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Olympics Flame Sets Sail for France in Final Relay Leg

French 19th-century three-masted barque Belem, escorted by sailboats, sails after leaving the Piraeus port, near Athens, with the Olympic flame on board to begin its journey to France on April 27, 2024. (Photo by Theophile Bloudanis / AFP)
French 19th-century three-masted barque Belem, escorted by sailboats, sails after leaving the Piraeus port, near Athens, with the Olympic flame on board to begin its journey to France on April 27, 2024. (Photo by Theophile Bloudanis / AFP)
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Olympics Flame Sets Sail for France in Final Relay Leg

French 19th-century three-masted barque Belem, escorted by sailboats, sails after leaving the Piraeus port, near Athens, with the Olympic flame on board to begin its journey to France on April 27, 2024. (Photo by Theophile Bloudanis / AFP)
French 19th-century three-masted barque Belem, escorted by sailboats, sails after leaving the Piraeus port, near Athens, with the Olympic flame on board to begin its journey to France on April 27, 2024. (Photo by Theophile Bloudanis / AFP)

The Paris 2024 Olympic flame sailed for France on Saturday on board a three-masted ship to mark the final sprint of preparations ahead of the Olympic Games opening ceremony on July 26.

The "Belem" left the port of Piraeus in the morning for an 11-day voyage and will arrive in the southern city of Marseille, founded by the Greek settlers of Phocaea around 600 BC, on May 8.

Paris Games organizers had received the flame on Friday in a ceremony at Athens' Panathenaic stadium, site of the first modern Olympics in 1896, following last week's lighting in ancient Olympia that kicked off an 11-day Greek relay leg.

After a brief ceremony in Piraeus on Saturday the vessel set sail for France, The Associated Press reported.
An estimated 150,000 spectators are expected to attend the ceremony at the Old Port of Marseille, which will host the Olympic sailing competitions and be the start of a 68-day French torch relay across the country.
The last torch bearer in Marseille will climb on the roof of the Velodrome stadium on May 9 and the relay will end in Paris on July 26 with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron during the Games' opening ceremony along the Seine river.
Organizers hope the opening ceremony, in which 160 boats carrying athletes from around the world will travel a six kilometer route towards the Eiffel Tower, will deliver a jaw-dropping spectacle.
Some 300,000 spectators will watch from the banks as a global audience tunes in on TV, and with security forces in the country on high alert with the Games taking place against a backdrop of wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
The French government has asked around 45 foreign countries to contribute several thousand extra military, police and civilian personnel to help safeguard the Paris Olympics.

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Sports

North Africa Football Fans Use Stadium Freedoms to Back Palestinians

An ultra for Wydad AC football club in the old city of Casablanca, Morocco, where fans have been showing support for Palestinians - AFP
An ultra for Wydad AC football club in the old city of Casablanca, Morocco, where fans have been showing support for Palestinians - AFP
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North Africa Football Fans Use Stadium Freedoms to Back Palestinians

An ultra for Wydad AC football club in the old city of Casablanca, Morocco, where fans have been showing support for Palestinians - AFP
An ultra for Wydad AC football club in the old city of Casablanca, Morocco, where fans have been showing support for Palestinians - AFP

In North Africa football stadiums are being used to express solidarity for the Palestinians amid the Gaza war.

As early as October 8 -- the day after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel that sparked the war -- supporters of Raja Club Athletic in Casablanca revived an old chant.

"You for whom my heart is saddened," goes the song which spread throughout the Arab world. "Our tears have been flowing for years. Palestine, my beloved, the Arabs are asleep. You, the most beautiful country, must resist."

In Algiers, dramatic choreographed fan displays, known as tifos, depicted giant figures in the traditional keffiyeh scarf associated with the Palestinian cause and calls for a "free Palestine".

There have also been vows to "avenge the (Palestinian) children" as well as support for the "resistance fighters in the heart of the tunnels" -- a reference to Hamas's tunnels under Gaza.

