The 53-year-old, who had been a free agent since being sacked as Spain coach last December, replaces Christophe Galtier after his departure from the club was confirmed earlier in the day.

Luis Enrique was unveiled by PSG at a press conference alongside the Qatar-backed club’s president Nasser al-Khelaifi at their brand new training complex in Poissy, to the north-west of the French capital.

“I’m delighted to be joining Paris in order to enjoy a new experience,” Luis Enrique said in a club statement.

“It’s so exciting to meet new people, to live in this city, to learn a new language and, above all, to manage PSG.”

The new coach, whose full name is Luis Enrique Martinez Garcia, is the eighth man to lead the club since the transformative Qatari takeover of 2011 and, like those before him, will be charged with bringing them the success in the Champions League that has so far proved elusive.

PSG have never won Europe’s most prestigious club competition, coming closest when they lost in the final to Bayern Munich in 2020.

They have gone out in the last 16 in five of the last seven seasons, losing to Bayern at that stage in the campaign just finished. That defeat proved costly for Galtier.

Luis Enrique arrives with pedigree in the Champions League, having won it as coach of Barcelona in 2015 when a brilliant team led by an attack of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez beat Juventus in the final.

He now joins a club beginning their latest rebuild following the departure of Messi at the end of his two-year stay.

Mbappe future in doubt

There are doubts surrounding the future of superstar forward Kylian Mbappe after he told the club he would not renew a contract that expires next year.

Several high-profile new signings are expected to be confirmed as the club prepares to start pre-season training in the coming days, with a tour to Japan scheduled for later this month.

Luis Enrique brought to an end a three-year stay at Barca in 2017 and then became Spain coach in 2018.

However, he quit in June 2019 and announced the death of his nine-year-old daughter from bone cancer two months later.

He returned to the Spain post in November of that year, retaking the reins from Robert Moreno, and took La Roja to the Euro 2020 semi-finals and the 2021 UEFA Nations League final before being fired after their elimination from last year’s World Cup in the last 16 in a penalty shoot-out against Morocco.

Galtier had only been in charge for one season and still had a year to run on his contract, but his departure had been expected ever since the end of the last Ligue 1 season a month ago.

“Paris Saint-Germain and Christophe Galtier have decided to terminate his contract as coach of the first team,” the club said in a statement.

“Everyone at Paris Saint-Germain thanks Christophe Galtier, as well as his assistants Thierry Oleksiak and Joao Sacramento, for their professionalism and commitment over the course of the season, and wishes them the best in their future careers.”

Galtier led PSG to a French record 11th title but that success was also overshadowed by their disappointing exit from the Champions League and a French Cup last-16 loss to Marseille.

The final weeks of Galtier’s reign were also marred by accusations that he made racist remarks about players during his previous job at Nice.

He has vehemently denied the accusations but will stand trial in December on charges of “moral harassment and discrimination on the grounds of actual or supposed membership or non-membership of a particular ethnic group, nation, alleged race or religion”, according to prosecutors in Nice.

The offences are punishable by three years’ imprisonment and a 45,000-euro ($49,000) fine.

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Matheus Cunha took advantage of a defensive lapse to score in first-half stoppage time after Richarlison smashed a penalty over the crossbar for Brazil.

Spain equalised on the hour when Mikel Oyarzabal crashed home a thumping volley, but former Barcelona forward Malcom secured Brazil the title with his goal in the 108th minute.

Brazil, who won gold on home soil at Rio 2016, became the fifth team to retain their Olympic crown on another triumphant night in Yokohama, where they claimed the last of their five World Cup titles in 2002.

After Neymar led Brazil to Olympic gold, this time it was the turn of Dani Alves to captain the country in the final against a strong Spain side featuring six players who participated at Euro 2020.

Unbeaten at the Olympics against a European nation since 1988, Brazil almost fell behind when Diego Carlos scooped the ball over his own goalkeeper before hooking off the line as Oyarzabal tried to pick out Dani Olmo.

