
<p>Kate Middleton is in the early stages of chemotherapy treatment after a cancer diagnosis, the Princess of Wales confirmed in a new video Friday, the first major update provided on the princess’ health since the palace first announced in January she would undergo a surgery and be out of the public eye for months.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GettyImages-2104753638.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61494" style="width:730px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GettyImages-2104753638.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GettyImages-2104753638-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GettyImages-2104753638-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"> (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>In a two-minute&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/1771235267837321694" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">video</a>&nbsp;posted to Kensington Palace social media pages, Kate confirmed she underwent an abdominal surgery earlier this year and that while the surgery “was successful,” tests afterwards confirmed “cancer had been present.”</p>



<p>Kate did not elaborate or explain what type of cancer she has been diagnosed with, but did say she is undergoing “a course of preventive chemotherapy.”</p>



<p>Kate said the palace delayed telling the public about her diagnosis so she and William had time to process the news and talk about it with their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.</p>



<p>She completed the video by asking for “time, space and privacy.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



<p>“As I have said to them, I am well and getting stronger everyday by focusing on the things that will help me heal in my mind, body and spirits,” Kate said in the video. “Having William by my side is a great source of reassurance and comfort and reassurance, too.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>The royal family in January announced two major pieces of health information regarding senior royals: King Charles would&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/anafaguy/2024/01/17/king-charles-will-undergo-prostate-procedure-palace-says/?sh=4801df184c23">undergo a prostate procedure</a>&nbsp;and Kate Middleton would be admitted to the hospital for a &#8220;planned abdominal surgery.” The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.royal.uk/news-and-activity/2024-01-17/a-statement-from-kensington-palace" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">palace said&nbsp;</a>she would step back from professional engagements for months while she recovered. One week later, it was announced the king&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharyfolk/2024/02/05/king-charles-diagnosed-with-cancer-after-hospital-stay/?sh=62a3f0251757">was diagnosed</a>&nbsp;with cancer. Buckingham Palace did not specify what type or stage of cancer the king has. Kate Middleton&nbsp;<a href="https://people.com/kate-middleton-leaves-hospital-after-surgery-continue-recover-home-8431757#:~:text=Kate%20Middleton%20is%20recovering%20from,William%2C%20and%20their%20three%20children." rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">left the hospital</a>&nbsp;on Jan. 29 and returned home to recover, and more than a month went by without any other updates on her health from official sources. As concern for the princess grew, so did unsubstantiated rumors about her health, personal life and marriage to Prince William, who is expected to take the throne upon the death of his father. Several news outlets&nbsp;<a href="https://www.etonline.com/see-kate-middleton-for-the-first-time-since-hospitalization-for-abdominal-surgery-pic-220894" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">circulated</a>&nbsp;blurry photos of Kate riding in a car driven by her mother on March 4, the first time she had been seen since leaving the hospital. Days later, Kensington Palace released a photo of Kate and her three children to celebrate Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom. That same day,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2024/03/11/kate-apologizes-for-causing-confusion-after-news-agencies-flag-her-photo-as-manipulated/">news agencies retracted</a>&nbsp;the image and accused the palace of having manipulated the image so heavily it should no longer be used by outlets, with the global news director of Agence France-Presse&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2024/03/14/kensington-palace-no-longer-a-trusted-source-after-releasing-edited-kate-middleton-photo-afp-says/?sh=123aafef5238">telling the BBC</a>&nbsp;the palace could no longer be considered a &#8220;trusted source.&#8221; On March 18, tabloids&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tmz.com/2024/03/18/kate-middleton-seen-new-video-windsor-farm-shop-prince-william/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">published</a>&nbsp;video footage they claim depicted Kate and William on a trip to the Windsor Farm Shop near their home, though Kensington Palace would not comment on the video and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/03/18/kate-middleton-video-shopping/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Washington Post said</a>&nbsp;it could not confirm the date or time it was taken.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">SURPRISING FACT</h2>



<p>One of the more prevalent rumors about Kate Middleton’s whereabouts circulated on a pending divorce between her and Prince William over an affair the prince was baselessly accused of having with Lady Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley. The rumors made their way to the &#8220;Late Show&#8221; earlier this month, where host Stephen Colbert speculated on the rumored affair. Habury&#8217;s lawyers then sent notices to the show to deny the claims of an affair,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prince-william-rose-hanbury-rumor-kate-middleton-explained-2024-3" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">multiple sources</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://nypost.com/2024/03/22/entertainment/rose-hanbury-sends-legal-notice-to-stephen-colbert-over-prince-william-affair-joke-report/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reported</a>, and said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/rose-hanbury-lawyers-sent-notice-to-stephen-colbert/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">statement to In Touch</a>&nbsp;they were writing &#8220;on our client’s behalf to CBS and various other reputable media organizations to confirm that the allegation is false.” Representatives for CBS did not respond to Forbes’ request for comment Friday.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