Supporters interviewed by AFP in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia used pseudonyms and covered their faces to conceal their identities.

Seif, a 28-year-old member of the Zapatista Ultras, who support Esperance Sportive of Tunis, said the Palestinian issue added to other more local ones, citing Tunisian corruption and the death of teenaged supporter Omar Laabidi who drowned during a police chase in 2018.

Throughout the region, political dissent in football stadiums takes place against a backdrop of repression and a lack of freedom of assembly and expression, according to human rights groups, which only worsened following the Arab Spring.

Algeria, which saw massive pro-democracy protests in 2019 that ousted former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, later banned large-scale demonstrations.

As in Morocco, pro-Palestinian rallies have been allowed by the authorities.

Hamza, an ultra for Wydad AC, said:"It's much simpler to say it in a stadium," he said, where the "crowd effect" allows you to "let loose", the 21-year-old communications student added.

Mohamed Jouili, a sociology professor at the University of Tunis, said politics and sports have always been linked.

The ultras "want to show that they're doers and not merely a reckless group of football fans -- that they, too, have a viewpoint on society".

Abdelhamid, an Algerian member of the group Amor e Mentalita which supports MC Alger, said ultras were "not politicians", but "the truth always comes out of the stadium".

 

Sports

Man United vs Arsenal: Why Arteta's Success Could be a Blueprint for United

Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta celebrates at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta celebrates at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
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Man United vs Arsenal: Why Arteta's Success Could be a Blueprint for United

Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta celebrates at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta celebrates at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Two of England's most storied soccer teams go head to head on Sunday with their paths heading in wildly different directions.

Arsenal - top of the Premier League - is mounting a second consecutive title challenge and hoping to finally end a two-decades-long wait to be crowned champion.

Manager Erik ten Hag could yet salvage the campaign by winning the FA Cup this month. But even victory against Manchester City in the final would not disguise his team's woeful performance in the league, and at a time when new co-owner Jim Ratcliffe is overhauling the failing club.

It wasn't so long ago that Mikel Arteta's fate was similarly doomed at Arsenal.

Lured from City in 2019, when he was Pep Guardiola's trusted assistant, Arteta delivered a first trophy by winning the FA Cup after an eighth-place finish in the league.

Three straight defeats at the start of the following season included a 5-0 rout at City and calls for Arteta to be fired. Arsenal blew the chance of Champions League qualification by losing seven of the last 12 games.

The jury was out on Arteta but Arsenal backed his methods and proved its faith in him by giving him the power to dispose of highly paid players like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil. Focus and money was spent on young players who would grow with Arteta and buy into his methods such as Martin Odegaard, Ben White and Declan Rice, who have been key figures in their rise over the past two seasons.

They led the league for 248 days last season but another collapse was a cause for criticism. However, the manner in which Arteta has transformed a club that hadn't qualified for the Champions League since 2016 until last year is a lesson in the benefits of patience and trust in a manager.

How Ten Hag will hope United follow Arsenal's lead.

The Dutchman has repeatedly called for trust in his process in the face of ever-worsening results.

United's 13 league defeats are its most in the Premier League era. United has 18 losses overall.

United has won only one of its last seven league games, against last-placed Sheffield United. At eighth in the standings, it is on course for its lowest finish of the era.

Such damning numbers are the reason there is so much uncertainty around Ten Hag's position, even with the chance of silverware.

He has pointed to a debilitating injury list all season, and if he can defy the odds in the FA Cup final, he can point to consecutive campaigns with a trophy which no United manager has achieved since Alex Ferguson.

Having also secured a top-four finish in his first season, Ten Hag could make the case that his second season is an outlier.

Ferguson, himself, believed he needed the FA Cup in 1990 to take the pressure off after a 13th-place finish in the division.

But Ten Hag's squad looks unbalanced. United appears tactically naive and has conceded 81 goals in all competitions so far, the most since 1976-77.

United supporters are more hopeful than confident their team can spoil Arsenal's title chase this weekend.

