Saint George club board chair Abnet Gebremeskel is the front man for the newly formed provisional premier league clubs union. The number one figure in Ethiopia’s oldest and arguably the most popular football club Saint George, he not only challenges the incumbent Ethiopian foot ball federation executive committee but also strikes a fresh relationship with arch rival Ethiopian Coffee. Together with Coffee’s most popular personality Lieutenant Fekade Mamo, they broke the old artificial enmity to set a new start. The new forum may bring an over all change in the country’s future football at the same time cleansing the unsportive out look among clubs to each other. Abnet is striving to change the culture of hatred to bring a new dawn that is sport in the true sense

Saint George to boast grand stadium in two years

Ethiopian Premier League defending champion’s Saint George signed a construction contract with a Chinese company to build a new state of the art 80 million birr stadium. At a signing ceremony held at Sheraton Addis, Saint George board chairman and closest business ally of Ethiopian tycoon Sheikh Mohammed Al Amoudi, signed the contract that states the Chinese company is to finish the construction in two years time. The new stadium, to be named after its beneficiary Mohammed Al Amoudi, is the first club owned international stadium and is to be constructed in the CMC locality ten kilometers from the city center. With a crowd capacity of 22,500, the new stadium furnishes an alternate international venue even at national levels. The name sake Mohamed Al Amoudi, Saint George club patron is to cover 80 percent of the construction cost, that is ETB 65 million. The remaining is to be covered from club supporters and others who promised their support. In Ethiopia where setting a corner stone for new stadium is a one time fashion, Saint’s contract signing is a water mark in the process of future club owned stadiums. At the signing ceremony Saints board and the recently formed provisional premier league clubs union chair man Abnet G/ Meskel remarked that the stadium construction is to be completed exactly two years from breaking ground.
Recalling that a twenty thousand capacity stadium is almost to finish in Afar Region Semera town Ethiopian football is going to have three international stadiums after so long stay in the one and only Addis Ababa stadium. According to Addis Zemen sport the ETB 18 million Semera stadium has a capacity of twenty thousand and other sport facilities in its compound. According to the report, 80 percent of the construction phase is already completed.
Oromia , Tigray , Southern Peoples and Amhara regions are all at in some stage of stadium construction. In addition to the region’S, many Addis Ababa premier league clubs have either taken plots of land for the construction or construction permits.

Meseret Defar sets new world record in Oslo

Olympic gold medalist Meseret Defar kicks- off her golden league campaign, crushing the world 5000 meter record in Oslo-Norway. Twenty three years old Meseret featured a massive performance to set the new record of 16:16:63, bettering her own record set in New York a year before. Shrugging back her nearest contender, former world youth cross country gold medalist Kenyan Vivian Cheiot with two rounds to go, Meseret hit the road fiercely covering the final lap in 61 seconds Meseret is now five rounds off to become the first Ethiopian women to win a Golden League one million dollar jack pot. The annual Golden League athletics championship takes place in six European capitals. Oslo, Rome, Monaco Brussels London and Berlin are the world famous venues.
“She sure came out from the shadow of Trunesh Dibaba, the greatest Ethiopian women athlete since all time African great Derartu Tulu “remarked the commentator fascinated by the huge performance of Mesert Defar.
The former Olympic 5000 meter gold medalist appeared to set her mind to become the first Ethiopian IAAF women athlete of the season for her performance since the start of the new athletics season with massive and sheer determination.
“You are watching the great performance of the Ethiopian athlete who is going to dominate the discipline five or six years to come”the commentator once again paid tribute to Meseret Defar’s phenomenal performance. “How lucky her fellow country men in the stadium. They are wild watching her record breaking pace” cried the CFI anchor man. Meseret Defar collected USD 25,000 for her new world 5000 meter record.

Busy weekend for Ethiopian national sides

Both Ethiopian women and senior soccer sides are busy today in North Africa for a decisive qualification return legs.
The Ethiopian women side, ninety minutes away from a place in Olympic soccer cup final visits its Moroccan counter part while the national senior side encounters host Libya in Tripoli.
With a 1-0 home win after Birtukan Gibrekristos’ breath taking goal, the home side that performed excellent at home except lack of additional targets is the favorite to win even the deciding match is on foreign soil. How so intense, the Rabat crowd stays in support of their side, East African number one side Ethiopia has the edge to an aggregate win for the hosts are not up to the standard to defeat the visitors.
On the other hand, the senior side back in contention after a surprise 1-0 home win against group favorite Democratic Republic Congo, need to once again rise to the occasions to return home with three points. Two wins and two defeats so far in the campaign, a win against host Libya meant a likely hood to a booking in Ghana’s African nation soccer cup final for the first time in almost three decades. Of course, the encounter is not an easy one for Libya also has a strong team that conceded an only goal in the first leg match here in Addis Ababa. It is recalled how poor the home side performed and the out of the blue goal from Dawit Mebratu that saved the day from total disappointment. Libyan goalie had also played a part in conceding the goal. Nevertheless, for any one who watched the recent home match against Congo, why not a win even in Libya.
Victory at Tripoli means a lot to Ethiopian side since the final qualification match against Namibia takes place here in the capital. DR Congo still leads the group with seven points while Ethiopia comes second with six.

