₦airaland Forum

The Minister of Youths and Sports Development Hon. Sunday Dare has affirmed the presence of factions in the Nigeria Professional Football League.

He said this while speaking to journalists at the Moshood Abiola Stadium Abuja on Saturday.

He said, “Beyond just announcing that the league will start, there are some things we need to do and that’s been done already. While the league starts, the issues that have bedevilled the domestic league are under X-ray right now and we intend to attack them”.

The Minister further stated that he is in consultation with a lot of stakeholders and would still in bring people with past experiences and mean well for Nigerian football.

While also admitting there are factions in the league, he said, “I am trying reunite as many factions in the league, we are ready to work with them if only they are willing to improve”.



The Minister added that all interests would be weighed in the process, to separate national interests from personal interest. “If the interest is a national interest then we can move with those with national interests. Those who have personal interests, we will know.”

“The league is exceptionally critical, it is the strength of the young players who want to play professional outside the country.

“There are individuals who train young boys, who go straight out of the country and receive huge amounts of money which should have come to the league.

“We understand these dynamics and also understand that there are very divergent approaches and we are going to look at all the levels.”

The Honourable Minister concluded by saying, “we will do the hard talk and see what comes out.

https://thesportsbay.com/31864-dare-affirms-presence-of-cabals.html

Golden Eaglets coach, Manu Garba has passed a scathing assessment on the current crop of players under his tutelage.

According to him, the players he has at the moment cannot deliver for the country at the upcoming U-17 World Cup in Brazil.

He said that the UEFA/CAF tournament was a perfect ground to test the players and the three games the team played gave the technical crew to see some errors in the team.

Furthermore, he said that the loss against Senegal was avoidable having led 2-1 in the first half, before crumbling 2-4 to the same team at the end of 90mins.

He added that Senegal that defeated Nigeria had 8 players that featured at the football event of the 12th African Games in Rabat, Morocco and the same team travelled to France for another tournament before playing at the UEFA/CAF tournament in Turkey.



“The Senegalese prepared better than any other team. They had 8 players that played in the All Africa Games and they are in France for another competition before coming to Turkey.

“We were not supposed to lose the game to them but for the errors we noticed in the team.

“We went to Turkey to assess all the players that went there and to be candid those players cannot give us the desired results in the World Cup.

“Before we left, we have identified some players who if they pass the MRI tests will add value to the team.

Manu informed that the team will continue preparation with the training tour in Brazil with 30 players and everything working out fine,

The team will leave Nigeria on October 8 and will be training in Sao Paulo before making decision on the final 21 players that will represent Nigeria at the 2019 Brazil FIFA Under 17 World Cup.

https://thesportsbay.com/31533-my-players-are-not-good-manu-garba.html

Seventy-seven days after Madam Beauty Ogere, mother of former Super Eagles Chief Coach, Samson Siasia, was kidnapped from her Odoni community in Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, the 76-year-old regained her freedom in the early hours of yesterday.

Spokesman for the Bayelsa State Police Command, Asinim Butswat, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) confirmed her release yesterday.

Shortly after her release, the family took Madam Ogere, who has a history of high blood pressure and was without her medication for over two months, for an immediate medical check-up.

It was the second time she was being kidnapped. The first time in November 2015, she was released after 12 days in captivity. Perhaps, those who did it then made a haul and returned or it is a new team seeking new avenue.

Around 2a.m on July 19, some armed men stormed her home in Odoni, Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

They took her away. They demanded ransom which her son did not have.

Madam Siasia said after whisking her away to an unknown place, her assailants fed her with garri and bought drugs for her.



Admitting that they “took care” of her by not beating her and sometimes preparing soup for everybody in their camp to eat

She said: “I was in my house when they came to kidnap me. They took me to their place. They took care of me. I was sick and they bought me drugs. They cooked and gave to me. They didn’t beat me. There were days that there was no food. Those days they drank garri and gave me garri to drink as well.

”Sometimes, they cooked soup, prepared garri and we ate. But on Sunday, they told me we had stayed for too long and they were tired of our problem. They carried us on a flying boat and dropped us in a village. I don’t know the name of the village.

”They carried us to their chairman’s place. I don’t know the man. But they called him Seifa. As I am talking to you, I am not well. Before they took me, I was ill. I wanted to go to the hospital”.

On the type of house where she was kept, Madam Siasia said: They put us in a small house and use tarpaulin to cover the top.”
Yesterday, Bayelsa State Police Commissioner Uche Anozia visited Madam Siasia at her residence. Police spokesman Asimni Buswait said

”The police command wishes to inform the general public that Mrs Beauty Siasia, who was kidnapped on 15 July, has been released in the early hours of Sunday, Sept. 29,” the statement said.

The statement added that the victim was in a stable condition and had volunteered useful information that would assist the police in their investigation.

https://thesportsbay.com/31456-siasias-mother-regains-freedom.html

Samuel Kalu is the best dribbler in Europe top five leagues, ahead of PSG’s Angel Di Maria, Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe and Real Betis’ Nabil Fekir.