Sports

Inevitable Madrid Continue Champions League Love Affair

Real Madrid's players celebrate victory at the end of the Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich. OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP
Real Madrid's players celebrate victory at the end of the Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich. OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP
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Inevitable Madrid Continue Champions League Love Affair

Real Madrid's players celebrate victory at the end of the Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich. OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP
Real Madrid's players celebrate victory at the end of the Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich. OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP

Real Madrid turned to the same old story in the Champions League and even though Bayern Munich knew all of the words, they were powerless to stop the kings of Europe pulling off another improbable and yet inevitable comeback.
Joselu's late double fired the record 14-time winners into the Wembley final on June 1, just as it seemed Bayern had set up another all-German battle as in 2013, said AFP.
Madrid's Jude Bellingham will face his former team Borussia Dortmund in search of the 15th, after Los Blancos returned from what he described as "dead and buried" to triumph.
"We saw ourselves in the final and now I'm lost for words," said shellshocked Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
"Madrid are immortal," wrote Spanish newspaper Marca. "The eternal miracle," proclaimed another capital publication, AS.
Madrid will be firm favorites to extend their dominance in Europe after reaching their sixth Champions League final in the last 11 years and winning five of the last 10.
Regardless of whether they are outplayed, as by Manchester City in the quarter-finals, or on the verge of elimination, as against Bayern, Madrid so often find a way where other teams would wither.
Alphonso Davies' second-half strike had Bayern dreaming of a 2013 final rematch against Bundesliga rivals Dortmund, but journeyman forward Joselu intervened in the dying embers of the match.
"It's happened again -- it's happened so often," marveled Madrid's Carlo Ancelotti, a four-time winner of the trophy as a coach.
"Fans who push us on, a fantastic stadium, players who never stop believing -- it's simply something magical."
'Going for the 15th'
Madrid have enjoyed many spectacular comebacks over the years but the last time they lifted the trophy, in 2022, their run to the final defied belief at every step.
Two goals down on aggregate against Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16, an 18-minute Karim Benzema hat-trick sent them through.
Despite trailing Chelsea 3-0 in the semi-final second leg, a majestic Luka Modric pass and Rodrygo's finish forced extra-time, and Madrid went on to win.
Thomas Tuchel was Chelsea coach at the time and even with that first-hand experience, the Bayern boss could not prepare his team for Madrid's penchant for European magic.
Two injury-time goals in just over a minute from Rodrygo rescued Madrid in the semi-final against Manchester City -- and even though Liverpool outplayed them in the Paris final, Los Blancos triumphed.
However the match which sprang to mind most readily was Madrid's previous victory over Bayern in 2018, when goalkeeper Sven Ulreich made an inexplicable error to allow Benzema in.
This time it was veteran Neuer, who had excelled throughout, who suddenly found himself spilling a shot he would usually contain comfortably and Joselu pounced.
Fellow goalkeepers Gianluigi Donnarumma, Loris Karius and Edouard Mendy will have sympathy after they all committed high-profile errors against Madrid in recent years, contributing to Los Blancos' burgeoning trophy cabinet.
AC Milan, with seven Champions League wins, are Madrid's closest contenders on exactly half the Spanish giants' tally.
Final opponents Dortmund have lifted the trophy on just one occasion, back in 1997, and few will give them a chance against the might of Madrid.
Since ending an 11-year dry spell by winning their 10th Champions League during Ancelotti's first spell at the helm a decade ago, Madrid have not looked back.
"We always believe in ourselves... it happened again and we're going for the 15th," said Vinicius Junior, who scored the goal that won Madrid's 14th.

