Author: Nurudeen Obalola

Two players from Edo Queens, Cordelia Odoma and Emem Essien, have been included in the Best XI of the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League group stage. The Nigerian representatives, featuring in the competition for the first time, have advanced to the semi-finals after garnering seven points from three group matches, including a stunning 2-1 win over two-time champions Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday. In the best 11 put together by the Confederation of African Football’s Technical Study Group, AS FAR of host country Morocco have four players, with two players each from Edo Queens and FC Maser. Mamelodi Sundowns, University…

By Nurudeen Obalola Super Eagles and Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman has been included in a five-man shortlist for the CAF Awards Men’s Player of the Year prize, while Stanley Nwabali is still in the race for Goalkeeper of the Year. Lookman is nominated along with Simon Adingra (Cote d’Ivoire/Brighton & Hove Albion), Serhou Guirassy (Guinea/Borussia Dortmund), Achraf Hakimi (Morocco/Paris Saint-Germain), and Ronwen Williams (South Africa/ Mamelodi Sundowns). The Confederation of African Football officially unveiled the top five nominees in each of the men’s categories of the CAF Awards on Monday night. Lookman has had an outstanding 2024 and is the favourite…

By Nurudeen Obalola The Super Eagles were beaten 2-1 by Rwanda in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying clash on Monday in Uyo. It is the first time the East Africans have even beaten the three-time continental champions, although the result did not have any bearing on the qualifying group standings. Nigeria were already guaranteed to finish as group winners before Monday’s kick-off, while Rwanda still finished third and could not secure a ticket to the tournament despite the stunning victory. The Super Eagles felt they were coasting to victory at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium when Samuel Chukwueze struck just…

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been handed a seven-game ban and a £100,000 fine by the English Football Association (FA) for using abusive language and bringing the game into disrepute during an interview on Uruguayan television in June. The ban only applies to English club football and not European competition, meaning he can still compete against Roma and Rangers in the Europa League. He will miss Premier League clashes with Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool, as well as a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester United. Bentancur was initially charged by the FA for saying that all South Korean people “look the same” during the television appearance. He denied the…

The draw for the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations will be conducted on Friday, the Confederation of African Football has announced. The Super Falcons of Nigeria and 11 other women’s national teams across the continent will compete in the tournament in Morocco in 2025. CAF said on Sunday night that the draw ceremony will be held at the Mohammed VI Technical Centre in Sale, Morocco. The draw will start at 8pm local time (same time as Nigeria) and will be broadcast live on major channels across Africa and internationally, as well as on CAF’s digital streaming platform, CAF TV.…

Netflix said on Saturday that 60 million households worldwide had tuned in for the highly anticipated boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, and the event peaked at 65 million streams, according to a statement. The bout between the 27-year-old social media influencer-turned-prize fighter Paul and the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Tyson, which Paul won, was streamed live on Netflix. Nearly 50 million households tuned in for the co-main event between Ireland’s lightweight champion Katie Taylor and Puerto Rico’s featherweight champion Amanda Serrano, according to Netflix. “The bout is likely to be the most watched professional women’s sporting event in US history,”…

Nigeria Football Federation President, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, has commended the fighting spirit of Nigerian champions Edo Queens in defeating defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns 2-1 on Saturday night to reach the semi-finals of the CAF Women’s Champions League in Morocco. Edo Queens, who won the Nigerian title for only the first time last season, went ahead to win the WAFU B Women’s Champions League competition (a qualifying tournament for the continental championship) in Cote d’Ivoire, and have now made it to the last four of the lucrative continental competition. “The NFF and the Nigerian football family are very happy at the…

By Ikeddy Isiguzo HAVE you heard the latest claims that a flawed National Sports Commission is better than a Ministry of Sports? There are no limits to ends we travel to justify illegalities, absurdities, and a tending national culture of excellence in doing things badly. The national propensity to do things illegally is readily available to those who dare match their fancy with action. Welcome to the National Sports Commission (NSC) which has been set up without a law. A lawless organisation has been granted access to federal funds approved for the Federal Ministry of Sports. Everyone in the National Assembly knows…

By Nurudeen Obalola Nigeria’s Edo Queens have advanced to the semi-finals of the CAF Women’s Champions League following a dramatic 2-1 victory over holders Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday in Casablanca, Morocco. The Nigeria Women’s Football League champions were on their way out of the competition after going 1-0 in the first half, but two goals in stoppage time turned it around, with Sundowns eliminated instead. The South African side, who have won the competition twice in three years, needed victory to advance to the last four stage, and got in front in the 24th minute through Melinda Kgadiete. Edo Queens…

By Nurudeen Obalola Ola Aina has been ruled out of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between the Super Eagles and Rwanda on Monday in Uyo. The Nottingham Forest full-back lasted 82 minutes on Thursday against Benin Republic in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire as Nigeria sealed top spot in qualifying Group D with a 1-1 draw. There were concerns Aina might have picked up a knock during the clash and he has now returned to England at the request of his English Premier League club. According to Super Eagles media, Forest asked for Aina’s early release, pleading that he needed to…