GLASGOW Rangers defender Leon Balogun has reiterated his desire to return to the Super Eagles while opening up on missing out on the last AFCOn tournament in Ivory Coast where Nigeria finished second. Balogun’s last appearance for the Super Eagles was in 2022 during the country’s AFCON qualifier against Sao Tome and Principe at Stade d’Agadir in Morocco. The 36-year-old admitted that he had been left out of the team since then most times due to injuries but believed he was in a good position to make a return as he continues to live up to expectations at Rangers. “I…
Author: Peter Noah KC
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AS Nigerians anticipate the Super Eagles list for the next 2026 World Cup qualifiers in March, we took a look at possible invitees who could be good additions to the men’s senior national team Chrisantus Uche Unarguably one of the breakout stars of the 2024/25 season in Europe, Uche, has been making a case for a Super Eagles call-up with his consistent performance for Getafe in the La Liga. The midfielder scored his third goal of the season in the Spanish topflight on Friday, netting the opener in Getafe’s 2-1 win over Girona. He has been one of the most…
WHAT is the reason for agreeing to an international friendly game with Russia when the country is currently under a FIFA ban? That is the question some members of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are asking the leadership of the federation. The news broke at the weekend that Russia, which has been under a FIFA ban since 2022, has scheduled international friendly games against Nigeria, Belarus, and Zambia to be played in Moscow. The Russian Football Union (RFU) confirmed the games in a statement, which reads: “The Russian Football Union has reached agreements with the football federations of Zambia, Nigeria…
SINCE the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon started in 2016, it has been dominated by Kenyans and Ethiopians. The race is a gold label marathon held annually in Lagos. The inaugural edition of the race held on February 6, 2016 with over 20,000 athletes competing. Over the years, the marathon has grown, pulling in more sponsors and participants, and with them, more observers and enthusiasts. The Kenyans won the marathon in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024. Again, Edwin Kibet of Kenya emerged winner of the 2025 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon for the US$50,000 prize money. Full…
NIGERIA’s emerging rivalry with South Africa got a new toss, yesterday when the Confederation of African Football (CAF) put both teams in the same group in the opening round of the African U-20 Nations Cup billed to be held in Cote d’Ivoire, from April 26 to May 18. The draw couldn’t have been tougher for the Flying Eagles, who will also battle with Egypt and Morocco at the same stage in Cote d’Ivoire. Nigeria, seven-time champions of the competition, defeated Egypt 1-0 in a group phase match at the last edition of the competition, which the North Africans hosted. Now,…
THE FIFA World Cup is the pinnacle of international football, with nations worldwide aspiring to compete on the global stage. Since 1950, 17 countries, including Nigeria, have faced bans from the World Cup. Recently, Pakistan and Congo joined this group, preventing them from competing in the 2026 World Cup. While Russia has been banned since 2022, this isn’t the first time FIFA has taken such action. Below is the list of countries that have been banned from the World Cup. 1. Germany & Japan (1950): After World War II, both countries were banned from the 1950 World Cup as a…
TWO-TIME FIFA World Cup past master with Nigeria, Mutiu Adepoju, has urged coach Eric Sekou Chelle to ensure that the Super Eagles play with gusto in their drive to secure a ticket to the 2026 Mundial to be jointly hosted by USA, Canada and Mexico. The Franco-Malian was employed in January and tasked to salvage the Super Eagles’ flagging World Cup dream after they found themselves in an unfamiliar fifth position in their Group C qualifying section with just three points from their opening four matches; where Rwanda, South Africa and Benin leads with seven points each with Zimbabwe in…
THE Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has announced a 24 man D’Tigers’ provisional roster for the crucial final Window 2025 AfroBasket Qualifiers scheduled to hold later this month in Tripoli, the Libyan capital. The roster was made public over the weekend and it include 11 players from 4 clubs in the domestic league with Champions, Rivers Hoopers having the lion share of 5 players. One of the biggest club on the domestic front, Hoops N’ Read has three on the list while Wisdom Anyaoha and Rayyan AR Salis from Gboko City Chiefs is joined by Customs’ shooting guard Ibe Agu. According…
THE Chairman, National Sports Commission, Shehu Dikko has assured the Nigeria Deaf Sports Federation of the commission’s support in upscaling deaf sports and providing a platform for athletes with special needs to express themselves. Dikko gave the assurance while receiving an NDSF delegation led by its president Dagbo Saka at the NSC secretariat in Abuja on Friday. “I congratulate you for the efforts you have been making to do what you love and live your passion despite your challenges. It shows your determination and belief in yourself. With more collaboration, I think we can be able to leave a lot…
SUPER Eagles coach Eric Chelle is hugely encouraged after he met with happy and “fired up” Super Eagles stars Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey, and Wilfred Ndidi ahead of next month’s must-win 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe. A top source told only this newspaper that Eric Chelle and his first assistant, Hedi Taboubi, were lifted by the enthusiasm of the Premier League stars for the Super Eagles cause ahead of next month’s all-important matches. “The coaches expressed more confidence that the boys know what is at stake, they want to play at the World Cup, and so want…
