Sports
Organisers Raise Prize Money For Obudu Mountain Race
The prize money for the 5th Obudu international mountain race has been slightly adjusted to accommodate the first African mountain running championships which will hold alongside the Obudu international mountain race next month at the Obudu Ranch Resort in Obudu, Cross River State.Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) said for the two-in-one race price money has gone up from $227,000 to $245,500.
However, the prize money for the first three positions for both male and female events remain the same at $50,000, $20,000 and $9,000 respectively to still make the Obudu international mountain race the highest paying mountain race in the world.
The prize money from the 4th to the 10th placed finishers have, however, been adjusted to $4,500, $4,000, $3,000, $2,500, $2,000, $1,500 and $1,000 respectively.
Archibong also revealed the prize money for the African mountain running championships as follows: The first and second prize winners in the strict team event will get $10,000 and $7,500, respectively.
“The African nations mountain race will be competed for by only male runners this year representing their different countries and will be run side by side the annual Obudu international mountain race,” reveals Archibong, who has been the head of the LOC since 2005, when the inaugural edition of the race was run.
The LOC boss also revealed that the prize monies for the best Nigerian finishers (male and female) as well as those for the media race still remain the same with the first three finishers winning $2,000, $1,500, and $1,000 respectively.
The Obudu international mountain race uncovers a distance of 11 kilometres uphill to an altitude of 1,575 metres above sea level taking you to one of the first tourist destinations in the world, the Obudu Mountain Resort. The race has already received the support of the new man at the helm of affairs of the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA). Italian, Bruno Gozzelino who has hinted that the race may get a WMRA Grand Prix status as early as 2011 if the Obudu LOC makes a request.
The Confederation of African Athletics (AA) is also backing the race and its Secretary General, Lamy Fatty wrote the AFN recently to express their support for the innovative efforts of Governor Liyel Imoke especially regarding the African Mountain Running Championships. The race has also attracted the new commonwealth mountain running champion, Wilson Chemwepo of Kenya.
WMRA Women’s grand Prix Winner and the race defending woman champion, Andrea Mayr of Austria as well as Czech Republic’s Anna Pichatova who won the women’s individual event at penultimate weekends World Mountain Running Long Distance Challenge in Soll, Austria.
The Kenya Football Federation (FKF) has launched an investigation into allegations that goalkeeper Patrick Matasi has been involved in match manipulation.
The 37-year-old, who plays for Kenyan Premier League club Kakamega Homeboyz, has won over 30 international caps.
His most recent appearance for the Harambee Stars came in October last year, in a qualifier for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
An undated video posted online appears to show Matasi agreeing a deal to influence the outcome of a league game.
“I have spoken to him. He was also shocked at what he was seeing in the video and he told me he doesn’t know about match-fixing,” Homeboyz owner Cleophas Shimanyula told Tidesports source .
The FKF said it would work with world governing body Fifa, the Confederation of African Football and other “relevant authorities” during its investigation.
“We reaffirm our zero-tolerance policy on match manipulation and are committed to safeguarding the credibility of our competitions,” a statement added.
“This investigation will adhere to FKF’s anti-match manipulation regulations and Fifa guidelines, ensuring a fair, transparent, and thorough process.
“The rights of the player and his club will be respected, and appropriate action will be taken based on the findings.”
Shimanyula backed Matasi, pointing to the fact the veteran has kept three clean sheets in as many games since joining the club a month ago.
“When we watched this video, we found that Matasi has not wronged the club,” he said.
“In a video there can misinterpretations and false narratives and we cannot trust everything.
“He will keep playing for us because there’s no wrongdoing on his part as far as we are concerned – unless there’s evidence or the FKF writes to us to say they are suspecting the player of some wrongdoing.
“He is innocent until proven guilty and then we will act.”
The FKF has called on anyone with credible information to assist its investigation, with any reports to be handled with strict confidentiality.
Shimanyula also challenged the Kenyan footballing community to provide evidence against Matasi.
“Kakamega Homeboyz is against any form of match manipulation,” he said.
Uefa has opened an investigation into allegations of indecent conduct by four Real Madrid players during their Champions League last-16 win against Atletico Madrid.
Antonio Rudiger, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Dani Ceballos allegedly made gestures towards the home fans after Real Madrid beat their city rivals on penalties to book their place in the quarter-finals.
TV pictures showed German defender Rudiger appearing to make a throat-slitting motion, apparently towards the crowd after the shootout victory, while Mbappe was shown seemingly making a crotch-grabbing gesture.
Spanish media said Atletico reported the actions to Uefa last week.
The players could be at risk of suspension but there is no guarantee the case will be heard before their quarter-final with Arsenal. The first leg for that tie is at Emirates Stadium on 8 April and the return leg a week later.
In a statement, Uefa said: “[An] ethics and disciplinary inspector has been appointed to investigate allegations of indecent conduct” made by the four Real Madrid players.
“Further information regarding this matter will be made available in due course.”
The Premier League has announced it will have two transfer windows this summer to allow Manchester City and Chelsea to sign players before the Club World Cup.
The window will open between Sunday, 1 June and Tuesday, 10 June, then close for five days before running again from Monday, 16 June until Monday, 1 September.
This summer features the first expanded Fifa Club World Cup, which involves 32 teams and adopts the format of the regular World Cup of the past few years.
Chelsea and Manchester City are the Premier League teams in the tournament which takes place in the United States from Sunday, 15 June.
But the Premier League can only have 12 weeks of a summer window – hence the five-day break in order to run it until 1 September.
Fifa has allowed new players to be registered for the Club World Cup from 1-10 June, and again from 27 June-3 July for the knockout stage.
This is happening firstly, to bring order to the global registration system, world governing body Fifa only permits the transfer window in any individual country to be open for 16 weeks in any calendar year.
In Europe, precedent dictates four of those weeks are for the winter window, leaving 12 in the summer. In 2024, the Premier League transfer window opened on 14 June and closed on 30 August.