Ligue 1 : L’OM et Strasbourg donnent le coup d’envoi de la saison

La Ligue 1 reprend ses droits ce vendredi 21 août avec une affiche entre l’Olympique de Marseille et Strasbourg. Pour cette première journée de la saison 2026-2027, les deux équipes se retrouveront au Vélodrome, avec un coup d’envoi fixé à 20h45.

Après plusieurs semaines sans compétition officielle, l’OM va donc retrouver son public pour lancer son nouvel exercice. Les Marseillais auront à cœur de démarrer leur championnat de la meilleure manière possible, face à une formation strasbourgeoise qui cherchera de son côté à réaliser un premier coup à l’extérieur. sweetbonanza-app.com

Cette rencontre sera également l’occasion de retrouver une affiche régulièrement disputée en championnat. Les deux clubs se sont déjà croisés à de nombreuses reprises, avec un dernier affrontement qui s’était terminé sur un 2-2 en février dernier.

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Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx echoed his team’s sentiments this week that their opening clash in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks in Johannesburg on Saturday would be an intense battle.

He said the Boks would not only be representing themselves, but the entire nation.

The match at 10bet Ellis Park, which marks the first of four back-to-back clashes against New Zealand, kicks off at 17h10 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

“As a little boy you always dream of representing your country one day,” said the 2025 World Rugby and SA Rugby Men’s Player of the Year.

“Representing your country against what is one of the best teams in the world and experiencing it at an international level is a whole other level. If I’m selected for this weekend, I’ll try and grab the opportunity with both hands and give everything I can.

“We know we’re not just representing ourselves and our families. We’ve have about 64 or 65 million people we’re trying to represent, and we want to do so the best we can on the day. Whatever the occasion and whatever comes on Saturday, we’ve just got to man up and give the best that we can.”

Given all the hype around the inaugural RGR series, Marx said the team approached this Test as series as they would any other match: “I wouldn’t say (this week and competition) is more intense. We’ve always said we treat each Test match the same. That said, we know the magnitude of this series and how big this weekend’s game is going to be, and we’re trying to prepare accordingly.”

When quizzed about the breakdown battle, which has attracted a fair bit of attention this week as the countdown continues to the match, Marx admitted that it would be a big battle.

“We’re doing a lot of analysis and seeing where we can be better from previous games, and obviously identifying the threats they pose in that area,” said Marx.

“We’re working really hard at the things we need to improve on and bearing in mind the small things they do around the breakdown. We’ve also been looking at our own opportunities there, which we’ve been working hard on this past week, so we’ll see how the weekend goes if I’m selected.”

Of the prospect of lining up against Codie Taylor at hooker, Marx said while they knew each other well, all the All Black hooker options were quality players.

“We’ve (Codie and I) obviously played against each other for a good number of years from the Crusaders to the All Blacks, and I have the utmost respect for him,” said Marx.

“He’s a great rugby player, and I like the way he plays the game. He is extremely physical and good at the set pieces. We’ll have a bit of a laugh and a beer after the game, but on the day we both know we’ve got a job to do.

“That said all their hookers are explosive players, and they are very good with ball in hand, on defence, and at set piece, so it’s going to be a great challenge for our hookers on the weekend. All three of them are extremely good, and if given the opportunity I’m looking forward to it.”

Marx shared scrumhalf Grant Williams’ sentiment that memories from their victory against the All Blacks in Wellington last year was a distant memory: “I definitely don’t think we have the edge because of last year. That’s in the past and we’ve got to deal with what is now in front of us.

“We know the All Blacks will come at us guns blazing, and we’ve worked extremely hard. We can’t rely on what happened in the past to take us through this game. We’ve got to make sure that we rely on all the work over the last couple of weeks to give us the best chance on the weekend.”

Issued by SA Rugby Communications

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Kaizer Chiefs have confirmed that promising left-back Xolani Cossa will join Motsepe Foundation Championship side Gomora United on a season-long loan.

Cossa is yet to make his debut for the Amakhosi senior team, having spent last season on loan at Botswana Premier League outfit Black Lions FC.

The 22-year-old will now where the colours of Gomora United for the upcoming Motsepe Foundation Championship season.

“Kaizer Chiefs can confirm that promising left centre-back Xolani Cossa will spend the upcoming season on loan at Gomora FC, who compete in the Motsepe Foundation Championship, which is the PSL’s National First Division (NFD),” Chiefs said in a statement.

“The 22-year-old defender, a product of the Kaizer Chiefs Youth Development Academy, is expected to get regular playing time before returning to Naturena at the end of the season, having gained valuable experience.

“Cossa joins his teammate Sfiso Timba, who also recently moved to the Gauteng-based side. The pair’s presence at Gomora FC will help them gain exposure and give them opportunities to sharpen their skills at a professional level.

“The Club remains confident that both players will benefit from their time in the NFD and return to Naturena more mature , well-rounded footballers, ready to contribute to the Glamour Boys’ future success.”

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La Ligue 1 tunisienne 2026-2027 va débuter ce week-end avec une première journée particulièrement intéressante. Huit rencontres sont au programme les 22 et 23 août, avec notamment un choc entre deux poids lourds du championnat.

L’affiche phare opposera dimanche l’Espérance de Tunis à l’Étoile du Sahel au stade Hammadi Agrebi de Radès. Le coup d’envoi est prévu à 16h30.

Le Club Africain, champion de Tunisie en titre, commencera pour sa part la défense de sa couronne sur la pelouse de l’ES Métlaoui. Le Stade Tunisien recevra également le CS Sfaxien samedi, dans une autre rencontre qui devrait attirer l’attention.

