Angers predicted XI v Reims: Estéban Lepaul out
SCO Angers host Stade de Reims on Tuesday with a place in the Coupe de France semi-finals at stake. However, Les Scoïstes must do without top-scorer Estéban Lepaul for the encounter.
Lepaul has been in top form of late but missed the draw to AS Saint-Étienne over the weekend. Suffering with an adductor injury, he will miss the game against Reims too. Ibrahima Niane and Bamba Dieng will compete for the No.9 position in his absence this evening.
There is, however, a returnee for Angers in the form of Jean-Eudes Aholou, who missed the weekend game through suspension. There may be changes at the back too with backup goalkeeper Melvin Zinga set to play, as he has throughout the Coupe de France, whilst Carlens Arcus and Emmanuel Biumla could also make returns.
Melvin Zinga; Jacques Ekomié, Jordan Lefort, Emmanuel Biumla, Lilian Raolisoa; Yassin Belkhdim, Jean-Eudes Aholou; Farid El Melali, Himad Abdelli, Jim Allevinah; Ibrahima Niane. (L'Éq)
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
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12 hours ago
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Trump travel ban, new revenue-sharing model create uncertainty for international college athletes
Moses Jean-Pierre is the son of two Haitian immigrants. He grew up near Boston, where his mother would cook for any child in the neighborhood who looked hungry, regardless of whether the family knew them. His parents were the 'cornerstone' of their West Cambridge, Mass. community, Jean-Pierre said, and so before his parents died in 2017 and 2019, he promised them he would honor their roots and continue giving back to Haitian communities. About a decade ago, Jean-Pierre founded Hoops for Haiti, a nonprofit that mentors youth in Haiti and Haitian communities in the U.S. and elsewhere. The organization offers basketball and other initiatives in education and mental health to facilitate better opportunities, including high school and college athletics in the U.S. Advertisement 'Some of the kids already come from trauma in Haiti, and coming here legally, this was their dream,' Jean-Pierre said. 'I've never seen them so happy to have an opportunity.' That mission has encountered sudden and significant change due to Haiti's inclusion in a recent proclamation issued by President Donald Trump that restricts travel to the U.S. Haiti is one of 12 fully restricted countries; another seven have partial restrictions. 'It's been very, very, very difficult within this process because I get the tears, I have some students who have gone through so much,' said Jean-Pierre. 'For me and some of those other kids who are in Haiti, I have to start looking at, 'Maybe the U.S. is not the place to go right now.'' Jean-Pierre's focus is on one of the 19 newly restricted countries, but his sentiment extends to a much broader group of young people facing similar uncertainty: international college athletes. Advertisement The travel ban features exceptions for athletes traveling to the U.S. for major sporting events such as the ongoing Concacaf Gold Cup or next summer's FIFA World Cup, but international college athletes are not specified in the listed exemptions. The Trump administration described the restrictions as 'necessary to garner cooperation from foreign governments' and enforce immigration laws, among other reasons. Trump in the proclamation cited visa overstay rates as a reason to restrict travel from Haiti. The restrictions came during a U.S. pause on all new student visa applications, which was lifted on Wednesday, and just as college sports is establishing a new financial model under the recently approved House settlement, which allows Division I schools to begin sharing revenue directly with college athletes on July 1. International college athletes, the vast majority of whom are on F-1 student visa classifications, are eligible to receive revenue sharing under the terms of the settlement. But schools and athletes will have to consider how this new system aligns with student visas that do not authorize employment, against a backdrop of heightened attention on U.S. immigration. As written, the U.S. travel restrictions, mostly for countries in Africa and the Middle East, should directly impact only a small percentage of current international college athletes. The most recent NCAA data estimates there were roughly 23,000 international college athletes across all divisions in 2023-24. That equals about 4 percent of all college athletes, only a sliver of whom hail from the 19 restricted countries. The NCAA's data on athlete country of origin, last updated in 2022, counted athletes from 12 of the 19 impacted countries, but only two produced more than a dozen athletes that year: Haiti (24) and Venezuela (126). Canada, for comparison, had the most international students with 4,408. Advertisement In addition to the travel exceptions for athletes and team members to major sporting events, there are also exceptions for existing visa holders, and anyone currently in the U.S. on a visa should not be at risk of being detained, even if their visa has lapsed since last entering the country, according to immigration attorneys. Any additional exceptions, including the designation of major sporting events, will be at the discretion of the Secretary of State, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State. Because of the caveats for existing visa holders, the international college athletes most likely to be impeded by the ban would be those who need a U.S. visa, either new athletes or current athletes from the banned countries who might have traveled home for the summer on an expired visa. Many others, however, are feeling the ripple effects. Jean-Pierre described his inability to bring a 6-foot-8, 16-year-old athlete to a high school in Florida due to the travel ban, despite nearly a year of planning and just before his visa was expected. Advertisement 'Right now the change has been the disappointment of this kid coming to a school in Florida that's predominantly a lot of Haitian kids and an opportunity to assemble with his community in the U.S. and (not only) get an education but be a productive member of society,' Jean-Pierre said. 