French fighter jets on mission against IS in Mosul

French fighter jets have set off on a mission against Islamic State in its Iraqi stronghold of Mosul.
Eight jets took off from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the eastern Mediterranean in preparation of an offensive backed by Britain and the US to liberate the city.
Iraqi forces will lead the operation, backed by western special forces and aircraft including the RAF, once it starts – possibly in October.
A French defence official said Friday’s mission “in no way” marked the beginning of the battle to retake Mosul.
However, it is unclear whether the jets will carry out airstrikes or reconnaissance.
French radio station RTL reported the warplanes were armed with four 250kg laser-guided bombs each, and that the operation would involve an attack on average every three minutes.
US and British drones have been flying constant surveillance missions over the city.
They have witnessed senior IS leaders flee, but intelligence reports estimate there are between 2,500 and 3,000 fighters left.

Arsene Wenger will leave Arsenal when he wins the title – Robert Pires

Robert Pires has told L’Equipe he thinks Arsene Wenger will remain Arsenal manager until he lifts the Premier League title again.
Pires, 42, spent six years working under his compatriot, between 2000 and 2006, winning the Premier League title twice, including the 2003-04 “Invincibles” season in which the Gunners did not lose a single game.
And the French World Cup-winner, who is an Arsenal ambassador and still trains with the first

England job a possibility one day – Wenger

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has admitted for the first time he would be willing to manage England in the future if he had no club commitments.
Wenger has been linked with the England job following the Football Association’s decision to part company with Sam Allardyce on Tuesday.
Allardyce’s self-inflicted exit after his controversial comments to undercover reporters has left the

Mikel prefers to be second holding player than Chelsea role – Eagles coach

Mikel Obi prefers to play as a second holding midfielder as against the more defensive position he plays at his Premier League club Chelsea, according to Super Eagles coach Salisu Yusuf.
“Mikel prefers to play as second holding midfielder and not the more defensive position he plays at Chelsea,” Yusuf revealed on a television interview programme Friday morning.

Manchester United players lack belief of old – Hughes

Mark Hughes doubts whether Manchester United’s squad have the title-winning mentality that was present when he was at the club.
The Stoke manager will take his side to Old Trafford on Sunday looking for their first Premier League win of the season, having lost four of their opening six matches.
Hughes won two league titles during his two spells at United between 1980 and 1995, and while he is aware of the threat posed by the current crop under Jose Mourinho, he is unsure the players have the same attitude that brought him success during his time at the club.
“I played in a winning Manchester United team that was challenging for titles year on year, and that team from personal experience had the mindset that they have to win every game,” Hughes said at his pre-match press conference.
“I’m not sure whether the current group have that feeling, but they have the talent to do that.
“They have addressed some of their failings from last year with some very big signings. You can

Wenger won’t rule out another five years at Arsenal, nor England job

As Arsene Wenger celebrates his 20th anniversary as Arsenal manager, the Frenchman says he will not rule out staying on for another five years nor taking over the England national team one day.
Wenger celebrates two decades in charge of the North London club on Saturday, although this could be his last season as his contract expires next summer.
Wenger will not make a decision on whether to stay on until the campaign ends, but when asked if there could be a 25th anniversary at Arsenal in five years, he told a news conference: “I rule nothing out because I want to work. And I want to do well.
“But I accept as well that it can finish tomorrow. It’s a love story and a love story you expect always to last forever. But it can stop any day.”
Wenger also left the door open for moving into international management when quizzed again about the possibility of taking over the England job.
Gareth Southgate is in temporary charge of the Three Lions after Sam Allardyce left the post this week, with Wenger seen as a possible target for the Football Association next summer if he becomes available.

Real Madrid need more consistency to win La Liga – Bale

Gareth Bale says Real Madrid have lacked the consistency to win La Liga during his three seasons at the club, but hopes they can achieve that under Zinedine Zidane this season.
Real finished one point behind champions Barcelona last season, and after winning the Champions League twice since joining Los Blancos in 2013, the 27-year-old hopes to lift the league title next.
“We need to be more consistent,” he told Sport magazine. “We had a very good end of the season last year, but we need to be better at the start and in the middle.
“Ultimately, the most consistent team wins the league. We came very close last year — not close enough, but we’re going to work harder as a team together. Hopefully, at the end of the season,

U.S. has lots to prove in Ryder Cup showdown with Europe

There is nothing in the world of sports quite like the Ryder Cup. Every two years, the best golfers in the U.S. take on the best Europe has to offer.
What’s on the line this year from the Hazeltine National Golf Club here? It’s not money. It’s national pride and patriotism … a whole lot of it.
Twenty-four of the greatest players in the world are competing at an elite level and America has an ax to grind. This is the biggest event hosted by the PGA of America.
While the U.S. team has won the Ryder Cup 25 out of a possible 40 times overall, it’s struggled recently. The U.S. has won just two times in the last 10 years.But America is better prepped and ready for the 41st Ryder Cup. “We know it’s going to be tough,” said PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua. “We think we have a good shot.”
“We would dearly love to win and love to win in the future, and that’s why we’ve prepared so

Brady hails Wenger as ‘possibly the best ever’ Arsenal boss

Former Arsenal midfielder Liam Brady has described Arsene Wenger as “possibly the greatest” manager in the club’s history.
Brady, who made 307 appearances for the Gunners between 1971 and 1980, has hailed the Frenchman, who brings up his 20-year anniversary at Arsenal on October 1.
He told Omnisport: “I think he will go down as one of the all-time great managers of the club, possibly the greatest.
“I know [former manager] Herbert Chapman, in the history of Arsenal, is an iconic figure but Wenger, in his 20 years, particularly in his first 10, was magnificent.”

