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Wazito FC midfielder Whyvonne Isuza has stated training for long periods without competing is psychological torture.

The Kenyan Premier League (KPL) was suspended on March 16 owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, the players have been training isolation with no definite date set for the return of matches.

"Training alone for a longer period without competing is psychological torture in itself," Isuza told Goal on Tuesday.

"It has been about 80 days without football and as a player, you start having uncertainties about your abilities since you cannot gauge yourself.

"You do not know where you are and the best thing to do is comfort yourself 'I will be fine once normalcy returns.'

"We also have this cessation of movement. It has also affected many players' businesses and it has destabilized them mentally."

The Kenya international has explained how hard it is to train in isolation and with no game to train for.

"It is tough because at times you are on your lowest and you don't feel like moving and you can easily convince yourself to skip training since there is nothing to train for; league and other competitions have stopped and no one to supervise you," he continued.

"Discipline is needed rather than motivation; if you are disciplined, you will train.

"Training in a group is different, you might be at your lowest but in no time, others cheer you up and you train well. And remember, we always train, looking up to weekend or midweek games unlike now.

 "I have done a lot of changes and adjustments to my daily routine; from football to my personal lifestyle. I had to forgo others to maintain a healthy and consistent training schedule."

The midfielder was signed by Wazito from AFC Leopards in the January transfer window to help the club turn its fortunes around.

When the league took a break, Wazito were placed 13th on the log after managing to get 20 points from 23 matches.

The 2018/19 National Super League champions had won four games, drawn eight and lost 11 matches.

They had scored 24 goals and conceded 30, and as a result, had a goal difference of negative six.

It has been a long wait for the football fraternity in Malaysia to return to action since the leagues were officially postponed beginning 16 March 2020. Now three months later, the first sign of resumption is here after the Malaysian government introduced the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) that also entailed a certain relaxation for footballing activities.

While competitions and official matches are still prohibited, the 15 June date will at least allow respective teams to start their trainings in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and Malaysian Football League (MFL) will jointly produce.

That is a good 45 days earlier than initially anticipated with MFL planning for training resumption in August and competitions to resume starting September. That said, just like how it has been done it other countries and leagues, the first training resumption will still need to be individual training followed by small group training before the whole team can train together.

With this earlier schedule, it would give MFL a chance to reorganise their plans and the start of competitions could be brought forward to August or even late July - which effectively provides more time for Tan Cheng Hoe to make his preparations for the resumption of the joint 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup qualification matches later this year. 

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) made the announcement last Friday that Malaysia's revised fixtures for the last three rounds of group matches will be v United Arab Emirates (8 Oct),  v Vietnam (13 Oct) and v Thailand (17 Nov) respectively.

FAM plans to have the a quarantine-based centralised training for Tan Cheng Hoe's team as well as Brad Maloney's Under-19 side who will prepare for the 2020 AFC U-19 Championship that will be played in Uzbekistan in October.

The format will see the players gathered together isolated from the rest of the world to ensure that no outside containment of the virus to the team. While those will be easy to do under the circumstance of a training camp, it would be much harder when the squad need to travel to play their matches.

Things are not back to normal yet but the football fans in Malaysia can start to crack a smile once again after a long layoff.

Paulo Dybala admitted it would be "very nice" to play for Barcelona as the star attacker said he was still waiting for a contract renewal at Juventus.

Dybala, 26, was enjoying a fine season before it was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, having been linked with a move from Turin last year.

The Argentina international is reportedly set to extend his stay at Juve, where he is contracted until 2022.

But Dybala said it would be nice to reunite with international team-mate Lionel Messi at Barcelona.

"The truth is that Barcelona is huge team worldwide and with Messi there even bigger," he told CNN.

"It would be very nice, but Juventus is also an incredible club, very big, full of history, where there are currently great players.

"There's enough quality here to make two teams and the chance to play with [Gianluigi] Buffon and Cristiano Ronaldo, who make the club even bigger."

While a move to Barcelona could be of interest, Dybala has been reported to be close to an extension at Juventus.

But Dybala, who has scored 13 goals and provided seven assists in 34 games this season, said he was still waiting.

"For now there is nothing, really. I have a year and a half left on my contract, which is not much, and I understand that with all this that has happened [coronavirus] it isn't easy for the club, but other players have also renewed, so we are here waiting," he said.

