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UEFA Unveils Dates for Champions League, Europa League Resumption

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By Adedapo Adesanya

The Union of European Football Association (UEFA) has announced that this season’s Champions League, suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will resume on August 7 and be completed with an eight-team mini-tournament which will take place in Lisbon, Portugal.

This was made known by UEFA Deputy General Secretary, Mr Giorgio Marchetti, on Wednesday, adding that the decision was finalised after an executive committee meeting held by video conference.

The quarter-finals and semi-finals will be played over one leg, instead of the usual two, with the final to be held on August 23.

There are still four outstanding round-of-sixteen fixtures to be played. These ties are Real Madrid v Manchester City, Juventus v Lyon, Napoli v Barcelona and Chelsea v Bayern Munich. The fixtures will take place on Tuesday August 7 and Wednesday August 8, either at the originally scheduled venues or in Portugal.

Clubs, including Paris St Germain, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, and RB Leipzig have already qualified for the quarter-finals before the pandemic forced the suspension.

The plan allows for quicker completion of the season than the traditional two-legged home and away format, but it means the competition will have six fewer games which will cost UEFA broadcast revenue.

The Europa League, which is halfway through its last 16 stage, will follow a similar pattern, with the final rounds to be played in western Germany, with Inter v Getafe and Sevilla v Roma, both of which had their first-leg postponed due to COVID-19, moving to neutral venues and becoming single-leg ties. Again, it is yet to be decided whether the remaining second legs will be played at home or neutral venues.

According to Giorgio Marchetti, “The quarters, the semi-final and the final will be played at four German venues in the same reason: Cologne, Duisburg, Dusseldorf, and Gelsenkirchen between  10th and 24th of August.”

“The round of 16 matches will be played on the 5th and 6th of August. Then we have the special cases of Inter vs Getafe and Sevilla vs Roma”, Mr Marchetti concluded.

Istanbul, Turkey which was due to host the 2020 final, will now instead be the venue for the 2021 edition, while the Super Cup which is match between winners of both competition will hold in Budapest, Hungary on September 24.

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

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What is SRL & Why is It Better Than Virtual Football

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Virtual Football

Today’s sports betting services are way more advanced than several years ago. Modern punters can wager on all kinds of sports from the comfort of their homes. Aside from the standard alternatives, however, players can also bet on virtual sports and even take part in the simulated reality league (SRL).

Unlike Virtual Sports, which has been around for years, SRL is relatively new, meaning that not a lot of people know about it. Although it has its specifics, a lot of punters agree that it can be better than v-sports, especially virtual football. There are many reasons for it, so let’s dive in and learn more.

What’s the Simulated Reality League?

Before learning why the SRL is better than virtual football, it is important to share a few things about it. Generally speaking, the Simulated Reality League is a place where advanced machine learning tech and AI process large amounts of data from numerous sporting events. Thanks to that, the AI algorithm can create different numbers of situations, gameplays, and outcomes.

To put it in other words, this complex system uses the real performance of teams or players and creates a similar sporting experience where the results are unpredictable. Unlike in Virtual Sports, where everything is based on the RNG system, here, the Simulated reality league matches are based on the performance of the players and teams. In the case of football, the league offers matches from the world’s best football competitions, such as the EPL, La Liga, and the Bundesliga, and all of them take place at the same time as the real games.

It’s no surprise that the Simulated reality focuses mainly on football because this is the most popular sport in the world. With that said, it is also possible to find simulations for cricket, especially the T20 format that includes the Indian Premier League. Additionally, players will find daily coverage of the big WTA and ATP tennis tournaments.

The specifics

Since Simulated Reality is not that common among sports bettors yet, many people are not exactly sure how it all works. The most important aspect to remember is that everything is unpredictable and exciting. The matches are simulations of real-time events, and AI and the RNG tech ensure that the result is not predetermined. Instead, it is based on what’s happening in the match, making it much more exciting.

AI is the main star of the show here and is the “engine” behind everything. The people behind the SRL train the algorithm to process a lot of data and come up with unique sequences. The latter replicates the real match, providing bettors with a unique experience.