The 22-year-old winger, who is in his second season with Bordeaux, has the highest dribble percentage in Europe.

Kalu played a vital role in Bordeaux’ 2-0 victory over Metz in Saturday’s Ligue 1 clash at Matmut Atlantique.
A product of GBS Academy, he has been a regular in Paulo Sousa’s side following his move from Gent in 2018 – a team he joined from AS Trencin.

The Nigeria international has successfully executed 22 dribbles out of 47 attempted, putting him ahead of some of the world’s most talked-about players known for that.

Just behind Kalu is Arsenal’s Pepe, who has completed 19 dribbles despite his barren run at the Etihad Stadium.

The 2018 World Cup winner Fekir, who plays for Real Betis, is just behind that at 18 out of 25 with PSG’s Di Maria’s 18 over 41 dribbles rounding out the top four.

The Girondins are ninth in the French top-flight with eight points from five outings.

They host Brest in their next outing on September 21.

https://thesportsbay.com/30745-kalu-emerges-europes-best-dribbler.html

No fewer than 12 properties belonging to top officials of the Nigeria Football Federation have been seized by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.

Among the officials affected are President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick and 2nd vice president of the football body, Shehu Dikko.

Others newly indicted by the investigation are Head of NFF Technical Committee, Ahmed Yusuf, and NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi.

According to Punch, Pinnick owned a majority of the properties, with one of them situated in the United Kingdom.

A breakdown of the properties seized, according to a document obtained by Sports Extra, shows that Pinnick owns six, Sanusi has three, and two belong to Yusuf.

Though details obtained on Dikko’s seized properties were sketchy, officials of the ICPC earlier seized one of his properties, located on 1, River Benue Close, Maitama, Abuja, on Friday morning.

Read more at https://thesportsbay.com/30718-icpc-seize-more-houses-owned-by-nff.html

The Minister of Youth and Sports Sunday Dare has expressed his desire to wade into the purported resignation of Super Falcons coach, Thomas Dennerby.

Dare who spoke via his twitter handle a while on Monday said, “I have personally stepped into the matter of Thomas Dennerby, the Coach of Super Falcons.

“I received a brief this morning and will proceed to seek a quick resolution to ensure he continues to Coach Nigeria’s female team.”

Dennerby reportedly resigned his appointment as Nigeria’s senior National women team coach few days ago.

It was learnt that Dennerby reportedly resigned from his post following the persistent interference in selecting players as well as non-payment of his accumulated salaries and allowances by the NFF.

Dennerby, who returned to his native country of Sweden two weeks ago, was said to have written to the NFF to step down while demanding for the payment of all his outstanding entitlements

Although there is no official confirmation, Dennerby has refused to come back to Nigeria and will likely not be in dugout against the Elephants of Ivory Coast in two weeks’ time for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games qualifiers.

The Swede left the country after leading the Super Falcons to the third round of the African Women’s Olympic qualifiers. This was after a 3-0 aggregate win over Algeria but has now left his post.

https://thesportsbay.com/30709-sports-minister-summons-nff-officials.html

Super Eagles forward, Samuel Chukwueze, has disclosed how his mother was initially against him playing football while revealing how much he loved former Nigeria captain, Jay-Jay Okocha while growing up.

“My big hero was Jay JayOkocha. I loved watching him, and whenever he played for Nigeria I would be so desperate to see him win. If they lost, I wouldn’t eat. I couldn’t take it,” Chukwueze told Goal.

“In my home town, we had a local centre and I would try to go there to watch Nigeria games. We didn’t have a TV, but there was one there. I would peep through the window to see Okocha and the rest.”

Chukwueze has been in great form since signing for the Yellow Submarines from Diamond Academy in Abuja.
He scored five goals and created two assists in 26 La Liga appearances last season. The young forward has also started the new 2019/20 season well, scoring one goal in three league appearances.

He also talked about how he started out as a footballer and the resistance he got from his mother.

According to him, his mother was eventually the same person who later encouraged him to follow his dreams.

Read more at https://thesportsbay.com/30387-chukwueze-speaks-on-his-career.html

Arsenal legend Ray Parlour has charged Chelsea star Tammy Abraham to disregard Nigeria’s attempt to make him play for the Super Eagles.

The 21-year-old, whose father is Nigerian, has featured at every youth level for England and already has two senior caps.

However, he has yet to make a competitive international appearance which allows him to switch allegiance, and Nigeria have reportedly made contact in an attempt to secure his services.

Despite an impressive start to the campaign, with four goals in his two most recent English Premier League games, the Blues striker was left out of Gareth Southgate’s squad for the upcoming Euro qualifiers against Bulgaria and Kosovo.

But former England international Parlour insists Abraham will get his chance if he stays patient.

“If he keeps scoring goals, he will definitely get into the England squad,” the ex-Arsenal midfielder told talkSPORT. “Jamie Vardy has retired and they’re lacking a little bit up front.