"Obviously I am a player of this club and I am happy to be here. People love me very much and I love the people very much. I have great appreciation for the club and the people who are here, I have a good relationship with my president and surely at some point they will come to chat – or maybe not, I don't know.

"At some point maybe there may be some possible renewal, but it depends on Juventus."

Serie A leaders Juventus are set to resume their league campaign on June 22 with a trip to Bologna - as they hold a one-point lead over second-placed Lazio.

Atletico Madrid attacker Joao Felix will learn a lot from Diego Simeone and has natural talent much like Bernardo Silva, according to Nuno Gomes.

Joao Felix joined Atletico from Benfica for a reported €120 million (£107m/$135m) last year , but has struggled to live up to the price tag in his first season at the La Liga club.

The 20-year-old has scored six goals and provided three assists in 28 games for Atletico, but his season has been hampered by several injuries.

Portugal great Gomes said his compatriot would learn plenty from Simeone, while comparing his talent to Manchester City star Silva.

"Joao Felix, first of all, is also a player that I admire a lot and comparing to Bernardo Silva, they have the same situation in terms of natural talent," he told Stats Perform News.

"The things look very easy for them. In regards of his season in Atletico Madrid, I remember that he started very well, he started the season very, very well, the pre-season he scored a lot of goals and then he suffered a small injury that put him out for a couple of weeks.

"I believe this experience, this first year allows him also to grow in terms of his style of play because with the ball, he's a top talent, he always wants to go to the goal, he has always the eyes on the goal, the way that he receives the ball looking already to the offensive plays so in terms of what he learned being coached by a coach like Simeone, I think it's very good for him.

"Simeone will give him things that he never experienced because he used to play a lot of offensive game and now he has to learn how to defend better, how to be a part of a team because he grew up in an environment that things were very easy for him. When you have difficult situations in front of you, you have to work harder in order to surpass those difficulties so I believe he will grow a lot with Simeone."

Atletico Madrid will resume their La Liga campaign away to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, with Joao Felix suspended.

Football Players' Association of India (FPAI) president Renedy Singh has asked Indian clubs not to take advantage of the Coronavirus pandemic and deny players their salaries.

The former India international is particularly worried about the situation of inexperienced footballers who face the possibility of not getting their dues cleared.

Renedy told Goal, "Now, due to the pandemic, money-wise, everything is getting difficult everywhere. We have talked to a few players. A few players are really worried if they would get their money or not. Once they sign a contract, players should keep a copy of the contract with them. This is for the young players. There are a few clubs who can play games (with that situation). Things are better and different from how it was during our playing career."

While the former East Bengal star accepts that the clubs may find it difficult to pay their players on time due to the pandemic, he expects the teams to sort out their finances sooner rather than later. 

"Payments may be delayed but we have to make sure that they get paid. They have families to look after. We request the players to stay calm. I am sure the clubs will respect contracts but if they don't, then there is the AIFF and the FIFA to look after. It is hard for everyone.

"Once they sign a contract, payments may be delayed, they may be a delay for a few months due to the pandemic but the contract should be respected. When there is a contract, you have to pay - there is no question about that," he concluded. 

The Indian Super League (ISL) has seen some international icons take the field during the twilight of their career. Playing in a physically demanding league is a big task which requires great commitment and luck.

However, some attributes of a player such as an eye for a pass or accurate finishing rarely fades with time. Irish goal-scoring legend Robbie Keane was a prime example of the latter. But unfortunately, he was unlucky to spend a sizable term of his career with ATK injured.

Keane joined the then two-time champions at the beginning of the 2017-18 season. The forward who is considered a legend with Ireland and with Tottenham at the club level had the fans riding high on expectations with the announcement.

With 68 goals from 148 appearances, the striker finished his career as the all-time leading goal-scorer of the Republic of Ireland national team. He was known for his prolificacy in front of goal and incredible passion for the sport.

Goal caught up with ATK winger Jayesh Rane who shared a dressing room with the Irish star during the 2017-18 season. The 27-year-old was impressed by his finishing, labelling him the best finisher he has played with.

“We got to learn a lot from him. He was very good at finishing, so he used to teach us about that. When he became the interim coach, he taught us a lot about his way of playing.

