Izuchukwu OkosiMost sporting events do not take place on Christmas or Boxing Day but four special sporting moments in 2020 will surely make your read.
However, the National Basketball Association (NBA) games holds on Christmas day while the Boxing Day matches have become traditional in the football calendar of the Premier League in England.
Some other sporting events begin as early as the first week of January but the athletes/teams start their preparations over the Christmas season.
From the eve of the 2022 Christmas to the night of December 26 (Boxing Day), a few spectacular events occurred. Prime Business Africa presents four of such stories that b would surely lift up your spirit.
Sporting Christmas moments:
1. Ronaldo’s Partner Buys Portugal Star Rolls Royce Worth N134 Million
Former Manchester United, Juventus, Real Madrid and Sporting Lisbon superstar may be a man currently embattled with happenings around his career but his personal life is a dream come true.
Ronaldo’s once lofty football career is considered now as ‘yesterday’s news’ with his output on the pitch depreciating. Most mega rich and successful clubs in Europe that would have pushed and pull to have him sign lucrative contracts with them are no longer keen on him.
There is a link to Saudi Arabian club, Al Nassr where he will earn over $250,000 monthly for two seasons before he becomes an ambassador for the Saudi Arabia government in their ambitious 2030 World Cup campaign from 2025.
Despite his recent struggles on the pitch, outside of it, CR7 remains a very fulfilled man.
To add to his chains of businesses and endorsement deals, the Portugal international who has won five Ballon D’Or trophies, on this Christmas season received a huge gift from his girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez, who gifted the car freak, a Rolls Royce Phantom, valued at around £250,000 (about N134,362,500).
Ronaldo has invested a good chunk of his eye-watering career earnings into his collection of cars, which also includes Bugattis, Ferraris and Aston Martins.
Back in June, Ronaldo splashed out around $10.5m on a limited edition Bugatti, of which there are only 10 in existence, according to a German publication, Bild.
The eye-catching Centodieci has an 8 litre W16 engine and a whopping 1600hp. It can do 0-62mph in just 2.4 seconds and reach a top speed of 236mph.
It joined two other supercars made by the manufacturer and is by far the most expensive of his huge collection. Ronaldo has ‘CR7’ embroidered on the headrests of his other two Bugattis – a Chiron and Veyron.
Some of his other most impressive cars include a £1m McLaren Senna and a gigantic Mercedes G-Wagon Brabus.
2. Djokovic Granted Visa By Australian Government – Sporting Christmas moments
Former World number 1 men’s tennis player, Novak Djokovic was sensationally deported from Australia in January 2022 after a messy saga over his COVID-19 vaccination status.
The furore was a global debate over the justification of the action taken by the Australian government.
But in the last 72 hours, there has been great news for fans of the Serbian as Djokovic touched down in Australia and will open his 2023 campaign in Adelaide as he prepares for a shot at a 10th Australian Open title.
The disappointment almost a year ago having his visa revoked on the eve of his title defence unavoidably became one of the most talked-about and written sporting event of the year.
The 21-time major winner has now been listed to play at the Adelaide International, which starts on January 1.
Serbia isn’t contesting the inaugural United Cup team competition, leaving Djokovic free to play regular warm-up tournaments ahead of the Australian Open, which will commence on January 16.
The tournament wraps up on January 29, the night of the men’s singles final.
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3. Ishbia Brothers Donate $100k To ‘Bright Side Night’ – Sporting Christmas moments
National Basketball Association (NBA) action in the United States of America continues to thrill lovers of the beautiful game over the Christmas season with games played on Christmas and Boxing Days.
On Christmas eve, something remarkable happened.
The Ishbia brothers, Mat and Justin, made a huge investment in the Valley community.
For those who may not know these siblings, they have placed a successful bid to buy a majority share of the Phoenix Suns basketball franchise with a record-valuation of $4 billion.
The deal would finally end co-owner Sarver’s ownership of the teams in the NBA and WNBA.
Mat Ishbia is the brother of Justin Ishbia and owns United Wholesale Mortgage, the largest wholesale mortgage lender in the United States.
Mat is estimated to be worth $4.7 billion and most of his worth come from his company. He owns 71% of his mortgage lending company. His company also trades in the New York Stock Exchange as UWM Holdings Corp.
Justin Ishbia meanwhile will be a significant investor in the Suns in addition to his role as an alternate governor.
Justin Ishbia, Mat Ishbia’s brother and a founding partner in Shore Capital, will make a significant investment and serve as alternate governor. As a minority owner of United Wholesale Mortgage, Justin has a net worth of $1-5 billion.
The deal mean they could send 10,000 kids to a Suns game this year. This underprivileged children would also be able to attend their first Phoenix Suns game on 30th January 2023.
4. Wenger Returns To The Emirates For Arsenal
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger made a surprising but welcome return to the Emirates stadium on Monday (Boxing day) as the Gunners continue their blistering 2022/2023 campaign.
The team now managed by Mikel Arteta who played under the legendary tactician before he left his role in 2018 after 22 years on the job beat West Ham United 3-1 at the Emirates stadium to go seven points clear of nearest challengers, Newcastle United and Manchester City.
Arteta revealed that Wenger’s comeback was not disclosed to the players.
The return of the wily one to N17 who is now FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development is expected to add spring to the step of the players ahead of a challenging five months period before the season winds down.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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