“He’s got an opportunity to be in the squad, but obviously he won’t be in front of Harry Kane.”

Read more at https://thesportsbay.com/30385-arsenal-legend-warns-tammy-abraham.html

Team Nigeria have yet to win a medal at the ongoing 12th All Africa Games in Rabat, Morocco.

According to the medal tables, four North African countries are leading the medals table.

Egypt as at the time of filing this report, tops the table with four gold and four bronze medals.

Host nation, Morocco is second with two gold, five silver, four bronze medals while Algeria is placed third with two gold, three silver, six bronze.

Tunisia is currently occupying the fourth position with two gold, three silver and three bronze medals.

However, Team Nigeria is yet to win a medal in the 22 sports entered for.
Over the weekend, the team had an opportunity to win medals in Judo but the judokas failed to win any of the 56 available medals.

It will be noted that Team Nigeria at the last All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville, Nigeria won 47 gold, 55 silver and 42 bronze medals to place second behind Egypt who amassed 85 gold, 64 silver and 68 bronze medals to win the games.

Meanwhile, Nigeria men and women teams have qualified for the quarterfinals of the Beach Volleyball event at the ongoing African Games in Rabat, Morocco.

Nigeria men’s team beat Egypt 2-1 (21-15, 13-21, 15-13) while the women’s team defeated Gambia 2-0 (21-12, 21-9) to book their places in respective quarterfinals.

Read more at https://thesportsbay.com/29962-team-nigeria-yet-to-win-a-medal.html

The August 12, 1989 Italia ’90 World Cup qualifying match with Angola could had just been another match day. But it is now ever recalled, not for the result, which was favourable to Nigeria at least in the short run, but for the bizarre happenings.

It was just a day to the 10th anniversary of a previous disaster that claimed 24 lives at the National Stadium, Lagos.

Nigeria desperately needed to win the tie against Angola to be in contention of leading a World Cup qualifying group that also had Gabon and Cameroon.

The result of the penultimate match in Gabon which Nigeria against formbooks had lost 1-2 made the August 12, 1989 match the more important.

Hon. Nduka Irabor and some members of the Nigerian Football Supporters’ Club helping the fainted fans into an ambulance.

Besides, it was to be the first match after a long closure of the National Stadium, Lagos which was undergoing upgrading for an anticipated hosting of the then World Youth Championship (now u-20 World Cup) in 1991.

Nigeria had had to play their home matches at the low-capacity Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan until the National Stadium, Lagos was reopened.

Read more at https://thesportsbay.com/29750-how-samuel-okwaraji-died-30-years-ago.html

Following the dismal performance of the Flying Eagles at the ongoing FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland, the technical crew led by Paul Aigbogun may be probed by the Nigeria Football Federation.

The Nigeria U-20 side began their campaign with a 4-0 demolition of Qatar in the opening match but took a nosedive afterward managing to crawl into the knock out stage before bowing out after a 2-1 defeat by African brothers Senegal on Monday.

Disappointed Nigerian fans have lampooned the team with some describing them as the worst team ever to be paraded by the country in the U-20 category.

As if the dismal outing was not embarrassing enough, an allegation of bribery is reportedly being made by some players who claimed that they were dropped because they could not raise N5million allegedly being demanded by the technical crew.

The technical crew will no doubt be looking forward to having an opportunity to clear the air on such allegation and perhaps explain to the nation why the team turned into a toothless bulldog after the first match.

A member of the 1996 Olympic Gold medallist Emmanuel Babayaro did not hesitate in joining the league of those calling for a probe into the Poland outing.

He noted that the team from outset showed a lack of commitment and desire to win in the championship. The youth championship he further reasoned is very important as it provides the necessary feed for the under 23 team and the Super Eagles respectively and as such should not be operating below par.

“The technical team are not up to speed technically. It baffled me that we will be going for a World Cup without our best legs, it is a shame.

“If we play well with the youngsters and we are eliminated in the group stage it’s cool, it is developmental. We need to go for the right lads for our own future.

“The NFF should do the needful. Do proper investigation into what happened with the Flying Eagles, “he told Goal.com

Five countries Columbia, Ukraine, Italy, Ecuador and Senegal have already hit the quarterfinals.

https://thesportsbay.com/28287-nff-may-probe-paul-aigbogun-over-poor-outing-n5m-bribery-allegations-in-poland.html

Buhari will release more funds before I leave as sports minister - Dalung COMMENTS
Prior to his exist as the former minister of Youths and Sports Development, Barrister Solomon Dalung has returned some parts of the missing $150,000 back to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

It was gathered that Dalung in a phone call with the IAAF’s president, Sebastian Coe promised to return some money which he did before he left office.

This was confirmed by top officials of Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) in separate interviews.

Speaking with the Vice President of AFN, Hon Olamide George after his meeting with the former minister, the 50% was paid by the sports ministry to avoid ban from the IAAF.

