Lille striker Matt Moussilou has joined Ligue 1 rivals Nice on a four-year deal, the northern French club announced on Wednesday.

"Both clubs have reached an agreement," Lille said in a statement.

Moussilou, 24, had lost his place in Lille's starting line-up and only scored four goals in the last season.

WE have big plans for Rainford Kalaba, Afrisports chief executive officer Gabby Kaunda has said.

In an interview following the expiry of Kalaba's contract with FC Nice, Kaunda said he has received various offers from Europe regarding the enterprising young national team midfielder.

"We did not rush him when we took him to France. It was just a one-year contract and the condition was that he went there to train, (gain) exposure and to start shaping himself up," Kaunda said. He said the fact that Kalaba's contract was not renewed did not mean that he was a bad player.

"Kalaba is not a bad player and I have big plans for him. A lot of teams want him and I have been contacted by teams from Denmark and Belgium," he said.

Kaunda said Kalaba will be playing for Afrisports before they finally secure a good team for him.

"He will for now play for Afrisports then we will look for a good team for him. Kalaba is still a young player and has a lot of talent and the arrangement with Nice was like an attachment. So we are not rushing him," he said.

And Kaunda said he was impressed with Ignatius Lwipa's progress at Zanaco.  I feel he (Lwipa) should move forward," he said. Lwipa is on a one-year loan at Zanaco from Afrisports.

Kalaba was last week offloaded by his club FC Nice where he had a one-year contract with the team's reserve side.

The 20-year-old was told his services were no longer needed, as he had not played enough games to warrant a contract with the main team.

Honorato Ederson's late goal ensured Nice finished their season on a high as they claimed a 2-1 win over Troyes.

Marama Vahirua had earlier put the visitors ahead in a rather non-eventful opening first half.

But substitute Ziad Jaziri levelled the scores up and looked to have earned his side a point before Ederson plundered the winner.

Mamadou Bagayoko created the first goal with his accurate delivery from the right which Vahirua connected with.

However, Ronan Le Crom managed to save the initial effort but was powerless to stop the Nice player from hitting home the rebound.

The remainder of the half was somewhat uneventful and the only chance of note came when Bagayoko attempted to lob Le Crom with a poor effort.

Troyes, though, came out for the second half full of attacking intent and were rewarded for their endeavour.

Jaziri latched onto a long ball out of defence before calmly slotting the ball past Nice 'keeper Damien Gregorini.

Bagayoko was again involved in Nice's best attacking play as he thumped home a Florent Balmont cross, which was cleared away by the Troyes defence.

The two Nice substitutes, Sebastian Roudet and Souleymane Camara, combined effectively when the former crossed for the latter to shoot at goal, but he was denied by a fantastic Le Crom save.

Nice, though, settled the contest when Cyril Rool's long pass found Ederson who produced an exquisite lob to grab all three points.

Lille will look to book their ticket for the Champions League in the final weekend of action in Ligue 1.

The third-placed club need a victory against Rennes to ensure that Marseille cannot leapfrog them on the final day.

The title race is long since over with Lyon collecting their fifth consecutive title. But below them, the battle for a place in Europe's most prestigous comepetition is reaching its climax.

Lille are clear favourites, holding a two point advantage after stunning Lyon 4-0 last weekend.

Rennes could put up stiffer resistance as they themselves are aiming for a place in the UEFA Cup.

Lille midfielder Mathieu Chalme is well aware of the importance of Saturday's game.

"We would have liked to have secured our place in the Champions League before the final match, but I do believe that we have what it takes," Chalme told www.losc.fr.

"We deserve to win and play in Europe considering our performance in Ligue 1 this year.

"It would be good to qualify for the Champions League for the second consecutive year. We will see if we are a great team on Saturday.

"Clinching a place in the UEFA Cup only would be felt as a huge disappointment. We want to be back to the Champions League and we will do all we can to reach that aim."

If they are to pip Lille to the post, Marseille must win at second-placed Bordeaux and hope for good news from Rennes.

The importance of their own result is paramount. They hope for a Rennes victory that would put them in the Champions League, but if Marseille themselves lose, such a result would leave them out of Europe all together.

"This is an extremely important match for us on Saturday," said Marseille striker Toifilou Maoulida.

"We must win at any price. We cannot think about a loss or even a draw if we are to be in Europe next year.

"Ideally it would be fantastic if Rennes beat Lille and we defeat Bordeaux. Everything is still possible.