'And to have that taken away is very disheartening. But I'm not gonna give up.' The athlete, whom is not naming because he is a minor, said in a message that he was 'devastated' to hear about the ban and isn't sure what's next. He will remain in Haiti for the time being. 'I felt bad and that saddened me because I finally saw an opportunity to do something big with my talent to help my family,' he wrote of no longer being able to attend school in Florida, where he was planning to play basketball. 'I will continue praying and trusting God, but for now I am lost.' Others affected by the travel bans have been hesitant to speak out publicly on the matter, even if they are currently in the U.S. One current international Division I athlete told in a social media message that he is currently stuck in Canada and 'not allowed to enter back into the United States.' made multiple requests to speak with current college athletes from countries included in the travel ban, but each was declined due to the sensitivity of the situation. Advertisement The NCAA has not publicly spoken about the travel and visa restrictions and declined to comment for this story. Recent reports indicate that the travel ban could expand to as many as 36 additional countries, most of which are in Africa. That includes Nigeria, Egypt and Ghana, each of which was estimated to have more than 70 NCAA athletes as of 2022. South Sudan is also on the list of 36 additional countries, just months after the U.S. State Department took actions to revoke existing visas and halted the issuance of new visas for South Sudanese passport holders. Announced during the Final Four of the NCAA men's basketball Tournament in early April, that ban made headlines regarding then-Duke freshman Khaman Maluach, a native of South Sudan. Maluach has since declared for the NBA Draft, which will be held next week in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he is expected to be a top-10 selection. Maluach was recruited to Duke through the NBA Academy Africa, a training center in Senegal for top African prospects. The NBA told it is currently advising Maluach on the visa and immigration process, as it does for all international players and draft prospects. According to the NBA, it does not have any active players or projected draft picks from the 19 countries with travel restrictions, but the league and its international academies work closely with the State Department and abide by U.S. law and policy. Advertisement Multiple immigration attorneys told they are advising international college students on the matter. 'I do not want my international athletes traveling abroad unless it's a true emergency,' said Ksenia Maiorova, an attorney with Green and Spiegel law firm who advises universities, athletic departments and international college students on immigration issues. 'It's just not worth the risk.' Beyond the existing restrictions and possibility that more countries could be added, the nearly month-long pause on processing student visa applications likely created a backlog that could slow the overall process in the immediate future, along with the new State Department directive that applicants will be asked to make their social media accounts public and screened for perceived 'hostility' directed at the United States. The Trump administration is also in a legal battle with Harvard over an edict to bar all international students from attending the university. And according to Maiorova, a valid visa does not guarantee admission into the United States. Advertisement 'In addition to the bans, you have to consider that a student-athlete could just be denied entry on a valid visa even if there is no ban,' she said. 'They present themselves at the border, have a conversation with a (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) officer, and that officer determines whether or not to admit. If that officer determines for whatever reason the student-athlete is not maintaining their status or in violation of U.S. immigration law, they could refuse admission and revoke the visa and send them back. There's no real due process in that scenario.' Aaron Blumberg, an attorney with Fragomen law firm who also advises universities and students on immigration issues, added that even though the pause on student visas has been lifted, it still increases the possibility that any international student, regardless of country, may not secure a visa as quickly as they had hoped. 'The pause happened in the heart of peak season to obtain a student visa,' said Blumberg. 