<p>World leaders responded to the princess’ diagnosis Friday afternoon. Rishi Sunak, prime minister of the United Kingdom,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/RishiSunak/status/1771236237153546649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1771236237153546649%7Ctwgr%5Ee148c9579c52a04d40dd7f8338ffc25876483276%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fiframe.nbcnews.com%2FmDv38Wp%3F_showcaption%3Dtrueapp%3D1" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">on Friday said</a>&nbsp;Kate has &#8220;shown tremendous bravery with her statement today. In recent weeks she has been subjected to intense scrutiny and has been unfairly treated by certain sections of the media around the world and on social media&#8230; I know I speak for the country in wishing her a full and speedy recovery.&#8221; Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/albamonica/status/1771238958300639517" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;the White House wishes her a &#8220;full recovery&#8221; and said the Biden administration is “incredibly sad to hear the news.&#8221;</p>


The Princess Of Wales Opens Evelina London’s New Children’s Day Surgery Unit

Kate Middleton Confirms Cancer Diagnosis In New Video


<p><strong>TOPLINE</strong> The plight of Black players on the England national team who were hit with a torrent of racist abuse after the team’s loss at the 2020 Euro final last Sunday has taken center stage on Instagram this week, with a particular focus on 23-year-old Marcus Rashford, who has opened up in-depth about his personal experience since the game.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



<p>Data from social media tracking firm Newship shows the 12 posts with the most comments on Instagram since Sunday all concerned at least one of the three Black players on England’s team—Rashford, Bukayo Saka, and Jadon Sancho—who have all been attacked for missing penalties during the final shootouts against Italy.&nbsp;</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1328724051-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51885" width="675" height="450" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1328724051-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1328724051-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1328724051-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1328724051-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1328724051-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px" /><figcaption> (Photo by Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



<p>These posts, earning up to 4.6 million likes and hundreds of thousands of comments, ranged from reporting on the attacks by major British news outlets like BBC News and Sky Sports to more personal posts about the players.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The vast majority centered around Rashford, a Manchester United striker who has published multiple top-trending posts since England’s loss, including an in-depth reaction the day after the game which drew the most comments (230,000) of anything published on Instagram this week.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In the popular July 12 post, lauded in the comments by a number of other high-profile soccer stars, Rashford apologized to fans for missing the penalty, but said he will “never” apologize “for who I am and where I came from.”&nbsp;</p>



<p>He also highlighted the response to the defacing of a mural of his face in his hometown of Withington, Manchester, saying it brought him to the verge of tears to see fans&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/jul/16/marcus-rashford-mural-racial-police-manchester-artwork" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cleaning up the vandalism.</a></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE&nbsp;</h3>



<p>“I’ve grown into a sport where I expect to read things about myself, whether it be the colour of my skin, where I grew up, or, most recently where I decide to spend my time off the pitch,” Rashford wrote. “I can take critique of my performance all day long, my penalty was not good enough. It should have gone in but I will never [apologize] for who I am or where I came from.”</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1329410687-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51886" width="612" height="408" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1329410687-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1329410687-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1329410687-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1329410687-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1329410687-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 612px) 100vw, 612px" /><figcaption>  (Photo by Alex Livesey &#8211; Danehouse/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h3>



<p>Though neither gained as much engagement as Rashford’s, both Saka and Sancho, who are 19 and 21 years old, respectively, also posted statements on social media reflecting on the game. “There are no words to tell you how disappointed I was with the result of my penalty,” wrote Saka to over 2.5 milion likes and supportive comments from fellow Arsenal players Ben White, Joe Willock and more. Meanwhile, Sancho deemed missing the penalty “by far the worst feeling I’ve felt in my career.”&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND&nbsp;</h3>



<p>The loss at last week’s match—which marked the first time England has reached a major final since winning the World Cup in 1966—immediately sparked a torrent of racist attacks against the young trio on social media. The abuse was quickly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/07/12/racist-abuse-targeted-at-black-england-players-denounced-by-uks-boris-johnson-fa-and-prince-william/?sh=5a388c0d1b65">condemned</a>&nbsp;by England’s Football Association, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and even Prince William, and arrests have since been made in relation to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.espn.com/soccer/england-eng/story/4432974/arrests-made-over-racist-abuse-of-england-players" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">offensive comments.</a>&nbsp;The targeted players have pushed for meaningful action from social media companies to prevent the online hate from resurfacing.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chief-critic">CHIEF CRITIC&nbsp;</h3>



<p>“To the social media platforms @instagram @twitter @facebook I don’t want any child or adult to have to receive the hateful and hurtful messages that me Marcus and Jadon have received this week,” Saka wrote. “I knew instantly the kind of hate that I was about to receive and that is a sad reality that your powerful platforms are not doing enough to stop these messages.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING&nbsp;</h3>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/07/12/racist-abuse-targeted-at-black-england-players-denounced-by-uks-boris-johnson-fa-and-prince-william/?sh=5a388c0d1b65">“Racist Abuse Targeted At Black England Players Denounced By U.K.’s Boris Johnson, FA And Prince William”</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Jemima McEvoy, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Italy v England – UEFA Euro 2020: Final

‘All I Can Say Is Sorry’: England’s Black Soccer Players’ Experiences With Racism Dominated Instagram This Week


