Month: August 2019

The ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ director’s latest project will be an adaptation of the 2014 British documentary that centres on the American Samoa team

The 2014 film “Next Goal Wins” was a popular sports documentary, winning over those who already appreciated football and those who didn’t.

And now, Taika Waititi is set to be at the helm of a new iteration of the film, and Goal brings you all you need to know about it.

What is Next Goal Wins?

Waititi’s latest confirmed project will be a feature film based on the 2014 British football documentary “Next Goal Wins.”

Sharing the same name, Waititi’s take on the documentary will be a new adaptation, featuring the national football team of American Samoa as they try to bounce back from being known as one of the world’s weakest teams. The film follows the team in their attempt to qualify for the 2014 World Cup with the help of Dutch-born, America-based manager Thomas Rongen.

Waititi will co-write the script alongside Iain Morris. Garrett Basch, Jonathan Cavendish, Andy Serkis, Mike Brett, and Steve Jamison will serve as producers, with principal photography on the project set to begin in autumn 2019.

The original documentary made its world premiere at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival and won Best Documentary at the British Independent Film Awards in 2014.

Who are the American Samoa football team?

American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, south-east of Samoa.

Their football team was regarded as one of the world’s weakest by November 2011, when they were the joint-lowest FIFA ranking of all countries registered for full internationals.

They hold the world record for the heaviest defeat in an international match, set after their 31-0 hammering at the hands of Australia.

Who is Taika Waititi?

Waititi is a New Zealand director, screenwriter and filmmaker, most famous for his work on “Thor: Ragnarok” (which was his Hollywood debut), “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” and “What We Do In the Shadows.” He was also nominated for an Academy Award for his 2004 short film “Two Cars, One Night.”

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Typically, his comedy is known for its dry, deadpan and sardonic humour.

Additionally, he is set to be one of the directors of the upcoming Star Wars live-action streaming series “The Mandalorian,” which tells the story of a lone Mandalorian gunfighter in the period between the events of “Return of the Jedi” and “The Force Awakens.”

The Blues boss will leave his star man out this weekend and he won’t meet up with his international team for the upcoming France games

Frank Lampard will leave N’Golo Kante out of Chelsea’s next match against Sheffield United as he wants to see his midfielder get more rest after suffering his second injury in quick succession to start the Premier League season.

Kante suffered an ankle injury after coming back from a long-term knee problem, one that he played through with painkilling injections in May’s Europa League final win over Arsenal.

Lampard has spoken to France boss Didier Deschamps who has agreed to allow the 28-year-old to rest for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers.

The Blues head coach admits to pushing Kante for the Super Cup against Liverpool but says that he won’t be doing it often as he looks to manage his fitness.

“We were close with the Super Cup. We had a fitness test on the morning of, because I felt he was so important for the game we had coming,” Lampard told reporters at Cobham Training Centre. “I appreciated his desire to stay in the game and play the game.

“But in the end, no. It wasn’t a case of having to say anything. It naturally got to the point where he needs the break. There was an element of that [needing to hold him back]. Because he’s such a good lad as far as I’ve seen, he’s really easy to work with – he just wants to work and do the business.

“The Europa League final, I wasn’t here for that obviously, but it was hugely impressive that he got through that game and had the impact that he did. But he then carried the injury into pre-season, everything came on top so we all decided, him and me first and foremost, that it was time to get this right and move on from here after the break.

He added: “I’m not worried at all about any of the long-term effects. It’s more can we show him a little bit of TLC? In terms of he’s got a problem, he’s got a pain in his ankle. It’s not a huge injury but can we get that right and then start anew?

“He missed pre-season but the international break falls at the right time for him. I don’t expect any issues unless there is something I don’t know coming up. A lot of his qualities will help the way I want to play, for sure.”

In Kante’s absence, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic have suitably filled in as defensive midfielders. They have been playing alongside either Mason Mount or Ross Barkley in Lampard’s increasingly preferred formation which is a 4-3-3.

Jorginho’s continued role despite losing his previous manager of four years in Maurizio Sarri is a surprise to some, particularly after he was booed by sections of the Blues fan base last season due to the perception that he was the unpopular manager’s favourite player.

The former Napoli man has since come out and described himself as ‘Chelsea’s Jorginho’ and he had his name sung by away fans at Norwich City last weekend for the first time. Lampard admits he is pleased to see his midfielder earn praise from supporters.

“I was delighted to hear that myself,” Lampard added. “I’ve said it a lot now: he’s been a pleasure to work with. I do think that with fans, they are generally pretty honest.

