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Young Africans (Yanga SC) custodian Farouk Shikalo will miss their Mainland Premier League match against Mwadui FC after he picked an injury in training on Friday.

According to Yanga coach Luc Eymael, the Kenyan keeper who signed for Yanga from Kenyan Premier League (KPL) side Bandari FC, twisted his hand wrist while in training and will miss the clash on Saturday.

Eymael further revealed Shikalo could also miss their league match against Mtibwa Sugar set for next Wednesday.

“Shikalo is out injured and will not face Mwadui,” Eymael told Goal on Saturday. “He twisted his hand wrist but it is not broken so we will not have him in the squad and could also miss Wednesday match.

“I am very upset for the player because he had started coming up well in the matches he played for us especially the league match against Kagera Sugar where he kept us in the game with two good saves and we won 1-0.

“I hope it won’t be a long term thing, he has worked hard to claim the starting role but the injury will now keep him out for a few days.”

On whether winger Bernard Morrison will be available to face Mwadui, Eymael explained: “I don’t have any news about Morrison, I don’t have anything to say…no news for now.”

The Ghanaian player, who signed for Yanga from Orlando Pirates of South Africa, has not reported to training since the team was hammered 4-1 by rivals Simba SC in the FA Cup semi-final clash five days ago.

In fact, during the match against Simba, Morrison walked straight to the tunnel after being substituted for Patrick Sibomana and the club has openly stated they are discussing what disciplinary action to take against the player, who has also been linked with a transfer move to Simba.

On the match against Mwadui, Eymael said: “We want to finish second, our main aim is to finish behind Simba and so it means we must beat Mwadui, we have to fight and get maximum points.

“I have a few players coming back from suspension but I will see what to do in terms of rotating the squad, we need to win because Azam FC are also keen to finish second, so it is a huge battle that we must accomplish.”

Yanga are currently sitting second on the 20-team table while Azam are third.

Napoli’s Diego Demme has underlined how hard it is to contain Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.

The pair came face-to-face in the spring, when the clubs played the first leg of their Champions League last-16 encounter, a match that finished 1-1 in Naples.

August 8 is the date scheduled for the return leg, and while Barca are rocking after ceding the Primera Division title to eternal rivals Real Madrid, Demme is focused on the prospect of tackling Messi, who was publicly critical of his side after a shock 2-1 loss to Osasuna in midweek.

“Messi is a really crazy player,” he explained to Bild. “It's amazing what he does with the ball. Before I had only seen him on TV and I thought: ‘It can't be that difficult to take the ball from him.’ 

“In the game itself, I was sure in two or three situations that I had the ball. And then whack, he made such fast movements that I ran into nothing!”

Demme believes the tie is evenly balanced ahead of the return leg in Spain, a match in which Barca will be shorn of the suspended Arturo Vidal after he was sent off in the closing stages of the opening clash.

“The 1-1 draw in the first leg showed that we can keep up with them,” he pointed out. “We’ve not been that bad in the last few weeks and in the second leg the odds are 50-50, even without spectators.”

The defensive midfielder also admitted that Napoli’s Coppa Italia success was tainted by the fact it was played without fans in the stadium.

“It’s still a very strange feeling,” he confessed. “And it’s somehow sad.

“We won the cup – and we had to celebrate in an empty stadium. I hope that normalcy returns soon.

“It was a mega moment. Honestly, in addition to the Bundesliga promotion with RB Leipzig, that was my absolute highlight. And, at last, I was allowed to hold such a trophy in my hands. 

“The fans were waiting for us, all of Naples honked and celebrated. I couldn't fall asleep after the game.”

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane has taunted former Orlando Pirates coach Milutin Sredojevic’s “one game at a time” mantra during their two sides confrontation for the Premier Soccer League (PSL) crown in recent seasons.

While Mosimane opted not to mince his words and boldly declared Sundowns’ title intentions, Sredojevic chose a diplomatic stance of not clearly spelling his ambitions.

Amid his openness, Mosimane first romped to a five-point PSL title win at the end of the 2017/18 season, before his side edged the Buccaneers by two points last season.