A poor clearance from Unai Simon allowed Richarlison to set up Douglas Luiz, whose spinning effort was turned behind by the Spain goalkeeper.

Brazil needed penalties to get past Mexico in the semi-finals, and they were awarded a spot-kick here after a VAR review as Simon flattened Cunha while attempting to punch away a cross.

But Everton forward Richarlison wasted the chance to add to his competition-leading five goals by blazing well over.

There was no let-off for Spain a second time though when Alves sent the ball high into the area, where a hesitant Pau Torres gave Cunha time to control and slot into the corner.

Marco Asensio, Spain’s match-winner in extra time against Japan in the previous round, lasted just 45 minutes as Carlos Soler came on for the second half, inadvertently getting in the way of a goalbound effort from Oyarzabal.

Brazil nearly doubled their lead when a quick break resulted in Simon making a terrific stop with his legs to divert Richarlison’s shot onto the bar.

Spain youngster Bryan Gil, who will join Tottenham Hotspur on his return from Japan, rattled the bar two minutes from the end, as an extra 30 minutes was required for the fifth time in eight knockout matches.

Malcom, who endured a difficult spell at Barcelona in 2018-19 before leaving for Zenit Saint Petersburg, ran onto a long ball from Antony, racing past Jesus Vallejo and firing past Simon to etch his name into the history books.

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“Despite FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi having reached an agreement and the clear intention of both parties to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of financial and structural obstacles (Spanish Liga regulations),” Barcelona said on Thursday about the player who became a free agent after his deal expired on June 30.

“As a result of this situation, Messi shall not be staying on at FC Barcelona. Both parties deeply regret that the wishes of the player and the club will ultimately not be fulfilled.”

The announcement brings to an end a 20-year trophy-laden career that saw the 34-year-old winning six Ballon d’Ors.

Messi played 778 games for Barcelona and scored 672 goals.

“FC Barcelona wholeheartedly expresses its gratitude to the player for his contribution to the aggrandisement of the club and wishes him all the very best for the future in his personal and professional life,” the club added.

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In Lastras de Cuellar in the central Castilla y Leon region, nitrates and arsenic have made the water undrinkable for the village’s residents, who number 350 in winter and nearly 1,000 in summer.

And across the country, dozens of villages are suffering the same fate because groundwater resources are at risk from agricultural pollution, a lack of water quality controls and drought.

Every Monday, the villagers walk to the main square in Lastras to buy multipacks of mineral water in 1.5 litre bottles, sold at a discounted price, which some take away in wheelbarrows.

Alejandro Martin, 17, is there to help his 95-year-old grandfather bring home the precious resource which is then poured into a pan so they can prepare coffee.

Outside, clusters of empty plastic bottles dangle from the balconies alongside banners demanding access to drinking water.

“This is not normal in the 21st century!” protests Mercedes Rodriguez, 41, who belongs to a local residents association.

Mayor Andres Garcia also points to the “lack of (public) funding” which has slowed down a project to ensure drinking water supplies by the end of the year.

In Castilla y Leon alone, 63 municipalities were without running water in March, according to the region’s main television station.

National figures are not available.

According to the health ministry, a 2019 study of national water resources found that 67,050 samples — some taken from the same place on different dates — were undrinkable.

– Nitrates and manure –
Nitrate levels are a cause for concern, with nearly three out of 10 — 28 percent — of Spain’s groundwater monitoring stations registering a concentration close to or above the potability threshold.

Fully 22 percent of Spain’s overall surface area — which covers 506,000 square kilometres (195,000 square miles) — is exposed to nitrate pollution due to the nature of the soil or through agricultural activities, the environment ministry says.

And many are increasingly blaming agricultural pollution for the water crisis.

