Author: Nurudeen Obalola
By Korede James Nigeria’s Super Eagles, Black Stars of Ghana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago will battle for the 2025 Unity Cup in London, England in May. The four-nation tournament was confirmed by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) on Wednesday. Dubbed “The Best in the West – the Afro Classico Contest,” the first semi-final will be held on Tuesday, May 27 between Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica. The Super Eagles will face Ghana’s Black Stars the following day, and the third place and final matches will be played on May 31. Rotimi Pedro of AfroSport, the organisers of the event,…
By Nurudeen Obalola The Super Eagles have gained one spot in the latest FIFA world ranking released on Thursday. The Nigerians climbed from 44th to 43rd despite their damaging 1-1 draw at home with Zimbabwe in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying fixture in March. The three-time African champions played two matches during the March FIFA World Cup qualifiers window, beating Rwanda 2-0 in Kigali before the draw in Uyo that further dented their frail hopes of earning a ticket. The Super Eagles however dropped a ranking point, going from the 1482 they had at the last release in December to…
By Korede James A Diogo Jota strike in the second half saw leaders Liverpool overcome Everton 1-0 at Anfield in the English Premier League on Wednesday night. With the tense victory, Liverpool restored their 12-point lead over second-placed Arsenal in the table, with eight rounds of fixtures left in the season. The Reds needed to respond after Arsenal cut their lead to nine points courtesy of their 2-1 win against Fulham on Tuesday at the Emirates Stadium. After a tough first half, Jota eventually broke the deadlock in the 57th minute. The defeat, their first in 10 league matches, leaves…
By Korede James Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen scored the two goals that earned Galatasaray a 2-1 away win against fierce rivals Fenerbahce in the quarter-finals of the Turkish Cup on Wednesday. Fenerbahce’s Nigeria international Bright Osayi-Samuel was an unused substitute on the night. Osimhen opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a powerful shot inside the box and doubled Galatasaray’s lead 17 minutes later from the penalty spot after Mauro Icardi was brought down in the area. Fenerbahce pulled one back through Sebastian Szymański one minute into first-half stoppage time. In added time, Fenerbahce’s Mert Hakan Yandas and…
By Korede James Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo has opened up about the injury to Super Eagles defender Ola Aina in Tuesday night’s English Premier League win against Manchester United. Forest gave their push for a top four finish a huge boost with the 1-0 victory over United at the City Ground. The victory, however, came at a cost following injury to Aina who limped off in the 39th minute and was replaced by Alex Moreno. Aina’s injury came after Callum Hudson-Odoi was ruled out through a personal problem before the game. Chris Wood also missed out with a…
By Korede James Head coach of the Nigerian national boxing team, Tony Konyegwachie, has highlighted certain factors that could have led to the death of former national and West African light heavyweight champion Segun ‘Success’ Olanrewaju in Ghana. Olanrewaju passed away after collapsing during a fight in Ghana on Saturday, with the tragic incident captured on camera and shared in a viral video. The 40-year-old was up against Ghanaian boxer Jon Mbanugu at Fight Night 15 of the Ghana Professional Boxing League at Bukom Boxing Arena when he collapsed without being hit. “He never worked with me, I just saw…
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti told a Spanish court on Wednesday he had believed his tax affairs were legal as he testified in a trial in which he is accused of failing to pay €1 million ($1.08 million) in tax on image rights revenue. “For me, everything was in order,” Ancelotti said. “I never thought about committing fraud.” Taking the stand on the first day of the trial, the Italian said that when joining the Spanish team he had been offered a net salary of €6 million euros and had left it up to the club and his British adviser…
By Korede James Former Chelsea midfielder and manager Roberto Di Matteo has named Super Eagles star Victor Osimhen and Alexander Isak as the two strikers the Blues should be looking to sign this summer. The attacking third is one area the Blues would be looking to strengthen this summer, according to reports. Before injury cut short his season Senegal striker Nicolas Jackson was hardly prolific, going eight games without a goal. Both Osimhen and Isak have been impressive for Galatasaray and Newcastle respectively, the Super Eagles striker having registered 20 goals and four assists in 23 league appearances, while the…
By Korede James Bukayo Saka marked his return from injury with a goal as Arsenal defeated Fulham 2-1 in Tuesday’s English Premier League fixture at the Emirates Stadium. Also on Tuesday night, Super Eagles stars Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi featured for Nottingham Forest in a 1-0 victory over Manchester United, while Wolves defeated West Ham 1-0. With their victory, Arsenal moved to within nine points of leaders Liverpool in the league table, with Fulham remaining in eighth place. Liverpool will be in action on Wednesday night against Everton in the Merseyside derby at Anfield. Super Eagles stars Alex Iwobi…
The semi-automated offside technology that has been in use across Europe for some time will be introduced to the English Premier League this month, the league body announced on Tuesday night. “The Premier League will introduce semi-automated offside technology on Saturday 12 April (Match Round 32),” the league body said in an official statement. “This follows non-live testing in the Premier League and live operation in the FA Cup this season. “Semi-automated offside technology automates key elements of the offside decision-making process to support the video assistant referee (VAR). “It provides more efficient placement of the virtual offside line,…