“That is why I like the rivalry with ‘Micho’ [Sredojevic] and I played on it when they said they did not want to win the league,” said Mosimane as per Times Live.

“Do you remember? They [Pirates] said it for two years. Pirates said‚ ‘We take it one game at a time’‚ you know the usual story. ‘One game at a time‚ we follow the process and the outcome will sort itself out.’ It’s a good talk and I like that.

“But I prefer to put my body on the line and I say it: ‘I want to win the league’. The fact is they also want to win the league.”

Mosimane went on to talk about how Pirates attacking midfielder Thembinkosi Lorch once gave away his team’s dreams.

“At one stage Lorch was at a press conference‚ I don’t know if you were there‚ and he admitted that they were gunning for it. I said‚ ‘Here’s the young man now telling us the truth’. My belief is if you want to win the league‚ you must say it,” Mosimane said.

“If I say to the players‚ ‘One step at a time‚ one game at a time … to where? To where? There must be an objective‚ there must be something we are looking at‚ the trophy.

“How do we arrive at the trophy? Yes‚ of course, it is one step at a time‚ but the trophy is the goal. And once I lose it you know what I always say.

“I will go back and fetch it because I know where it is. So it puts more pressure on me‚ it puts more pressure on the players‚ but I live on pressure. I must enjoy the ride‚ otherwise what’s in it for me?”

However, Mosimane recently refused to point at his side as one of the contenders to be crowned champions.

Sundowns are four points behind log leaders Kaizer Chiefs but enjoy a game in hand which could make this season’s title race very close if football resumes in South Africa.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has hit back at claims Manchester United have been lucky this season with the number of VAR decisions that have gone in their favour.

Seven goals that had originally awarded against United have been overturned, the joint highest in the division, and it has led to claims referees are favouring Solskjaer’s side.

Frank Lampard admitted he has concerns that United are getting a run of VAR decisions ahead of the FA Cup semi-final clash at Wembley on Sunday, but Solskjaer refuted any suggestion his side were being favoured and named three examples of decisions which could have cost them.

“I can sit here for hours now and try to talk about this.” Solskjaer said. “It looks like there's a narrative, it looks like people want to influence whoever's making the decisions. I hear people talking about luck, that we've been lucky more than unlucky. 

“If you look at the factual decisions, I don't want to sound like a certain manager talking about facts, but if you're offside, you're offside. That's clear. Talking about lucky, the penalty we got against Tottenham in the last minute that was taken away from us, that might be two points for us.

“Talking about the red card Romeu should have had against us when he almost got Mason Greenwood crippled, that should've been a red card, maybe that would've helped us. 

“Talking about Mark Noble when he should have been sent off against us when we lost at West Ham, talking about the actual decision that is made that is against Man Utd but is overturned and corrected.

“So it's actually me that should be complaining that we get decisions against us on the pitch by the on-pitch referee.”

The United manager admitted he also wasn’t concerned that Mike Dean and Michael Oliver, referee and VAR controller on Sunday, repsectively, could be influenced by the comments made about his side this week.

“There's a narrative there but we have to focus on our games. We let other people talk about that, I don't want to go too much into it because I might be in trouble,” Solskjaer said. 

“I hope I'm not now! I'm pretty relaxed on these and refs are going to be making objective decisions and are not going to be influenced by any emotion in any way, so I don't think they'll read [what Lampard said].”

Solskjaer confirmed Luke Shaw is set to miss the Wembley clash with an ankle injury he picked up in the 2-2 draw against Southampton, while Brandon Williams could return after missing the win against Crystal Palace with an eye injury.

Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker says the delay in the restart of the 2019/20 Premier Soccer League (PSL) season has become “frustrating” and has made “some players forget their love for the game.”

An impasse between the PSL and Safa have seen no substantive dates being agreed upon for the resumption of football which has been on a pause in South Africa since March.

After the government gave the go-ahead for contact sports to continue under strict health and safety protocols, the league governing body set July 18 for the restart, while Safa insists their referees will only be available to officiate matches starting in the first week of August.

