Sisters putting Malawi women's football on the map

When the Chinese Women's Super League resumes this weekend it will feature Malawian sisters Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga. It will be the first time the sisters have played against each other competitively having appeared together for the national team, Malawian club DD Sunshine and Swedish side Kvarnsveden.

Temwa, 21, will be playing for Wuhan FC and hoping to follow in her big sister's footsteps after Tabitha, 24, was recently voted the league's Player of the Year for a second year in a row.

"She's a very good player, and the thing is everyone will be working hard to make her team and fans happy," Tabitha said. Temwa admits there will be some sibling rivalry: "Both of us will do our best to see who the best player is. Back home the family are very happy about us.

“My parents never thought their children would one day play football outside of the country, but now it's happening." But she is also thankful to Tabitha for her help in getting her career started.

Tabitha's journey began when someone spotted her talent as she played in her village with the boys and helped her move to the capital Lilongwe to join DD Sunshine, one of the very few serious women football teams in the country. She said: "Growing up, I never saw myself as different from boys - whatever they did, I believed I could, and went for it."

Her next bit of good fortune was when a young American lady working for a local NGO was persuaded to join DD Sunshine, by two colleagues who were players at the club. She was later transferred to Sweden by the NGO, where she decided that apart from working she would continue to pursue her newly-found passion of football.

When she approached Krokom Dvarsatts, who were in the Swedish third Division at the time, the club was meticulous in enquiring of where she had played before to make sure they did not violate any transfer rules. The club contacted DD Sunshine owner David Dube to discuss terms of transfer for the American and he said they could take her without paying on condition they would try out another of his players whom he believed was more talented.

"When Krokom Dvarsatts hesitated, Mr Dube offered to pay visa and flight costs for me to travel to Sweden for trials," says Tabitha. "I joined the team for training on the same day I arrived and they were immediately impressed with my strength, dribbling, shooting from far and scoring skills."

The pair are helping to improve the fortunes of the national team as they led the team to the second round of Tokyo Olympic qualifiers with 14-1 aggregate win over neighbours Mozambique. They won the home leg 11-1 with Temwa scoring five times to outshine her big sister, who 'only' managed a hat-trick. In the second round they beat Kenya 3-2 in Malawi, with two goals from Tabitha, but then lost 3-0 in the return leg.

The sisters' achievements have not gone unnoticed back in Malawi with Tabitha not only being named captain of her national team but also being named Malawi Sports Personality of the Year and Sports Woman of the Year in 2019.

Sithole and Ramphadi secure Africa's first wheelchair tennis medal at Paralympics24

South African duo Lucas Sithole and Donald Ramphadi secured Africa's first wheelchair tennis medal after clinching bronze in the quad doubles at the Paris Paralympics on Wednesday.

Sizzling 100m line up headed for Müller Birmingham Diamond League

The men’s 100m will showcase some of the fastest athletes in the world with Andre de Grasse (CAN), Trayvon Bromell (USA), and Yohan Blake (JAM) amongst the star names set to star at the Müller Birmingham Diamond League, the second meeting of the 2022 Wanda Diamond League series, at the Alexander Stadium on Saturday 21 May.

Sky Blues statue campaign nets £10k boost from Coventry recruitment specialist

One of Coventry’s fastest growing independent recruitment agencies has thrown its backing behind an appeal that will highlight the achievements of John Sillett and George Curtis in bringing the FA Cup back to the city.

Slam dunk signing: Sport 4 Life UK nets Commonwealth hero Myles Hesson as ambassador

Sport 4 Life UK has scored a major addition to its team, announcing Birmingham-born basketball star Myles Hesson as its latest ambassador.

SLT dive straight into new Swim England partnership

Langley Swimming Centre in Oldbury is the first Sandwell Leisure Trust (SLT) facility to take up a new training tool as part of an exciting five-year partnership with Swim England.

Forty Level 2 swim teachers from across the Trust attended the Aquatic Skills Framework Stages 8-10 Diving CPD seminar, which is part of the Swim England extended education programme and provides the technical knowledge to deliver FUNdamental diving skills from the poolside in a fun and safe environment. 

SLT serve up padel first for Sandwell

The fastest-growing participation sport globally has arrived in Sandwell, with three new ‘Padel’ courts now open at Tipton Sports Academy - the first of their kind in the Black Country!

Snoop Dogg now a co-owner and investor at EFL’s Swans

Rap superstar, Snoop Dogg, has completed his latest venture by becoming a co-owner and investor at English Football League side, Swansea City - undertaking a minority stake in the Welsh club.