THE Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will release the list of players that Coach Eric Chelle plans to deploy in Nigeria’s two crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe early next month, officials of the team have said. The Super Eagles will travel to Kigali to face the Amavubi of Rwanda at the Amahoro Stadium, in Kigali on Friday, March 21 before coming back home to face Zimbabwe on March 25, at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo. A top official of the team told The Guardian, yesterday, that the players, technical crew and other officials of the team…
AHEAD of next month’s FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers, former Nigeria International Mobi Oparaku said the Super Eagles risk qualification if they fail to play as a team against Rwanda and Zimbabwe. Nigeria’s chances of winning the automatic Group C ticket hangs in the balance after taking just three points in their opening four matches and Oparaku believes results of the next two matches in March could decide the fate of the Super Eagles. Oparaku, a soccer gold medal winner with the national U-23 team at Atlanta 1996 Olympics, said the Super Eagles can get back their mojo in the…
NIGERIA will slug it out with bronze medal winners China in her opening Group B game at the FIBA Under 19 Women’s World Cup 2025 in Czech Republic in July. The Junior D’Tigress’ matchup against their Chinese counterparts on 12 July 2025 was made known after the tournament draw yesterday in Brno. After the China game the Nigerian women’s team will play Canada on 13 July, and Portugal on 15 July. 16 teams were divided into four groups of four teams each during the draw. All 16 teams participating in the event will advance to the competition’s Final Phase with…
ENYIMBA have ended their five-match winless streak in the Nigerian Premier Football League (NPFL)by securing a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Lobi Stars at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium. Enyimba’s desperation for a win was palpable, given their recent poor form, which led to their elimination from the CAF Confederations Cup and a drop to ninth place on the NPFL table. Their opponents, Lobi Stars, were also struggling in the relegation zone, mired in a four-match winless run, with one goal scored in their previous four matches, leaving them languishing in 19th place. But yesterday, Enyimba started the match on the…
FORMER Chelsea striker, Didier Drogba, has paid a courtesy visit to Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the Lagos House, Marina, on Monday. Drogba’s team and representatives from the E1 Racing Team accompanied him on the visit. The governor’s senior special assistant on new media, Jubril Gawat, shared a video of the visit on social media, captioning it as a meeting between the governor and the African football legend. The caption read: “Between Governor #jidesanwoolu and African Football Legend, #ChelseaFC Legend, Didier Drogba #didierdrogba this morning at the Lagos House, Marina, as Team Drogba and the Representatives of E1 Racing Team…
THE Nigerian University Games Association (NUGA) Council has approved a new date for the forthcoming NUGA competition to be hosted by the University of Jos. The Competition will now take place from 6th to 16th November, 2025, at the University of Jos. The announcement was made, when the NUGA National Executives paid a courtesy visit to the University Management at the Council Chamber, Administrative Building, Naraguta Campus of the University, during the NUGA Annual Council meeting which took place in UNIJOS. NUGA President, Professor Engr. Mohammed Bawa, who led the delegation, explained that the decision to shift the date came…
A MEMBER representing Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Engr. Aderemi Oseni, has make case for Manchester United forward, Marcus Rashford. Oseni, an ardent football enthusiast, fan of Shooting Stars FC, Ibadan, and Manchester United, in a statement by his media aide, Idowu Ayodele said the club was unfair to the England international. He urged United’s management to reconsider their approach, stressing that Rashford deserves respect for his years of service. He expressed confidence that the player’s current challenges would ultimately lead to greater success. According to him: “The treatment of Rashford by Manchester United is a…
REMO Stars will hope to extend their lead at the top of the table to nine points even before nearest rivals, Shooting Stars and Rivers United take to the pitch tomorrow with an away tie against Sunshine Stars today as the Nigeria Premier Football League Matchday 22 fixtures get underway this weekend. Remo Stars are dictating the pace of the season with 42 points from 21 games and they will face Sunshine Stars who though are technically at home in the tie have been forced to play the game in Ikenne, the home ground of Remo Stars. The Owena Whales…
NAPOLI have reportedly rejected a staggering €65 million (about ₦105 billion) from Galatasaray as the Turkish giants made a bold move to secure Victor Osimhen’s services permanently. However, Napoli’s president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, has politely declined the proposal, preferring to wait until the summer transfer window. According to Corriere dello Sport , the Turkish club’s offer falls €10 million short of Osimhen’s release clause, which is currently set at €75 million and active for the January transfer window. Galatasaray’s attempt to negotiate a lower price was anticipated, given Osimhen’s expressed desire to complete the season in Istanbul. De Laurentiis’ decision…
THE main bowl of the Kwara State Stadium Complex has now been renamed Rasheed Yekini Sports Complex, Ilorin. This was contained in a statement released yesterday by Rafiu Ajakaiye, the Chief Press Secretary to Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as the state government has now bequeathed the stadium in honour of the former Super Eagle striker who died in 2012. “The main bowl of the Stadium is named after the late Rashidi Yekini, a football legend renowned for scoring Nigeria’s first world cup goal and the country highest goal scorer till date” the statement reads. Yekini, who died in 2012…