Afro Sports Exclusive

Bournemouth have signed defender Nathan Ake for a club record fee from Premier League champions Chelsea. The Netherlands international, 22, had a spell on loan with the Cherries last season and scored three goals in 12 games before being recalled. The fee, reported to be £20m, breaks Bournemouth's previous record - the £15m paid to Liverpool for winger Jordon Ibe in July 2016. Ake has signed a long-term deal and is the Cherries' third summer signing. England striker Jermain Defoe signed on Thursday from Sunderland and Bosnia goalkeeper Asmir Begovic arrived from Chelsea in May. Ake joined Chelsea in 2012 and made 17 appearances for the Stamford Bridge side. He spent the 2015-16 season on loan at Watford in the Premier League. "I had a great time last season so I'm really happy to be back," said Ake. "The fan haven't seen the best of me yet." Ake, who moved to Chelsea from Dutch side Feyenoord aged 16, has two caps for Netherlan...

Chelsea's Eden Hazard and Crystal Palace's Yohan Cabaye are among the investors backing a new football club in the United States. The pair are joined by former Chelsea striker Demba Ba, now with Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua, and ex-Lille forward Moussa Sow, now with Al-Ahli of Dubai. San Diego is the location for the new expansion side, which will compete in the NASL, the second tier in the US. "We can't wait to get started and win some games," Hazard said. "San Diego is a beautiful place and the love and passion the people have for soccer made this an easy choice for us. My friends and I are honoured to turn this dream into a reality." The North American Soccer League said the new club will make their league debut next season, which begins in the spring. The club will play their home matches at the University of San Diego until their own stadium is built, with sites currently being considered in North County. Belgium for...

  Claims of alleged corruption in Qatar's successful 2022 World Cup bid have been published in the German media. Bild newspaper says it has obtained the "suppressed" 2014 report authored by former Fifa independent ethics investigator Michael Garcia. Bild's report includes details of a $2m (£1.6m) sum allegedly paid to the 10-year-old daughter of a Fifa official. Garcia quit in December 2014 in protest at the handling of his report into the bidding process. The American lawyer cited a "lack of leadership" as he left football's world governing body, whose executives unanimously agreed to publish a "legally appropriate version" of his report. That 42-page version cleared Qatar of corruption allegations. Bild says it will be publishing the full details of Garcia's 403-page report from Tuesday. The newspaper claims: Three Fifa executive members were flown to a party in Rio in a private jet belonging to the Qatari federati...

Serena Williams disputes John McEnroe's claims that she would struggle to be in the world's top 700 if she was on the men's circuit. And the male player ranked 701 in the world - Dmitry Tursunov - believes he could beat her. Speaking to US radio station NPR, seven-time Grand Slam champion McEnroe said of world number one Williams, who has won an Open-era record 23 Grand Slams: "If she played the men's circuit she'd be, like, 700 in the world." He qualified the comments by saying: "That doesn't mean I don't think Serena is an incredible player, and I suppose anything's possible; maybe at some point a women's tennis player can be better than anybody." But he added: "I just haven't seen that in any other sport, and I haven't seen it in tennis. If she had to just play the men's circuit, it would be an entirely different story." Williams later responded on Twitter: "Dear John, I adore and ...

Chelsea striker Bertrand Traore has joined Lyon for £8.8m (10m euros). The 21-year-old Burkina Faso international, who spent last season on loan at Ajax, has signed a five-year deal with the French side. Traore joined the Blues in 2014 and scored four goals in 16 appearances, including goals in three consecutive matches in 2016. He scored 13 times for Ajax last season and played in the Europa League final defeat by Manchester United.

Liverpool have apologised to Southampton over "any misunderstanding" and ended their interest in defender Virgil van Dijk. Saints had said they would report Liverpool to the Premier League over an alleged illegal approach for him. The 25-year-old centre-back is wanted by a number of clubs and had stated his preference for a move to Anfield. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp had made signing the Netherlands international a top priority. Statement in full: "Liverpool Football Club would like to put on record our regret over recent media speculation regarding Southampton Football Club and player transfers between the two clubs. "We apologise to the owner, board of directors and fans of Southampton for any misunderstanding regarding Virgil van Dijk. "We respect Southampton's position and can confirm we have ended any interest in the player." Major blow for Liverpool The £50m-rated defender signed a new six-year contract last year, having jo...

Chelsea are close to signing midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko from French champions Monaco. Blues manager Antonio Conte has identified France international Bakayoko as a player who can strengthen the Premier League champions' squad. Talks have taken place and the transfer - which would be Chelsea's first of the summer - could be completed this week. Bakayoko, 22, was part of the Monaco squad that reached the Champions League semi-finals last season. He joined the club from Ligue 1 rivals Rennes in 2014 and made his France debut in a friendly defeat by Spain in March this year. Juventus and Brazil wing-back Alex Sandro is also thought to be a target for Conte, and the Blues have been linked with re-signing Everton's Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku and Southampton and Netherlands defender Virgil van Dijk, who Liverpool apologized for approaching earlier this month. In terms of outgoings, Chelsea forward Diego Costa has already revealed a text from Conte infor...

Celtic will begin their title defence at home to Hearts when the 2017-18 Scottish Premiership season kicks off on 5 August. Rangers travel to Motherwell on the opening day while newly promoted Hibernian host Partick Thistle. Kilmarnock take on St Johnstone, Aberdeen face Hamilton and Dundee welcome Ross County. Ibrox will host the first Old Firm derby on 23 September, while Hibs take on Hearts on 25 October at Easter Road. Celtic were unbeaten domestically last term, picking up their sixth successive title, while Aberdeen finished second for the third year running. Opening weekend fixtures - 5 August Celtic v Hearts Aberdeen v Hamilton Academical Hibernian v Partick Thistle Motherwell v Rangers Kilmarnock v St Johnstone Dundee v Ross County Hamilton Academical will host Motherwell in the first Lanarkshire derby of the season on 14 October, while Pedro Caixinha's Rangers welcome Aberdeen to Ibrox the following week. In the festive fixtures, on 23 Decemb...

The Nigeria senior football coach Gernot Rohr is desperate to hit the ground running in his first match of the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Cameroon on August 28. Although the recovery of the injured duo of Mikel Obi and Victor Moses will be key to the team's qualification, Rohr remains optimistic. Football today depends a lot on a team's tactical preparation. A team with averagely-talented players but with an intelligent tactical preparation can beat a team of 11 talented players who have had no preparation at all. Another truth is you will not better understand a team and its tactics by sitting at pitch level - the best guarantee of getting a holistic picture is by sitting in the stands, which is what Gernot Rohr did on Sunday when Cameroon clashed with Chile. The Indomitable Lions, by virtue of winning the 2017 Nations Cup, are representing Africa at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup - the dry run for next year's World Cup sc...