“It is important to know that the ministry has paid part of the money to the AFN. The sad part is the board was not even aware that the ministry had paid some money back until when the minister called for a meeting and he opened up and the president could not deny,” he said.

His position was also echoed by one of the board members, Brown Ebewele who said “Yes, the sports minister has communicated with the president of IAAF on the issue and they reached an agreement. The IAAF is no longer sanctioning Nigeria.”

Also speaking with the Technical Director of AFN, Sunday Adeleye, he also confirmed that the minister had paid the money.

When asked when and who will pay the balance, he stated that the ministry, not the AFN will pay up.

“The people who know about it have already agreed to pay back 50% of the money to IAAF which includes the ministry. The ministry will pay the remaining balance because it is their debt not AFN.

Meanwhile, the President of Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Ibrahim Gusau has been impeached by the board following his alleged role in the ‘missing’ money. The impeachment has however been declared null and void by Adeleye.

https://thesportsbay.com/27936-ex-sports-minister-solomon-dalung-returns-75000-to-iaaf.html

BARCELONA SUPERSTAR LIONEL MESSI HAS REPORTEDLY TOLD THE CATALAN GIANTS’ HIERARCHY THAT THESE THREE PLAYERS MUST BE SOLD IN THE SUMMER.
According to the Daily Star via Spanish publication Sport, five-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi has told Barcelona’s chiefs that Philipe Coutinho, Ivan Rakitic and Samuel Umtiti must be sold this summer.

Messi is clearly sick of mediocrity in Europe, the star hasn’t won the Champions League since the 2014/15 season and rival Cristiano Ronaldo has won the competition in four of the previous five years.

Messi has 4 Champions League trophies to his name and will be eager to match Ronaldo – who has five, before the pair both call time on their careers.

Attacking midfielder Coutinho has been disastrous for the Camp Nou outfit since his marquee move from Liverpool, according to BBC Sport, the Brazilian star joined the Blaugrana in a £142m deal.

Barcelona team bus leaves Messi behind after crushing defeat to Liverpool

Rakitic has enjoyed domestic success with Barcelona in recent years but the Croatian star’s form has dipped in the last few months, with Rakitic now 31 years old and the arrival of Frenkie de Jong being imminent, now could be the best time for Rakitic to leave – this summer could also be the last time where Barcelona can sell the star for a good amount of money.

Samuel Umtiti has established himself as one of the world’s best centre-backs in recent years, but after a summer of success at the World Cup with France, the defender has endured a very tough season. The star has been troubled with injuries and the 25-year-old’s place in the team has now been taken by compatriot Clement Lenglet.

If Barcelona believe that Umtiti can’t get back to where he was – selling the star could be a good decision. Ernesto Valverde’s side could still net a huge figure for the sale of Umtiti.

Barcelona clearly need something different this summer if they are to bridge the gap between domestic dominance and success in Europe. The Catalan giants need big-game players if they have any hope of winning the Champions League next season.

https://thesportsbay.com/27701-lionel-messi-gives-barcelona-board-list-of-players-to-be-sold-this-summer.html

Nigerian sensation, Samuel Chukwueze has been ranked as Africa’s most valuable U-20 player in Europe’s top five leagues by CIES Football Observatory.

According to the study by the Swiss-based organization, the Nigeria international is worth €35 million, which makes him the 12th most expensive U-20 player on the planet based on transfer market valuations.

The 50 players on the list have been ranked according to their age, position, performance, contract duration, full international and other factors.

The 19-year-old Chukwueze is enjoying a breakthrough season at Villarreal, with 37 appearances under his belt in all competitions for the first team, scoring 8 goals and providing three assists.

The Diamond Academy product is on the radar of Liverpool and Manchester City ahead of the reopening of the transfer window on the back of his fine form for the Yellow Submarine.

Nigeria’s U20 and U23 coaches and manager Gernot Rohr are all competing for his services ahead of international games in May and June.

The former Golden Eaglets ace, who is known for his pace and skilful prefers to start on the right wing and cut in to shoot with his favourite left foot.

At €150.3m, Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho is the most valuable U20 player, followed by Arsenal’s Mattéo Guendouzi (€70m) and AS Roma’s Nicolò Zaniolo (€67m).

https://thesportsbay.com/27612-samuel-chukwueze-named-africas-most-valuable-u-20-player.html

The Board of (NLO) says the matches and events in the 2018/2019 season will be streamed live.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NLO board had a week ago fixed Thursday, May 23, as the kick off date for the 2018/2019 NLO season natioNationwide League Onenwide.

A director in the board, Ebere Amaraizu, told NAN in Enugu on Friday that the board had concluded arrangement for the online telecast with two private firms.

Amaraizu said that Pipul TV and Deebeetee Projects Ltd would be providing the platforms for the life streaming of all NLO matches and other special events.

He said the life streaming would enable football fans and administrators worldwide to watch and follow happenings in the NLO.

He added that the life streaming of matches would also involve life streaming of the teams and players and their pedigree and achievements in football for all to see.

