Barcelona stunned by Rayo Vallecano in surprise defeat

Barcelona wasted a golden opportunity to extend their lead at the top of La Liga as they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday night thanks to goals in each half from Alvaro Garcia and Fran Garcia.
With seven games to play, Barca are top of the league on 76 points, 11 ahead second-placed Real Madrid, who were also stunned 4-2 at lowly Girona on Tuesday. Rayo Vallecano are ninth on 43 points, four adrift of the European qualification spots. Rayo halted Barca’s seven game unbeaten streak in the league with a gutsy performance in front of their fans at a sold-out Estadio de Vallecas. They were the better side for most of the match against a slapdash Barca.

Dimarco sends Inter into Coppa Italia final again
Inter Milan midfielder Federico Dimarco’s first-half goal earned his side a place in the Coppa Italia final for the second year in a row after a 1-0 home win over Juventus in their semi-final second leg on Wednesday secured a 2-1 aggregate victory. It was the first time in six attempts that Inter had got the better of Juve in a Coppa Italia semi-final, ending the visitors’ streak of three consecutive finals.
Inter will face either Fiorentina or Cremonese in the final on May 24 at the Stadio Olimpico, with Fiorentina leading 2-0 after their semi-final first leg in Cremona.

Barca’s club TV channel set to end after 24 years
Barcelona are set to end their television channel Barca TV after 24 years, with the club saying they will not renew their contract with provider Telefonica in a statement.
Reports in Spanish media say the move is part of cost-cutting measures given the club’s troubled economic state, with a source close to the channel saying around 130 people were set to lose jobs.
The channel began in July 1999 during president Josep Lluis Nunez’s reign. Spanish media report the club may use their production company Barca Studios to create online streaming content as a replacement. Barcelona sold two 24.5 percent stakes in Barca Studios to Orpheus Media and Socios.com to raise around 200 million euros ($220 million), which they used to sign players including striker Robert Lewandowski last summer. The club need to significantly reduce expenditure to meet La Liga financial fair play rules this summer, to be able to continue making new signings – including the potential return of Lionel Messi.

Struggling Getafe fire coach Sanchez Flores
Spanish Liga strugglers Getafe announced they had fired coach Quique Sanchez Flores and his assistants, the day after a loss to Almeria. The club from the Madrid suburbs finished with 10 men on Wednesday evening as they lost 2-1 at home to the team that started the evening immediately below them.
Almeria climbed above Getafe who are a point and a place ahead of Valencia in the first relegation spot. Valencia have a game in hand and host Valladolid. It was Getafe’s third loss in five games. The other two were goalless draws.
Sanchez Flores, the former Watford, Benfica and Atletico Madrid coach, had two previous spells in charge at Getafe. He rejoined the club in October 2021 and narrowly escaped the drop as Getafe finished a point above the relegations spots. Spanish media immediately linked another former Getafe coach, Jose Bordalas, with the vacant position.

Kenya in joint AFCON 2027 bid with Tanzania, Uganda
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have launched a joint bid for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which would bring the continental showpiece to East Africa for the first time. The African Football Confederation (CAF) acknowledged having received a declaration of interest from the three countries along with bids from Algeria, Botswana and Egypt.
The Kenyan government in December approved a cabinet proposal to back a bid for the biennial tournament, alongside two of its neighbours. The government said a successful bid would help the national football team, Harambee Stars, achieve their target of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in 2030.
Poor stadium infrastructure has been a problem for most East African nations, with national teams forced to play continental matches away from home. Kenya has twice won the rights to stage continental tournament finals, the Africa Cup of Nations in 1996 and the African Nations Championships (CHAN) in 2018, but both times was stripped of hosting rights due to the lack of internationally-approved stadiums.
Namwamba said Kenya would construct new high-class stadiums or renovate existing ones to meet international standards. CAF will name the winning bid in September, along with the new venue for the 2025 tournament after original hosts Guinea were stripped of the right to hold the event last October.

Goalkeeper Horn to leave Cologne after 21 years
Goalkeeper Timo Horn will leave FC Cologne at the end of the season after 21 years, the Bundesliga club said. The 29-year-old’s contract, which expires at the end of the season, has not been renewed after Horn expressed a desire to be first-choice again, with Cologne having Marvin Schwabe as their main keeper since last season.
Horn joined the club as a nine-year-old in 2002 and made his first-team debut ten years later. He has 329 competitive games for the club. Horn will be the second player to leave Cologne, as captain Jonas Hector will retire at the end of the campaign.