<p><strong>TOPLINE</strong>: British politicians and football officials condemned racist abuse lobbed at a number of England soccer players Sunday after the team lost the Euro 2020 final to Italy in penalty shootouts, following a day of unrest as rowdy crowds gathered in London and across England to watch the match.  </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



<p>Torrents of racist abuse were directed at three Black England players—Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho—after the trio failed to score penalties during the game’s final shootouts Sunday night.&nbsp;</p>



<p>England’s Football Association condemned the abuse and&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/FA/status/1414392591173492737?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;it is “appalled by the online racism that has been aimed at some of our England players on social media.”</p>



<p>Echoing the FA’s sentiment, the England team&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/England/status/1414390646169821186?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">released</a>&nbsp;a statement saying it is “disgusted that some of our squad—who have given everything for the shirt this summer—have been subjected to discriminatory abuse online after tonight&#8217;s game.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson also&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1414465103374729220?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">backed</a>&nbsp;the team, saying they “deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media.”</p>



<p>The Metropolitan Police&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/MetPoliceEvents/status/1414380936016318464?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;the racist abuse is “unacceptable, will not be tolerated and… will be investigated.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>The force said it <a href="https://twitter.com/MetPoliceEvents/status/1414388160595906564?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">made</a> 49 arrests during the day of the match and <a href="https://twitter.com/MetPoliceEvents/status/1414388737883131904?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">that</a> 19 officers were injured in confrontations with “volatile” crowds, <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/england-vs-italy-police-riot-gear-break-up-england-fans-arrests-euros-final-1098789" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">including</a> those who <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/euro-2021/2021/07/11/london-descends-chaos-ahead-englands-euro-2020-final-showdown/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stormed</a> into London’s Wembley Stadium, where the match was held, trashed Leicester Square, threw bottles and set off flares in the street.   </p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I am sickened by the racist abuse aimed at England players after last night’s match. <br><br>It is totally unacceptable that players have to endure this abhorrent behaviour. <br><br>It must stop now and all those involved should be held accountable. W</p>&mdash; The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) <a href="https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/1414514323142107136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="zxx" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/MQoVHCYUfy">pic.twitter.com/MQoVHCYUfy</a></p>&mdash; FA Spokesperson (@FAspokesperson) <a href="https://twitter.com/FAspokesperson/status/1414388159769714690?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media.<br><br>Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.</p>&mdash; Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1414465103374729220?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="zxx" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/MQoVHCYUfy">pic.twitter.com/MQoVHCYUfy</a></p>&mdash; FA Spokesperson (@FAspokesperson) <a href="https://twitter.com/FAspokesperson/status/1414388159769714690?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Rashford, Saka and Sancho. <br><br>Three Lions. 🦁🦁🦁</p>&mdash; Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) <a href="https://twitter.com/SadiqKhan/status/1414361530620125184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



<p>Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/SadiqKhan/status/1414384625032613889?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;there is “absolutely no place for racism in football or anywhere else.” Khan called on social media companies to “act immediately to remove and prevent this hate.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



<p>British politicians from&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/OliverDowden/status/1414489436608466946?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">across</a>&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/AlexDaviesJones/status/1414471383065710594?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">political</a>&nbsp;spectrum said the online abuse underscores the need for stricter regulation for social media companies.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>England’s football players have been taking the knee before matches for the past year in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. The practice, which has led to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-57382945" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">booing</a>&nbsp;from crowds, has continued for Euro 2020 matches. England players Home Secretary Priti Patel&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/pritipatel/status/1414483365558951937?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;she is “disgusted” by the “vile racist abuse” the England players—”who have given so much for our country this summer”—have been subjected to on social media. In June, Patel&nbsp;<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/priti-patel-taking-knee-boo-england-b1865409.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">defended</a>&nbsp;the right of fans to boo England players for taking the knee in protest of racism, describing it as “gesture politics.” Over the course of the tournament, fans and politicians alike have been quick to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/hypocrite-priti-patel-celebrates-after-24488499" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">accuse</a>&nbsp;Patel of hypocrisy when showing her support for the team. English football clubs, players and organizations have previously orchestrated social media boycotts to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2021-04-30/manchester-united-report-350-increase-in-online-abuse-towards-players-as-club-joins-social-media-boycott" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">protest</a>&nbsp;the abuse players face. Rashford has been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/may/27/marcus-rashford-receives-racial-abuse-social-media-after-europa-league-loss" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">open</a>&nbsp;about the racist abuse he faces on social media, which he has previously reported to the police.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/fa-condemns-racist-abuse-players-following-englands-final-loss-2021-07-12/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FA condemns racist abuse of players after England&#8217;s Euro 2020 final loss</a> (Reuters)</p>



<p><strong><em>By </em></strong><em><strong>Robert Hart, Forbes Staff</strong></em></p>


Racist Abuse Targeted At Black England Players Denounced By U.K.’s Boris Johnson, FA And Prince William


<p><strong>Topline </strong>England on Monday reported no new deaths from Covid-19 for the time since last March, a positive milestone that comes as the country continues to ease long-lasting lockdown restrictions.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



