Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk has extended his contract, with the Dutch centre-back signing to stay at Anfield until 2027, the Premier League club said, ending a protracted saga that had dragged on for several months.
Van Dijk, who joined Liverpool in 2017 for a world record fee for a defender, reported to be 75 million pounds ($99m), has been the bedrock of a defence that has helped them win numerous trophies, including a first Premier League title.
“It’s a proud feeling, it’s a feeling of joy. It’s just incredible. The journey I’ve had so far in my career, to be able to extend it with another two years at this club is amazing and I’m so happy”, van Dijk, 33, said in a statement on Thursday.
“It was always Liverpool. That was the case. It was always in my head, it was always the plan and it was always Liverpool.
” There wasn’t any doubt in my head that this is the place to be for me and my family. I’m one of Liverpool. Someone called me the other day an adopted Scouser – I’m really proud to hear these things, it gives me a great feeling. “
Van Dijk follows Egypt striker Mohamed Salah in signing an extension, after the winger committed to the club until 2027, giving manager Arne Slot a huge boost and enabling Liverpool to turn their focus to bringing in reinforcements in the close season.
The runaway leaders are two wins away from clinching a second English Premier League trophy, and record-equalling 20th English league title overall, as Slot’s side stand 13 points clear of second-placed Arsenal with six games left.
Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk’s (R) new contract extension follows Egyptian striker #11 Mohamed Salah re-signing with the club last week]File: Adrian Dennis/AFP]
Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk has extended his contract, with the Dutch centre-back signing to stay at Anfield until 2027, the Premier League club said, ending a protracted saga that had dragged on for several months.
Van Dijk, who joined Liverpool in 2017 for a world record fee for a defender, reported to be 75 million pounds ($99m), has been the bedrock of a defence that has helped them win numerous trophies, including a first Premier League title.
“It’s a proud feeling, it’s a feeling of joy. It’s just incredible. The journey I’ve had so far in my career, to be able to extend it with another two years at this club is amazing and I’m so happy,” van Dijk, 33, said in a statement on Thursday.
“It was always Liverpool. That was the case. It was always in my head, it was always the plan and it was always Liverpool.
“There wasn’t any doubt in my head that this is the place to be for me and my family. I’m one of Liverpool. Someone called me the other day an adopted Scouser – I’m really proud to hear these things, it gives me a great feeling.”
Van Dijk follows Egypt striker Mohamed Salah in signing an extension, after the winger committed to the club until 2027, giving manager Arne Slot a huge boost and enabling Liverpool to turn their focus to bringing in reinforcements in the close season.
The runaway leaders are two wins away from clinching a second English Premier League trophy, and record-equalling 20th English league title overall, as Slot’s side stand 13 points clear of second-placed Arsenal with six games left.
Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk’s (R) new contract extension follows Egyptian striker #11 Mohamed Salah re-signing with the club last week [File: Adrian Dennis/AFP]
Success is synonymous with Olympique Lyonnais Feminin.
Since being established in 2004, the French club have become one of the superpowers in women’s football, lifting 38 trophies across the domestic and European stage.
Their record in the Women’s Champions League is unparalleled, winning the competition eight times in an 11-year period between 2011 and 2022.
While Lyon remain a formidable force in the women’s game, with a record-extending 12th European final appearance on the horizon if they overcome Arsenal over the next fortnight, other teams are catching up in terms of both investment and on-field success.
In recent years they have been usurped on the European stage by fellow semi-finalists Barcelona, who are just three matches from a third Champions League title in a row.
From ‘ahead of his time’ Aulas to billionaire Kang
Getty Images
For more than 30 years, local businessman Aulas was Lyon.
After becoming owner and president in 1987, following pleas from the city’s mayor and F1 legend Alain Prost, he oversaw the men’s club’s transformation from a debt-ridden club languishing in the second tier to serial trophy-winners throughout the 2000s.
Determined to replicate that success in women’s football, he launched OL Feminin in 2004 and, under his ownership, the club attracted top overseas players, championed French talent like Wendie Renard, and opened France’s first mixed-gender academy.
It took three years to deliver silverware, winning the Premiere Ligue in 2006-07. The rest is history.
“This guy was ahead of his time,” former Lyon defender Lucy Bronze told the BBC’s World Service. “To have someone that powerful say I want the women’s team to do well, I want them to be the best, I want to give them everything.
Getty Images
Aulas’ ownership ended in 2022 when Eagle Football became the majority shareholders of the OL Groupe, which encompassed both the men’s and women’s teams – as well as a majority stake in NWSL side Seattle Reign, and he resigned from his 36-year presidency the following year.
In 2023, the women’s team changed hands again, with South Korea-born American businesswoman Kang, who made her fortune in healthcare IT, taking on majority ownership and making it a separate entity – “independent” – from the men’s team.
