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Olympic Flame to Take Seaborne Journey to 2024 Paris Games

FILE - Greek actress Xanthi Georgiou, playing the role of High Priestess, lights the torch with the flame during the Olympic flame handover ceremony at Panathinean stadium in Athens, Greece, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)
FILE - Greek actress Xanthi Georgiou, playing the role of High Priestess, lights the torch with the flame during the Olympic flame handover ceremony at Panathinean stadium in Athens, Greece, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)
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Olympic Flame to Take Seaborne Journey to 2024 Paris Games

FILE - Greek actress Xanthi Georgiou, playing the role of High Priestess, lights the torch with the flame during the Olympic flame handover ceremony at Panathinean stadium in Athens, Greece, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)
FILE - Greek actress Xanthi Georgiou, playing the role of High Priestess, lights the torch with the flame during the Olympic flame handover ceremony at Panathinean stadium in Athens, Greece, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)

The Olympic flame is going for a sail.

Instead of arriving overland, the symbolic flame alighting the 2024 Paris Games will take to the seas from its birthplace in Greece, arriving aboard a three-masted tall ship in the French port of Marseille.

Paris organizers announced the flame’s journey on Friday at City Hall in Marseille, a former Greek colony founded 2,600 years ago, The Associated Press said.

According to tradition, the flame will be lit by the sun’s rays at a ceremony in Ancient Olympia. Then it will be carried by the Olympic torch to Athens and across the Mediterranean to the famed Old Port of Marseille, where the flame will be greeted by an armada of boats along the French coastline, organizers said.

It will travel to the Marseille marina -- where Olympic sailing competitions will be based -- and the Marseille stadium hosting Olympic soccer games, according to the organizers.

After that it will be carried overland in the traditional torch relay, before arriving in Paris to light the cauldron and officially open the 2024 Games, which run July 26-Aug. 11.

Friday’s announcement came as the general assembly of Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee was meeting in Kyiv to discuss a possible boycott of Paris 2024 if Russian athletes are allowed to compete.

The International Olympic Committee last week sought to chart a path for athletes from Russia and Belarus who have not actively supported the war in Ukraine to join the Paris Olympics. That provoked strong objections from Ukraine, which wants those countries banned from most international sports.

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African Players in Europe: Marmoush, Sarr Strike in FA Cup Wins

Manchester City's Egyptian striker #07 Omar Marmoush (C) shoots to score their second goal during the English FA Cup quarter-final football match between Bournemouth and Manchester City at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, on the south coast of England on March 30, 2025. (AFP)
Manchester City's Egyptian striker #07 Omar Marmoush (C) shoots to score their second goal during the English FA Cup quarter-final football match between Bournemouth and Manchester City at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, on the south coast of England on March 30, 2025. (AFP)
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African Players in Europe: Marmoush, Sarr Strike in FA Cup Wins

Manchester City's Egyptian striker #07 Omar Marmoush (C) shoots to score their second goal during the English FA Cup quarter-final football match between Bournemouth and Manchester City at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, on the south coast of England on March 30, 2025. (AFP)
Manchester City's Egyptian striker #07 Omar Marmoush (C) shoots to score their second goal during the English FA Cup quarter-final football match between Bournemouth and Manchester City at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, on the south coast of England on March 30, 2025. (AFP)

Egyptian Omar Marmoush and Senegalese Ismaila Sarr scored to help Manchester City and Crystal Palace secure FA Cup semi-finals places at the weekend.

Marmoush netted his fifth goal for City since a January move from Eintracht Frankfurt, scoring the winner in a 2-1 victory over Bournemouth.

Back in England after Africa Cup of Nations qualifying duty, Sarr put Palace two goals ahead en route to a 3-0 London derby victory at Fulham.

Here, AFP Sport highlights African headline-makers in the FA Cup and major European leagues:

ENGLAND

OMAR MARMOUSH (Manchester City)

He came off the bench to send City into the semi-finals with the second-half winner at Bournemouth. Pep Guardiola's side, who will face Nottingham Forest at Wembley in April, trailed to Evanilson's first-half strike in the quarter-final. Erling Haaland levelled in the 49th minute before Marmoush netted in the 63rd minute as he took Nico O'Reilly's flick and fired past Kepa Arrizabalaga.

ISMAILA SARR (Crystal Palace)

Sarr helped the Eagles reach the semi-finals with the second goal in their victory at Fulham. Eberechi Eze put Palace ahead in the first half before Sarr struck in the 38th minute. Eze skipped down the left and whipped an inch-perfect cross to Sarr, who evaded his marker and headed past Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno for his ninth goal in all competitions this season. Palace will play Aston Villa in the semi-finals as they look to reach the final for the first time since 2016.

SPAIN

PATHE CISS (Rayo Vallecano)

Senegalese midfielder Ciss produced a brilliant header to put Vallecano ahead against Alaves in their 2-0 win. The 31-year-old made a darting run to the near post and flashed a header across goal and into the top corner. It was his third goal of the season in La Liga and he is playing an important role in Rayo's push for European football.

ITALY

ZITO LUVUMBO (Cagliari)

The 23-year-old Angola winger, in his fifth season at Cagliari, scored in injury time of his team's 3-0 win over rock-bottom Monza to help ease relegation fears. Cagliari are now six points above the Serie A drop zone. Gianluca Gaetano, who had scored the second goal, created the opportunity for Luvumbo with a long over-the-top through ball.

GERMANY

AMINE ADLI, VICTOR BONIFACE (Bayer Leverkusen)

Nigerian Boniface and Moroccan Adli scored in the second half as defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen came from behind to win 3-1 at home to relegation-threatened Bochum. Boniface converted a cross with his knee on 60 minutes and Adli slid the ball into the net with three minutes of regular time remaining.

ELIAS SAAD (St Pauli)

Tunisian Saad temporarily silenced supporters of league leaders Bayern Munich by equalizing midway through the first half of a match his club eventually lost 3-2 to lie three points above the relegation zone. Saad moved unnoticed into the Bayern area and tapped the ball into the net.

FRANCE

ABDOULAYE TOURE (Le Havre)

The Guinea midfielder scored a pair of first-half penalties as Le Havre beat Nantes 3-2 to end an eight-match winless run at home and boost their Ligue 1 survival hopes. Toure, who started both of his nation's World Cup qualifiers this month, is his club's top scorer this season with seven goals after netting four times in the past three games.