<p><a href="https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/deaths?areaType=nation&amp;areaName=England" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Data</a>&nbsp;released by Public Health England Monday afternoon added no new deaths to the country’s toll of 112,245.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Scotland and Northern Ireland also reported no new deaths for Sunday, a streak in the U.K. broken by Wales, which reported four more residents dead from Covid-19 in Monday’s update.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Both Scotland and Northern Ireland have reported zero coronavirus deaths prior to May 10, but this is the first time since March 7 England has hit such a milestone.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER&nbsp;</h3>



<p>126,605. That’s how many people have died from Covid-19 in the U.K. since the start of the pandemic.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND&nbsp;</h3>



<p>England’s 14-month record low for Covid-19 deaths comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce Monday the latest round of lockdown easing. The U.K.’s alert level has been lowered from a four to a three, meaning the transmission of coronavirus is no longer deemed to be high or rising exponentially, though it’s still in general circulation. Johnson is expected to announce friends and families can hug and mix indoors starting next week, including in pubs and restaurants, while cinemas, museums and theaters can reopen.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">SURPRISING FACT&nbsp;</h3>



<p>After hitting a peak of 70,000 cases per day in January, the U.K. is now recording an average of less than 2,000 new daily infections. The bloc of countries have also benefited from one of the world’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/world/covid-vaccinations-tracker.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">most successful&nbsp;</a>vaccine rollouts, with over a quarter of residents fully vaccinated and more than half fully inoculated.</p>



<p><strong><a href="https://www.forbes.com/coronavirus/">Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus</a></strong></p>



<p><em><strong>By Jemima McEvoy, Forbes Staff</strong></em></p>


Michael Nardone, who plays D.I Neil McKinven in the BBC

England Reports Zero New Coronavirus Deaths For First Time In 14 Months


<p><strong>TOPLINE</strong> &#8211;   Boris Johnson’s plan to ease restrictions in England has raised a fresh set of questions about worker safety and the timing of his new “stay alert” message, and has set the U.K. prime minister on a collision course with devolved nations Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who are insisting their residents “stay at home” to beat coronavirus.</p>



<p><strong>KEY FACTS</strong></p>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Johnson <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-address-to-the-nation-on-coronavirus-10-may-2020" target="_blank">addressed</a> the U.K. on Sunday night to announce a slight easing of restrictions in England, but saying it was not time to end the lockdown this week.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>He unveiled a new message of “Stay alert, control the virus, save lives”, but the message is at odds with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who are sticking with the original message of “Stay home, protect the NHS, save lives.”</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>WORK: People who cannot work from home “should be actively encouraged” to return to work this week. Later, the government said the changes would come into effect from Wednesday.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Johnson said this includes constructions and manufacturing workers, but his message has caused confusion over which professions would be allowed to return to work. Johnson also discouraged people returning to work in England from taking public transport, and said they should walk, drive or cycle instead.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>SCHOOLS: From June 1, the youngest school pupils, including reception, and primary students up to age 11, could return to the classroom. Secondary school pupils who have key exams next year could “get time with their teachers” before breaking for summer.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>BUSINESS: A phased reopening of shops could begin as early as June 1, while hotels and restaurants could open on July 1 at the earliest “provided they enforce social distancing,” Johnson said.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>LEISURE: People in England were told they can have an unlimited amount of daily exercise and can play sports in parks with the same members of their household. People can also meet up with one member of another household in a park, but maintain a two metre distance.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>TRAVEL: People who are travelling into the U.K. by air and other means will “soon” be put under quarantine. It is not yet known for how long, or when this will be enforced. But passengers from Ireland, and now France, are exempt from the rule.</li></ul>



<p><strong>WHAT TO WATCH FOR</strong></p>



<p>The government will release 50-page guidance on the new rules on Monday afternoon.</p>



<p><strong>ADDITIONAL INFO</strong></p>



<p>For lockdown to be lifted altogether, the British government says that five tests need to be met: Ensuring the national health service can cope with the epidemic, a sustained fall in the daily death rate, a fall in the rate of infection or ‘R’, securing enough PPE to meet demand, and making sure that the risk of a second peak is low.</p>



<p><strong>CHIEF CRITICS</strong></p>



<p>There are a few, with most opposition centred on the government’s confusing messaging, short notice, lack of safety information for workers, and concerns that the new guidance leaves white collar staff protected, while factory and shop floor workers face the greatest risk.</p>



<p>The leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are united in their opposition to Johnson’s ambiguous “stay alert” message. Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon simply reinforced the original “Stay Home, Protect The NHS, Save Lives” message that her nation is sticking with. Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford said his nation’s “stay at home” message&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/fmwales/status/1259547228139651074?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">remains</a>.</p>



<p>Unions have criticised Johnson’s speech as not being well thought through, and say that the government should be issuing mandatory instructions to workplaces to ensure worker safety, and not just guidance.</p>



<p>Len McCluskey, general secretary of the U.K.’s biggest union, Unite, said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://unitetheunion.org/news-events/news/2020/may/mccluskey-decisions-taken-now-will-shape-our-countrys-future-we-need-clarity-to-build-public-confidence/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>: “People cannot get to work safely unless there is safe transport for them to use. Yet there is now a real risk that in a few hours&#8217; time, workers will be cramming onto public transport, putting at risk their lives and those of others.”</p>



