SportsNews

F2 Abu Dhabi: Marti wins as Bortoleto extends championship advantage

Published

1 year ago

December 7, 2024

Pepe Marti became the 18th different winner in the 2024 Formula 2 season in an Abu Dhabi sprint race that was decided by a phenomenal start which propelled him from fourth to first by Turn 1 of the 23-lap race.

The Campos driver was followed home by championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto, who started behind title rivals Isack Hadjar and Paul Aron but made an equally impressive start to overtake his contenders in the opening stages.

With 26 points left available on Sunday, Bortoleto now holds a five-and-a-half point lead over Hadjar – who finished sixth.

Paul Aron’s third-place finish means he is now 27.5 points off the leader, making it a two-horse race for the championship.

In a chaotic opening lap that saw Marti launch to the front, Kush Maini flew from ninth to second as Bortoleto followed his Invicta team-mate up to fifth. This fast start for Maini included contact with Hadjar into Turn 1, as he entered the corner with his left-front fully locked and slid into the front wing endplate of the Campos.

Feature race pole sitter Victor Martins retired in those opening exchanges after being struck by Ritomo Miyata’s Rodin at Turn 6 – the Japanese driver receiving a 10s penalty for his actions.

Gabriel Bortoleto, Invicta Racing

Photo by: James Sutton / Motorsport Images

After the eventful lap one, the race settled into a rhythm, though Bortoleto was aiding his title bid with further gains on Joshua Durksen and Amaury Cordeel putting him in third and directly behind Maini.

On lap six, Bortoleto completed a textbook DRS move on his team-mate for second while Aron and Hadjar ran sixth and ninth.

With Maini dropping to the chasing pack he was powerless to prevent Hitech drivers Cordeel and Aron from powering by, while Durksen overtook around the outside of Turn 9 on lap eight.

Oliver Bearman, Dino Beganovic and Hadjar followed past one lap later, shuffling Maini out of the points.

Bearman was the biggest gainer on lap one, climbing seven places, but as the medium Pirelli rubber struggled to manage the 24-lap distance, the Prema driver was among an ever-growing number of drivers seeing times deleted for track limits breaches. With a handful of laps remaining, he received a 5s penalty for the consistent violations.

Team orders are not commonplace in F2 and this was evident as Cordeel put up a stout defence on team-mate Aron. But this was resolved on lap 17 when a lock-up opened the door and allowed championship challenger Aron through.

A further lock-up for Cordeel while defending into Turn 6 resulted in contact with Durksen. While Hadjar gained a place on Durksen’s stricken AIX, he gained another point when Cordeel was hit with a 10s penalty – promoting Hadjar to sixth.

Aware that his advantage was shrinking, Bortoleto attempted to close the margin to leader Marti. But he was unable to make significant gains and crossed the line 2.2s behind in second.

SportsNews

EPL: Full list of players leaving for 2025 AFCON

Published

3 days ago

December 13, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

At least 25 players in the Premier League are set to travel for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

The tournament is scheduled to take place from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.

Nigeria, Ivory Coast, DR Congo lead the way in terms of players based in the English topflight, with four selected from each club for the AFCON.

FIFA has directed clubs to release the eligible players from Monday, December 15.

Full list of players confirmed

Sunderland (5):
Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco), Reinildo (Mozambique), Bertrand Traoré (Burkina Faso), Arthur Masuaku (DR Congo), Noah Sadiki (DR Congo).

Manchester United (3):
Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco).

Fulham (3):
Alex Iwobi (Nigeria), Calvin Bassey (Nigeria), Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria).

Burnley (3):
Axel Tuanzebe (DR Congo), Lyle Foster (South Africa), Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia).

Nottingham Forest (2):
Ibrahim Sangaré (Ivory Coast), Willy Boly (Ivory Coast).

Brentford (2):
Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso), Frank Onyeka (Nigeria).

Manchester City (1):
Omar Marmoush (Egypt),

West Ham United (1):
Aaron Wan-Bissaka (DR Congo)

Wolves (2):
Tawanda Chirewa (Zimbabwe), Emmanuel Agbadou (Ivory Coast).

Brighton & Hove Albion (1):
Carlos Baleba (Cameroon).

Crystal Palace (2):
Ismaïla Sarr (Senegal), Cheick Doucouré (Mali)

Liverpool (1):
Mohammed Salah (Egypt)

SportsNews

NNL bars fans from Ranchers Bees vs Adamawa United

Published

3 days ago

December 13, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

The Nigeria National League, NNL, has announced that matchday six fixture between Ranchers Bees and Adamawa United will be played behind closed doors.

The announcement was made in a statement by the league body.

Only the State Football Association representatives, staff of both teams, kit managers and medical personnel will be allowed into the stadium.

Others are the match officials, security personnel and camera men.

The reason for the decision to play the game without club supporters wasn’t stated by the league body.

The encounter will take place at the Bako Kontagora Stadium in Minna on Saturday (today).

SportsNews

Nigeria vs Egypt Friendly Gets New Date

Published

1 week ago

December 8, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Nigeria’s preparations for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations have taken a fresh hit, with Egypt confirming that the highly anticipated friendly between both nations has been shifted from 14 to 16 December.

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced the adjustment late Friday, noting that FIFA’s updated international release directive, which allows clubs keep African players until 15 December, made the original date unworkable.

EFA Vice President Khaled El-Darandaly explained that the new rule left both Egypt and Nigeria without full squads for the initial date.

Key Pharaohs players, including Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush, are now expected to arrive only after the new release window.

Egypt had already named its 28-man provisional squad and opened camp in Cairo, with head coach Hossam Hassan accelerating final preparations for a Group B campaign that includes South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe.

Nigeria’s disruption is more extensive. The Super Eagles were originally scheduled to open camp on 10 December and progress through a streamlined friendly schedule before departing for Morocco. That entire framework has now been dismantled.

Under the revised timeline, camp will open on 14 December, leaving Eric Chelle with barely a week to prepare before AFCON kicks off.

The venue for the friendly is also now uncertain, with Cairo no longer feasible and both federations considering shifting the match to Morocco.

Nigeria’s build-up has been further destabilised by injuries to Ola Aina, Taiwo Awoniyi, Benjamin Fredrick and Felix Agu.

The shock retirement of captain William Troost-Ekong, winner of the 2023 AFCON Player of the Tournament award, creates an additional leadership vacuum in defence.

Chelle, who released a 55-man provisional list, must now trim his squad to 28 within a compressed window. Nigeria will compete in Group C alongside Tunisia, Uganda and Tanzania as they chase a fourth continental title.