“What they’re seeing is a player – I don’t want to talk about last year – but what they see now is a player who has a drive, has a determination as a team player. I certainly see that.

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“He also has quality. He can change a game, lead a game, own a game from midfield areas. I’m delighted with that. I see day-to-day what playing for this club means. He’s just a fantastic sportsman who cares deeply.

“When you have a training session that might fall below a standard or drop for a moment, he’s the one who drives it up again. When the fans see that on the pitch, as they did at Norwich, that’s why they sing his name. I’m delighted with that.

“The thing I noticed from the outside last year is that he never hid. He never hid from receiving the ball on the edge of his box or a tight area. He was always there to receive it. And he played really well during the run-in, I thought, for Chelsea.

“That’s a sign of his character and, again, that’s what the fans will applaud and long may it continue. I love them singing every player’s name because every player should be giving them a reason to.

“All I see now is a really good player who is a leader in the group. Yeah, I’m delighted the fans sung his name in Norwich. Hopefully, it continues at the Bridge and we hear it every week.”

Chelsea will look to sell players ahead of the European transfer window closing on September 2. Kenedy and Tiemoue Bakayoko look like they will leave as Monaco negotiate a deal for the latter to return to his former club.

Baba Rahman will also likely leave with less than a year left on his deal and Lampard explained his situation ahead of deadline day.

“At the moment he’s not training with us in the matchday or the first-team squad,” Lampard concluded. “In terms of his future, we are at the middle of the conversation it’s about finding the right path for him individually.

“Maybe for him, it is to go on loan to play regularly. He’s not training with us at the moment. He’s training with the loan players and the under-23s. His path remains to be seen while the window is open.”

Just 48 hours after Nice-Marseille was temporarily postponed, officials were once more forced to stop the ball rolling in Friday’s match

Metz’s meeting with Paris Saint-Germain became the latest Ligue 1 clash to be paused when home fans unfurled a banner sporting a homophobic message. 

The reigning league champions kicked off their fourth game of the 2019-20 on Friday after beginning the season with two wins and a defeat. 

And they enjoyed a positive start when Angel Di Maria fired them ahead after 11 minutes from the penalty spot. 

Moments later, however, the action was ground to a halt due to an offensive missive spotted among Metz fans. 

“PSG, LFP, let me sing to you, to tell you to go f*** yourselves! I won’t be on TV, because my words are not very gay,” the banner read, violating Ligue 1 regulations on homophobia in stadiums. 

As a result referee Frank Schneider stopped play until the offending words were removed from sight, causing a temporary interruption to proceedings. 

It is the second time in just three days that such a measure has been deemed necessary as the French top flight attempts to crack down on discrimination from fans with this zero tolerance policy. 

On Wednesday, Nice’s clash with Marseille was also held up while two homophobic signs appeared in the stands. 

A delay of around five minutes followed before the match got back under way, with Nice player Wylan Cyprien critical of the interruption.

“We can’t stop a game every time that stupid people act like that,” Cyprian said to Canal+. “I am against every discrimination, homophobia or racism.

“But we can’t stop games for that. It’s ridiculous.”

Referees in France have been instructed to stop matches if homophobic banners are displayed, or homophobic chanting is heard, during the 2019-20 season.

The Ligue 2 match between Nancy and Le Mans on August 16 was the first to be temporarily suspended, while a referee threatened to do the same during the meeting of Monaco and Nimes in the top flight on Sunday.

And this latest infraction suggests that officials will be forced to act repeatedly in their efforts to enforce the message that such hate speech is not welcome in French football.

Editor’s Note: As one of the Big Three film festivals, alongside the Cannes Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival, the Venice International Film Festival is acclaimed around the world for giving creators the artistic freedom to express themselves through film.

Founded in Italy in 1932, it represents the world’s oldest film festival, also part of the Venice Biennale, an exhibition covering Italian and international art, architecture, dance, music, theater and cinema.

Many Chinese films and filmmakers have claimed major awards at the festival. A City of Sadness by Taiwan director Hou Hsiao-hsien was the first Chinese film to snatch the festival’s top prize, the Golden Lion Award for Best Picture. The Story of Qiu Ju, directed by Zhang Yimou, later won the Golden Lion as well as Best Actress in 1992.

The 2019 Venice International Film Festival takes place Aug 28 to Sept 7. Let’s have a look at the star-studded red carpet of the opening gala on Wednesday.

