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Nigeria international, Godfrey Oboabona, seems not to be worried about the coronavirus.

The Dinamo Batumi defender is training hard to stay fit despite the pandemic which has put a pause to footballing activities in major leagues across the globe.

Matches in Georgia's national football leagues have been suspended until April as a measure against the spread of Covid-19.

The Georgian Football Federation revealed on Wednesday it was taking the measure in accordance with its "high priority" for players' and supporters' health.

Continue reading @ https://sportinglife.ng/coronavirus-no-days-off-for-oboabona-amidst-covid-19-outbreak/

The Premier League has postponed all matches until at least April 3 as the coronavirus wreaks havoc with the sporting schedule across Europe.

That has left the league’s players and clubs at a loose end, so AFP Sport looked at what some of them have been getting up to:

Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi has been keeping himself in good shape – and virus-free – in case the season can resume any time soon.

The German, whose manager Mikel Arteta tested positive for the virus on Thursday, posted a video of his cardio workout, which featured plenty of dancing and gesturing along to some of his favourite music.

Clearly enjoying being about to dictate the terms of his fitness regime away from Arsenal, Mustafi’s video was accompanied with the words: “The feeling when the fitness coaches can’t tell you to put your phone away whilst doing bike”.

Following the health guidelines over combating the virus, Mustafi also took time to video himself washing his hands, while doing keepie-uppies.
Continue Reading here: https://sportinglife.ng/coronavirus-how-premier-league-stars-keep-busy-during-the-shutdown/

Italy coach Roberto Mancini said Sunday he was ready for the European Championship to be postponed until 2021 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Roberto Mancini has revived Italy after they failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup finals

“We would have won the European Championship this summer, we can also win it in 2021,” Mancini told Italian television station Rai Sport.

“Let’s wait to see what UEFA decides, but I adapt to everything, right now the priority is to save lives.”

Continue reading here: https://sportinglife.ng/football-can-wait-italy-coach-mancini-ready-to-play-euros-in-2021/

Odion Ighalo is still on cloud nine, celebrating his first Manchester derby at Old Trafford.

Ighalo was replaced by Bruno Fernandes with two minutes remaining in the game which United won 2-0.

It was his seventh appearance for United since joining them on loan from Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua.

“My first Manchester derby what a day.God is the Greatest,” Ighalo wrote on his verified Twitter handle. . . see tweet here https://sportinglife.ng/ighalo-still-on-cloud-nine-after-first-manchester-derby/

Victor Osimhen's Lille were 1-0 better than Olympique Lyon in Sunday’s night Ligue 1 encounter at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

Buoyed by their away victory at Nantes, Christophe Galtier’s men subdued the Kids thanks to Loic Remy’s first-half strike.

Left unmarked in Lyon’s goal area, Remy fired past goalkeeper Anthony Lopes after receiving a clever pass from Jonathan Bamba.

In the process, the 33-year-old becomes the player who has scored the most against Lyon in the 21st century with seven goals.

Lille could have gone two goals up in the second half but his effort kissed the woodwork.

The visitors could have snatched a late minute equliser but substitute Bertrand Traore shot over the bar despite making mincemeat of two Lille defenders.

Victor Osimhen was in . . . continue reading @ https://sportinglife.ng/ligue-1-remy-fires-osimhens-lille-past-lyon-keep-pressure-on-rennes/

Aaron Ramsey starred as Juventus beat title rivals Inter Milan 2-0 on Sunday night to reclaim top spot in Serie A in a game played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Earlier in the day, Italian sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora called for the league season to be put on hold.

His statement caused chaos at the early game between SPAL and Parma, with confused players sent back to the dressing rooms from the tunnel before eventually taking to the field 75 minutes after the scheduled kick-off.

Juventus’ game against Inter in Turin did go ahead, although in an empty Allianz Stadium, with the defending champions taking a one-point lead over Lazio at the top of the table

“It’s all a little strange and sad to play football in these conditions, sad for the fans and the players,” Juventus director Fabio Paratici told Sky Sport Italia.

“We trained in the empty stadium . . . continue reading @ https://sportinglife.ng/serie-a-sad-to-play-in-empty-stadium-says-juventus-chief/

Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud admits a move to Inter Milan was close in the January transfer window.

Giroud pushed for a move away from Stamford Bridge, having started just two Premier League matches before January.

He said to Telefoot: "I saw myself elsewhere after experiencing six complicated months. I did everything to leave - it's true.

"Inter was the priority, and there was also contact with Lazio and Tottenham . But circumstances meant that Chelsea blocked it. It was not my choice."

The attacker - who got his name on . . . continue reading @ https://sportinglife.ng/giroud-i-made-inter-milan-move-my-priority/

Former Manchester United star, Gary Neville, does not believe Mohamed Salah is at Liverpool for the long haul.

Pharaohs' new captain Mohamed Salah

Salah has been a key member of the Reds side since arriving from Roma.

He has helped them achieve Champions League glory, and put them within touching distance of the Premier League title.