"Bordeaux will try to please their crowd for their last home match but we can unsettle them and spoil the party."

Paris St Germain, who face already-relegated Metz, are assured of their place in the UEFA Cup after beating arch-rivals Marseille to win the French Cup Final.

Ajaccio and Strasbourg, who will join Metz in Ligue 2 next season, play St Etienne and Auxerre respectively.

Monaco, whose coach Francesco Guidolin is set to be showed the door this summer after failing to fulfil the club's ambitions, welcome League Cup winners Nancy at the Stade Louis II while Sochaux, OGC Nice odds and Nantes travel to Toulouse, Troyes and Lens respectively.

Lyon welcome Le Mans in a bid to finish the year on a high at the Stade Gerland.

Ghana's World Cup preparation suffered a jolt on Tuesday after a 3-0 defeat away to French club Nice.

The Ligue 1 side took the lead in the 10th minute as Marama Vahirua's strike beat Black Stars goalkeeper Richard Kingston.

Coach Ratomir Dujkovic made several changes to his squad at half-time with George Owu coming on for Kingston.

But that did not prevent Nice from extending their lead as Belgian midfielder Roberto Bisconti doubled their lead in the 67th minute.

Nice completed the Ghana rout thanks to a 75th minute strike by Sebastien Roudet .

The match is the last of two friendly match before Dujkovic names his World Cup squad.

Ghana are expected to name their squad on Friday, three days ahead of the 15 May deadline.

The end of a miserable campaign can not come soon enough for Metz, who continue to be kicked even though they are already down.

Rock bottom of the standings and with relegation assured, Metz looked as though they might at least pick up a rare win on Saturday after taking a 22nd-minute lead against Nice thanks to a goal from Laurent Agouazzi.

But even that small consolation eluded Joel Muller's team as second-half goals from Sammy Traore and David Bellion consigned the visitors to their 21st defeat of the season.

As if their dismal league predicament was not bad enough, Muller, who is set to leave his post in the summer, had to deal with seven absentees coming into the match.

That situation did not seem to hampering Metz that much though as they still managed to take the lead when Agouazzi headed home at the front post following a corner from Ludovic Obraniak.

Metz also managed to keep that advantage until the break, although it needed a good save from visiting goalkeeper Christopher Marichez to keep out a great shot from Bakari Kone on the stroke of half-time.

The visitors' good fortune was about to run out though and two goals in an eight-minute spell soon after the interval turned the game on its head and put Nice in charge.

The equalising goal, which came in the 57th minute, was a powerful header from Traore and Bellion then put Nice ahead after latching onto a Rod Fanni cross at the far post.

Those goals came in the middle of an inspired spell for Nice which also saw Kone and Florent Balmont go close, the latter seeing a superb effort tipped around the post by Marichez.

There were no more additions to the scoreline though and Metz were consigned to yet another defeat in a season few will remember fondly at the Stade Saint Symphorien.

Bristol Rovers striker Junior Agogo has been called up to represent Ghana in a pre-World Cup friendly.

Agogo will go to Germany and join the squad ahead of Tuesday's friendly against French side OGC Nice.

The 26-year-old will fly out on Monday and will then be free to return to Rovers afterwards.

If the former QPR and Barnet forward impresses manager Ratomir Dujkovic he could earn a shock place in Ghana's 23-man squad for the World Cup.

A host of foreign-based Ghanaian internationals would not be participating in the Black Stars upcoming trial game before Ratomir Dujkovic names his finals squad for the world cup.
The Black Stars are expected to play French side, Nice on May 9.
Sulley Muntari and Sammy Osei Kuffour would both be on club duty for Udinese and AS Roma in the Italian Serie A league which rounds up on May 14.
In the Italian Serie B, Asamoah Gyan would be on duty till May 28 with Modena. Stephen Appiah would not be playing this game.
The Turkish SuperLeague ends a day before FIFA’s May 15 deadline for the submission of squad list.
Also expected to miss this game are the German-based stars; Otto Addo, Hans Adu Sarpei, Matthew Amoah. The German Bundesliga ends on May 13.
The Black Stars’ trial game would come off before Ghana begins her World cup camping on May 16 in Austria.

It's win or bust for Ajaccio on Sunday as they face Nice in the knowledge that anything less than a win will see them relegated.

They will hope to find a Nice team in end-of-season mode, as they have little left to play for.

But even a win could see Ajaccio go down after a 3-0 defeat at Troyes in the archetypal relegation six-pointer in their last outing two weeks ago.

