Sports
Geodrill Wins ESG Award for African Taekwondo Athletes’ Support
An international exploration drilling company, Geodrill Limited, has won the 2023 Australia-Africa Minerals and Energy Group (AAMEG) Award for Established ESG Leader for a Resources Services company.
The award was due to their commitment and funding to the LVOLUTION ACADEMY of Cote d’Ivoire and the running of its activities.
The Ivorian mining community memorialized the prize at an industry event on October 13 in Abidjan.
Geodrill and other sponsors, including Endeavour Mining, X&M Suppliers, Foraco, Koulou Gold Corp, Sotici, Energold, and IDC, have been proud supporters of LVOLUTION ACADEMY founded to promote education, training, and social integration of underprivileged youth, through the practice of martial arts and combat sports to afford young athletes from Côte d’Ivoire and other African nations the chance to shine at world, Olympic and Paralympic events.
Master Lawson Franck Laté founded the LVOLUTION ACADEMY.
Geodrill contributed 10,000,000 FCFA ($17,000) to the international trips of the Academy, and a significant milestone was sending a team from the Academy to Egypt in February 2023 to compete in the 2023 Egypt International Open for Taekwondo.
The funding from Geodrill ensured LVOLUTION ACADEMY athletes and coaches could attend and participate in local and international occasions, including the 2023 one held in Cairo.
The outcome was a silver medal for Diallo Ibrahima Joël and a Gold medal for Paralympic athlete Boli Michel, who doubles as a Côte d’Ivoire national Paralympic team member.
Taekwondo coach Master Lawson stated, “The objective is to allow these athletes to dream big, yearn for medals, and set their hearts on glory, like Cheick Cissé, Taekwondo champion, and first Ivorian athlete to obtain an Olympic gold medal”.
He added, “The financial support of GEODRILL was the first stepping stone to make this dream come true and to galvanize young people ready to take on challenges and offer our African societies new champions, on and off the mats.”
The annual AAMEG ESG award promotes established companies that leave a significant footprint in Africa through steadfast adherence to ESG principles and proactive contribution to community benefit.
Presented at the Africa Down Under conference held in Perth, Australia, the preceding month, the conference brought together visiting ministers and delegations from across Africa.
Dave Harper, CEO of Geodrill Limited, accepted the prestigious award and acknowledged it was a collaboration of services companies in the Ivory Coast that came together to support the academy.
“Without the support of Geodrill, the athletes would not have been able to participate in this first competition, which resulted in one gold and one silver medal for Ivory Coast”, Stanislas de Stabenrath, CEO of X&M Suppliers and Board Member of LVOLUTION shared his excitement for the award.
He indicated that “Fair access to all talented athletes to compete was the Academy’s and its sponsors’ goal. The academy’s athletes recently participated in the Senegal International Open, winning seven medals (1 gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze). Hitherto, the achievements of the LVOLUTION ACADEMY’s athletes are impressive, with 9 medals won in less than 4 months and a total of 19 medals in 3 years. The athletes are also “coached” outside the arena to help them choose their career paths and fund their education. Some athletes have already completed internships with companies in the mining sector, and one athlete obtained a diploma and a full-time job as an HR assistant at Se Former Autrement”.
By Adedapo Adesanya
English football club, Aston Villa, emerged as the winners of the 2026 Europa League on Wednesday night, beating German club Freiburg 3-0 in Istanbul, Turkey.
It is their first trophy for 30 years and their first European prize since winning the European Cup in 1982.
Two stunning first-half strikes from Youri Tielemans and Emi Buendia gave Villa control before Morgan Rogers’ strike sealed a second major European title 44 years after they won the European Cup.
It also re-established Villa’s Spanish coach Unai Emery’s dominance in the tournament, winning his fifth title. He previously won three with Sevilla (2013 – 2016) and one with Villareal in 2021, defeating Manchester United on penalties. The former Arsenal coach has only lost with the team in the competition’s final after a 4-1 thumping by Chelsea in 2019.