<p>Meanwhile, teachers unions called Johnson’s plans “reckless.” General secretary of teaching union NASUWT told the&nbsp;<em>i</em>&nbsp;<a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/education/coronavirus-lockdown-restrictions-easing-schools-teachers-criticise-june-opening-2848500" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">newspaper</a>: “Signalling 1 June is more likely than not to create confusion if not some degree of chaos out there in the system.”</p>



<p>Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, said the government’s plans raise “as many questions as answers.” He criticised the government’s lack of clarity around returning to work, that puts millions of people in a scramble to prepare for entering the workplace with just 12 hours notice.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">On a serious note the only change in that announcement was that they’re now sacrificing the working class out loud. JOIN. A. UNION.</p>&mdash; Eve Livingston (@eve_rebecca) <a href="https://twitter.com/eve_rebecca/status/1259548880116604928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<p><strong>KEY BACKGROUND</strong></p>



<p>The U.K. went on lockdown on March 23, after scientific models published days earlier suggested that if left unchecked, coronavirus could lead to the deaths of 250,000 people. The government has maintained that it is being guided by science, but with the worst death toll in Europe at 32,000 coronavirus-linked deaths, Johnson’s government is facing serious questions from critics over its strategy, failure to source enough protective gear for health workers, and implement a large-scale testing scheme. With the number of daily deaths falling, ministers say the U.K. has moved through the peak of the epidemic.</p>


gettyimages-1212480356-594×594

Boris Johnson’s Attempt To Ease England’s Lockdown Is Confusing. Here’s What We Know So Far

