South African winger Steven Pienaar thinks Everton have proved they can live with the top four as he prepares for the biggest game of his life.
Pienaar, 27, has had a major impact on Everton's impressive campaign, even more so since he was thrust into the playmaker role following Mikel Arteta's season-ending knee injury.
Pienaar hopes his mother, watching from back home in Johannesburg, does not do any more damage to the family television when she watches her son play in the FA Cup final against Chelsea tomorrow.
"There is a lot of interest in me back home in South Africa, particularly since we got to the final," said Pienaar.
"But I was told after the semi-final win over Manchester United at Wembley that my mum almost broke the TV in her excitement when she was watching the penalty shoot-out.
"Lots of my family are coming over for the match, but mum has to stay behind to look after my little sister. I always ring her just before a match to see if she is okay. I just hope she doesn't do any more damage to the TV this time."
Now Pienaar aims to cap a great season for the Toffees, who finished in fifth place in the Premier League, by guiding them to their first trophy since they last won the cup in 1995. And he has no fears of facing one of the country's big four clubs.
"We have already beaten two sides from the top four, so we can beat another this time," he said. "It has been a long time for our fans not to have had a cup final, and we know the city will go crazy if we do win at Wembley.
"Our fans are passionate and they deserve success like this. We aim to give them their reward for all the loyalty they have shown to this club over the years.
"Chelsea are a great side, but nothing is impossible. We have drawn with them twice already, so we really believe we can beat them this time."
* PA Sport
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Surianah's top five jazz artists
Billie Holliday: for the burn and also the way she told stories.
Thelonius Monk: for his earnestness.
Duke Ellington: for his edge and spirituality.
Louis Armstrong: his legacy is undeniable. He is considered as one of the most revolutionary and influential musicians.
Terence Blanchard: very political - a lot of jazz musicians are making protest music right now.
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The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially