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Emenike wants to start firing goals for West Ham
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Emenike

Nigeria striker Emmanuel Emenike has told AfricanFootball.com he hopes to soon get off the mark for English Premier League side West Ham, just as he insists he is not under pressure at his new club.


The 28-year-old Emenike is on a season-long loan deal from Turkish giants Fenerbache with an option for West Ham to sign him on a permanent basis.


He has made two appearances in the league for ‘The Hammers’, totaling 37 minutes of action, but he has yet to score in England.


"In a team like West Ham, you need instant success to justify lots of things and I am working hard to make that happens to make everyone happy," he told AfricanFootball.com


"I am not under pressure at West Ham to get goals. I am focused on the task, which is to score goals and help my team win games, and the goals will come.”


He said he welcomes criticisms as that could only make him stronger and better.


"Every criticism has a positive dimension for me because I always strive hard to be myself, work harder to contribute to the team’s success and get the goals,” he offered.


“I am just focused on getting better and getting the goals."

By Olusola Alao

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Top reactions to rare Mikel goal
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Mikel Obi

Nigerian International and Chelsea midfielder, Mikel Obi, scored a rare goal in his club’s Champion’s League tie with PSG on Tuesday.


The goal, which cancelled out Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s opener for the French club, gave Chelsea a fighting chance heading into the second leg of the tie in London.


Although PSG won the match 2-1, the goal, one of six scored by the midfielder in 10 seasons at Chelsea, set Twitter on fire.


Some considered it atonement for his error, which resulted in PSG’s opener, for others it meant the end is near.
Here are some of the top reactions:


When Mikel scored last night pic.twitter.com/vMBDYcAqH1

— ️ (@HazardEdition) February 17, 2016


WATCH: Reaction to Mikel’s goal on Soccer Special. PSG v Chelsea is back underway. Blog: https:///CNvwWSsSGN https:///LURZTdMW3I — Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 16, 2016


Ladies and Gentlemen…With the last kick of the half, our own Mikel Obi scored from Willian’s cross. #SoccerChatPH pic.twitter.com/fBmvxklZwh


— Touchph.com (@TouchPH) February 16, 2016


Best upgrade ? Mikel: 40 -> 100 in 5 minutes. Congrats Obi ! pic.twitter.com/mNbVwSgcKT — IamFrench (@IamFrench_) February 16, 2016


When Mikel scores against your team.. pic.twitter.com/7aXu8zFiT1


— Football Funnys (@FootballFunnys) February 16, 2016


BREAKING: Jon Obi Mikel scores a goal for Chelsea! pic.twitter.com/x089zjdFG8 — BBC Sporf (@BBCSporf) February 16, 2016


“Oga Mikel scored today , should i declare tomorrow public holiday for Nigerians? ” pic.twitter.com/TkuKIKrlBR


— Mesut Sanchez 11/17 (@SemilooreAkoni) February 16, 2016

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Dalung Cautions NFF Against Incessant Sacking Of Coaches
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The sports minister addressed a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday where he spoke about the problems inherent in Nigerian football and administration

The Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Solomon Dalung, has threatened to send packing the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation over the arbitrary sacking of national team coaches for failing to win championships.

At a press conference in his office in Abuja on Tuesday, Dalung explained why he intervened to save the job of Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh and settled the rift over the choice of Kaduna for next month’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Egypt.

Aside his quest to end nepotism in future elections into various sports federations, he argued the authenticity of Oliseh’s rant in the YouTube Video, sadly opining that the video was manipulated when the coach has publicly apologised.

“The decision to fix matches is the direct responsibility of the NFF not on the rectangular size of my table,” Dalung told media.

“I can tell you that they have already had problems with the Kaduna venue because the coach wants Port Harcourt, while the federation was insisting on Kaduna.

“When I waded into it appealing to them, the coach told me that the team is playing against many negative things but when I asked the leadership of the federation, they started the whole story about the crisis with the coach.

“But I told them they were drifting too far into the issue of sacking the coach since I was not interested in listening to their stories.

“We should be able to build a country where we should celebrate somebody that did well and sympathize with him if he fails, encouraging him to do better. I told the federation that overconfidence ruined the team.