<p>Delirium erupts as Sadio Mane, the Senegalese winger, scores in England. In Africa, people jump up and down; some dance, others sing – not a single person is seated. This is the scene at the Ridgeway Racebar, in Johannesburg’s East Rand, as around 200 fans gather to watch Liverpool’s opening match of the 2016/17 English Premier League season against Arsenal. But they’re not just celebrating because an African scored; they’re celebrating because they’re fervent Liverpool fans.</p>
<p>Despite living more than 13,000 kilometers from Liverpool’s stadium, Anfield, and many having never set foot in the English city, these fans have an almost messianic dedication to the football club. These Liverpool supporters are not unique; the powerhouses of English football, such as Manchester United, Arsenal, and Chelsea, have millions of fans in Africa.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-5345 aligncenter" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DSC_2321-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="502" height="334" /></p>
<p>The Official Liverpool Supporters Club – Gauteng (OLSC Gauteng) at Ridgeway Racebar is a home away from home for Liverpool supporters in Johannesburg.</p>
<p>“The thing with a supporters club is, for a lot of people, getting to Anfield is a once in a lifetime experience. We’ve made our own sort of Anfield here, and we’re affiliated with Anfield in the UK. We get legends to come watch matches at the club; we’ve had [former players] John Barnes, Mark Wright, we had the ladies team. That kind of stuff allows us to get a little closer to the game, that’s what you get with a supporters club rather than watching a match with mates at your house,” says Chris Midgley, the Brand Liaison and Spokesman for OLSC Gauteng.</p>
<p>“It’s great to have three or four mates at home watching a game against Arsenal, but when you’ve got 300 [people] together, singing You’ll Never Walk Alone, it makes it worth it,” says the Chairperson of OLSC Gauteng, Kailin Pillay. You’ll Never Walk Alone is the clubs anthem, originally a song from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel and made famous by Gerry and the Pacemakers, a group from Liverpool.</p>
<p>OLSC Gauteng was the winner of the best Official Liverpool Supporters Club globally for the 2015/16 season. It’s easy to see why; Liverpool is in the blood.</p>
<p>“There’s something different about Liverpool… I like the way that Liverpool supporters are. I believe in what they believe; I like it that the motto is ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. I like the idea that we stand together,” says Pillay, who is a dramatic arts teacher at Crawford College in Sandton.</p>
<p>“I’ve supported Liverpool since primary school… The club has become so important with milestones along the way. I met my wife at the supporters club, our club treasurer married us. Liverpool is a proper family. We went on honeymoon to watch Liverpool play; our first holiday together, we also went to watch Liverpool play! When I met Kailin, I didn’t know anything about him, we didn’t have anything in common bar the fact we both supported Liverpool and that was enough for us to be great mates. There are lots of guys in there, I can walk into the room and strike up a conversation with them. We’ve got guys who are extremely affluent and guys who aren’t. For us, there’s no class level, no race level, we’ve got one thing in common,” says Midgley, who is a strategist for his own advertising agency, 36c.</p>
<p>So, why is the Premier League so popular in Africa?</p>
<p>“Two clubs: Chelsea and Arsenal. Arsenal had a number of African players, [Nwankwo] Kanu, Kolo Toure, and then Chelsea started doing it with Didier Drogba, John Obi Mikel and Michael Essien. All those African players won Premier League titles, which builds the profile of the league in Africa,” says Pillay.</p>
<p>This profile means money. Kelvin Storie, Group Managing Director at media agency Vizeum South Africa, says a 20-second advert during a Premier League match costs around R23,000 ($1,600). The more African players, the more popular the game is, says David Sidenberg, CEO of BMi Sport Info, an independent research company in South Africa that focuses on the sport and sponsorship market.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-5344 aligncenter" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DSC_2298-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="498" height="332" /></p>
<p>“It is no surprise that Manchester United is the team of choice in Southern Africa. In addition to being the most successful team in terms of English Premier Leagues titles won, they signed local South African star Quinton Fortune who plied his trade for seven years with the club and won a title in the process,” says Sidenberg.</p>
<p>“With the possible exception of Nigeria, Chelsea tends to be West Africa’s first choice. Not surprising when one considers that the likes of Drogba, Solomon Kalou, Samuel Eto’o, Victor Moses, Essien and Mikel are all West Africans who have played for The Blues. [In Nigeria and East Africa], red is the preferred color, but here it’s for the Gunners (Arsenal), largely off the back of the ‘Invincibles’ 2003/2004 title-winning season. The club’s list of African stars is also long. One of the greatest Nigerian players in the nation’s history, and the most decorated, Kanu is undoubtedly most remembered for his time at Arsenal during their celebrated run.”</p>
<p>Mark Gleeson, a football journalist and commentator in South Africa, believes the league would be as popular in South Africa if there weren’t Africans on the pitch.</p>
<p>“[The league having African players] helped a little bit, but in my opinion it’s more to do with the colonial connection. It would still be as popular even if they didn’t have those players,” he says.</p>
<p>“I think there’s a cultural link with South Africa and England. The Premier League has been part of our lives growing up as football fans, and the media has always covered it generously.”</p>
<p>Gleeson also thinks the Premier League’s history and money makes it difficult to ignore.</p>
<p>“It’s regarded as the world’s best domestic league and it has a history.”</p>
<p>“The Bundesliga and other have certainly made huge strides in recent times, but there is still much work required before it can compete for eyeballs with the English Premier League and/or the local African football leagues,” says Sidenberg.</p>
<p>While the likes of Drogba, Essien and Toure are popular figures in Africa, the Premier League is perhaps more popular now that the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sergio Agüero and Eden Hazard are playing for English clubs. This is apparent at the Living Room, a restaurant in Accra, Ghana, that has grown in popularity since it started broadcasting European football matches. A week before the Premier League starts, the restaurant is packed with supporters watching championship winners Leicester City play FA Cup winners Manchester United.</p>
<p>For Kwame Oduro, wearing a blue Manchester United away kit, the success of the team in the last 25 years made the Red Devils the team to support.</p>
<p>“We have had players like Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, and Ruud van Nistelrooy, who are by far the greatest players of all time and also if you count how many titles we have won,” says Oduro.</p>
<p>Other are not as easily persuaded.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-5346 alignleft" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DSC_2329-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /></p>
<p>“I don’t like Manchester United because they are overhyped. Yes, they have the history and clearly more money than sense, but in all honesty, football is more than history, it’s about the passion of the players and the fans support,” says Chelsea fan, Steven Appiah.</p>
<p>Titles are important to the fans at the Ridgeway Racebar in Johannesburg; Liverpool has 41 major titles, more than any other English club.</p>
<p>“The biggest year that we’ve ever had, in terms of members, was 2013/14 when we just about won the title. Previous to that was 2006 when we won the Champions League,” says Midgley.</p>
<p>“If we win today, we’ll have 200 sign ups. When the team wins, everyone wants to be a part of it,” adds Pillay.</p>
<p>As it happens, Liverpool beat Arsenal 4-3. A fan walks past with the latest Liverpool jersey he got when he signed up as a member of OLSC Gauteng for R950 ($65).</p>
<p>“I may live in South Africa, but my heart is in Anfield,” he says, when asked why he became a member.</p>
<p>Another supporter, Andrew Arntze, has supported Liverpool since he was six years old and has a tattoo of the club’s emblem on his leg to prove it.</p>
<p>“It’s in your heart,” he says.</p>
<p>As the match ends, the whole place breaks into You’ll Never Walk Alone. If you watch the Premier League in Africa you’ll never be alone.</p>
<p>&#8211; <em>Additional reporting by Peace Hyde</em></p>


‘I Live In Africa But  My Heart Is In Anfield’

