Author: Nurudeen Obalola
The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) has directed El-Kanemi Warriors to play behind closed doors and fined the club N3. 5 million after their fans attacked Ikorodu City players and officials last weekend. “El-Kanemi Warriors has been sanctioned by the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) for security breaches, including failure to ensure sporting conduct of their supporters during the Matchday 34 fixture against Ikorodu City,” the body announced on Tuesday. “The sanctions range from monetary fines to an order of the stadium closure to fans for the rest of the season.” The NPFL specified the rules broken by El-Kanemi and…
Teen sprinter Gout Gout has been confirmed on Australia’s team for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September. The 17-year-old son of South Sudanese immigrants will run in the 200 metres after clocking a wind-assisted 19.84 seconds in Perth this month to win his first national title. The Queenslander’s rapid rise has raised comparisons with Jamaican great Usain Bolt and made him the poster boy for Australian track and field, seven years before the country hosts the Brisbane Olympics in 2032. “I’m super excited to be picked to run the 200 in Tokyo at the World Championships,” Gout said…
The Flying Eagles of Nigeria defeated Egypt’s Young Pharaohs 2-1 on Tuesday in a tune-up friendly ahead of the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations. The match was played at the Cairo International Stadium, two days after the Flying Eagles landed in Egypt, who will host the U-20 AFCON from April 27 to May 18. Kparobo Arierhi, who scored three goals as the Flying Eagles successfully defended their WAFU B U-20 Championship title in Lome, Togo last October (including a brace in the final against Ghana), scored the opener in the 10th minute of the encounter after a good pass from Bidemi…
Manchester United are close to signing Victor Osimhen having reached a deal with the entourage of the Super Eagles striker, according to reports in Italy. Osimhen is currently on a successful loan spell at Galatasaray from Napoli, the 26-year-old Nigeria international scoring 29 goals in 34 appearances in all competitions as the Turkish club close in on the Super Lig title. The English Premier League club have reached a ‘basic agreement’ with the star striker’s entourage for his salary terms, according to the reports on Tuesday. Osimhen is believed to have a release clause of £63 million available for non-Italian…
Nottingham Forest, the club of Super Eagles stars Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi, took a step closer to a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League on Monday night, leaving head coach Nuno Espirito Santo dreaming of what would have been considered impossible at the start of the English Premier League season. Forest returned to third spot in the Premier League table on Monday night following a tense 2-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur as five clubs jostle for three Champions League tickets, with Liverpool and Arsenal having all but secured the top two. Nuno said his Forest side were…
Burnley defeated Sheffield United 2-1 to seal automatic promotion to the English Premier League on Easter Monday with the result also sending Leeds United up alongside them. Leeds had earlier thrashed Stoke City 6-0 to go top of the Championship on 94 points with two matches remaining and needed Burnley to then not lose to third-placed Sheffield United to make sure they would finish in the top two. Burnley duly obliged to join them on 94 points and leave Sheffield United on 86 points and now facing the prospect of trying to join them via the playoffs. The Clarets extended…
Kenyan John Korir overcame a tumble near the starting line to win the Boston Marathon on Monday, finishing in two hours four minutes and 45 seconds, while his compatriot Sharon Lokedi denied Hellen Obiri a third straight title. The 2024 Chicago winner Korir recovered quickly from the fall and pulled away at the 20-mile mark, building a minute cushion between himself and the rest of the field with two miles to go, before jogging through the finish. Tanzanian Alphonce Simbu eked out a second-place finish in 2:05:04, battling Kenyan Cybrian Kotut down the final straight. With the win, Korir builds…
All Serie A and Primavera matches scheduled to take place on Easter Monday have been officially postponed for a period of mourning following the death of Pope Francis on Monday morning, the league has confirmed in a statement. Pope Francis died at the age of 88 on Easter Monday. As a result, the remaining matches scheduled for the 33rd round of Serie A fixtures have been postponed. The matches originally scheduled to take place on Easter Monday are: Torino-Udinese, Cagliari-Fiorentina, Genoa-Lazio and Parma-Juventus. It remains to be seen when those games will be carried out. The matches will have to be…
Super Eagles midfielder Wilfred Ndidi and his Leicester City side were officially relegated from the English Premier League on Sunday following a 1-0 defeat to champions in waiting Liverpool at the King Power Stadium. Trent Alexander-Arnold came off the bench to claim a late winner during the encounter as Liverpool moved to within three points of the title. The full-back, who has yet to sign a new contract and been heavily linked with a free transfer move to Real Madrid at the end of the season, struck 14 minutes from time after the leaders had been frustrated by the doomed…
Super Eagles midfielder Alex Iwobi scored his ninth English Premier League goal of the season but it was not enough for Fulham as they lost 2-1 at home to Chelsea on Sunday. Late goals from teenager Tyrique George and Pedro Neto gave Chelsea the dramatic derby win to boost the Blues’ hopes of UEFA Champions League football next season. Having failed to win in their previous eight Premier League away trips, Chelsea’s travel woes seemed set to continue when Iwobi fired Fulham into a first-half lead. The hosts held that advantage for more than an hour but 19-year-old George came…