Le programme de la 1re journée

Samedi 22 août – 16h30

• Stade Tunisien – CS Sfaxien
• PS Sakiet Eddaier – JS Omrane
• ES Hammam-Sousse – US Monastir
• US Ben Guerdane – CS Hammam-Lif

Dimanche 23 août – 16h30

• Espérance de Tunis – Étoile du Sahel
• ES Métlaoui – Club Africain
• CA Bizertin – AS Marsa
• Espérance Sportive de Zarzis – Olympique de Béja

Avec un Espérance – Étoile dès la première journée et le champion en déplacement, le championnat tunisien démarre donc sur un rythme élevé.

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NAIROBI, Kenya, August 21, 2026 – As the Standard Chartered Marathon marks 23 years of existence, South Sudan-born Michael Panther may well be the headline act of this year’s edition.

Should things pan out as planned, Panther will become the first man to run in the 42km race on a wheelchair.

However, it is not about Panther cracking this historic milestone; for him, the greatest joy of his heart at the end of the day will be to raise Ksh 100 million towards the purchase of paediatric wheelchairs for children living with disabilities in the country.

“The first thing is that I will be the first person in a wheelchair to be able to do this marathon, and the second is that I’m doing this to create awareness about disability in the country, and then also to raise support for pediatric wheelchairs for children with disabilities here in this wonderful country of Kenya,” he says.

The businessman is motivated by his childhood experience, which he describes as a lucky one that could have turned out differently if did not have a wheelchair.

Panther’s heart bleeds for numerous children across the country who are missing out on the joys of life because they do not have a wheelchair to move around.

“There’s a huge need in this country for pediatric wheelchairs, and I just remember myself as a young boy. If I didn’t have a wheelchair, I would not have the opportunity to go to school, and so my heart is for these young children to be able to get mobility so that they could be mobile, be able to go to school. If you help them when they’re young, you change the trajectory of their life, and they will become somebody in life. My call to action is there’s a huge need,” the Economics graduate from Louisiana State University explains.

Reflecting back on his upbringing, Panther admits that having a wheelchair proved a huge difference in his life, and made him the man he is today.

Having started school in 2007, he finished high school in 2012 before moving to the United States where he enrolled at the Louisiana State University for an Economics degree.

While there, he held various positions including presidency of the International Student Association, Executive Director of Students Outreach in Student Government and founder of the LSU Disability Student Organisation.

He is presently the founder of Hope Mobility Kenya, a charity organization that fabricates and distributes approximately 100,000 wheelchairs to Persons Living with Disabilities (PWDs) in Kenya.

It saddens him that hundreds of thousands of other children living with disabilities are missing out on such great opportunities due to lack of a wheelchair.

“Here in the country, I think you look at some of the numbers, let’s say maybe over 200,000 children probably are in need of wheelchairs, and they cannot get them. The big challenge that they face is that they are now at home, they are isolated. They seem like they have no future in life, and so we just want to try to come alongside them and give them mobility,” Panther explains.

He adds: “I have my own wheelchairs but there’s so many out there who do not have wheelchairs, and my heart is for them. I am praying that the people of Kenya can also see that and respond to this need to be able to come alongside us so that we can provide wheelchairs to thousands of children that are at home, that are laying on the floor, that are being cared by their parents so that they can have this opportunity to go to school.”

‘I am not limited’

Make no mistake, competing in a 42km is not for the faint-hearted moreso on a wheelchair.

However, etched across the wall of his heart and ringing endlessly in his mind is Eliud Kipchoge’s slogan ‘no human is limited.’

“You know, his big phrase that says that no human is limited, and that really spoke to me at that time because I know that I’m not limited, and those children with disabilities at home are not limited. We need to give them the hope, the dignity they deserve, the opportunity to be able to be somebody in life, and so I am really just being inspired a lot by Kipchoge and his drive, all the record that he has broken. I hope he can do the same too,” Panther says.

Speaking at the same time, the two-time world record holder praised Panther’s mentality and noble desire to extend a helping hand to children with disabilities.

“It is really inspirational and motivational that someone who is differently-abled is taking on such a rigorous exercise to impact children welfare. It is a show mental resilience that will break any social and physical barrier that hinders the active participation of the vulnerable and people living with disabilities in our communities,” Kipchoge says.

The double Olympic champion says that children living with disabilities can excel in sports as much as their able-bodied counterparts.

“Sports have a huge platform for everybody including children with disability. I would encourage them to take on any challenge in the different sports disciplines and conquer the world,” Kipchoge adds.

For Panther, the daunting mountain before him does not strike fear in his heart.

“Our goal here is to produce over about 2,000 pediatric wheelchairs, and each pediatric wheelchair goes for 50,000. That’s what it costs us to produce one, so our goal is to really, we want to raise money to produce 2,000 pediatric wheelchairs, and that goes, that number is around 100 million Kenyan shillings, so it’s a big mountain, but I believe that we have people out there that can come alongside, and let us reach that goal. People can support in different ways,” he says.

For every kilometre, Panther seeks to raise Ksh1,000 from individual well-wishers while corporate partners can support the campaign by donating any amount by channeling it through M-pesa Paybill No: 529901, Account No; 1152126093002.

For Cheque or Bank Transfer Hope Mobility Kenya, Kingdom Bank – Kilimani Branch (Account No: 1152126093002) SWIFT Code: CIFIKENA.