“His finishing was top class. Among the players I’ve played with, I’ve never seen anyone with finishing as good as his,” he said.

ATK finished ninth in the 2017-18 season with just four wins in 18 games. But Jayesh believes things could have been vastly different had Keane been fit throughout the season. The forward played just nine games, with injury forcing him out of the remaining fixtures. Yet, Keane managed to score six goals.

“He is always fit. I follow him on Instagram, and he is always doing something or the other. He is playing somewhere or training at home or doing something. We were unlucky that he was injured when he was with us. Or else, it could have been a different result. He played only nine games but scored six goals. If we had him for the full season, it would have made a big difference,” he explained.

Keane took over as the player-manager at the end of the 2017-18 ISL season ahead of the 2018 Super Cup. ATK could not get past the last-16 in that tournament and Keane retired from professional football soon after.

He then went on to become the assistant manager of the Irish national team and is currently Jonathan Woodgate’s assistant at EFL Championship side Middlesbrough.

Meanwhile, Rane stayed at ATK for the subsequent seasons and recently played a key role in their third ISL title.

Former India international Renedy Singh has urged footballers in India to stay fit during the lockdown period in the country. 

After the Coronavirus pandemic brought the football world to a standstill in March, India has also halted all sporting activities. Renedy believes players should focus on individual training while staying at home. 

"Players haven't played for three-four months so they become unfit. They have to keep playing, they play all around the year. They usually don't have rest, except once a week. But due to the pandemic, for the last three months, players are unable to go to the ground and train properly. People who live in villages, at least they can go out and train, but those in cities, it is very difficult for them," he told Goal. 

He added, "We cannot relax. What coaches do is, we have players in our academy (Classic Football Academy) here - we didn't think of going out in the first month (of lockdown). Now, what we try to do is, we sort it out because people in villages can go out and do running.

"We are trying to create a training program so that they can improve their fitness and technique. We are trying as much as possible to help them do individual training. In India, we don't have many players who are tactically sound so it is important for them to train. That is how you develop their technique. If you have a wall and a ball, you can pass and receive the practice your touches. "

Renedy believes that the players can use the little space they have at their homes to put their technical training into use. 

"We can't play games but we have to do individual training. We have to improve our technique, we cannot just stay at home. Coaches have to think about the team so this is the time to think about individual training. If you don't train every single day. you are losing around 36,000 touches of the ball in a month. People have to keep working. If they can find a small space at home, they can improve their fitness so when players come back, they come back (in better shape)."

He has called on Indian footballers to take a leaf out of Cristiano Ronaldo's book regarding fitness during the lockdown. 

"I was reading about Ronaldo - how everyone thought his fitness levels would drop when he returns to training but he came back stronger. That is what professionalism is all about. We have to teach that to the younger lot."
 

Tony Pulis believes Tottenham have to win trophies to keep Harry Kane but feels no man is better equipped than Jose Mourinho to mastermind such a breakthrough at the club.

At the end of March, England captain Kane said he would not stay with boyhood club Spurs "for the sake of it".

Those words reportedly set European football's elite on alert but, despite a difficult campaign for last season's Champions League finalists that saw the departure of boss Mauricio Pochettino in November, Pulis believes Kane is well placed to achieve his goals under Mourinho.

"Tottenham have got to start winning trophies. I don't think you can criticise Kane too much," the former Stoke City, Crystal Palace and West Brom manager told Stats Perform News.

"He's a top player at international and club level. Over the past three or four years with Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs have been a top team. If you'd said they wouldn't win anything three or four years ago I'd have been surprised - and I am.

"He'll want to win things, he'll want to be ambitious. They say he's really happy at Tottenham. It's a fabulous football club – the new stadium and training facilities are out of this world.

"But the boy wants to win. And he has a manager who wants to win as well.

"They most probably need the backing from Daniel Levy and the club in some way and it'll be difficult because of the financial crisis that has hit the world."

Even though Mourinho's stock has arguably fallen since his glory days in charge of Porto, Chelsea and Inter, Pulis still holds the Portuguese in the highest regard.

"Mourinho is a fantastic manager and his record shows that, given the tools, he can win football matches," he added.

