NIGERIA’s sole representative in the Caf Confederation Cup Rivers United edged defending champions USM Alger of Algeria 1-0 in the first leg of their quarter-final clash at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State on Sunday. Augustine Okejepha got the opener from Sadiq Adamu’s cross from the corner in the 10th minute of the first half. Rivers United wasted several other chances to double their lead in the game. The reigning champions will host the Nigerian side in the return leg on Sunday next week in Algiers, Algeria.
Author: Peter Noah KC
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SUPER Falcons goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie is desperate to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as Nigeria gears up for their crucial final qualifiers game against their familiar foes, South Africa. Both sides have forged an intense rivalry over the years and are seen as the toast of Africa following successes on the continent, but it’s been the South Africans who have won recent battles. Banyana beat Nigeria in their last two meetings, the 2022 Women’s Afcon in Morocco and 2021 Aisha Buhari Cup in their own backyard, tournaments that Banyana went on to win. For Nnadozie, qualifying for the…
FINIDI George, head coach of the Nigeria Premier Football Leagues side, Enyimba, has stated that he is not losing any sleep over getting the Super Eagles job on a permanent basis. Early this month, the Nigeria Football Federation declared the position of the Super Eagles’ head coach vacant, following the exit of Portuguese Jose Peseiro, who led the side to a second-place finish at the 2023 Africa Cup Nations in Ivory Coast in February. In an advertisement on its website calling for applications with a March 13 deadline, the football governing body stated that the prospective Eagles coach “must have…
THE Eagles of Mali beat the Super Eagles of Nigeria 2-0 on Tuesday night. In the clash with the Eagles, Nigeria suffered the loss courtesy of one goal in each half of the game. E. Toure gave Mali the lead in the 18th minute and the runners-up in the recently concluded African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast could not severe a draw in the first half. K. Doumbia sealed the victory for the Malians with an 84th-minute strike from the centre of the box. This loss was the interim coach, George Finidi’s first loss at the helms of affairs…
THE Federal Government has hailed Nigeria’s contingent to the 13 African Games for its outstanding performance during the competition. Nigeria finished second on the medals table behind Egypt with 47 gold, 33 silver and 40 bronze medals. Hours after the team returned to the country, the Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh, conveyed President Bola Tinubu’s congratulatory message to the athletes. ”Yesterday I received the Team Nigeria delegation to the 13th African Games, Ghana, back to Abuja, Nigeria,” he posted on his official X account on Sunday. “I thank our athletes, our stars, and our VVIPs, immensely and I congratulate…
SEVEN-TIME champions Enugu Rangers have climbed to the top of the Nigeria Premier Football League table after securing a 2-1 win over struggling Heartland in oriental derby on match-day 27 in Aba on Sunday. Defender Ifeanyi Onyebuchi scored Rangers first goal in the first half and Kalu Nweke doubled the advantage in the second half before the hosts halved the deficit to end the game 2-1. Led by Fidelis Ilechukwu, Rangers have been on the ascendancy in their last 10 games, losing only one and are unbeaten in nine consecutive games. They have also won three of their last four…
A GOAL in each half was all Nigeria needed to claim the bragging rights against Ghana’s Black Stars in a 2-1 win on Friday evening. The Super Eagles scored first courtesy of Cyriel Dessers’ penalty and a sweet finish from Ademola Lookman of Atalanta. But Jordan Ayew scored a late spot-kick to give the 10-men Ghana a consolation. Nigeria, fresh off a great campaign where they finished runners-up at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) were without the CAF Player of the Year Victor Osimhen, and defender William Troost-Ekong among others. Both are nursing injuries. But from the blast…
THE 2023 African Games, which officially began March 8, ends on Saturday (today) with perennial champions Egypt once again claiming top spot at the continental sports showpiece event, which held in Accra, Kumasi and Cape Coast. Of the 54 countries in Africa, 53 were in attendance, with only Cape Verde absent from the 13th edition of the Games. The Games were initially billed for August 2023 but a failure to complete facilities on time and issues over marketing revenue resulted in the event being delayed till March 2024. However, it didn’t stop the West African country hosting a memorable championship.…
NIGERIA’s Ese Brume leaped to gold in the women’s long jump event of the African Games, jumping a record 6.92 meters to defend her title in Accra, the Ghanaian capital on Thursday night. She won the title in 2019 in the Moroccan city of Rabat and continued her fine form five years later in Ghana. Brume’s first attempt was good enough for gold on the night that her compatriot Prestina Ochonogor also won the bronze medal. She had a jump of 6.67m. Burkina Faso’s Koala Marthe clinched bronze. But it was a disappointing night for Nigeria’s Ruth Usoro who finished…
DESPITE finishing second at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast last month, the Super Eagles suffered a massive drop in their squad market value. The three-time African champions dropped down one step and are now ranked the 13th most valuable international team globally, while retaining their position as the most financially valuable team in Africa. The Eagles boast players who ply their trade in Europe’s lucrative leagues, making them one of the world’s most valuable teams, with a total value of €345m, which, according to the official exchange rate of the naira on Wednesday, amounts to N555bn.…