But Neville thinks that Salah wants to move on to the likes of Real Madrid or Barcelona.

'It's never easy to replace a player like that," Neville said on Sky's Monday Night Football ahead of Liverpool's 3-2 win over West Ham.

"I said 18 ... continue reading @ https://sportinglife.ng/neville-salah-using-liverpool-as-stepping-stone-for-real-madrid-barcelona/

Serge Gnabry returned to London with another haunting display in the capital, as his two goals helped Bayern Munich to beat Chelsea 3-0 in the Champions League.

Having netted four times against Tottenham in North London during the group stages, Gnabry made it six goals on English soil this term with two quick-fire second-half goals, before Robert Lewandowski finished the Blues off in the first leg of the last 16 clash.

Bayern dominated possession and ... continue reading here: https://sportinglife.ng/chelsea-03-bayern-gnabrys-goals-sinks-blues-at-stamford-bridge/

Owner of Bucharest club FCSB, Gigi Becali has cited his player’s extreme love for sex as reason for the poor performance of the club.

The 61 year old businessman and politician insisted the players easily get under the sheets with their girlfriends, a routine which leaves them with limited energy to do the needful on the pitch. “The players are having sex too much”

The 1986 European Cup winners, formerly known as . . . continue reading @ https://sportinglife.ng/stay-away-from-sex-and-give-me-good-football-becali/

Former Confederation of African Football [CAF] Secretary General Amr Fahmy died on February 23 at the age of 36. Fahmy’s death came after a severe battle with cancer, according to various news outlets.

Fahmy served as the CAF Secretary General from 2017 to 2019 before leaving and deciding to enter the upcoming presidential elections for the CAF in 2021.

Additionally, Fahmy holds a FIFA Master’s in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport, and has a great experience from working in the CAF.

Fahmy worked as the general coordinator for the 2013 Youth World Cup held in Turkey, general director for the National African Cup of Nations tournaments from 2011 to 2014.

Moreover, Fahmy served as the general manager for the following African Cup of Nations tournaments: 2013 and 2015. . . continue reading @ https://sportinglife.ng/former-caf-secretary-general-amr-fahmy-dies-at-36/

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said that he is “very excited” by Bruno Fernandes’ potential at the club after the midfielder’s contributions against Watford.

January arrival Fernandes had shown glimpses of his talent in a 2-0 defeat of Chelsea earlier this week but he came to life by scoring and setting up the two other goals in United’s 3-0 win over Watford.

The Hornets did have their chances but Fernandes was clinical as he opened his Red Devils account through a penalty, before Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood finished the visitors off.

The result is United’s second successive . . . continue reading @ https://sportinglife.ng/solskjaer-excited-after-seeing-fernandes-excel-with-game-winning-trait/

Bruno Fernandes scored his first goal for Manchester United and set up two others as he helped the Red Devils down Watford 3-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Fernandes had shown glimpses of his talent in Monday’s defeat of Chelsea but the Portuguese came to life this time round, with a show of desire and grit that spurred his side to victory.

A sluggish first half looked as if it would end goalless but Old Trafford sprung into life shortly before half time when Fernandes opened his account in a United shirt from the penalty spot.

After a swift attack, the Portugal international got through on goal and was clipped by Foster in the box after taking the ball away from the goalkeeper, before finishing the spot-kick into the bottom right corner.

Watford started the second half better and Troy Deeney thought he had equalised, only for VAR to chalk off his effort for handball.

United took advantage of their ... continue reading @ https://sportinglife.ng/stunning-display-gets-fernandes-up-and-running-as-man-utd-down-watford-3-0/

Who should win the Premier League Player of the Year award?

We’ve been treated to some special performances this season, particularly from Liverpool players.

Liverpool players have won the award in each of the past two seasons - Mohamed Salah in 2017/18 and Virgil van Dijk in 2018/19 - and they could well make it a hat-trick this year.

Van Dijk is in contention to defend his prize and he’s joined in the running by Sadio Mane and Jordan Henderson.

Henderson has plenty of support, with Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer admitting he would give his vote to the midfielder at the start of the month.

“I believe that if the season was to end tomorrow, he would be my Player of the Season. Absolutely no doubt about it,” Shearer said, per Goal.

And then there’s Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, who, in many people’s eyes, is the most talented player in the English top flight.

De Bruyne has eight goals and 16 assists in the Premier League this season and his rating of 7.96 on WhoScored is the highest out of any player in the division.

Sky Sports put it to the fans by running a ... continue reading @ https://sportinglife.ng/2019-20-premier-league-player-de-bruyne-ahead-of-mane-van-dijk/

Barcelona have completed the emergency signing of former Middlesbrough flop Martin Braithwaite in a £15million deal – inserting a ludicrous £250million buy-out clause in his contract.

The 28-year-old, who has spent the season at La Liga counterparts Leganes, has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with the club following the long-term injuries to Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez.

