Christian Atsu’s agent says the footballer’s whereabouts are unknown, a day after it was reported he was pulled from the rubble of a building “with injuries” after the Turkey earthquakes, BBC sport reports. 

More than 11,000 people in southern Turkey and northern Syria are now known to have been killed.

Ghana forward Atsu plays for Hatayspor and the club’s vice-president Mustafa Özat had said the player was rescued.

“We are doing everything we can to locate Christian,” said Nana Sechere.

“As you can imagine, this continues to be a devastating time for his family.”

In a social media post, the agent added: “Following yesterday’s update from the club that Christian had been pulled out alive, we are yet to confirm Christian’s whereabouts.”

Hatayspor manager Volkan Demirel told Turkish sport website Spor Arena there was “no news yet” on either Atsu or sporting director Taner Savut, who was reported missing on Monday along with the player.

Savut’s location and condition is currently unknown.

“If they were in hospital, don’t you think I would share this? Please don’t be sure that he survived. This should not be written as he survived,” he said.

Ghana’s Ambassador to Turkey, Francisca Ashietey-Odunton, told radio station Joy FM there was “confusion” as to where Atsu had been sent.

“Yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here informed me that they wanted to confirm if Christian Atsu had been found and rescued and sent to a medical centre,” she said.

“However, in all the confusion – which is understandable under the circumstances [as you are rescued you are put in an ambulance and sent to the hospital] – they are not sure yet which particular hospital or health facility he has been sent to.

“This morning again, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has assured me they are working feverishly to find out which facility he was sent to and will get back to me as soon as possible because I have been on them that I need to go and see him.”

Atsu, 31, played 107 games for Newcastle and had spells with Chelsea, Everton and Bournemouth.

He has won 65 caps for Ghana and joined Hatayspor in September after a season with Saudi Arabian team Al-Raed.

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• Rodney Michael pens deal with Montenegrin side FK Mornar.

Montenegro top tier side FK Mornar have confirmed the signing of Sierra Leone International Rodney Michael. The 23-year-old attacker joins the Montenegrin side on Tuesday, 07 February 2023, until the summer.

Michael, who last played for Indy Eleven in the USA, has been handed a new chance to revive his professional career in the Southeastern Europe country.

Michael was part coach of John Keister’s Sierra Leone squads for the last three friendlies in a 4-0 defeat to South Africa, DR Congo 3-0 and 3-0 against the Algeria B team in South Africa, Morocco and Dubai, respectively.

In March last year, Indy Eleven announced it had acquired forward Rodney Michael from USL League One club South Georgia Tormenta FC. 

He made his professional debut on June 19, 2021, appearing as a 56th-minute substitute during a 3–1 win over Greenville Triumph. He netted his first professional goal on 30 June 2021, scoring Tormenta’s lone goal in a 2–1 loss to Toronto FC II.

On March 22, 2022, Michael was transferred from Tormenta to USL Championship side Indy Eleven. He left Indy Eleven following their 2022 season.

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The win on Sunday leaves them in 10th, two places above the drop zone. And the Sierra Leone-born has assured that they will compete to avoid demotion.

Experience defender David Simbo has said his side Neroca will continue their fight to stay in the Indian I League after their 2-1 win over former club Gokulam Kerala FC on Sunday.

The former Mighty Blackpool, Motala, and Trelleborg defender has been a revelation for Neroca FC in the India second tier.

“It was a difficult win, but we were pleased with the result. We are going to continue this fight until the end. In the end, we must stay in the Indian I League,” the Neroca skipper told FSL News.

After RoundGlass Punjab’s wobble in Delhi, it was Gokulam Kerala’s turn, the Malabarians suffering a 2-1 loss to NEROCA on Sunday.

NEROCA went into this game with back-to-back wins at home and yet were unfancied against opposition who have been on an upward curve at the business end of the season. 

Sweden Fernandes and Mirjalol Kosimov scored for the home side in the 11th and 64th minute, respectively, before Aminou Bouba reduced the deficit for the away side.

However, the home side held to win their fourth straight home game.

Read complete match reports.

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Senegal becomes the first nation from West Africa to win the African Nations Championship CHAN title after defeating hosts Algeria 5-4 in a penalty shootout.

Both teams played to a goalless 90 minutes plus extra time on Saturday at the Stade de Nelson Mandela in front of 39,120 spectators on a cold winter night.

The victory marked Senegal’s first-ever CHAN trophy, just a year after winning the Africa Cup of Nations title in 2021 (held in 2022) after overcoming Egypt on penalties in the final. It was Senegal’s first-ever triumph at the continental showpiece.

Despite the disappointment of losing on home soil, fans of the Desert Foxes, who were present at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in the southern suburbs of Algiers, cheered on the players as they made it to the CHAN final for the first time.

Senegal’s head coach, Pape Bouna Thiaw, acknowledged the strong mentality of his young Lions.

“The young team have suffered in a match like that,” he noted. “We played against a good team in Algeria, which didn’t concede any goals and scored lots of goals in this tournament.

“We were really ready to suffer – we wanted to honour our country. I think these players showed their character that is why we won this trophy. Congratulation to these kids.”

They also won the Fair Play prize at the 2022 African Nations Championship (CHAN).

This tournament is for players playing in home domestic competitions. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Morocco are the most successful teams in this competition, with two titles each, followed by Tunisia, Libya and Senegal a title, respectively.

TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN)

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Madagascar striker Jean Razafindrakoto hit a late goal to give them a hard-fought 1-0 TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) win against Niger on Friday to clinch third place in the competition, CAF reports. 

Razafindrokoto scored the winner in the 90th minute to seal the win at the Miloud Hadefi Stadium in the Algerian city of Oran.

The win capped a pleasing first CHAN tournament for the Berea, who stunned several favourites on their path to the third-place playoff match.

Goalkeeper Mahamadou Djibo could have done better in dealing with a shot from substitute Tendry Manovo a few minutes before the end of the match.

Razafindrokoto scored what turned out to be the winner after Djibo deflected a shot from Manovo into the path of the forward, who accepted the gift.

TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN)

WHAT A DEBUT! 👏

🇲🇬 Madagascar are the first team to win a #TotalEnergiesCHAN medal in their first appearance since Nigeria in 2014! 🥉 #TotalEnergiesCHAN2022 pic.twitter.com/kO6EgO9Qpt

— MARHABA (@CAF_Online) February 4, 2023

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