Author: Peter Noah KC

SAUDI Arabian Professional League club, Al Nassr, has officially opened transfer talks with Bayer Leverkusen for Victor Boniface. This was confirmed in a post shared on X by Italian journalist and transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, on Monday. Superstar footballer Cristiano Ronaldo also plays for Al Nassr. “Understand Al Nassr have started official talks for Victor Boniface as new striker!,” Romano wrote. “Negotiations are underway with Bayer Leverkusen for the Nigerian striker to replace Talisca. The other candidate is Jhon Durán, but Aston Villa still insists on keeping him at the club.” The news of Boniface being linked with a move…

THE Nigerian Super Eagles have been drawn against Tunisia, Tanzania and Uganda for the upcoming African Cup of Nations in Morocco. The Nigerian team was drawn in Group C during the ceremony that was held in Morocco on Monday. The mouthwatering encounter in the group will see Nigeria battling against the Cartage Eagles of Tunisia. Champions on home soil in 2004, Tunisia eliminated Nigeria in the semi-final before defeating Morocco in the final. The Tunisian team also knocked out Nigeria in the Round of 16 of AFCON 2021 in Cameroon. Nigeria defeated Tunisia 4-2 on its way to the AFCON…

THE Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) resumed its mid-season break with one of the campaign’s biggest upsets on Saturday. Niger Tornadoes claimed arguably their most impressive away win of the season, defeating reigning champions Rangers 2-1 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu. The victory was sweet revenge for Niger Tornadoes, who had suffered a 1-0 defeat to Rangers in their final game of 2024. Bashir Usman’s strike secured that win for the Coal Miners at the Bako Kontagora Stadium in Minna on December 29. Determined to repay the favour, Tornadoes opened the scoring in Enugu in the 17th minute through…

SUPER Eagles striker Victor Osimhen, who currently stars for Galatasaray, has been embroiled in a controversy following an alleged altercation with a journalist. According to reports from Turkish media outlet Posta, the prolific forward allegedly assaulted a journalist at the exit of the entertainment venue he went to with his friends in Turkey. The situation escalated when the striker, seemingly annoyed by the presence of a reporter, reacted aggressively. Tolga Bozduman, the journalist at the center of the allegation, recounted the altercation. “I was filming Osimhen as he exited, accompanied by three colleagues. When the camera flashes stopped, he became…

AHEAD of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) draw, Nigeria’s Super Eagles may face formidable opponents such as South Africa’s Bafana Bafana and Mali’s Eagles in the group stage. This comes after they were seeded in Pot One for the AFCON group stage draw, set to take place at the Mohamed V National Theatre in Casablanca, Morocco, on Monday. This top-tier seeding ensures that Nigeria will avoid facing other football powerhouses in the same pot during the draw. However, they stand the chance to face the likes of Mali, South Africa, Cameroon who are pitted in other pots. Sharing…

SUPER Eagles star Victor Boniface has refuted claims of breaking up with his Norwegian girlfriend Rikke Hermine, describing the reports as “fake”. The alleged breakup between the Bayer Leverkusen forward and the influencer made headlines on social media in the past few days. It claimed that Hermine demanded a legal marriage without prenup, a clause Boniface refused, effectively ending the relationship. But in a now-deleted post written partly in Pidgin English, the Nigerian striker denied the claims. “Stop posting fake shit you guys know nothing about,” he wrote on X on Thursday, before saying, “People will just pick their phones…

WHEN Nigerian football legend Ahmed Musa lines up against fellow 2013 Africa Cup of Nations winner Brown Ideye at the Sani Abacha Stadium on Thursday, it will mark a fascinating moment in one of Nigeria’s oldest football rivalries, as two accomplished internationals reignite the fierce battle between Kano Pillars and Enyimba. The clash between these Nigerian football powerhouses, who share 13 league titles between them, has produced some of the most memorable matches in Nigeria Premier Football League history. Now, the rivalry takes on added significance with the presence of these two veterans who have returned to elevate the domestic…

ITALIAN Serie A side Udinese have removed Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye from their registered players list amid an ongoing investigation into alleged betting irregularities. The 25-year-old, who is being investigated over suspicious betting patterns surrounding a yellow card he received during Udinese’s 2-1 win against Lazio on March 11, 2024, faces a potential five-year ban if found guilty. Investigators raided Okoye’s house following a complaint by betting agency Sisal, whose algorithm detected unusual gambling activities linked to the goalkeeper’s yellow card for time-wasting in the 90th minute. The Prosecutor’s Office in Udine also searched the premises of Diego Giordano,…

NIGERIAN side Enyimba have crashed out of this season’s CAF Confederation Cup after losing 3-1 to Zamalek on Sunday. The two-time CAF Champions League winners went into the Group D match at the Cairo International Stadium needing victory to reignite their hopes of making the next round. However, the Egyptian giants went ahead in the 29th minute courtesy of Mostafa Shalaby’s header. Seifeddine Jaziri doubled the lead for Zamalek just after half-time. The Nigerian side pulled one back to reawaken hopes of any comeback all thanks to Ifeanyi Ihemekwele’s goal in the 57th minute. But when Jaziri netted a second…

