Two deaths of Mino RaiolaOn the 28th of April news shocked the world of football – one of the best agents in the sport was proclaimed deceased, only to confute the speculations later in the day. Italian’s social media accounts exploded with statements that he is ‘pissed off’ for being buried again by those in the media who are not his fans.Unfortunately, only two days later – Mino Raiola’s family declared that the man who represented some of the biggest stars of today’s football had passed away at 54 years of age.How will Raiola’s departure affect the transfers of stars he represented?It wasn’t clarified which medical issue Raiola was suffering from but it was known that he underwent a surgical procedure back in January.It is yet to be announced what further plans of his representing agency and the players who were under his patronage are. He was a ‘player’s dream but a manager’s nightmare’ – footballers loved the way he stood up for them in terms of getting the best possible conditions out of a signed contract but the interested clubs were not his biggest fans due to big commissions he asked out of every deal.Sincere condolences to Mino Raiola’s family.A see-saw week for Real MadridLast Tuesday gave us an instant Champions League classic thanks to an incredible semi-final first leg match between Manchester City and Real Madrid. Even though Los Blancos were defeated, they went back to Spain with only a one-goal-trail – Pep Guardiola’s team saw Real’s resilience firsthand and had to make their peace with ‘only’ a 4-3 win over the Royal Club.Marcelo – the most trophy-laden player in the history of the biggest clubAs far as their aspirations for the Champions League go, Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr kept the hopes alive for the Madridians. But only a few days later – on Saturday, domestic success came to the forefront as Real Madrid secured their 35th La Liga title. The win over Espanyol was more than enough to make Los Blancos untouchable at the summit and in a few weeks the trophy will move across town – from Wanda Metropolitano to Santiago Bernabeu.About 150,000 jubilant Real Madrid fans flocked to the Cibeles fountain to join players for a celebration of their record-extending 35th LaLiga title, which was clinched with a 4-0 home win against Espanyol https://t.co/LdzDJUqoCU pic.twitter.com/AG9yfJiJmU— Reuters (@Reuters) May 1, 2022 Effects of the long delay of resumption of hockey activities felt.Visiting Ghanaian hockey side Exchequers has exposed the dire ramifications of the two-year halting of hockey activities in the country. The Kenya Hockey Union bowed to pressure and given the resumption of it’s activities in February after close to a two-year long hiatus occasioned by coronavirus pandemic.Exchequers who are the only invited side to the Gold Cup have had an easy time in beating the best hockey in the Premier League clubs among them is Kenya Police.Other clubs that enrolled for the tournament are Strathmore University Gladiators and USIU-A Mashujaa.The visitors are not new to Kenyan hockey as they have been invited for tournaments in the past but struggled to win in Nairobi.However, the margin and ease in which they are winning matches over the country’s best, certainly shows that local clubs are yet to recover fully from the effects of the stoppage that include loss of form and fitness.Kakamega Homeboyz must pull up their socks Football Kenya Federation Premier League leaders Kakamega Homeboyz have invited pressure on their shoulders after watching the eleven-point gap between them and champions Tusker reduce to four points.The four successive draws have dealt their chance of winning the maiden league title a major blow and will now have to win five of the remaining six matches if they still habour the dream of dethroning the beer makers.The two sides clash next weekend in a match that has the potential to either make or crush them. This leaves them with just one option, to win the duel and elongate the rift further. National Super League (NSL) down to the wireEvergreen Mieno shares title-winning experience Tusker can use to topple HomeboyzTo say the current NSL campaign is exciting is an understatement! Although recently dogged by referee go slows owing to issues with the caretaker committee, the promotion race is top of the tier stuff – you snooze, you lose! Fortune Sacco, who are the current log leaders, APS Bomet, former top-tier club Zoo FC, Naivas and Vihiga United all stand a chance at claiming the title. Fortune Sacco and APS Bomet have been exchanging the top position in recent rounds and they are currently tied at 41 points after 23 matches with the former at the top due to a superior goal difference.
NSL: Migori Youth humble APS, Fortune Sacco back to the summit