“When it [the break] happened, we didn’t know how long it would take. The longer it went the more frustrating it became,” Barker was quoted by Phakaaathi as having told the South African Football Journalists Association.

“Some players forget their love [for the game] and why they play the game… if you play week in and week out, you tend to forget. A lot of them have come back refreshed, happy to see the ball, happy to be playing football again. This game provides for us and we should appreciate it.

“We are ready to fulfil our fixtures. We have to be ready for any eventuality – whatever date we have to start, whatever the fixture list will throw at us … even if we are to play every second day.

“It is not ideal [crammed fixtures], but we also want to get back to playing football. It is our livelihood. We want to be active again and complete the season.”

Disagreements between Safa and the PSL have been dominating headlines in the media especially this week as PSL teams continue with their preparations for the season restart. But Barker is refusing to have the “noise” and uncertainty” distract them.

“It is our job to finish this league we still have to complete and stay in this league which was our objective from day one. We still have work to do. We just have to block off all the noise around us and not let the uncertainty bother us. We have to worry about our next training session and not look too far ahead, and wait for the direction [from PSL],” said Barker.

The return of league action will see 11th-placed Stellenbosch continue with their bid to stay safe from relegation.

They are seven points better than basement side Black Leopards while at the other end of the log, leaders Kaizer Chiefs are four points clear of second-placed Mamelodi Sundowns who have a game in hand.

Tottenham Hotspur full-back Serge Aurier has returned to France to be with his mother following the death of his brother and promised not to seek revenge.  

Christopher was shot in the stomach outside a nightclub in Toulouse on Monday morning and was confirmed dead at the hospital according to Europe 1.

The 26-year-old was a professional footballer and started his career at French club Lens along with his brother in 2009.

Spurs defender Aurier featured in his side’s 3-1 victory over Newcastle United in Wednesday’s Premier League game, his first match since the death of his brother.

The full-back has now returned to France and posted the picture of himself on social media consoling his mother.

Serge Aurier, who moved to England in 2017 to join Tottenham also praised his late brother for taking care of the family during his time away from France and promised to trust the country’s justice system.

"He took care of everyone here while I was away. He took care of my mother, my nephews and nieces,” Aurier told La Depeche.

“He took care of all material things with pleasure. I really appreciated knowing that he was there for my mother. It set the mood at home.

"I have no feeling of hatred or revenge. I work in a profession where you have to be calm. I'm calm. I have faith in justice. I am saddened, I am in regret. I continue to mourn the death of my brother."

The 27-year-old Ivory Coast international will miss his side's Premier League home game against Leicester City on Sunday. 

Aurier has made 56 league appearances since joining Spurs and this season he has featured in 40 games across all competitions for Jose Mourinho’s men.

The defender has 62 caps for Ivory Coast and was part of the team that won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015.

Zambian Super League side Forest Rangers have confirmed 28 of their staff members have tested positive for the coronavirus ahead of their tie against Zanaco FC.

The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) had made it mandatory for players and other essential team officials to undergo Covid-19 tests.

In a statement obtained by Goal, the league leaders have confirmed 28 people within their ranks have tested positive.

“In accordance with the health guidelines that have been put in place by the Ministry of Health and FAZ for football teams to take Covid-19 tests before the league resumes, Forest Rangers players and staff took the tests earlier this week,” the statement said.

“A total number of 58 took the test from which 30 were negative as earlier reported and 28 positive cases. The club is in touch with the District Health team for necessary precautions 

“The club has since communicated to the Football Association of Zambia about this development.”

FAZ categorically stated the tests were to be undertaken by all teams before the league resumption set for July 18.

“FAZ wishes to send a final call to its members to strictly adhere to the Ministry of Health providing Covid-19 guidelines,” the federation said in a statement.

“FAZ has noted with concern that there has been a lax in the adherence of the provided guidelines by some clubs.

“We are greatly concerned that some clubs have relaxed their adherence to the Covid-19 guidelines. We should never forget that the league resumption can always be halted if clubs do not adhere to the set guidelines,” FAZ General Secretary Adrian Kashala noted.