"He needs time. The big problem in society today and especially in sport is that people think it will happen overnight.

"Fingers crossed they'll give him time there. If they do that and back him financially, he's proved he is one of the great managers over the past couple of decades.

"Mourinho has got as good a chance as any manager on the planet of getting success there."

Lisbon is supposedly being considered as a potential location for all remaining 2019-20 Champions League matches and Portugal great Nuno Gomes believes the city would be a "good solution".

The coronavirus pandemic brought top-level sport in Europe to a halt, with the final stages of the Champions League and Europa League pushed back indefinitely.

UEFA wants to complete both competitions once domestic leagues have been concluded, meaning the remaining fixtures could potentially resume in August.

Last week, reports began to emerge suggesting Istanbul would be unable to cover the cost of hosting the Champions League final without supporters being allowed to attend, and now UEFA is said to be considering alternative plans.

One apparent idea is for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final to be played at neutral venues in a single city and Lisbon is reportedly considered to be the strongest option, given Portugal's low coronavirus infection rate and the facilities of Benfica and Sporting CP.

Gomes agrees Lisbon would be an effective host, telling Stats Perform News: "For us Portuguese, I believe it is a good thing.

"After a lot of meetings [UEFA] understood it's maybe better to do it in one place rather than everybody travelling around Europe.

"[Lisbon] is a good option, and I'm not sure if they already decided a final decision, but it's true a lot of views and conversations are being held in order to maybe give Lisbon the final eight of the Champions League.

"I think it's good for football to find a solution in order to finish the games that are missing because everybody is waiting for Champions League games."

Both the Europa League and Champions League were suspended in March during the round-of-16.

Twelve teams remain in the Champions League with the competition halted during the middle of its first knockout stage.

Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta and RB Leipzig had all progressed to the quarter-final stage with four more ties yet to be decided.

In the remaining matches, Manchester City lead Real Madrid 2-1 heading into the second leg at the Etihad Stadium, while Chelsea have to overcome a three-goal deficit away at Bayern.

Juventus host Lyon in their second contest by a 1-0 margin, while Barcelona and Napoli will head into their decider at Camp Nou tied at one-apiece.

Raheem Sterling says that he believes it is vital for more minority coaches to be given the chance at the highest level as both managers and executives as discussions surrounding race in society continue.

Protests remain ongoing in the aftermath of the killing of American George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.

Those protests, which began in America, have moved worldwide in recent days with thousands turning out for anti-racism marches.

Sterling has long been outspoken regarding the intersection between race and football, with the Manchester City star calling racism "a disease" that is the most important problem society faces in modern times.

The England winger pointed to four former England stars: Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole. Gerrard and Lampard are currently manager historic clubs in Rangers and Chelsea, respectively.

Meanwhile, Campbell has managed only at the lower-league level with both Macclesfield and Southend while Cole is currently in charge of Chelsea's U-15s.

Pointing to that fact, Sterling says that black, Asian and minority ethnic coaches, executives and other staff members are not given the same chances as their white counterparts, leading to a disconnect between those in charge and those seeking to implement change.

"The coaching staff that you see around football clubs: there's Steven Gerrard, your Frank Lampards, your Sol Campbells and your Ashley Coles. All had great careers, all played for England," Sterling told the BBC.

"At the same time, they've all respectfully done their coaching badges to coach at the highest level and the two that haven't been given the right opportunities are the two black former players.

"The change is being able to speak to people in Parliament, people at the hierarchy at my football club, football clubs across the country, people at the national team of England, to implement change and give equal chances to not just black coaches but also different ethnicities.

"Give black coaches, not just coaches but people in their respective fields, the right opportunity. I feel like that's what's lacking here, it's not just taking the knee, it is about giving people the chance they deserve.

"There's something like 500 players in the Premier League and a third of them are black and we have no representation of us in the hierarchy, no representation of us in the coaching staffs. There's not a lot of faces that we can relate to and have conversations with."

He added: "When there's someone from a black background I can go to in the FA with a problem I have within the club, that will be when I know change is happening and not just in my field, also in Parliament.

"Once we do see those numbers shifting, that's when I'll be happy and the people will be happy."

In 2018, the FA found that 5 per cent of the federation's leadership roles and 13 per cent of England coaching staff roles were filled by people from a minority background.

