France Football‘ magazine has released a ranking of the highest-paid footballers in the world for the 2018-19 season, considering their pay after tax, publicity and other add-on premiums.

Unsurprisingly, Barcelona‘s talisman Lionel Messi tops the player’s list of the best-paid, with Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone being the highest paid coach.

20:Sergio Ramos

19: Paul Pogba

18: Hulk

17: De Bruyne

16: Aguero

15: Oscar




READ THE FULL LIST ON


https://cheapgoals.com/top-20-highest-paid-footballers-managers-france-football/

The leader of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State Pope Francis confesses to taking “Joy” from the performances of FC Barcelona forward but believes high applause is wrongly bestowed but is eager to point out that the Barcelona talisman “is not God”.

Many believe the mercurial South American to be a deity, with his achievement increasing present expectations of individual greatness.



He is loved and worshipped as a hero by millions around the globe and has seen his record-breaking on-field performances lead to him being showered with applause and real distinctions – both with his team and individually.

“You can’t say it and I don’t believe it. I think people say ‘he is God’ just as they say ‘I adore you’. You have to adore only God.

“It’s expressions that people use. This is a god with the ball on the pitch. It’s a popular way that people have of expressing themselves.

“Of course, it is a joy [to watch Messi play]. But he is not God.”


READ MORE ON

https://cheapgoals.com/you-can-admire-him-but-messi-is-not-god-its-a-sacrilege-pope-francis/

If any team is truly keen on securing the service of either Kylian Mbappe or Neymar from PSG this summer, they will need to pull the purse-string. A known fact already, but at this point, it seems to be considerably more obvious.

The club chairman Al-Khelaifi breathed an air of relief yesterday as TAS announced that PSG had done nothing amiss with regard to Financial FairPlay (FFP).



UEFA settled on the decision to revive the case as it couldn’t discover the signings of Neymar and Mbappe in PSG’s accounts for the 2017 season. However, only a year after the beginning of the investigation and PSG have been cleared of any bad behavior.


READ MORE ON

https://cheapgoals.com/signing-neymar-mbappe-mission-impossible/

internetpo:


Great post. Thanks.

Pls help What is the abridged format for and why? Has the NPFL revived their TV deal with supersports?

SORRY FOR THE LATE REPLY

The league had been on break before the start of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Mundial in Russia and efforts to resume back hit brick walls,so with only 24 games played, and 14 undecided, Lobi Stars who were top of the log with 43 points were declared the winner by LMC.

The rusty decision was to enable the LMC meet the October 15 deadline given by the Confederation of African Football CAF, for the submission of representatives for its 2019 club competitions. So it was considered certainly impossible to play the remaining 14 matches of the NPFL.

Four clubs promoted from the Nigeria National League now form a 24-team 2018/19 season which was abridged into two groups of 12 each,as no team was relegated from the previous NPFL season.

On the Supersport deal there is no cogent development regarding that. its a no on that.

Real Madrid have secured the signing of FC Porto defender Eder Militao, who will progress toward becoming Zinedine Zidane‘s first recruit in his second spell at Madrid.



An official press release on the Real Madrid site confirmed the Brazilian will join on a six-year deal this summer, with the fee, with a buy-out clause in the player’s Porto contract, reported to be around €50m (£42.7m).

“Real Madrid and Porto have agreed on the transfer of the player Éder Militão, who will be linked to the club during the next six seasons, until June 30, 2025.”


READ MORE ON

https://cheapgoals.com/official-real-madrid-secure-the-signing-of-eder-militao-from-fc-porto/

kindnesskyn:
OP be careful of how u murder pples names mbok

The name is "IKOUWEM" NOT "Ikowuem. Abi u no see am well for d jersey?

Thanks will do the correction

Jarus:
Are you sure an under-20 can play Nigerian league?

OF COURSE

Football is a game of numbers, all across the world, cognizance is given to statistics and not only statistics but indeed numbers in terms of players’ age.

In Europe, Brazilian Vinicius Junior has just been called up to the Brazil national team at the tender age of 18, Poland‘s Krystof Piatek at a tender age is in a form even long experienced players would dream of.

Kylian Mbappe, at the age of 20 has broken records in the Ligue 1 and Champions League with AS Monaco and PSG.


In Nigeria, young talents have been exported to European leagues since times past and the talents still abound in the Nigeria Professional Football League.

So, with that knowledge in mind, we’ve decided to profile Top 5 U-20 stars in the NPFL we expect to become recognized globally, as bright young prospects in the NPFL 2018/2019 abridged season

Olakunle Olusegun



Age: 17

Club: ABS FC

The Ilorin side have a rare gem in their hands, Segun was the captain of the ABS u15 team that won the maiden NPFL/La Liga u15 championship two years ago.

He is now a major part of the Nigerian u17 team as they won the Wafu u17 championship last year thus qualifying for the CAF U17 nations cup later this year in Tanzania.

Jatto Benjamin



Age: 18

Club: Wikki Tourist

A lad who caught the eye of Wikki tourist coach Aliyu Zubairu during the preseason games is now part of the Bauchi based side.

Although, it must be said that he is yet to light up the league as expected but he definitely has the potential to be a big star in the coming seasons.