“The life streaming or online telecast of NLO matches, teams and players achievements and special events will give the league a lot of leverage.

“This will instantly expose what NLO is doing to the international football community.

“The life streaming will provide an avenue for both local and foreign football player scouts and talent hunters to easily see the array of very young abundant football talents we have here in the country.

“They might want to sign-up for their clubs or groom or brush-up further the players to produce the next generation of Messi and Ronaldo of this world,’’ he said.

According to him, the life streaming will make teams wake-up from slumber and know that it is not only winning the league that is at stake; but your players can have access to the international football transfer market.

“A team’s performance can attract international invitational football tournament for them as well.’’

The director said that NLO players, who had been transferred to the Nigeria National League (NNL) and Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), are all currently doing well.

“We are proud of them as they have been good ambassadors of the NLO in carrying out assignments in their new clubs both on and off the pitch,’’ he noted.

NAN reports that NLO is the third tier of the national leagues. (NAN)



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https://thesportsbay.com/27544-nigerias-third-tier-football-league-to-stream-matches-live.html

xoxocandy:
you're not serious. its four people each. three in the back, one in front

It is usually 2 at the front. I pay for the two spaces all the time.

orisa37:
Every Nigerian lies about Age.

I have never lied about my age or date of birth in anything I do. NEVER

Orpe7:
You must be a KC alumni
Floreat
2000 set, Harmans house. Emmmanuel was my junior back then

Floreat. I was in 2002 set.He was one year my senior and you are two years mine.

How have you been?

kalufelix:
Who else noticed the three(3) characters in the picture eventually becomes blind. If the little man is not completely unaware of the shots chances are he has autism.

This man would be disappointed if he could see what was used for the "show off" picture.

As someone I personally know right from our secondary school days, he has always said he prefers to be blind than to see. That he believes that was what God has designed for him. He wasn't born blind though

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has resolved to build two football pitches in each of the 36 states of the federation as well as the Federal Capital Territory.

This was contained in a communique issued after the meeting of the NFF Executive Committee held in Asaba on Monday.

“ In line with the new thinking and focus of world football –governing body, FIFA with regards to laying less emphasis on building infrastructure and more on football pitches, the Executive Committee resolved that after the ongoing Mini-Secretariat projects must have been completed in each of the 36 States and the FCT, the mission of building two Football Pitches in each State of the Federation and the FCT would commence apace.

In the meantime, work would proceed quickly on the building of Mini-Secretariats for the next batch of selected beneficiary States as soon as the sponsors release the money for the project, expectedly before the end of March 2019.

In the same vein, the NFF board restated its passion for the youth programme that has thrown up a number of players for the junior National Teams while revealing that the finals of the NFF/Zenith Bank Future Eagles Championship will now hold in May 2019.

The board “believes that in the next few years, players from the Future Eagles Championship would constitute the dominant group in most of the National Teams”.

However, the board has restated its position that products of the Future Eagles Championship should dominate the U17 National Team, Golden Eaglets.

Read more at https://thesportsbay.com/26922-nff-resolve-to-build-72-football-pitches-across-nigeria.html

I always knew he was poised for greatness. I'm glad a school mate of mine 2002 set from Kings College is making waves. Congrats Bayo

New York-born Nigerian, Folarin Balogun is threatening Alex Iwobi’s for his first team shirt after the international break.

The 17-year-old has represented England after being born in New York to Nigerian parents.

Balogun recently signed his professional contract with Arsenal and has been in great form for the London side this season.



He has scored an amazing 22 goals in 23 appearances for the Gunners’ academy team this season.

And Aubameyang, Arsenal’s record signing, singled out Balogun for praise on social media.


In reply to Arsenal’s tweet about Balogun’s red hot form, Auba posted saying the teenager was on fire lately.

But despite having played for England in last year’s European Under-17s championship, Balogun is undecided on where his international future lies.

Meanwhile, Iwobi is struggling for goals despite being backed by Manager Unai Emery and Arsenal are in the hunt for a proven wide man.

Read more at https://thesportsbay.com/26807-alex-iwobi-may-lose-his-arsenal-spot-to-folarin-balogun.html

Operators of one of the leading betting companies in Nigeria, K.C Gaming Network Ltd, popularly known as Bet9ja have pulled out of the sponsorship deal it entered with the Nigeria National League (NNL) after two years of supporting the league.

In 2017, Bet9ja had signed a N200m for three years.

This was confirmed at the NNL annual congress in Abuja on Wednesday night when the omission of Bet9ja logo was conspicuously missing in the NNL AGM banner both outside the hotel gates and inside the hall, venue of the meeting.

According to an insider in the NNL, the betting company were not happy teams were not relegated from the Nigeria Professional Football League as well as the failure of the league administrators to uphold standard footballing practice, citing “contractual infidelity” on the part of the NNL.

It will be recalled that there were controversies surrounding promotion and relegation of teams from the NNL and NPFL last year.

