SPORTS

Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli has been granted compassionate leave after a family bereavement and will miss the first day of pre-season training on Monday, the Premier League club said. The 24-year-old Italian was not with his teammates when they reassembled after the summer break amid media reports of the death of his adoptive father, Francesco, at the weekend. Liverpool confirmed ...

Lionel Messi has told of the pain of losing the Copa America final after the football superstar faced criticism in his native Argentina. Messi finally posted a statement on his facebook account late Monday having hidden his devastation at losing another major final since the 4-1 penalty shootout defeat by Chile on Saturday. “There’s nothing more painful in football than ...

Five-weight world champion Floyd Mayweather has been stripped of the WBO welterweight belt won from Manny Pacquiao in May. The 38-year-old failed to pay the WBO a $200,000 (£128,000) fee to administer the fight by the 3 July deadline. Mayweather had been expected to relinquish the title by now, saying he planned to do so  following his points victory over ...

It was the biggest away win in a qualifier for a competition restricted to home-based footballers, bettering the 3-0 victory of Zimbabwe in Mauritius two years ago. The 9-1 aggregate margin was the widest for a two-leg tie, overtaking five-goal victories by Mozambique, also against Seychelles, and the Ivory Coast. While the Seychelles were underdogs against the Mozambicans, the heavy ...

Chile wrecked Lionel Messi’s dream of a first international title with a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Argentina to end their 99-year wait for a Copa America crown here Saturday. Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez struck the winning spot-kick for Chile, as the hosts clinched a 4-1 shoot-out victory when the game ended goalless after extra time. Sanchez chipped the decisive ...

Zambia got sweet revenge over Namibia when they beat the Brave Warriors 6-5 on post-match penalties on Saturday at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka to advance to the final round of the 2016 Chan qualifiers. The first round, final leg match was decided on post-match penalties after Zambia won 2-1 at home to see the tie level at 3-3 on aggregate. ...

Zambia battle to save their 2016 CAF African Nations Championship (Chan) qualifying campaign on Saturday when they host Namibia in a must-win game. Chipolopolo head into this weekend’s first round, final leg fixture trailing Namibia 2-1 from the first leg played on June 21 in Windhoek, a match in which the visitors squandered a 1-0 first half lead. The result ...

Zambia host Namibia on Saturday in a must-win 2016 African Nations Championship (Chan) qualifier at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka. Chipolopolo head into the first round, final leg match trailing 2-1 from the first leg tie played on June 21 in Windhoek. George Lwandamina’s side was leading 1-0 well into halftime in that match after veteran striker Winston Kalengo had put ...

All eight places in this years 2015 Barclays Cup have been decided. Two former champions and a debutant have made the cut for Zambia’s lone premier cup tournament whose dates have yet to be announced by Faz. Record four-time winners Zesco United and two-time champions Power Dynamos lead the six teams that have qualified from the Faz Super league. Third ...

Rafael Nadal says he may not be able to rekindle his former Wimbledon glories after a shock second-round defeat by German qualifier Dustin Brown. The 14-time Grand Slam winner, now the world number 10, lost 7-5 3-6 6-4 6-4 as his miserable run at SW19 continued. The Spaniard, 29, has been beaten by players ranked outside the top 100 in ...