Sports

Malaysian Team Pulls Out of Showpiece after Footballer Acid Attack

Johor Darul Ta'zim's former Malaysia captain Safiq Bin Rahim was the third player to fall victim to assault in the past week. MANJUNATH KIRAN / AFP
Johor Darul Ta'zim's former Malaysia captain Safiq Bin Rahim was the third player to fall victim to assault in the past week. MANJUNATH KIRAN / AFP
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Malaysian Team Pulls Out of Showpiece after Footballer Acid Attack

Johor Darul Ta'zim's former Malaysia captain Safiq Bin Rahim was the third player to fall victim to assault in the past week. MANJUNATH KIRAN / AFP
Johor Darul Ta'zim's former Malaysia captain Safiq Bin Rahim was the third player to fall victim to assault in the past week. MANJUNATH KIRAN / AFP

One of Malaysia's top football clubs has pulled out of Friday's season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country.
It leaves the kick-off of Malaysia's football season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry, said AFP.
Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor FC said they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) citing "a series of criminal incidents and recent threats".
Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care with fourth-degree burns after being splashed with acid at the weekend outside the capital Kuala Lumpur.
His Malaysia teammate Akhyar Rashid was injured in a robbery outside his home in the eastern state of Terengganu last week.
In the latest incident on Tuesday, JDT's former Malaysia skipper Safiq Rahim escaped unharmed after he was threatened with a hammer and his car windscreen was smashed by two assailants on his way home from a training session.
As a result, Selangor FC said they had withdrawn from the Friday night match against Malaysian Super League champions JDT -- one of Asia's top clubs -- at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri, southern Johor state.
"After much deliberation and detailed discussion with various parties... the club has reluctantly decided to not participate," Selangor, the 2023 Super League runners-up, said in a statement issued late Wednesday.
"The safety of the team is of utmost importance and we take all forms of violence and threats seriously".
Stuart Ramalingam, chief executive officer of the Malaysian Football League, conceded that the game would not be played.
"Yes, likely, since Selangor has confirmed they won't attend," he told AFP on Thursday.
Ramalingam added the five remaining Super League fixtures scheduled for Saturday and Sunday would go ahead.
"All other matches will go on," he said. "There are no other clubs that have asked for postponement or indicated they don't want to play."
Critical condition
Football Association of Malaysia president Hamidin Mohamad Amin has urged high-profile footballers to take safety precautions, including hiring bodyguards.
Authorities have yet to establish any motives for the attacks, the first since the formation of the country's professional league 30 years ago.
"It has never happened in the history of Malaysian football," Hamidin Mohamad Amin, president of the Football Association of Malaysia, told AFP.
Faisal is in critical condition in hospital and will reportedly need multiple surgeries after he was splashed with acid at a shopping mall on Sunday.
Nicknamed "Mickey", the 26-year-old plays on the right wing for both club and country.
The third victim, 36-year-old Safiq, plays for JDT, which is run by the crown prince of the powerful Johor royal family -- Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar is the current king of Malaysia under the country's rotating monarchy.
Adam Nor Azlin, 28, a center-back for Pahang and Malaysia, said: "I hope violence against football players will stop immediately.
"As a player, I am shocked by the attacks. I pray they recover fast and return to the field."
He also appealed to fans to continue attending matches.
"We want to hear your loud roar. Show us that you love football and oppose violence," he said
Football fan Zul-Azri Mohamad Khalid, 46, said he felt "shocked and angry that there are people who can go to this extent" and called the attack on Faisal "inhumane".
Mohamad Shuhaily Mohamad Zain, the police criminal investigation department director, said they had yet to determine a motive or if the attacks were connected.
But he said all the attacks had involved two people who had followed the players and vowed the police would do whatever it takes to apprehend the perpetrators.
Two suspects were arrested in relation to the attack on Faisal. One had been freed with the other still being questioned, he added.