SUPER Eagles and Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi is looking forward to raising more awareness on young Nigerian footballers by investing and nurturing young talents. Speaking in Lagos, Ndidi who returned to Maracana Sport Complex in December, the second time in six months, announced his intention to prioritise the development of youth football in Nigeria in 2025. Ndidi stated, “I want to focus on academy football in Nigeria. That’s where everyone is missing out based on the fact that you cannot name a 16-year-old who plays competitive football every weekend in Nigeria.” He drew comparisons with European teams, noting, “If…

NEW Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle said he hopes to quickly establish a connection with Nigeria’s top stars, among them strikers Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman.o He said “I will come with a lot of humility, but once again, I have a lot of certainties. “It is a dialogue that we will have to establish between us. “I feel ready to lead this great team with great players. So, I’m part of the progression process; the players will help me progress and I will help them progress too.” The 47-year-old coach has maintained that his results with the Super Eagles…

SUPER Eagles defender Kenneth Omeruo has dismissed the possibility of playing in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) again, instead expressing interest in scouting and developing new talents within the league. The former Chelsea player shared his decision during a live X (formerly Twitter) Space session, co-hosted with fellow Nigerian internationals Wilfred Ndidi and Asisat Oshoala, along with Nigerian journalists. Explaining his stance, Omeruo cited the lack of a top-tier club in his hometown, Abuja. “I don’t think I will come back to play in the NPFL. I grew up in Abuja, and they don’t have a club playing in…

NIGERIA’s Super Eagles B have been drawn in Group D alongside Senegal, Congo, and Sudan for the 2025 African Nations Championship to be held in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda come August. The CHAN tourney which features 19 teams, with 17 already confirmed will see Nigeria try to emerge champions for the first time since its inception in 2009. The two final spots will be decided in a special qualifying round, the date of which is yet to be announced. The draw which was announced on Wednesday also sees the likes of the defending champions Senegal aiming to make it back-to-back…

AS the Super Eagles begin a new era under Franco-Malian tactician Eric Chelle, a wealth of untapped talent of Nigerian descent continues to emerge across Europe’s top leagues, presenting potential options for the national team’s future. The story of Nigeria losing talented players of Nigerian descent to other countries has become all too familiar. From Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka choosing England over Nigeria to Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala opting for Germany despite his Nigerian roots, the list of ‘what could have been’ continues to grow. Other notable names include Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi, Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji, and Real Madrid’s David…

DESPITE the postponement of the 2024 African Nations Championship, the Confederation of African Football will go ahead with the draw of the tournament on Wednesday (today) as Nigeria’s home-based Eagles and 18 other countries know their opponents, The PUNCH reports. The Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, Kenya will host the draw for the championship which will now be hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in August 2024. The tournament was originally supposed to be held in 2024 but was moved to February 1-28, 2025 to allow the three hosts to prepare adequately in terms of facility. However, Africa’s football…

NEW Nigeria coach Eric Chelle promised on Monday that his team will score goals to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after the Super Eagles failed to reach the last edition of the tournament and started slowly in qualification this time around. The 47-year-old has signed a two-year contract that is based on qualifying the country for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Chelle promised at his official unveiling in Abuja that his team will play attacking football to reach next year’s World Cup. “I have always had a love for scoring goals. My teams are…

THE Nigeria Football Federation is set to officially unveil Mr Éric Sékou Chelle as the new Head Coach of the Super Eagles on Monday (Today). The event will take place at the Media Conference Room of the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, at 11am. This was announced in a statement posted on the NFF website on Sunday. Chelle’s appointment was confirmed last Tuesday by the NFF Executive Committee, following a recommendation from its Technical and Development Committee. The 47-year-old Franco-Malian is stepping into one of the most scrutinised roles in world football, but NFF President, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, expressed confidence…

IN a bid to improve the fortunes of Nigerian football and sports at all levels, the federal government has earmarked over N31.4 billion for the renovation and upgrade of critical sports facilities across the country. This initiative, under the National Sports Infrastructure Development Plan, is part of a broader strategy to rejuvenate the country’s sports sector, elevate athletic performance and restore Nigeria’s capacity to host international sporting events. At the heart of this ambitious project lies the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, alongside other iconic sports facilities, such as the National Stadium in Surulere in Lagos, Ahmadu Bello Stadium,…

THE National Sports Commission has redeployed 57 Secretaries-General and Sports officers to various National Sports Federations, strategically repositioning the sports sector. The Director, of the Federation of Elite Athletes of the NSC, Olumide Bamiduro, who disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Abuja, stated that the 57 Secretaries-General and five officers had already been reassigned. He stated that the decision aligned with the vision of the NSC Chairman, Shehu Dikko, and the NSC Director-General, Bukola Olopade, which was aimed at revitalising the sector. “The mandate is clear. We are to undertake these changes to achieve the results and position…

DRAMA as new Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle expected to terminate his two-year contract with Algerian club MC Oran ahead of his anticipated move to Nigeria but the club won’t decide his fate yet, even while he is expected in Nigeria to formalise his contract. Chelle was announced as the new Super Eagles handler by the Nigeria Football Federation on Tuesday, becoming the third man to be named for the role since the exit of Jose Peseiro in March 2024. According to reports, the 47-year-old is expected in Nigeria anytime soon for his unveiling but he will still be in…