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Messi named FIFA player of 2022, England women rewarded for Euro campaign

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Lionel Messi was named FIFA player of the year 2022 on Monday as Argentina scooped all major men's awards after winning a vintage World Cup final last December, Reuters reported.

The 35-year-old forward scored two goals in the final against France, with the South Americans emerging triumphant on penalties following a 3-3 draw after extra time in Qatar.

"It's amazing. It was a tremendous year and it is an honour for me to be here tonight and win this award", said Messi, who sat next to France forward and Paris St Germain team mate Kylian Mbappe throughout the ceremony at Paris's Salle Pleyel.

According to Reuters Mbappe, also nominated for the highly anticipated award of the night, netted a hat-trick in the World Cup final but his achievement was overshadowed as Messi finally won the most coveted trophy in world football.

"I want to express my thanks to (coach Lionel) Scaloni and my team mates, without them I would not be here," Messi added.

"I achieved a dream I had been hoping for so long and finally I achieved it. It's a dream for any player, very few people can achieve that and I was lucky enough to do so."

His compatriots Lionel Scaloni and Emiliano Martinez won the coach of the year and keeper of the year awards respectively, and their supporters even got the best fans prize, while England were rewarded for their victorious women's Euro 2022 campaign.

Mary Earps was named keeper of the year and England's Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman received the accolade for best coach of a team who had four players in the year's World 11 - Beth Mead, Lucy Bronze, Leah Williamson and Keira Walsh, read the report.

Spain's Alexia Putellas, who won the Ballon d'Or last year, was named women's player of the year after inspiring Barcelona to a third consecutive national title in 2022.

Polish amputee Marcin Oleksy won the Puskas prize for best goal of the year for a spectacular acrobatic volley with Warta Poznan against Stal Rzeszow.

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ACB appoints Younis Khan as Mentor for Champions Trophy 2025

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The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced on Wednesday it has appointed former Pakistan batter Younis Khan as mentor for the Afghanistan National team for the Champions Trophy 2025.

The tournament gets underway on 19 February in Pakistan and Khan will accompany the team during their conditioning and preparation camp in Pakistan.

He will remain with the team for the duration of the tournament.

This isn't Khan’s first time with the national team; he previously served as a batting coach during a 15-day camp in April 2022 in the UAE.

With a prolific career, Younis Khan has played 265 ODIs, scoring over 7,000 runs, and has participated in 118 Test matches, amassing more than 10,000 runs for his country.

The Afghanistan team had previously benefited from the expertise of players from host nations in major tournaments, achieving commendable results in the last ODI and T20 World Cups and hope that this assignment will lead the national team to exceptional outcomes in the upcoming Champions Trophy, the ACB said.

CEO of the Afghanistan Cricket Board Naseeb Khan said that ACB is pleased to sign a contract with Younis Khan as interim mentor of the national team for the Champions Trophy 2025.

Naseeb Khan said: “Since the Champions Trophy is being held in Pakistan, it was required to assign a talented and experienced player as mentor from the hosting country.

“We already had efficient experience with hosting countries’ mentors in ODI World Cup 2023 and T20I World Cup 2024. Observing the conditions, therefore, we have appointed Younis Khan as mentor for our national team for the upcoming mega event and wish him best of luck in his crucial assignment.”

Ariana Television and Radio Network (ATN) has the rights to broadcast the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy live in Afghanistan.

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Manchester United ace rumored to be heading for Al-Nassr

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Manchester United are unlikely to do big business in January and one high earner could be on his way out.

Ruben Amorim wanted an improved start to 2025 after five defeats in six Premier League games to end 2024.

This did not happen entirely as Sunday’s match saw United draw 2-2 with Liverpool.

That performance sparked some hope for United fans but Amorim will still need plenty of signings in 2025 to make real progress.

Amorim isn’t expecting a major January though and certainly needs players to leave in order to make new signings.

United will however also be looking to offload big earners this year and one player who fits the bill is Casemiro.

Casemiro joined United from Real Madrid in 2022 with the Brazilian arriving in a big-money move – both in terms of fee and wages.

Selling Casemiro this month is something football journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed is on the cards – a move which could save United a whopping £350,000-a-week (about $440,000).

It is also a move which could prove lucrative for United, with Saudi Arabia appearing to be the likeliest move for Casemiro.
It is thought that United would sell Casemiro for around €30m ($52 million), which represents a huge loss on the €70m ($73 million) which was spent on the Brazilian back in 2022.

If United receive £25m, it would pay off a big chunk of one possible replacement.

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Afghanistan triumphs in Test victory against Zimbabwe

Rashid Khan played a key role, claiming 7-66 and helping Afghanistan clinch the series

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Afghanistan secured victory on Monday against Zimbabwe in their second test match, winning by 72 runs in just 15 balls at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. 

Rashid Khan played a key role, claiming 7-66 and helping Afghanistan clinch the series. 

This marks Afghanistan's fourth test win since obtaining test status in 2017.

Zimbabwe was all out for 205 without adding to their overnight score, losing the final two wickets in a quick 13 minutes.

Richard Ngarava's run-out in the day's second over, due to confusion with skipper Craig Ervine, set the tone. 

Ervine fell in the next over, trapped leg before wicket by Rashid Khan's decisive leg-spin, culminating in figures of 7-66. 

Khan's performance on Sunday shifted momentum when Zimbabwe was poised for victory at 157-4, chasing 278.

The first test in Bulawayo ended in a draw, but Afghanistan's win secured their fourth test victory, two coming against Zimbabwe, since acquiring test status in 2017. 

 

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