Additionally, the FA set targets of 11 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, for 2021 as the federation looked to increase diversity across the organization.

Sterling, meanwhile, says its important for these conversations to continue going forward, even after the worldwide protests die down.

"The protest is a great starting point, to make your voice be heard," he said. "But just protesting alone is not going to make a change in this country."

He added: "It's how we move on from here. It's about highlighting things, the society that needs changing, and then acting upon it. We've done a lot of talking, and it's time now to act."

Leading sports marketing Company, Integral and Family and Football have announced a new joint venture partnership focused on augmenting the level of football talent identification, development, and management, on the African continent.

After almost a year of planning and working, Integral, the leading African sport management company, now enhances its service offering by adding comprehensive professional talent management services to its suite of services, having sealed this strategic alliance with one of the most prominent global football agencies, Family and Football.

Family & Football was founded by Dr. Erkut Sogut, a lawyer and registered FA intermediary, and has a foothold in many locations across the globe. The agency came into prominence by negotiating one of the most lucrative player contracts in Premier League history for Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil whom it also represents. The joint venture partnership is a landmark achievement for Integral’s football division and the experience of Family & Football will assist the company in providing quality, first-class representation to the flood of football talent dotted all over Africa.

Earlier in the year, Integral hosted Dr. Erkut Sogut when he visited Nigeria with his close friend and associate Misha Sher, VP Sport & Entertainment at Mediacom, who played a crucial role in forming the relationship between both companies.

“Nigeria, Africa and Integral are a strategic partner for us. We believe in their potential. And with Integral we will showcase African footballers in a different way because they deserve it,” Sogut commented on the pact.

“The continent deserves it. It has some of the best talents I have ever seen like Jay-Jay Okocha, Kanu, and many more like them. But our ties extend beyond football.

“I am passionate about education and I see the quality of people here; desirous of learning, of leaving a positive impact in the world. So together (with Integral) we will support them with our work.”

On his part Integral’s Managing Director Abimbola Ilo expressed his delight on the joint venture.

“We are extremely excited to be working fully now with Erkut and his team, joining forces together to become an even more dominant force in football representation, management and player trading.,” said Ilo.

“Importantly the scope of the joint venture extends beyond just the representation side of things and involves education and charity too which are equally important to us.”

Plans have been put in place by the Italian FA (FIGC) in order to decide Serie A should the league be stopped again because of coronavirus.

Football in Italy was put on hold in March due to the outbreak of the illness, which infected close to 250,000 in the country and took the lives of almost 34,000, with the north of the country particularly hard hit.

With the infection increasingly under control - there were 280 new cases announced on Tuesday - Serie A is gearing up to begin again after a three-month break, but a contingency plan has been put in place to decide placings should it prove impossible for top-level football to continue.

If play stops before July 10, playoffs and playouts will be used, but if the game is forced to stop after that date, an algorithm will be used as a last resort to decide the standings.

Serie B will follow with the same formula, but it has been announced that Serie C has been definitively ended, leading to the promotion of Vicenza, Reggina and Monza.

“Football is the winner today, with regards to consistency,” FIGC President Gabriele Gravina told reporters after the meeting.

“From the outset, we all supported the need to stay in the international scene.

“Italy is one of the big five leagues in European football. We made the decision to finish our competitions and we’ll continue on this path.

“Today, football has shown consistency. I’m convinced there will be great togetherness and that we’ll coordinate like we’ve always done with all our stakeholders, including Lega Serie A, which doesn’t come out as the loser in all of this.

“In the event of a stop, we’ve planned a new format with playoffs and playouts, like UEFA asked for.

“The pitch aside, there’s no better solution than to contest playoffs and playouts.

“A mini-tournament is always better than an algorithm, which has been clarified anyway: it’s a weighted average that takes into account the weight derived from the average number of points picked up at home and away from home, multiplied by the remaining games.

“Lega Serie A has approved and accepted it, even though we hope we won’t need it.”

Serie A will begin again on Saturday, June 20 with Torino hosting Parma, but professional football will return on Friday, June 12 as Juventus as AC Milan meet in the Coppa Italia semi-final second leg, while Napoli host Inter 24 hours later.

Currently, Juve lead the standings by a single point over Lazio with 12 games remaining.