Sports

Olympic Torch Begins Journey Across France after Festive Welcome in Marseille

The French Air Force elite acrobatic flying team "Patrouille de France" (PAF) flies over the French 19th-century three-masted barque Belem at the Vieux-Port (Old Port) during the Olympic Flame arrival ceremony ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in Marseille, southeastern France, on May 8, 2024. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP)
The French Air Force elite acrobatic flying team "Patrouille de France" (PAF) flies over the French 19th-century three-masted barque Belem at the Vieux-Port (Old Port) during the Olympic Flame arrival ceremony ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in Marseille, southeastern France, on May 8, 2024. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP)
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Olympic Torch Begins Journey Across France after Festive Welcome in Marseille

The French Air Force elite acrobatic flying team "Patrouille de France" (PAF) flies over the French 19th-century three-masted barque Belem at the Vieux-Port (Old Port) during the Olympic Flame arrival ceremony ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in Marseille, southeastern France, on May 8, 2024. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP)
The French Air Force elite acrobatic flying team "Patrouille de France" (PAF) flies over the French 19th-century three-masted barque Belem at the Vieux-Port (Old Port) during the Olympic Flame arrival ceremony ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in Marseille, southeastern France, on May 8, 2024. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP)

Tens of thousands of people welcomed the Olympic torch Wednesday in the southern French city of Marseille, marking another milestone in the lead-up to the Summer Games in Paris.
French Olympic swimmer Florent Manaudou became the first torch carrier in France after the Olympic flame arrived in Marseille’s Old Port on a majestic three-mast ship from Greece for the welcoming ceremony amid tight security, The Associated Press reported.
The ship sailed into Marseille's old port with the French national anthem “La Marseillaise” echoing from the embankment and a French Air force flyover with planes first drawing the five Olympic rings and then the red-blue-white colors of the nation's flag.
The ship docked on a pontoon resembling an athletics track and Manaudou carried the torch to mainland France. He handed it to French Paralympic sprinter Nantenin Keïta, who won a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, to carry it to rapper Jul, a Marseille native, who lit a cauldron as tens of thousands cheered on the shore and thousands of others waved from balconies and windows.
“We can be proud,” said President Emmanuel Macron, who attended the ceremony to welcome the torch.
“The flame is on French soil,” Macron said. “The games are coming to France and are entering the lives of the French people."
Marseille’s Mayor Benoît Payan said that more than 230,000 people attended Wednesday's ceremony.
“Tonight, the people of Marseille won the first gold medal of these Olympic Games,” Payan said, beaming with pride.
The torch was lit in Greece last month before it was officially handed to France. It left Athens aboard a ship named Belem, which was first used in 1896, and spent twelve days at sea.
Paris 2024 Olympics Organizing Committee President Tony Estanguet said the return of the Olympic Games to France was cause for a “fantastic celebration.”
“As a former athlete, I know how important the start of a competition is. That is why we chose Marseille, because it's definitely one of the cities most in love with sports,” added Estanguet, a former Olympic canoeing star with gold medals from the 2000, 2004 and 2012 Games.
Safety of visitors and residents has been a top priority for authorities in Marseille, France's second largest city with nearly a million inhabitants. About 8,000 police officers have been deployed around the harbor.
Thousands of firefighters and bomb disposal squads have been positioned around the city along with maritime police and anti-drone teams patrolling the city's waters and its airspace.
“It's a monumental day and we have been working hard for visitors and residents of Marseille to enjoy this historical moment,” said Yannick Ohanessian, the city's deputy mayor.
The torch relay will start on Thursday in Marseille, before heading to Paris through iconic places across the country, from the world-famous Mont Saint-Michel to D-Day landing beaches in Normandy and the Versailles Palace.

Sports

Nadal Welcomes Unusual Role of Underdog

Spain's Rafael Nadal practices in the lead-up to the 2022 Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, January 3, 2022. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
Spain's Rafael Nadal practices in the lead-up to the 2022 Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, January 3, 2022. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
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Nadal Welcomes Unusual Role of Underdog

Spain's Rafael Nadal practices in the lead-up to the 2022 Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, January 3, 2022. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
Spain's Rafael Nadal practices in the lead-up to the 2022 Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, January 3, 2022. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal said on Wednesday he was "excited to be playing in Rome" despite entering the Italian Open unseeded and ranked 305.

"All the matches are tough for me today, difficult and more unpredictable than what they used to be for me, especially on clay," the 37-year-old, 10-time Italian Open winner said.

