Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/959046
maltatoday WEDNESDAY 28 MARCH 2018 Sport 20 SPORTTODAY ATHLETICS FOOTBALL French half marathons' runner pledges support to LifeCycle LIFECYCLE (Malta) Founda- tion has been selected as the Malta-based charity that French half-marathon runner Wilfred Palcy will be supporting when he will be running his Malta leg in Zurrieq this coming Saturday 31 March 2018 at 8.30am. He will join runners from Zurrieq Wolves Athletic Club and other athletes from various clubs in Malta for a half marathon run. Departing from Zurrieq par- ish church square at 8.30am, the Running1000+ Malta edi- tion, supported by Holiday Inn Express, will also go through Qrendi, Mqabba, Kirkop, Safi, Hal Far and back to Zurrieq. A group of cyclists from LifeCy- cle will accompany the athletes. Other cyclists are also welcome. The donations that Palcy will be collecting will go towards raising funds to help renal pa- tients in Malta through the Life- Cycle Foundation. As part of the Running1000+ challenge, Palcy has set him- self the extraordinary target of running 60 half marathons in 60 European cities in 120 days in aid of a charity of his choice in each of the selected 60 Euro- pean cities that are designated European Capitals of Culture. He is both the founder of Moot- ivaction, a firm that provides corporate coaching and train- ing, and also a certified trainer of an established method called the Process Communication Model (PCM). The French athlete is not new to such challenges. A previous similar one in 2016 saw him running 52 half marathons in the same number of weeks which took him to countries in the US, Asia, Australia and Africa. Asked what triggered his initiatives, the Paris-born runner with Caribbean roots said: "Having lost my tobacco- addict uncle, who passed away too early at the age of 54 due to lung cancer, made me think and focus on the value of our condition. Since then, one of my purposes in life is to promote a healthier life style. Mental and physical energy are two simple elements that can improve our overall health." Running1000+ (https://www. running1000plus.com/ ) is a unique concept that is involv- ing groups of runners from dif- ferent cities. Palcy kicked off the Running1000+ challenge in Paris on Saturday 3rd March 2018 and will conclude it in the French capital on Saturday 30th June 2018, for a combined total of 1,260km, practically one half- marathon every second day. Pal- cy is bringing together groups of people from each respective city to compete in a 21km race. Group sizes tend to vary from small groups to regional com- munities. "I am looking forward to do- ing the Malta leg of my chal- lenge this Saturday as I've learnt that Malta has a great history, and moreover the Easter period is perhaps one of the best and most beautiful times to run in Malta," said the 40+ human re- sources manager. LifeCycle Foundation's mis- sion is to raise money for life saving equipment in order to help persons suffering from re- nal failure, and to raise aware- ness about organ transplants here in Malta. One can donate via sms: 5061 7370 = €2.33; 5061 8920 = €6.99; 5061 9229 = €11.65; or via a call to 5160 2020 = €10, 5170 2005 = €15; and 5180 2006 = €25. Bank details are Swift code VALLMTMT, IBAN number MT 18 VALL 220130 0 0 0 0 0 014814521017, Bank name Bank of Valletta, Account number 14814521017. LifeCycle founder Mr Alan Curry is encouraging the pub- lic to donate to LifeCycle and to look out for Wilfred at the Zurrieq Half Marathon this coming Saturday, and give him and all the other participating athletes a big cheer. He thanked Zurrieq Wolves Athletic Club for organising the run https:// goo.gl/M9npfM For further information and to donate towards this cause: https://goo.gl/YgQuPM Wilfred Palcy to run for LifeCycle Foundation this Saturday UEFA to allow players to switch clubs in Champions League PLAYERS who switch clubs dur- ing the course of a season will be allowed to play for both in the Champions League under new rules announced by UEFA yesterday. The European global soccer body said in a statement that it would also allow teams to use a fourth substitute in extra-time during Champions League and Europa League knockout ties. The new ruling, to come into effect next season, means that a player who has been fielded by one club in the group stage of the Champions League, and is transferred during the January window, can play for his new club in the knockout stages. The same applies to the Eu- ropa League. Under current rules, clubs who qualify for the knockout stage of either the Champions League or Europa League are allowed to register three new players. These can include one player who has represented a differ- ent club in the Europa League group stages but none who have been fielded for another club in the Champions League group stage. The present ruling prevents Barcelona from field- ing Philippe Coutinho in the Champions League this season as he has already played for Liv- erpool. Alexis Sanchez was eligible for Manchester United, however, as he switched from Arsenal in the Europa League to the Champi- ons League. The new rules state that "that a club may register three new eligible players without any re- strictions." UEFA said the new ruling brought it into line with domes- tic leagues which "do not im- pose restrictions on the eligibil- ity for competitions of players registered for a new club during the winter transfer window." UEFA said the fourth substitu- tion will be allowed following its approval by soccer's law-making body IFAB on March 3. It said that 23 players, instead of 18, would be allowed on team sheets for the Champions League and Europa League fi- nals, and the European Super Cup match.