BEB Weekend Sports: Juicy Gist!

Egypt named as the hosts of 2019 Afcon

Egypt will host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced.

Egypt beat South Africa, the only other nation to bid, by 16 votes to one with one abstention at a Caf executive committee vote in Senegal.

Original host nation Cameroon was stripped of staging duties in November because of slow preparations.

Egypt has just six months to prepare for the expanded 24-team finals, which kick off in June.

It will be the fifth time Egypt, which won the tournament when it last hosted in 2006, has staged the tournament.

"I want to thank the (Caf) Executive Committee for the trust, and I thank the government for this support," said Egypt FA (EFA) president Hany Abu Rida. 

"We organised the tournament on 2006 and that make us against a challenge to make better and better, we are ready for this honour." 

"The guarantee from government helped us to win against South Africa and that will help us to make a good tournament," added Ahmed Shobair, vice-president of Egypt's FA."

"The fans will be back again in the stadiums, which will be full in the tournament I promise."

Egypt will use eight stadiums during the tournament, hosting in five different cities: Alexandria, Ismailia, Port Said, Suez and the capital Cairo.

Fabregas joins Monaco from Chelsea

Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has joined Ligue 1 side Monaco, managed by his former Arsenal team-mate Thierry Henry, on a three-and-a-half year deal.

The 31-year-old Spaniard captained the Blues in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest on Saturday and was in tears as he applauded fans at the final whistle.

He joined Chelsea from Barcelona in 2014, having played 303 times for Arsenal between 2003 and 2011.

Fabregas described the move as "a new project", calling it a "great honour".

"I'm here to help the team, I'm looking forward to starting. I am very excited," he added.

Monaco have not paid a fee for Fabregas but will pay 'bonuses' to Chelsea linked to his performances.
Fabregas won two Premier League titles, two FA Cups and a League Cup in 501 appearances in English football.

With the Gunners, he won the FA Cup and played in the 2006 Champions League final defeat against Barcelona, before joining the Catalan giants in 2011.

Having won six trophies with Barcelona, including La Liga and the Club World Cup, he returned to England to win the Premier League twice in three seasons with Chelsea, first under Jose Mourinho and then Antonio Conte.

Writing on social media, Fabregas later paid tribute to Chelsea and the club's fans.

"It has been an incredible journey and it is with great sadness that I must say goodbye," he said.

"I will miss you all and wish you the best of luck for the future."

Andy Murray: Australian Open could be last tournament

Britain's Andy Murray says he plans to retire after this year's Wimbledon but fears next week's Australian Open could be the final tournament of his career.

The three-time Grand Slam winner, who is struggling to recover from hip surgery, was in tears at a news conference in Melbourne on Friday.

"I'm not sure I'm able to play through the pain for another four or five months," said the 31-year-old Scot. 

"I want to get to Wimbledon and stop but I'm not certain I can do that."

However, Murray says he still intends to play his Australian Open first-round match against Spanish 22nd seed Roberto Bautista Agut next week.

The former world number one had surgery on his right hip last January and has played 14 matches since returning to the sport last June.

Murray ended his 2018 season in September to spend time working with rehabilitation expert Bill Knowles but still looked short of the required level when he played world number one Novak Djokovic in an open practice match at Melbourne Park on Thursday.

In his news conference - during which he left the room to compose himself before returning - Murray said: "I'm not feeling good, I've been struggling for a long time.

"I've been in a lot of pain for about 20 months now. I've pretty much done everything I could to try and get my hip feeling better and it hasn't helped loads. 

"I'm in a better place than I was six months ago but I'm still in a lot of pain. I can still play to a level, but not a level I have played at."

Murray was frank in his assessment of his abilities, conceding he is no longer able to perform to the level at which he won the US Open in 2012 and Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016.

He told the world's media of the agonising pain he is in when playing and says further hip surgery might be needed to ensure he has a better quality of life in retirement.

"The pain is too much really," said Murray, who is also a two-time Olympic champion. "I need to have an end point because I'm playing with no idea of when the pain will stop. 

"I'd like to play until Wimbledon - that's where I'd like to stop playing - but I'm not certain I'm able to do that."

McLaren appoint Seidl as new team boss

McLaren have appointed German Andreas Seidl as the new boss of their struggling Formula 1 team.

Seidl's recruitment in the new role of managing director is the latest in a series of management changes aimed at making McLaren competitive again.

The 46-year-old, ex-boss of Porsche's World Endurance Championship team, will join "during 2019", reporting to chief executive officer Zak Brown.

Brown said Seidl was "a highly capable leader with a track record of success".

He added:

"It is another important step in our F1 performance recovery plan and long-term commitment to F1."

Seidl, who worked in F1 for BMW from 2000-09, does not yet have a specific start date because McLaren have yet to agree a leaving date with Porsche.

"This is an enormous privilege and challenge," he said. "To have an opportunity to contribute to the McLaren legacy is extremely special and inspiring.

"McLaren has the vision, leadership and experience but, most importantly, the people to return to the front, and that will be my absolute focus and mission."

from Bola Esho's Blog