Ayo Adebuju



Age: 14 years

Club: Sunshine Stars

Not much is known about the player and not many have big expectations from him but for Kabir Dogo, manager of the Akure Gunners to have handed the fourteen-year-old his debut in the match against Katsina United in one of the Matchday 8 encounters underlines his hidden talents.

The youngster is arguably one of the youngest players if not the youngest to have played in the NPFL. However, it will take a lot of hard work and tangible exploits in the league before he can be taken seriously.

Samuel Nnoshiri



Age: 17 years

Club: Heartland FC

The teenage sensation who burst Into the NPFL scene in February with a goal against Nasarawa United on Matchday 3 and an assist got listed for the league bloggers award for the month.

He was acquired from ASJ Academy after a friendly game between the academy and Heartland convinced coach of the Owerri based side, Ransom Madu of his abilities albeit amidst criticism from fans of the Naze Millionaires.

However, after impressive showings by the youngster in NPFL matches, he has become the toast of heartland fans and has been penned down for the u20 side, the flying eagles.

Ikowuem Utin



Age: 19

Club: Enyimba

Ikowuem is already a household name for ardent followers of the Nigeria Professional Football League.

The young star, a wing-back for the People’s Elephant have been a mainstay in the Enyimba team, getting heavily involved as the team made an impressive run to the semi-finals of the CAF Confederations Cup in 2017/2018 season.

His performances earned him a place in the U20 team captaining the side to a fourth-place finish at the 2019 CAF U20 championship.

With his defensive colleague, Valentine Ozonwarfor who was who was also at the CAF U20 championship Making the recent National team list for the games against Seychelles and Egypt, it’s just a matter of time before Utin gets his own call up too.

Valentine Ozonwarfor



Age:19

Club: Enyimba

Another defender on the books of Enyimba FC already making his mark after making the team of the tournament at the CAF U20 championship in Niger alongside teammate Ikowuem Utin.

His exploits didn’t go unnoticed as the coach of the Super Eagles, Gernot Rohr has handed him his maiden call up to the national team. With another appearance at the world scene for the FIFA U20 World cup looming, the youngster may just be getting started.


Source: https://i0.wp.com/cheapgoals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/enyimba-team.jpeg?resize=768%2C550&ssl=1

The mother of Bordeaux and Nigeria winger Samuel Kalu has been kidnapped by unknown gunmen and demand a whopping 15 Million ransom before her release, Police in the south-west on Nigeria investigated Monday.

As indicated by reports from Aba, Mrs. Kalu was driving with some of her kids along the Okpulu Umuobo zone of the city a week ago when the unidentified kidnappers hindered her vehicle, ordered the kids out of the vehicle and kidnapped Samuel Kalu's mother.

"The incident happened on the 27th of February," Abia State police communications officer Godfrey Ogbona told AFP.



"No arrest has been made so far on the incident, but an investigation into the matter is moving on towards ensuring that she is rescued unhurt and the perpetrators are brought to book," he said.

The 21-year-old footballer Kalu, says he has gotten a payoff request of 15 million Naira (€36 600).

The kidnappers asked for a ransom of N3 million the first time which was given to them and (they) assured us that they will release her.

"We waited the whole night we did not see her. The next morning they called again (saying) that they want more money, that the money was (being) given to another person. Now they are asking for the ransom of N15 million."

The police are aware. The Commissioner of Police in Abia State knows about it too,” Kalu added in a telephone interview from France



READ MORE ON :https://cheapgoals.com/unknown-gunmen-kidnap-samuel-kalus-mother-demand-15-million-ransom/

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Wycombe Wanderers forward Adebayo Akinfenwa ‘The Beast‘ has received an exceptionally unique gift from EA Sports this week.

To celebrate reaching one million followers on Instagram, ‘The Beast’ was given the first ever 100-evaluated card on FIFA and the stats are incredible.



The most noteworthy stats or generally speaking any player can have on a FIFA game is topped at 99 and FIFA 19 has four players who have achieved that number on Ultimate Team: Pele, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Luka Modric.

For the first time in the 26-year history of FIFA’s game franchise, EA Sports has granted a player with a 100-appraised card. Furthermore, that extraordinary FUT card has been rewarded to a League Two player – Adebayo Akinfenwa otherwise known as The Beast.

However, the forward will reclaim that crown as his new card has each stats at the highest possible score of 100 – simply the slight update from his ordinary card which is only 66-rated with 83 physical and 64 shooting. The Beast himself conceded that a portion of the stats on his new card are liberal, would you imagine playing against an Akinfenwa card with 100 dash speed and readiness?

Source: https://cheapgoals.com/fifa-19-adebayo-akinfenwa-becomes-first-player-to-receive-100-rated-fifa-card/

Over 42 years of the Nigerian professional football league existence, the league has gone through a lot of phases including name changes as well as history defining moments.

In 2013 the NFF issued the license to organize and regulate the top tier league to them in 2012 for the purpose of organizing and promoting the league to meet global technical and commercial standards, the league nevertheless, has regressed badly in recent years.

This can be attributed to the frequent involvement of political activities either at the government levels or individual levels in the affairs of Football in the country, a situation where many football analysts, fans, major stakeholders and neutrals alike have called for a change if progress is to be achieved in the league.