LONDON – English Football League club Bury have been expelled from the competition over financial issues.

The League One club (third division) from the northwest of England, which was founded in 1885 and won the FA Cup on two occasions, had been unable to fulfil their first five games of the season and are the first team to be expelled from the competition since Maidstone United in 1992.

The news happened after C&N Sporting Risk pulled out of a deal to buy the club from owner Steve Dale 90 minutes before Tuesday’s revised 5 pm deadline.

The Football League (EFL) issued a statement to confirm their decision which read: “The EFL Board met earlier this evening and, after a long and detailed discussion, determined that Bury FC’s membership of the English Football League be withdrawn after the deadline passed at 5 pm today [Tuesday, August 27] without a successful resolution.”

“At its meeting on August 24, 2019, the board agreed a short extension to 5 pm today to enable Mr Dale and the club to explore the possibility of a proposed sale with C&N Sporting Risk Limited, with Mr Dale having accepted their offer. Following due diligence, C&N Sporting Risk Limited opted not to pursue its interest.”

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“Therefore, having fully considered all available options, including a number of late expressions of interest provided to the EFL, the EFL Board has unanimously determined with enormous regret that Bury’s membership be withdrawn.”

League One will now contain 23 rather than 24 teams for the 2019-20 season.

The EFL have given another League One club, Bolton Wanderers (one of the founding members of the Football League in 1888), 14 days to find a buyer or face a similar fate.

Nations along the Amazon River are not only battling huge blazes in the forests, but also fighting the perception that pro-development policies are responsible for the fires that environmentalists fear may affect the rainforest and South America’s ecology.

The relatively young government of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is coping with the situation by using troops and firefighting assistance from some nations, though initially balking at a G7 offer of financial aid.

“More than 43,000 members of the armed forces (Navy, Army and Air Force) are located in the region. They are available to act on demand, coordinate with environmental control and public safety agencies,” said the Brazilian Ministry of Defense.

Bolsonaro has questioned whether any other country can tell Brazil how to use its natural resources.

The Amazon rainforest spans more than 5.5 million square kilometers in nine countries, though two-thirds of the area is in Brazil. More than 160,000 forest fires have been recorded throughout the region so far this year, with about half of them in Brazil. Of the rest, 26,000 have been in Venezuela, 19,000 in Bolivia and around 14,000 each in Colombia and Argentina.

The United States and Israel have sent firefighting planes to help tackle the blazes. Other countries are leasing planes to spray water and fire retardants.

For the rest of the continent, the concern is that burning a particular section of the Amazon rainforest could have implications on weather patterns as well as regional access to water. A single large tree in the Amazon can release about 1,000 liters of water into the atmosphere every day through a process called evapotranspiration. That water turns into rain that falls throughout the region.

“Calculating that, the Amazon would reach the extraordinary number of 20 billion tons of water in a single day. We call this rios voadores, or ‘flying rivers’,” said Ana Luiza Tunes, an environmental engineer and water management specialist who founded the Brazilian environmental portal Tunes Ambiental.

“It is the ‘flying rivers’ formed in the Amazon that bring water back to the continent. This leads us to conclude that the Amazon rainforest is not only the main lungs of the world, but the heart of planet Earth,” Tunes said.

During the dry season, which typically runs from May until October, fires in the Amazon are sparked by natural sources such as lightning strikes. Some argue that this year’s fire season is not particularly different from others.

According to NASA, total fire activity across the Amazon basin as of Aug 16 was close to average compared with the past 15 years. Global Forest Watch, an online platform that provides data and tools to monitor forests, agreed, though data from other agencies point to an increase in fires.

Brazilian President Bolsonaro has argued that the global alarms are politically motivated.

Renan Buchelt de Oliveira, an environmental consultant, said, “The problem is the media war against the current government, not a fire increase.”

He said it is mostly opposition parties that have harshly criticized Bolsonaro’s government and management of the fires. “In eight months of government, these groups have been trying to destabilize the new government,” he said.

Critics say the president’s pro-development policies are responsible for many of the fires, due to the expansion of slash-and-burn tactics. They argue that this year’s fires are the beginning of a trend caused by runaway deforestation sparked by pro-agriculture policies.

Around 2,500 fires are currently burning in Brazil. The Brazilian state of Amazonas has managed to control some areas after it declared a state of emergency on Aug 11.

Fires have spread across the tropical forests and savannahs near Bolivia’s borders with Paraguay and Brazil. At least 1 million hectares have been affected by the blazes, Bolivian officials said.