The result left Ajaccio eight points adrift of their hosts and the safety of 17th place.

Coach Jose Pasqualetti was under no illusions as to the implications of the result.

"I think if I said we were still in Ligue 1, I would need locking up," he told the club's website www.ac-ajaccio.com after the match.

"You can say that mathematically it's still possible, but life is not about maths."

The result left Pasqualetti looking towards next season.

"I think that there are good foundations in Ajaccio and there is a possibility of bouncing back as soon as possible, if the lessons are learnt from this season," he said.

The damage was done for the Corsican club in a run of 13 matches earlier in the season meaning recent victories against Toulouse and Monaco have done little other than prolong the agony.

Eleventh-placed Nice will have to try and put the disappointment of their Coupe de la Ligue final defeat behind them.

Having been favourites going into the match with Nancy, the 2-1 defeat was a great opportunity missed to bring European football to the south coast next season.

Their away form will offer some hope to the hosts. Nice have only managed three wins away from home, scoring just nine goals.

Former Nancy player and France legend Michel Platini has praised his former side's courage after they secured the 2006 Coupe de la Ligue against Nice at the Stade de France on Saturday.

The Lorraine club came into the final on the back of a 6-0 thrashing from Marseille last weekend and started the match as underdogs.

But they were too good for Nice, securing their first-ever Coupe de la Ligue trophy with a 2-1 win despite having a man sent off.

Monsef Zerka fired Nancy in a 22nd-minute lead before Nice pulled level through Marama Vahirua shortly after the restart.

Nancy midfielder Sebastien Puygrenier was shown a red card just past the hour mark but Nice were unable to capitalise and four minutes later, Pablo Correa's men got a 65th-minute winner from Brazilian star Kim.

Platini, who won the Coupe de France as a player with Nancy in 1978, was in the stands watching the game and was delighted for his former club.

"Nancy were a courageous team who played a solid game and proved united the same way they have been throughout the Ligue 1 season," said Platini.

"Both teams were tense in the first half. The final result is good for Nancy. Their 35,000 supporters created a warm atmosphere at the Stade de France.

"Even if this trophy is different from the one I won with Nancy back in my time, I am extremely happy for them."

Nancy won promotion last season after winning the Ligue 2 championship.

Midfielder Frederic Biancalani paid tribute to club president Jacques Rousselot who saved the club from bankruptcy four years ago and is relishing the prospect of playing in the UEFA Cup next year.

"My first thought goes to president Jacques Rousselot," said the player.

"We owe him everything. We were almost bankrupt a few years back but he helped the club survive.

"We showed a lot of generosity and courage during the game. Nancy is like a big happy family.

"And thinking that we will take part to the UEFA Cup next season all together fills me with joy."

In the meantime Nancy, who have already secured Ligue 1 survival, have three matches left to play against Strasbourg, Auxerre and Monaco.

Nice  ended Stade Rennes's winning streak in Ligue 1 on Sunday, registering a 2-1 home victory thanks to a goal from Jacques Abardonado deep into stoppage time.

Rennes, who had won eight league games in a row, are fourth in the table with 56 points and three matches left.

They are two points behind Lille, who defeated second-placed Girondins Bordeaux 3-2 on Saturday to hand Olympique Lyon their fifth consecutive title.

Lyon visit Paris St Germain later on Sunday.

The top two advance to the Champions League with the third-placed club entering the third qualifying round. The team finishing fourth goes into the UEFA Cup.

Nice, who take on Nancy in the League Cup final next weekend, are 10th on 49 points.

"It's sad for us but the season is not over," Rennes coach Laszlo Boloni told reporters.

Rennes travel to Olympique Marseille for a French Cup semi-final clash on Thursday.

Former Manchester United striker David Bellion outpaced the defence to put Nice in front after four minutes.

Rennes equalised on the stroke of halftime when Nigeria striker John Utaka curled a shot past keeper Hugo Lloris.

Nice's winner came five minutes into stoppage time when Abardonado cracked home a well-executed volley.

In Spain, France and Germany, it is a question of when, rather than whether, the top teams will be invested as champions. Frank Rijkaard's Barcelona lead by eleven points with seven matches to go ahead of Sunday's trip to Real Racing Club Santander. Striker Samuel Eto'o is keen for Barça to forget their midweek UEFA Champions League success against SL Benfica and focus on Racing: "We have to show them maximum respect. If we can beat them, the league will be wrapped up." That may not be technically true, but it would take a catastrophic loss of form to separate Barça from their title.

