AFRICAN footballer of the year, Victor Osimhen was always Nigeria’s biggest hope coming into the Cup of Nations, but there is even more pressure on his shoulders after the withdrawal due to injury of fellow goal-scorer Victor Boniface. The Super Eagles begin their AFCON campaign in Ivory Coast against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday before also facing the hosts and outsiders Guinea-Bissau in Group A. Nigeria are looking to win a fourth Cup of Nations, which would see them draw level with the tally of rivals Ghana, and their attacking armada is what made them appear genuine contenders to go all…
Author: Peter Noah KC
THE Africa Cup of Nations kicks off on Saturday (today) in Ivory Coast with the host nation, Nigeria and Mohamed Salah’s Egypt among the leading contenders to succeed the Senegal of Sadio Mane as continental champions. The 24-team tournament, which concludes with the final on February 11, is the first in the West African country in four decades, since just eight nations featured in the 1984 edition won by Roger Milla’s Cameroon. Senegal are defending the title they won in Cameroon in 2022, but a strong field also features Morocco and a Nigeria side spearheaded by African footballer of the…
PAUL Onuachu will replace the Real Sociedad forward Sadiq Umar who has been ruled out of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to be held in Cote d’Ivoire. Umar suffered a knee injury in Nigeria’s 2-0 loss to Guinea in a friendly game in Abu Dhabi on Monday. Hours after the development, the Super Eagles posted on their X handle, saying: “Sadiq Umar is out of the AFCON 2023 squad due to injury; Paul Onuachu replaces him.” Onuachu had been named in the Super Eagles’ provisional 40-man squad for the AFCON but was dropped for the final 25-man list…
THE Supreme Court has reversed the sack of Caleb Mutfwang, affirming him as Governor of Plateau State. On November 19, the court of appeal in Abuja sacked Mutfwang as governor of the state. The appellate court held that the PDP violated the court order and ordered that a valid congress be conducted in the 17 Local Government Areas of Plateau. The court said the party conducted congress in only five LGAs of the state “which amounted to a nullity.” But a five-member panel led by Justice Emmanuel Agim reversed the decision of the appellate court for being perverse because the…
THE Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Alex Otti’s as the governor of Abia State in the March 18, 2023 governorship election. The apex court, in a unanimous decision by a five-member panel of justices, dismissed two separate appeals that sought to nullify Otti’s election victory. In its lead judgement that was read by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, the apex court held that the appeal of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Okey Ahiwe, and his counterpart in the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Ikechi Emenike, brought before it lacked merit. It held that there was no…
THE Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Francis Nwifuru of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Governor of Ebonyi State. The apex court affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, dismissing the appeal of Chukwuma Odii of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for lacking in merit. Last November, the Court of Appeal in Lagos affirmed the election of Nwifuru as the duly elected governor of Ebonyi State in the March 18 governorship election. The three-member panel presided over by Justice Jummai Sankey, in its unanimous decision, dismissed the appeal filed by Odii and upheld the earlier verdict…
AS the days to the kickoff match for the 2023 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations draw closer, there are quite some fascinating facts to know about the continent’s highly revered football tournament. The tournament which will start on January 13, 2024, with the opening match between the host country, Cote d’Ivoire, and Group A opponent, Guinea-Bissau, will end on February 11, 2024. In this piece, we highlight some facts about the AFCON as shared by CAFOnline.com: * The first AFCON tournament took place in Sudan in 1957. Only three countries, hosts Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia, took part in that…
SUPER Eagles coach Jose Peseiro is keeping his cards close to his chest about his preferred goalkeeper for the Africa Cup of Nations which kicks off on Saturday in Ivory Coast. Nigeria’s first match is against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday at the Ebimpe Olympic Stadium. Peseiro has tested all three goalkeepers in his final 25-man squad but was reserved about his conviction after the pre-AFCON friendly game against Guinea on Monday. “Stanley played, I can’t say for anyone who the first 11, I will decide against Equatorial Guinea,” Peseiro told NFF TV. While Nwabali was left out of the 12-0…
SUPER Eagles captain Ahmed Musa has charged Nigerians not to lose trust in the team as they hope to win a fourth Africa Cup of Nations title at the 34th edition of the tournament, which holds from January 13 to February 11 in Ivory Coast. The three-time champions are in Group A, which also has hosts Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. Musa’s wish is coming after the Eagles lacklustre pre-AFCON friendly, which they lost 2-0 to Guinea at the Bani Yas Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Monday. The game marked the end of their one-week training camp…
THE Super Eagles will be without Bayer Leverkusen forward Victor Boniface for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) after the youngster picked up an injury, the second Nigerian player to be ruled out of the tournament. Leicester City’s midfielder Wilfred Ndidi had been ruled out of the competition over an injury but the latest development means the three-time African champions are heading to the AFCON without one of the most prolific goal scorers in Europe. “U20 Nations Cup got injured 7 days before Nations Cup,” a devastated Boniface wrote on his X account late Monday. “Super Eagles got injured…
