分类： sports

In a historic night for Moroccan football, Achraf Hakimi and Ghizlane Chebbak were crowned the 2025 African Footballer of the Year and Women’s Player of the Year, respectively, at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards in Rabat. Hakimi, the 27-year-old Paris Saint-Germain right-back, edged out Egypt’s Mohamed Salah and Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen to claim the prestigious men’s award. This marks the first time a Moroccan has won the title since Mustapha Hadji in 1998. Hakimi’s stellar performances for both PSG and the Moroccan national team, including scoring the opening goal in PSG’s 5-0 Champions League final victory over Inter Milan, solidified his place as a deserving winner. Despite his recent ankle injury, Hakimi remains hopeful of leading Morocco to glory in the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on home soil. Meanwhile, Chebbak, the 35-year-old Moroccan captain, made history as the first Moroccan woman to win the women’s award since its inception in 2001. Her leadership and top-scoring performance in the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations were instrumental in Morocco’s journey to the final, although they fell short against Nigeria. The awards ceremony also celebrated other African football luminaries, including Cape Verde’s Bubista, named Men’s Coach of the Year for guiding his team to a historic World Cup qualification, and Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie, who secured the Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year award for the third consecutive year. The event underscored Morocco’s growing influence in African football and set the stage for the nation’s ambitions in the 2025 AFCON and beyond.

Arsenal Football Club and Sobha Realty have proudly commemorated two years of their impactful global partnership, which has significantly enhanced the Sobha Realty Training Centre and reinforced their shared commitment to excellence both on and off the field. Since joining the Arsenal family in 2023 as a Principal Partner, Sobha Realty has secured naming rights to the training centre in London Colney and prominently featured its branding on the club’s training kits. Over the past two years, the collaboration has driven a series of transformative developments at the facility, including upgraded restaurant spaces, modernized dressing rooms, a dedicated building for the women’s first team, a refurbished media centre, and the addition of state-of-the-art sauna and steam facilities. The partnership also launched ‘The Art of Detail,’ a four-part series showcasing the meticulous behind-the-scenes efforts that enable players to perform at their peak. These initiatives underscore the shared vision of creating a high-performance environment that supports preparation and recovery. As the partnership enters its third year, both organizations remain committed to further elevating the training centre into a world-class facility. Ashish Parakh, Group Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Sobha Realty, emphasized the synergy between the two entities, highlighting their shared values of excellence, precision, and innovation. Juliet Slot, Chief Commercial Officer at Arsenal, praised Sobha Realty’s role in supporting the club’s ambitions and creating an optimal environment for players and staff to excel.

Arsenal Football Club has announced the termination of its eight-year sponsorship agreement with Visit Rwanda, set to conclude at the end of the 2025-26 season. The partnership, which began in 2018 and reportedly valued at over £10 million ($13.3 million) annually, has faced increasing scrutiny due to escalating violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a region bordering Rwanda. Despite a recent framework for peace signed between Rwandan-backed M23 rebels and the Congolese government, the sponsorship has drawn criticism from humanitarian groups and activists. Campaigners, including the group Gunners for Peace, have protested outside Emirates Stadium, urging the club to sever ties with Visit Rwanda, citing the humanitarian crisis in the DRC. Arsenal stated that the partnership had achieved its original goals of promoting conservation, sustainable tourism, and Rwanda’s ambition to become a sporting hub in Africa. However, the club emphasized its commitment to aligning sponsorships with its core values. Meanwhile, other clubs like Paris St-Germain and Atletico Madrid continue their associations with Visit Rwanda, sparking debates about the ethical implications of such deals in the world of sports.