Lierta, a tiny village in the northeastern Aragon region, has been deprived of drinking water since 2018 because of nitrate pollution and residents are currently fighting plans to set up a new farm for 3,000 pigs.

Under a scorching sun, a lone dog can be seen drinking from a fountain in a landscape dominated by vast golden wheatfields that are dotted with pig farms.

In this area, there are already “close to 20,000 pigs and just 50 villagers”, says 68-year-old Bernard Mas, a member of the residents’ association that has just managed to get the farm project suspended for a year.

In a country where pork products reign supreme, “intensive livestock farming and huge macro farms are a real problem” for local water quality due to the pollution from manure, says Luis Babiano, head of the Spanish Association of Public Water Supply and Sanitation Operators (AEOPAS).

But excess nitrates in water sources are mainly the result of “fertiliser use in agricultural activity” which is “the main problem” in the countryside, an environment ministry report found late last year.

– ‘Without water, we’ll disappear’ –
“In rural areas, water resource management is lacking and residents of some small settlements may be drinking non-potable water without knowing it,” the report said.

And such concerns have even reached Brussels with the European Commission last year issuing an ultimatum, warning Spain to improve its water quality control or face heavy fines.

In the long term, drought could also jeopardise the quality of Spain’s water resources, especially as the impact of climate change gathers pace.

If the quantity of water decreases but the level of harmful substances does not, proportionally it means the level of such pollutants in Spain’s water resources increases, explains Babiano.

In Lastras, Rodriguez fears that the water shortage could spell the end of their little community.

“A village that doesn’t have water is destined to disappear. Who is going to come and live in a village where they don’t have tap water?” she wonders.

“Who is ever going to set up a business here?”

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Italy, Wales, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Austria, England, Croatia, Czech Republic, Sweden, France, Ukraine, Spain

Last-16 fixtures:

Saturday, June 26

In Amsterdam

Wales v Denmark (1600)

In London

Italy v Austria (1900)

Sunday, June 27

In Budapest

Netherlands v Czech Republic (1600)

In Seville, Spain

Belgium v third-placed team (1900)

Monday, June 28

In Copenhagen

Croatia v Spain (1600)

In Bucharest

Group F winners v third-placed team

Tuesday, June 29

In London

England v Group F runners-up

In Glasgow, Scotland

Sweden v third-placed team

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Malaga CF Academy Head Coaches and other notable dignitaries had arrived Ilaji Hotels and Sports Resort , the organizer of the maiden event.

Speaking during the commissioning of the Programme, its Chief Operating Officer of Hotels and Sports Resort, Prince Adesina Araoye described the scouting and coaching programme that will last for consecutive seven days as one that will help promoting the talents in football and equally add to the knowledge, wisdom and skills of Nigerian football legends who had showcased interest in football coaching.

Araoye welcomed the coaches from Malaga, Spain to the venue of the historical event and also commended the readiness and eagerness of other notable dignitaries who would  simultaneously be  the participants for the fruition of the programme.

According to Araoye,”To be a leading hospitality and entertainment outfit in Nigeria and Africa as a whole through consistent and classy hospitality and entertainment services to our esteemed guests; and to be a viable platform through which sporting talents are nurtured to stardom.

“Two things which are paramount from the statement above are hospitality and sports.

“Sports and hospitality are like Siamese twins; they are interdependent and inter-related. Research has shown that sportsmen and women thrive better and maximise their potentials if groomed in a conducive environment.

“At Ilaji Hotels and Sports Resort, we have been balancing this wisely by investing in sporting infrastructure as well as decent hospitality structure. Besides our hotel rooms which currently stands at 165, we have also built hostel structure that can conveniently and comfortably accommodate over 300 players.

“The resultant effect of this is there for everyone to verify; we have groomed youngsters who are dedicated, focused and talented; players who within a few years of being nurtured are well ahead of their peers simply because we have put them in an environment that is conducive for the cultivation of football culture.