“We have reached the end of our model a bit,” chief executive Vincent Ponsot said. “I think we needed a new lease of life, a new project. That is exactly what Michele brought with a much more global vision.
Who is Michele Kang?
Getty Images
Described by the Financial Times as “arguably the first tycoon in women’s football”, Kang is a relative latecomer to football.
She first became interested in the sport after meeting the World Cup-winning US women’s team in 2019 and has since built up a portfolio of teams under her Kynisca Sports International group. In addition to Lyon, she has been the majority owner of NWSL team Washington Spirit since 2022 and purchased Women’s Championship side London City Lionesses in 2023.
“I realised these are the best of the best athletes around the world,” Kang said, reflecting on her meeting with the USWNT.
“I saw a significant lack of resources and attention. I saw the possibility of how women’s football could explode with a little nudge and a little investment.
“I am not alone and there are a lot of people who share the same passion. Two billion people watch the World Cup – it’s growing.”
Kang’s interest isn’t limited to multi-club ownership, however, with a number of multi-million pound investments in women’s sport, including a £39m global investment in improving the health of elite female athletes.
Her plans for Lyon are no less grand. Her long-term ambitions include the construction of a dedicated women’s centre, with a 15-18,000-seater stadium and a bigger training facility, while she has already invested heavily in improving the club’s backroom staff.
“The first thing she said to me was ‘Vincent, what do you have to do for the OL women’s team to have the same supervisions as the professional men’s team?’. That was in August 2023,” Ponsot said.
“I told her, ‘we have to hire 11 people to the staff’, and she said, ‘go on then’. Two months later, we had 11 more people and 24 staff to improve the support to players so they can perform.
“The main thing we have evolved is in the performance sector. We have full-time nutritionists, physiotherapists, doctors, a performance manager, a psychologist. We have everything we need for the players to be in the best conditions to perform like the men’s team.”
Lyon midfielder and USA captain Lindsey Heaps added: “[Michele] is incredible. I have never seen anything like this in the women’s game, the sort of investment but also the way she speaks.
‘A vicious circle’ – the challenges in France
Getty Images
Another of Kang’s priorities is increasing attendances at Lyon fixtures.
“If you ask many female players what is at the top of your wishlist, they don’t say I want to get paid more, I want bigger cars. They say, ‘I want to play against the best players and best teams in a sellout stadium’. It’s my job that we fill the stadium,” she said.
Lyon will travel to Emirates Stadium on Saturday (12:30 BST) for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final with Arsenal – a stadium where the Gunners recorded an average attendance of 52,029 across six matches last season.
“When you see that Arsenal are filling Emirates Stadium, there is no reason why we can’t,” said Ponsot. “We realised that women’s football has an audience with a strong increase in appetite, but we are having trouble making it a reality.”
Lyon are on course for a record-extending 18th league title this season, having already booked their place in May’s end-of-season play-offs. Indeed, they have only lost two league matches over the past four seasons.
That sustained success, coupled with Aulas’ unmatched support, is seen by some as having had a negative impact on crowds, media interest, and investment in France.
Women’s football journalist Assile Toufaily said: “Some will say ‘why should we come and watch football that isn’t attractive because the level isn’t that good?’ We know OL are going to smash the other clubs 7-0. Fans aren’t intrigued to come and watch.
“They say if you want to have a better level of football, investors have to invest. Investors will then say why should we invest if the media isn’t promoting the game? So you find yourself in a vicious circle and it’s been like this for years.”
But she does not see Aulas’ investment as the problem.
“If he didn’t invest in 2004, maybe no-one would ever have done it in France. Aulas isn’t to blame, but maybe the problem is others didn’t follow along.”
Kang, unsurprisingly, is undaunted by this, working with Ponsot to “find the profile” of women’s football fans, with their own research indicating only a 5% overlap between fans who watch men’s and women’s matches.
She will likely find a powerful ally in Aulas, who was elected vice-president of the French Football Federation in December 2023 and has taken over responsibility for development of women’s football.
“The French league is going to be very strong in years to come,” vowed Aulas.
Success is synonymous with Olympique Lyonnais Feminin.
Since being established in 2004, the French club have become one of the superpowers in women’s football, lifting 38 trophies across the domestic and European stage.
Their record in the Women’s Champions League is unparalleled, winning the competition eight times in an 11-year period between 2011 and 2022.
While Lyon remain a formidable force in the women’s game, with a record-extending 12th European final appearance on the horizon if they overcome Arsenal over the next fortnight, other teams are catching up in terms of both investment and on-field success.
In recent years they have been usurped on the European stage by fellow semi-finalists Barcelona, who are just three matches from a third Champions League title in a row.
From ‘ahead of his time’ Aulas to billionaire Kang
Getty Images
For more than 30 years, local businessman Aulas was Lyon.