<p>Fresh from training in London, the approaching Olympics is just starting to feel real for Johny Akinyemi.</p>
<p><div id="attachment_932" style="width: 484px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-932" class="size-large wp-image-932" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/143000275-1-1024x663.jpg" alt="" width="474" height="307" /><p id="caption-attachment-932" class="wp-caption-text">Aerial view of the Olympic Stadium</p></div></p>
<p>“After I qualified it was a bit of a dream, and then you have to quickly realize it’s not that long until the games. You have to get down and focus on the training and put in the hours and the hard work,” he says.</p>
<p>A British-born canoeist of Nigerian blood, Akinyemi, 23, has a realistic shot at a medal in London in the white water slalom, having beaten Beijing bronze medalist, Benjamin Boukpeti, in the qualifiers to book his place. Since then, he has put in the hard graft, training at altitude in South Africa and on courses in Cardiff and London. “Now I’m at quite a high level of training. I don’t want to peak too soon,” he says.</p>
<p>Raised in Warrington, near Manchester in England, Akinyemi represented the British team at a junior level, and was for a time the country’s top youth canoeist before switching allegiance to Nigeria, narrowly missing out on a trip to China in 2008. Since then, he has worked hard to improve the profile and practice of the sport in West Africa. The Nigerian Canoe Federation was founded in 2007, attached to the country’s active rowing association, based on Victoria Island in Lagos, and Akinyemi has been there since the start, getting a crash course in the country’s infamous bureaucracy on the way.</p>
<p>“We got a container full of boats delivered to Nigeria—some sprint canoes and slalom kayaks. It took about 18 months to get them out of the port, but eventually we got them out,” he says.</p>
<p>It is unlikely that the sport is going to challenge Nigeria’s other sporting passions—soccer and wrestling—but it is generating a buzz in certain circles. The country picked up two canoeing medals in the All Africa Games, on top of Akinyemi’s own qualification for London 2012. Once the games are over, he will head to Nigeria’s Calabar region to scout out some white water to train on and to hopefully set up a club there to train the next generation of slalom competitors. Akinyemi believes that the potential is there for Nigeria to achieve.</p>
<p>“In Lagos, there are canoes everywhere. There are villages out on the water—canoes are a way of life for those guys. They’re not carbon kevlar, but I’m sure that if we could, in some way, get these guys in competitive canoeing they would be good at it. They’re used to the water, they’re used to using the paddle, and they’ve got the strength.”</p>
<p>The success and the interest has not, however, transmuted into riches for the sport or for Akinyemi himself, who is currently looking for a sponsor. Up until 2011, most of his funding came from his father, who paid for airfares and gear. The Nigerian Olympic Committee has paid for his canoe for the London games and is contributing to the fees for training on the Olympic course, which come to £60 ($93) per hour. The Olympic Solidarity Commission, which funds athletes from lower income countries, allocates him around $1,000 a month for training and equipment, which, given the cost of canoes and the requirement for international travel, is a drop in the river.</p>
<p>The dreamlike rush of excitement, followed by hard graft and tangles over sponsorship, of Akinyemi’s experience is, in microcosm, the London Olympics. Since winning the bid, the euphoria has dissipated amidst a mixture of traditional British cynicism and genuine economic pain. The 2009 recession was followed by a brief and uninspiring calm, before a combination of deep state spending cuts and the European sovereign debt crisis dragged the British economy back into the mire. The Olympic stadia are among the few buildings of scale still under construction in London, as funding dried up and the rationale vanished for new skyscrapers in a city where jobs were being lost.</p>
<p>Britain notoriously overspends and delivers late on its big projects: the Millennium Dome, £200 million ($362.3 million) over budget; the new Wembley stadium, a year too late; so it was hardly surprising that expectations were fairly low. The experience of the Dome also highlighted the difficulty of turning showcase projects into useful infrastructure.</p>
<p>The Olympics, more than any event, is known for its white elephants. Greece, which hosted the 2004 games, as if it hasn’t suffered enough this year, has the embarrassment of a number of crumbling and unused facilities. After spending more than €10 billion ($12.2 billion) on running the games, Greece now has the cost of the upkeep of these abandoned buildings.</p>
<p>On the flip side, both the Barcelona and Atlanta games, in 1992 and 1996, respectively, are seen as exemplars of how to handle legacy programs. Both benefited from smart investments in infrastructure and marketing. London hopes to follow their example, rather than that of Athens, but the signs are not encouraging. A deal to sell the Olympic stadium to West Ham football club fell through in October 2011 and the Olympic Park Legacy Committee is now on the hunt for tenants.</p>
<p>The rest of the site in East London will be renamed the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, with the sports facilities opened up to the public and the athletes’ village turned into housing. Just how much demand there will be for a high tech velodrome in Stratford, one of the capital’s more deprived areas, remains to be seen.</p>
<p>One part of the organization does seem to be running smoothly: Sponsorship, branding and broadcast rights are expected to generate around £2 billion ($3 billion) for the International Olympic Committee and the London organizers, and commentators have remarked on how visible the corporate presence is in the 2012 event.</p>
<p>The 70,000 volunteer “Games Makers” will have their training materials prepared by McDonald’s, which will be operating the world’s largest fast food outlet in the Olympic village for the duration of the games. The US chain is one of 11 worldwide “Olympic Partners”—a group which also includes Samsung, Coca-Cola, Procter and Gamble and, controversially, Dow Chemical.</p>
<p>Dow’s contribution, which includes a “wrap” for the Olympic stadium, caused uproar amongst human rights groups, including Amnesty International. Dow acquired Union Carbide, the company responsible for the 1984 Bhopal disaster in India. Fears that the Indian team would boycott the opening ceremony, or even the entire Olympics, proved unfounded, but the issue has left a sour taste.</p>
<p>The commercialization of the games—the organizers insist that private sponsorship is what makes them possible—has also been a story. The aggressive clampdown on the use of trademarks, including the words “London 2012” have made headlines as small businesses in East London are warned that they could find themselves in serious trouble should they try to associate themselves with the event. The policing of this skirted close to farce at times, with reports that monitors from Locog—the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games—have arrived on set at photo shoots to prevent non-sponsors from recreating famous sporting moments or straying too close to the games. An East London florist was threatened with legal action unless she took down a display showing the famous rings made from flowers. Athletes who tweet endorsements for the “wrong” brand have been told they face expulsion. Others have sneered at the spectacle of the supposedly solemn ceremony of the torch relay being led by the Coca-Cola “Move to the Beat” bus blaring out pop music.</p>
<p>In working class East London, there is a sense that the London Olympics is a show more for the brands than for the people. There is also the question of whether the city can accommodate the extra 325,000 people per day using the transport system; the ire caused by the “games lanes” set aside to allow officials to bypass the inevitable gridlock; the near-indecipherable logo; the oddly phallic mascots, Wenlock and Mandeville; the £500 million ($768.5 million)—plus security operation that has seen anti-aircraft missiles stationed on rooftops in Tower Hamlets and warships in the Thames.</p>
<p>Even so, the excitement is building, albeit not as fast as the organizers might have hoped. The torch relay—headed of course by the sponsors’ buses—flickered in the public imagination before a long-awaited spell of hot weather hit the country and the British public moved en masse away from their television sets and into the sunshine. There was first the Queen’s Jubilee weekend to get out of the way, and then the European football championships, which usually puts the country into a disappointed mood. With these out of the way, the criticisms and introspection could either crescendo ahead of the opening ceremony on July 27, or disappear beneath the kind of pressured, euphoric patriotism the East End is famous for. For competitors like Akinyemi, however, it is unlikely to matter—he has canoes and the pride of Nigeria on his mind.</p>