“The Ministry of Health has been keeping an eye on the preparations and have raised the whistle on us in the manner some clubs are neglecting to observe the set guidelines.

“Clubs will face stiff penalties for breaching Covid-19 guidelines that could even extend to losing points or matches being cancelled.”

Kitwe United are set to face Police College at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in an early kick-off before Forest Rangers, who are on top of the table, face Zanaco in the second match according to the resumption programme.

After the Zesco United vs Kansanshi Dynamos tie on July 19, Buildcon FC will tackle Power Dynamos at the Ndola Stadium as well.

All the matches will be honoured without the attendance of fans as a measure to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc has hit back at Paris Saint-Germain counterpart Leonardo, who claimed that Bundesliga sides are raiding Ligue 1 clubs for talented young players.

The Parisians saw academy products Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig) and Moussa Diaby (Bayer Leverkusen) leave Parc des Princes last summer for Germany’s top flight, while Bayern Munich tempted Tanguy Kouassi across the border after he failed to agree fresh terms with the Champions League quarter-finalists.

But PSG are not the only club who have suffered losses to the big German sides, with Leonardo hitting out in an interview with Le Parisien.

“German clubs, especially Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund, are increasingly dredging young players from France. They are a danger to the youth academies in France and that is a big problem,” he complained.

“They call parents, friends, family members or the player themselves. At 15 or 16 years old, the young talents get their heads turned. Maybe the rules should be changed to protect the French clubs.”

Zorc, whose side counts 21-year-old Dan-Axel Zagadou, who left PSG’s reserve ranks to sign for BVB in 2017, among their ranks, says that the 1994 World Cup winner has it all wrong.

“It is usually the other way around than he depicts it. We are actively addressed by the families and agents from France because they often see a better chance of first-team football and a higher development potential of the talented young players,” he claimed.

Meanwhile, Markus Kroesche, the sporting director at RB Leipzig, offered a more circumspect view.

“France are the reigning world champions and, like Germany, is a big football nation. It would therefore be negligent not to keep an eye on the market,” he said.

Relations have been spikey between Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain since a Champions League meeting between the clubs in the spring.

After winning the first leg in Germany, Dortmund were perceived to have mocked the Ligue 1 club, who responded on the field by claiming a 2-0 success at Parc des Princes, sending them through to the quarter-finals of the competition.

Young Africans (Yanga SC) Gnamien Yikpe has revealed why he has struggled to hit form and score goals for the giants in the Mainland Premier League.

The towering Ivorian striker signed for the Jangwani Street-based side from Kenyan champions Gor Mahia and has only managed to score two goals since the move.

In fact, his second goal came on Monday when Yanga beat Singida United 3-1 and his first goal had come way back on January 26 during the FA Cup competition.

Yikpe has now stated playing under pressure from inside and outside the club has affected his performances since signing for the club but he was glad to have returned to the scoresheet.

“I have been going through a lot of pressure and I know to stay for that long without scoring a goal for a big club like Yanga is very worrying,” Yikpe is quoted by Sokaletu.

“For a striker like me, it was not good at all, but I have been faced with pressure from within and outside the club and it really affected my display and it made me lose my form, and getting it back took much time.

“However, I am very happy to have grabbed another goal after that long dry spell, and I cannot explain myself how I feel after notching that goal, I am very sure the goal will boost my confidence and I will be back in the goals regularly.”

In a previous interview with Goal, Eymael warned the striker he only has the remaining three matches in the top-flight to save his career at the club.

Eymael told Goal he was impressed with Yikpe after coming on in the match but warned him he has to show the same spirit in the remaining three matches to be assured of keeping his place in the team.

“It is true I put in Yikpe because we needed speed upfront, I also introduced Ditram [Nchimbi] and some players also got the chance and some took it and some did not take it and I hope the game will motivate [Yikpe] for the three remaining games," Eymael told Goal on Friday.

"That will be three finals for Yikpe, very important for him if he wants to stay at the club."

Yanga will face Mwadui FC on Saturday.

Former Bafana Bafana and Kaizer Chiefs defender Lucas Radebe has expressed delight at the return of Leeds United to the Premier League. 

