ManirBK: What do Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid have in common? Of the many answers to that question, two are particularly pertinent right now: First, they've all been afflicted by copious and curious injuries early this season; second, they all played competitive football deep into the summer while contesting the latter stages of the newly formatted FIFA Club World Cup, which Chelsea won on July 14.
Never before have European club teams extended their seasons so far beyond May -- with the exception of the COVID-19 pandemic a few years ago -- and never before have club medical departments been so understandably vexed by the simple idea of keeping their players fit and healthy.
PSG took on Barcelona this month in what should have been a blockbuster Champions League tie, yet the absence of five players who started the 5-0 final victory over Inter Milan in May -- Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, João Neves and Marquinhos -- dampened the occasion a little.
A handful of days later, Chelsea fans grimaced as Benoît Badiashile and Josh Acheampong limped out of what was, eventually, a sensational 2-1 victory over Premier League champions Liverpool. And they add to an already jaw-dropping list of injuries: Cole Palmer is on his second muscle strain of the campaign; Liam Delap has sustained a Grade 2 hamstring pull; Dário Essugo has had surgery on his thigh; Tosin Adarabioyo, Wesley Fofana and Andrey Santos all missed the game with knocks; and Levi Colwill's ACL tear has already ruled him out for most of the season.
What do Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid have in common? Of the many answers to that question, two are particularly pertinent right now: First, they've all been afflicted by copious and curious injuries early this season; second, they all played competitive football deep into the summer while contesting the latter stages of the newly formatted FIFA Club World Cup, which Chelsea won on July 14.
Never before have European club teams extended their seasons so far beyond May -- with the exception of the COVID-19 pandemic a few years ago -- and never before have club medical departments been so understandably vexed by the simple idea of keeping their players fit and healthy.
PSG took on Barcelona this month in what should have been a blockbuster Champions League tie, yet the absence of five players who started the 5-0 final victory over Inter Milan in May -- Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, João Neves and Marquinhos -- dampened the occasion a little.
A handful of days later, Chelsea fans grimaced as Benoît Badiashile and Josh Acheampong limped out of what was, eventually, a sensational 2-1 victory over Premier League champions Liverpool. And they add to an already jaw-dropping list of injuries: Cole Palmer is on his second muscle strain of the campaign; Liam Delap has sustained a Grade 2 hamstring pull; Dário Essugo has had surgery on his thigh; Tosin Adarabioyo, Wesley Fofana and Andrey Santos all missed the game with knocks; and Levi Colwill's ACL tear has already ruled him out for most of the season.
Real Madrid have fared a bit better, but have already been forced to overcome a mini-crisis at right back, as Dani Carvajal's fitness has suffered and, like Delap, new arrival Trent Alexander-Arnold has already suffered a Grade 2 hamstring injury.
Fluminense, the other Club World Cup semifinalists, are not suffering, but they're a separate case. The league in Brazil runs from March to December, so they entered the tournament midway through their season, fit and firing, and they also have a huge squad to deal with the typical rigors of the Brazilian Serie A campaign (they've used 37 players so far.)
But while they were prepared for the grueling summer tournament, even Europe's richest and finest could not possibly be. There's no doubt the Club World Cup has wrought havoc for the three European teams who got the furthest. But is it entirely to blame for their injury situations?
An impossible situation
PSG have been left without a lot of their key players. FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images Chelsea beat PSG 3-0 in the Club World Cup final on July 14 -- a match that finally brought a stop to a season that lasted 355 days for the Blues and 357 days for Les Parisiens. Then, roughly 20 days later, at the start of August, both clubs reported for preseason -- and in what has proved to be something of a dark omen, Chelsea defender Colwill tore his ACL on the first day of training.
The Blues squeezed two friendlies on back-to-back days into a tight two-week preparation period, then opened the 2025-26 Premier League season at home to Crystal Palace. PSG didn't even bother with friendlies and kicked off their campaign even earlier, as they played the chaotic UEFA Super Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur on Aug. 13 (winning 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in normal time).
Meanwhile, Madrid began preseason on the same day as Chelsea, played one friendly against Austrian outfit WSG Tirol, and failed in their appeal to have their first LaLiga fixture, against Osasuna, postponed due to a lack of preparation time -- though they did play it on the following Tuesday rather than the weekend. In total, they banked a precious six extra days compared to the finalists.
ESPN presented the raw details of the schedules that Chelsea, PSG and Real Madrid were forced to battle with to several professionals within the game. The reactions varied from disbelief to grave concern.
Paul Bower is a physical performance coach at MLS side CF Montréal and doctoral researcher in training periodization strategies at Leeds Beckett University. He shook his head as the schedule was read out, telling ESPN that this situation is effectively unprecedented.