NAPOLI’s Victor Osimhen and Taiwo Awoniyi of Nottingham Forest were among the players ruled out of Nigeria’s friendly games against Ghana and Mali. The Super Eagles camp for the game opened on Tuesday. But Osimhen, Africa’s Player of the Year, would miss the matches, according to an update on the team’s social media page. Osimhen, 25, has struggled with fitness in the past weeks and will not make the 22nd and 26 March friendly matches. He is not the only one out of the games due to injury. Awoniyi who just recovered from a long lay-off has also been sidelined.…
THE Falconets are on course to defend their gold medal at the African Games. They took a step closer to that dream and defeated Uganda to reach the final of the football event of the competition. Nigeria won the game 2-0 thanks to strikes in the 74th and 89th minutes by Okah Adaobi and Chiamaka Okwuchukwu respectively. Coach Christopher Danjuma’s side endured a feisty first half in the Monday semi-final encounter. They controlled possession but breaching the Ugandan defence was a herculean task. The game ended goalless in the first half with Nigeria continuing their search when the second 45…
FORMER Heartland striker, Christian Pyagbara, scored a brace as Shooting Stars secured a 2-0 win over Southwest rivals Remo Stars and also got their first-ever win over the Ikenne side in the Nigeria Premier Football League on Sunday in Ibadan. Pyagbara, who joined 3SC before the start of the season, opened the scoring in the 15th minute before adding the second in the second half with 12 minutes left to play – marking a third consecutive win and four in five matches for Gbenga Ogunbote’s side. Remo Stars striker, Sikiru Alimi, was sent off for a second bookable offence against…
SHOOTING Stars head coach, Gbenga Ogunbote, will face his former club Remo Stars in a Nigeria Premier Football League game on Sunday (today) in a southwest derby at the Adamasigba stadium. Ogunbote’s side go into the game with a good run of from, unbeaten in their last five league matches winning three and drawing two and have not lost against Remo at home in their last three meetings with result ending in 1-1 on each occasions. The Oluyole Warriors’ rich vein of form in the league has also seen them move to seventh in the NPFL standing and Ogunbote remains…
BAYER Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso said Friday Nigeria striker Victor Boniface was “close to getting back on the pitch” and could return in March. Boniface injured his adductor while preparing for the Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria in January and has been out since. Originally scheduled to return sometime in April, Alonso said the 23-year-old could be fit for Leverkusen’s home clash with Hoffenheim on March 30. “He’s not ready yet, but next week we have an international break and we’ll use the time to take a step forward with him. “Maybe for Hoffenheim if everything goes well, but…
ARSENAL will take on Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the Champions League following Friday’s draw at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland. Champions League Quarter-Finals Fixtures Below is the full list of quarter-finals fixtures: Arsenal (ENG) v Bayern Munich (GER) Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Borussia Dortmund (GER) Real Madrid (ESP) v Manchester City (ENG) Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) v Barcelona (ESP) – First legs to be played April 9/10, second legs April 16/17 Semi-finals Atletico Madrid or Borussia Dortmund v Paris Saint-Germain or Barcelona Arsenal or Bayern Munich v Real Madrid or Manchester City – First legs to…
FORMER Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro believes the absence of Victor Boniface from the Nigeria’s African Cup of Nations squad is the only reason Nigeria lost the AFCON title in Ivory Coast. Nigeria were on the brink of winning a fourth AFCON title last February but lost 2-1 in the final to hosts, Ivory Coast despite taking a first half lead. The Eagles looked set to repeat their 1-0 victory over the Ivorians from the group stage when captain William Troost-Ekong – who had netted a penalty to decide that first meeting – rose to head in the opener late…
NIGERIA’s football teams at the All African Games – the Flying Eagles and the Falconets – both won their matches in the competition late Monday. The Falconets mauled Senegal 4-0 to move to the semi-final of the Games courtesy of goals from Loveth Edeh, Motunrayo Ezekiel, Chioma Olise, and an own goal. Monday’s victory for Coach Christopher Danjuma’s ladies came days after they defeated Morocco 2-0 in their first match, meaning they reached the next stage of the Games as winners of Group B. While the Falconets won convincingly, their male counterparts needed a solo goal to beat Sudan, bouncing…
RIVERS United of Nigeria were paired with title-holders USM Alger of Algeria when the CAF Confederation Cup quarter-finals draw was made in Cairo on Tuesday. The Port Harcourt outfit hope to become the first Nigerian winners of an African competition since Enyimba defeated Hearts of Oak 2-0 after extra time to lift the 2005 CAF Super Cup. Rivers won all four home matches to make the last eight, but were less impressive on the road with only one victory, a draw and two losses. Dreams of Ghana, who topped a group in which Rivers finished runners-up, meet Stade Malien of…
SPORTING Lagos claimed the bragging rights in the second installment of the new southwest derby in the Nigeria Premier Football League with an emphatic 4-1 win over Remo Stars at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, Lagos on Sunday. The Ikenne side were undone by three of their former players in the ranks of Sporting, with Junior Lokosa, Godwin Odibo and Philip Odubia all involved. Odibo won a penalty inside five minutes and Lokosa made no mistake from the spot to give Paul Offor’s side the lead while Paschal Durugbor doubled the advantage in the 27th minute. A 38th minute own…