Mamelodi Sundowns - players.bio

Sinner does not expect easy road on return from doping ban

April 26 : Jannik Sinner held onto his world number one ranking ahead of his return from a three-month doping ban, but the Italian does not expect his comeback to be as smooth when he takes to the court again at the Rome Masters next month. Sinner has not played since winning the Australian Open at the start of the season and accepted a ban in February following a deal with the World Anti-Doping Agency, which had challenged a tribunal’s decision to clear him after two positive tests. The 23-year-old was allowed to return to training on April 13 and his suspension will end on May 4, before his competitive return at the Italian Open, which gets underway three days later. Sinner, who spent time building fitness mindful of the French Open starting on May 25, was assured of retaining the top ranking for his home tournament after his closest challenger Alexander Zverev crashed to an early defeat in Monte Carlo. “We’re training very hard. Hopefully we’ll get some momentum going again ahead of the clay season.

Palmer’s dip in form a ‘mental thing’, says Chelsea boss Maresca

Chelsea forward Cole Palmer’s 16-game goal drought is due to a mental issue rather than a tactical or technical one, manager Enzo Maresca has said. The 22-year-old England international had a remarkable debut campaign last season at Chelsea, scoring 27 goals and registering 15 assists in 48 matches. This time around, however, Palmer has found the back of the net just 14 times in all competitions so far. Maresca believes it is only a matter of time before the player breaks his drought. “For sure it’s a mental thing, it’s not tactical or technical,” Maresca told reporters ahead of Saturday’s Premier League home game against 13th-placed Everton. “Cole is still the player who scored 14 goals in 20 games. The style is the same, the manager is the same, the club is the same.

Mamelodi Sundowns to meet Pyramids in African Champions League final

CAIRO: A last-gasp own goal gave Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa an upset result over holders Al Ahly on Friday and a place against another Egyptian club, Pyramids, in next month’s African Champions League final. Al Ahly defender Yasser Ibrahim turned the ball into his own net in stoppage time at the end of a semifinal second-leg tie in Cairo to see Sundowns eliminate the Egyptian giants on the away goals rule after a 1-1 draw. Later in the Egyptian capital, Pyramids twice came from behind to beat Orlando Pirates of South Africa 3-2 with Fiston Mayele scoring twice for the home side to advance to the deciding tie. Pyramids will play in their first Champions League final when they take on Sundowns in the first leg in Pretoria on May 24 and the return in Cairo on June 1. The first legs of both semifinals last weekend ended goalless, handing a major advantage to the two Egyptians clubs who were hosting the return matches. Al Ahly, who have long been the dominant force in African club competition, were aiming for a sixth successive final and looked to be on their way after Taher Mohamed slammed home a stunning effort from the right in the 24th minute at a near-capacity Cairo International Stadium, awash in the red colors of the home team. Ahly needed only to hold on to their lead to ensure yet another final appearance but Sundowns forced several half-chances in the second half and threw on extra attackers in the closing stages to try to rescue a result. Their equalizer, however, was fortuitous as the ball struck unsighted defender Ibrahim on the back of his leg in a goalmouth melee and rolled into the net to send Sundowns through to their third final appearance, and first since 2016. Compatriots Pirates, who were winners

Morocco ex-football club chair denies seizing villa in drug case

CASABLANCA: The former president of Morocco’s most successful football club maintained in court Friday that he legally acquired a villa he is accused of seizing from a convicted Malian drug trafficker dubbed the “Escobar of the Sahara.” Said Naciri, who was chairman of Casablanca club Wydad AC and president of the city’s prefectural council, is being tried alongside the head of a regional council in eastern Morocco, Abdennabi Bioui, in a vast drug trafficking case related to the jailed kingpin. Both defendants — former officials of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), a member of the country’s ruling coalition — have been in custody since the end of 2023, and face charges of “possession, marketing, and export of drugs,” as well as corruption and related offenses. Naciri was accused by the Malian trafficker, Ahmed Ben Brahim, of having wrongfully dispossessed him of a villa in an upscale Casablanca neighborhood, one of Naciri’s lawyers told AFP. But Naciri denied the allegation in court on Friday, saying he legally purchased the villa though a real estate company in 2017 before finalizing the acquisition in 2019. “I am taking advantage of my hearing before the court to refute the false allegations being made,” he told the court, presenting documents and testimony that he said supported his version of events. The trial is the first in Morocco to see prominent political figures accused in a drug trafficking case. It opened last May, and involves 25 people alleged to have played roles in the trafficking network of Ben Brahim, who is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence. Ben Brahim, whose complaint initiated the proceedings against Naciri and Bioui, accuses the pair of helping him smuggle drugs to elsewhere in

CAF fines its president’s club $100,000 after African Champions League fan disorder

CAIRO: CAF fined its president’s club $100,000 after violent fan clashes at an African Champions League game between two teams that are going to the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States. Mamelodi Sundowns, owned by Patrice Motsepe — a South African mining billionaire and FIFA vice president – breached safety and security rules hosting an April 1 game against Esperance of Tunisia, the Confederation of African Football said in a disciplinary ruling late Thursday. Motsepe has been president of African soccer’s governing body CAF for four years and was re-elected unopposed last month. The African soccer body said Sundowns “is required to strictly implement the safety and security measures specified in the CAF regulations, guidelines and directives, particularly in their upcoming matches.” Esperance was fined $150,000 for the fan misconduct, CAF said, related to clashes in the stands at the quarterfinal, first leg game. Sundowns won the first leg 1-0 in Pretoria and advanced to the semifinals after the return game ended 0-0 in Tunis one week later.

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Mamelodi Sundowns Sport News

Sinner does not expect easy road on return from doping ban

Palmer’s dip in form a ‘mental thing’, says Chelsea boss Maresca

Mamelodi Sundowns to meet Pyramids in African Champions League final

Morocco ex-football club chair denies seizing villa in drug case

CAF fines its president’s club $100,000 after African Champions League fan disorder

Nigeria’s qualification bid brightens as South Africa fields ‘ineligible’ player

Matthews' brace sees Masandawana to dominant win over SuperSport

Shalulile comes off the bench to rescue Sundowns' Champions League dream in Kinshasa