Jose Mourinho explains angry exchange with Manchester United coach

Jose Mourinho has said he was unhappy with Manchester United coach Giovanni Cerra ahead of Thursday’s 1-0 victory over Zorya Luhansk because his instructions left Paul Pogba confused.
Mourinho marched from the touchline to the dugout ahead of the kickoff to remonstrate with Cerra and slammed the coach’s laptop shut.
The Portuguese, who also appeared unhappy when addressing assistant Rui Faria on the touchline, told BT Sport after the game that Zorya Luhansk had made changes to their lineup that

Ogu denies Eagles snub caused by falling out with senior team member

John Ogu has denied a media report which claimed his continued absence from the Super Eagles is because he fell out with a senior member of the team.
Ogu, who last played for Nigeria in June 2015, when he came on as a second half substitute in Nigeria’s 2-0 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Chad, however, said he never fell out with

Dembele can be next Drogba – Rodgers

Celtic star Moussa Dembele is cut from the same cloth as Didier Drogba, according to manager Brendan Rodgers.
Dembele, 20, starred in the Champions League on Wednesday, scoring twice in his side’s 3-3 draw against Manchester City.
Rodgers lauded the Frenchman and believes the forward is capable of matching Drogba, who won four Premier League titles and the Champions League once with Chelsea.
“There’s no doubt about it. I worked with Didier at Chelsea and I think Moussa is of that ilk,” Rodgers said.

England throw out 4,000 Allardyce T-shirts

The Football Association have had to throw out 4,000 T-shirts that they were going to give to fans for England’s game against Malta – because they carried a quote from Sam Allardyce on the front.
Allardyce, 61, was preparing for his first Wembley fixture as Three Lions boss but lost his job after just 67 days following an undercover newspaper sting.

Jose Mourinho laments Manchester United’s gruelling October fixture list

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has called his side’s packed October fixture list a “poisoned gift” in the wake of their 1-0 Europa League defeat of Zorya Luhansk at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the lone goal as the Red Devils, who have hit a recent rough patch of results, struggled for long stretches to break through the stubborn Ukrainian side.
The victory, however, eases the strain on United, who have a gruelling fixture list in October, when

Mikel expects Terry to finish his career at Chelsea

John Obi Mikel has claimed that John Terry is likely to finish his career at Chelsea after signing a new contract with the Blues for this season.
Terry looked to be heading towards the exit door at Stamford Bridge after it seemed that the Blues were not going to offer the veteran defender a new contract.
However, the west London club eventually ended up giving the former England international a one-year deal to stay on at the club following the appointment of Antonio Conte as the club’s new manager earlier this year.
Midfielder Mikel now feels that the former England star is likely to stay at Chelsea for the remainder of his career after committing his short-term future to the club.

NFF denies cash crunch report for Zambia tie

The Nigeria Football Federation has condemned, in very strong terms, a report in some media outlets that it cannot fly the Super Eagles to a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Ndola onOctober 9, 2016.
The Nigeria football governing body said it viewed the report as baseless, misleading and despicable, not only against Nigerian football, but against the Nigerian nation.
The NFF insisted that the report was the concoction of an idle mind and challenged the purveyors of the falsehood to name their source.
On Thursday, the NFF assured Nigerians that it had concluded arrangements on getting players and officials of the Super Eagles to Abuja for a training camp starting on October 2, getting the team to and from Zambia and getting the players back to their various Clubs after the national

Jordan 2016: Flamingoes resume training for Brazil

Ahead of their group phase clash with Brazil on Saturday at the 5th FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, Nigeria’s U17 girls, the Flamingoes resumed training on Wednesday afternoon at the Al Wehdat Training Field, Amman with all 21 players participating actively.
The girls were also scheduled to train at the same venue on Thursday.
The Nigeria team had arrived Amman on Tuesday morning after flying from Abuja to Dubai and

Celtic receive UEFA fine for flying Palestine flags in Champions League match

Celtic have been fined £8,616 by UEFA after fans displayed an “illicit banner” during their recent Champions League qualifier against Hapoel Be’er Sheva.
Fans flew Palestine flags before and during the match against Israeli opposition at Parkhead on Aug. 17, resulting in a charge from European football’s governing body.
UEFA viewed the flags as illicit banners under Article 16 of its disciplinary regulations and at a disciplinary hearing the complaint against the Scottish champions was upheld and the club were

Nigerian sports lacks professional handling – Amos Adamu

A former Director-General, National Sports Commission, Amos Adamu, has said that saddling non-professionals with sports administration is the bane of Nigeria’s sports development.
Adamu spoke to newsmen in Ilorin on Thursday at the ongoing National Youth Games.
He said that many administrators saddled with the responsibility of piloting the affairs of the nation’s sports had no technical know-how to succeed.
Adamu appealed to the Federal Government to employ professionals to handle sports management.
He said that some of Nigerian coaches lacked the required technical knowledge to train athletes.

John Obi Mikel is my role model – Uche Agbo

Granada youngster Uche Agbo has revealed that he sees John Obi Mikel as a role model, and claims he has learnt a lot from the Chelsea midfielder.
The defender, 20, who recently earned his first senior national team call-up following Leon Balogun’s injury, also expressed his determination to prove his worth to cement his place in Gernot Rohr’s squad.
“Super Eagles’ captain, John Obi Mikel is my role model,” Agbo has said.
“I like him so much and also love the way he plays. And obviously, I have learnt so much from him.”

Nigeria will be in Zambia for World Cup qualifier – NFF

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have maintained they will fly the country’s team to Zambia for a World Cup qualifier notwithstanding their current financial problems.
According to an official statement, the NFF said they condemn “in very strong terms” a report in some media that they cannot fly the Super Eagles to a World Cup qualifying match in Ndola on Sunday, 9th October 2016.