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Leicester City promoted to Premier League after Leeds lose at QPR
Leicester City have been promoted to the Premier League after Leeds United were thumped by Queens Park Rangers.
The 4-0 defeat at Loftus Road means Daniel Farke’s side stay four points behind Championship leaders Leicester with only one game left.
The Foxes remain on track to amass 100 points on their way back to the top flight following their relegation last season.
Leicester can now claim the Championship title on Monday with victory at Preston if third-placed Ipswich fail to beat Hull City on Saturday.
Ipswich can join Leicester in the Premier League next season if they pick up five points from their remaining three matches.
Leicester City were flying in their campaign to return to the Premier League earlier this season but, after a serious loss of form late on, they have recovered to vault over the finishing line.
Tuesday’s 5-0 hammering of Southampton made it back-to-back wins for a side that had looked to be stumbling towards automatic promotion.
In mid-February, the title and rise back to the top flight seemed inevitable – Leicester were 12 points clear at the summit and had a 14-point cushion to third spot.
The Foxes, some said, were aboard the ‘Marescalator’ – an upwardly mobile, smooth-passing, possession-hungry machine operated by their Italian boss Enzo Maresca, who was taking Leicester only one way: straight up.
But then they seized up.
Four losses and just one win from six matches – including a dramatic defeat by Leeds who were 17 points adrift of Leicester at the start of January – turned it into a four-way battle for a top-two finish – with the Whites, Ipswich and Southampton the other contenders.
For all but two of the 176 days between 23 September and 17 March, Leicester had been top.
They were replaced by Leeds before Ipswich shot ahead of them both, forcing Leicester out of the automatic promotion spots by the end of March.
But just as Leicester faltered, those around them also dropped crucial points, allowing the Foxes a chance to regroup and seal their top-flight return.
What awaits them in the Premier League, however, remains uncertain.
The club are due to face an independent commission after they were charged by the Premier League for alleged breaches of profit and sustainability rules (PSR) relating to their last three years in the top flight.
Tonight, a triumphant return is celebrated but, if found guilty of financial breaches, they could begin next season with a points penalty.
When Leicester City dropped out of the Premier League last term, it brought an end to a decade of unparalleled success for the Foxes.
Just seven years earlier they had won an almost unfathomable Premier League title under Claudio Ranieri, and in 2021 they lifted the FA Cup for the first and only time in their history.
It all started with promotion as Championship title winners in 2013-14, and now the decade has been bookended with another promotion.
Jamie Vardy was there 10 years ago as an enormously gifted livewire, and now as a 37-year-old former England striker he has helped fire them back to the top flight with 18 goals in all competitions.
Vardy and a number of last season’s relegated side have had pivotal roles, with Nigeria midfielder Wilfred Ndidi playing alongside Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – who has provided 14 assists to go with his 12 goals – while Jannik Vestergaard, Wout Faes, Ricardo Pereira, James Justin and Hamza Choudhury have shone in defence.
But it took a fundamental shift in football philosophy to turn Leicester from the flailing Foxes that went down 12 months ago into today’s promotion-clinching outfit.
Manager Maresca, a treble-winning assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City last season, has stuck steadfastly to an approach that places patient, deliberate and possession-based football above all else.
Last summer’s additions of midfielder Harry Winks, who has 10 caps for England, ex-Arsenal and Juventus winger Stephy Mavididi, and on-loan Sporting Lisbon forward Abdul Fatawu provided fresh attacking impetus.
And the assured presence of Mads Hermansen, who was named goalkeeper in the Championship’s team of the season, also cannot be understated.
News
Trump set to sign Executive Order to flush out transgender personnel from US military
President-elect, Donald Trump, is set to sign an executive order that would remove all transgender members from the United States military.
It was learnt that the development has intensified concerns within the LGBTQ+ community.
The report claimed that the state officials had stated that transgender personnel would be discharged on medical grounds, deeming them “unfit” to serve.
Recall that during Trump’s first term as president, he introduced a similar policy that prohibited transgender individuals from joining the armed forces while allowing those already enlisted to remain in their roles.
