Sports
Bayern Relieve CEO, Sporting Director of Duties
Bayern Munich celebrated winning their 11th straight Bundesliga title on the last day of the 2022/2023 season, in a bizarre fashion by sacking Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Kahn and Sporting Director, Hasan Salihamidzic.
FC Bayern made the disclosure on Saturday via a disclaimer on Saturday.
Barely 60 minutes after their last game of the season, the club released a statement on its website to confirm the decision.
The Club added that it would offer more details as to the direction it would be travelling at a press conference at 11:30 am Munich time on Sunday.
The statement read, “Oliver Kahn is no longer CEO of FC Bayern Munchen.
“Hasan Salihamidzic will also be replaced as a board member for sport. This was decided by the club’s supervisory board.
“Kahn will be replaced by the current vice-chairman of the board Jan-Christian Dreesen. Salihamidzic’s successor is still to be decided.”
Meanwhile, Kahn congratulated the team on Twitter for their victory but stated that he couldn’t celebrate with them because the club prohibited him from doing so.
On the other hand, Salihamidzic expressed his pride in working for Bayern for six years, which he described as a beautiful journey that he would have liked to continue. However, he respected the decision of the board.
In a related development, the club’s vice-chairman, Jan-Christian Dreesen, had already announced that he would leave the club at the end of the season.
It is left to be known, if he will have a change of heart in the face of these recent developments.
Chairman, Supervisory Board of Bayern Munich, Herbert Hainer said in the statement that “the decision to part with Oliver Kahn was anything but easy for the supervisory board.
“Nevertheless, due to the overall development, we have come to the decision to make a new appointment at the top of the executive board,”
Biztellers reports that FC Bayern’s season was marked by nervy twists, and as a result, the club’s two strong men, Salihamidzic and Kahn, had to bear the brunt.
The team was dumped out of the German Cup and Champions League at the quarter-finals, and they only won the league title because Borussia Dortmund dropped points against Mainz on the final day.
Part of what marked the season was that Salihamidzic and Kahn gambled by parting ways with Julian Nagelsmann and hiring Thomas Tuchel as the coach in midseason, yet, the results were not impacted positively.
Analysts are of the opinion that on and off-field incidents impacted on the Club’s performance during the season, citing the brawl between Sadio Mane and Leroy Sane.
Salihamidzic, who played more than 230 Bundesliga games for the club, became the sports director in July 2017 and joined the management board in 2020.
During his time, the club won the Champions League in 2020 and the Bundesliga every year.
In the same vein, Kahn, who played more than 420 league games in goal for Bayern, became the chairman of the board in July 2021. He was absent during the match in Cologne due to the flu.
Tottenham Hotspur will be without star forward Son Heung-min for their crucial Europa League quarter-final second leg against Eintracht Frankfurt, manager Ange Postecoglou confirmed on Wednesday.
The South Korean international has been nursing a foot injury in recent weeks and did not travel with the squad to Germany.
Son also missed Spurs’ 4-2 Premier League defeat at Wolverhampton on Saturday.
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“Sonny didn’t travel in the end, he’s the only one that misses out,” Postecoglou told reporters ahead of Thursday’s clash at the Waldstadion.
“He’s been battling with his foot problem for a few weeks now and managed to play through it. He trained the last few days, he tried to train yesterday and it wasn’t right, so we made the decision to leave him at home to allow him to recuperate.”
Son has been a key figure in Spurs’ European campaign this season, registering three goals and an assist across nine Europa League appearances.
The tie remains finely balanced after a 1-1 draw in the first leg in London, where Pedro Porro’s equalizer cancelled out Hugo Ekitike’s early goal for Frankfurt.
A win on Thursday would secure a place in the semi-finals.
Postecoglou, whose side has struggled in domestic competition and sits 15th in the Premier League, dismissed concerns over mounting pressure on his position.