“More than 800,000 hectares of the Chiquitano forest (inside the Amazon rainforest) were burned in Bolivia during August. This region is the largest dry rainforest in the world and at risk of losing this title,” said Tunes, the environmental engineer.

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The author is a freelance journalist.

The rise of Chinese travelers is finally making the Philippines a key tourism destination in Southeast Asia.

Despite its pristine beach resorts and colorful festivals, the Philippines has been a laggard compared with neighbors in the region. It was attracting only about 6 million tourists each year, versus the tens of millions received by Thailand and Malaysia.

But in 2018, the Philippines posted a record high 7.1 million tourist arrivals. Nearly half of them came from South Korea, China and the United States, according to the Philippine Department of Tourism.

The department said China alone accounted for roughly 17 percent of the Philippine tourism market, recording 1.25 million arrivals last year. This is nearly 30 percent higher than 2017’s arrivals, making China “the most improved market” and the second-largest source market for Philippine tourism.

Tourism Undersecretary Benito Bengzon said the Philippines aims to attract more Chinese tourists, targeting 1.63 million arrivals by the end of this year. This is also in line with the department’s target of 8.2 million total tourist arrivals in 2019.

Speaking to China Daily, Bengzon said Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to improve diplomatic relations with China has encouraged more Chinese tourists to come in.

“Healthy diplomatic relations will definitely work to secure robust economic and business ties,” Bengzon said. This complemented efforts by both the government and the private sector to attract more Chinese tourists. These include attending travel fairs, easing visa restrictions on Chinese tourists, and offering more direct flights to Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

In 2018, flag carrier Philippine Airlines ramped up operations to China by increasing flight frequency to 103 times weekly.

Early this year, Cebu Pacific Air launched its first direct flight to the city of Shenzhen, in South China’s Guangdong province. The budget airline flies 23 times weekly between the Philippines and China.

The department’s target is on track so far. According to latest official data, 733,769 Chinese tourists visited the Philippines from January to May, 31 percent higher than for the same period last year. Chinese tourist arrivals accounted for 21.03 percent of the total 3.5 million arrivals in the first five months of 2019.

Duterte’s election in 2016 has improved bilateral relations that were once strained by conflicts over the South China Sea.

Duterte’s visit

Duterte started his fifth state visit to China on Wednesday.

Duterte’s efforts to improve relations with China has benefited the Philippine travel industry, according to John Paolo Rivera, associate director at the Dr. Andrew Tan Center for Tourism of the Manila-based Asian Institute of Management.

“The Chinese market is definitely a contributor to the Philippines’ success in achieving its tourism arrival targets,” Rivera said.

He added that in general, more Chinese are traveling, thanks to their country’s growing economy and rising incomes.

China is now the world’s biggest market for outbound tourism, with Chinese tourists making nearly 150 million outbound trips in 2018, according to a report issued in March by the China Tourism Academy and Ctrip, China’s largest online travel agency.

The report said Chinese travelers prefer convenient and safer foreign destinations and the Philippines was among top 10 destinations for Chinese travelers in 2018.

Colliers International said the increasing number of Chinese tourists is the main driver behind the rising hotel occupancy and tourist spending in the Philippines.

The property investment firm said overall hotel occupancy in the capital region of Metro Manila reached 71 percent in the first half of 2019. Three-and four-star hotels recorded occupancies of 69 percent and 65 percent, respectively.

“Developers have been responding to the growing arrivals from China by building more three-to four-star hotels,” Colliers said. It said that about 40 percent of the 10,000 new hotel rooms due to be completed from 2019 to 2022 are classified as three-star, while about 35 percent are four-and five-star hotels.

George Siy, chairman emeritus of Anvil Business Club, a Manila-based organization of young Chinese-Filipino entrepreneurs and professionals, said that besides better bilateral relations with China, another factor in increasing the number of tourists has been Duterte’s increased infrastructure spending.

“More investments in not only physical connectivity but soft connectivity like language, cultural and traditional understanding will also go a long way in making the market more vibrant,” he said.

Analysts said that while the Philippines is attracting more Chinese tourists, China likewise is emerging as a key destination for Filipino travelers.

In 2014, 967,900 Filipinos traveled to China, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank. The figure two years later increased to 1.13 million.

 

VENICE — Spanish director Pedro Almodovar added a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement to his list of accolades on Thursday, when the Venice Film Festival presented him with the prize for a long and illustrious career.