After Trump left office, President Joe Biden had overturned the military ban in his first week as president in 2021, issuing an executive order to restore transgender individuals’ right to serve openly. However, with Trump’s potential return to the White House, transgender rights in the US may face renewed challenges.
However, the current proposal, as reported, would extend to removing all transgender service members, regardless of their current status. It is anticipated that the executive order will be issued on Trump’s first day in office, January 20 next year.
If signed, Trump’s new directive could be broader and more contentious than the policy he implemented during his first term. What would be its impact on transgender personnel serving in US military.
Reports indicated that approximately 15,000 transgender individuals are actively serving in the US military.
This is coming amid moves by US congress to stop irst transgender lawmaker from using female restrooms and bathrooms in her new workplace.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson had expressed his support for the policy that tends to disregard transgender ideologies in the legislative arm.
“All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings — such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms — are reserved for individuals of that biological sex,” the speaker said in a statement last Wednesday.
“It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol. Women deserve women’s only spaces,” he added.
The move to prevent McBride from using the women’s facilities in the House was first initiated by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who on Monday introduced a resolution to ban trans women from using women’s bathrooms inside the complex.
Mace said the resolution was “absolutely” in response to McBride, a Delaware Democrat, being elected to the House.
She took her anti-trans crusade even further on Wednesday, announcing a bill to ban trans people from using bathrooms that align with their gender in all federal buildings across the country. Neither of the resolutions have been brought to a House vote.
It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol. Women deserve women’s only spaces,” he added.
The move to prevent McBride from using the women’s facilities in the House was first initiated by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who on Monday introduced a resolution to ban trans women from using women’s bathrooms inside the complex.
Mace said the resolution was “absolutely” in response to McBride, a Delaware Democrat, being elected to the House.
She took her anti-trans crusade even further on Wednesday, announcing a bill to ban trans people from using bathrooms that align with their gender in all federal buildings across the country. Neither of the resolutions have been brought to a House vote.
News
PHOTO: Courtesy visit to Priesthood Orphanage by Just Friends Club of Nigeria Founder
Dr. (Mrs) Blessing Echenwo, left, founder of Priesthood Orphanage, Karamajiji, Abuja and Mrs. Maria Cardillo, a member of Just Friends Club of Nigeria, during the visit of the club to the orphanage in Abuja…recently
News
Just in: NYSC Releases Batch ‘C’ Corps Members Call Up Letters
The National Youth Service Corps has announced the release of the 2024 Batch ‘C’ Stream I call-up letters for prospective corps members.
The corps made the announcement in a series of post on its official X (former Twitter) handle on Monday.
It said orientation camp for the stream is expected to start on November 27, 2024 and closes on December 17, 2024.
According to the post, “some prospective corp members posted to Lagos will have orientation in Ogun and Osun.
“While some of those posted to Zamfara will have in Kebbi and Sokoto etc”
The corps, however, advised prospective corps members to print and sign an addendum, which will be submitted during registration at the orientation camp.
Tips to guide Deployed Prospective Corps Members
Do not travel to the Orientation Camps at night. Break your journey when necessary.
Report on your scheduled reporting date.
Apply for spelling error and name rearrangement on your dashboard.
After documentation in the Camp, you cannot change your Date of Birth, Date of Graduation, Course of Study and Passport Photograph.
Do not report to the Camp if there is any discrepancies in your course of study or with the Date of Graduation on your Statement of Result and your Call-up Letter. Contact your Institution to sort it out.
ATTENTION TO ALL 2024 BATCH ”C” STREAM I MARRIED FEMALE PROSPECTIVE CORPS MEMBERS
All married female Prospective Corps members (PCMs) who are deployed to States where their husbands are not domiciled should report to the nearest NYSC Orientation Camp for their State of Deployment to be changed.
They are to report during the period of Registration at the Orientation Camps with the copies of their marital and other relevant documents as evidence. Once the change is made it will reflect on theirM dashboard for reprinting.
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