Since all Simulated Reality is new, it also means that people who have not used it so far will have a completely new experience. As we have seen, SR is very different from virtual sports, so it will be something that players will be interested in.

Things to keep in mind when comparing SR to Virtual Football

As mentioned, these two have many differences that people need to take into account. Perhaps the biggest one is realism because V-sports are just simulations that are entirely based on RNG. This means that their outcomes are random and have nothing to do with the real performance of the teams and players.

Those who decide to bet on the Simulator Reality League, however, will see that the latter uses a different algorithm. In other words, players have various types of experience.

With that said, there are some drawbacks of the SRL that bettors need to take into account, one of which is availability. Virtual Sports are available around the clock, which means you can bet on them at any time of the day. The SRL, on the other hand, is based on actual matches across football, cricket, and tennis. This means that there are only a handful of events per day.

The second drawback that users have to take into consideration is the match’s length. As mentioned, virtual sports are always there when you need them, and each match lasts no more than a couple of minutes. This allows you to bet on multiple options.

Due to how it works, the SRL is not like that because the matches there take as much time as the real ones. In the case of soccer, players will have regular 90 minutes of play.

Conclusion

Despite some disadvantages, the SRL is a very attractive option for people who want to bet on football. The new tech is somewhat between real sports betting and virtual sports, so it will definitely have a lot of fans. It will be very interesting to keep track of this option’s future development.

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Mayorkun, YKB to Thrill Fans at GOtv Boxing Night December 26

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GOtv Boxing Night

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

On Thursday, December 26, 2024, boxing fans will be serenaded with good music by the duo of Mayorkun, also known as Mayor of Lagos and YKB.

The two Afrobeats artists will be at the 32nd edition of the prestigious boxing show, GOtv Boxing Night, at Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos.

A statement from the organisers of the event, Flykite Productions, also disclosed that more music stars would perform at the show to be anchored by MC Lively.

The boxing showpiece, sponsored by GOtv, will be broadcast live on SuperSport channels across 50 African countries.

A total of six fights are scheduled for event, with the clash between the flamboyant Raheem “Badoo” Animashaun and Hammed “Ese” Ganiyu the pick of the lot. Also billed to hold is the national super welterweight title fight between Lateef “Enuoshe” Azeez and Rasheed “Fally Boy” Adeyemo.

In the other bouts, Sikiru “Omo Iya Eleja” Shogbesan will battle Imole “System” Oloyede in a national super featherweight challenge bout; Taiwo “Gentle Boy” Olowu will confront Jafaru “Tanka” Suleiman in a national super welterweight challenge, while Akintunde Abolade will square up against Emmanuel Abimbola in the national super flyweight category.

There will also be the exhibition clash between Kehinde Owoeye and Emmanuel Bamidele will face-off in the amateur flyweight category.

Commenting on the forthcoming programme, the Chief Operating Officer of Flykite Productions, Mr Bamidele Johnson, said, “Boxing fans know that the December edition of GOtv Boxing Night is always a vibrant celebration of boxing and music.

“This year, we are taking it up a notch by blending thrilling bouts with electrifying music and comedic performances by top entertainers, to give the fans a Boxing Day experience to remember.”

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Supreme Court Nullifies National Lottery Act 2005

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By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The National Lottery Act 2005 enacted by the National Assembly has been nullified by the Supreme Court.

In the lead judgment delivered on Friday by Justice Mohammed Idris, the apex court held that the parliament lacked the powers to legislate on issues relating to lottery and games of chance.

The seven-member panel of justices, in their unanimous judgment, emphasised that the Lagos State government and others were right in their arguments that the federal government cannot legislate a lottery for sub-nationals.

Recall that in 2008, the Lagos State government challenged the National Lottery Act 2005, saying it also has the right to legislate which company operates betting and others since the federation does not have the exclusive power to do this.

The Supreme Court agreed and held that the National Lottery Act 2005 should no longer be enforced in all states, except the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

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