PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has backed the re-election bid of Amaji Pinnick into the Council of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA). Pinnick, two-term President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), was elected into the Council in March 2021 – the third Nigerian after the late Oyo Orok Oyo and Dr. Amos Adamu. “Mr. Pinnick is seeking re-election into the Council, and President Tinubu supports the bid for Nigeria to retain its seat in the Council,” presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, said in a Tuesday statement. “President Bola Tinubu expresses strong support for Nigeria’s bid for re-election into the FIFA Council.”…
Author: Peter Noah KC
THIS newspaper has gathered that visa issues have hindered some of the invited Super Falcons players from arriving at their camp in Spain as the team continues preparation ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France. The Falcons camp opened in Spanish City on Friday but didn’t hold any training sessions until Sunday due to the small number of players in camp. On Monday, the Nigeria Football Federation confirmed that team captain Rasheedat Ajibade, goalkeepers Chiamaka Nnadozie and Tochukwu Oluehi, defenders Chidinma Okeke and Nicole Payne, midfielders Christy Ucheibe, Toni Payne, Deborah Abiodun and Jennifer Echegini, and forward Esther Okoronkwo…
WORLD football governing body, FIFA has banned Nigeria Premier Football League side, Katsina United alongside twenty-two other African clubs from registering players. The other clubs banned are DC Motema Pembe, TP Mazembe, Future FC, Al Masry, Zamalek SC, Horoya AC, Raja Club Athletic, Wydad Athletic Club, African Stars FC, Katsina United FC, Kiyovu Sports Association, Royal AM, and TS Galaxy FC. Others are Singida Big Stars FC, Tabora United, Club Africain, CS Sfaxien, Etoile du Sahel, US Monastir, Mbarara City FC, Buildcon FC, Indeni FC, and Lusaka Dynamos FC. A search on the FIFA website showed that Katsina United began…
HEAD Coach, Chris Musa Danjuma, has called 32 Falconets players to camp in Abuja for the first phase of preparations for the global tournament in Colombia. Those invited with just eight weeks to their first match of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Colombia 2024 included four goalkeepers, eight defenders, eight midfielders and 12 strikers. Team captain Oluchi Ohaegbulem is top of the list, with first-choice goalkeeper Faith Omilana, defenders Shukurat Oladipo and Comfort Folorunsho also making the cut. Midfielders Chinyere Kalu, Adoo Yina and Rofiat Imuran, and forwards Janet Akekoromowei, Flourish Sabastine and Aminat Bello were also called. Nigeria…
LAZIO have confirmed the signing of Nigerian midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru from Hatayspor on a season-long loan, with an obligation to buy if he impresses. The 23-year-old, who shone in the Turkish Super Lig last season, scoring nine goals and providing six assists, passed his medical in Rome on Friday and completed the necessary paperwork on Saturday, kick-starting his Serie A career. The Manchester City academy graduate, who also had a stint with Sheffield Wednesday, expressed his excitement about the move as he looks to make a significant impact at the Stadio Olimpico. Lazio’s official announcement on Saturday was met with…
SUPER Falcons defender Halimatu Ayinde has been ruled out from the 2024 Paris Olympics following an injury. The defender was included in the team’s 18-woman list for the football events of the Olympic Games. However, the FC Rosengård star suffered a knee injury during training, meaning she won’t take part in the Games billed for later this month. “With a heavy heart, I announce I won’t be part of the Super Falcons for the Olympics,” she wrote on her X page on Thursday. “I’m deeply grateful to FC Rosengård and my teammates for their support and love. Best of luck…
THE Super Eagles have been drawn against familiar foes the Benin Republic in the qualification race for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). Placed in Group D, the Super Eagles face Benin Republic who defeated them recently in a 2026 World Cup qualifiers. In the draw ceremony held in Johannesburg, South Africa on Thursday, Nigeria will also play Libya and Rwanda – who are also part of the Super Eagles’ lot for the race to the World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico in two years. The qualifiers for the 2025 AFCON will begin in September and end…
HEAD Coach Randy Waldrum has picked captain Rasheedat Ajibade, goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, defender Osinachi Ohale, forward Asisat Oshoala and 14 other players in the Super Falcons’ final list for this year’s Women’s Olympic Football Tournament in France. Also among players on the list are defenders Oluwatosin Demehin and Michelle Alozie, midfielders Deborah Abiodun, Halimatu Ayinde, Christy Ucheibe and Toni Payne, and forwards Esther Okoronkwo, Chinwendu Ihezuo and Uchenna Kanu. Squad members who are currently on holiday in Nigeria will join home-based players and team officials aboard an Air France flight from Abuja to Sevilla, Spain on Thursday night, with the…
BARELY a month after his resignation as the coach of the Super Eagles, Finidi George has taken up the role of technical manager for the NPFL side, Rivers United. During his brief and eventful tenure as the head of the Eagles, George’s 1-1 draw against South Africa in Uyo and a 2-1 loss to the Benin Republic in Abidjan put Nigeria’s qualification for the World Cup in serious doubt. This would lead to several calls from the fans for his sack Despite what seemed like a bad outing for the 53-year-old, the 2021-22 champions in a statement on their X…
THE Nigeria Wrestling Federation of Nigeria (WFN), has unveiled the six wrestlers who will fly the nation’s flag at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France. The team, which comprises five female wrestlers, one male freestyle wrestler and three coaches, was presented at a ceremony held at the Dynamite Wrestling gym in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. The wrestlers are Olympics silver medalist Blessing Oborodudu (68kg), reigning African champion Odunayo Adekuoroye (57kg), and Military world champion Hannah Reuben (76kg). Also, reigning African champions and debutants, Esther Kolawole (62kg) and Ogunsanya Christinah (53kg), while Ashton Mutuwa completes the list in the (125kg) men’s freestyle.…