Uganda forward Hasifah Nassuna has claimed women's football in the country is still underrated.

The Uganda Christian University Lady Cardinals striker says the little attention women's football has attracted in Uganda is one of the reasons that make her unhappy.

“The fact that women's football is still underrated do make me feel bad. I feel like the coverage should be balanced. But often people believe football is meant for men,” Nassuna told Football256.

Nassuna also pointed out the death of her former UCU Lady Cardinal's coach Peter Ssebulime as another challenge which has had a negative impact on her. Ssebulime died in May 2019 from what was reported as kidney failure.

“Coach [Peter] Ssebulime’s death is the biggest challenge, I found it so hard to get back on track after him passing away, at some point, I felt life was meaningless not until they took me for counselling.

“I still have a feeling that if he was still alive, maybe some of us would be successful by now.

“The expensive injuries that also take longer to heal and keep me out of action [also] make me very sad.”

The star further expounded what she thinks are her achievements and how they have been beneficial to society.

“I’ve been able to inspire many girls out there, for me, it’s an achievement and the biggest,” Nassuna added.

“Then, of course, winning the Airtel Female Footballer of the year in 2016, the 2019 MVP and top scorer awards, and lastly winning the Elite League with two different clubs.”

The Crested Cranes' forward revealed how she has come to love Barcelona and Argentina's great Lionel Messi as she plans to play professional football, own an academy and an orphanage.

“[Lionel] Messi, for me has done incredible things on the pitch, he is a game-changer and you expect him to score any minute,” explained Nassuna.

“I think people should remember me according to how they feel they should, some wish you good and others bad. So, some people will appreciate what I did whereas others won’t, but I wish to be remembered for the good things.

“I want to play professional football. I see myself playing for a big club out there one day, then looking at my country, many kids out there are suffering without parents, so starting up an orphanage to look after those kids is also in the plan.

“Then lastly, I dream of owning a Soccer Academy to help promote and develop Ugandan football especially the female games.”

From the 2015 to 2018/19 seasons, Nassuna scored double-digit goals.

Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari has paid tribute to Samuel Okwaraji’s mother who died at the age of 83 on Monday.

Lady Janet Okwaraji was a retired teacher, a school proprietress and a devout Christian before her death was confirmed by her eldest son, Patrick.

She lost her son Samuel, who was a Nigeria midfielder, during a Fifa World Cup qualifying match against Angola on August 12, 1989.

He tragically collapsed and passed away while in action for the Super Eagles at the age of 25.

A month ago, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare assured the Okwaraji's family of improved welfare packages from the government while the Nigeria Football Federation announced a monthly stipend of N30,000 for the matriarch and Rashidi Yekini's mother.

In a message released by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Femi Adesina, President Buhari praised Lady Janet for her resilience after the death of her son at the National Stadium in Lagos.

“President Muhammadu Buhari condoles with family of Lady Janet Okwaraji, a teacher and school proprietress, who passed on at 83, leaving a lasting memory of kindness, love and charity as a devout Christian,” the condolence note read.

“The President believes Lady Okwaraji, whose son, Samuel, died in August 1989 while playing for the Super Eagles in a World Cup qualifier, will always be remembered for the sacrifices of the family for the nation.

“President Buhari affirms that the matriarch of the Okwaraji family, like her son, defined simplicity, loyalty and patriotism in many ways as she remained steadfast, believing in Nigeria, despite the vicissitude of life.

“As a mother, who lost her son in an unexpected situation, the President believes Lady Janet deserved to be acknowledged for her resilience and nobility, despite the odds.

“President Buhari prays that the almighty God will grant her soul eternal rest, and comfort her loved ones.”

The merged entity of Kolkata clubs, ATK and Mohun Bagan will take part in the Indian Super League 2020-21 season as ATK Mohun Bagan, Goal can confirm.

The new entity, whose 80 per cent shares are owned by Sanjiv Goenka’s ATK and 20 per cent by Mohun Bagan, is already reserved with the Government of India’s Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The new entity has been named as ATK Mohun Bagan Private Limited.

The status of the company has already been 'reserved' on the official site of the ministry which means it cannot be allocated to any other entity henceforth. The name has been approved and set 'reserved' for concerned parties and they can now move to further formalities.

