SUPER Eagles most in-form player, Ademola Lookman, Alex Iwobi and Maduka Okoye will this morning arrive in Uyo where the three-time African champions are camping for the crunch World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin Republic. This newspaper gathered from a top official of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) that the three players were to arrive yesternight and fly into Uyo this morning to join the rest of the squad. “They will arrive tonight (yesterday night) and will fly into Uyo tomorrow (today),” said the official. Meanwhile, the atmosphere around the camp of the Super Eagles was described by…
Author: Peter Noah KC
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THE ongoing nationwide strike action by workers on the auspices of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) has delayed the arrival of the remaining Super Eagles players to camp in Uyo, Akwa Ibom, ahead of their 2026 World Cup qualifiers. This newspaper reports that Maduka Okoye, Semi Ajayi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Calvin Bassey, Frank Onyeka, Alex Iwobi, Ademola Lookman and Paul Onuachu were being expected to join their teammates in camp on Monday. According to the team’s New Media officer, Promise Efoghe, the players, who are already in the country, had not been able to travel to Uyo…
PLAYERS of the Super Eagles have been advised to simply mime the new National Anthem instead of fretting over singing it during the CAF World Cup qualifying tie against South Africa at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo on June 7. The advice came from some concerned Nigerians in their response to a Facebook post by former Nigeria goalkeeper Peterside Idah, who expressed his concern about the players’ ability to sing the old anthem reintroduced by the federal government on May 29 following approval by the National Assembly. “I hope these Super Eagles players will not disgrace us while the…
SUPER Eagles players have been arriving in trickles at their Uyo camp since it opened on Friday ahead of the two crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin Republic. Although the Director of Media and Communications of the Nigeria Football Federation, Ademola Olajire, said the team’s camp opens on Monday, our correspondent gathered that players started arriving at the team’s camp on Friday, as well as head coach Finidi George and his assistants. According to sources in Uyo, the players in camp as of Saturday are Nigeria Premier Football League trio Sodiq Ismail, Kenneth Igboke (who was…
REAL Madrid withstood a Borussia Dortmund barrage to win the Champions League for the 15th time as Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior struck late in a 2-0 win at Wembley on Saturday. Defender Carvajal headed in from Toni Kroos’ corner on 74 minutes before Vinicius fired home to extend Madrid’s record as the most successful club in the competition’s history. Madrid have now won their last nine European Cup finals and won the competition six times in the last 11 seasons. However, not for the first time in that run, they had to rely on some good fortune as underdogs…
GOVERNOR of Cross River State, Bassey Otu, has rewarded Super Eagles player, Terem Moffi, with N10m for his role in Nigeria’s second-place finish at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire. Moffi, along with his father and younger brother, received the gift in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State during his visit to the governor. Governor Otu praised Moffi, who is from the state, for representing Cross River State admirably and serving as a positive role model for the youth. He promised to continue supporting the Nice of France player and emphasised his administration’s dedication to…
THE Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has donated N1 million each to players of Edo Queens and N5m each to the coaches after they won the Nigeria Women’s Football League (NWFL). Obaseki said this on Thursday when he received the Edo Queens’ victory parade which terminated at the Government House in Benin City, the Edo State capital. He commended the team for breaking the 29-year-old Edo jinx in women’s football by winning the trophy for the first time. “To our wonderful girls and the coaching staff of Edo Queens, you have created history. Your achievement has made an indelible…
NAPOLI hitman Victor Osimhen will not play in Nigeria’s 2026 World Cup qualification games against South Africa and the Benin Republic. The reigning CAF Footballer of the Year was listed in the squad to face South Africa on June 7 and the Squirrels of Benin Republic three days later. But on Tuesday, the team confirmed that Osimhen will miss the matches through injury. Camp update: Africa Player of the Year, Victor Osimhen is injured and out for 4 weeks. Super Eagles’ Coach Finidi George has called up Enugu Rangers’ left back Kenneth Igboke for the WC qualifiers against South Africa…
NIGERIA’s representative at the ongoing 2024 Basketball Africa League (BAL), Rivers Hoopers BC, achieved the historic feat of reaching their first-ever semi-final at the tournament after earning a tough 92-88 victory over former BAL Champions US Monastir of Tunisia in the quarter-final. Rivers Hoopers went into the quarterfinal encounter on the back of consecutive defeats; against US Monastir in the final game of the Sahara Conference, and AS Douanes (Senegal) during the classification round at the BAL Playoffs in Kigali, Rwanda. On the other hand, US Monastir were riding the wave of four straight wins. However, it was the KingsMen,…
EGYPTIAN giants Al Ahly won a record-extending 12th African Champions League title after beating Esperance 1-0 in the second leg of the final in Cairo. The first leg had ended goalless in Tunisia last Saturday, and the hosts took an early lead when Rami Rabia’s header from Hussein El Shahat’s corner deflected off Esperance midfielder Roger Aholou and into the bottom right-hand corner. Wessam Abou Ali struck the side-netting and Percy Tau fired narrowly wide as Al Ahly looked to extend their lead before the break, while El Shahat was denied by visiting goalkeeper Amanallah Memmiche. Yan Sasse curled off…