'I'm sure there are summer workouts starting for programs that might not have every international team member in time.' The House settlement has introduced another potential concern. Most student visas offer very limited labor and employment authorization on U.S. soil. Prior to the settlement's approval, this forced international college athletes to find creative workarounds in order to collect name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation from third-party entities, such as former Kentucky men's basketball player Oscar Tshiebwe completing his NIL deliverables during an offseason trip to the Bahamas in 2022. Advertisement Terms of the House settlement alter that landscape by allowing schools to distribute revenue sharing directly to athletes beginning next month. Some legal experts argue that international athletes are eligible to receive those funds because they are considered royalties or passive income (as opposed to labor), which is allowable under a traditional F-1 student visa. NCAA president Charlie Baker told Yahoo Sports last week that he believes international college athletes can receive revenue sharing from schools, but that the NCAA 'still has some work to do' and is seeking legal counsel. Sources familiar with the House settlement and newly created College Sports Commission oversight told that schools are eligible to distribute revenue sharing to international athletes as they see fit, but it is a school's responsibility to evaluate how that could impact an athlete's visa status. 'The (revenue sharing) agreements use all this magic language to make it sound a lot less like compensation for the availability of the student-athlete to play sports at a certain school,' Maiorova said. 'They don't call it a salary or employment or labor, but it can be construed as compensation for their services as an athlete.' Maiorova's concern is that the Trump administration or the Department of Homeland Security could interpret revenue sharing with international athletes in this way, and possibly even target certain universities, which could then trigger student visa issues across the country. Advertisement 'Some schools don't seem to be aware of how close they might be to triggering those (labor) provisions,' said Maiorova, 'because they are getting advice that as long as they refer to the revenue sharing as royalties or passive income (for international athletes), they will be fine. Which, in my opinion, is horrendous legal advice.' It's why Maiorova and Blumberg are advising college athletes to seek alternative, work-approved visa designations such as P-1a visas for athletes who are internationally recognized or O-1 visas for people with 'extraordinary ability.' But those options are more expensive and tougher to get approved. Maiorova is currently representing Last-Tear Poa, an Australia native and women's college basketball player who recently transferred from LSU to Arizona State. Poa filed a lawsuit in Louisiana against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) after her application for a P-1a visa was denied last year. '(University) compliance departments have gotten comfortable pushing the envelope with NCAA enforcement, but DHS is not the entity you want to play that game with,' said Maiorova. A State Department spokesperson said that each visa applicant is reviewed individually based on U.S. law, and that the department cannot comment on or anticipate how the House settlement will or will not affect visa adjudications. For inquiries about the status of student visa holders in the U.S., the State Department defers to the Department of Homeland Security. Advertisement U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), USCIS and the White House directed requests for guidance on the matter to the State Department. 'There are so many different things all going on at once that are making it really challenging for international students, for colleges and for their athletic teams,' said Blumberg. 'That could be a continuing trend for the foreseeable future.' This article originally appeared in The Athletic. College Football, Men's College Basketball, Women's College Basketball 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Yahoo
Lens' Hervé Koffi set for Angers move
RC Lens goalkeeper Hervé Koffi (28) is set for a move to SCO Angers, according to a report from Mohamed Toubache-Ter. Koffi failed to seize his chance to become Lens' No.1 following Brice Samba's departure for the club. The France international joined Stade Rennais in January, however, Koffi struggled to replace him in the weeks that followed, which saw Les Sang et Or dip into the market to sign Australian goalkeeper Mat Ryan (33). Advertisement There could be yet further change between the sticks for Lens this summer, but either way, it looks as though Koffi will not be at the club. As per Toubahce-Ter, the Burkina Faso international will join Angers on a season-long loan deal. Le Sco, who last season avoided the drop, will pay a part, but not all, of the player's wages. There is no buy option included in the deal. The move will naturally raise questions about the future of Yahia Fofana (24), who is likely to be coveted following a strong campaign last time around. GFFN | Luke Entwistle
Yahoo
2 days ago
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Report: Bournemouth plan ambitious double raid on Crystal Palace