Radebe's former employers needed a point to seal their promotion to the Premier League but they did it in style, beating Barnsley 1-0 to secure all three points on Thursday night. 

Leeds needed a 28th-minute own goal from Michael Sollbauer's to cement their place at the top of the log with two games still to play in the season.    

And Radebe took to Twitter to congratulate his former club which still holds him in high regard. 

Radebe spent 11 years with Leeds between 1994 and 2005 and even after his retirement, he still remains loyal to the club - this time as a fan and an icon. 

He made over 250 official appearances for the Elland Road-based outfit during that time - and he was also instrumental in Leeds reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League in the 2000-01 season. 

When Leeds got relegated from the Premier League, Radebe was still on their books, although and a year later, he hung up his boots. 

Unlike many South African footballers who returned from Europe to finish their careers in the PSL, a knee injury forced Radebe to end his career. 

But he had no regrets as he was already in his mid-30s. After three years in the Championship division, Leeds were relegated to League One in 2007. 

It took them three years to return to the Championship and a decade to be where they are after years of trying to reclaim their place among the top English teams.

Manager Marcelo Bielsa has also been hailed for the great job he did in transforming Leeds into one of the best teams in the Championship. 

Bielsa has been the Leeds boss since 2018, and it took the 64-year-year-old mentor just two seasons to get them back to the elite league. 

The 2020 MSL season kicked off when Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) welcomed Kedah in the brand new Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in a match that also doubled up as the Charity Shield. A solitary Mauricio dos Santos header was enough to give JDT the cup as well as three valuable points. 

But just as the season was heating up, trouble hit when the Covid-19 pandemic began to enveloped the world. Malaysia started seeing signs of the virus spreading fast and wide in the country with Malaysian Footbal League (MFL) ordering the fourth round of the matches to be played behind closed doors even before the Movement Control Order (MCO) was announced by the Malaysian government.

It was on March 16 that Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) ordered all football activities in the country to be stopped and that included the Super League.

Contents

When will the Malaysia Super League (MSL) return 

Good news for Malaysian football fans after MFL announced on Jul 17 that the domestic competition will return in August with the first full set of matches to be played on Aug 26. The league was stopped after only four rounds of matches back in March with teams allowed to return for individual training back on Jun 15 with contact training allowed beginning of Jul 15.

MFL has also put out directive for the teams to plan for friendly matches only beginning Aug 2, a full two weeks after the first contact training.

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Malaysia Super League (MSL) 2020 format 

Due to the loss of four months without any matches, the resumption of MSL will see a shortened version of it with only 11 rounds of matches to be completed instead of the usual 22 rounds of matches to be played among the 12 teams in the division - precisely seeing the season cut into half.

A decision that MFL also made because of the desire not to impinge onto the 2021 season as well as the need to fulfill one of the cup competitions, which is the Malaysia Cup after the FA Cup has been cancelled. The national team taking precendence from November onwards is also another reason why the remainder of the season will stay within the confines of the original calendar.

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Malaysia Super League fixtures

While the full set of fixtures will only be played on Aug 26, the first match of the return will actually be the postponed match between PJ City FC and Terengganu FC that was the only MD4 match that was not played because of a lack of venue.

There hasn't been any confirmation yet on the rest of the fixtures but assuming MFL intends to continue with MD5, then the first set of full fixtures are likely to be as follows;

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Malaysia Super League results

In the earlier rounds as expected JDT quickly racked up a couple of wins before being held to their first ever draw at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium by a plucky Felda United side. Meanwhile Perak started with a bang by claiming an impressive 3-1 away win over Terengganu and have stayed unbeaten in the four matches they have played thus far.

As for Pahang, they had a rocky start to the season with two successive draws but has since improved to pick up successive wins over Sabah and Melaka. Meanwhile Super League newcomers Sabah were in a decent run of form, picking up five points from their first four matches, most impressively holding Perak to a 2-2 draw at Likas Stadium.

Here's the full results of matches played thus far.

