The Raila Odinga Talanta Stadium in Nairobi.Six Kenyans have asked the High Court to stop the government from committing public funds to the planned Bayern Munich-AFC Ajax friendly match, demanding disclosure of the financial arrangements behind the January 5, 2027 match.The petitioners want interim orders barring the State from authorising, allocating, releasing or spending public money on the event at Raila Odinga International Stadium, at Talanta Sports City, unless the expenditure is shown to comply with
Category: Sports
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Barcelona vs Aston Villa: Champions League – Predictions, news, lineups
Who: Barcelona vs Aston Villa What: UEFA Champions League, matchday 4 When: Tuesday, November 2, 20:00 GMT Where: Spotify Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain How to follow: Al Jazeera will provide build-up and live updates from 17:00 GMT.
It’s a big match in the fledgling UEFA Champions League standings, with Aston Villa seeking to extend their perfect start to the league phase with a daunting trip to Barcelona.
Star-studded Barca are among the favourites to win the competition and sit top of La Liga after 10 wins from 11 matches. But they are eighth in the league phase table after seeing their perfect start to the campaign ended by a 4-2 defeat at PSG in their most recent fixture.
Though their domestic campaign has been slow to get going, Villa have won all three games, scoring 12 goals in Europe and will be keen to repeat their progress to the quarterfinals from 2024-25, when they went out narrowly against eventual winners PSG.
It’s another huge milestone on an impressive journey for Villa, who are owned by V Sports, a holding company jointly controlled by Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris and US private equity investor Wes Edens.
They completed their takeover of the Birmingham-based club in 2019, following the club’s promotion back to the Premier League after three seasons in the Championship.
Three bottom-half finishes followed but after Unai Emery was appointed in October 2022 following the departure of Steven Gerrard, the Spaniard guided Villa to seventh place at the end of that season and qualification for the UEFA Conference League, their first European campaign in well over a decade.
England striker Ollie Watkins – now playing for Saudi side Al-Hilal – scored 27 goals as Emery’s side reached the semifinals and also secured a top-four finish in the Premier League, securing Champions League football for the first time and their first appearance in Europe’s top competition in 41 years.
A famous 1-0 win over Bayern Munich at Villa Park and a goalless draw with Juventus helped them progress to the quarterfinals where they were edged out by eventual champions PSG, despite Villa winning the second leg 3-2 at Villa Park.
A sixth-placed finish in the Premier League saw Villa qualify for the Europa League last season and they swept through the group stage, winning seven of their eight games, before beating Lille, Bologna and Nottingham Forest in the knockouts and breezing past Freiburg 3-0 in Istanbul in May to lift the trophy.
Another top-four Premier League finish came alongside it and took Emery’s side back into Europe’s top competition where they will now play on one of the biggest stages in world football, seeking to show they belong there.
While Hansi Flick’s side will start as strong favourites, they have not kept a clean sheet in the Champions League in 18 games – the longest run of any team in this season’s edition – and Villa will have their eye on writing another chapter in their fairytale story of recent seasons.
How have Barcelona fared this season?
After a perfect start to the campaign with thumping wins over Feyenoord and at Galatasaray, Hansi Flick’s side lost an epic Champions League encounter 4-2 against PSG to suffer their first defeat.
A 2-1 home loss to Real Madrid followed four days later in El Clasico, which ended their perfect start to their La Liga campaign after nine straight wins.
Barca, however, returned to winning ways by thrashing Alaves 6-1 on Saturday to return to the top of the table after briefly being overhauled by Atletico Madrid.
Lamine Yamal scored one and set up another, meaning he has notched 12 goals and 11 assists in all competitions this season. He already holds the record for Champions League assists by a teenager with 13, and is surely bound to find the single goal he needs in order to add the goals record before he turns 20 in July.
How have Aston Villa begun this season?
It’s been an up-and-down start to the campaign for the Villans.
They are only kept off the top of the league phase table by Paris Saint-Germain – who beat them 2-1 in the UEFA Super Cup in August after Villa’s Europa League win last season.
The English club sit second by virtue of goals scored alone after winning 3-2 at Club Brugge, 6-0 at home to Fenerbahce and then 3-1 against Viking at Villa Park.
However, in the Premier League they claimed one point from their opening four matches, though Saturday’s 1-1 draw against lowly Fulham, in which keeper Zion Suzuki scored an own goal, extended their unbeaten run to five games from which they have taken 11 points to climb to ninth.
They were dumped out of the English League Cup 3-0 by Bournemouth last week in the last-16 and announced on Saturday they will pursue legal action against pundit Jamie Carragher. Villa are accusing the former Liverpool defender of making “unacceptable insults” about the club and their supporters, saying “Aston Villa will never be Manchester United”, suggesting there is a hierarchy in football.