So, just where did it all go wrong for England down under? ...or right for Australia?

England's latest humiliation down under will be remembered as their worst in recent times not only for its rapid nature, but also because this was supposed to be an opportunity to regain the Ashes from a weakened Australia.

So, who will succeed Italy as new UEFA Euro champions?

Build-up to UEFA Euro 2024 tournament reaches its end as host nation Germany take on Scotland in the opener in Munich today.

Soccerex Chooses Cure Leukaemia as Official Charity Partner

Global football networking platform Soccerex has chosen national blood cancer charity Cure Leukaemia as its Official Charity Partner for the upcoming Soccerex Connected 100 event this summer. The virtual event, which takes place from 24^th May to 31^st August 2021, will involve delegates from over 150 countries, feature over 150 expert speakers and provide more than 2400 hours of networking opportunities to connect businesses with football’s key stakeholders.

Cure Leukaemia will have the opportunity to communicate the charity’s message with a global audience through Soccerex’s online platform over 3 months to highlight how football, which has seen many examples of people within the game touched by blood cancer in recent years, has the power to affect real change in the treatment of blood cancer worldwide. It will also give Cure Leukaemia the chance to drive fundraising opportunities this summer after the COVID-19 pandemic left the charity with a £1,700,000 fundraising shortfall.

Cure Leukaemia’s key fundraising event in 2021, The Tour 21 which will see 25 amateur cyclists led by former England footballer and blood cancer survivor Geoff Thomas ride the full Tour de France route one week ahead of the professionals during Soccerex Connected 100, will be highlighted throughout the event with video footage and updates regularly shared with delegates.

The Tour 21 team aim to raise in excess of £1,000,000 for Cure Leukaemia this summer with the charity also now recognized as the official Charity Partner of the Tour de France in the UK and the team has recently surpassed £600,000 raised with less than 50 days until the event. All funds raised by the Tour 21 team and through Soccerex’s global amplification will be invested in the national Trials Acceleration Programme (TAP) a network of specialist research nurses in 12 of the UK’s biggest cities and a facilitatory hub in Birmingham. TAP enables blood cancer clinical trials to be setup and run through the network at an accelerated rate, not only directly benefitting patients from a UK catchment area of over 20 million people, but also informing the global treatment of the disease for future patients.

Geoff Thomas was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) in 2003 and given just 3 months to live. Thanks to treatment from Cure Leukaemia co-founder Professor Charlie Craddock CBE and a transplant from his sister, Geoff went into remission in 2005 and took on his first Tour de France challenge a few months later. Since then, Geoff has dedicated his life to helping blood cancer patients worldwide by raising funds for Cure Leukaemia.

Speaking about the partnership Geoff said: “It is a fitting date to announce this fantastic partnership with Soccerex. May 12^th marks 31 years since I led Crystal Palace out in the FA Cup Final at Wembley and it is also International Nurses Day, so it is the perfect time to highlight football’s connection with blood cancer and also how Cure Leukaemia’s work is making an impact on the treatment of blood cancer worldwide.

“We are very grateful to Soccerex for giving us the opportunity to drive awareness and fundraising for The Tour 21 this summer but also to highlight how football has the power to drive real, global change in the treatment of blood cancer. Alongside myself there is an ever-growing list of footballers touched by this disease including Sol Bamba, Carl Ikeme, Stiliyan Petrov, Joe Thompson, Gary Lineker’s son George and Bologna manager Siniša Mihajlović amongst others. Sadly, this list seems to grow every year and we hope the football community can help us make real strides in finding effective treatments for all forms of blood cancer in the near future.”

Managing Director of Soccerex, Philip Gegan said: “Being able to be help with the great work that Cure Leukaemia is doing is a real privilege for us at Soccerex. Football still has a unique ability to reach out to all the sections of society, driving attention and resources to the key challenges we face medically and civically. A number of members of the Soccerex Family have been affected by blood cancer and we hope that this partnership can assist in raising awareness and funds that aid Cure Leukaemia’s vital work.”

Cure Leukaemia CEO James McLaughlin said: “COVID-19 left us with a £1,700,000 shortfall in 2020 and yet on World Cancer Day we announced that TAP will be running 5 new clinical trials in 2021 despite these challenges. Blood cancer is a global illness and our partnership with Soccerex gives Cure Leukaemia an opportunity to highlight to the football world the international significance of the TAP network.”

