Author: Nurudeen Obalola
By Korede James Swiss top flight club FC Basel have announced the signing of Nigerian forward Philip Otele from United Arab Emirates (UAE) side Al-Wahda. Basel, in a statement, said Otele has joined on loan until the end of the season. The club also stated that they have an option to make the deal for the 25-year-old permanent. “Last summer, FCB scouts had already set their sights on Philip Otele, but the transfer did not materialize,” Basel said. “Now, Red and Blue have the perfect opportunity for a loan with a realistic purchase option. “In the summer, Philip Otele moved…
By Korede James Arsenal put behind them their recent poor results as they came from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the North London derby on Wednesday night. Son Heung-min gave Spurs the lead against the run of play, but two goals in four minutes from Gabriel Magalhaes and Leandro Trossard secured the English Premier League win for Arsenal. The Gunners, on 43 points in the league table, have now cut Liverpool’s lead to four points, with the Reds having a game in hand. Mikel Arteta’s men went into the derby needing to bounce back from back-to-back home defeats…
By Korede James Nigeria’s Super Eagles B will be up against Congo, Sudan and champions Senegal in Group D of the Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) 2024. This was confirmed during the draw which took place in Nairobi, Kenya on Wednesday. Group A consists of Morocco, Angola, DR Congo, Zambia and co-hosts Kenya. Madagascar, Mauritania, Burkina, Central Africa Republic and co-hosts Tanzania make up Group B. Uganda, the third co-hosts, are in Group C with Niger Republic and Guinea. Two countries that are yet to be determined will join the three countries in the group. The CHAN 2024 was initially scheduled…
By Korede James The Junior Female Yellow Greens of Nigeria wrapped up their warm-up matches ahead of the ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia on a high note after defeating Scotland on Wednesday. The team secured a dominant 7-wicket victory over the Scotland U-19 side. After a close battle in their first warm-up match against Pakistan on Monday, the team bounced back brilliantly to end preparations on a winning note. Attention will now shift to the tournament proper when they will take on Samoa in their opening game on Saturday. Their second group fixture is against New Zealand…
The 2025 ECOWAS/Abuja International Marathon, will take place on Saturday March 1. The marathon, which will feature elite runners from ECOWAS countries, is part of the activities lined up to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the West African organisation. Chairman of the Main Organizing Committee (MOC), Francis Njoaguani, disclosed that participants in the people’s race will be the biggest beneficiary of the increase in prize money, which has been raised to $71,000. Njoaguani, who is also the director of the ECOWAS Youth and Sports Development Centre in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, said they decided to increase the prize…
Pep Guardiola has put Manchester City’s disappointing 2-2 draw at Brentford down to wasteful finishing after his team surrendered a two-goal lead. Phil Foden scored twice in the second half to put the Enhlish Premier League champions on course for victory, only for late goals from Yoane Wissa and Christian Norgaard to deny them the three points. The draw leaves City in sixth place in the league table as their fight to try and remain in the title race continues. Reacting to the disappointing result, Guardiola felt the responsibility for the dropped points lay with his attackers. “We didn’t manage…
By Korede James Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has said the 2-2 draw against Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge in Tuesday’s English Premier League fixture was not a fair result for his side. A stoppage time free-kick from Reece James helped the Blues salvage a point against the Cherries. Cole Palmer opened the scoring for Chelsea before Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo scored to put Bournemouth 2-1 ahead. The result means Chelsea are winless in their last five league games. “There’s positives to take away from the game, going behind to come back and take a point but there’s negatives not taking…
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has unveiled a new logo and trophy for the Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) 2024. CAF, in a statement on Wednesday, explained that the new look for the tournament brings a fresh identity and emphasises its deep-rooted connections to African football and culture. “It comes with a new TotalEnergies CHAN 2024 trophy that features a sleek, contemporary design, combining gold and silver elements, representing the prestige and growing stature of the tournament,” the continental governing body said. “A significant detail is the 54 distinct lines encircling the trophy, symbolizing the 54 African nations united with…
New Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle was in Ikenne-Remo in Ogun State to meet with players of the B team on Tuesday. The former Mali international and head coach was presented as the Super Eagles boss by the Nigeria Football Federation on Monday in Abuja following his surprise appointment last week. Chelle, along with the Technical Director of the NFF, Austin Eguavoen, the man he replaced, arrived at the Remo Stars Training Institute camp of the Super Eagles B after flying from Abuja on Tuesday morning. During Chelle’s presentation on Monday, NFF President Ibrahim Gusau had clarified that Chelle…
By Korede James Wilfred Ndidi has said he and his Super Eagles teammates are to blame for their poor 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. After four matches in qualifying Group C, the Super Eagles are fifth on three points, four points adrift of leaders Rwanda. The AFCON 2023 runners-up have failed to win any of their four fixtures so far, drawing three and losing one. “We want to win but I feel we put ourselves in this situation because we didn’t do well in the previous games,” Ndidi said on ‘Off The Pitch’, a forum hosted by Kenneth Omeruo…