While Government involvement in football affairs includes club ownership, the manner at which the administration of such clubs are handled leaves a lot to be desired. Last year a power tussle and political games between two individuals, Chris Giwa and Amaju Pinnick, temporarily grounded football activities across all levels in the country which ultimately led to the abrupt end to the 2017/2018 NPFL season.



Whether at the Government or individual level, these are some of the few ways politics have had negative effects on the Nigerian Professional Football League.

DISTORTION IN LEAGUE CALENDAR

The power tussle between Pinnick and Giwa which happened after the ouster of the Super Eagles at the World cup, crippled all footballing activities in the country subsequently leading to a premature ending of the 2017/2018. While the issue was resolved after a ban threat from FIFA, the league failed to resume for the 2018/2019 initially scheduled for November due to another political crisis and gimmicks between the League Management Committee and the Nigeria National League after a disagreement on the number of teams to be promoted into the NPFL from the NNL.



By the time the issue was resolved with a decision to play the Super 8 by the top 8 NNL clubs, the league was way behind schedule later starting on the January 13th when other leagues were already halfway into the 2018/2019. Thus leading to a cramped calendar where the league is expected to end by May just before the 2019 African Cup of Nations.

BAD IMAGE AND MARKETING

With all the issues encountered with the delayed start of the league as well as the aforementioned power tussle, it’s not a good projection of the League to the world and with the uncertainty that surrounds the administration League as well as government ownership of club sides, it is going to be hard to secure tangible sponsorship if any for the league. Already there were reports of a potential TV deal for the 2018/2019 season due to distorted calendar and delay at the start of the league

MASS EXODUS OF PLAYERS

Long before now despite the government ownership of club sides, players in the NPFL are always desperate to jump the ship to the nearest foreign clubs and leagues even to countries where it’s hard to imagine football being played there. This is because the welfare of players is poorly managed as they are handled like civil servants by clubs owned by governments, furthermore, they are owed backlogs of salaries, bonuses as well as sign-on fees leaving players who get the opportunity no choice than to jump ship.

POOR ADMINISTRATION

Despite having the word “Professional” in its name, the NPFL is short of anything professional in almost every ramifications, clubs lack proper structure and branding especially government-owned clubs where the level of success achievable is dependent on the attitude of the sitting Governor towards sports. Also, it’s not uncommon to see Governors score cheap political points by making promises towards the season of elections failing to redeem them afterwards.

LACK OF PROFESSIONALISM

In comparison to what is obtainable in other developed leagues in the world, the NPFL lags greatly behind with the unprofessional manners with which many issues are handled. The reason is not far fetched, many club officials and administrators in the league were appointed on political grounds and not based on their knowledge of football administration and by such deliver to the best of their competence which usually not enough to grow the league.

Aside this, it is reported that a certain Deputy Governor of a state is listed as a player in the team of the club owned by his state government this season, you wonder why?

CONCLUSION

After all said and done, politics and football are totally separated and as such should be handled in such manner, little wonder FIFA frowns at Government interference in footballing issues.

Politics slows down the progress of the league and should any meaningful progress is to be made, efforts must be made to ensure politics is separated from the NPFL and privatise the ownership of government-owned clubs.



Source: https://cheapgoals.com/politics-a-clog-in-npfls-wheel-of-progress/

CC: LALASTICLALA, MYND44, SEUN, DOMINIQUE, ROBOSKY02

On the 23rd of July 2016, a rainy afternoon at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, Nigerian players clad in white shirts lay scattered on the pitch in dejection after the final whistle, the reality dawned, Nigeria won’t be going to the CAF U20 AFCON in Zambia and Ultimately miss out on the 2017 FIFA U20 World Cup in South Korea.

Not only was the reality of missing out on the U20 World Cup painful, but more painful was the nature and circumstances which surrounded the Flying Eagles implosion to Sudan in Lagos.

After a 2-1 lead from the first leg of the final qualifying round in Sudan, the Eagles capitulated and lost 3-4 in Lagos thus allowing the Sudanese to progress to the 2017 U20 AFCON in Zambia on goals difference after a 5-5 aggregate scoreline.

It was a stunning shock as the 7-time CAF U20 Champions which was made up of majorly players from the all-conquering FIFA U17 World Cup team in Chile 2015 failed to go past an unfancied Sudanese team who later on went to finish bottom of their CAF U20 AFCON group with a point and 3goals scored, 8 conceded, to sum up how poor the Sudanese team was.

To put things into perspective, not that the team lacked quality as the team included the likes of Villarreal fast rising winger Samuel Chukwueze, Bologna’s Orji Okonkwo, Victor Oshimen, Kelechi Nwakali and coached by Emmanuel Amuneke just to mention a few, but the in-house issues in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) came to the fore as reports came in that the team had earlier planned to go on a training strike just 24 hours before the game due to lack of match bonuses and poor preparations.

Nevertheless, while some have questioned the ambitions and dedication of such young players for protesting the lack of match bonuses when career-growth should have been Paramount, the deed had been already been done and it rounded a poor 2016 where Nigeria missed out on both the CAF U17 and CAF U20 AFCON as well as the FIFA U20 & FIFA U17 World Cup, failing to defend the latter having won a record 5th FIFA U17 title in Chile a year before.

