News

Barca’s Dani Olmo Out For 4 Weeks With Hamstring Injury

Barcelona forward Dani Olmo has been ruled out for up to five weeks with a hamstring injury, the Catalan club confirmed on Monday.

Olmo, 26, was substituted in the second half of Sunday’s 4-1 win at Girona and tests at the training ground on Monday revealed he is set for at least a month on the sidelines.

He will miss Thursday’s trip to AS Monaco in the Champions League and LaLiga games against Villarreal, Getafe, Osasuna and Alavés, as well as the European match against Young Boys before October’s international break.

Barça will then hope to have him available for a tough run of fixtures after the break, starting with Sevilla on Oct. 20 and followed by games against Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Espanyol.

Olmo, a €55 million ($61.2m) summer signing from RB Leipzig, joins a lengthy injury list that also includes Ronald Araújo, Andreas Christensen, Marc Bernal, Frenkie de Jong and Fermín López.

Ansu Fati and Gavi are also sidelined, but both have returned to training recently and the former could be involved against Monaco this week.

This loss of Olmo comes on the back of an impressive start to life at Barça from the Spain international.

He scored for the third time in as many games in the win at Girona at the weekend, with Lamine Yamal telling ESPN Barça fans will enjoy themselves this season after the LaLiga leaders registered their best goal scoring start to a campaign since 2017.

Yamal, 17, scored twice in the win at Montilivi as Barça took their goal tally to 17 for the season after just five games under new coach Hansi Flick.

The last time Barça had scored so many goals at this stage of the season was in 2017-18, when they also netted 17 while Lionel Messi was still at the club.

Before the Messi era, you have to go back to the 1959-60 campaign to find the last time Barça scored as many goals through their first five league fixtures.

“We want to press so that the opposition feel weighed down,” Yamal told ESPN after Barça’s impressive win at Girona.

“But it’s just the fifth game and the message [from the coach] is that there is still the next one, the next one and the next one to win.

“Playing for Barça means [wanting] to win everything and we want to win every game possible because if you want to win LaLiga, that is what you have to do.

“I am sure the Barça fans will enjoy themselves this season. That’s what we want and will try to achieve, above all by winning games.”

Barça’s goals have been shared around so far, with Robert Lewandowski the league’s top scorer on four followed by Yamal and Olmo, who both have three.

Yamal, meanwhile, has also registered four assists in five games and leads the league in goal contributions with a total of seven, one more than teammate Lewandowski.

News

Southwest Zonal Eliminations: Lagos Records Big Wins In Handball, Hockey, Football, Basketball

Lagos handball teams delivered impressive wins against Oyo State on day one of the South-West Zonal Eliminations of the National Sports Festival, holding in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The men’s team eased to a commanding 40-14 victory before the women’s team secured 23-15 victory at the handball court of Ilaji Hotels and Sports Resort, Akanran.

In Basketball, Lagos women’s team defeated Ondo 47-39 after a show of resilience, commitment and determination in their first match. Their second match is against Oyo State on Wednesday (today).

Lagos hockey team also recorded wins in their games. The women’s team thrashed Oyo 3-0, while the men’s team lone goal was enough to secure three points against Ekiti.

In beach volleyball, Lagos proved the level of their performance and conveniently dispatched Oyo 2-0. In football, Lagos female team defeated Oyo 1-0 courtesy of a goal from Bada Mistura in a game played inside the main bowl of the Liberty Stadium. The male team were later forced to a 1-1 draw against Ekiti

Speaking on the first day of the South-West Zonal Elimination Ball Games, the Director General, Lagos State Sports Commission, Lekan Fatodu noted that the athletes have demonstrated exceptional capacity and dominance over their opponents.

“So, I think it’s a good one for Lagos state.It is the first day of the zonal elimination qualifiers. With what we have experienced today in terms of the outcomes from the different Games. We are very optimistic and positive that at the end of the day we’re going to come victorious overall.”

Fatodu added that the performance of the state athletes in their different games has been thrilling and exciting, especially with the presence of personnel of the Lagos State Sports Commission, serving as a morale booster and source of encouragement to keep soaring high.

“With what is playing out, it’s going to yield a positive results. From what we have gathered today, they are particularly appreciative and they have confide that our presence means so much to them in terms of their mental positivity, approach towards the Games and in terms of their attitude on the field of play. It is expected that it will yield positive results for us”, Fatodu submitted.

The Director General further reiterated that, “We are not in any way in doubt that our athletes will show very, very well. Because of the fact that all the necessary things that they need to do well have been provided by Mr.Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu. We need to thank Mr. Governor for his commitment and always supporting sports in terms of logistics, welfare, transportation, feeding, and security. Everything is top-notch”.

Team Lagos will continue to bank on the records of dominance at the South-West as the qualifiers inch towards its conclusion, with the chance to secure slots for all ball games at the 22nd National Sports Festival – the ‘Gateway Games’ billed for Abeokuta, Ogun State in May.

News

Elo Akose, NDSF logo designer celebrates his emergence

Elo Akose, the winner of the Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF) logo design competition, has expressed delight to see his work gaining national traction through extensive media campaign as preparations for the festival heightens.

Akose, who received a reward of N250,000 prize money, commended the organisers of the contest for providing a platform for youths to showcase their artistic talents in design.

Akose’s entry emerged the best from over 300 others that were submitted to a panel of judges set up by the project consultants, Dunamis Icon, weeks ago. The design has since been officially put to use.

“I counted myself lucky to have had my entry selected from the over 300 submitted by other contestants and would like to thank the organisers of the Niger Delta Sports Festival for the opportunity given to all of us, the contestants to be part of this project,” Akose told NDSF Media.

Akose works with Smax Digital Prints and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Education (Economics) from the Delta State University.

The NDSF, the first intervention of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as part of its 25th anniversary, will hold in Akwa Ibom State from April 1 to 9. Over 3,000 athletes are expected to participate in 17 sports.