The two clubs had decided to enter a merger back in January 2020 that would help Mohun Bagan enter the ISL from the 2020-21 season.

The new entity was supposed to come into existence on June 1, 2020, but due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic and the resulting nationwide lockdown since March 25, the deal got delayed. With the new company already being reserved, an official announcement from both parties is expected soon.

While Mohun Bagan have won the league title for the fifth time in their history this year, ATK won their third ISL title beating Chennaiyin FC in the final back in March.

Other than participating in the ISL, the merged entity will also take part in the group stages of AFC Cup 2021 by using Mohun Bagan’s I-League 2019-20 champions’ slot.

Gareth Bale is the greatest athlete former Real Madrid medical chief Jesus Olmo has seen, with the Wales star “capable of excelling at practically any sport”.

After making a world-record move from Tottenham to Real Madrid in 2013, the 30-year-old has split opinion in the Spanish capital, despite scoring 80 goals in 169 matches.

While agent Jonathan Barnett has often been forced to shield his charge from media and fan attacks, Olmo has sung the praises of the attacker, who he says is the most impressive player he has seen during a career in which he has worked with many leading stars, including Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Possibly the best athlete I’ve seen is Gareth Bale,” he told Ideal. “He’s a natural athlete capable of excelling at practically any sport. He has unusual genetics and athletic ability, and I would say technical ability as well.

“He’s the one who impressed me most in all aspects, although there is then performance, which comes about from different circumstances.”

Olmo has suggested that Madrid fans have not seen the best of the star because he has played through injuries.

“All athletes have their handicaps,” he said. “People only see when a player is injured, but there are footballers who play when they’ve got physical problems. 

“A good medical team ensure that you have the minimum possible chronic problems, but the only way to overcoming them is by working hard and very well in a target way. That requires effort and depends a lot on the player.

“Nothing detracts from a high-level athlete’s performance more than chronic pain. Solving a small tendon problem is the best thing you can do for a footballer.”

Olmo had a reputation of being a fiery character and he admits that he once clashed with Sergio Ramos.

“With Sergio, I had a unique relationship because we had a very great confrontation,” he admitted. “He’s a person, like me, who says things to your face. I did things he didn’t consider appropriate, and although I explained them to him, he defended his position with the utmost respect.

“I didn’t place myself at his command. My judgement must be my own.

“We had our differences, but from there our professional relationship was very good. 

“We respect each other a lot and he always trusted my judgement with his injuries and did what I told him. 

“I still have a very good relationship with him and he works with professionals very close to me. When I have to give him a hand, I'll give it to him.”

AmaZulu striker Bonginkosi Ntuli says he is not thinking of leaving the Durban-based club, but his mission is to overtake Premier Soccer League (PSL) current top scorer Gabadinho Mhango of Orlando Pirates.

Despite the 2019/20 PSL season being halted due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Usuthu hitman has netted 12 goals so far and explains he has not received offers.

The former Mamelodi Sundowns striker also states he is happy at Usuthu and that playing regular football brings satisfaction as far as his career is concerned.

“It’s not something that I am currently thinking about [to leave AmaZulu]. It’s all about rumours, something that is reported in the media,” Ntuli told Isolezwe.

“There’s no club that has approached me in terms of offers. I am happy at AmaZulu and I am getting game time. So, there is no need to think of leaving the club or get a new team.”

The former Golden Arrows striker has been linked with a move to the Buccaneers and as things stand, the burly hitman is focusing on catching up with the Malawi international.

“Honestly, I want to catch up with him [Mhango]. I cannot hide it that it would be good to catch him,” he added.

“The time we were not training completely, I was focusing on doing well and I worked hard as I trained alone.

“There’s a field close to my home and I have been practising on hitting the target preparing to get ready when the games resume and that I maintain my sharpness.

“We are happy now that we are back to do things in a normal way and to do what we love. We just hope we will go back to training in the field.”

Ntuli has found the back of the net on 12 occasions for coach Ayanda Dlamini’s troops and was on target when they defeated Kaizer Chiefs back in March just before the season was indefinitely suspended.

Meanwhile, Dlamini will be pinning his hopes on the 29-year-old to lead his side to safety as they occupy 15th spot on the log table with 23 points from 24 matches so far.