Tiitle deciding clashes in Spain La Liga today Madrid or Barcelona or Seville

Dutch striker Ruud Val Nestlroy seems to be destined to lead world greatest soccer side Real Madrid to the first ever Spanish league championship title since 2004. Nasty boy from old Trafford, Ruud, not only to take La Liga top scorer of the season award but also to become the first player to rise to further stardom once booted out by Sir Alex Ferguson. Though Paul Ince, Eric Cantona, Dwight York, David Beckham and recently legendary mid fielder Roy Keane found out, to survive as intact as the good time at Old Trafford is an impossible task, Van Nestlrooy is out to disprove this norm and succeeded in achieving even higher. The one and only remaining European league soccer Spanish Premera Liga championship title is to be decided today with Real Madrid hot favorite to claim it for the 30th times. Though arch enemies defending champion Barcelona and Real Madrid each has equal seventy three points, the law favors the winner will be the one that won in the head to head clash, in this case Real Madrid.
Defending champion Barcelona travels to bottom of the table Gymnastic, Real Madrid entertains 12th place Mallorca while title favorite yet more to miracle than the match on the field Seville hosts Villarreal.
Already confirmed top scorer of the La Liga Ruud Van Nestlroy has unfinished business at hand that is the probability of scoring double then taking the golden boot finishing top scorer of European league. If Ruud fails to score, the award goes to Francesco Toti of Roma who already on alert to claim it for his 26 goals in the season.
All the deciding matches kick off at the same time that is 10:00AM; talk show host Fantahun Seifu announced on Friday that “Sonic Screen” the giant screen at Meskel Square transmits live the Spanish league season final day drama.

Sport commentary

The absence camera tells all …

ETV sports news on Monday reported that the EFF called a meeting on Saturday (hard to name it either a general assembly or brain storming meeting) and passed a resolution. What surprised me that was the newscaster was reading the news with a back ground picture of a match between Saint George Vs I don’t know which side. I wondered why a front story news appeared without a picture in spite the event taking place two days earlier. How come such a big occasion in the country’s soccer governing body be with out a cameraman? Grinding that very thinking, it some how came to me that even the place where the general assembly’ type event took place. I hope I am not mistaken. I said I would check it on Monday or Tuesday Addis Zemen news. However no mention on the two days’ news, I smelled a rat and went back to square one to analyze the event.
Since the meeting has no designated labeling I preferred to call it a brain storming session yet not to brain storm. Anyway, the nagging of how a cameraman remained absent from such critical if not historical event led me to a wonder. I underlined a hypothetical theory saying that the whole set up was a fiasco orchestrated to misinform. Then I concluded the absence of a cameraman was an intentional move not to show faces of those who took part in the meeting or there was a camera man but told not to broadcast it. What speculation I told my self.
For me, any one with a good mind daring to call a general assembly or what ever the name with out twelve out of sixteen premier league clubs meant a bizarre action. It is impossible to discuss the problems of the country’s soccer with the very foundation that are clubs. I said it is one hell of a smart move to cast the news without a picture and yet call it a general meeting big enough to pass a resolution. The minute a picture appears it is easy to identify whom had been to the meeting held in that place. Thus for some one who does not want to give away the identity of those in the meeting ,yet to show it was an important meeting ,the best way out is to just do so. I said it is diehard move by EFF to a divide and rule chess game. With such a century old game, you leave individuals to speculate who went and who remained followed by a few weak ones may be turn coats. If a camera was there it would have been crystal clear even to take a stand.
My guess is that only the EFF executive committee now in the run plus officials from these four clubs that do not join the provisional club’s union were present. Then add anybody who is no body a decision maker and call it is a general meeting. An important occasion blessed with lengthy air time yet with out a picture in the back ground, plus no mention of the location and again none on the news in for the three days.
I guessed Eureka It that is a master piece of disinformation may be extracted from an old communist history book or a Second World War diary. Had it not been for lack of a professional finishing touch, many would have said it is direct from Napoleon or Rommel’s famous war dossier. What a waste of talent!
But why go all that far while calling all the run away premier league clubs for a round table meeting and strike a common understanding among all concerned bodies. I think it is the best way out for anyone in the right mind.