Socceroos amongst advancing teams in Asia Cup of surprises

Palestinian and Syria advanced to the knockout stage of the AFC Asian Cup 2024 for the first time after both teams secured their place in the round of 16 as two of the best third-placed teams from the group stage, whilst Australia advanced after their draw with Uzbekistan.

Solheim Cups star, Thompson, to retire… at 29

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Solid performances from Day Three at the European Team Championships in Madrid

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Solihull Moors Women accuse club of neglect

Players of Solihull Moors Women have called out the club for "neglect", "lack of respect" and failing to provide them with the "basic necessities" required to compete.

Solihull Parkinson’s group joins Arsenal walking footballers at Emirates Stadium

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Somerset overcome Essex to finally win Vitality T20 Blast

Somersets 14-runs victory in the Vitality Blast 2023 final, capped off a day of exciting, swashbuckling cricket that befitted the tournament – at large – and the final itself – in particular - as Essex pushed them hard in a game that was full of thrills, spills, tension and first-class cricket, at the Edgbaston Stadium, in Birmingham.

Son of boxing legend, Chris Eubank, Sebastian, found dead in Dubai

Boxer Chris Eubank's son Sebastian has died days before his 30th birthday, his father's representatives have said.

Sebastian had followed his father's footsteps and become a professional boxer. The British middleweight Eubank Snr said he and his family were "devastated" to hear of his son's death in Dubai, where he lived.

And Chris Eubank Jnr tweeted: "Sorry I wasn't there to watch your back like a big brother's supposed to." Sebastian, the third-eldest of Eubank Snr's children, leaves behind his wife Salma and son Raheem who was born a month ago, Eubank Snr said.

It was reported that Sebastian had been found dead on the beach after drowning. In a statement, Eubank Snr, who held the WBO middleweight and super-middleweight titles between 1990 and 1995, said: "Sebastian grew up in Hove in England but in the last few years made his life in Dubai where he had a wide circle of friends and was a leader in the adoption of a healthy lifestyle and of alternative therapies.

"As well as being a personal trainer and professional boxer, Sebastian was also a deep thinker who liked to challenge accepted wisdom. He was loved and respected by all who knew him and will be forever in the thoughts of friends and family. As a family we now kindly ask to be given space and privacy to celebrate his life and remember the son, the brother, the husband, the friend."

Sebastian's mother Karron Meadows said: "Our whole family is grieving at the huge loss of our son and brother, Sebastian." And in a series of emotional tweets, Sebastian's brother, Eubank Jnr, wrote: "I haven't cried since I was 12 years old… yesterday I cried the whole day.

"Can't believe you're really gone man but you'll always be in my heart, mind and spirit." He added Sebastian would live on "through your beautiful new born son and I will treat him like my own".

Former world boxing champion Joe Calzaghe and the YouTuber and boxer KSI were among those to pay tribute to Sebastian. "Really Saddened to hear the news of the passing of Seb Eubank,” Calzaghe said.

“Thoughts and Prayers to Chris and family." Sebastian's promoters and agents, Kalle and Nisse Sauerland, described him as a "true gentleman and a sincere human being". Promoter Eddie Hearn added: "So saddened by the news of the passing of Seb Eubank. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends."

Son of Shaq to play basketball at an HBCU

Shaqir O’Neal, the youngest son of NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, has announced that he will be attending Texas Southern University (TSU) – an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) in Houston, Texas. By doing so, he joins Master P’s son, Hercy Miller, and the sons of Deion Sanders who have also committed to supporting HBCUs instead of other colleges and universities.

During a recent interview, he commented: “I just wanted to change the narrative of culture and do something new.

“A lot of people are going to follow me. You can expect a lot of buckets. I’m trying to get to the NBA.” Shaqir also says that he is following the lead of his brother, Shareef, who also plays basketball for Louisiana State University, an HBCU located in Baton Rouge.

Texas Southern University possesses an impressive array of more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs and concentrations, a diverse faculty, 80-plus student organizations, and an extensive alumni network comprised of educators, entrepreneurs, public servants, lawyers, pilots, artists, and more, many of whom are change agents on the local, national and international stage.

The university say they are extremely happy to welcome Shaqir to the basketball team and to the campus.

Sophie McKinna to captain the British team at the World Indoors

Sophie McKinna has been chosen as team captain for Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the World Athletics Indoor Championships which will take place in Belgrade, Serbia today, until Sunday March 20.

The Great Yarmouth shot putter has been an ever-present member of senior British teams in recent years.