"I accept that role. I accept that challenge. I'm excited about the way that I can be able to play if I keep working the proper way and my body allows me."

The 22-time Grand Slam singles champion has recently returned to the circuit after a long absence due to injury, AFP reported.

He will open his campaign against Belgian qualifier Zizou Bergs with the Spanish icon taking nothing for granted but confident of his current match preparation.

"I'm excited to be playing in Rome. It's a tournament that brings back a lot of unforgettable memories," said Nadal, who turns 38 on June 3.

"But it's day by day. This will be my third week almost in a row on the tour, third tournament almost in a row.

"That hasn't happened for a super long time -- that's good news.

"I need to keep going. I need to keep exploring how I will be able to manage to play every day.

"But I'm happy the way that I feel today."

Nadal is not the only top player with injury issues. Young stars Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are missing Rome.

"When you push your body to the limit, you get injured," said Nadal.

"When the game is faster and faster and faster, you get injured.

"When you play most of the year on hard courts and the surfaces are tougher for the body, you get injured. That's the simple answer."

But he said that such issues were inevitable.

"It is also about the tournaments, about the business, about the sport."

"At the end the players want to make money. The tournaments want to make money. The cycles come together.

"We accept that role. Things happen."

"You cannot complain about that. You accept what's going on. You keep going. You get injured, you have to recover well.

"They are young (Alcaraz and Sinner), they are going to have plenty of time to play in Rome and have a lot of success here. No drama."

Sports

Olympic Flame Arrives in Marseille Amid Tight Security 

French 19th-century three-masted barque Belem sails in the bay of Marseille, in the Mediterranean Sea, on May 8, 2024, before landing with the Olympic torch, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. (AFP)
French 19th-century three-masted barque Belem sails in the bay of Marseille, in the Mediterranean Sea, on May 8, 2024, before landing with the Olympic torch, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. (AFP)
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Olympic Flame Arrives in Marseille Amid Tight Security 

French 19th-century three-masted barque Belem sails in the bay of Marseille, in the Mediterranean Sea, on May 8, 2024, before landing with the Olympic torch, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. (AFP)
French 19th-century three-masted barque Belem sails in the bay of Marseille, in the Mediterranean Sea, on May 8, 2024, before landing with the Olympic torch, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. (AFP)

The Olympic flame reached Marseille, just outside the Old Port, amid tight security on Wednesday, 79 days before the Paris 2024 Games Opening Ceremony.

More than 150,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony after a six-hour parade of the three-masted Belem, which left Greece on April 27 with the flame after it was lit in Ancient Olympia 11 days earlier.

The ship was awaited by 1,024 boats.

Around 6,000 law enforcement officers are securing the area before Florent Manaudou, France's 2012 Olympic men's 50 meters freestyle swimming champion, brings the flame to land shortly after 1730 GMT in the presence of President Emmanuel Macron.

Police canine units and elite forces snipers have also been deployed.

"It's an unprecedented level of security," Interior minister Gerald Darmanin said. "Life goes on in Marseille but in great security conditions.

"We conceived this event as a ceremony, the fifth of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics (on top of the opening and closing ceremonies," said Paris 2024 executive director Thierry Reboul who is in charge of ceremonies.

"Marseille is the ideal spot to create memories."

"It was the obvious choice," Tony Estanguet, the president of the Paris 2024 organizing committee, said of Marseille, which was founded around 600 BC by Greek settlers from Phocea.

That will be followed by a free rap concert on a floating stage in front of 45,000 spectators.

"It's a huge honor and I think it's an exceptional promotion for the city," retiree and boat owner Henri Gerente, told Reuters.

"It will be watched by hundreds of millions of people, so I am very proud and I hope that everyone will participate in this momentum. It can only be a good thing for the economy and for everything else, for the image of the city. So I'm proud of it."

On Wednesday morning, the tranquility of the gentle breeze was matched only by the glittering of the Mediterranean Sea in the background of the Old Port, making for an ideal day in France's oldest city.