Five in a row
The same goes for Lyon, who will look to take out their UEFA Champions League frustration on OGC Nice on Saturday. Fully 12 points clear of second-placed FC Girondins de Bordeaux with six rounds remaining, Gérard Houllier's men might have had their path to European glory blocked by AC Milan, but surely only the supernatural could deny them a fifth successive Ligue 1 championship. "Houllier spoke to us for a long time on Thursday to tell us the season is not over," midfielder Juninho Pernambucano said. "Don't forget, our main target at the start of the campaign was a French record fifth crown in a row."

Lyon bounced back from their Champions League disappointment by taking another giant stride towards claiming a record fifth successive French title with a 2-1 victory over Nice.

The Ligue 1 leaders suffered a heartbreaking exit from Europe when AC Milan knocked them out of the quarter-finals with two late goals at the San Siro.

That was a cruel end to the club's European adventure but there at least looks sure to be happy conclusion on the domestic front with the title now almost within their grasp.

Saturday's home win over Nice combined with second-placed Bordeaux's goalless draw with St Etienne means Gerard Houllier's men are now 14 points clear at the summit with only five games remaining.

Looking to put their San Siro sorrow behind them as soon as possible, Lyon quickly gained the upper hand against Nice and took the lead in the 23rd minute through Fred.

The Brazilian striker, who had already tested Nice goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the early exchanges, was quick to pounce after Lloris could only parry Tiago's shot back into play.

Sidney Govou had a chance to double Lyon's lead soon after but he blazed over after picking up a pass from Florent Malouda.

A goal then could have ended the game as a contest but Nice made the most of the let-off to draw level in the 37th minute, Ederson easily beating Gregory Coupet in the home goal after being set up by Cyril Rool.

That is the way the score remained until half-time but it took Lyon just seven minutes of the second half to re-establish their lead.

Malouda was the goalscorer as he volleyed the ball past Lloris after Fred had headed Anthony Reveillere's pass into his path.

That proved to be the winning goal although mid-table Nice had three chances to draw level in the final half-hour.

Mamadou Bagayoko was off-target with the first effort after Lyon's Claudio Cacapa had lost possession and then Anthar Yahia saw his 86th-minute header stopped by Coupet.

The final chance arrived in injury-time but Lyon defender Cris was able to make a last-ditch clearance to prevent Florent Balmont's shot crossing the line and in the process helping Les Gones move even closer to what seems sure to be yet another league title.

Lyon end what has been a bitter-sweet week with a match with Nice that should take them closer to the historic achievement of a fifth consecutive title.

Last weekend, any lingering doubts about the title race were ended when Lyon beat Troyes 1-0 and their closest pursuers Bordeaux lost at Paris St Germain.

That means Lyon lead by 12 points with five matches to play and not even the one-eyed Bordeaux fan would be prepared to stake any money on his team now.

However, what should have been a celebratory week for Lyon turned into something of a wake after their elimination from the Champions League by an AC Milan team that appeared to be chasing shadows for much of the second leg until they scored two late goals to stun the French side.

"On the two matches, we deserved to qualify," coach Gerard Houllier told club website www.olweb.fr. "That's football.

"But we are first in the championship with a 12-point lead. I think we will be champions. We also want to win the Coupe de France.

"It's in adversity that you bounce back - you will see that with my team."

Bordeaux host St Etienne in a match where there will be a warm reception for visiting coach Elie Baup by the fans of the club he led to the 1999 Ligue 1 title.

The boardroom welcome might be less friendly, however - Baup sued the club when he was sacked.

PSG, who like Marseille are facing the prospect of a points deduction for the events surrounding the recent meeting between the club, visit Lens while Marseille visit Monaco in the Cote d'Azur derby match.

Rennes are in the in-form team in Ligue 1, with seven consecutive wins having lifted them to fourth, and will be confident of an eighth against a Sochaux team that are now virtually safe from relegation while Auxerre and Le Mans meet in the other Sunday match.

Third-placed Lille make the trip to Nancy.

With the title race effectively over, much of the interest will be in the relegation dogfight with - realistically - four teams scrapping to avoid finishing in the bottom three.

The fourth-bottom spot that would mean safety at the end of the season is currently occupied by Troyes, who have not won in their last 12 Ligue 1 games.

They visit second-bottom Metz at the Stade St Symphorien knowing they will be level on points with their opponents if they lose.

