold it and it would send a message to the world that despite all the drama we have lived, Madrid isn t giving up and is on the rise again," Almeida said.

Liverpool midfielder Harry Wilson has extended his loan agreement with Bournemouth to stay at the Vitality Stadium until the end of the season, the Premier League clubs said on Monday. Wilson’s initial deal was set to expire at the end of this month but, with the season extended due to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Bournemouth said the Wales winger will be available for the last nine games of the season. The 23-year-old has been one of the most influential members of Eddie Howe’s squad, scoring seven league goals in 23 appearances during his first year playing in the top flight. Bournemouth sit in 18th place — the final relegation place — but are level on points with Watford and West Ham United who are above them on goal difference. They restart their quest to avoid the drop at home to Crystal Palace on June 20.

Arsenal returned to action for the first time since the Premier League was stopped because of the COVID-19 pandemic as they beat Charlton Athletic 6-0 in a friendly at an empty Emirates Stadium on Saturday. Premier League clubs were this week given the all-clear to play friendlies ahead of the scheduled restart on June 17, following a three-month stoppage. Arsenal hosted second-tier Charlton behind closed doors and with officiating roles carried out by club staff. Alex Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored before halftime while academy graduate Eddie Nketiah grabbed a second-half hat-trick. Joe Willock was also on target. Arsenal, who are ninth in the standings, are away to Manchester City on June 17.

Bayern Munich s Germany defender Jerome Boateng has called on more famous white sportspeople to add their voices to the chorus of outrage at the US police killing of George Floyd. Floyd, a black American man, died after a white policeman kneeled on his neck for several minutes. His death has sparked eight days of protests in US cities, some of which have turned violent amid accusations of further police brutality used against demonstrators. It has also seen athletes, sports teams and leagues expressing solidarity with protesters demanding an end to systemic racism and police brutality in the United States. "Our voices carry, we have a platform and we touch many people," Boateng, whose father is from Ghana, told Deutsche Welle radio on Thursday. "All white sportspeople who don t speak out are obviously not racists, but of course it is desirable that they also use their notoriety for this cause. Many do it, but I think we can do much more." Boateng added that a deeper message needed to be sent, beyond the world of social media. "You need to take things in hand, whether in the form of work with children, or in integration projects," he said. "That always depends on the parents and what they re teaching their children. "Also in schools, you need the issue of racism to be integrated in curriculum. It s only by doing that that we will progress."