Fortunately, on the 2nd of February 2019, the Flying Eagles kick start their U20 AFCON redemption campaign with a 2-0 win over Burundi courtesy of Yahaya Nazifi and Maxwell Effiom goals. Its a pride as the CAF U20 AFCON starts with a comfortable win, with the team led by Paul Aigbogun, starts it’s a journey to win the 8th title and the first since the team’s triumph at the 2015 U20 Afcon in Senegal.



On the 23rd of July 2016, a rainy afternoon at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, Nigerian players clad in white shirts lay scattered on the pitch in dejection after the final whistle, the reality dawned, Nigeria won’t be going to the CAF U20 AFCON in Zambia and Ultimately miss out on the 2017 FIFA U20 World Cup in South Korea.

Not only was the reality of missing out on the U20 World Cup painful, but more painful was the nature and circumstances which surrounded the Flying Eagles implosion to Sudan in Lagos.

After a 2-1 lead from the first leg of the final qualifying round in Sudan, the Eagles capitulated and lost 3-4 in Lagos thus allowing the Sudanese to progress to the 2017 U20 AFCON in Zambia on goals difference after a 5-5 aggregate scoreline.


It was a stunning shock as the 7-time CAF U20 Champions which was made up of majorly players from the all-conquering FIFA U17 World Cup team in Chile 2015 failed to go past an unfancied Sudanese team who later on went to finish bottom of their CAF U20 AFCON group with a point and 3goals scored, 8 conceded, to sum up how poor the Sudanese team was.

To put things into perspective, not that the team lacked quality as the team included the likes of Villarreal fast rising winger Samuel Chukwueze, Bologna’s Orji Okonkwo, Victor Oshimen, Kelechi Nwakali and coached by Emmanuel Amuneke just to mention a few, but the in-house issues in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) came to the fore as reports came in that the team had earlier planned to go on a training strike just 24 hours before the game due to lack of match bonuses and poor preparations.

Nevertheless, while some have questioned the ambitions and dedication of such young players for protesting the lack of match bonuses when career-growth should have been Paramount, the deed had been already been done and it rounded a poor 2016 where Nigeria missed out on both the CAF U17 and CAF U20 AFCON as well as the FIFA U20 & FIFA U17 World Cup, failing to defend the latter having won a record 5th FIFA U17 title in Chile a year before.

Fortunately, on the 2nd of February 2019, the Flying Eagles kick start their U20 AFCON redemption campaign with a 2-0 win over Burundi courtesy of Yahaya Nazifi and Maxwell Effiom goals. Its a pride as the CAF U20 AFCON starts with a comfortable win, with the team led by Paul Aigbogun, starts it’s a journey to win the 8th title and the first since the team’s triumph at the 2015 U20 Afcon in Senegal.

The journey won’t be straight forward with the Flying Eagles facing South Africa on Tuesday at the Stade General Seyni Kountche, Niamey and the hosts Niger Republic on Friday, February 8 – where only four world cup tickets are available but the target is pretty simple and clear; a semi-final finish will be enough to see Nigeria through to the Finals in Poland later on in the year as only the competition’s top 4 teams will qualify for the FIFA U20 world cup in Poland.

Whether or not the team makes the Final coming up on the 17th of the February, it is left to be seen as Senegal, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali lurk around the Semi-finals but success for the Flying is non-negotiable.

SQUAD



Goalkeepers: Akpan Udoh (Unattached); Olawale Oremade (Oasis FC); Detan Ogundare (Kogi United)

Defenders: Mike Zaruma (Plateau United); Ikouwem Utin (Enyimba FC); Igoh Ogbu (Rosenburg FC, Norway); Solomon Ogberahwe (El-Kanemi Warriors); Valentine Ozornwafor (Enyimba FC); Olasunkanmi Aliyu (Emmanuel Amuneke Academy)

Midfielders: Peter Eletu (Prince Kazeem Academy); Quadri Liameed (36 Lions); Aniekeme Okon (Akwa United); Jamil Muhammad (Kano Pillars); Afeez Aremu (IK Start, Norway)

Forwards: Adamu Alhassan (Kano Pillars); Yahaya Nazifi (Sonderjyske FC, Denmark); Ibrahim Aliyu (Oasis FC); Adeshina Gata (Wikki Tourists); Ibrahim Abubakar (Plateau United); Onyekachi Paschal (Vaxjo United, Sweden); Maxwell Effiom (Enyimba FC).

https://cheapgoals.com/u20-afcon-flying-eagles-aim-for-redemption-in-niger/

dominique:


A lot of things are wrong with the league, the fans also have a share of the blame. I heard most of them don't pay to watch matches live in the stadium. They have ways of wriggling themselves in. Lets not talk about crowd violence, they need to know that it's not their teams birth right to win at home. Even referees are scared to award a visiting team penalty because of crowd violence. It will take a lot of work before the league gets attractive to sponsors

You're so right ma'am. Reason the issue is beyond LMC

A former player in the Nigeria Professional Football League who now plies his trade abroad made some shocking revelations about what most NPFL players pass through in the domestic league.



Excerpts below.

First I want to appreciate God Almighty who has brought me this far, taking up football as a professional career in Nigeria is not a joke, it is a daunting task, if you can survive as a footballer in Nigeria, you can survive in the desert if there is a league there.

“Recently, I read Okiemute Odah‘s story where he talked about some things we passed through in the league, well said, but Odah’s revelation didn’t cover all, it is really worse.