"No one in football had any experience of what a Club World Cup would do to preseason preparations," he said. "Not in the sense of a club squad being together for such a prolonged period of time. Their [PSG, Chelsea and Real Madrid's] seasons started last July, in 2024, and are still going.
"Two to three weeks off is not enough to 'detrain.' Essentially, it takes about four weeks for players to start to detrain."
Detraining is effectively resting, or as Bower put it, "going back to zero." In order for a professional footballer to reset between seasons, they need to lose fitness and physical ability, separate from the sport psychologically, then rebuild it steadily in time for the next campaign.
"If you're off for a week or so, it's basically just a break," he added. "You're not actually going back down to 'zero.' The players won't have decompressed from an emotional and psychological point of view."
Rashidi Yekini (23 October 1963 – 4 May 2012) was a Nigerian footballer who played as a striker.
His professional career, which spanned more than two decades, was mainly associated with Vitória de Setúbal in Portugal, but he also played in six other countries besides his own.
Yekini scored 37 goals as a Nigerian international, and represented the nation in five major tournaments, including two World Cups where he scored the country's first-ever goal in the competition. He was also named the African Footballer of the Year in 1993
Club career
Yekini was born in Kaduna, of Yoruba origin. After starting his professional career in the Nigerian league, he moved to Côte d'Ivoire to play for Africa Sports National, and from there he went to Portugal and Vitória de Setúbal where he experienced his most memorable years, eventually becoming the Primeira Liga's top scorer in the 1993–94 season after scoring 21 goals; the previous campaign he had netted a career-best 34 in 32 games to help the Sadinos promote from the second division, and those performances earned him the title of African Footballer of the Year once, the first ever for the nation.
In the summer of 1994, Yekini was bought by Olympiacos FC, but did not get along with teammates and left soon after. His career never really got back on track, not even upon a return to Setúbal which happened after another unassuming spell, in La Liga with Sporting de Gijón; he successively played with FC Zürich, Club Athlétique Bizertin and Al-Shabab Riyadh, before rejoining Africa Sports. In 2003, aged 39, he returned to the Nigerian championship with Julius Berger FC.
In April 2005, 41-year-old Yekini made a short comeback, moving alongside former national teammate Mobi Oparaku to Gateway United FC.
International career
Scoring 37 goals for Nigeria in 58 appearances, Yekini was the national record goalscorer. He was part of the team that participated in the 1994 (where he netted Nigeria's first-ever goal in a World Cup, in a 3–0 win against Bulgaria, his celebration after scoring, crying while holding the goal's net, became one of the iconic images of the tournament) and the 1998 FIFA World Cups.
Additionally, Yekini helped the Super Eagles win the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia where he also topped the goal charts and was named best player of the competition. He also participated at Olympic level in Seoul 1988.
Death
Yekini was reported to be ill for an extended period of time. In 2011, news media in Nigeria begun issuing reports of his failing health, and he was said to suffer from bipolar disorder, depression and some other undisclosed psychiatric condition. He died in Ibadan on 4 May 2012 at the age of 48, the news being confirmed by former national teammates Mutiu Adepoju and Ike Shorunmu; he was buried at his residence in Ira, Kwara State. He was survived by his aged mother, brother, wives and children, among others.
A huge Amazon Web Services outage has taken out multiple web services including Alexa, Ring, Reddit, Snapchat and many more.
The issues appeared to start at around 7.40am BST when a large spike on Downdetector showed reported problems with Amazon Web Services – which in turn has taken down many services that rely on its cloud computing power.
The exact cause of the issues isn't clear, but the Amazon Web Services dashboard shows an "operational issue" in North Virginia. The AWS dashboard says "engineers were immediately engaged and are actively working on both mitigating the issue" and recently posted that "we are seeing significant signs of recovery".
The knock-on effects appear to be widespread, including many banks.
Niger State Governor Umar Bago, a Muslim joined the Living Faith Church service in Minna to pray for peace and unity.
Niger State Governor Umar Bago, a Muslim joined the Living Faith Church service in Minna to pray for peace and unity🥹🧎🏻♂️➡️ pic.twitter.com/2FciPOEdnW
Governor Umaru Bago of Niger State was present at Living Faith Church, Minna on Sunday, 4th May 2025 to celebrate the 44th Anniversary of the Liberation Mandate.
He went on to donate ₦50 million and promised to construct the road network within the Church premises.
Actress Sarah Martins tearfully shares her encounter with Lagos task force officials, who allegedly harassed her for cooking on the street in Lekki.
My heart aches 😭😭😭
Today as I was cooking free food for the vulnerable and homeless people on the street of Lagos like I always do, some uniform men came there, harassed me, bullied me and took away the food I was cooking, took away my cooking gas and everything I was making free food with.
My only offense was serving love on a plate through my healthy meals.
The late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was accused by one of his fans during a singing competition as having performed on stage with his underpants.