Report: Bournemouth Target Five-Star Overhaul with Palace Duo on Wish List Bournemouth's ambitious transfer plans are beginning to take shape ahead of the 2025-26 Premier League season, with sources confirming a shortlist of five significant targets. The club is pushing forward with its summer rebuild under Andoni Iraola, following key departures and growing competition within the mid-table pack. According to Teamtalk the Cherries are actively pursuing Inter Milan defender Yann Bisseck, Crystal Palace pair Marc Guehi and Jean-Philippe Mateta, Juventus right-back Nicolo Savona, and Feyenoord winger Igor Paixao. Advertisement This marks a bold declaration of intent from Bournemouth, a club determined not just to survive in the Premier League but to disrupt the hierarchy. After a campaign of progress under Iraola, these transfer targets represent a step towards cementing their position as European contenders. Photo IMAGO Defensive shake-up key to Bournemouth's vision With Dean Huijsen already gone and Illya Zabarnyi tipped to follow him out the door, Bournemouth's defence is in urgent need of reinforcements. Yann Bisseck has emerged as a priority signing. The 24-year-old Inter Milan centre-back has the physical presence and ball-playing ability that suits Iraola's intense pressing system. Valued at £34 million, Bisseck is also on the radar of Tottenham and Everton, as reported by TEAMtalk's Rudy Galetti on 24 April. Advertisement Guehi, meanwhile, would be a marquee arrival. The 24-year-old Crystal Palace defender, who is now an England international, brings leadership, Premier League pedigree and composure. Signing him would be a coup, but Bournemouth are battling stiff competition from Liverpool, Newcastle and Inter Milan. His signing would signal that Bournemouth are no longer content to be seen as merely a developmental side. 'Guehi's potential acquisition signals the Cherries' ambition to challenge for European spots, provided they are able to stave off Champions League playing suitors.' Forward planning with Mateta and Paixao in sight Jean-Philippe Mateta's name is also on Bournemouth's radar. The powerful Crystal Palace striker has enjoyed a resurgence in form, combining physicality and finishing that has attracted attention from Chelsea and Manchester United. Advertisement TEAMtalk reports that Mateta would be used to complement Evanilson in attack, offering versatility and strength. 'Jean-Philippe Mateta has been earmarked by Bournemouth, to complement Evanilson in attack.' With Dominic Solanke's future often speculated upon, adding another proven option makes strategic sense. Further upfield, Igor Paixao of Feyenoord has caught the eye. The Brazilian winger has delivered eight goals and 14 assists this season, including standout Champions League performances. Valued at £25 million, he would likely be a replacement for Antoine Semenyo, who is wanted by Tottenham. 'Paixao's pace and vision would help Bournemouth's attack. Likely replacing Antoine Semenyo who is much wanted by Tottenham.' Photo: IMAGO Savona identified as creative full-back solution In response to the imminent departure of Milos Kerkez to Liverpool, Bournemouth have already sealed the signing of Adrien Truffert from Rennes. However, that is not the end of their full-back business. Juventus' Nicolo Savona has also been identified as a long-term right-back option. Advertisement At just 22, Savona has been likened to Arsenal's Riccardo Calafiori, with attacking quality from deep and impressive defensive reading. Bournemouth have made initial contact, but Everton and West Ham are also keen on the Italian. 'Bournemouth have initiated contact over a move for Savona, but Everton and West Ham are also keen.' Rebuilding process already in motion Bournemouth's intentions are clear. With multiple key players departing and interest intensifying in their top stars, the club is moving quickly to ensure continuity. This proactive approach, built around a well-structured recruitment strategy, suggests that the Cherries are no longer content to be reactive participants in the transfer market. Advertisement 'To fund this spree, Bournemouth are already seeing top stars leave and sources at the club say that plans are already underway to replace the many players they are likely to lose this summer.' Under Iraola, there is growing confidence that Bournemouth can evolve into one of the most progressive clubs in the division, both on and off the pitch. Their transfer policy speaks to that evolution. Our View – EPL Index Analysis From a Bournemouth fan's perspective, this report should spark real optimism. The fact that the club is even in conversation for names like Guehi and Mateta shows how far the project has come under Iraola. Last summer, Bournemouth were targeting mid-table stability. This year, it feels like European football is genuinely part of the conversation. Advertisement Marc Guehi would be a dream signing. His composure and leadership would transform the backline, and pairing him with someone like Bisseck could set the foundation for years. Realistically though, the competition for Guehi may be too steep unless the player is sold on being a talismanic figure rather than one of many stars. Mateta is the type of striker who could give Bournemouth a new dimension. Evanilson and Solanke are technically sharp, but Mateta's brute force could be invaluable in certain fixtures, particularly when Bournemouth are chasing games or facing deep blocks. Igor Paixao is arguably the most exciting name on the list. Bournemouth need a bit more flair, especially if Semenyo goes, and Paixao's numbers in the Eredivisie and Europe suggest he's ready for the next step. Overall, fans will be encouraged by how targeted these moves feel. This isn't a scattergun approach. It's strategic, exciting and shows that the club has learned how to balance ambition with realism. If even three of these targets are secured, Bournemouth's 2025-26 season could be their most exciting yet.