“In my opinion, the League Management Company is the reason why Nigerian players are suffering, I blame the LMC for clubs failing to honour contracts signed with players, I know everyone would say the clubs are not owned by the League governing body, but they have control over the majority of the things happening“.

The LMC at the beginning of every season come up with rules and framework which is expected to govern the operations of the league, these regulations are to be respected by all participating clubs and a breach is sanctioned accordingly, but sadly, the only thing the LMC care about is their image.

The LMC takes issues regarding assaults on match officials seriously, which is understandable though, just because the framework frowns at it, we all saw the recent sanctions on Plateau United and Remo Stars, within two and three days after the ugly incidents that occurred in their home games.

“Sadly, the main asset of the league, we the players, the gladiators, the actors are being neglected, the LMC hardly takes us seriously, most of us are owed wages of several months, some players have gone close to two years without pay, and we complain to LMC after following due process, but the LMC have stopped acknowledging our letters let alone sanctioning these clubs.

“One would wonder if it is not the same rule book they quote when sanctioning clubs for bringing the league to disrepute when their fans descend on match officials, one would want to say the LMC operates on the double standard.

“Do you call the NPFL a professional league, when the organizers because of their inefficiency frustrate and turn footballers to beggars.

“I want to remind the LMC so they know that without the footballers, there will be no LMC, and it’s unfortunate that the players are not united, one reason we are where we are today.

“In my case I suffered a lot in my club, I was owed several months of wages and bonuses, and I terminated my contract based on the club not paying me as at when due, I told them to release me so I can forge ahead with my career, the club refused, I wrote to LMC, despite writing several reminders they didn’t reply till date”.

“My teammate who is a foreigner had a similar case but he wrote to FIFA and he got a response within 24hrs, I was stunned, that was the day I made up my mind that I will never play in the Nigerian league again, I would rather be a foreign player in another country.

”FIFA that regulates football all over the world could respond so quickly because they know the importance of footballers who are the main assets, foreigners who know their rights are enjoying in our league, I’ve seen a club General Manager running helter-skelter to pay foreigners when the cases went to FIFA and the foreigner was paid with interest yield, I just wish FIFA will come up with regulations that also protect domestic league players, we are suffering in Nigeria, Nobody cares about us, not even NFF.

“Once again I blame the LMC and not the clubs because if the LMC sanction these clubs they will sit up, my then club chairman was bragging that I should take my case anywhere in Nigeria that nothing will happen, low and behold, nothing happened.

Just like a case in a community where a criminal is daring the residents of a community that crime will reign in that community because the security operatives do compromise.

LMC is like the watchdog in the NPFL, obviously, they compromise too, cases involving the welfare of players and coaches get little attention, it is bad, the LMC should be lashed in that regard, they don’t deserve commendation, they have failed in that ramification, they should do more.



Source: https://cheapgoals.com/players-transfer-to-obscure-leagues-for-survival-former-npfl-star-blames-lmc/

cc: lalasticlala, mynd44, seun, dominique, robosky02

dominique:
Sponsorship
Sponsorship
Sponsorship

That's all they need. But who will be willing to invest in an unstable league that's fraught with cheating and match-fixing that hardly ever records any away win?

Before any major moneybags dive in, the league management needs to let it be worth sponsoring. no sponsor wants to waste funds on such.

Every year the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season starts with an anticipation of having an improved and better season than the previous one but with the recent issues affecting the whole league, abrupt ending of the league, delayed resumption, crowd violence and poor officiating, it looks like all stakeholders across all boards have a hand in the “one step forward two steps backward” development spiral that the league experiences each time and as such finding a lasting solution may require the involvement of all.


The struggles and political saga of Nigerian football in the year 2018 and its adverse effect on the local league have been very well documented. Across the duration that the power tussle between Chris Giwa and Amaju Pinnick lasted and into the period of frequent cancellation and postponement of the Super 8 to decide the newly promoted teams into the NPFL 2018/2019 season, a lot of issues affecting the development of league football underground that was before now given little cognizance were brought to the fore.


Apart from the League Management Company (LMC) having it’s fair share of blames for lack of sponsors and indecision in the face of cogent issues which arise from the League week in week out, clubs for their unprofessional way of doing things in a league dubbed “professional”, poor brand management, selfish interest and fans having unwavering flair of sabotage and violence during match games at different match venues contribute to the already numerous canker-worms that eat into the NPFL body.


While applauds must be given to LMC chairman Sheu Dikko and his committee in the way they have steered the ship of the league since their take over years ago, it must be said that despite the initial progress in the early years when the NFF issued the license to organize and regulate the top tier league to them in 2012 for the purpose of organizing and promoting the league to meet global technical and commercial standards, the league has regressed badly in recent years.



From losing the broadcast partnership with Supersport in early 2017 and failing to secure another broadcasting deal to later awarding the rights to Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) in September of the same year, the LMC has continually proceeded to make decisions that plunge the league into deeper problems.

Not only did the NTA deal reveal the reality of the impact and importance of Supersport in beaming the league to the world but it also saw the league move slowly into broadcasting darkness and void with poor picture quality and abysmal broadcast last season to totally being off air all together in the new season.