During an audition on the popular reality Nigerian Idols in 2008, a contestant who rendered Fela’s songs appeared in his pants to perform in front of the judges.
Dede Mabiaku, a protege of the Afrobeat legend was part of Fela’s daily life and his band Egypt 80 for more than 10 years. The popular belief is that Fela performed on stage in his underpants, but Dede, who was on the Nigerian Idols panel, clarifies the issue in this video.
Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì (Yoruba: [fɛ̄lá āníkúlák͡pó kútì]; born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997) was a Nigerian musician and political activist. He is regarded as the principal innovator of Afrobeat, a Nigerian music genre that combines West African music with American funk and jazz. At the height of his popularity, he was referred to as one of Africa's most "challenging and charismatic music performers". AllMusic described him as "a musical and sociopolitical voice" of international significance.
Kuti was the son of Nigerian women's rights activist Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. After early experiences abroad, he and his band Africa '70 (featuring drummer and musical director Tony Allen) shot to stardom in Nigeria during the 1970s, during which Kuti was an outspoken critic and target of Nigeria's military juntas. In 1970, he founded the Kalakuta Republic commune, which declared itself independent from military rule. The commune was destroyed in a 1978 army raid that injured Kuti and his mother, the latter fatally. He was jailed by the government of Muhammadu Buhari in 1984, but released after 20 months. Kuti continued to record and perform through the 1980s and 1990s. Since his death in 1997, reissues and compilations of his music have been overseen by his son, Femi Kuti.
Death
On 3 August 1997, Kuti's brother Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, already a prominent AIDS activist and former Minister of Health, announced that Kuti had died on the previous day from heart failure due to complications with AIDS. Kuti had been an AIDS denialist, and his widow maintained that he did not die of the disease.
Personal life
Kuti married 27 women simultaneously in 1978. His youngest son Seun took the role of leading Kuti's former band Egypt 80. As of 2022, the band is still active, releasing music under the name Seun Kuti & Egypt 80. His other children include musicians Femi and Yeni Kuti.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Today is National No Bra Day.
No Bra Day is an annual observance on October 13 on which women are encouraged to go braless as a means to encourage breast cancer awareness.
No Bra Day was initially observed on July 9, 2011, but within three years it had moved to the 13th day of the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, October. Users on social media are encouraged to post using the hashtag #nobraday to promote awareness of breast cancer symptoms and to encourage gender equality.
Some users on social media sites also encourage women to post pictures of themselves not wearing a bra. Some women embrace No Bra Day as a political statement while others prefer the comfort of discarding what they view as a restrictive, uncomfortable garment.
#NoBraDay is not an opportunity to see breast. It is an international observance on Oct 13th to remember the victims, celebrate the survivors and create awareness about breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed life-threatening cancer in women
It is the leading cause of cancer death among women. It was previously known to be commoner in women greater than 35 but recently, Breast Cancer is becoming increasingly common in younger women.
Risk Factors Age Family History of breast cancer Smoking and Alcohol intake Obesity
Dietary Factors/Excessive Processes foods Early Menarche Low parity Failure to breastfeed etc
What are the Signs/Symptoms?
Painless lump Change in breast size/shape Nipple retraction/inversion/discharge Breast Skin Changes/Ulcers Lump in the axilla Etc
What can you do as a woman? Self Breast examination is a very useful method for early discovery of lumps which could be cancerous. A self breast examination should be done every month on the 3rd-5th day after the first day of menstruation.
This is because the breast is less tender and lumpy at this time in your monthly cycle. If you pick any lump during this examination, kindly proceed to see a Doctor for further evaluation which may include Ultrasound Scan, Mammography or Histology.
When picked early enough, breast cancer may be curable by Chemotherapy alone or Chemotherapy+Surgical Intervention but late presentation inevitably leads to death. Early diagnosis is key. Tell your sisters, wives, mothers, nieces and daughters.
Credit: DR.PENKING™ (Twitter)
#NoBraDay is all about creating awareness for breast cancer, educating our women about the importance of breast examination and preventive measures.
Not an avenue to showcase your Breast please. Examine your breast today, stay safe and healthy.
Oluwatosin Gbewa @Gbewa1
See how Nigerians and the world are celebrating no bra day.
Presidential aide, Bayo Onanuga has given reasons why President Tinubu gave Maryam Sanda a presidential pardon after she killed her husband.
Maryam Sanda, 37. Sentenced to death in 2020 for culpable homicide and had spent six years, eight months at Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre.
Onanuga said Sanda’s family pleaded for her release, arguing that it was in the best interest of her two children.
The plea was also anchored on her good conduct in jail, her remorse, and her embracement of a new lifestyle, demonstrating her commitment to being a model prisoner.
President Bola Tinubu has granted clemency to Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death in 2020 for killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, during a domestic dispute.
