NIGERIAN international Victor Osimhen has emerged as Africa’s most valuable striker, with compatriot Victor Boniface ranking as the second most valuable forward from the continent, according to the latest market valuations on Transfermarkt. Osimhen, who plays for Italian side Napoli, is currently valued at €75m, making him the joint-fifth most valuable striker globally alongside Argentina’s Julian Alvarez, Sweden’s Alexander Isak, and Germany’s Kai Havertz. The 25-year-old Nigerian has justified his high valuation this season with impressive performances, netting nine goals and providing six assists in 12 appearances across all competitions. The 25-year-old has been particularly impressive in the Super Lig,…
Author: Peter Noah KC
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THE Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) has announced a new date for the match day 16 fixture involving Sunshine Stars and Shooting Stars. The encounter was initially scheduled to take place on Sunday, December 8 will now hold on Saturday, December 7. The NPFL also revealed a change in venue for the game. The game will be staged at the Remo Stars Stadium, Ikenne, instead of Otunba Dipo Dina Stadium in Ijebu-Ode. The NPFL made the announcement in a letter signed by its Chief Operating Officer, Davidson Owumi, yesterday. Part of the statement reads: “Going by the new arrangement, the…
AS the celebration for the 2024 CAF Africa Player award gears up, Cameroon international Flavien Enzo Boyomo is confident that Nigeria international and Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman is the favourite to win the men’s best player award. Lookman, who made history as the first player to score a hat-trick in a European club competition final during his club’s triumph over Bayer Leverkusen last season, has been getting massive backing from teammates, stakeholders and fans since CAF announced the final shortlist for the award. Boyomo is the latest to throw his weight behind the Nigerian to claim the honour when the…
THE MKO Abiola National Stadium in Abuja is set to come alive today (Wednesday) as some of Nigeria’s football legends and top sports administrators showcase their skills in the Shehu Dikko Novelty Match. Organized to honor Mallam Shehu Dikko’s appointment as Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), the match will pit Team Shehu Dikko against Team Nigeria, with Dikko himself set to feature for both sides. Team Nigeria boasts an impressive lineup, including Daniel Amokachi, Ahmed Musa, Brown Ideye, Garba Lawal, Victor Ikpeba, Mutiu Adepoju, Shehu Abdulahi, Samson Siasia, and Victor Ezeji. On the other side, Team Shehu Dikko…
BENDEL Insurance secured a 2-1 victory over Plateau United, while Lobi Stars ended their four-game winless streak with a slim 1-0 win against Kwara United in Saturday’s Nigeria Premier Football League fixtures. At the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, Bendel Insurance took an early lead when Uche Collins struck in the seventh minute. However, Plateau United responded swiftly, with Victor Dawa equalising in the 24th minute. The tightly contested match was ultimately decided by Kayode Oke’s well-taken goal in the 66th minute, giving the Benin Arsenals the edge over their opponents. In Lafia, Lobi Stars grabbed a much-needed victory…
THE latest FIFA rankings released on Thursday has Nigeria recording the most significant drop following unimpressive performances in the last international window. In the November rankings, the three-time African champions plummeted from 36th to 44th globally, an 8-place decline. From its previous 1503 total points, the team’s points now stands at 1482.23. Among African teams, Nigeria is ranked 5th behind Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, and Algeria. The reason for this poor rating cannot be far-fetched, as the Super Eagles lost to 1-2 lowly-rated Rwanda at home in Uyo and only managed a 1-1 draw with Benin Republic in the last phase…
SUPER Eagles’ forward, Sadiq Umar has expressed his frustration at the lack of game time at Real Sociedad, adding that he hopes to prove his worth with regular time on the pitch. So far this season, Sadiq has made only six appearances for the Spanish side, starting just two of those games and coming in as a substitute on four occasions. The 27-year-old has only managed to play a total of 205 minutes of action from a possible 1,260 minutes. Reacting to his lack of playing time that has seen him yet to score a goal so far this season,…
TWO arch rivals with contrasting forms in the 2024/25 Nigeria Premier Football League, Remo Stars and 3SC will go head-to-head in a potentially explosive southwest derby at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne on Wednesday (today). The fixture comes at a tricky time for both clubs as Remo Stars are second in the table but are currently struggling having won just one of their last five matches. That also included scoring just one goal in their last five games—their last goal dating back to the start of the month. On the other hand, 3SC are trying to bounce back from…
THE Independent National Electoral Commission on Sunday lambasted the Peoples Democratic Party governors over allegations that it manipulated the Edo State governorship election held on September 21, 2024. INEC had declared Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress as the winner with 291,667 votes, while the PDP candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, secured 247,274 votes. Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata came third with 22,761 votes. Rising from its two-day meeting in Jos, Plateau State on Saturday, the PDP Governors Forum maintained its stance, insisting that electoral irregularities denied its candidate victory in Edo and alleging vote-buying in Ondo. The PDP governors alleged…
FORMER champions Rivers United are back to the top of the 2024/25 Nigeria Premier Football League table thanks to a 1-0 win over Abia Warriors in Port Harcourt on Sunday, while Remo Stars suffered a 2-0 defeat away at Katsina United. Ndifreke Effiong scored a 58th-minute penalty to help Finidi George’s men see off their stubborn visitors and grab their first win in six matches. Before Sunday’s win, the 2022 champions had struggled for form with their last win coming against 3SC on October 17. Having suffered two losses this season, they however rediscovered their form with a goalless draw…
