The Professional Federation aims to compensate tennis players worth $350 million by 2028

Arab clubs are seeking to put a foot forward in the group stage of the African Confederation of Football Championship, when the first leg of the second preliminary round of the continental competition begins, where they engage in confrontations of varying strength.

10 Arab clubs are participating in the current edition of the tournament, including a number of elite teams in the African continent, led by Al-Ahly of Egypt, the historic champion of the African Champions League with 12 titles, which returns to play in the Confederation of Nations after an absence of several years, as well as the Royal Moroccan Army, runner-up in the last edition of the Champions League, and its compatriot Raja Casablanca, who won the same competition three times.

Also competing for the competition title in that edition are Algeria's USM Algiers, who won the last edition of the tournament, Tunisia's CS Sfaxien, who won the competition's cup more than once, Algeria's CS Belouizdad and Libya's Al Ahly Tripoli, who are looking to pull off a surprise and win the tournament for the first time.

Al-Ahly, which won the title in 2014, opens its campaign in the competition against its host, Kitara, Uganda, where the red team goes into the match in high spirits, following its valuable and well-deserved 2-0 victory over its traditional rival, Zamalek, in its last match in the Egyptian Premier League, last Sunday.

On the other hand, the Royal Army is engaged in a confrontation that is not easy with its host, Korhogo of Ivory Coast, as the Moroccan team wants to achieve a major victory through which it will prove that it is coming strongly to compete for the title.

The same applies to Raja Casablanca, which plays host to the Nigerian Warriors, as well as USM Algiers, which faces the Panthers, the representative of Equatorial Guinea.

Sfaxien hopes to heal its local wounds, after its sudden 0-1 loss to Al Taqadr Sportive in Sakia Al Daer in its last match in the Tunisian League, last Saturday, when it goes out to meet its host, Ivorian Avad Djekano.

Sfaxien officially announced its contract with Mohamed El Kouki to supervise the technical reins of the team until the end of the current season, succeeding former coach Nabil El Kouki, whose contract was terminated by mutual consent.

As for Esperance Zarzis, the second representative of Tunisian football in the tournament this season, it hosts Real Bamako of Mali in a confrontation that is not easy for the team that is suffering from a shaky start in the Tunisian league, as it is in tenth place in the local competition standings with 6 points from 5 matches.

For its part, Egyptian ZFC, which is participating for the first time in continental competitions, faces its guest, Azzam United of Tanzania, in a match that is not easy for the young national coach, Mohamed Shawky, who dreams of being in the group stage of the tournament.

On the other hand, Al-Ahly Tripoli of Libya, which has supported its ranks with many important deals in the recent period, wants to move forward with the tournament, when it faces Welwalo Adigrat of Ethiopia.

This round witnesses a purely Arab confrontation between the Belouizdad club and the Mauritanian customs, where the Algerian team seems to be more likely to prevail, in light of the experiences its players enjoy in African championships.

Many other important meetings will be held in this round of the tournament, as South Africa's Kaizer Chiefs will play against the Zambian Red Arrows, the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Maniema Union will play against Angola's Kabuscorp, and Tanzania's Singida Black Stars will play against Kenya's Tusker.

Asko Kara of Togo will meet Diarra of Mali, AS Port Louis of Mauritius will meet Durban City of South Africa, Black Bulls of Mozambique will meet Rayon Sport of Rwanda, and 1st August of Angola will meet Virunga of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Frenchman Ousmane Dembélé, the French football player for Paris Saint-Germain, joked about the possibility of requesting more leave from his Spanish coach, Luis Enrique, after he excelled in his team’s victory over Manchester City (4-2) yesterday, Wednesday, in the European Champions League.

Dembele, winner of the Ballon d'Or, scored one goal and assisted another during the match, confirming his readiness, after Luis Enrique decided to rest him after the international break, as he missed the match against Le Mans last Saturday.

Dembele told Canal Plus: “After the international break, I went on vacation. In fact, I might ask for more vacation. I really enjoy playing on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, especially when I come back from vacation. "It's really fun."

When asked if he would take another vacation, he replied with a smile: “This is possible, until March, I think.” The decision is up to the coach.”

Paris Saint-Germain is preparing to face Strasbourg on Saturday in the French League, before hosting Spanish Barcelona, ​​where youngster Lamine Yamal is starring in its ranks, next Tuesday, in another anticipated match in the Champions League.

Luis Enrique may once again resort to resting some of his players, after he excluded Portuguese left-back Nuno Mendes from facing Le Mans, while he previously left Dembele out of the squad in a match against Lille in the French League earlier this season.

Dembélé was crowned the best player in the French League last season, despite his starting participation in only nine matches during Paris Saint-Germain's journey towards the title, which sparked criticism from some observers who saw that other players had greater participation opportunities.

The International Gymnastics Federation expressed its regret for what it described as the “state of confusion” that preceded the start of the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, scheduled to be held the day after tomorrow, Saturday, after the entry visa applications of three prominent Russian players to the Netherlands were rejected, to exclude them from participating in the championship.

The Russian team said that former Olympic champions Angelina Melnikova and Victoria Listunova, along with their colleague Anna Kalmykova, were not allowed to travel to Rotterdam to participate in the World Championship, which lasts a week and is one of the qualifying stations for the team competitions in the Olympic Games scheduled for Los Angeles in 2028.

Other members of the Russian team obtained entry visas to the Netherlands.

The International Gymnastics Federation said yesterday, Wednesday: “Issuing visas to all participants is a process subject exclusively to the Dutch authorities. The International Gymnastics Federation does not have the authority to explain the reasons for rejecting a limited number of visa applications.”

He added: “The International Gymnastics Federation continues its dialogue with the Dutch authorities, the local organizing committee, and the Russian Gymnastics Federation. The Federation expresses its deep regret for the negative impact that this matter had on the preparations of the Russian delegation, as well as for the state of confusion that prevailed among the participants and observers of the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.”

These cases highlight that efforts in the sports community to lift many of the restrictions imposed on Russian athletes and teams do not necessarily mean that the governments of the host countries will allow them to travel and participate in tournaments.

This also comes one year after the World Gymnastics Championships were held in Indonesia without the participation of the Israeli team, after the authorities of the host country refused to issue entry visas to its members.