“The second part of our vision statement (to be a viable platform through which sporting talents are nurtured to stardom) is one that needs strategic thinking and partnership. We have done the needful by investing in sporting infrastructure. With this arrangement, we have discovered and nurtured talented youngsters who can compete well with their peers anywhere in the world. To take our vision further upward from where it is to where it ought to be is the reason why we went into a strategic alliance with Malaga CF.

“Having studied Malaga CF as a club, we share certain similarities in terms of football culture and principles; we love to groom and nurture players to stardom, same thing goes with Malaga. We have no doubt that their visit to us will yield positive results which are in consonance with our ultimate goal.

“I want to implore the coaches that are participating in our coaching clinic to make the best use of this opportunity. Pay attention to your instructors and take time to explore our Resort during your leisure period. We could have limited this huge opportunity to our coaches and players alone but just as Robers South says in his famous quote ‘If there be any truer measure of a man than by what he does, it must be what he gives’, we want to be measured by being that organisation that allows other to grow while it is also growing.

“We are sure of the huge talents our society has and we are not going to close doors of opportunity on them just because they are not in our football academy.

Once again, I want to thank everyone who has come far and wide with a view to witnessing or participating in this programme, may God in His infinite mercy bless us all”, he concluded.

The event, as reliably gathered will showcase the likes of Chief Adegboye Onigbinde, Mutiu Adepoju, Nduka Ugbade, Busari Akeem, Festus Adegoju and other football legends in the country will actively participate.

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The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Spain, one of Europe’s hardest-hit nations, has topped three million since the start of the pandemic, the health ministry said Tuesday.

Spain recorded another 16,402 cases in the last 24 hours, taking its overall figure to 3,005,487. Seroprevalence studies, which test for antibodies using a blood serum sample, suggest the real figure is far higher.

Over the same 24-hour period, Spain also saw another 766 deaths, bringing the overall toll to 63,061 in the nation of some 47 million people.

Spain became the first European country to record a million coronavirus infections on October 21, and reached the two million mark on January 7.

Infections then increased by another million in just over a month.

But in mid-December, a seroprevalence study suggested around 4.7 million people had been infected by the virus — some 10 percent of Spain’s population.

Spain saw a surge in infections at the start of the year, with health officials blaming an easing of restrictions over the Christmas holidays.

Since then, the incident rate has started to come down as regional governments, which are in charge of health care, have cracked down.

So far, Spain has not seen a major surge in new variants but has imposed a ban on arrivals by air from Britain, Brazil and South Africa which on Tuesday was renewed until March 2.

The fear is these variants could spread more rapidly or contain mutations allowing the virus to bypass vaccines.

On Friday, Spain confirmed its first case of the Brazilian variant. It has so far confirmed several cases of the South African variant and around 480 cases of the variant discovered in Britain in November.

Officials believe the British variant could become the dominant strain in Spain by March.

Spain has so far vaccinated just over two million people since it began its immunisation campaign at the end of December.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government has vowed to have covered 70 percent of Spain’s population by the summer’s end, a goal reaffirmed by the government despite shortages and delays in vaccine supplies.

-AFP

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Lawyers for the Argentina star sent Barca a fax in which they announced Messi’s desire to rescind his contract by triggering a release clause.

However, the club maintains the clause expired in June and he remains under contract until the end of the 2021 season.

“In principial, this clause expired on June 10, but the unusual nature of this season disrupted by the coronavirus opened the way for Messi to ask to be released from his contract now,” wrote Spanish sports daily Marca.

“It’s the first step towards opening negotiations over his departure, on the basis of which his release clause amounts to 700 million euros.”

According to Spanish media, Messi met with new Barca coach Ronald Koeman last week and told the Dutchman he saw himself “more out than in” the club.

“The end of the glorious era of Leo Messi at Barcelona seems to be close. After the arrival of Ronald Koeman, what looks like the exit of his friend Luis Suarez and a difficult and turbulent end to the season, Messi told Barcelona in a fax of his intention to leave the club,” said Once radio station.

