Author: Nurudeen Obalola
Rory McIlroy ended his long wait for a Masters title with a birdie on the opening hole of a sudden-death playoff to beat Justin Rose and claim the career Grand Slam after a nerve-wracking final round on Sunday. After missing a five-foot par putt at the 18th in regulation that forced the playoff, McIlroy made sure he did not let his latest chance at major glory slip away and returned to the same hole in the playoff and put his approach two feet from the cup. When the winning putt dropped, McIlroy raised his arms toward the clear sky and…
Newcastle United continued their quest for a UEFA Champions League spot with a 4-0 thrashing of Manchester United at St James’ Park on Sunday. Assistants Jason Tindall and Graeme Jones took charge of Newcastle in the absence of Eddie Howe, who was unavailable due to ill-health, and the players responded with a fine performance as they recorded a first league double over Manchester United in 94 years. United manager Ruben Amorim dropped first-choice goalkeeper Andre Onana after his two errors against Lyon in Thursday’s 2-2 UEFA Europa League quarter-final first-leg draw, but replacement Altay Bayındır was guilty of a serious mistake of…
The Flying Eagles of Nigeria will be facing Tunisia, Morocco and Kenya in the group stages of the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations. A fresh draw was held in Cairo, Egypt on Sunday following the withdrawal of Cote d’Ivoire as hosts, with the 13 teams placed in three groups. The U-20 AFCON will now be held in Egypt from April 27 to May 18. New hosts Egypt are seeded in Group A, which has five teams – with Zambia, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Tanzania as the other teams. Holders Senegal are seeded in Group C, with Central…
Liverpool moved to potentially one win from the English Premier League title as captain Virgil van Dijk’s late header helped them beat West Ham United 2-1 at Anfield on Sunday. Victory means that if Arsenal lose at Ipswich next weekend, the Reds can wrap up the title by beating Leicester. Mohamed Salah, who signed a new two-year contract at Liverpool this week, provided the assist with a splendid pass for Luis Diaz to open the scoring on 18 minutes. But Liverpool failed to build on this and West Ham deservedly equalised when Andy Robertson turned the ball into his…
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has expressed its sadness at the death on Saturday of another member of the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations-winning Green Eagles squad, Charles Bassey. He was 71. Bassey died after a protracted illness in his native town of Eket, Akwa Ibom State, hours after it was confirmed that the captain of that team, ‘Chairman’ Christian Chukwu, had passed on in Enugu. “This has been a day of double tragedy, and the NFF and the entire Nigeria football fraternity are deeply saddened by the turn of events. We lost ‘Chairman’ Chukwu earlier in the day; now,…
Teenager Gout Gout has reinforced his growing reputation as one of the best young sprinters in the world by clocking a wind-assisted 19.84 seconds to win the Australian 200 metres title. His blistering run on Sunday was the second fastest ever by an athlete below 20 years under all conditions, surpassing Usain Bolt’s 19.93 in 2004 and Justin Gatlin’s 19.86 in 2001. It followed the 17-year-old storming to the 100m crown at the Australian Athletics Championships in Perth on Friday in 9.99 seconds. That too was achieved with a tailwind slightly above the permitted limit, so it will not…
President Bola Tinubu and his major opponents during the 2023 general election, Abubakar Atiku and Peter Obi, as well as the Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State and the Confederation of African Football, have all hailed the impact Christian Chukwu had on Nigerian and African football. Chukwu, who captained the Green Eagles to win Nigeria’s first-ever Africa Cup of Nations title in 1980 and later coached the Super Eagles, was confirmed dead on Saturday at the age of 74 after a brief illness. Tinubu, who is currently in France, praised Chukwu for his commitment to the Nigerian cause. “Christian Chukwu…
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles will be grouped with another set of opponents in the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations following the decision of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to conduct a new draw. The seven-time African champions had been drawn in Group B with Egypt, Morocco and South Africa before Cote d’Ivoire pulled out as hosts. Egypt, who hosted the 2023 edition, stepped in as Cote d’Ivoire replacement, and a fresh draw will now be done. “The final draw for the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Egypt 2025 will be conducted on Sunday, 13 April…
Yoane Wissa scored late in the second half as Brentford and Arsenal played out a 1-1 draw on Saturday that leaves the second-placed Gunners 10 points behind English Premier League leaders Liverpool. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta made five changes from the side that so impressively beat Real Madrid 3-0 in midweek in the UEFA Champions League, and the Gunners thought they had taken the lead in the 26th minute when Kieran Tierney headed in Ethan Nwaneri’s cross. However, a video assistant referee (VAR) check showed the left-back was clearly offside. Thomas Partey then scored the opening goal in the 61st…
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has described the death of former national team captain Christian Chukwu as a great loss. The legendary central defender, who captained the Green Eagles to win Nigeria’s first Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title in 1980, passed away on Saturday at the of 74. “The Nigeria Football Federation has expressed deep sorrow after it was confirmed that Christian Chukwuemeka Chukwu, who captained Nigeria’s 1980 Africa Cup of Nations-winning squad and later coached the team, had died in his native city of Enugu on Saturday,” the NFF stated. “Nicknamed ‘Chairman’ because of his imposing presence and…