Another poor decision by the LMC was to all goes the league go on break during the 2018 FIFA World Cup when the league had only one player at the world cup in Ikechukwu Ezenwa whose absence would not have made any difference in the league for his team. Moreover, the league could have continued with the world cup on and reached the concluding stages before Giwa/Pinnick brouhaha came to the fore and held all footballing activity to a standstill.

The impact of selfish interest and poor management of Nigerian club sides were clear and evident when a meeting was called against the backdrop of the adverse circumstances in the administration of football in the country, which resulted in the indefinite suspension of the resumption of the (NPFL) leading to huge fixture congestion for both league and cup competitions.



Decisions were made and Lobi Stars were declared the country’s representative in next season’s CAF Champions League, no teams to be relegated and four to be promoted from the NNL and despite the various available alternatives, the decision was made to favour all participants for selfish reason of avoiding relegation and at the detriment of the league.

Promotion playoffs from the Nigeria National League was delayed as NNL clubs held the NPFL and the whole country to ransom in a bid to see all 8 teams in the top two places of all four groups of the NNL promote without playoffs, using the adverse situation experienced in the administration of football in the country to push for their agenda.

If successful, the NNL would have rendered the 2018/2019 NPFL congested with 28 teams although LMC in their own have to share the blame for diverting from the initial playoff plans to promise all 8 teams NPFL promotion without playoffs during a period of indecision and lack of direction by the league body.

However, by the time Nigerian Football Federation stepped into the issue and agreements made to finally play the promotion playoffs, the league kick-off had already been delayed beyond schedule with the LMC reluctant to punish erring clubs, later handing them to a committee to impose disciplinary actions on the 5 clubs who were threatening to pull out, a decision that nothing has been heard or have been done by the said committee since then.


Furthermore, Nigerian club sides are still incompetent in fully utilizing the potentials of social media and proper branding of their teams and players. While a few having been impressive with branding and social media presence like Enyimba, Rivers United, Akwa United, Remo stars just to mention a few, other NPFL clubs have social media handles that are not well utilised in reaching out to fans, yet there are complaints of fans not attending games, contract details are still shady, mass release and recruitment of players are still very much around.

The laughable condition of club medical process uploaded by Katsina United, an image of an unidentified player laying face-up on an unhealthy foam evoked mixed feeling from football fans and analysts — a strong blend of wonder and profound dissatisfaction. The player had the sensory devices snared to his chest but warily wasn’t furnished with a bed with sheets. A big disgrace when compared to what is found in Europe and some other African leagues.



Logistics of players, welfare and payment of salaries need to be well documented and better prepared, Lobi stars despite been considered Nigerian champions in the 2017/2018 season and representatives in the CAF Champions league had a ludicrous logistics arrangements ahead of their away game to ASEC Mimosas with official Club Jerseys left behind while the team travelled to Ivory Coast.

All in all, it will take a lot of work from the LMC and clubs to bring a bulk of fans who are glued to English Premier League and other European football league craze back to the stadia where provision of security is poorly handled in some match centres or totally unavailable as seen in Plateau United on Matchday 1 of the new season where the pitch encroached and the referee beaten. Painfully enough the LMC acts like a toothless Lion which roars but never pounce, while banishing Plateau United can be commended coupled with the fines, it may be worthy of note that the league body will not follow up to ensure the team pays the fines as the banishment to Ilorin for the next few home games will be the punishment served by the team.

Unfortunately, the clubs involved would do little to ensure the culprit is brought to book, neither will they put up measures to avoid a repeat of such scenarios, that is why Remo stars should be commended for actively condemning the violence against the referee in their 1-1 draw against Insurance on Sunday with several social media messages and ensuring they provided the culprit to the security agencies on ground. LMC up until the time of filling this write up is yet to comment on the issue.

Publicity of the games by the clubs is sometimes none existent if the job done by the Nigerian media is subtracted. Poor officiating from referees is still raising it’s ugly head despite the 5 years ban of match officials if found guilty agreed upon by the LMC and NPFL clubs before the season starts.



However, the LMC needs to find a lasting solution to tackling crowd violence beyond fines and banishments of teams also they need to be proactive and ensure that punishments are served latest 24hrs to teams whose fans and officials go against the rules of the league. The Nigerian Referee Association also need to contribute its quota in reducing poor officiating from its officials, although it must be said that poor officiating under no circumstances justifies crowd violence against any match officials.



If the above is solved, then violence in stadiums can be treated with sensitization of fans, a new TV deal needs to be agreed upon as soon as possible as this will enlighten and bring the league closer to the locals and as the LMC continue to work out on ways to move the league forward. The NPFL will definitely move forward albeit slowly, as it is popularly said all hands must be on deck and with the issues facing the Nigeria Professional Football League, LMC’s hands alone are not enough.



#SuportTheNPFL


Source: https://cheapgoals.com/solving-npfl-niggling-issues-beyond-lmc-alone/

Super Eagles forward Henry Onyekuru took his goal count to nine this season bagging three solid goals to help Turkish champions Galatasaray to record a 6-0 home win over Ankaragucu – it was their biggest league victory in 32 years

After a four-game winless run, the Yellow-Reds came back to winning ways with a 4-2 triumph over Sivasspor and united on the amazing match performance by whipping Mustafa Kaplan’s led side at the Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi Turk Telekom Stadium on Saturday.