The relay will start on Thursday with former Olympique de Marseille soccer players Jean-Pierre Papin, Didier Drogba and Basile Boli, as well as three-star chef Alexandre Mazzia among the torch bearers.

More than 10,000 people will take part in the torch relay before the flame reaches Paris and is installed near the Louvre, in the Jardin des Tuileries.

The Olympic Opening Ceremony will take place on the River Seine on July 26.

Sports

Kylian Mbappe Trudges off After Another Champions League Dream with PSG Ends 

Football - Champions League - Semifinal - Second Leg - Paris St Germain v Borussia Dortmund - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - May 7, 2024 Paris St Germain's Kylian Mbappe looks dejected after the match. (Reuters) 
Football - Champions League - Semifinal - Second Leg - Paris St Germain v Borussia Dortmund - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - May 7, 2024 Paris St Germain's Kylian Mbappe looks dejected after the match. (Reuters) 
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Kylian Mbappe Trudges off After Another Champions League Dream with PSG Ends 

Football - Champions League - Semifinal - Second Leg - Paris St Germain v Borussia Dortmund - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - May 7, 2024 Paris St Germain's Kylian Mbappe looks dejected after the match. (Reuters) 
Football - Champions League - Semifinal - Second Leg - Paris St Germain v Borussia Dortmund - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - May 7, 2024 Paris St Germain's Kylian Mbappe looks dejected after the match. (Reuters) 

Kylian Mbappe leaned forward with his head bowed and hands on his thighs.

Another Champions League dream with Paris Saint-Germain was over, ruined by the ruthless efficiency of a Borussia Dortmund team that stopped him scoring in both legs of their Champions League semifinal and recorded a 1-0 win in each.

“We always want to win at PSG, we feel sad,” Mbappe said after Tuesday's defeat. “We should have scored. We had the chances to score (and) when you don't, when you're not efficient at both ends, it's difficult to go through.”

PSG coach Luis Enrique consoled Mbappe, and then his star striker trudged off the field and toward a new destination next season.

Mbappe didn't address questions about his future. Most observers expect his next club to be Real Madrid, which leads PSG 14-0 in European Cup trophies and could add a 15th should it get past Bayern Munich on Wednesday in the other semifinal.

Madrid has tried to lure Mbappe before.

In 2021, PSG turned down a bid of 180 million euros ($194 million) from Madrid for the 2018 World Cup-winning forward, who went on to sign a new contract with PSG — on which he didn't take up the option for an extra year. Earlier this year he told PSG he's leaving at the end of the season.

Seven years ago, he joined amid huge hype as the best young player in France and maybe the world.

PSG paid a fee of 170 million euros ($183 million) when Mbappe joined from Monaco in the summer of 2017 along with Neymar, who cost a world record 222 million ($239 million).

Others once on the list of PSG stars included Zlatan Ibrahimovic (156 goals for the club), Edinson Cavani (200 goals for PSG) and Lionel Messi (the men's record eighth-time Ballon d'Or winner).

None could win the Champions League with PSG, despite huge investment and massive wages.

Mbappe had starred for Monaco as an 18-year-old sensation when it reached the semifinals of the Champions League — knocking out Dortmund along the way with three goals in the quarterfinals.

He accepted his share of the blame for not being able to reproduce his magic in front of goal, seven years later, as a global superstar with 46 goals for France and the scorer of a hat-trick in a men's World Cup final to become the tournament's top scorer two years ago.

“I tried to help my team the best I could. It wasn’t enough. When you’re talking about efficiency at both ends, I think I’m the first in question,” the 25-year-old said. “I’m the one who should score the goals and make the difference. I have no problem with that, the first person who should have scored tonight is me.”

