Burnley Relegated From Premier League After Loss At Spurs

Published

9 months ago

May 12, 2024

Burnley were relegated from the Premier League after a 2-1 defeat against Tottenham on Saturday.

Vincent Kompany’s side needed a victory in north London to have any chance of taking their survival bid to the last day of the season.

Jacob Bruun Larsen’s 25th-minute opener gave the second-bottom Clarets a glimmer of hope.

But Pedro Porro equalised seven minutes later and Micky van de Ven bagged Tottenham’s winner in the 82nd minute.

Five points adrift of fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest with one game left, Burnley join already-relegated Sheffield United in returning to the Championship after last season’s promotion.

Kompany consoled his heart-broken players on the pitch after the final whistle as the grim reality of relegation washed over them.

“Today the Premier League is over but tomorrow we start day one of doing everything we can to get back to the Premier League,” Kompany said.

“The game has gone a bit like others have gone for us this season. We created chances but the one where we missed the final pass.

“I’m not here sulking and feeling sorry for us but if you take every game, every season as a learning experience, this is step we need to get into our game.”

Burnley had been heading back towards the second tier for months before finally showing some fight in recent weeks to stay in the hunt to beat the drop.

Former Manchester City defender Kompany was hailed for the stylish way Burnley swaggered to the Championship title last season.

But the Premier League proved far tougher for Kompany, who is in his second season in charge of the Turf Moor club.

It took Burnley seven games to secure their first league win of the campaign, setting the tone for a difficult season that included heavy defeats against Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea.

The Clarets spent six successive seasons in the top tier from 2016 to 2022 under Sean Dyche.

Now Kompany will have to start from scratch in the Championship if he is to eventually reestablish Burnley as Premier League regulars.

“I’m very lucky to be surrounded by good people, hardworking players, staff and fans who have backed the club for generations. That’s who we try to do it for every weekend,” Kompany said.

Former Belgium player Radja Nainggolan arrested for alleged cocaine smuggling

Published

1 day ago

January 28, 2025

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Former Belgian footballer, Radja Nainggolan has reportedly been arrested for alleged involvement in cocaine smuggling.

According to a report by Corriere della Sera, the former AS Roma midfielder was allegedly part of a smuggling operation transporting cocaine from South America to Antwerp.

The Brussels public prosecutor’s office confirmed Nainggolan’s arrest as part of a large-scale raid on 30,000 houses in Antwerp and Brussels on Monday, January 27, 2025.

“The federal judicial police of Brussels carried out thirty house searches on Monday morning in the context of a case from the Organized Crime department of the Brussels public prosecutor’s office. The searches mainly took place in the province of Antwerp and in Brussels.”

“The investigation concerns suspected activities related to the importation of cocaine from South America to Europe via the port of Antwerp, as well as its distribution in Belgium. We can confirm that the footballer RN (Radja Nainggolan) has been taken into custody in connection with this case,” the statement read as quoted by UK outlet, Daily Mail.

“Given that interrogations are ongoing, and in compliance with the principle of presumption of innocence, no further comment will be made at this stage.”

Nainggolan, 36, currently plays for Lokeren-Temse, a lower-tier club in Belgium. He rose to prominence during his time in Italy, representing clubs such as Inter Milan, AS Roma, and Cagliari.

The former midfielder announced his retirement from international football in 2018 after being omitted from Belgium’s squad for the FIFA World Cup that year.

Sports

Full List: AFCON 2025 Draw Confirmed

Published

1 day ago

January 28, 2025

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The draw for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, has been confirmed on Monday.

The tournament is scheduled to run from December 21, 2025 until January 18, 2026.

All the 24 countries that will be present in Morocco have been found out their initial opponents.

All but two of the 52 Confederation of African Football (CAF) member participated in the qualifying series.

Following the preliminary round, 48 teams were divided into 12 groups of four, playing home and away in a total of six matches, where the top two teams from each group qualified.

The tournament will take place in six cities over four weeks, but there can only be one nation crowned the kings of Africa.

Here are all the important details and the full draw for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

AFCON 2025 groups
Group A: Morocco, Mali, Zambia, Comoros
Group B: Egypt, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe
Group C: Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, Tanzania
Group D: Senegal, DR Congo, Benin, Botswana
Group E: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan
Group F: Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Gabon, Mozambique

Sports

Para Badminton Int’l: Nigeria’s Bolaji wins gold in Egypt

Published

2 days ago

January 27, 2025

Naijablitznews

By Francesca Hangeior

Paralympic bronze medalist, Eniola Bolaji, on Sunday won gold medal in her final match at the Egypt Para Badminton International 2025.

To get this point, Bolaji won all her previous games in the competition hosted by Egypt.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bolaji defeated Sweden’s Hillevi Salomonsson 2-0 (21-1, 21-2) in the women’s SL3 final on Sunday in Cairo Egypt.

The African champion demonstrated her skill throughout the tournament, beating Shahinda Mohamed (21-7, 21-2).

She also defeated Basma Nabil-Fawzy (21-6, 21-4) and further conquered Elizabeth Puma (21-2, 21-4) with straight-set victories in earlier rounds.

Bolaji triumphed in dominant style, extending her remarkable winning streak by claiming her 10th title in 10 tournaments, while securing her 58th win in 64 matches

According to the Badminton World Federation (BWF), Bolaji has competed in 10 international championships over the past two years, emerging victorious in all.

This is a remarkable feat that bonds her as a force to be reckoned with in Para Badminton.

She broke multiple records and brought pride to Nigeria and Africa.

Bolaji’s achievement followed her radical success in 2024 where she made history as the first African athlete to win a badminton medal at the Paralympic Games

The Egypt Para Badminton International 2025 which started on Jan.21, ended on today (Jan. 26) in Cairo.