Ghana have lost out in their quest to host the U17 World Cup in 2013 after the United Arab Emirates were handed the rights by Fifa.

The West African country applied to host the tournament but their interest waned.

A delegation which was expected to formally present the bid to Fifa in Zurich failed to travel even though the country did not formally withdraw its bid.

This came even though government had initially given its blessing for Ghana to host the tournament.

But some key members of the ruling NDC party like Ade Coker kicked against the bid insisting the country has more pressing problems.

Fifa thus decided to give the tournament to the UAE who have the facilities and are ready to host it.

Meanwhile, Fifa has chosen Canada to host the women’s World Cup in 2015.

Canada was the only candidate after Zimbabwe withdrew from the contest because of its lack of infrastructure.

Canada will also host the women’s under-20 World Cup in 2014 as a test event.

Fifa also awarded hosting rights for the men’s U20 World Cup to Turkey in 2013 and New Zealand in 2015.

The men’s U17 World Cup will be staged in Chile in 2015.

Uzbekistan was chosen by Fifa’s executive committee to host the women’s U20 World Cup in 2012.

Costa Rica will host the women’s U17 World Cup in 2014.

Yakubu happy to be working with Eriksson at Leicester

Sven Goran-Eriksson is hoping to make striker Yakubu Ayigbeni’s stay at Leicester City permanent.

The Foxes hope to sign Yakubu on a permanent basis after it emerged they agreed to pay £1m to take him on loan for the rest of the season.

After parting with such a hefty loan fee, and seeing the Everton striker respond with four goals in eight appearances so far, the Championship promotion contenders are ready to bid £5m to make it a permanent transfer in the summer.

“I’m quite sure that if we go up, he will stay, and I know he wants to,” said Eriksson.

El Hadj Diouf

Celtic frist team coach Alan Thompson has blamed El Hadj Diouf for the rampant sending offs in the Scottish Cup replay win over Rangers.

Marouane Chamakh

Arsene Wenger is banking his hopes on striker Marouane Chamakh in the absence of injured Robin Van Persie.

The Arsenal manager was particularly impressed with the striking partnership formed between the Moroccan and Nicklas Bendtner in Wednesday’s 5-0 win over Leyton Orient in the FA Cup replay.

“We have lost (Robin) van Persie, of course, so for Bendtner and Chamakh to score is very important,” said Wenger after the game.

Chamakh’s first goal since November got the ball rolling in just the seventh minute, before Bendtner netted his hat-trick.

The Denmark international followed up a fine header and 18-yard drive with a 62nd-minute penalty to complete his treble, with substitute Gael Clichy wrapping up the result as he struck his first goal since November 2008.

The imposing result sets up a quarter-final clash at Old Trafford against Manchester United, who also stand in the Gunners’ way of success in the Premier League.

However, Wenger believes his side have a strong chance of usurping Sir Alex Ferguson’s side in both competitions even in the absence of in-form striker Robin van Persie.

The Dutch international faces up to four weeks out with a tear in a ligament at the back of his knee, but Wenger has backed Bendtner and Chamakh to fill the void.

Muntari in the mix for Sunderland

Sunderland defender John Mensah claims teammate Sulley Muntari is struggling due to being played out of position.

The Inter Milan player who is on loan with the Black Cats has had to play in a more conservative role due to injuries to Lee Cattermole.

Mensah told The Journal: “Sulley likes goalscoring, but maybe that’s not the kind of game the manager wants in these matches. The Sulley I know in the national team normally plays on the left wing.

“He gets forward, comes back to defend, and sometimes gets in front of the attackers. I believe he can do that for Sunderland too if the manager wants him to.”

The Ghana captain however expressed joy at having yet another compatriot join in at Wearside and says Muntari would be a big hit at the Stadium of Light regardless of all the difficulties confronting him.

“I’m happy to see Sulley here because he’s a player who won the European Cup with Inter Milan and he can have a big impact on this team. I believe he’s going to do well for Sunderland, but we must all work together as a team.

“I believe Sulley can play in all the midfield positions because he has a powerful left-foot shot and he can score and defend, he can play on the left wing. He can move everywhere and come back to defend.”

Ahmed Elmohamady

A reported £2.5m has been agreed to turn an initial loan deal for defender Ahmed Elmohamady permanent at Sunderland.

The Egypt international made an explosive start to his Premiership life when he arrived from ENPPI last summer.

However despite a dip in form, Sunderland boss Steve Bruce is keen to deal in the 23-year-old.

