Sonny Side of Sports - VOA Africa

Sporty Greetings!

On Wednesday’s show Sonny and colleague Muqbil Yabarow focus on Morocco’s World Cup squad which includes Bayern Munich’s defender Noussair Mazraoui and will start their campaign against Croatia on November 23rd.

Sonny and Muqbil will also focus on The Atlas Lions previous performances at the FIFA World Cup and overall development of football in the north African nation.

The U.S. men's national soccer team says it will use the World Cup's huge platform to help spur change and shine light on human rights concerns.

On Tuesday's Sonny Side of Sports, we'll hear from American goalkeeper Sean Johnson and the USA's head coach, Gregg Berhalter, who held a news conference in Qatar's capital, Doha.

The USA will kick off its World Cup campaign November 21st when it plays Wales. Sonny will also have lots more World Cup news, and African women's football analyst Sam Ahmadu will comment on ASFAR of Morocco winning its first CAF Women's Champions League title.

Cameroonian star Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers scored a career-high 59 points Sunday night and added 11 rebounds, eight assists and seven blocked shots in what's being described as one of the most dominant performances in National Basketball Association history. 

Sonny will report on Embiid's big game, during which Philadelphia beat the visiting Utah Jazz, 105-98.

Sonny will also have lots of World Cup news on Monday's Sonny Side of Sports, including "Six Fun Facts" about football's premier event, which kicks off in six days in Qatar.

Morocco's head coach, Walid Regragui, has named a 26-man team for the World Cup football tournament in Qatar.

The big surprise selection is 18-year-old Bilal El Khannouss, a Belgium-born midfielder.

The Atlas Lions of Morocco will be making their sixth World Cup appearance. They play Croatia, a 2018 World Cup finalist, November 23 in their opening World Cup match. Samson Omale kicks off Friday's show with a report on the Moroccan team.

Head coach Gregg Berhalter has unveiled the USA's 26-player squad for the FIFA World Cup football tournament in Qatar.

The young American team, with an average age of 25.5, is made up of 17 European-based players and nine Major League Soccer players.

The headliner is Chelsea Man Christian Pulisic, and the USA's World Cup team also includes Lille striker Tim Weah, the son of Liberian President George Weah.

During Thursday's Sonny Side of Sports show, we'll hear from Coach Berhalter as well as Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie and Fulham defender Antonee Robinson.

VOA's Sonny Young brings you the latest sports news and trends as well as questions and comments from sports fans around Africa and the world.

The Rwandan Salima Mukansanga is one of three female referees who will make history as the first women to officiate matches at the upcoming FIFA World Cup football tournament in Qatar.

To help Mukansanga and the other World Cup refs with their decisions, FIFA is revamping the 2022 World Cup with innovative technology. VOA's Gwen Outen will kick off Tuesday's Sonny Side of Sports show with a feature.

Also on the program, the chief football writer at www.aclsports.com, Fisayo Dairo, will take a look at the Round of 16 draws in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.

22-year-old Ghanaian football player Mohammed Kudus has been earning kudos ahead of his World Cup debut in Qatar.

Kudus scored four goals for the Dutch club Ajax during the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. Yaw Ofosu Larbi kicks off Monday's Sonny Side of Sports show with a profile of Kudus.

Also on the program, the 1994 African Footballer of the Year Emmanuel Amunike, who says it's a mistake to label Africa's five World Cup-bound teams as underdogs in Qatar.

Kenya's Albert Korir will defend his title in Sunday's New York City Marathon.

We'll hear some pre-race comments from Korir on Friday's show, and VOA's Gwen Outen will have a preview of the big race.

About 50,000 runners are expected to test their speed and endurance in New York. The race was cancelled in 2020 and downsized last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

On your marks, get set, GO! It's the Sonny Side of Sports!!

For only the second time in the 118-year history of Major League Baseball's World Series, there was a no-hitter Wednesday night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Starting pitcher Cristian Javier (center), catcher Christian Vazquez (no ballcap) and three relievers celebrate after the Houston Astros shut out the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-0, to even the World Series at two games each.

Sonny will have that story on Thursday's show, and African women's football analyst Sam Ahmadu will comment on the CAF Women's Champions League, which kicked off earlier this week in Morocco.