Author: Nurudeen Obalola
Novak Djokovic announced on Saturday that his retired long-time rival Andy Murray is joining the 24-time Grand Slam-winning player’s coaching team, starting at the Australian Open in January. “I’m thrilled to have one of my biggest rivals on the same side of the net with me, this time as my coach. I look forward to starting the season with Andy and having him by my side in Melbourne, where we’ve shared many exceptional moments throughout our careers,” Djokovic said in a statement. Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion who retired from competitive tennis at the Olympics in August, said:…
Manchester City’s miserable run of form continued on Saturday night with a shock 4-0 English Premier League thrashing by Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. It is the first time in Pep Guardiola’s successful managerial career that he has lost five games in a row across all competitions. James Maddison netted twice in the space of seven first-half minutes, while Pedro Porro struck shortly after the break and Brennan Johnson added a fourth goal deep in added time to end City’s club record run of 52 consecutive home matches unbeaten in all competitions. Manchester City remain second in…
By Nurudeen Obalola Alex Iwobi was on target for Fulham on Saturday but it was all in vain as they were thumped 4-1 at home by Wolverhampton Wanderers in their English Premier League clash. Also on Saturday, Arsenal returned to winning ways as teenager with Nigerian heritage, Ethan Nwaneri, scored his first-ever Premier League goal in the 3-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest, who had Super Eagles stars Taiwo Awoniyi and Ola Aina in their starting line-up. At Craven Cottage, Iwobi opened the scoring with a spectacular strike in the 20th minute, curling home with his weaker left foot from outside…
Super Eagles midfielder Wilfred Ndidi was fortunate not be sent off on Saturday as Leicester City hosted Chelsea in an English Premier League clash. Leicester City lost 2-1 at the King Power Stadium, but it could have been much worse as Ndidi’s dangerous tackle on Cole Palmer was not published with a red card, although replays showed he could have broken the England star’s ankle. The Nigeria international was shown a yellow card in the 22nd minute but he would consider himself lucky to still be on the pitch. Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez scored the goals to secure victory…
Edo Queens finished fourth in the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League after a penalty shootout defeat to Egypt’s FC Masar in the third-place play-off on Friday night in El-Jedida, Morocco. The match ended 0-0 in regulation and went to penalties, which the Egyptians won 4-3 to clinch the bronze medal and prize money of $350,000. Edo Queens, who had also drawn 0-0 with FC Masar in the group phase, will not leave the competition empty-handed though. The Nigerian debutants’ reward for reaching the semi-finals is a tidy $300,000 (about N507 million) for their valiant efforts. The encounter between the two…
Bendel Insurance head coach Monday Odigie has resigned from the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) club. The Benin-based club announced Odigie’s resignation on their official social media accounts on Friday. “Matchday 13: We will be playing against Kwara Utd on Saturday without coach Monday Odigie,” the club said. “He tendered his resignation letter after our 3-2 loss to Rangers on Sunday evening. “We await management’s final decision. Meanwhile, our Matchday 13 is behind closed doors. “Consequently, no fans are allowed into the stadium. This is in adherence to the NPFL’s directives.” Insurance, owned by the Edo State government, have struggled…
New Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim said he is the right man to revive the ailing English giants’ fortunes ahead of his debut against Ipswich on Sunday. Amorim was hired from Sporting Lisbon to replace Erik ten Hag, who was sacked after a dismal start to the season left United languishing in 13th place in the English Premier League. The 39-year-old is regarded as one of the brightest young coaches in Europe after leading Sporting to a pair of Portugese titles during his four years in Lisbon. But United have won just four of their 11 league games this…
The Super Falcons have been drawn to face Tunisia, Algeria and Botswana in Group B of the 13th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) finals scheduled for Morocco next year. The Super Falcons are quite familiar with Algeria’s Green Ladies, whom they defeated 2-0 and 4-1 respectively in two friendly matches in Nigeria last month. Botswana eliminated Gabon in the qualifying series and Tunisia were quarter-finalists at the last edition two years ago, also hosted by Morocco. At the draw conducted on Friday at the Technical Centre of the Mohamed VI Football Complex in Sale, outside Rabat, host nation Morocco…
Nigeria Football Federation President Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau has been elected as the 1st Vice-President of the West African Football Union (WAFU) B zone. The election took place in Niamey, Niger Republic on Friday, on the margin of this year’s CAF African Schools Football Championship (WAFU B qualifying tournament) taking place in that country. Ghana Football Association President Kurt Edwin-Simeon Okraku was elected President of the zone, while Oumarou Sawadogo, President of the Burkinabe Football Federation, was elected as the 2nd Vice-President. The WAFU B zone is made up of seven countries — Nigeria, Togo, Benin Republic, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Niger Republic and…
The UEFA Nations League quarter-final draw was held on Friday, producing some heavyweight fixtures. Two teams who have won everything in football, Italy and Germany, will face each other, while European champions Spain are up against the Netherlands. In the other quarter-finals, 2016 European champions Portugal will battle Denmark, just as 1998 and 2018 World Cup winners France are drawn against the team they best in the global final six years ago, Croatia. Spain, Germany, Portugal and France all won their groups, while Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark and Croatia all finished as runners-up. The quarter-finals take place over two legs…