“I told the federation that they don’t need to sack the coach because he lost a game. They brought the issue of YouTube complaining that the man embarrassed Nigerians and must apologise.

“But I told them that they should not judge him based on the YouTube because technology is now so sophisticated that a man can be manipulated having an affair with a woman when it is not true.

“Yes, I agree that I am a novice as they claimed but I looked at that video and the way it was fluctuating convinced that there was an act of manipulation. This is my own judgment and I am free to hold this opinion.

“I told them if they have not heard from Oliseh directly concerning those things on YouTube, they have to hold on until I speak to Oliseh. When I spoke to him, he did not indicate any bitterness throughout the 16 minutes the discussion lasted. He rather pointed at issues we have to address.

“I know very well the circumstances with which he trained the players and even NFF know. I told the federation that based on the discussion, we have to look at how we can make progress out of it instead of sacking Oliseh now and bringing another person we will sack again when he loses against Egypt.

“After sacking another, we will then look at how we can sack the NFF because if we sack the coaches, we will face the people that employed them since they have also failed too. It is going to be a sack game which is what we should avoid. I told them it is natural to discipline coaches but not to sack them.”

“If I will still be here when the elections into the board of the federations will be done, I am assuring Nigerians that nobody will pick his in-law or farmers’ association chairman as a member of a board.

“Those who are contesting must show their commitment, they must show how they will guide their federation to success.

“Most of all the problems we are having in the federations are linked to this. We have federations that are existing and cannot do anything except the ministry gives them money.

“The ministry even funds the ticket for a president [of a federation] to come for meetings. At the end of the day, you will discover that the federations have been reduced to a battle ground; nothing but fighting over relevance and resources.

“A man who was a leader of a farming group in the village will now be appointed a board member in a football federation.

“Immediately he arrives on the board, he considers himself as having been appointed into a big political office where he must be paid allowances and he must be given money, he has nothing to contribute but much is going to be spent on him.

“This is the cancer, this is the zika virus that is eating into all the federations and is responsible for all these problems. We must build a sport architecture that only those who have interest can come on as board members,” he concluded.

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Utaka guns for first trophy in Japan
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Peter Utaka is setting new targets in Japan

Ex-Nigeria international Peter Utaka has told AfricanFootball.com he hopes to win his first trophy in Japan when he leads new club Sanfrecce Hiroshima against Gamba Osaka in the Japanese Super Cup in Yokohama on Friday.


The Shimizu S-Pulse loanee said the game will be tough and that having played against Gamba Osaka previously, he knows what the team are capable of.


"The Super Cup game against Gamba Osaka is not going to be an easy one, I know the qualities of the team having played against them while I was in Pulse. But it will be a pleasure to start on a winning note here at Sanfrecce Hiroshima,” Utaka told AfricanFootball.com


“I joined the club because they have lots of potentials to win trophies and I am hoping to be part of history by winning this."


Utaka further said of his latest move: "Hiroshima will make me better, I want to make the fans and everybody associated with club happy with goals.


“When you move to a club like this, big things are expected, of course it’s a big challenge, but I am hoping to make it better days."


The strier has played in Belgium, Denmark and China.


Sanfrecce Hiroshima are the J1 League champions and have won the Japanese Super Cup thrice, in 2008, 2013 and 2014, while Gamba Osaka have won it twice, in 2007 and 2015.

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Igboun Scores In UFA’s Friendly Win As Shehu, Esiti Clash
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By James Agberebi:

Super Eagles forward Sylvester Igboun was on target for UFA in their 4-1 win against Luch Energiya in a club friendly game on Friday.


Igboun scored in the 25th minute to put UFA 1-0 ahead.


Other scorers for UFA are Haris Handzic, who scored two goals, and Dmitri Stotskiy.


In the Portuguese league also on Friday, Super Eagles defender Abdullahi Shehu featured for Uniao da Madeira who were held 1-1 by visiting Estoril.


Shehu saw 90 minute of action for Uniao da Madeira.


Also on parade in the match was Anderson Esiti, who played 90 minutes for Estoril but was booked in the 42nd minute.