After becoming owner and president in 1987, following pleas from the city’s mayor and F1 legend Alain Prost, he oversaw the men’s club’s transformation from a debt-ridden club languishing in the second tier to serial trophy-winners throughout the 2000s.
Determined to replicate that success in women’s football, he launched OL Feminin in 2004 and, under his ownership, the club attracted top overseas players, championed French talent like Wendie Renard, and opened France’s first mixed-gender academy.
It took three years to deliver silverware, winning the Premiere Ligue in 2006-07. The rest is history.
“This guy was ahead of his time,” former Lyon defender Lucy Bronze told the BBC’s World Service. “To have someone that powerful say I want the women’s team to do well, I want them to be the best, I want to give them everything.
Getty Images
Aulas’ ownership ended in 2022 when Eagle Football became the majority shareholders of the OL Groupe, which encompassed both the men’s and women’s teams – as well as a majority stake in NWSL side Seattle Reign, and he resigned from his 36-year presidency the following year.
In 2023, the women’s team changed hands again, with South Korea-born American businesswoman Kang, who made her fortune in healthcare IT, taking on majority ownership and making it a separate entity – “independent” – from the men’s team.
“We have reached the end of our model a bit,” chief executive Vincent Ponsot said. “I think we needed a new lease of life, a new project. That is exactly what Michele brought with a much more global vision.
Who is Michele Kang?
Getty Images
Described by the Financial Times as “arguably the first tycoon in women’s football”, Kang is a relative latecomer to football.
She first became interested in the sport after meeting the World Cup-winning US women’s team in 2019 and has since built up a portfolio of teams under her Kynisca Sports International group. In addition to Lyon, she has been the majority owner of NWSL team Washington Spirit since 2022 and purchased Women’s Championship side London City Lionesses in 2023.
“I realised these are the best of the best athletes around the world,” Kang said, reflecting on her meeting with the USWNT.
“I saw a significant lack of resources and attention. I saw the possibility of how women’s football could explode with a little nudge and a little investment.
“I am not alone and there are a lot of people who share the same passion. Two billion people watch the World Cup – it’s growing.”
Kang’s interest isn’t limited to multi-club ownership, however, with a number of multi-million pound investments in women’s sport, including a £39m global investment in improving the health of elite female athletes.
Her plans for Lyon are no less grand. Her long-term ambitions include the construction of a dedicated women’s centre, with a 15-18,000-seater stadium and a bigger training facility, while she has already invested heavily in improving the club’s backroom staff.
“The first thing she said to me was ‘Vincent, what do you have to do for the OL women’s team to have the same supervisions as the professional men’s team?’. That was in August 2023,” Ponsot said.
“I told her, ‘we have to hire 11 people to the staff’, and she said, ‘go on then’. Two months later, we had 11 more people and 24 staff to improve the support to players so they can perform.
“The main thing we have evolved is in the performance sector. We have full-time nutritionists, physiotherapists, doctors, a performance manager, a psychologist. We have everything we need for the players to be in the best conditions to perform like the men’s team.”
Lyon midfielder and USA captain Lindsey Heaps added: “[Michele] is incredible. I have never seen anything like this in the women’s game, the sort of investment but also the way she speaks.
‘A vicious circle’ – the challenges in France
Getty Images
Another of Kang’s priorities is increasing attendances at Lyon fixtures.
“If you ask many female players what is at the top of your wishlist, they don’t say I want to get paid more, I want bigger cars. They say, ‘I want to play against the best players and best teams in a sellout stadium’. It’s my job that we fill the stadium,” she said.
Lyon will travel to Emirates Stadium on Saturday (12:30 BST) for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final with Arsenal – a stadium where the Gunners recorded an average attendance of 52,029 across six matches last season.
“When you see that Arsenal are filling Emirates Stadium, there is no reason why we can’t,” said Ponsot. “We realised that women’s football has an audience with a strong increase in appetite, but we are having trouble making it a reality.”
Lyon are on course for a record-extending 18th league title this season, having already booked their place in May’s end-of-season play-offs. Indeed, they have only lost two league matches over the past four seasons.
That sustained success, coupled with Aulas’ unmatched support, is seen by some as having had a negative impact on crowds, media interest, and investment in France.
Women’s football journalist Assile Toufaily said: “Some will say ‘why should we come and watch football that isn’t attractive because the level isn’t that good?’ We know OL are going to smash the other clubs 7-0. Fans aren’t intrigued to come and watch.
“They say if you want to have a better level of football, investors have to invest. Investors will then say why should we invest if the media isn’t promoting the game? So you find yourself in a vicious circle and it’s been like this for years.”
But she does not see Aulas’ investment as the problem.