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Malaysia Super League table

When the games came to a halt, it is no surprise that reigning champions JDT are leading the way with 10 points, two better than their nearest challenger Perak, both of whom are the only two remaining unbeaten teams in the division. Pahang's revival has seen them climbed up to third, partly helped by Melaka being docked points for salary arrears issue.

Down at the bottom, it is looking like PDRM will be the standout candidate for one of the relegation spot. Despite having secured a point from their first four matches, they are on -2 in terms of points because like Melaka, they were also docked points for salary arrears problem.

*Melaka and PDRM have been docked points because of salary arrears.

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Malaysia Super League top scorers

Terengganu FC's new striker Dominique da Sylva is leading the charge for the Golden Boot after four rounds of matches played with four goals scored thus far although all four of those have come in a single match, in that incredible 4-3 come from behind win over Kedah at Darul Aman Stadium.

Behind the Mauritanian is a quartet of players in Kpah Sherman, Ivan Carlos, Shahrel Fikri and Ifedayo Olusegun. Incredibly, Shahrel is the only local player there, revelling in a new role given to him by Mehmet Durakoviv alongside Guilherme de Paula.

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Jose Mourinho believes Tottenham need to be realistic when it comes to what they can do in the transfer market in the close season.

Spurs will miss out on Champions League qualification and, as it stands, need to finish sixth to be sure of Europa League qualification.

Tottenham trail sixth-placed Wolves by a point with two games to go but are on a four-game unbeaten run, which includes a North London derby win over Arsenal, who could deny Spurs European football by winning the FA Cup.

Asked about trying to attract players to the club without the lure of Champions League football, Mourinho said: "For some clubs it's easy, you break the rules, you spend the money and you get the players.

"For some, it's more difficult. You follow the rules. For this profile of club, the situation is more complicated.

"I knew what Tottenham is before I signed my contract. I had meetings with different people in the club. I think at that time we were 10-15 points behind the Champions League positions, so there are no surprises for me.

"We need to be realistic. I know where the best players in the world are, if we sit and have a coffee I can give you a shortlist of best players in the world by position.

"The most important thing is to be realistic, analyse the transfer market opportunities – the clubs that are willing to sell, the players in the last years of their contract. Clubs willing to have creative deals.

"I know exactly what we need and what we would like and I know how to be realistic.

"The club also knows me better than before, I think only [chairman] Mr [Daniel] Levy can say, but I think it's very easy to work with me.

"I am open, pragmatic. I like to do my reports to the club, project the future, so for me everything is written. It's quite easy to work with me.

"And when I am respectful and realistic, I think we are fine because we understand each other."

Spurs' final two Premier League matches come against Leicester City (home) and Crystal Palace (away).

Do you consider yourself a huge fan of the Indian football? How abreast are you when it comes to developments in and around the Indian football ecosystem?

Quess has terminated their partnership with East Bengal. However, how much do you know about the two years that the Red and Golds had partnered the business service provider?

This edition of Goal 's 'Sharp Minds' quiz is for the fans of the Red and Golds.

As we see football take a backseat among the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, here's your chance to while away some time.

We will bring you a set of 10 questions, a mixture of easy and tough ones, every week on Indian football. Try answering them on your own (without googling, we hope) and see how much you know about Indian football.

Share your scores with others and showboat. The latest edition of Sharp Minds is right here. Have fun.

NOTE : You are welcome to contact us through social media, if you need any clarification on the answers. We will try, to the best of our abilities, to explain.

Gokulam Kerala FC have signed Zodingliana Ralte and Chigakham Roshan from NEROCA, Goal can confirm. 

Ralte is a versatile player who can slot in a variety of positions in midfield and defence. In the previous I-League campaign for NEROCA, he was used by coach Gift Raikhan as a left-winger, left-back, and even at times as a central midfielder. He played in 11 matches and racked up 959 minutes. 

Although hailing from Mizoram, he made his professional debut with Shillong Lajong in 2013 in an I-League encounter against Mumbai FC. He also has a fair bit of experience of playing in the Indian Super League (ISL) as well. 

In 2014, he was loaned out to NorthEast United where he made 10 appearances for the Highlanders. In the following season, he was signed by Delhi Dynamos and where he took to the pitch 12 times getting over 1000 minutes under his belt. He was also part of FC Pune City.

