Sports

Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has shed light on the physical and tactical difficulties faced by Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, and Raphael Onyedika during Nigeria’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign in Morocco. Chelle revealed that Osimhen played through the tournament while managing a hamstring injury that required close supervision by the team’s medical staff. Despite the setback, the Galatasaray striker was one of Nigeria’s standout performers, scoring four goals and registering two assists in six matches, a contribution that earned him a place in the CAF Team of the Tournament. The coach noted that Osimhen completed the full 90 minutes in only two matches—against Tunisia and Algeria—explaining that fixture congestion and limited recovery time took a toll on the ...

Joan Laporta has officially stepped down as president of FC Barcelona in accordance with Article 42.f of the club’s statutes, a procedural requirement that enables him to contest the upcoming board elections scheduled for March 15. The resignation is not the result of any urgent sporting or financial crisis. Rather, it is a strategic move that allows Laporta to seek another term, nearly three years after he returned to office in March 2021. Laporta is expected to face strong competition from declared pre-candidates including Víctor Font, Xavi Vilajoana, and Marc Ciria, setting the stage for a closely contested leadership race that will shape the club’s future direction. The shake-up goes beyond the presidency. Eight members of Laporta’s board have also resigned in order to partici...

Morocco’s head coach, Walid Regragui, has handed in his resignation to the country’s football association. This comes after the World Cup semi-finalists were defeated in a dramatic AFCON final against Senegal. According to Morocco World News, Regragui is said to be "exhausted" after a demanding tournament, and with World Cup 2026 starting in a few months, work will not stop. According to local media, the Moroccan Football Federation has not accepted his resignation, and are trying to convince him to stay longer. If he ends up leaving, he would likely join the Saudi Pro League. Regragui, born in France, who played for teams like Toulouse, AC Ajaccio, Grenoble, and Racing Santander, enjoyed a much more successful managerial career, including winning the CAF Champions League with the...

Barcelona have decided to sign Marcus Rashford permanently from Manchester United. The England attacker has performed really well on loan at Barcelona, and the good performance has made the club decide to pay Manchester United to buy him permanently. It is also thought that the big Catalan team wants to sign Tottenham captain, Cristian Romero. Luis Miguelsanz from Sport in Spain says Barcelona have made a “unanimous” decision to pay the money required to keep Marcus Rashford on a permanent contract. Miguelsanz wrote, “Barca will use the €30 million option to buy the player permanently in a deal that won’t be discussed, because Manchester United won’t reduce their asking price by even one euro. “The Catalan club thinks this price is fair and not too high, considering the play...

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan has issued a public apology after using a racial slur during a livestream event on Thursday, February 5. The incident occurred while the first-year NFL player was participating in "The Streamer Bowl," a charity esports tournament, and playing the video game Madden. McMillan posted his apology on Instagram, writing, "I sincerely apologize for speaking thoughtlessly and will do better." In a separate statement, he added, "There's no excuse for what I said." The offensive language was uttered in a moment of excitement after McMillan intercepted a pass during the stream, which he was co-hosting with content creators YonnaJay and Tamir. The clip rapidly circulated on social media, garnering millions of views and widespread criticism. ...

Eighteen Senegalese football fans detained in Morocco on allegations of hooliganism during last month's Africa Cup of Nations final have begun a hunger strike, their lawyer announced on Friday, February 6. The group is protesting their continued detention without formal charges since their arrest on January 18. The arrests occurred after a tense AFCON final in Rabat, where Senegal defeated Morocco. The match was marred by incidents near its conclusion, including an attempt by some Senegalese supporters to storm the pitch and a nearly 20-minute stoppage by Senegal's players protesting a late penalty awarded to Morocco. Objects, including a chair, were also thrown onto the field. According to their lawyer, Patrick Kabou, the detained fans have stated they are being denied their "ri...

Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal has revealed that winning the Ballon d’Or is no longer something he thinks about, saying his priorities have shifted to collective success with club and country. The Spanish international finished second in the 2025 Ballon d’Or voting behind Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembélé, despite enjoying a trophy-laden season with Barcelona, where he won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa de España. Speaking to Mundo Deportivo, Yamal said individual awards are unpredictable and not entirely within a player’s control, stressing that his attention is now firmly on helping Barcelona and Spain win major honours. “I don’t think about it. It’s an award that, if you focus on it too much, you won’t get any answers,” he said. “It depends on what you w...

Barcelona will face Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals of the 2025–2026 Copa del Rey, setting up a heavyweight showdown between two of Spain’s traditional giants. Hansi Flick’s men secured their place in the last four with a gritty 2–1 victory over Albacete on Tuesday, as Lamine Yamal and Ronald Araújo found the net. Atletico Madrid followed on Thursday with an emphatic 5–0 thrashing of Real Betis to seal their own semi-final spot. The second semi-final is equally enticing, with Real Sociedad set to take on Athletic Club in a fiercely contested all-Basque derby. Copa del Rey Semi-Final Fixtures Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona Real Sociedad vs Athletic Club Both ties will be contested over two legs. The first legs will take place between February 10 and 12, with Atletico ho...

Leicester City have been hit with a six-point deduction by the English Football League (EFL) for breaching profit and sustainability regulations, dealing another blow to their difficult Championship campaign. The penalty takes immediate effect, pushing the Foxes down from 17th to 20th place on the table. They now sit just outside the relegation zone on goal difference, increasing the pressure as the season progresses. The punishment stems from financial charges initially brought by the Premier League in May, relating to breaches over a three-year period up to the 2023–24 season. However, following Leicester’s relegation from the Premier League last season, jurisdiction over the case shifted to the EFL, which assessed the matter under its own financial rules. Leicester City have vo...

Super Falcons goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie has warned that Nigeria’s Group C campaign at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) will be fiercely contested, describing Zambia as a particularly tough opponent as the defending champions pursue another continental crown. Speaking during an interview on Super Falcons Show, the Paris FC goalkeeper acknowledged Zambia’s growing strength and believes the West Africans should expect a more challenging encounter than their last meeting. According to Nnadozie, facing Zambia at the 2026 WAFCON will be anything but easy, noting that although Nigeria emerged victorious in their previous clash, it was a hard-fought battle. She added that the Zambian team would be eager to respond and prove their quality, describing them as a strong footbal...