The NNL had proposed last year to promote the 8 teams which qualified for the NNL Super 8 to the elite league which didn’t go down well with League Management Company (LMC).

The NNL blamed the crisis that rocked the Nigeria football and said that the decision was taken in the best interest of football.

It will also be recalled that the NPFL which ended abruptly did not relegate any team and this necessitated the introduction of the abridged version of two groups this season to accommodate the new entrants from the NNL.

In the same vein, the NNL managers have resolved to extend the registration of clubs by one week to enable them fulfill all registration requirements or will be delisted from the league while approving 3rd of April, 2019 as the kick-off date for the 2018/19 league season.

Read more at https://thesportsbay.com/26816-why-bet9ja-broke-n200m-contract-ties-with-nnl.html

Yobe Stars Desert hopes of staying in top flight football is dimming by the week following yet another 1-3 loss in the rescheduled Match Day 3 to Abia Warriors in the abridged Nigeria Professional Football League.

The visiting side silenced the Damaturu based club when in the 36th minute, Obi Samson opened scoring from Sunday Adetunji’s assist.

In the 53rd minute, the home side were given a life line to draw level after their player was fouled in the penalty area by Abia Warriors. The resultant spot kick was converted by Philip Auta.

However, this was short-lived as Daniel Uduak scored in his own net to put Warriors back in the lead in the 61st minute.

Samson secured all three points for the away side scoring his second goal of the day to condemn the home team to their seventh defeat of the season and who for the first time have conceded more than a goal at home in the NPFL.

In Kaduna, Kada City succumbed to their fifth loss of the season following a 2-0 loss to former champions, Kano Pillars in a rescheduled Match Day 9.

Pillars Adamu Hassan opened scoring in the 11th when he reacted quickly to a loose ball in Kada City’s penalty area.

In the 62nd minute, Nyima Nwagua finished off a nice pass from Rabiu Ali to put Pillars two goals up and secure all three points of the visiting side.

At the Muhammad Dikko Stadium, Katsina, the home side shared the spoils of war with MFM FC in another rescheduled Match Day 9.

MFM’s Akuneto Chijioke put the Olukoya Boys in the lead in the 44th minute with a screamer but that was not enough as Martins Usule leveled the score for the hosts with a close range finish for the game to end 1-1.

At the Aper Aku stadium, Makurdi, Lobi Stars put aside their continental failure to defeat Rivers United by 2-1 in a rescheduled Match Day 8.

Sikiru Alimi continued from where he stopped in the CAF Champions League by opening scoring just before the end of the first half.


At the restart of the second half, Alimi scored his brace in the 51st minute.

However, Cletus Emotan’s freekick goal helped Rivers pull one back in Makurdi but was not enough to earn the club a point.

Meanwhile, Enugu Rangers will seek to bounce back from their CAF Confederations Cup ouster when the welcome Sunshine Stars in a rescheduled Match Day 3 tomorrow.

Read more at https://thesportsbay.com/26794-npfl19-kano-pillars-win-first-away-match-in-three-seasons.html

Head coach, Gernot Rohr, has said that the Nigerian Super Eagles team does not have star players like it once had.

Rohr made this known in an interview with The Interview on Tuesday.

Asked whether he could win the next African Cup of Nations to be hosted in Egypt with the crop talents in his team, Rohr said:

"We have to be optimistic but if you look at our players, how many of them are playing for big clubs? Who among them is playing in the Champions League?, Rohr said.

"I watched the last champions’ league games and no Nigerian players. We don't have the big players like we used to have in the past; the likes of Austin Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Vincent Enyeama and the rest.

Rohr said though the present Super Eagles squad does not have star players like Austin Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu, the squad has team spirit.
"What we have now is team spirit; we don't have the stars again. We have young players like Alex Iwobi playing for Arsenal in the Europa League even though he was on the bench in their last game, our strength is the team and I hope it will take us far in Egypt, said Rohr.

Read more at https://thesportsbay.com/26760-super-eagles-does-not-have-star-players-anymore-gernot-rohr.html

A 8-year-old Nigerian boy, Tanitoluwa Adewunmi has become a child-chess star in the United States.

Adewunmi, whose family is homeless in Manhattan, has seven trophies after winning his category at the New York State chess championship, according to the New York Times.

The prodigy also went undefeated at the state tournament recently, outwitting children from elite private schools with private chess tutors.



Adewunmi’s rating is now 1587 and rising fast and he is being compared with the world’s best player, Magnus Carlsen, stands at 2845.

His family reportedly fled the Boko Haram insurgency and sought asylum in 2018. They arrived New York City and have, since, been living in a shelter.

Adewunmi began attending the local elementary school, P.S. 116, which has a part-time chess teacher who taught his class how to play.

Having enjoyed the game, the boy prodded his mother, Oluwatoyin Adewumi, to ask if he could join the chess club.

She reportedly sent an email to the chess club, explaining the boy’s interest in the programme and her inability to pay the fees for the programme because the family was living in a shelter.