“If you don’t think I’m a good coach, that’s not going to change because of what happens tomorrow,” he said. “We’ve got a great opportunity tomorrow, and I’m not going to let that slip by without fighting tooth and nail.”
On the opposite bench, Frankfurt boss Dino Toppmoeller expects Spurs to be fully focused on the Europa League, brushing aside suggestions that their poor league form could offer his team an advantage.
“Their latest league setback plays absolutely no role because their only focus is the Europa League,” Toppmoeller said.
Despite Frankfurt sitting third in the Bundesliga, he refused to label his side as favourites. “It doesn’t matter whether any team is the favourite or not.”
Frankfurt will also be without their captain and first-choice goalkeeper Kevin Trapp, who remains sidelined through injury. Brazilian shot-stopper Kaua Santos is expected to continue in goal.
With the tie poised on a knife-edge, Toppmoeller remained unfazed by the possibility of the match going to penalties — a scenario often discussed when English and German sides meet in European competition.
“I have absolutely no fear of a shootout, because I have total confidence in the boys. And if it comes to penalties, we’ll win on penalties,” he said.
Gabonese football has been thrown into mourning following the death of international striker Aaron Boupendza, who passed away on Wednesday at the age of 28.
The player reportedly fell from the 11th floor of a building in China, where he was plying his trade with Zhejiang FC.
The tragic news was confirmed by the Gabonese Football Federation (Fegafoot) in an official statement shared on X.
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“The Gabonese international died following a fall from the 11th floor of his building in China, where he was playing for Zhejiang FC,” the statement read.
“Aged 28, Boupendza leaves us with the memory of a great striker who left his mark on the CAN (Africa Cup of Nations) in Cameroon,” it added.
Boupendza, known for his sharp attacking instincts, was a key part of Gabon’s national team at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations, where the Panthers reached the knockout stage before being eliminated by Burkina Faso in the round of 16.
In the wake of his death, Fegafoot extended its sympathies, stating: “Fegafoot and the entire Gabonese football family offer their sincere condolences to his biological family.”
Gabon’s president-elect Brice Oligui Nguema also joined in paying tribute to the striker, writing on X: “It is with immense sadness that I learn of the tragic death of Aaron Boupendza, a talented centre-forward who brought honour to Gabonese football.”
Meanwhile, local media outlet Gabon 24 reported that an investigation has been opened to determine the exact cause of the incident, noting that “the exact circumstances of this tragedy are still unclear.”
Boupendza was born in Moanda and began his professional journey with French club Bordeaux in 2016, spending much of his early career on loan across France.
His breakthrough came in Turkey with Hatayspor, where he finished as top scorer in the 2020–21 Super Lig season.
The striker’s career saw him lift the Qatar FA Cup with Al Arabi, before further stints with Al Shabab in Saudi Arabia, FC Cincinnati in Major League Soccer, and Romania’s Rapid Bucharest.
He had only joined Zhejiang FC in January of this year.
The communication materials for the 22nd National Sports Festival, tagged the Gateway Games, have been unveiled.
Biztellers reports that the materials include the Games’ logo, theme song, and mascot.
The three were unveiled at a colourful ceremony at the June 12 Cultural Centre in Abeokuta. The Deputy Governor, Noimot Salako-Oyedele stood in for the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun.
The logo is mainly in Ogun State theme colours of lemon green and yellow. The unveiling of the logo was immediately followed by that of the Theme Song of the Festival.
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It is titled ‘E’kaabo’ a Yoruba word for ‘Welcome’ as Ogun State prepares to welcome thousands of athletes, officials, tourists and VIPs when the 22nd National Sports Festival comes alive on May 16. The Theme Song was composed by Dr Bayo Adepetun.
The jam-packed hall roared in excitement when the festival’s mascot was eventually unveiled.
Named ‘Omo Ogun’, the animated version strolled on the stage and saluted the audience before getting down the stage to greet the dignitaries.
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