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Revamp of Worcester leisure centres part of five-year plan

Revamp of Worcester leisure centres part of five-year plan

BBC News2 days ago

A deal has been struck over the management of a city's leisure services for the next five years.Worcester City Council has extended its partnership with not-for-profit company Freedom Leisure to continue its existing contract up to December 2030.Under the agreement, originally signed in 2016, the firm has run Perdiswell Leisure Centre, St Johns Sports Centre and Nunnery Wood Sports Complex, along with the city's Healthy Communities programmes.The council said the renewed contract included a commitment by Freedom Leisure to invest in facilities and boost energy efficiency.
Perdiswell Leisure Centre will get refurbished fitness facilities, improved energy efficiency and upgraded CCTV equipment under the plans.While St Johns Sports Centre will see a revamp of its fitness suite and the 3G football pitch will be replaced and upgraded.
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Chelsea complete signing of Liam Delap from Ipswich

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'The best feeling' - will Toney build on Saudi success with England?
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BBC News

time11 minutes ago

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'The best feeling' - will Toney build on Saudi success with England?

Out of sight, out of is what many thought about Ivan Toney and his chances of being called up to the England squad after he made the move to Saudi Arabia last Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel sprang a surprise by naming the Al-Ahli striker in his squad for Saturday's World Cup qualifier against Andorra and Tuesday's friendly against justified his decision by citing Toney's impressive scoring record in Saudi Arabia - he has scored 30 in 44 games in all competitions. "He deserves to be with us and I am convinced because he scored over 20 goals for his team this season," the German coach said. 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There have, of course, been many high-profile footballers who have made the move to Saudi Arabia in recent Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo is perhaps the most famous of them, but there's also been Neymar, N'Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez, who continued to be selected by their respective national teams after making the Toney could come up against his Al-Ahli team-mate Edouard Mendy when England play Senegal next through the list of squads there are plenty of recognisable names playing in the Saudi Pro League but, despite that, the overall standard of the league is perceived as quite Opta's most recent Power Rankings the Saudi Pro League was ranked as just the 29th-strongest in the world, just behind the Ecuador Liga Pro."Toney has referenced it himself publicly that he has been very surprised by the standard for football in Saudi Arabia," Gulf-based sports journalist John McAuley, who covers the Saudi Pro League, told BBC Sport."It is a lot higher than he expected and obviously that is because of the influx of proper international players coming into the league now."Saudi always had a very high standing in Asian football - Al-Hilal are the record four-time winners of the Asian Champions League. 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In comparison, Harry Kane had 46 caps by that stage - while Wayne Rooney had career has also been marked with controversy - in May 2023 he was banned from playing for eight months for 232 breaches of the Football Association's betting summer he was included in the England squad for Euro 2024 and played in the final against Spain, before opting to join Al-Ahli in August for £ wages offered will no doubt have played a big role in Toney's decision, with it reported, external that the four-year-deal with the Saudi side would earn him £400,000 per week after tax. A huge rise on the £50,000-a-week he was on at Toney was in his late twenties when he reached the top of the game, a desire to significantly safeguard his financial future seems the striker has been insistent that a desire for new experiences also motivated him."I wanted something a bit different," he told FourFourTwo in December."It's a different culture, but I can blend in anywhere. I've been at Peterborough, Brentford, now out of the UK. "I'm excited to be on this journey. I believe it's the right move at this stage of my career." 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Ivan Toney never doubted England recall despite controversial move
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The Independent

time30 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Ivan Toney never doubted England recall despite controversial move

Ivan Toney has been recalled to the England squad for the first time since his move from Brentford to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia. The 29-year-old was previously overlooked by interim boss Lee Carsley and Thomas Tuchel, but the current England boss assured him his Saudi Pro League move wouldn't affect his chances. Toney has scored 23 goals in 30 Saudi Pro League appearances for Al-Ahli, helping them win the AFC Champions League Elite competition. The striker believes that playing well and scoring goals should warrant a chance to play for England regardless of where the player is based. Toney is aiming to be part of the England squad for the next World Cup and believes the Saudi Pro League is a competitive league that is improving.

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