Sports

Football, the World’s Most Popular Sport Has Its Own Day for Fans to Celebrate — May 25 

Soccer Football - Copa Libertadores - Group H - Nacional v River Plate - Gran Parque Central, Montevideo, Uruguay - May 7, 2024 Nacional fans are seen in the stands before the match. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - Copa Libertadores - Group H - Nacional v River Plate - Gran Parque Central, Montevideo, Uruguay - May 7, 2024 Nacional fans are seen in the stands before the match. (Reuters)
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Football, the World’s Most Popular Sport Has Its Own Day for Fans to Celebrate — May 25 

Soccer Football - Copa Libertadores - Group H - Nacional v River Plate - Gran Parque Central, Montevideo, Uruguay - May 7, 2024 Nacional fans are seen in the stands before the match. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - Copa Libertadores - Group H - Nacional v River Plate - Gran Parque Central, Montevideo, Uruguay - May 7, 2024 Nacional fans are seen in the stands before the match. (Reuters)

Soccer fans around the world will now have a day to celebrate the world's most popular sport every year – May 25.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution Tuesday proclaiming May 25 as World Football Day. The sport is called football outside of the United States.

The day marks the 100th anniversary of the first international soccer tournament in history with the representation of all regions which took place on May 25, 1924 during the summer Olympic games held in Paris, according to the resolution.

The 193-member General Assembly adopted the resolution by consensus with a bang of the gavel by its president, Dennis Francis, to applause from diplomats in the assembly chamber. It was co-sponsored by more than 160 countries.

Libya’s UN Ambassador Taher El-Sonni, who introduced the resolution, told the assembly, “Football or soccer as others call it is the number one game played and followed around the globe.”

But he stressed that soccer is more than just a game played by all ages on streets, in villages, schools and courtyards for fun and in competitions.

Because of its “unparalleled position” in the world of sports, El-Sonni said, “football serves as a universal language spoken across the globe, cutting across national, cultural and socio-economic barriers.”

He said the game has become “a pivotal platform” championing gender equality and social inclusion, “a common ground where individuals from varying backgrounds converge, promoting mutual understanding, tolerance, respect and solidarity.”

The resolution acknowledges “the global reach of football and its impact in various spheres, including commerce, peace and diplomacy, and recognizing that football creates a space for cooperation.”

It also recognizes “the fundamental role” of soccer’s international governing body, FIFA, and the important role of regional and national soccer federations, as well as relevant associations, in promoting the game.

The resolution encourages all countries to support football and other sports as a tool to promote peace, development and the empowerment of women and girls. And it also encourages countries to adopt policies and programs to promote football and other sports and physical activities.

On May 25, the resolution “invites” all nations, UN bodies, international organizations, academia, civil society and the private sector to observe World Football Day in line with national priorities “and to disseminate the advantages of football for all, including through educational and public awareness-raising activities.”

Sports

Thiago Silva to Return to Brazilian Club Fluminense after Leaving Chelsea at End of the Season

Football - Premier League - Chelsea v West Ham United - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - May 5, 2024 Chelsea's Thiago Silva after the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Chelsea v West Ham United - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - May 5, 2024 Chelsea's Thiago Silva after the match. (Reuters)
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Thiago Silva to Return to Brazilian Club Fluminense after Leaving Chelsea at End of the Season

Football - Premier League - Chelsea v West Ham United - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - May 5, 2024 Chelsea's Thiago Silva after the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Chelsea v West Ham United - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - May 5, 2024 Chelsea's Thiago Silva after the match. (Reuters)

Veteran defender Thiago Silva will return to Brazilian club Fluminense after leaving Chelsea at the end of the season.

The 39-year-old Silva said last week he was not extending his contract with Chelsea and Fluminense announced Tuesday that the center back is joining on a free transfer.

The defending Copa Libertadores champion posted a picture of Silva wearing a Fluminense shirt on social media with the text: “The monster is back.”

Silva played for Fluminense between 2006 and 2008. He left for AC Milan in 2009, and three years later joined Paris Saint-German. The Brazilian joined Chelsea in 2020 and won the Champions League the following year.

The defender was in Brazil’s squad for the last four World Cups. He also won the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2019 Copa América with the national team.

Silva is expected to join Fluminense once Brazil’s transfer window reopens in July.