Author: Nurudeen Obalola
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has released the 2022-2023 audited Financial Report and 2024-2025 budget at the 46th CAF Ordinary Assembly which held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Tuesday. According to the continental football body, it achieved a significant financial turnaround in the 2022-2023 fiscal year with a remarkable reduction in losses from $28.9 million to $9.2 million, which is 68 percent. A year before, CAF said its deficit was at $45 million. The body attributed the continued positive development primarily to the strategic reforms implemented by its management in 2021. It said from the budgeted revenues in 2024-2025,…
Jelena Djokovic is confident that her husband Novak “will not stop” anytime soon after his Golden Slam victory this summer. Despite being defeated by Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon finals, the 37-year-old Serbian retaliated at the Paris Olympics, securing a gold medal for his country by overcoming the young Spaniard. Although Djokovic didn’t clinch any of the four major titles this year, his triumphant Olympic performance will undoubtedly be seen as a significant achievement in an already illustrious career. Speculation has been rife among tennis enthusiasts about when Djokovic might walk away from the game, particularly after Rafael Nadal’s recent…
LeBron James and his son Bronny became the first father-son duo to play together in a regular season NBA game in the early hours of Wednesday as the Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves in their season opener. The sold-out crowd let out a roar when 20-year-old Bronny checked into the game with four minutes to play in the first half to join LeBron with the Lakers leading 51-35. LeBron scored 16 points in 35 minutes as the Los Angeles Lakers earned a 110-103 victory over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves, while Bronny<span;> was credited with a rebound while missing…
The Flamingos of Nigeria defeated hosts Dominican Republic 1-0 in the early of Wednesday to finish as Group A winners at the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. Shakirat Moshood’s 89th minute strike from 24 yards earned Nigeria all three points in the encounter as they set up a quarter-final clash with the United States of America, scheduled for Saturday. Playing for the first time in Santo Domingo, the Flamingos found the going tough under driving rain against a determined host nation, and could not make their dominance count until Moshood, now with four goals, unleashed a rocket from outside the…
Several players of the Kano Pillars U-19 team were injured in a road accident on Tuesday, the club revealed. The club’s media unit confirmed the accident in a post on X, writing: “It is with deep sadness that we announce that the Kano Pillars FC U-19 team bus was involved in a road accident earlier today while en route to the New Jos Stadium for their Matchday 5 fixture in the inaugural U-19 Youth League against Plateau United U-19.” No lives were lost in the crash, the club confirmed. “Several players and the driver sustained injuries in the unfortunate incident…
By Kayode John Super Eagles midfielder Raphael Onyedika was sent off in Club Brugge’s 3-1 UEFA Champions League defeat to AC Milan at the San Siro on Tuesday night, in the same match Samuel Chukwueze shone. Onyedika was issued a straight red card in the 40th minute after a pitchside Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review showed that he clearly caught Tijjani Reijnders on the ankle in a reckless challenge. The 23-year-old Nigeria international was initially shown a yellow card but the referee later upgraded the booking to a red card, making it his second dismissal of the season. Six minutes…
By Kayode John The International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) has nominated Super Eagles stars Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman for the best footballer award in the world in 2024. Osimhen and Lookman will battle Erling Haaland, Vinicius Junior, Harry Kane, Rodri and 24 others for the award. The Nigerian duo are the only two Africans on the list of 30 players released on Tuesday. Lookman has had an incredible year for both club and country. He scored 17 goals for Atalanta last season, including a hat-trick in the 3-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the final of…
By Kayode John Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Dr Patrice Motsepe has given an assurance that the body is looking thoroughly into the treatment of the Super Eagles team in Libya last week and will take action soon. The Nigerian contigent had flown to the North African country for the return leg of the matchday 3 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, but were subjected to inhumane treatment by the Libyan authorities over claims that their players were also mistreated in Nigeria in the first leg days earlier. The plane conveying the Nigerian contingent was first diverted from Benghazi, venue…
By Kayode John Victor Osimhen’s overhead kick goal for Galatasaray against Antalyaspor in the Turkish Super Lig on Saturday has been ranked as one of two overhead kick goals in world football history to exceed 2.30 metres in height. According to Turkish newspaper, NTV, Osimhen’s stunning goal at the Corendon Airlines Park Antalya Stadı over the weekend in Galatasaray’s 3-0 win came from a height of 2.32 metres to rank second to Cristiano Ronaldo’s overhead kick effort from a height of 2.38 metres for Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final clash against Juventus in 2018. The Super Eagles…
By Kayode John Ikorodu City recorded their second win in three Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) matches and inflicted the first defeat on Lobi Stars under Daniel Amokachi in their matchday 8 fixture on Monday with a 4-2 victory. Going into the clash, Amokachi was searching for his first win since his appointment, having recorded back-to-back draws. Salau Yusuf put the hosts into the lead after just two minutes at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena in Lagos. Ikorodu City doubled their lead in the 19th minute through Emmanuel Solomon, but the visitors fought back in the first half with two goals…