Barcelona vs Aston Villa: Predictions
Barcelona defeated Aston Villa in 72.0% of the Opta supercomputer’s 10,000 pre-match simulations, making them comfortable favourites for all three points.
Villa’s 100% start to the competition is therefore expected to end, with the away side pulling off a shock win in just 12.7% of the simulations and snatching a draw in 15.3%.
Barcelona vs Aston Villa: Head-to-head
This will be their first meeting since the European Super Cup final in January 1983. Villa were 3-1 winners on aggregate but suffered a 1-0 loss at Camp Nou in the first encounter.
The second leg was their fourth meeting in all competitions and Villa’s 3-0 success represented their first victory against Barca.
Unai Emery has much more recent history with the Catalans, though. He has faced them 30 times throughout his managerial career and picked up just three victories (D6 L21). His win percentage of 10% against Barca is his lowest against any side he has faced at least five times.
Emery suffered his heaviest ever loss in European competition at Barca when his Paris Saint-Germain side lost 6-1 at Camp Nou in March 2017, a match famously dubbed La Remontada.
Barcelona vs Aston Villa: Form guide
(Last five games in all competitions; latest match first)
Barcelona: W-L-L-W-W
Aston Villa: D-L-W-W-W
What have the managers said?
Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick: “I’m focused on the next match. This is a Champions League match, and Aston Villa is in great form and Unai Emery is one of the best coaches in Europe. We’re talking about the Champions League… Every match is special. Any opponent has the quality to cause you problems; it will be a very difficult match.
“At this level, anything can happen. Against Real Madrid, the result could have been different. We have confidence in these kinds of matches, we really do. We’ve won 11 games, only two losses… I have confidence in the team and we showed that last Saturday. Now we’re talking about the Champions League and we’re focused on finishing among the top eight.”
What have the players said?
Barcelona and England winger Anthony Gordon: “Aston Villa are a very good team. I’ve played against them a couple of times. They have one of the best managers in the world and some very good players. They’re in great form and it’s going to be a great game. They’re always fully engaged, so it’s going to be quite a challenge.”
Predicted lineups and team news
While their attack has been rampant, Barca have been beset by defensive problems due to injuries to Eric Garcia, Jules Kounde and Xavi Espart. Those personnel issues forced Flick to hand Brian Farinas a debut at right-back and deploy Frenkie de Jong in the centre of defence at the weekend.
Andreas Christensen will not be risked despite stepping up his recovery from a thigh injury by returning to training.
Barcelona: Joan García, Joao Cancelo, Gerard Martín, Pau Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde, Fermin Lopez, Rodri, Pedri, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Anthony Gordon.
There are no new injury concerns for Unai Emery to contend with, though Amadou Onana, Matteo Ruggeri and Aaron Wan-Bissaka remain absent.
Aston Villa: Zion Suzuki, Matty Cash, Viktor Lindelof, Pau Torres, Ian Maatsen, Boubacar Kamara, Joao Gomes, John McGinn, Johan Manzambi, Emiliano Buendia, Nicolas Jackson.
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Lazio Extend Serie A Lead as Gennaro Gattuso Warns Squad Against “Vertigo”
Lazio head coach Gennaro Gattuso warned his squad against overconfidence after a 2-1 comeback victory over Cagliari on Sunday propelled the club three points clear of Inter Milan at the top of the Serie A standings.The league leaders weathered an early setback when Cagliari's M'Bala Nzola opened the scoring in the 20th minute.
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Lamine Yamal’s real name revealed by his father as he makes key correction
Lamine Yamal's father has made a correction about the Barcelona star's real name as he revealed everyone has been saying it wrong.
The 19-year-old has quickly developed into one of the best players in the world and finished third in the recent Ballon d'Or voting which saw Harry Kane take the prize in London.
The Barcelona sensation, who has already won La Liga with his club and both the Euros and World Cup with Spain, is now a household name in the world.
However, it turns out that there has been some major confusion surrounding his name that has now been clarified by his father.
In a live broadcast, Mounir Nasraoui revealed that Lamine Yamal is his son's first name and his surname is, in fact, Nasraoui Ebana.
"I'm going to tell you something, guys,” he said.
His name is Lamine Yamal, but Yamal is not his surname. His surname is Nasraoui Ebana. I want everyone to understand that.
"Lamine Yamal is his name. That's why his father tells him, 'Lamine Yamal, through the good times and the bad, my boy.'
"And remember one thing: you will never be at the top as long as Lamine Yamal is on the pitch.”