Mr Tinubu’s decision was announced on Saturday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
Ms Sanda, now 37, had spent six years and eight months at the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre before her release.
According to Mr Onanuga, the decision followed pleas from her family, who argued that freeing her was in the best interest of her two children. He added that the pardon was also based on her good conduct in custody and her “remorse and embrace of a new lifestyle.”
PREMIUM TIMES had extensively reported Ms Sanda’s prosecution and conviction. The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja found her guilty of culpable homicide and sentenced her to death by hanging in January 2020.
Justice Yusuf Halilu held that Ms Sanda fatally stabbed her husband with a kitchen knife, saying the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The victim, Bilyaminu Bello, was the son of a former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Haliru Bello.
Ms Sanda was first arraigned by the Nigerian police in November 2017 for allegedly stabbing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, to death at their Abuja home.
Her trial began amid several bail applications, which were repeatedly denied until March 2018, when she was eventually granted bail on health grounds.
The proceedings were marked by frequent adjournments, the disappearance of witnesses, and the withdrawal of her defence lawyer, causing significant delays.
During the hearings, witnesses narrated how Ms Sanda had allegedly attempted to stab her husband multiple times before his death, while she argued that the killing was not premeditated but the result of a domestic quarrel.
After over two years of trial, Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court found Ms Sanda guilty of culpable homicide on 27 January 2020. He ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced her to death by hanging.
Ms Sanda is among 175 convicts and former convicts that President Tinubu pardoned or reduced their sentences.
The list includes “illegal miners, white-collar convicts, remorseful drug offenders, foreigners…,” Mr Onanuga wrote.
According to Mr Onanuga, “President Tinubu granted clemency to most of them based on the reports that the convicts had shown remorse and good conduct. He forgave some due to old age, the acquisition of new vocational skills, or enrolment in the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).“
Nollywood actor, Shawn Faqua is engaged to Sharon.
Sharing his engagement photo, the actor who Is a born again and against sex before marriage wrote:
THE LORD HAS DONE IT - FINALLY!!! 🥳
And it is MARVELOUS in my eyes. 😍
This divine mystery called ‘L O V E’; never thought it would find me again in human form…..but it did. The type that comes once in a lifetime. Indeed, these three remain: faith, hope and love….but the greatest of these is LOVE. ♥️
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Corina Machado for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.
Hungarian master of absurdist excess László Krasznahorkai wins Nobel literature prize
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai, whose surreal and anarchic novels combine a bleak world view with mordant humor, won the Nobel Prize in literature Thursday for work the judges said upholds the power of art in the midst of “apocalyptic terror.”
The Nobel judges said the 71-year-old author, whose novels sometimes consist of just one long sentence, is “a great epic writer” whose work “is characterized by absurdism and grotesque excess.”
He’s the first Nobel literature winner from Hungary since Imre Kertesz in 2002 and joins a list of laureates that includes Ernest Hemingway, Toni Morrison and Kazuo Ishiguro.
“I am calm and very nervous,” Krasznahorkai told Radio Sweden after getting news of the prize, which comes with an award of more than $1 million. “This is the first day in my life when I got a Nobel Prize. I don’t know what’s coming in the future.”
The work that won the Nobel Prize in literature
The American writer and critic Susan Sontag once described Krasznahorkai as the “contemporary master of the Apocalypse.” His work has echoes of other European writers who explored the absurd tragicomedy of existence, including Franz Kafka and Samuel Beckett.
Zsuzsanna Varga, a Hungarian literature expert at the University of Glasgow, said Krasznahorkai’s novels probe the “utter hopelessness” of human existence, while also being “incredibly funny.”
Krasznahorkai’s near-endless sentences made his work the “Hotel California” of literature — once readers get into it, “you can never leave,” she said.
Varga suggested readers new to Krasznahorkai’s work start with “Satantango,” his 1985 debut, which centered around the few remaining residents of a dying collective farm and set the tone for what was to follow.
Krasznahorkai has since written more than 20 books, including “The Melancholy of Resistance,” a surreal, disturbing tale involving a traveling circus and a stuffed whale, and “Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming,” the sprawling saga of a gambling-addicted aristocrat.
DSS alerts members of the public of the activities of one Barry Donald, a dismissed DSS staff. He is reportedly engaging in unscrupulous activities, including using the name of the Service to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.
DISCLAIMER
BARRY DONALD
The Department of State Services (DSS) hereby alerts members of the public of the activities of one Barry Donald, a dismissed staff. He is reportedly engaging in unscrupulous activities, including using the name of the Service to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.
Members of the public are therefore advised to desist from any dealings with him. For requests, enquiries or complaints the Service can be reached on 09088373515 or via email: dsspr@dss.gov.ng
Career › Re: 3 Types Of Clients To Avoid As A Freelancer by nlfpmod(mod): 11:55am On Oct 29, 2025