Third-bottom Strasbourg are two points behind Troyes and host Nantes. Bottom club Ajaccio are five points away from safety and must win at home to Toulouse.

Both Le Mans and Nancy have had seasons that have exceeded expectations and a place in the UEFA Cup still beckons for the two clubs going into Sunday's match at the Stade Leon Bollee.

Nancy's only realistic route into that competition is the Coupe de la Ligue - they play Nice in the final later this month.

However, ninth-placed Le Mans are four points off the fourth place that would mean UEFA Cup football at the end of the season and need to finish the season well if they are to achieve that.

Le Mans have had an excellent campaign in only their second year of top-flight soccer - after the first they were immediately relegated so in doing enough to stay up they have already delivered the best season in the club's history.

The biggest doubt for Le Mans is Daisuke Matsui - the Japanese midfielder faces a late fitness test on his injured ankle.

Nancy have already beaten Le Mans twice this season but Le Mans coach Frederic Hantz has shrugged off any suggestions of a jinx.

Hantz told club website www.muc72.fr: "I don't see them as our bogey team - I just see them as a team that has beaten us twice at their place - both those games were in a specific context.

"I hope it will be different at the Bollee."

Like Le Mans, Nancy were promoted last summer and have already done enough to stay in the division for another year as well as earning the bonus of a place in the Coupe de la Ligue final at the Stade de France.

Coach Pablo Correa has named a 17-man squad for the trip to Le Mans.

Jonathan Brison and Moncef Zerka are both included despite ankle injuries that have dogged them this week while Landry N'Guemo and Frederic Biancalani earn recalls for the Lorraine outfit.

Injured quartet Adailton, Abdoulaye Keita, Emmanuel Duchemin and Gaston Curbelo are omitted as is long-term absentee Dagui Bakari whose career is threatened by heart problems

Gergely Rudolf is out of favour with Correa and not included.

Nice piled the pressure on relegation-threatened Strasbourg with a convincing victory at the Municipal du Ray stadium.

All the goals came in the second half as Florian Jarjat and Mamadou Bagayoko struck within seconds of each other to put Nice 2-0 up.

Pascal Johansen got one back from the penalty spot, but Sammy Traore iced the cake for Nice with a 90th minute goal.

Marama Vahirua showed Nice's ambition early on when he tried to lob Stephane Cassard from 25 yards, but the Strasbourg goalkeeper managed to get back and make the save.

Moments later, Vahirua whipped in a cross from which Jarjat headed just over.

Vahirua continued to direct operations for Nice, and it was from his free-kick in the 19th minute that Olivier Echouafni saw a shot come back off the post.

In the 25th minute, it was Bagayoko who crossed for Bakary Kone, but Cassard managed to turn his shot around the post.

However, there was no breakthrough until the 62nd minute.

Florent Balmont sent a free-kick into the danger zone, and Jarjat got up to head in from 12 yards.

Strasbourg had barely regrouped by the time Nice doubled their lead. Bagayoko broke into the box before finding the net from 16 yards.

In the 74th minute, Amara Diane was held by Jacques Abardonado and Johansen stepped up to convert the penalty.

However, Traore made sure there was no equaliser for Strasbourg, turning in David Bellion's free-kick late on to seal the win for Nice.

Lyon prepared for Wednesday's meeting with AC Milan in the last eight of the UEFA Champions League with a 1-1 draw against Toulouse FC at the Stade Gerland. The leaders fell behind against the run of play shortly before half-time as Daniel Moreira put Rennes ahead, but parity was quickly restored in the opening minutes of the second period as John Carew equalised from close range. Lyon continued to press forward but were denied by a succession of fine saves from Nicolas Douchez, although Gérard Houllier's side still extended their advantage over second-placed FC Girondins de Bordeaux - who play OGC Nice on Sunday - to 12 points.

Ederson, who replaced Mamadou Bagayoko in the second half, headed home Sebastien Roudet's cross two minutes from time to set up a final against Nancy or Le Mans, who play on Wednesday.

"We were a little bit lucky tonight as we showed some touches of physical tiredness," said Nice coach Frederic Antonetti. "At least we snatched our chance to seal the game when it showed up. We battled for this one."

Monaco were hoping to secure a UEFA Cup place for next season by winning the League Cup but goalkeeper Guillaume Warmuz conceded that the principality side lost to the better team.

"Nice put on a great performance and it's not unfair they won tonight," he said. "We had a great desire to reach the final and there's nothing much (else) to say.