In little more than two weeks’ time, the 2022 Wanda Diamond League will get under way in Doha as the Qatari capital hosts the 13th series of the sport’s premier one-day meetings.
Throughout the circuit, which spans five months and takes in 14 cities around the globe, the world’s best athletes will battle it out for a place in the Wanda Diamond League Final in Zurich on 7-8 September.
After the season opener in Doha on 13 May and a trip to Birmingham eight days later, athletes will have the chance to test out the host venue for the 2022 World Athletics Championships when the series arrives in Eugene on 28 May. The world’s best will then head to Rabat on 5 June, before returning to Europe for the rest of the month with meetings in Rome, Oslo, Paris and Stockholm.
Following the World Championships, the Wanda Diamond League will return to China for the first time since 2019, with the Shanghai Diamond League set for 30 July and a stop in Shenzhen, the newest addition to the series, on 6 August.
August will then see the series head to Monaco and Lausanne before the last series meeting in Brussels on 2 September. Those athletes who have earned enough points will then head to Zurich, where the 32 Wanda Diamond League champions will be crowned at a two-day season finale on 7-8 September.
Elsewhere in Birmingham, world and Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo faces two-time world indoor champion Ivana Vuleta in the long jump, while two-time world indoor champion Samuel Tefera takes on Olympic bronze medalist Josh Kerr over 1500m.
Countdown to 2022 Wanda Diamond League
Didier Drogba lost Ivorian Football Federation Presidency
Businessman Idriss Diallo was elected Saturday as head of the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF), in an election in the capital Yamoussoukro where former star striker Didier Drogba was eliminated in the first round.
Mr. Diallo, a senior FIF official in the 2000s, received 63 votes against 61 for his rival in the second round, Sory Diabaté, another executive of the institution. In the first round, the two men had largely overtaken Didier Drogba who had collected only 21 votes out of 130.
Drogba has been criticized in recent weeks for not being conversant with local soccer and for having made a minimal campaign, without sufficiently campaigning on the ground.
It had been repeatedly postponed since 2020, because of a setback in the system of sponsorship of candidates that had then blocked the candidacy of Didier Drogba. FIF was placed under supervision in December 2020 by Fifa, which then installed a “Normalization Committee”.
The new president of the institution, a former leader of the largest national club Asec Mimosas from 1984 to 1998 will have the task of restoring Ivorian soccer back to its initial glory.
He will have to appoint a new national head coach since the contract with Patrice Beaumelle has not been renewed. Côte d’Ivoire did not qualify for the World Cup in 2018 and 2022 after it was eliminated in the AFCON quarter-finals in the last two competitions.
The country will host the next CAN from June 23 to July 23, 2023.
Uganda beats 13 teams to win 2022 Africa Rugby
It was a tense morning as teams looked to qualify for the finals of the Africa Rugby Sevens in Kampala.
Holders Kenya were pushed out by Uganda playing on a soaked turf in a game that ended 22-12. The Rugby Cranes remained composed and improved game after game at the home ground beating Zimbabwe 26-0 to win the title…
Hilton Mudariki, captain of Zimbabwe’s rugby 7s team was however not happy about the turnout of events.
The Rugby 15s World Cup qualifiers will be held in France even as Kampala once again exhibits the continent’s capability of hosting the international event. Rugby Africa maintains the neutrality of the hosting country and guaranteed the attraction of more fans.
Like Zimbabwe and Kenya, Uganda has tough seasons ahead in preparing for tournaments. They have barely months to get in shape to match the likes of Fiji, Great Britain, Samoa, and New Zealand.
14 teams took part in the tournament including rising stars Burundi, Senegal and Burkina Faso drawing a promising scene and more representation of the continent at the International Rugby Board circuit.
Mohamed Salah named Men’s Footballer of the Year
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has been named the Football Writers’ Association Men’s Footballer of the Year for 2021/22.
Salah, 29, has contributed a hugely impressive 22 goals and 13 assists in just 31 Premier League games to help propel Jurgen Klopp’s side to second in the table, just a point behind champions Man City with just five games left this season.
And in total, the Egypt international has been involved in 30 goals and 14 assists in only 44 matches in all competitions, a run of form that has so far helped Liverpool win the League Cup, as well as reach the final of the FA Cup and the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Salah, who succeeds last year’s winner, City defender Ruben Dias, is also the current top scorer in the Premier League after netting 22 times, five more than Heung-Min Son and Cristiano Ronaldo, while the forward is also the leading assist maker in the top flight having managed one more than team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold.
