News

Liverpool’s Arne Slot Celebrates Birthday With Debut UCL Win

Liverpool manager Arne Slot marked his 46th birthday with his first Champions League victory in a 3-1 win against AC Milan in Italy and said it was a “great way” to celebrate.

Slot, who succeeded Champions League-winning coach Jurgen Klopp at Anfield this summer, saw his team overturn a third-minute Christian Pulisic goal to seal the win in the San Siro with goals from Ibrahima Konaté, Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai.

And the former Feyenoord coach said his team produced the perfect performance to bounce back from a shock 1-0 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

“A great way to spend my birthday,” Slot said. “We have more than 11 players and the ones that came in did well. You wouldn’t have said this after five minutes, but after we did well.

“Losing Saturday was a blow and to be 1-0 down early tonight, you are wondering how we react.

“But if you can play so good it is — I won’t say a disgrace — unbelievable you lose to Forest at home if you can play like this today.”

Slot gave Cody Gakpo his first start of the season and was repaid with an impressive performance by the Netherlands forward and the manager said the former PSV Eindhoven player produced what he expected.

“I would have played Cody Gakpo on Saturday but he played two games for the national side,” Slot said. “Today was more a team display than an individual display.”

It was a special day, too, for Liverpool captain Van Dijk, who marked his 50th appearance in the Champions League with just his third goal in the competition.

“Obviously I am very pleased with the win and I am pleased with the way we bounced back after a difficult start,” he told Sky Italy. “Overall we put in a very good performance with and without the ball.

“When there is a set-piece we try to be important. The delivery was outstanding in my opinion. Overall I am very pleased that we won and we limited them to only two big chances.

“We have been very successful over the years and I am always grateful for that. Things have moved on, the new manager is here and he has principles that are different.

“We are working on things and there are still things to improve.”

Ligue 1

NBA Star Durant Invests In PSG

Basketball star Kevin Durant has taken a minority stake in Paris Saint-Germain, the European champions announced Friday, without saying how many shares the power forward had acquired

Kevin Durant, who won gold in the Paris 2024 basketball, has taken a stake in the city’s best-known football club Paris Saint-Germain

The club said in a statement that owners Qatar Sports Investment (QSI) had “signed an investment and strategic partnership agreement with Kevin Durant, one of the most decorated US basketball players of all time and a leading investor in sports and entertainment properties.”

It said Durant would acquire the stake “via his media and investment arm Boardroom”.

The club said QSI would cooperate with Boardroom “on a wide-series of commercial, investment, and content initiatives” including merchandise, media content US and international strategy and “potential Basketball/Multi-Sport expansion.”

“With Kevin, we look forward to developing ambitious initiatives that will drive the continued global growth of Paris Saint-Germain and QSI,” said Nasser Al-Khelaifi, Chairman of QSI.

Durant, 36, is a power forward with the Phoenix Suns. He won two NBA titles with the Golden State Warriors and has four Olympic gold medals, the last from the 2024 Paris Games.

He said in the PSG statement that PSG and Paris were “a Club and a city that is so close to my heart. This club has big plans ahead, and I can’t wait to be a part of the next phase of growth.”

France24.com

News

AFC Completes 5th Coach Education Conference

The AFC has concluded its three-day Coach Education Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, it’s 5thedition, that covered a range of topics aimed at advancing coach education programmes across the confederation.

Titled ‘Shaping the Future of Coach Education’, AFC Technical Director Andy Roxburgh’s keynote address focussed on developing ‘Tomorrow’s Coaches’.

The second day led with a presentation on the membership requirements of the UEFA Coaching Convention, covering aspects such as organising national courses and increasing the percentage of female tutors in the MAs’ coach education landscape.

Debate covered the specific needs of MAs, and the importance of reality-based learning, different styles of leadership, and adapting to technological advancements.

A panel featuring Qatar Football Association (QFA)’s Fahad Abdullah Al Zarraa, Aspire Academy’s Maria Ruiz de Ona, AFC Grassroots and Youth Football Development Consultant Robin Russell, and Education 4 Peace Foundation Founder Mark Milton, highlighted the importance of prosocial responsibility in football.

Participants also received insights into tactical trends and standout individual performances from the AFC U20 Asian Cup China 2025, the Champions League Elite, and the Women’s Champions League.

The final day featured presentations by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation Technical Director Nasser Larguet, and the Football Association of Ireland Head of Coach Education Niall O’Regan, who shared insights into their coach education programmes.

“The AFC Coach Education Conference has not only enabled us to exchange ideas but also hear of success stories which undeniably motivate MAs in improving their existing programmes,” said Faye Chambers, Coach Education Instructor at Football Australia .

“Moreover, a lot of work is being done to empower more women coach educators through exclusive courses, and the impact can clearly be seen, as over the years, more and more women are taking up leadership roles in football, which is a clear indication of the progress being made on the Continent.”

Insideworldfootball.com

News

Somalia Set For Historic Beach Soccer Debut

The Somali Football Federation (SFF) has launched training programs for beach soccer coaches and referees under its REACH Initiative, aimed at getting the ball rolling in all corners of the country which is now preparing for its first ever beach soccer tournament.

The minister for youth and sport, Mohamed Abdulkadir Ali, and Somali Football Federation president, Ali Abdi Mohamed, jointly inaugurated the start of the SFF’s first beach soccer development programme on June 18.

Sixteen coaches and 16 referees from the federation’s beach soccer department are benefiting from the 6-day training courses which are being conducted by Salim Jamal Muwonge (coaching instructor) and Bayige Ivan Kintu (refereeing instructor). Both are from Uganda.

“The launch of such training programs shows a historic moment in our country’s footballing sector particularly it is a significant development in the beach soccer department” minister Abdulkadir Ali, said. The minister pointed out that his government is committed to helping SFF in terms of infrastructure development. “The government is working on the establishment of a beach soccer facility.”

Somali Football Federation president, Ali Abdi Mohamed, said that the revival of futsal competitions after years of absence and the start of women’s football in the country were some of the greatest things his administration achieved after his election as president, two years ago.

“Again we stood to get beach soccer going in the country for the first time and the launch of the training programs today is our first step towards that,” said Abdi Mohamed.

Insideworldfootball.com