NIGERIA’s Head Coach, Finidi George, has named his squad for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa and the Cheetahs of Benin Republic. Leading the names on the 23-man list is the in-form Atalanta forward, Ademola Lookman, whose hat-trick on Wednesday handed his side the Europa League trophy Victor Boniface of Bayer Leverkusen is not left out of the squad after being instrumental in the Bavarian side winning their first league title in 30 years while going unbeaten for 51 games in the process. Also on the list are Victor Osimhen, Alex Iwobi,…
FINIDI George’s assistant coach at Enyimba, Yemi Olanrewaju, will step into the new Super Eagles coach’s role as head coach of Enyimba for the remainder of the season, following the exit of the ex-international from the helm of the reigning Nigeria Premier Football League champions. Olanrewaju’s appointment was confirmed by the club in a statement on Thursday, one week after Finidi was unveiled as the Super Eagles coach by the Nigeria Football Federation. “In light of coach George’s departure, Enyimba FC is pleased to announce the promotion of assistant coach Olanrewaju Yemi Daniel ‘Yema’ to the position of head coach…
WORLD football governing body, FIFA, has made changes to the officiating team of the 2026 World Cup qualifying match between Benin Republic and Nigeria which is scheduled for the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny in Ivory Coast on Monday, June 10. The changes have sent packing Ethiopian official Bamlak Tessema Weyesa, who was originally designated as referee for the encounter scheduled to kick off at 4pm. In his place, Gabonese official Pierre Ghislain Atcho will now be the referee. Weyesa’s compatriots Temesgin Samuel Atango and Tigle Gizaw Belachew have been retained as assistant referee 1 and assistant referee 2 respectively. However, another…
THE final of the 2024 Europa League has three Nigerians chasing glory at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin in Ireland on Wednesday (today) when German champions Bayer Leverkusen take on Italian side Atalanta. The Super Eagles stars convene in Dublin, where Leverkusen will try to complete the second leg of an incredible treble, while Atalanta are seeking to win their first-ever European trophy. A fortnight ago, trio Ademola Lookman, Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella all saw their clubs make their way to the final of this year’s Europa League final with high-flying German champions Bayer Leverkusen coming from behind to draw…
THE Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) organisers have revealed the dates for the remaining games of the season, which is scheduled to conclude on June 23 with Matchday 38 fixtures. It will be recalled the current season commenced on 30 September 30, 2023 after initial delays. This season saw the league body entering into a partnership with technology firm GTI Investment, Propel Sports Africa and MTN to sponsor the league, with an exclusive broadcast right that shall cover eight live games every weekend and 300 throughout the season, thus making the NPFL the first African football league to deploy artificial…
AS leagues in Europe and some other parts of the world are coming to an end, Nigerian players are prominent in the permutations with Raphael Onyedika chasing a 19th league title for Club Brugge in Belgium while some other Nigerians were involved in relegation battles on the final day of the EPL in England and others. ENGLAND: Awoniyi, Aina (Nothingham Forest) Taiwo Awoniyi came on as a late substitute for goal scorer Chris Wood while Ola Aina wasn’t listed as Nottingham Forest secured safety in the English Premier League for the second successive season. They needed at least a point…
FOUR players from Nigeria, Cameroon, and Madagascar secured their spots at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after reaching the finals of the African Qualification Tournament taking place at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda. Fabio Rakotoarimanana made history in Kigali as he became the first Madagascan to qualify for the Olympic Games by beating Tunisia’s Wassim Essid 4-3 (13-11, 8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 12-10, 4-11, 11-9) in the second semifinal of the men’s singles at the qualifiers. Nigeria’s Offiong Edem was the first to secure her spot at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after a pulsating 4-3 win over Tunisia’s Fadwa…
VICTOR Osimhen will miss Friday’s Serie A clash with Fiorentina. Osimhen did not participate in training on Wednesday due to a muscular problem, and only had physiotherapy and personalised work in the gym. Piotr Zielinski and Mario Rui also worked separately from the rest of the squad, but Jens Lindstrom is back in with the group. Osimhen scored 15 goals in Serie A this season, but has been affected by numerous injuries and his absence due to the Africa Cup of Nations in January and February. If he doesn’t make it for Friday, then it is likely that Giacomo Raspadori…
SUPER Eagles midfielder Wilfred Ndidi paid a courtesy visit the Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh, in his office on Wednesday. Accompanied by his manager, Yahaya Atom, and Mr. Yemi Idowu, Ndidi engaged in discussions with the Sports Minister on various matters pertaining to Nigerian football. During the visit, Senator Enoh extended his congratulations to Ndidi on Leicester City’s promotion to the English Premier League, acknowledging the midfielder’s contributions to the team’s success. He also took the opportunity to discuss the upcoming World Cup qualifying matches, scheduled to commence early next month. The minister emphasized the importance of…
THE Union for Professional Football Players (UNFP) has crowned Super Falcons’ Chiamaka Nnadozie as the best goalkeeper for the 2023/24 season in the French Division 1 Feminine League. Nnadozie scooped the prize at the UNFP Trophies gala in Paris, the French capital, on Monday night. The 23-year-old has been impressive throughout the campaign, helping her side Paris FC to finish third in the regular season and also make the playoffs. The UNFP is the major union for professional footballers in France. After scooping the award, Chiamaka took to social media to express his excitement, saying she is “incredibly grateful and…