Though he plays in defence as a right-back, Elmo has also shown his efficiency in midfield preferably on the right.

Asamaoh in action for Ghana

Udinese are bracing themselves for a summer offer from Manchester City for their young gem Kwadwo Asamoah.

City boss Roberto Mancini has been a long time admirer of the Ghana international and started tracking him while he was the manager for Inter Milan.

Asamoah, 22, who was named Africa’s Best Young Player last year is however contracted to Udinese until 2015. Nevertheless, City are ready to table an offer in the summer.

Udinese are reportedly not interested in any discussion concerning Asamoah if the offer falls below £10m.

Marouane Chamakh

Arsenal’s clash with Leyton Orient provides the best platform to atone for Sunday’s Carling Cup final defeat to Birmingham according to striker Marouane Chamakh.

The Gunners suffered a last-gasp 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Blues in the Carling Cup final at Wembley, denying them their first piece of silverware since the 2005 FA Cup.

But Arsenal are still competing for trophies on three fronts this season, and Moroccan striker Chamakh believes their FA Cup fifth-round replay at home to Orient on Wednesday could be just the pick-me-up they need after their cup heartache.

“On Monday morning we had training, on Wednesday we play again and we have the chance to bounce back,” he told the club’s official website.

“We have all had a bad night but we will bounce back.

“We are lucky to have another game to play as soon as Wednesday. We need to think about that game, focus on it and not think about this final.

“We need to forget what happened and make sure the defeat doesn’t stay on our minds. We still have a lot of big games and challenges to play and we will fight on until the end of the season.”

Much has been made of the disastrous mix-up between goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and defender Laurent Koscielny that led to Obafemi Martins’ 89th-minute winner for Birmingham.

Chamakh, however, insists Arsenal must share the blame for the upset.

“We are all responsible for the defeat. That’s football. You have highs and lows,” he added.

“The way we conceded the second goal doesn’t matter. If we had conceded a top-class goal the result would have been the same, we would still have lost. We lost a final and it’s hard to take.

“We have a feeling of frustration and disappointment because we feel that we could have won the game. To be honest, I was expecting it to go into extra time and maybe to penalties but not to lose in that way.”

Drogba happy to remain at Stamford Bridge

Didier Drogba insists he is happy at Chelsea and has no intentions whatsoever of leaving the London club.

Drogba, who joined Chelsea from Marseille in 2004, indicated on numerous occasions during his early career at Stamford Bridge that he would consider moving on.

In 2007, on a DVD released in France, Drogba claimed he had not wanted to leave Marseille for the Blues. “I was disgusted,” he said. “I realised that signing for Chelsea was disgusting.”

He also announced his desire to leave the club in the wake of Jose Mourinho’s departure, while reports over the past week claimed the Ivorian would quit if dropped for Tuesday’s clash with Manchester United.

However, Drogba has more recently spoken of his happiness at Stamford Bridge and, although the arrival of Fernando Torres has led to speculation Drogba will return to Marseille in the summer, he has made clear he has no intention of moving on.

“I have everything I could dream of at Chelsea,” he told French TV channel Orange Sport.

“I am at a great club, with amazing team-mates, with a perfect living environment for my family.

“Some years ago I could have said, ‘I dream to play at AC Milan, Real, or Manchester United’, but nowadays I don’t feel such desire anymore.

“I am at one of the best clubs in the world. Those desires have been gone for a while.”

Drogba is under contract with Chelsea until June 2012.

Obafemi Martins

Rubin Kazan expects the return of Obafemi Martins at the end of the season contrary to reports the Nigerian striker will make his initial loan deal permanent at St. Andrews.

Martins, 26, has made in immediate impact since joining Birmingham during the January transfer period.

The former Newcastle forward etched his name into the St Andrews history books on Sunday as he notched a dramatic winner in a 2-1 Carling Cup final victory over Arsenal.

Having helped Birmingham end their long wait for a major trophy, Martins had hoped that he would be offered the opportunity to extend his time in England.

Rubin, though, have other ideas and claim no agreement has been struck to take the 26-year-old back to the Premier League on a permanent basis.

They have made it clear that Martins’ current deal is only due to run until the end of the season, at which time he will be expected to report back for duty at his parent club.

“Martins left Rubin due to personal reasons,” said Rubin coach Kurban Berdyev in the Daily Mail.

“We agreed that he will stay there until the summer and then return to Kazan.

“We haven’t received any formal offers from Birmingham.”