Russell Makofsky, who oversees the P.S. 116 chess programme, reportedly waived the fees, and a year ago the boy took part in his first tournament with the lowest rating of any participant, 105.

Describing his rise, Makofsky said, “One year to get to this level, to climb a mountain and be the best of the best, without family resources, I have never seen it.”

Although his mother cannot play chess, she takes him every Saturday to a three-hour free practice session in Harlem, and she attends his tournaments.

“He is so driven. He does 10 times more chess puzzles than the average kid. He just wants to be better,” his school chess teacher, Shawn Martinez said.

Read more at https://thesportsbay.com/26728-8-year-nigerian-boy-becomes-chess-star-in-america.html

Shares in Juventus jumped by 30 per cent on Wednesday after a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick catapulted the Italian football club into the quarter finals of the Champions League.

The Bianconeri were staring at a last 16 exit at the hands of Atletico Madrid ahead of Tuesday night’s home leg, having fallen to a 2-0 defeat in the Spanish capital three weeks ago.

But the Portuguese superstar and his teammates stepped up when coach Max Allegri needed them most, and produced a remarkable comeback to stun Diego Simeone’s men.

Ronaldo opened the scoring with a terrific first-half header and levelled the aggregate score four minutes into the second half.

Atletico failed to register a single shot on target during the second leg and when Ronaldo fired home a penalty with four minutes remaining for his 52nd career hat-trick, the Spanish side’s race was run and Juve had booked a quarter-final spot.

The club’s share price rose as much as 30 per cent from a Tuesday close of €1.22 to a high of €1.59 in Milan in early Wednesday trading — boosting its market capitalisation by €373m to €1.6bn.

By lunchtime its shares had settled around €1.42, marking a 17 per cent gain on the previous close.

Qualification for the quarter-finals brings with it a €10.5m windfall, according to Uefa, the governing body for European football. This comes on top of the €9.5m the club had already pocketed for its round of 16 appearances.

Juve will advance to the quarter-finals of the competition, joining Amsterdam’s Ajax, Portugal’s Porto and English clubs Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. Spain’s Barcelona will face French club Lyon and Germany’s Bayern Munich will take on England’s Liverpool on Wednesday night for the final two spots.

A place in the semi-finals brings with it a €12m payout, while an appearance in the final pays a further €15m. The winner of the Champions League will bank another €4m.

The club made waves last month when it tapped international bond markets for the first time, raising €175m of five-year debt at a 3.5 per cent yield, after paying €100m to sign Ronaldo last year.

Read more at https://thesportsbay.com/26655-how-cristiano-ronaldo-hat-trick-sent-juventus-shares-soaring.html

Former Arsenal midfielder, Emmanuel Frimpong, announced his retirement from football at the age of 27 on Friday.

Frimpong, who made just six appearances during his time at the Emirates Stadium before he joined Barnsley in January 2014, said he is putting an end to his football career due to a prolonged knee injury, on Twitter.

“It is with great sadness I have decided to retire from professional football,” Frimpong said.

“I have had problems with my knee for the last five years or so and have got back to playing at a professional level. But since November 2017 I haven’t been in action as I had a tear in my knee ligament.

“I decided with my own will that I will not opt for the operation since I was not enjoying football playing through pain, Frimpong added.

Read more at https://thesportsbay.com/26547-former-arsenal-midfielder-retires-from-football.html

Arsenal defeated Chelsea with a three goal margin on Friday to extend their lead at the top of the Under-18 Premier League table.

Folarin Balogun, Nigerian teenage striker who recently signed his professional contract with Arsenal, gave Arsenal the lead, 26 minutes into the game.

Tyreece John-Jules put Arsenal in a comfortable lead in the 48th minute, while Greenwood’s goal in the 58th minute sealed the young Gunners’ victory in Hertfordshire.


Meanwhile, Liverpool Under-18s booked themselves an Anfield showdown against Watford in the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup with a classy 5-1 demolition of Bury.

It was the perfect start to a massive week for Barry Lewtas’ talented side as they dominated from start to finish in torrential rain at Gigg Lane.

Captain Paul Glatzel struck twice to take his tally for the season to 26 goals and fellow frontman Bobby Duncan is just one behind him after completing the scoring late on.

Glatzel and Jake Cain both struck in the first half before Glatzel’s header extended their lead early in the second half.

Joe Adams pulled one back for Bury but Liverpool finished strongly with Rhys Williams and Duncan also on target.

The young Reds remain on course for the club’s first FA Youth Cup triumph since 2007 as they challenge for glory on three fronts.

Read more at https://thesportsbay.com/26560-balogun-shines-as-arsenal-defeat-chelsea-to-top-league-table.html

Former Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboue has found love again after marrying ex-girlfriend Stephanie Boedé.

Eboue reportedly went broke after the dissolution of his previous marriage as his wife Aurelié took up to £7m of his hard earned money as a professional footballer along with his house in the United Kingdom.

