Sports

Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has handed first senior invitations to 13 players as he continues to expand his options ahead of Nigeria’s upcoming international fixtures. The new invitees, largely invited from clubs across Europe and the Middle East, include goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards. Several of the players have been named in Nigeria’s squad for the international friendly against Russia, while others will feature in the team for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau. DownloadInteractive Maps See details of the players below.. Samuel James – James is a 20-year-old goalkeeper who currently plays for Finnish club SJK. Chibuzo Nwoko – The 20-year-old  central midfielder plays for Fulham after sp...

Madagascar’s national football team have arrived in Uyo ahead of their opening 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying clash against Nigeria’s Super Eagles. GeographicReference The 28-man delegation landed at Victor Attah International Airport at about 2:05 p.m. on Monday, completed immigration formalities, and proceeded to their hotel. More members of the Malagasy delegation are expected to join the squad today, September 22. Madagascar will face Nigeria in their Matchday 1 fixture at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium on Friday, September 25. Four days later, Corentin Martins’ side will return to action when they welcome Tanzania’s Taifa Stars in their Matchday 2 fixture.  https://youtu.be/so7RSBVeAro?si=8JEg95Y_X4KUKjEv

Super Eagles Head Coach, Eric Chelle,  has replaced injured Victor Osimhen with Coventry City striker Taiwo Awoniyi ahead of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau this Friday and Tuesday next week. Awoniyi’s inclusion was announced via the Super Eagles’ official social media accounts on Sunday after Osimhen’s withdrawal was confirmed by the team doctors. “Coventry City striker Taiwo Awoniyi replaces Victor Osimhen in Nigeria’s squad for the AFCON 2027 qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau. Welcome back, Taiwo,” the announcement read on X. DownloadInteractive Maps Awoniyi will return to the Super Eagles for the first time in two years. The last time Awoniyi played for Nigeria was during the 2025 AFCON qualifiers against Libya in Uyo, where...

Inter Miami captain, Lionel Messi, on Sunday surpassed one of Al-Nassr captain, Cristiano Ronaldo’s records after scoring for his team against San Diego Messi scored a goal as Inter Miami played 2-2 with San Diego in a Major League Soccer encounter. The Argentine netted a direct free kick in the 24th minute of the match, marking his 75th direct free-kick goal in his career. Messi’s goal means the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has now scored 930 goals in his career, making him the fastest and youngest player in the history of the sport to reach the 930-goal milestone. The record was previously held by Ronaldo, who achieved the feat at 40 years and 58 days old in 1272 matches. However, Messi did so in 1176 matches at 39 years and 88 days old. https://youtu....

Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen has been ruled out of Nigeria’s upcoming 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau due to injury. Osimhen sustained a muscle strain during Galatasaray’s 3-2 away victory over Istanbul Başakşehir on September 4 and has not featured for the Turkish club since then. Despite the injury, the 27-year-old was initially included in Nigeria’s squad for the two qualifiers by head coach Éric Chelle, who had hoped the striker would recover in time to feature. However, Osimhen’s recovery has progressed more slowly than expected, prompting the decision to withdraw him from the matches. The former Napoli striker will therefore miss Nigeria’s opening qualifier against Madagascar at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium...

Manchester United Muslim Supporters Club (MUMSC) has called for a change in the club’s ownership structure, saying it has lost confidence in the current leadership. The supporters’ group made the call after co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe spoke about immigration, taxes and welfare during a BBC interview, saying Britain was “on the slide”. Ratcliffe, the founder of petrochemical company Ineos, attributed what he described as the country’s decline to a combination of high taxes and high immigration. As reported by BBC Sport on Saturday, MUMSC said Ratcliffe’s latest comments were “deeply disappointing and completely unacceptable”, noting that it had previously condemned remarks he made in February about immigration Ratcliffe had described Britain as having been “colonised by immigrant...

Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has cited “technical errors” his team made as the reason they lost 3-0 to Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday. The champions’ winning start to the season ended at the Amex. Pascal Gross and Charalampos Kostoulas ensured the Seagulls went in at the break with a two-goal advantage, before Chema Andres headed in the third after the break. “I am really disappointed. In the first 20 or 30 minutes the number of technical errors put us constantly under pressure. It was all related to the start,” Arteta told MOTD. “It’s a big lesson to learn. What the team has done since the World Cup has been remarkable. But today there is a lot to learn. “Credit to Brighton for what they have done. I think we were very far from our level. The int...

Nigerian hurdler, Tobi Amusan earned $35,000 after finishing second in the women’s 100m hurdles at the Athlos meeting in London on Friday, September 18 Amusan clocked 12.51 seconds with a 1.2m/s tailwind, finishing 0.01 seconds behind American Alaysha Johnson, who won in 12.50 seconds. The race marked Johnson’s 40th of the season and ended Amusan’s campaign. The meeting was held at StoneX Stadium in Barnet, where Amusan competed against a strong field after her participation was confirmed in August. Bahamas Commonwealth Games champion and world indoor record holder Devynne Charlton finished third in 12.63 seconds, while Jamaica’s former world champion Danielle Williams also ran 12.63 seconds to finish fourth. Jamaica’s Megan Simmonds placed fifth in 12.66 seconds, while...

Louisiana State University (LSU) American football star, Princewill Umanmielen has been hit with a law suit by his former school, University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) on allegations of failing to meet clauses in his contract with their team, Sports247 reports. Ole Miss are seeking compensation fromUmanmielen, who was previouly a top player with University of Nebraska’s Cornhuskers football team in USA’s National Collegiate Atheltics Assocaition (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Big Ten Conference. The LSU’s sack leader was served legal papers related to a July lawsuit filed by the University of Mississippi which alleges that The Rebels’ former the former edge rusher owes Ole Miss $550,000 because of his decision to transfer to Louisiana State’s Tigers. Papers filed at La...

Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle has revealed two different squads for Nigeria’s upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixtures and an international friendly against Russia. NigerianBusiness Directory The Nigeria Football Federation released the selections on Thursday, September 17, with Nigeria scheduled to play Madagascar on September 25 and Guinea-Bissau four days later on September 29. The team will then take on Russia in an international friendly on October 6. For the two AFCON qualifiers, Chelle named Arthur Okonkwo, Maduka Okoye and Stanley Nwabali as the goalkeeping options. The defensive line includes Bruno Onyemaechi, Calvin Bassey, Olaoluwa Aina and Bright Osayi-Samuel, while Alex Iwobi, Wilfred Ndidi, Frank Onyeka and Raphael Onyedika were selected in midfield. ...