Canoe Win A Medal?

<p>It’s been a rotten year for Kenyan rugby—a year soured by defeat and disappointment. On the field, the national team all but gave away the Victoria Cup by losing to Zimbabwe at home and to Uganda away—the latter after leading for most of the game. There was a poor showing in the International Rugby Board (IRB) Sevens, where Kenya finished ninth. Off the pitch, there are more optimistic signs that Kenyans are getting to grips with the game and the money men are not too far behind.</p>
<p>Crowds are growing. In 2007, around 1,000 supporters were watching Kenya play rugby. In July, when Kenya took on Zimbabwe, 6,300 spectators were there. Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) officials said some of the huge interest was a result of sponsorship from an internet service provider—which allowed gate charges to be halved to around $1.</p>
<p><div id="attachment_114" style="width: 484px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-114" class="size-large wp-image-114" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Kayange-003-683x1024.jpg" alt="" width="474" height="711" /><p id="caption-attachment-114" class="wp-caption-text">Kayange</p></div></p>
<p>There was so much interest that the match had to be moved to the 35,000 capacity Nyayo National Stadium to accommodate the crowd. The player base of around 1,000 players is also widening as more high schools take up the sport. The most prestigious schools trophy, the Prescott Cup, had for long been the preserve of eight elite schools in Nairobi. Now, the league has expanded to accommodate another eight schools in different parts of the country.</p>
<p>Most importantly, more sponsors are willing to offer money to the national team and Kenyan rugby clubs. Kenya Airways, the national carrier, sponsors the Sevens national team; Safaricom, Kenya’s leading mobile phone company, sponsors the Safari Sevens and there are other non-traditional rugby sponsors such as Cadbury and an entertainment group—Homeboyz.</p>
<p>Money is not enough, though. “We should get more of the sponsors to support the grassroots development of the sport,” says Humphrey Kayange, the 29-year-old captain of the national Sevens team. Kayange speaks from experience. He went for trials in South Africa two years ago and didn’t make it, but learned a lot about the country’s system of unearthing young talent.</p>
<p>“We need to get our development right if we are to make it to the next World Cup,” he says. “We need to get consistent wins and maybe play outside our traditional opponents.” The secret could be holding Kenya’s young teams together— something that appears to have worked in the rugby Sevens side. The core of the team, which reached the semifinals of the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai in 2009, had been together for about three years. They included Kayange, Collins Injera, Lavin Asego, Innocent Simiyu and Sidney Ashioya. This policy also helped Kenya climb to 33 in the IRB rankings in 2010.</p>
<p>The money followed. Kenya Harlequins reaped one of the game’s most lucrative sponsorship deals, worth about $40,000. The club ploughed the sponsorship money into increasing the number of players to around 90—the largest pool of any rugby club in Kenya. Undoubtedly, the game is in the hands of those who love it, interest is growing and money is flowing in. Maybe for Kenyans watching Kenyan internationals on TV, fighting for the World Cup in 2015 may not be such a pipe dream, after all.</p>
<p><div id="attachment_115" style="width: 484px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-115" class="size-large wp-image-115" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Kayange-017-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="474" height="316" /><p id="caption-attachment-115" class="wp-caption-text">Humphrey Kayange</p></div></p>


Tag: England

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