The custody of his three children was also given to the European lady while the footballer was left with virtually nothing after years of playing time in the continent.



The story of Eboue marital misfortune was well documented as the former Arsenal and Galatasaray star revealed that he went on a downward spiral as he contemplated suicide

Eboue’s situation with his previous wife brought about several reactions from the football community.



Some were of the opinion that he was careless about his previous marriage while some others were of the opinion he was mismanaged and duped with some of his previous club s and teammates reportedly coming together to support him emotionally and financially in his period of difficult.

Eboue however, seems to have moved past the dark times in his career and has decided to progress in his relationship by remarrying.

The former Arsenal star has now decided to go back and marry his girlfriend whom he previous dumped early in his career for his European wife.

According to Kahawu Tungu, an Ivorian outlet, Eboue and Stephanie were lovers during his reign at ASEC Mimosas. But after his move to Europe, he met the Belgian.



Following his ordeal in the hands of his Belgium wife, Eboue has returned to his roots for his latest wedding.

According to pictures circulated on social media, Eboue who has a coaching role at Galatasaray had a few friends for a silent wedding in his hometown..

Read more at https://thesportsbay.com/26458-emmanuel-eboue-finds-love-again-marries-ex-girlfriend.html

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Three officials of Nigeria Football Federation will be arraigned and face trial today (Tuesday) 5th March 2019 in a Federal Capital Territory High Court at Maitama, accused of misappropriating $9.5 million and N1.3 million FIFA grants, the SportsBay reports.

It will be recalled that the court had adjourned the case from November 27th 2018 to 5th March 2019 and will now commence trial of the three NFF officials today in Abuja High Court after two adjournments


The defendants are Christopher Andekin, NFF Director of Administration and Finance, Reagan Zaka, Cashier and Fadanari Mamza, Head, Finance and Account Department.

They were dragged to the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on five counts bordering on criminal conspiracy, breach of trust and misappropriation.

The prosecutor, Mr Steve Odiase, told the court that the three defendants conspired between January 8 and January 26, 2015, to commit the offences, contrary to Section 97 of Penal Code.

Odiase alleged that Andekin was entrusted with money meant for the development of football in Nigeria, a grant from the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA).

He said that Andekin, however, fraudulently diverted N1.3 million from the NFF domiciliary account with Zenith Bank, an act that is contrary to section 311 of the Penal Code.

He further alleged that Zaka on his part, fraudulently diverted $7.2 million grant from FIFA for development of football in Nigeria while Mamza diverted $2.3 million.

The defendants all pleaded not guilty to the charges, and their counsel, Mr Arinze Egbo applied for their bail.

The Judge, Justice Peter Affen upheld the administrative bail granted to them earlier by the EFCC.

The grant ($9.5m) was 2014 World Cup fund paid by FIFA to NFF for the development of grassroots football across the country but the present NFF Board in 2015 was alleged to have squandered the funds.

In addition, he ordered that the sureties should sign a bond with the registrar of the court, and the defendants should deposit their international passports.

Read more at https://thesportsbay.com/26450-9-5m-fifa-grant-court-resumes-corruption-trials-of-three-nff-officials.html

The Minister of Youth and Sports Barrister Solomon Dalung has appointed a former Director-General of the National Sports Commission Mallam Alhassan Yakmut as Team Nigeria’s Chief de Mission to the 12th Africa Games in Rabat Morocco later in the year.

In a statement signed by the Special Adviser on Media, Nneka Ikem Anibeze, Dalung said the appointment said it was in recognition of his contributions to sports in the country.

According to Dalung, the sports family will gain much by tapping into Mallam Yakmut’s wealth of knowledge.

“The appointment of Mallam Alhassan Yakmut as Chief de Mission to the African Games in Morocco in June is in recognition of his wealth of experience in sports administration and his contributions to sports.

“I believe that one of the challenges of sports development is what I refer to as the ‘Theory of abandonment’.

“Once you are out of the system you are not associated with the sports family but once in a while, your experience is tapped into for the benefit of sports development.

“So I came up with the policy thrust of appointing former sports administrators and former ministers to serve in such capacity so that we can benefit from their wealth of experience.

This is to give them a sense of belonging and also recognize their contributions,” Dalung said.

Last year, a former Director-General of the then National Sports Commission Otunba Gbenga Elegbeleye was appointed to lead the delegation to the Winter Olympics in Pyongyang, South Korea.

Other former administrators will also be considered for such roles, as the opportunity avails, Dalung states.

The Chief-de-Mission is the Games delegation operational leader, Team Manager and the Liason person between the host country and Nigeria.

Mallam Yakmut is a former Professional Volleyball player and a board member of the Volleyball Federation of Nigeria.

He is currently the Director, Special Duties of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

The 12th African Games will take place from August 24 to September 3, 2019 in Rabat, Morocco. This will be the first time that the African Games will be hosted by Morocco.

https://thesportsbay.com/26412-morocco-2019-dalung-appoints-yakmut-as-team-nigerias-chief-de-mission.html