???? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-

(all times CLT)

A true story of a conman on a dating app… and the women who sought revenge: Netflix’s The Tinder Swindler tells the true story of Shimon Hayut, a man who pretended to be a Russian-Israeli diamond tycoon on the world’s most popular dating app, Tinder. Hayut went by Simon Leviev, taking Scandinavian women on extravagant dates and jet-setter destinations before scamming them with stunts such as saying he doesn’t have access to his financial accounts — or pretending to be kidnapped and asking for ransom. When Hayut’s antics first became public, through an article in the Norwegian press, it was the women who were called gold-diggers, or worse. However, it also banded them together to try and retrieve the mns he swindled from them. The Guardian is out with a review.

⚽ It’s the big night for Egypt at Afcon: Egyptian football fans’ (and even non-fans) eyes and hearts are on the Olympic Stadium in the Cameroonian city of Douala today which will host the Afcon semi-final match between Cameroon and Egypt at 9pm. The Pharaohs historically come out on top in confrontations with Cameroon, but the last meeting between the two teams ended with the victory of the opposing side in the 2017 Africa Final.

The victors of tonight’s match will face Senegal, who last night trumped Burkina Faso, scoring three goals in the last 20 minutes of the game to Burkina Faso’s one consolation goal near the very end. Sadio Mane claimed Senegal’s final goal — he’ll now be gearing up to face fellow Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah on the pitch tonight.

(Mane earned the final goal for Senegal, not Cameroon, as we mistakenly said this morning. H/t to Maurice F. for the note.)

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The opening of the FIFA Club World Cup takes place today with the UAE Al Jazira match with Tahiti's Pirae at 6:30pm. The tournament is hosted by Abu Dhabi, with the participation of Egypt’s Al Ahly, England’s Chelsea, Saudi’s Al Hilal, Brazil’s Palmeiras, Mexico’s Monterrey as well UAE’s Al Jazeera and Tahiti’s Pirae.

Al Ahly plays its first match against Monterrey at 6:30pm on Saturday. You can watch the match via the Abu Dhabi Sports Channel application, which is broadcasting Al Ahly’s matches in Egypt without charge.

Copa Del Ray: Real Madrid will face Athletic Bilbao at 10:30pm following a match between Real Sociedad and Real Betis at 9pm. The victor of the first match qualifies for the semi-finals to face Valencia, who beat Cadiz 2-1 yesterday. The victor of the second match will meet with Rayo Vallecano, who beat Real Mallorca 1-0.

Manchester United plays Middlesbrough in the fourth round of the English League Cup tomorrow at 10pm.

The cup continues on Saturday as well. The most important matches that we intend to follow: Chelsea vs. Plymouth Argyle (2:30pm), Manchester City vs. Fulham (5pm), and Tonttenham vs. Brighton at 10pm.

Did you miss the European leagues? The Spanish, French, and German leagues return tomorrow with a match each: Getafe will play against Levante at 10pm, Marseille competes against Angers at 10pm, and earlier at 9:30pm Hertha Berlin will face Bochum.

La Liga continues on Saturday: Elche hosts Deportivo Alaves at 3pm, Real Mallorca meets Cadiz at 5:15pm, and Celta Vigo meets Rayo Vallecano at 7:30pm. The day will end with Osasuna playing against Sevilla at 10pm.

Matches to note: In Germany, we recommend the Bayern Munich match against Leipzig at 7:30pm on Saturday. In Italy, do not miss the derby between Inter and Milan at 7pm. In France, Monaco meets Lyon at 10pm.

The English Premier League also returns on Saturday: Set your watches to 8pm which is when the Burnley-Watford match begins.

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The transfer market closed on Tuesday after a busy last week: Mo Salah has a new teammate after Liverpool signed winger Luis Diaz from Porto in an almost USD 50 mn transaction. A direct and dynamic attacker, the 25-year-old showed amazing form in the Portuguese Primiera Liga team this season, scoring 14 and assisting five, writes CNN.

Meanwhile, Barcelona made big additions to the team, signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Adama Traore. Aubameyang joined the La Liga team on a freetransfer from Arsenal after his contract with the club was terminated earlier this week. Traore comes to Barcelona on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers until the end of the season.

Christian Eriksen joined Brentford on a freetransfer, seven months after suffering a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020. The incident was the reason the midfielder left his former team Inter Milan as the rules don’t allow players to have implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) devices fitted.

The January window’s most expensive signing went to new Juventus frontman Dusan Vlahovic — signed from Serie A rival Fiorentina for a USD 77.8 mn fee with an additional USD 10.7 mn in potential add-ons.

???? EAT THIS TONIGHT-

Ramen and pho… need we say more? Don is a new addition to 5A by The Waterway, featuring authentic Asian dishes that had us drooling. If you like comfort food in the form of a bowl of ramen, look no further as Don brings heaping noodle dishes to the table with a myriad of toppings such as chicken, beef, eggs, and vegetables. We recommend the beef miso ramen or the chicken teriyaki noodles. If that wasn’t enough to tempt you, they also serve Vietnamese pho, a dish we rarely find in Egypt. Bao buns and poke are other must-tries at the new joint while you can also go for main dishes such as their golden curry salmon plate.

???? OUT AND ABOUT-

(all times CLT)

It’s opening night of VRS: The Exhibition at L’Immeuble Building at 6pm. Over 30 exhibiting artists showcasing a range of work inspired by musical sets from previous virtual reality audio-visual experience.

TAM Gallery’s Cairo Art Fair VII is making its way to East Cairo, opening its doors at their new exhibition space at Marakez’s District 5. The exhibition will open on Friday and run until 5 March.

Skateboarding competition Red Bull Mind the Gap 2.0 is kicking off tomorrow at 12:30pm at the Nile Courts Football Pitches. We’ve seen skaters all over Zamalek get ready for the competition these past few weeks, with only 30 skaters to be chosen while judges include Germany’s Jost Arens and Egypt’s Yehia “O” Osama.

???? EARS TO THE GROUND-

BBC’s new audio program 1922: The Birth of Now looks at events and objects from “the crucial year for modernism”: Host Matthew Sweet looks at the eventful year of 1922, known for ushering in the modernist era through a number of discoveries and technological developments. Episodes of the program are short and sweet, giving listeners bite-sized history lessons through research and interviews. Topics include the first aircraft carrier, the first vampire film, Louis Armstrong’s move to Chicago, and important literature that came out during the year. One of the episodes focuses on the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun and the subsequent swell of Egyptomania, influencing diverse aspects of global culture from dance to music to architecture (watch, runtime: 13:45).

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

WHAT’S NEXT- How businesses can build the future, according to the brains behind PayPal: Zero to One by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters focuses on how startups can build new things… and be successful doing it. Thiel started PayPal in 1998, led it as CEO, and took it public in 2002 while Masters is the COO of Thiel Capital. With technology moving at such a fast pace, businesses who create the same products or offer existing services won’t be able to keep up in the market. Instead, businesses should seek innovation and target niche markets to grow their business. Thiel argues that learning to ask the questions that lead you to find value in unexpected places is one of the most important steps to find the gap that your business will fill.