Onyekuru who made his 16th league cap for the Yellow-Reds since his loan move from Everton was in a sparkling form in the game.

Source: https://cheapgoals.com/henry-onyekuru-hat-trick-helps-galatasaray-secure-biggest-win-in-32-years/

Former Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) top scorer Junior Lokosa has joined Esperance of Tunisia on a two and half-year deal.

The Former Kano Pillars’ striker had tried his luck in Kazakhstan and China before he finally secured the Tunisia move. Lokosa who netted 19 goals in 21 appearances last season signed a two and half-year deal with the club.

He made his debut for the Nigeria Super Eagles against DR Congo in an international friendly enroute Russia 2018 World Cup.

SOURCE: https://cheapgoals.com/official-esperance-de-tunis-secure-the-signing-of-junior-lokosa/

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Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri believes his team performed better defensively with Eden Hazard playing between two wingers against Newcastle United.



Chelsea has scored only 13 goals in their last 11 Premier League games and Sarri is progressively favouring an attacking point of convergence of Hazard, instead of recognized strikers Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata.

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Premier League side Chelsea FC will report Bayern Munich to FIFA on the off chance that they discover that the Bundesliga champions have been 'tapping up' Callum Hudson-Odoi.

The sensational youngster is being linked with a £35million move to Bayern Munich in the wake of struggling for game time at Stamford Bridge - though he has started the last two league cup games, including the Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg defeat to Tottenham on Tuesday.

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https://cheapgoals.com/chelsea-will-report-bundesliga-champions-to-fifa-if-theres-evidence-of-tapping-up-hudson-odoi/

The agent of Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil, Dr Erkut Sogut, has rejected speculation surrounding the Gunners no 10 with a move away North-London and says his client future belongs at the club.

The 30-year old midfielder is contracted to Arsenal until the end of the 2020-21 season but has been speculated to want a move away as he struggles to secure playing time under new Arsenal boss Unai Emery.

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https://cheapgoals.com/mesut-ozils-agent-dr-erkut-sogut-breaks-silence-over-transfer-rumours/

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba believes the huge difference between life under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United is they are currently playing a style of football that suits the players.

Following the Red Devil‘s 4-1 triumph over Bournemouth on Sunday, United have won three consecutive games under Solskjaer since Mourinho’s last game – the 3-1 thrashing to Liverpool.

Manchester United have scored 12 goals in Solskjaer’s three Premier League games and have inspired the team with the attack-minded, and free-flowing football. The style of play has been essentially unique and different to that displayed amid Mourinho’s reign at Old Trafford, and Pogba feels Solskjaer’s strategies currently have United playing how they want to play.

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https://cheapgoals.com/its-different-now-we-are-playing-how-we-want-pogba/

Jurgen Klopp led-side are halfway towards ending a 29-year long wait to lift the Premier League trophy, the two crucial clashes ahead of the Kops in just a week will test Liverpool‘s title pursuit without limitations, starting with the Gunners making a reverse fixture trip to Anfield on Saturday.

For quite a while a new year visit to Etihad Stadium on January 3 had the makings of a title decider, but Liverpool presently has an edge for blunder with a noteworthy 6-point lead at the top of the premier league table.


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https://cheapgoals.com/arsenal-manchester-city-two-crucial-test-for-liverpools-title-race/

Chelsea Influential forward Eden Hazard is eager for more goals to earn the ‘legendary status‘ at Stamford Bridge in the wake of scoring his 100th for the club in a 2-1 Premier League victory over Watford at Vicarage Road on Boxing Day.



In a game of pulsating action and incessant mistakes it was Chelsea’s false nine who gave the genuine quality, Eden Hazard scoring twice as the Blue’s move back to the top four of the Premier League log after a couple of hours’ absence, their favorable position over fifth-set Arsenal stretched their points to two.


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https://cheapgoals.com/hazard-wants-legendary-status-at-chelsea-after-reaching-100-goal-mark/

Roy Hodgson gave his old club Liverpool an early Christmas present with Crystal Palace‘s unexpected win at the Etihad. Manchester City‘s stunning misfortune sent Liverpool four points clear but Roy Hodgson believes there are still a lot of surprises to come.

Crystal Palace’s 3-2 triumph over Pep Guardiola side at Selhurst Park on Saturday implies Liverpool who beat Wolves 2-0 on Friday moved toward the halfway point of the season with a four-point advantage at the top of the Premier League log.

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https://cheapgoals.com/liverpool-slip-up-in-title-race-is-inescapable-roy-hodgson/

Manchester United interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is savouring the huge challenge of getting the best out of Paul Pogba, having tended to a questionable social media post with the Manchester United star.



Subsequent to saying farewell to the unyielding methodology of Jose Mourinho, few people have suggested that Manchester United have gone excessively far in introducing former Old Trafford forward Solskjaer as interim manager, with the Norwegian coming back to take a job at United out of the blue since he filled in as reserve coach between 2008 and 2011.

The 45-year old worked with Pogba at that time, but the France midfielder has since departed for Juventus, returned in a club-record move and won the World Cup in Russia and now much of a social-media big boy,

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https://cheapgoals.com/solskjaer-yearning-to-bring-the-best-out-of-terrific-lad-pogba/

Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil was again forced to watch from stands as the Gunners were knocked out of the Carabao Cup at the hands of their North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night.

