Winning start for Kenya Lionesses in Rugby Africa Cup tournament in UgandaKenya Lionesses shine in Uganda The women’s national rugby 15s team, Kenya Lionesses, started their Rugby Africa Women’s Pool B campaign with a 36-17 bonus point win over Zambia in a match staged at the Wankulukuku Stadium in Kampala, Uganda on Saturday 29. Up next is a must win encounter against Uganda on Wednesday. There was drama at the Impala Club as the Floodies Tournament made a comeback. Several games had to be postponed to Wednesday due to a blackout. Floodies Wrap: Oilers & Blak Blad impress as KCB made to wait due to power issuesIs Namwamba the savior sportsmen have been waiting?There is unrivalled excitement within the sporting circles following the swearing in of the new Cabinet Secretary for Sports Ababu Namwamba. The minister is deemed as a ‘friend’ and a big fan of the sports particularly football having served as a club administrator in the past.During the vetting process, he promised to help get the country off FIFA’s bad books as well as lift Kenyan football from the lows it has sunk to. Follow FIFA directives, Senate Chief urges CS NamwambaAbabu is understood to have met the Football Kenya Federation officials last week a move which many suggested that is the right path to be followed if FIFA is to lift the suspension imposed on the country.Besides the boardrooms and meeting stakeholders, the youthful minister has begun on a positive note in as far as field work is concerned as he was attended hockey matches last weekend as well as the Standard Chartered Marathon.There is hope that football and sports in general will thrive big time under the patronage of the former legislator.Local players ready for the new season.With the 2022-2023 season set to kick off next month, local clubs, once again played friendly matches to keep themselves busy as well as test their preparedness for the new season.The highlight match of the week brought champions Tusker and the Kenya Police at Nyayo Stadium. Even though the game ended in a 2-2 draw, the performance by either team was impressive, an indication that, they are ready for competitive football.Other test played last week include the double header staged at the Ulinzi Complex where hosts Ulinzi Stars Kariobangi Sharks to a barren draw. AFC Leopards battled Posta Rangers to 1-1 draw.Sofapaka registered a similar result against Nairobi City Stars in a game played at Vapor grounds while Bandari beat Mwatate United 4-0. Teams drawn from the Women’s Premier League National Super League, Division One and the rest of the tiers were also in action.It is also fair for the concerned authorities to put their differences aside and let the season start next month. Delaying it further will do more harm than good to the playersBarca’s Europa League deja-vu and an awful trip back to the south coast for PotterEuropa League limbo Vol.2Before even kicking a ball against Bayern at Camp Nou, Barcelona were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage for the second consecutive season. With their spirits obviously down, Xavi’s side have another Europa League knockout campaign to prepare for.Another thing they have to prepare for is another financial blow. The Catalans’ failure to qualify further in the elite competition will have dire financial consequences for the struggling club – it’s claimed by Mundo Deportivo that the Camp Nou club will lose 21 million euros even if they lift the cup on the last day of May 2023 at Puskás Aréna, Budapest.Last time around when they were ‘downgraded’, the public saw Barca walk all the way to the Europa League trophy but competition winners Eintracht Frankfurt showed that Blaugrana are far from their confidence of the past.This year, things have changed quite a lot at Barcelona FC but the expectations for them to win the trophy stay firm. Barca are too big of a club not to hunger for the silverware, whichever it may be, but the sour taste in the mouth of everyone loving the club will surely linger.Brighton’s hellish welcome for their ex-manager and their best player last seasonSome returns are happy, some not so much. Graham Potter had one of those latter ones as his Chelsea suffered a 4-1 loss against his former club Brighton in the Premier League. Barca ace Kounde slams decision-makers in football: They should think more about the playersIf you could bottle irony, you would have gotten unlimited supplies of it on the south coast of England on Saturday evening. Potter returned to the AMEX and endured the first defeat with his new team. It was a surreal day for Potter, who had to endure the infamous “You’re getting sacked in the morning” chant from the fans who cheered for him less than two months ago.Graham Potter: “Whenever you’re trying to master something or trying to get better at it, you need to sometimes have a bit of step back, you need to suffer or go through a bad experience to grow and be better.” [via @AdamNewson] pic.twitter.com/YF5NOIigbj— Talk Chelsea (@talkchelsea) October 31, 2022 Brighton’s player of the season in the last campaign was Marc Cucurella, who has also switched AMEX Stadium for Stamford Bridge. His underperforming against the Seagulls came as cherry-on-top for the Brighton faithful who had all the reasons to sing throughout the whole match..