The player himself doesn't seem to have too much of an issue himself as back when he was 16, he told Mundo Deportivo that he was happy for his name to be shortened.
“My name is Lamine Yamal, but if you want to shorten it, then Lamine,” he commented.
'Lamine Yamal', essentially a compound name, is on the back of his shirt for Barcelona and Spain and serves as integral to his brand.
But while his surname has been easily forgotten by many, Yamal is still proud of his family heritage.
Although he is born and bred in Barcelona and has represented Spain at every youth level, Yamal has affiliation with African nations Equatorial Guinea and Morocco.
His mother was born in Equatorial Guinea, on the west coast of central Africa, and his father is from North African country Morocco. He has the flags of both Equatorial Guinea and Morocco on his boots – stating that he will "always have affection".
Because he was eligible to play for them, Morocco even tried to convince Yamal to pledge international allegiance.
His grandmother on his father's side, Fatima Nasraoui, immigrated to Spain by herself in the 1990s.
She came on a bus for a better future, and later his father and aunty joined Fatima.
“The first to arrive, on my father’s side, was my grandmother, who came alone on a bus from Morocco," speaking Fundación José Ramón de la Morena podcast
She sneaked onto the bus, stopped in Algeciras and Granada, and eventually made it to Mataró. "She started working morning, afternoon, and night shifts to save enough to bring my father, who had stayed behind in Morocco with his sister.
"Once she had saved enough money, she paid a woman to bring them to Spain."
When Yamal made it in the big-time after a humble upbringing, he bought her a house in the working class Rocafonda neighbourhood he grew up in.
His '304' celebration is a tribute to the area he used to live in, never forgetting where he came from.
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Villa drop legal action threat against Carragher
Aston Villa have officially withdrawn their threat to take legal action against Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher following a public apology from the former Liverpool defender.The club had previously announced on Friday that it intended to sue Carragher over what it labeled "unacceptable insults" delivered during an episode of the Stick to Football podcast.
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Karen Country Club clinches 3rd consecutive National Junior League title
Karen Country Club junior golfers secured the National Junior League title for the third year running after a closely contested home encounter against Vet Lab.Playing at Karen Country Club, the hosts faced a carefully selected Vet Lab side whose line-up was well matched to their own.With the title at stake, the five-match contest delivered a tense finish, with most matches going down to the 18th hole.
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Jake Paul confirms opponent in boxing return
Jake Paul has finally announced who he will fight in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on December 24, as the American vows to return to winning ways after almost a year out of the ring.
Paul is set to take on French mixed martial artist and former kickboxer Cédric Doumbé at the Coca-Cola Arena.
The fight will take place at cruiserweight (200lbs), over eight rounds, with 10oz gloves permitted.
The 29-year-old American has not fought since suffering a brutal sixth-round knockout defeat to Anthony Joshua in December 2025. Paul sustained a double break in his jaw, which required two surgeries.
Thirty-four-year-old Doumbé is signed to MMA promotion the Professional Fighters League (PFL), where he has won six of his seven fights.
The Cameroon-born fighter, who is based in Paris, also boasts a record of 75 wins, one draw and seven losses from 83 kickboxing contests and is a former two-time GLORY welterweight world champion. He won his sole professional boxing bout against Mohamed Fodil in April 2015.
Speaking to Most Valuable Promotions, Jake Paul said: “Cédric Douchebag was calling me out two years ago after knocking some dude out in 9 seconds. Well Douchebag, now you get your chance. I’m rusty, my jaw is janky and I don’t have kickboxing world titles like you do. But guess what, this isn’t kickboxing mon ami.
This is BOXING. Just like Usyk feasted on Rico Verhoeven, I am going to eat you for dinner in Dubai on Christmas Eve and have a Coca-Cola at the arena to celebrate. You like to talk a lot, so let’s see what you have to say in person at the press conferences next week in Paris and Dubai.
To the proud people of France, excuse-moi for what I am about to do, but your son has been naughty and he’s going to get punished. To all the fans in Dubai and all of MENA…we are doing this and we are doing it big, like Dubai always does. I’m baaaaaccccccccck.”
Doumbé said: “Jake Paul calls himself the Problem Child, but he’s never faced a problem like me. He has no idea what a Frenchman is capable of, and on Thursday, December 24 in Dubai, I’m going to eat ‘El Poulet’ for dinner. Jake loves to talk, and so do I, but after what Joshua did to his jaw, I’m not sure how much talking he has left. I’m going to finish the job Joshua started. Dubai is a special city to me, and on Christmas Eve, I’ll be waving le Tricolore over his unconscious body. France, this one’s for you.”
More to follow…
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New York City Marathon winner produces the biggest ever flex after incredible debut victory
The winner of the New York City marathon produced the ultimate flex after crossing the line before anyone else in his first ever time running the distance.