DOYIN Okupe, former Director-General of Peter Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Organization, has resigned from the Labour Party. Okupe made this known in a letter sent to the leadership of the party on Monday. He attributed his resignation to ideological differences, saying his lifelong alignment as a right-wing and liberal democrat clashed with LP’s left-of-center ideology. “I submit herewith my letter of resignation from the Labour Party with effect from today. You will recall that our flagbearer, Mr Peter Obi, myself and others left the PDP abruptly and had to look for a Special Purpose Vehicle in which to contest the 2023…
FORMER Nigeria defender, Sam Sodje, has said that the Super Eagles need to work on their defending, adding that they will need a solid backline to win the upcoming 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. Sodje claimed that head coach Jose Peseiro named an imbalanced Eagles squad for the AFCON tournament scheduled to hold from from January 13 to February 11 in Ivory Coast. The Portuguese gaffer invited 25 players to camp to prepare the tournament, which starts in eight days. The Eagles are among the favourites to qualify out of Group A alongside hosts Ivory Coast for the next round…
FORMER Super Eagles assistant coach, Emmanuel Amuneke, says the three-time African champions are under pressure to win the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast. The gaffer said Victor Osimhen, the CAF Player of The Year, should not be placed under undue pressure to fire the squad to glory. Osimhen, who finished as the top scorer during the AFCON qualifying series with 10 goals, is poised to lead the Eagles star-studded attack at the tournament as the three-time African champions begin their quest for a fourth title in Ivory Coast. According to Amuneke, the Eagles squad is more important than…
THE 2024 Africa Cup of Nations takes place in Ivory Coast from January 13 to February 11. Some of the biggest names in world football will feature at the tournament, and AFP Sport picks out five to follow: VICTOR OSIMHEN (Nigeria) The prospect of Osimhen leading Nigeria into the AFCON is a mouthwatering one for Super Eagles fans. He heads to Ivory Coast fresh from being named the African player of the year for 2023 off the back of his brilliant form in Napoli’s run to the Serie A title. He scored 26 goals for Napoli last season but has…
A FORMER Chairman of the Gombe Football Association Ahmed Gara-Gombe does not believe in the capabilities of Super Eagles Head Coach Jose Peseiro, describing his appointment as one of the greatest mistakes in Nigerian football. “Since the time of Clemens Westerhof, we never had a transition, a championship without confusion, without uncertainty, turning Nigerians into prayer warriors, praying for somebody to lose before we win; even from the qualification to where we are, I do not have confidence in the system,” he said on Thursday’s edition of Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily monitored by News Point Nigeria. “In the first place,…
SUPER Eagles captain, Ahmed Musa, tops the list of high-profile Nigerian players whose contracts will expire this June. The 31-year-old winger joined Sivasspor on a two-year deal in September 2022 after terminating his contract with Fatih Karagumruk by mutual consent. His current contract lapses this summer and talks of renewal are yet to commence according to reports in Turkey. Musa, who was included in the Eagles squad for the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nation which kicks off in nine days in Ivory Coast, is Nigeria’s most capped player having made 108 appearances for the three-time African Champion since his debut…
MULTICHOICE, owners of Digital Satellite Television( DStv) have stated that the Africa Cup of Nations tournament will not be broadcast on its sporting channel, SuperSport. According to the company in a statement, SuperSport channels will not transmit the tournament “because the channel has not secured the rights to broadcast the tournament..” “However, AFCON 2023 games will be available through our partner broadcast stations on Free to Air (FTA) channels.” “Multichoice Africa remains committed to ensuring football fans across Africa continue to enjoy unrivalled access to entertainment and football games available on DStv and GOtv platforms including, the Premier League, LaLiga,…
IN the last few years, Nigeria’s goalkeeping crisis has been well documented and Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro has brought on South Africa-based shot-stopper, Stanley Nwabali, as the Portuguese aims to solve the problematic area of his squad. Chippa United safe hands Nwabali was a surprise inclusion in the Eagles 25-man squad for the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, which begins January 13. Since the forced retirement of Carl Ikeme in 2018 after being diagnosed with leukaemia, several goalkeepers have been tested with none possessing the same quality as the former Wolves goalkeeper. Francis Uzoho’s howlers against Saudi…
THE Super Eagles camp for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) has opened in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Coach Jose Peseiro has already named 25 players for the competition which begins mid-January in the West African nation of Cote d’Ivoire. Barring one home-based player, the other invitees are expected in camp from their different European bases. But Samuel Chukwueze of AC Milan, goalkeeper Francis Uzoho, William Troost-Ekong, and Sadiq Umar of Real Sociedad have been granted permission to feature for their sides in games later today. They will then hit the camp on Wednesday. Nigeria will be…
FORMER Super Eagles captain, Vincent Enyeama, has dropped a cryptic message on Instagram hinting that he could join the technical crew of national team when the camp opens on Tuesday (today) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Enyeama made this known on Monday when he reacted to a post about the team’s AFCON preparationson the official Instagram account of the Super Eagles. They will begin a one-week training camp on Tuesday (today) that will last until January 9. He wrote, “Let’s go, See you in camp. Time for business.” Enyeama unofficial appointment see joins the growing list of ex-goalies Alloy…