Unai Emery declined to publicly guarantee Mesut Ozil’s future at the Emirates Stadium after letting the Germany playmaker out of his first-team plans.

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https://cheapgoals.com/unai-emery-refuse-to-publicly-guarantee-mesut-ozils-future-at-arsenal/

Jose Mourinho has told Sky Sports correspondents that he and the club will surely survive without the other after his sack, 24 -hour after he was dismissed from the hot seat at Old Trafford.

The former Real Madrid led the Red Devils to Europa League and domestic success amid his tenure in charge, but a poor run of form in the first half of the 2018-19 season has seen him pay the stiff price.

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https://cheapgoals.com/manchester-united-has-a-future-without-me-mourinho/

Liverpool and Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah was among 10 African stars nominated on Friday in a Premier League-dominated short-list for the 2018 CAF Player of the Year award.

The 26-year-old scored 44 goals for Liverpool in all competition last season, his first at Anfield after moving from AS Roma, and is set to be voted number one in Africa once again. Salah, having a slow start to his second season in Premier league, Salah is joint leading EPL goalscorer on 10 goals with Gabonese Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal.

Salah and 2015 African Player of the Year Aubameyang are among five candidates from Premier League, with Manchester City winger Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez, who won the award back in 2016 subsequent of helping Leicester City to a noteworthy historical Premier League title



While Senegalese forward Sadio Mane and Nigerian Alex Iwobi of Arsenal are other nominees from the most-watched football league in the world.

Asisat Oshoala has won three of the last five editions of the award, and in 2018 she helped Nigeria’s Super Falcons win a 9th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title. If she wins in Dakar, the former FC Robo Queens star will become the first Woman to ever win three of the CAF Africa Women’s Player of the Year.

However, she’ll face tough competition from teammate Francisca Ordega and South Africa’s Chrestinah Thembi Kgatlana, who was voted best player of the 2018 AWCON

The award winners will be officially announced on January 8 in Dakar.

African Player of the Year

1. Alex Iwobi (Nigeria & Arsenal)
2. Andre Onana (Cameroon & Ajax)
3. Anis Badri (Tunisia & Esperance)
4. Denis Onyango (Uganda & Mamelodi Sundowns)
5. Mehdi Benatia (Morocco & Juventus)
6. Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool)
7. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Arsenal)
8. Riyad Mahrez (Algeria & Manchester City)
9. Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool)
10. Walid Soliman (Egypt & Ahly)

Women’s Player of the Year

1. Abdulai Mukarama (Ghana & Northern Ladies)
2. Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria & Dilian Quanjian)
3. Bassira Toure (Mali & AS Mande)
4. Chrestinah Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa & Houston Dash)
5. Elizabeth Addo (Ghana & Seattle Reign)
6. Francisca Ordega (Nigeria & Washington Spirit)
7. Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene (Cameroon & CSKA Moskow)
8. Janine Van Wyk (South Africa & Houston Dash)
9. Onome Ebi (Nigeria & Hekan Huisanhang)
10. Raissa Feudjio (Cameroon & Aland United)
11. Tabitha Chawinga (Malawi & Jiangsu Suning)

Young Player of the Year

1. Achraf Hakimi (Morocco & Borussia Dortmunmd)
2. Franck Kessie (Cote d’Ivoire & AC Milan)
3. Wilfred Ndidi (Nigeria & Leicester City)

Men’s Coach of the Year

1. Aliou Cisse (Senegal)
2. Herve Renard (Morocco)
3. Moine Chaabani (Esperance)

Women’s Coach of the Year

1. Desiree Ellis (South Africa)
2. Joseph Brian Ndoko (Cameroon)
3. Thomas Dennerby (Nigeria)

Men’s National Team of the Year

1. Madagascar
2. Mauritania
3. Uganda

Women’s National Team of the Year

1. Cameroon
2. Nigeria
3. South Africa


Source: https://cheapgoals.com/caf-player-of-the-year-award-mohamed-salah-oshoala-in-line-to-retain-award/

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River Plate emerged triumphant from the controversial Copa Libertadores final in Madrid, but two Boca Junior fans have been accused of killing one of River plate’s fans in the aftermath of the crucial clash.

River Plate emerged triumphant from the controversial Copa Libertadores final in Madrid, but two Boca Junior fans have been accused of killing one of River plate’s fans in the aftermath of the crucial clash.



Subsequent of celebrating the extra-time triumph against a fierce rival, Exequiel Aaron Neris, was murdered in the Misiones area. As reported by the Clarin paper, the 21-year-old was ambushed by two Boca Juniors supporters, before he was lethally stabbed to death in his left leg, with the blade disjoining the femoral artery.



Regardless of being treated on the scene, Neris later died in hospital but was able to speak to his mother before he kicked the bucket

I’m dying, I’m dying, they attacked me for celebrating the result because I’m a River fan,” he explained to her.

Lucia Ramona Neris was also quoted in the Diario de Misiones, confirming just what had happened to her son.

“They killed my son, he was just walking, he had surgery and three nails in one leg after a motorcycle crash a few months ago,” she intimated.

“They attacked him even though he was hardly walking.

“They hurt him like a defenseless dog.

Source: https://cheapgoals.com/rival-plate-fan-neris-murdered-aftermath-of-copa-libertadores-final/


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