The 26.2 mile NYC race took place on Sunday and was ran by a total of 60,000 participants.
There were some famous faces involved in the 50th running of the five-borough course, with Premier League record-breaker James Milner taking part.
Former Liverpool, Manchester City and Brighton star Milner is considered to be one of the fittest footballers of all time and accrued an impressive time of 3 hours, 9 minutes and 4 seconds.
But it was Swede Andreas Almgren who won the men's title in the event during his first ever experience in a 26.2 mile course.
Almgren's triumphant marathon debut saw him finish with a staggering time of 2:06:01, 13 seconds ahead of Italy's Yemaneberhan Crippa who finished second.
The 31-year-old is anything but a rookie as he is already an elite runner who claimed gold in the 10,000m at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham.
But this was the first time competing against pros in a marathon and afterwards Almgren produced a hilarious post on Strava.
Accompanied by his run upload, he wrote: "'I just finished my first marathon'. 'Cool, did you win'? 'Yes'.
In what is deemed to be one of the most difficult races to run, Almgren did a 15 minute 5k, a 10k in 30 minutes and 53 seconds and a half marathon in 1 hours, 4 minutes and four seconds.
His average pace was 4 minutes and 19 seconds per mile and incredibly, he seemed to get quicker near the finish line as he pulled away from Crippa in Central Park.
Reflecting afterwards, Almgren said: “I’ve probably never felt so emotional after a race ever.
"With 5k left I felt like I had the legs today … I saw I had a pretty big gap [near the end of the race] and thought: ‘OK, just enjoy these last few hundred meters’, because this is not something a lot of people get to experience.
"This is my first marathon. I didn’t know how I was supposed to feel."
Almgren, who does double threshold training and typically runs 125 miles a week when training, is the first European man to win the marathon in 30 years.
He used to be an 800m runner and has suffered his fair share of injury heartbreak, including at the 2024 Olympics when he was forced to pull out of the 5,000m just a day before the heats began.
Even with being a Nike athlete, his achievement is still an extraordinary and saw him claim prize money of £76,000 for winning.
The same amount went to women's winner Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya after her incredible time of two hours, 24 minutes and 36 seconds.
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Uganda’s tourism sponsorship deal with German 8th-tier football club sparks mixed reactions
Uganda’s three-year tourism sponsorship deal with a little-known German football club playing in the eighth tier of the country’s football league system has sparked mixed reactions on social media, with some users welcoming it as a starting point for promoting the country while others question its potential reach and value.
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Coventry fan, 14, hands himself in after Bradley Lowery taunt in Sunderland
Coventry City are investigating footage appearing to show one of their supporters taunting Sunderland with a photo of late supporter Bradley Lowery during their Premier League match, the club said.
Lowery, who died aged six in July 2017, suffered from a rare form of cancer which spreads rapidly across the body. He became known nationally as he accompanied the team on the pitch before matches.
British media reports said a 14-year-old boy had handed himself in to West Midlands police, who launched an investigation after footage circulated on social media appearing to show an individual in the Coventry section pointing to his phone and grinning as he displayed an image of Lowery during Sunderland’s 3-1 defeat on Saturday.
“Coventry City FC is aware of footage circulating on social media in connection with an incident during our Premier League fixture against Sunderland,” the club said in a statement on Sunday.
“The club does not tolerate offensive behaviour and will liaise with the relevant authorities to determine the appropriate course of action.”
Sunderland has not acknowledged the incident.
Gemma Lowery, Bradley’s mother, issued a statement on Sunday through the Bradley Lowery Foundation, which supports children and families affected by serious illness.
“As his [Bradley’s] mam, this breaks my heart. Behind that photo is a little boy who was loved beyond measure,” she said. “To see such a beautiful memory used in such a cruel way really does break my heart.
“I hope the club takes appropriate action and the young lad’s family help him understand how hurtful his actions were.”
She emphasised in her statement that she did not want hate directed towards the individual but rather that he learn from the incident.
Social media users, however, were enraged by the “sickening” incident and called for a lifetime ban on the individual.
The football fraternity wasted no time in remedying the situation as hundreds donated to the Bradley Lowery Foundation over the weekend.
Several shunned the fan’s thoughtless behaviour, while others shared testimony of Bradley’s bravery throughout his fight with cancer and how much he helped uplift the football community.
“One bad fan doesn’t represent Coventry City. Keep up the great work in keeping the wee man’s memory alive and doing great work in supporting others,” read one comment accompanying a donation.
Another comment read: “Bradley has achieved what no-one else has and that’s bringing rival fans together.”