French former boxing world title holder Thierry Jacob has died at the age of 59, the mayor of his home city Calais announced on Friday.

Jacob took the WBC super bantamweight title in 1992, defeating Mexico’s Daniel Zaragoza in front of his local fans in Calais.

“We begin this day with sad news. Thierry Jacob died overnight, so young,” Natacha Bouchart, mayor of the northern port city, announced on Facebook.

Jacob turned professional in 1984, retiring a decade later with a 39-6 record, losing his WBC title at his first defence against American Tracy Harris Patterson in New York.

One of his sons, Romain Jacob, followed him into the ring, claiming the European super featherweight belt in 2014.

The National Sports Commission (NSC) has postponed the 22nd National Sports Festival to May 2025.

In a statement on Friday, NSC said the postponement was announced by the joint technical committee of the games after a meeting on Thursday.

The festival, tagged ‘2024 Gateway Games’, was initially scheduled to take place in Ogun from January 12 to 26, 2025.

The event has been rescheduled to be held from May 16 to 30, 2025.

NSC said the festival is postponed to “reflect the new direction of sports in the country and also provides more time for the implementation of recommendations made during the joint technical meeting”.

The zonal eliminations for team sports are scheduled to be held from February 23 to 28, 2025.

Bukola Olopade, director-general of NSC, said the extra months will help the commission prepare better for the sports festival.

He also announced the Invited Junior Athletes (IJA) initiative, adding that the “young promising athletes will compete as a 38th state” at the event “for the first time in the history of the Games”.

“This would also get the commission to settle down properly. We’re excited for the new date and the extra five months to put everything together and show the whole country what capacity is all about,” Olopade said.

“When you think about the Invited Junior Athletes (IJA) initiative, where young promising athletes will compete as a 38th state, it is a promising move towards fostering development of our best young talents and it’s happening for the first time in the history of the Games.

“It’s a strategy to empower young and promising talents and create a pathway for them to be exposed at the top level. These athletes will compete against established athletes, hoping to upset the status quo. It speaks to the core of what President Tinubu has asked of us to do.”

Vinicius Junior has been crowned The Best FIFA men’s player of the year.

The Brazilian picked up the individual honour ahead of Rodri, Jude Bellingham and other players during the award ceremony held in Doha on Monday night.

Rodri had beaten Vinicius to the 2024 Ballon d’Or prize in October. The announcement generated mixed reactions across the football world, with many fans arguing that the Real Madrid winger had had a more incredible year.

Vinicius, who had boycotted the Ballon d’Or ceremony alongside his club teammates, was present at the The Best gala to receive the award.

The Brazilian winger impressed Real Madrid as the club cruised to a 2023/24 double of La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.

He scored 26 goals and provided 11 assists as the team rocked to the silverware by shell-shocking heavyweights along the way.

Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid manager, was named the men’s best coach, while Emiliano Martinez picked the Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper.

Alejandro Garnacho’s acrobatic strike for Manchester United against Tottenham in November 2023 claimed the Puskas award for the best goal.

The Best FIFA Football Awards 2024 Winners

• The Best FIFA Men’s Player: Vinicius Junior
• The Best FIFA Women’s Player: Aitana Bonmati
• The Best FIFA Men’s Coach: Carlo Ancelotti
• The Best FIFA Women’s Coach: Emma Hayes
• The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper: Emialiano Martinez
• The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper: Alyssa Naeher
• FIFA Fair Play Award: Thiago Maia
• FIFA Puskas Award: Alejandro Garnacho
• FIFA Fan Award: Guilherme Gandra Moura
• FIFA Marta Award: Marta
• FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World 11: Emialiano Martinez, Dani Cavajal, Ruben Dias, Antonio Rudiger, William Saliba, Jude Bellingham, Rodri, Toni Kroos, Vinicius Junior, Lamine Yamal and Erling Haaland
• FIFA FIFPRO Women’s World 11: Alyssa Naeher, Ona Battle, Irene Paredes, Girha, Lucy Bronze, Lindsey Horan, Patricia Guijarro, Aitana Bonmati, Gabi Portilho, Salma Paralluelo, Graham Hensen