NIGERIA Premier Football League side Rivers United have denied reports linking former Enyimba and Super Eagles coach Finidi George as well as ex-Rangers coach Imama Amapakabo to the club. Following the dismissal of long-serving coach Stanley Eguma last season, the 2022 NPFL champions were guided until the end of the season by head coach Evans Ogenyi, but rumours about Finidi and Amapakabo taking charge at the Port Harcourt side have been rife recently. In the wake of the speculations, as well as other rumours revolving around the transfer of some of their players, media officer of the team, Charles Mayuku,…
IT was a gathering of footballers, artists, actors and comedians as Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa hosted the Arewa charity football match in Kaduna. The event took place at the Ahmed Musa Sports Center and was a thrilling encounter between some of the biggest names in the Arewa entertainment industry. The friendly match featured a star-studded lineup of actors, musicians, and influencers lacing up their boots to showcase their football skills. Speaking exclusively with our correspondent, the former Kano Pillars forward said the charity match is aimed at promoting unity and camaraderie among celebrities in the region. “It’s just to…
THE newly promoted Nigeria Premier Football League side, El-Kanemi Warriors, have won this year’s President’s Cup by defeating Abia Warriors 2-0 in the final at Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, Lagos, on Saturday. The Maiduguri side thus secured Nigeria’s second CAF Confederation Cup ticket for next season and will vie for honours in Africa’s second-tier club competition alongside Enyimba, who earlier sealed their spot after finishing third in the 2023–24 Nigeria Premier Football League standings. Midfielder Nasiru Salihu stole the show, scoring both goals, one in each half, as the Bornu Army claimed their third Federation Cup title after triumphs in…
100M HURDLES world record holder Tobi Amusan has been cleared to run in the Paris Olympics after the sport’s top court on Friday dismissed appeals against the decision to clear her of a doping offence. Amusan, 27, was charged in July 2023 with missing three anti-doping tests in a period of 12 months but was cleared of the offence by the Disciplinary Tribunal of the sport’s governing body, World Athletics. However, World Athletics and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against that decision. CAS said in a statement that its panel “unanimously…
A FORMER Super Eagles forward, Peter Odemwingie, is now a professional golfer following his graduation from the Professional Golfers Association school. The PGA disclosed this in a post with a video on X.com on Tuesday. The caption read, “Peter Odemwingie is best known for playing top-level football, scoring over 30 Premier League goals for West Bromwich Albion and representing Cardiff City and Stoke City. “He has played in two World Cups and even won an Olympic medal in 2008. In his post-football career, he turned to golf and is now a fully-fledged PGA professional.” In a statement on the PGA…
FORMER Nigeria striker Peter Ijeh reckons suitors are avoiding Victor Osimhen like plague because of the attitude and character of the Napoli striker. Commenting on a Facebook post on Tuesday, Ijeh, who spent a major part of his career in Scandinavia, said Europe is a small community that takes attitude and character as keys, which he thinks the Nigeria striker doesn’t understand. “How I wish he understood that Europe is a small community that takes attitude and character as keys because it is directly influenced by children, and at the same time, they are notorious for double standards. Even Lagos…
AFTER an exhilarating 38 rounds of matches, which saw Enugu Rangers win their eighth Nigeria Premier Football League title, here is this newspaper’s Team of the Season: GOALKEEPER Amas Obasogie (Bendel Insurance) In his second consecutive season in the NPFL, Bendel Insurance keeper, Obasogie has continued to show why he is rated as one of the best shot-stoppers in the Nigerian elite division by keeping most clean sheets (18) in the campaign, three more than his closest rivals – Remo’s Kayode Bankole and Doma United’s Kingdom Osayi. Insurance also conceded the least goals (30) during the season. After finishing the…
AS the 2023-24 Nigeria Premier Football League ended on Sunday, this newspaper highlights on achievements, disappointments and near misses of the league after 38 rounds of matches Rangers Crowned Champions Enugu Rangers were crowned champions of the Nigeria Premier Football League for the eighth time in their history on Sunday and they capped their season with a 2-1 away win against Gombe United at the New Jos Stadium. The league champions were welcomed into the mainbowl of the New Jos Stadium with a guard of honour by their relegated opponents and general manager of Rangers, Amobi Ezeaku captained the Flying…
THE 2023/2024 Nigeria Premier Football League season ends Sunday (today), with battles for survival and two CAF club competition tickets bringing the campaign to a nerve-wracking finale, with 760 matches prosecuted, Godwin Aikigbe reports Enugu Rangers have already been declared the champions, with a CAF Champions League ticket in the kitty, and Flying Antelope are relatively unperturbed by the final day’s hostilities, which will see five clubs, Remo Stars, Enyimba, Shooting Stars, Plateau United, and Lobi Stars locked in battles for the remaining ticket and one of two for next year’s Confederation Cup. Kano Pillars, Kwara United, Bayelsa United, Akwa…
THE next Africa Cup of Nations will be played in Morocco from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026, Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe said on Friday. “I am confident that the CAF AFCON Morocco 2025 will be extremely successful and the best AFCON in the history of this competition,” he said. CAF held a virtual executive committee at their headquarters in Cairo on Friday evening after which Motsepe made the announcement. Originally scheduled for June and July 2025, the AFCON was moved to avoid a clash with the inaugural Club World Cup in the United States…