Aston Villa started on a weaker foot and looked to be struggling against their German opponents right up until the 41st minute, when Tielemans emphatically opened the floodgates, drifting into space from a corner kick and before superbly volleying home from Morgan Rogers’ floated cross.
With the last kick of the first half, Emiliano Buendia curled in a left-footed strike out of the reach of Freiburg’s goalkeeper, Noah Atubolu.
The game was good as done in the 58th minute with Buendia turning provider for Rogers to send the Birmingham club into early celebration.
Amadou Onana hit the post, and Buendia should have netted a fourth; by then, Villa had already sealed victory.
Aston Villa, already guaranteed a place in the Champions League next season, opens the possibility of a sixth team representing the Premier League in the tournament.
Another English team, Crystal Palace, will hope to clinch another trophy when they face Spanish club Rayo Vallecano in the final of the Conference League in Leipzig, Germany, next Wednesday (May 27), while Premier League champions, Arsenal, will be looking to win the Champions League against holders Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on Saturday, May 30.
In the Women’s Champions League, Barcelona will be looking to win its third title in four years against the competition’s most dominant team, OL Lyonnes, which is gunning for a ninth title, when both sides meet on Saturday, May 23.
By Adedapo Adesanya
After a twenty-two-year wait, Arsenal have emerged as Premier League champions after Manchester City drew 1-1 at Bournemouth on Tuesday night.
The Gunners won the English top-flight trophy for the first time since Arsène Wenger’s Invincibles in 2004 after back-to-back near successes that saw Man City and Liverpool win the coveted prize.
It caps a remarkable achievement for Coach Mikel Arteta in his first job in management after taking over from Unai Emery in December 2019.
Arsenal, which finished as runners-up in the past three campaigns, led the league for most of this season before City whittled down the North London’s nine-point lead after beating them at the Etihad in April.
However, City suffered a misstep after they drew against Everton, while Arsenal recorded four successive wins without conceding a goal. Arsenal beat Burnley 1-0 on Monday.
The club will now receive the Premier League trophy at Selhurst Park on Sunday after they face Crystal Palace in their final league game.
Arteta will become the longest-serving manager in England’s top four divisions when Manchester City’s coach Pep Guardiola’s departure from the Etihad after 10 years is confirmed. He has the chance to emulate his mentor by winning the Champions League when Arsenal face Paris Saint-Germain on May 30.
The Gunners will be looking to follow in the footsteps of Manchester United, Liverpool, and City, to become another English team to win the league and the Champions League in the same season.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Josep “Pep” Guardiola will reportedly leave Manchester City after 10 years as manager of the football club at the end of this season.
Despite no official confirmation from the club, the English media have widely reported that the Spaniard will coach his last game as Manchester City manager against Aston Villa on Sunday (May 24), the final day of the Premier League season.
Chelsea’s former coach, Enzo Maresca, who is out of work after leaving the London club in January, is expected to replace him.
Manchester City will play Bournemouth away on Tuesday as the club looks to further exert pressure on Arsenal, who are in contention to lift their first Premier League trophy in 22 years, on the final day.
They need to win both games to give them a chance of taking the Premier League from the league leaders and to secure a domestic treble. The Mikel Arteta-coached Arsenal will be champions if they beat Crystal Palace on Sunday. The team could also win the title tonight if the Cityzens lose at the Vitality Stadium.
Since his appointment in February 2016, the 55-year-old football manager has won everything club football-related at the Dubai-owned club.
Guardiola won his third FA Cup with City last Saturday when they beat Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley, and his fifth League Cup in March, after beating Arsenal 2-0.
As manager, Guardiola has won six Premier Leagues and a Champions League with Man City. He has also won the FIFA Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup and three Community Shields.
Guardiola, a former Barcelona coach, started at Manchester City on July 1 2016, joining from Bayern Munich. He finished third in his first Premier League season, won by Leicester City and then won the title six times over the next seven years.
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