The 69-year old Oscar winner, known for acclaimed films such as Talk to Her, Volver and most recently his loosely autobiographical portrait Pain and Glory, made his debut at the festival in 1983 with the comic drama Dark Habits.

He was nominated for the festival’s top Golden Lion prize in 1988 for Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, a movie that brought him international recognition.

“Venice… is the place where I was born (made) as a director. For me this is something very special,” Almodovar told reporters.

On Dark Habits, in which a singer hides out in a convent of quirky and eccentric nuns, a movie Almodovar claimed did not sit well with everyone on the jury, he said: “The simple fact that I was participating in an international film festival seemed like a miracle.”

Almodovar, who has regularly worked with actors Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz, has won several awards for his movies, including a best original screenplay Oscar for drama Talk To Her.

All About My Mother, which he also wrote and directed, won the best foreign language film Academy Award in 2000.

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The captain of the Bundesliga club claims he and his team-mates hoped for a pairing with the La Liga giants and are looking forward to the challenge

Borussia Dortmund are relishing taking on Barcelona in this season’s Champions League group stage following Thursday’s draw, with Marco Reus claiming the Spanish giants are exactly who the Bundesliga side wanted to face.

Barca, Dortmund and Inter were paired alongside Czech champions Slavia Prague in Group F, with the action set to get under way in mid-September.

Dortmund captain Reus said he and his team-mates had been hoping to end up alongside La Liga holders Barca, who have not reached the final in any of the past four years.

“A few of us from the team were stood together at breakfast this morning and we all agreed that we’d love to draw Barcelona,” Reus said on UEFA’s official website.

“Buzzing that it’s actually happened! Obviously the group is extremely difficult; we’re coming up against teams who we’ve not tested ourselves against in recent years.

“The games against Barcelona will have a party atmosphere for us and our fans! We believe in our quality and our aim is to go through.”

Serie A side Inter have been drawn in the same group as Barcelona for the second successive season.

Inter finished third behind group winners Barca last term, but Nerazzurri vice-president Javier Zanetti feels they can thrive under new head coach Antonio Conte.

“Barcelona have been protagonists in the Champions League for a very long time, they have players of extraordinary value but there are also two other strong opponents in the group,” Zanetti told Inter’s official website.

“We will have to play our cards and see what happens on the field. We are a well-built team, we have purchased experienced players and we must aim for a good group stage to make the round of 16. There are the conditions to do well, we face great teams but we are Inter.

“Against Lecce [a 4-0 win] I saw a team that will always try to make the match theirs. It is an important point: the coach is very happy with the work of the boys, he knows that a demanding season is waiting for us, but he has brought the right mentality.

“You know how Conte lives football. He transmitted to the team all his enthusiasm and his desire to win.”

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The German boss is relishing the challenge following Thursday’s group stage draw in Monaco

Thomas Tuchel expects Paris Saint-Germain will face big atmospheres in the Champions League after they were drawn with Real Madrid, Club Brugge and Galatasaray.

PSG are still seeking their first European crown and have been knocked out in the last 16 in each of the last three seasons, after a run of four successive quarter-finals.

Tuchel’s side failed to get to the last eight in 2018-19 when they squandered a 2-0 first-leg lead earned at Old Trafford to crash out at home to Manchester United in the round of 16.

That defeat put pressure on PSG coach Tuchel, who also saw his side fail to defend either their Coupe de la Ligue or Coupe de France titles in his first season in charge at the Parc des Princes.

PSG were knocked out by Real Madrid in 2017-18, Neymar’s first season at the club, with the Brazilian superstar now reportedly a target for the La Liga giants.

Neymar’s future remains uncertain ahead of the September 2 European transfer deadline, but Tuchel was satisfied with his side’s position in Group A of the Champions League.

“These are three big atmospheres and very nice atmospheres to play football,” Tuchel told PSG’s official Twitter account.

“We know like every year that we must be ready from the first match. We will be well prepared to show form from the start.”

The group stage gets under way in mid-September, with the final due to be held in Istanbul on May 30 next year.

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi added: “We do not have an easy draw but it’s the Champions League, we do everything we can to get ready.

“Real Madrid is a big club, we have a lot of respect for them, but we’re PSG, we need to prepare well for this match, it’s a good preparation for us, the goal is to go as far as possible.”

PSG have made a mixed start to their Ligue 1 campaign, scoring seven goals in home wins over Nimes and Toulose either side of a surprise 2-1 defeat away at Rennes.

Next up for Tuchel’s side is a trip to Metz on Friday.

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