All over EGYPTIAN squash champion Amr Shabana won the Grand Central Championship in New York, defeating Nick Matthew 11-6, 11-9, 11-4, in the final of the Bear Stearns tournament. Matthew, who lost in 40 minutes, said Shabana was just too good. "He didn't give me an inch," Matthew said. "Shabana was just twisting and turning me all around the court." It was Shabana's first victory in the tournament after seven years of trying. In September THE HOSTS for the CAF African Cup of Nations 2010 finals will be decided in September, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced. Angola, Libya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal and Zimbabwe are all hoping to host the finals along with a joint bid from Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Hit the ground running SAO PAULO underlined their status as continental champions by shrugging off injuries to several key players in disposing of Caracas 2-1 in Venezuela in the Copa Libertadores. The three points take the Brazilian giants to the top of Group one alongside Mexican rivals Chivas Guadalajara. Goals from champions Sao Paulo's Danilo and Alo�sio were enough to scupper the Venezuelans, who had more than held their own in a tight first half. After two consecutive defeats, Union Espanola scored their first goal by their champion Emerson Pereira in the tournament to secure a much-needed win in Group three. Palmeiras secured their first win in Group seven with an action-packed 3-2 win at home to Colombia's Athletic National and now join Cerro Porteno of Paraguay at the top of the standings. Over in Group eight, Libertad of Paraguay showed their opening-day win over River Plate was no fluke when they held Paulista to a valuable goalless draw in Brazil. Beach ball THE BEACH Soccer World Cup has begun in Brazil with the South American qualifying tournament. The competition on the beaches of Macaé will be the first of six qualifying events for the confederations, culminating in the FIFA World Cup 2006 from 2 to 12 November 2006. The final competition will see the top 16 teams battle it out on the sands of the Copacabana.