Barcelona suffered a humiliating 8-2 defeat by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals in Lisbon earlier this month, resulting in the dismissal of coach Quique Setien after barely six months in charge.

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Players in Spain’s top-flight and Segunda division were allowed to carry out individual work at training grounds last week.

The move was the beginning of a staggered training programme, with the aim to restart competitive games in the middle of June.

La Liga insist identifying infected players through positive tests are part of that plan.

The five players, who have not been officially named, will now be quarantined at home and tested again “in the next few days”.

They will be allowed to rejoin their club’s training programme only after obtaining two consecutive negative test results.

A La Liga statement read: “Among La Liga Santander and La Liga SmartBank (Segunda) clubs, five positive cases were detected in players, all of them asymptomatic and in the final phase of the disease.”

“One of the objectives of these medical tests, according to the La Liga’s protocol for returning to training, according to recommendations of the CSD (Supreme Sports Council) and the Ministry of Health, was precisely to detect the denominated or asymptomatic, that is, those people who are infected and that, without presenting symptoms, they can infect other people,” the statement added.

“In this way, we guarantee everyone’s safety when returning to work according to the occupational risk regulations.”

La Liga’s training plan includes players initially carrying out work individually before then expanding into small groups and finally taking part in larger team sessions.

Barcelona’s players were back for their first session on Friday while Real Madrid’s will return on Monday.

The medical protocol for training is strict and includes players arriving already changed and at specific times to avoid contact with others. They wear masks and gloves, and have their temperatures taken before entering the premises. At the end of training, they take away a bag of fresh kit for the next day and shower at home.

The league have not officially announced the timing for the resumption of competitive matches although Leganes coach Javier Aguirre said last week the proposed date is June 20.

That could correspond with the Spanish government’s de-escalation programme, which includes outside events being allowed to go ahead in their fourth and final phase, as long as they are attended by fewer than 400 people.

Football matches are expected to be staged behind closed doors for several months.

La Liga president Javier Tebas has said “it is not an option” to cancel the top flight given he estimates the economic fallout would cost clubs around a billion euros ($1.08 billion).

But the third and fourth tiers in Spain will not complete their seasons, as confirmed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) on Wednesday. Instead, promotions will be decided through play-offs and there will be no relegations.

Source: AFP

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More than 1,169,210 declared cases have been registered in 190 countries and territories since the epidemic first emerged in China in December. Of these cases, at least 219,000 are now considered recovered.

The tallies, using data collected by AFP offices from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections.

Many countries are only testing cases that require hospitalisation.

A total of 5,964 new deaths and 86,745 cases have been reported since a count compiled at 1900 GMT on Friday.

The United States registered the highest number of new deaths (1,399) followed by France (1,053) and Spain (809).

Italy, which recorded its first coronavirus death at the end of February, has 15,362 fatalities, with 124,632 infections and 20,996 people recovered.

Spain recorded 11,744 fatalities and 124,736 infections, followed by the United States with 8,098 deaths and 297,575 cases — the highest in the world.

France has reported 7,560 deaths and 89,953 infections, followed by Britain (4,313 deaths and 41,903 cases).

China — excluding Hong Kong and Macau — has to date declared 3,326 deaths and 81,639 cases, with 76,755 recoveries.

Since Friday at 1900 GMT, Angola, Georgia, Kuwait, Liberia and Suriname announced their first deaths from the virus.

Europe has listed 627,127 cases and 46,033 deaths to date, the US and Canada together have 311,447 cases with 8,342 deaths, Asia 116,129 cases and 4,137 deaths, the Middle East 71,739 cases and 3,623 deaths, Latin America and the Caribbean 28,166 cases with 891 deaths, Africa 8,129 cases with 375 deaths and Oceania 6,480 cases with 36 deaths.

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