THE Super Falcons of Nigeria have been drawn against Tunisia, Algeria, and Botswana in Group B of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON). Nigeria, record holders of the competition, will be aiming to extend their impeccable form in the tournament. The draws for the 2025 edition of the women’s tournament were held on Friday. “We have been drawn in Group B alongside Algeria, Tunisia, and Botswana for the Morocco 2024 CAF Women’s African Cup of Nations,” the Super Falcons wrote on their X handle on Friday. “This promises to be an exciting challenge for us as we aim to…
FORMER Super Eagles and Al-Ittihad defender, Chikelue Iloenyosi, has questioned the character and passion of Nigeria’s senior men’s national football team, insisting that hiring Portuguese coach will not save the team. Iloenyosi made the statement in an interview with Brila.net following the Eagles’ recent disappointing performance during the last phase of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. While the three-time African champions had already sealed qualification to the AFCON 2025 tournament in Morocco and were not under pressure to perform, they remained under obligation to win their matches and finish the qualifiers strong. However, Austin Eguavoen’s men put up…
THE qualification race for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) has ended on Tuesday with all 24 teams for the competition now known. While some teams had qualified earlier, others (like the Benin Republic) left it late to book their tickets for the continental football fiesta. The competition will hold next December in Morocco with the host nation already having an automatic slot. But some heavyweights like Ghana won’t make the competition which is also expected to see some traditional powerhouse nations such as Nigeria (who were stunned by Rwanda), Egypt, South Africa, Tunisia, and defending champions Ivory Coast…
THE Ebonyi State Police Command has confirmed the killing of a middle-aged bystander who was shot dead by a police officer when a bullet went off from his gun during a scuffle between a police team and a soldier at Ugwuachara axis of the old Enugu-Ogoja Expressway in Ebonyi State. The State’s Police Commissioner, CP Adaku Uche-Anya, who confirmed the incident, said that the incident occurred during a stop-and-search operation by Policemen along the axis. CP Uche-Anya said trouble started when a soldier on a motorcycle got to the point and he was flagged down by Policemen “Police men on…
VICTOR Boniface’s story is one of two. He is a goal-scoring machine in the German Bundesliga, where he plays for Bayer Leverkusen. But he has struggled to hit the mark with the Super Eagles, raising concerns among fans and analysts. His fine form with Leverkusen – six goals and one assist in 10 matches so far this season in the league – is a stark contrast with his Super Eagles tally: no goal in 11 matches. Last season, Boniface netted 21 goals and bagged 10 assists in 34 matches for Xabi Alonso’s charges who won an impressive domestic double. The…
THE Confederation of African Football on Monday officially unveiled the top five nominees in each of the Men’s Categories of the upcoming CAF Awards 2024. While Nigerian forward Ademola Lookman made in into the top five, his national team captain, William Troost-Ekong could not make it out of the initial nine-man list. The 2024 edition of the CAF Awards is set to take place in Marrakech, Morocco on 16 December 2024. Those that made it into the top five include Simon Adingra (Cote d’Ivoire / Brighton & Hove Albion), Serhou Guirassy (Guinea / Borussia Dortmund), Achraf Hakimi (Morocco / Paris…
THE Super Eagles of Nigeria are set for their final group game of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers. To wrap up the qualification series the Super Eagles of Nigeria welcome the Amavubi of Rwanda. Just like Benin Republic, Rwanda is in the same group 2026 World Cup qualification group as Nigeria. Nigeria and Rwanda have met six different times for international football. Nigeria has two wins, and the other four were draws while Rwanda is still searching for their first victory. They need a victory against Nigeria to keep their hopes of qualification alive as well as…
GOALKEEPER Stanley Nwabali and defender Ola Aina have both been excused from the Super Eagles team that will face Rwanda in Uyo on Monday for the last game of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. According to the update from the team camp, Nwabali has been excused from the team to attend to family matters in the aftermath of his father’s demise. Aina is said to have returned to England on the request of his club, Nottingham Forest. It was learned that the Premier League side pleaded with Coach Austin Eguavoen to release the defender early for their big game…
EDO Queens produced a moment of dramatic twist after coming from behind to crush Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies’ dream of defending their CAF Women’s Champions League title. The Nigerians came from behind to earn a 2-1 victory to secure their place in the semi-finals. After a 24th minute goal by Melinda Kgadiete thanks to a Karabo Dlamini assist, Sundowns held the slender lead until the dying moments of the match before Emem Essien’s equaliser in the referee’s added time saw the South African’s title hopes dashed. With Queens needing just a victory, the late strike was enough to see them through.…
THE Super Eagles have qualified for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) despite having one game left in the race to the competition. Libya, bottom of the Group D lot, defeated Rwanda 0-1 in Kigali, meaning Nigeria have reached the finals of the tournament. The defeat means Rwanda are five points shy of the Super Eagles with just a game to spare in the qualification series. That leaves them unable to surpass Nigeria’s points tally even if they beat the Super Eagles in their next match in Uyo, Akwa Ibom on Monday. In their game against Benin Republic, the…