“If he didn’t invest in 2004, maybe no-one would ever have done it in France. Aulas isn’t to blame, but maybe the problem is others didn’t follow along.”
Kang, unsurprisingly, is undaunted by this, working with Ponsot to “find the profile” of women’s football fans, with their own research indicating only a 5% overlap between fans who watch men’s and women’s matches.
She will likely find a powerful ally in Aulas, who was elected vice-president of the French Football Federation in December 2023 and has taken over responsibility for development of women’s football.
“The French league is going to be very strong in years to come,” vowed Aulas.
President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has called on African nations to put an end to the export of raw materials if the continent is to overcome poverty and underdevelopment.
According to data from the Office of US Trade Representative and other multilateral institutions, Africa accounts for less than 2% of global manufacturing.
In a post shared on Thursday via his official X handle, Adesina stressed need for Africa to shift from being a supplier of unprocessed commodities to a producer of value-added goods.
“Africa must end the exports of its raw materials. The export of raw materials is the door to poverty. The export of value-added products is the highway to wealth. And Africa is tired of being poor,” he wrote.
Despite Africa being home to the world’s most sought-after raw materials, its share of global trade remains under 3%. Efforts to change this narrative have gained momentum in recent years. Initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are designed to enhance intra-African trade, boost manufacturing, and encourage value addition across sectors.
READ ALSO: EU To Invest In Nigeria’s Solid Minerals To Diversify Trade
Adesina has consistently advocated for policies that promote agro-industrialisation, energy expansion, and improved infrastructure as a foundation for transforming Africa’s economies.
Last week, Adesina criticised the disproportionate allocation of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), revealing that Africa received just $33 billion, only 4.5% of the $650 billion issued globally.
The AfDB president stressed that the distribution model of the SDRs failed to reflect the urgent financial needs of Africa, which bore some of the deepest economic scars from the pandemic, with limited fiscal capacity to implement a robust recovery plan.
The solemn portrait of a nine-year-old Palestinian boy, whose arms were severed and mutilated during an Israeli attack on Gaza City, has won the 2025 World Press Photo of the Year award.
The picture, given the accolade on Thursday, was taken by Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times newspaper, and depicts Mahmoud Ajjour.
“One of the most difficult things Mahmoud’s mother explained to me was how when Mahmoud first came to the realisation that his arms were amputated, the first sentence he said to her was, ‘How will I be able to hug you’?” said Abu Elouf.
Ajjour was evacuated to Doha, Qatar, following the Israeli explosion in March last year, an attack in the continuing war that has killed at least 51,025 Palestinians, wounded about 116,432 others and reduced much of the enclave to rubble.
The photographer is also from Gaza and was herself evacuated in December 2023. She now takes photos of badly wounded Palestinians based in Doha.
“This is a quiet photo that speaks loudly. It tells the story of one boy, but also of a wider war that will have an impact for generations,” said Joumana El Zein Khoury, World Press Photo’s executive director.
The jury praised the photo’s “strong composition and attention to light” and its thought-provoking subject matter, especially questions raised over Mahmoud’s future.
It also lauded how the photo depicts “the dehumanisation of a region, and about the relentless targeting of journalists in Gaza alongside the continued denial of access to international reporters seeking to expose the realities of this war”.
The boy is now learning to play games on his phone, write, and open doors with his feet, but still needs special assistance for most daily activities, such as eating and dressing, the jury said.
“Mahmoud’s dream is simple: he wants to get prosthetics and live his life as any other child,” said the World Press Photo organisers in a statement.
The statement cited the United Nations Works and Relief Agency (UNWRA)’s recent estimation that by December last year, Gaza had more child amputees per capita than anywhere else in the world.
“Children are disproportionately impacted by the war,” the jury stated.
Runner-up prize
The jury also selected two photos for the runner-up prize.
The first, entitled “Droughts in the Amazon” by Musuk Nolte for Panos Pictures and the Bertha Foundation, shows a man on a dried-up river bed in the Amazon carrying supplies to a village once accessible by boat.
The second, “Night Crossing” by John Moore shooting for Getty Images, depicts Chinese migrants huddling near a fire during a cold rain after crossing the US-Mexico border.
Chinese migrants warm themselves under a cold rain after crossing the US-Mexico border, Campo, California, on March 7, 2024 [John Moore/ Getty Images]
The jury sifted through 59,320 photographs from 3,778 photojournalists to select 42 prize-winning shots from around the world.
Nairobi-based Luis Tato won in the “Stories” category for the Africa region for a selection of photos depicting Kenya’s youth uprising.
Jerome Brouillet won in the “Singles” category Asia Pacific and Oceania for his iconic picture of surfer Gabriel Medina seemingly floating above the waves.
Clarens Siffroy won in the “Stories” category North and Central America for his coverage of the gang crisis in Haiti.