He has also been part of the India under-14, under-16, and under-19 set-ups. 

Whereas, Roshan is a centre back who had his first share of top tier experience with NEROCA in the 2019-20 season. He has played NACO and KLASA in the Manipur state league. He has also represented Manipur in the Santosh trophy. It will be second season in I-League with Gokulam. 

The Malabarians have also agreed terms with 23-year-old winger Ngangom Ronald Singh. His I-League debut was in the 2017-18 season against Gokulam at Kozhikode, in which he scored a goal. In the previous season, he scored three goals in I-League for NEROCA. 

The Manipur state government is set to hand a major financial boost to the three major clubs from the state - NEROCA, TRAU, and KRYPHSA FC.

The two I-League sides (NEROCA and TRAU) will be handed over INR 50 lakhs each for the upcoming season, while KRYPHSA will also receive a significant amount to participate in the IWL (India Women's League). 

"We have been told that we will receive INR 50 lakhs from the government. We are yet to receive the money, but hopefully, it will be credited soon," stated Manimohan Moirangthem, secretary of NEROCA, to Goal. 

The Orange Brigade has already started planning for the next season and the team-building process is in progress. The  All Manipur Football Association (AMFA) has mandated that players playing in I-League cannot play in the state league.

Hence, NEROCA is planning to field two separate teams that would compete in the two tournaments. While the more senior players will definitely play their trade in the I-League, it is likely that the academy players would form the team that would play in the state league. 

Liberian defender Varney Kallon will continue to feature for the club along with Ghanaian striker Philip Adjah in I-League. The rest of the foreign players are likely to be released.

The club is in advanced talks with another central defensive midfielder, who is extensive experience of playing in India. Coach Gift Raikhan will continue to lead the team. 

Marvin Philip (Trinidad), Boubacar Diarra and Ousmane Diawara (both from Mali) continue to be in Imphal as they are stuck due to the Coronavirus pandemic, unable to travel to their country.

Former Bidvest Wits midfielder Phumlani Ntshangase is close to completing a permanent move to Maritzburg United.

The 25-year-old player impressed while on loan at Maritzburg from Wits in the current season which has been suspended since last March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ntshangase is now a free agent after the Clever Boys decided against renewing his contract which expired at the end of last month.

His agent, Sizwe Ntshangase, who is not related to Phumlani, has now confirmed they have reached an agreement with Maritzburg as the club prepares for the 2020/21 campaign.

“I met with Farook Kadodia [the chairman of Maritzburg two weeks ago. We have an agreement between us but on principle," Sizwe told IOL.

“All there is left now is to put everything in writing. For now, we’ve had verbal agreements."

Wits have agreed to sell their Premier Soccer League (PSL) status to Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM), who are currently campaigning in the National First Division (NFD).

Tshakhuma will relocate the club from Gauteng to Limpopo once the deal is approved by the PSL.

Ntshangase has managed to revive his career at Maritzburg having fallen out of favour at the Clever Boys with coach Gavin Hunt preferring Cole Alexander, Phathutshedzo Nange and Thabang Monare ahead of him.

The former South Africa under-23 international, who also spent some time with SuperSport United on loan from Wits, has reunited with coach Eric Tinkler at Maritzburg.

Tinkler nurtured Ntshangase as a youngster in the Wits academy until he graduated to the senior side ahead of the 2014/15 campaign.

The defensive midfielder struggled with injuries in the first round of the current season after joining the KwaZulu-Natal side.

However, once he regained his fitness, Ntshangase enjoyed regular game time under Tinkler and he has since made 13 appearances across all competitions for Maritzburg.

The Durban-born player will be hoping to pick up where he left off when the season resumes soon in a Biologically Safe Environment (BSE) in Gauteng.

Maritzburg have a chance to finish in the top three as they are placed fifth on the PSL standings and they are only a point behind third-placed SuperSport.

Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar said he was concerned about injuring himself in the 7-0 friendly rout of Waasland-Beveren as the Ligue 1 holders stepped up their preparations for the Champions League quarter-finals.

Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Mauro Icardi were all on target in PSG's demolition of Belgian outfit Waasland-Beveren at Parc des Princes on Friday.

After Ligue 1 was ended prematurely in April amid the coronavirus pandemic and with the Champions League set to resume in August, PSG have returned to the field in a bid to be ready for the knockout tie against high-flying Atalanta – crushing Le Havre 9-0 last week.

PSG continued their flawless preparation at home to Waasland-Beveren in Paris, where Aleksandar Vukotic's own goal put the hosts ahead in the 21st minute before Neymar converted a penalty seven minutes later.

Icardi and Neymar combined for an audacious penalty attempt in the 47th minute, while Mbappe, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting's brace and Loic Mbe Soh's last-gasp effort completed the scoring in the second half.

Reflecting on the result, Neymar was asked about the aggressive nature of Waasland-Beveren and he told beIN SPORTS: "Yes we were a little scared. We are here for a friendly match so those types of things should not have been happening.

"We are here to prepare ourselves, but also to be careful. But us too, we gave them a little bit back, so there are no problems."

Neymar added: "I was very happy to come back and play at home, with some fans as well. We are preparing little by little to get to the maximum then we will be in the finals [Champions League]. The rest is not very important."

PSG head coach Thomas Tuchel, meanwhile, confirmed veteran defender Thiago Silva will remain captain until the end of his contract and the Champions League next month.

Silva, who renewed his contract to feature in the postponed Champions League, is set to leave PSG after eight years but the 35-year-old will keep the captain's armband before departing.

"Thiago Silva remains the captain until the last day when he is on the ground," Tuchel said post-match. "He's my captain!"

The 2014 film Next Goal Wins  was a popular sports documentary, winning over those who already appreciated football and those who didn't.

And now, Taika Waititi is set to be at the helm of a new iteration of the film that also shares its name, and Goal brings you all you need to know about it.

What is Next Goal Wins?

Waititi's latest confirmed project will be a feature film based on the 2014 British football documentary Next Goal Wins .

Sharing the same name, Waititi's take on the documentary will be a new adaptation, featuring the national football team of American Samoa as they try to bounce back from being known as one of the world’s weakest teams. The film follows the team in their attempt to qualify for the 2014 World Cup with the help of Dutch-born, America-based manager Thomas Rongen.

Waititi will co-write the script alongside Iain Morris. Garrett Basch, Jonathan Cavendish, Andy Serkis, Mike Brett, and Steve Jamison will serve as producers, with principal photography on the project having begun in autumn 2019.

The original documentary made its world premiere at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival and won Best Documentary at the British Independent Film Awards in 2014.

Who will star in Next Goal Wins?

Michael Fassbender is set to star as Rongen, with the rest of the supporting cast to consist of Elisabeth Moss, Kaimana, Beulah Koale, Rachel House, and Armie Hammer.

Who are the American Samoa football team?

American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, south-east of Samoa.

Their football team was regarded as one of the world's weakest by November 2011, when they were the joint-lowest FIFA ranking of all countries registered for full internationals.

They hold the world record for the heaviest defeat in an international match, set after their 31-0 hammering at the hands of Australia.

Who is Taika Waititi?

Waititi is an Academy Award-winning New Zealand director, screenwriter and filmmaker, most famous for his work on Thor: Ragnarok  (the third instalment of Marvel's  Thor films and his Hollywood debut), Hunt for the Wilderpeople  and What We Do In the Shadows.

He earned his first Oscar in 2020 in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for Jojo Rabbit , a film he also directed. The film, which stars Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell, is a comedic satire set during World War II about a young boy who discovers that his mother (Johansson) has been hiding a Jewish girl in their home.

Waititi was also nominated for an Academy Award for his 2004 short film Two Cars, One Nigh t.

Typically, his comedy is known for its dry, deadpan and sardonic humour.

Additionally, he is set to be one of the directors of the upcoming Star Wars live-action streaming series The Mandalorian , which tells the story of a lone Mandalorian gunfighter in the period between the events of Return of the Jedi  and The Force Awakens .