The rumours about the ex-Middlesbrough forward surfaced after the Catalan giants were granted permission to sign an ’emergency’ forward outside of the January transfer window after being left with just three forwards until the end of the season – one of whom is just 17-years-old.

Despite a plethora of forwards being . . . continue reading @ https://sportinglife.ng/ridiculous-buy-out-clause-inserted-as-barcelona-seal-braithwaite-deal/

Odion Ighalo has said Manchester United do not have a striker that plays him as he gets set to make his debut against Chelsea tonight in a premier league fixture.

Shortly after arriving Ighalo outlined how he would transform United's front line and fans will be hoping to see the striker this evening.

Asked if he can make a difference, Ighalo told MUTV: "Yeah, because sometimes I watch the games and they don’t have like a striker who stays mostly in the middle.

"[Anthony] Martial likes to come from the side, even [Marcus] Rashford and all that. So they need someone in the middle who can keep the ball, hold the ball ... continue reading @https://sportinglife.ng/ighalo-im-the-perfect-striker-for-united-ahead-chelsea-clash/

Management of Rangers International F.C, have made an official appeal to the Nigerian football league organizers, LMC, against the decisions of F.C.T based referee, Jacob Gwatsa, over his controversial handling of match day 20, NPFL fixture with Akwa United in Enugu where the referee ignored two clear penalty calls against the visiting side that ran away with a 1-2 win.

Rangers management wondered why the same referee that had his red card decision against its player, Pascal Seka in a rescheduled match day 8 fixture against host, Bendel Insurance in Benin last season, rescinded by the league organizers would be at the center of controversial calls barely a year after.

The letter which was signed by team manager of the Enugu side, Barrister Amobi Ezeaku for the G.M, read in part, “… continue reading @ https://sportinglife.ng/rangers-appeal-against-referee-jacob-gwatsa/

Spanish champions Barcelona have been granted special permission by La Liga to make an emergency signing outside of the transfer window, reports BBC Sport.

The decision comes after French forward Ousmane Dembele was ruled out for six months with a serious hamstring injury.

La Liga rules allow clubs to apply to make new signings if ... continue reading @ https://sportinglife.ng/%e2%80%8bbarcelona-allowed-to-make-emergency-signing/

Erling Haaland has won the Bundesliga's Player of the Month award for January despite having played just 60 minutes last month.
Nineteen-year-old Haaland, who joined Borussia Dortmund from Austrian side FC Salzburg in the January transfer window, played twice that month, scoring a hat trick on his debut against Augsburg and netting twice against Cologne.

In both matches, the Norway . . . continue reading @ https://sportinglife.ng/haaland-wins-player-of-the-month-award-after-an-hour-on-pitch/

Former Nigeria Football Federation Technical Director, Kashimawo Laloko, has expressed doubts about the success of Gernot Rohr and Joseph Yobo's combination as Super Eagles coaches.


The former Super Eagles captain, who is also the team’s joint most-capped player in history, was on Wednesday named as the Franco-German tactician’s assistant following the dismissal of former Enugu Rangers coach, Imama Amapakabo.

Meanwhile, Rohr has been in charge of the nation’s national team since August 2016, and the former Girondins Bordeaux manager is looking to . . . continue reading @ https://sportinglife.ng/lalokos-bombshell-rohr-yobo-combination-not-good-for-super-eagles/

Former Arsenal hero, Nwankwo Kanu, has given a pass mark to the club’s current manager Mikel Arteta.

However, the two-time African Footballer of the Year has charged the former Man City assistant coach to find a way to get his men to convert draws to wins.

Since Arteta took complete reins at the Emirates on Boxing Day last year, the Gunners have only won one Premier League match, a 2-0 defeat of Manchester United.

Remarkably, though, Arteta’s men . . . continue reading @ https://sportinglife.ng/nwankwo-kanu-gives-mikel-artetas-arsenal-pass-mark/

World number one Ashleigh Barty said her 12-week-old niece helped put her Australian Open semi-final defeat into perspective on Thursday as she delivered her post-match press conference holding the baby girl.

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American 14th seed Sofia Kenin silenced Rod Laver Arena with a ...
Continue reading @ https://sportinglife.ng/australian-open-barty-comforted-by-baby-after-shock-loss/

Super Eagles defender, William Troost-Ekong suffered an apparent knee injury in Udinese’s 2-0 Serie A defeat to Parma last weekend.

The Nigeria international made his 19th league appearance at the Stadio Ennio Tardini and was in action until the 79th minute when he was fouled by Parma’s Matteo Scozzarella.

The 26-Year-old was then replaced by Sebastien De Maio a minute later as he could not continue with ...
Continue reading here: https://sportinglife.ng/injured-william-troost-ekong-to-miss-clash-against-moses/

Anett Kontaveit says that reaching her first Grand Slam quarter-final on Monday helps banish the heartbreak of pulling out of the US Open with an illness that torpedoed her 2019 season and required surgery.

The 24-year-old became the first Estonian woman to reach the last eight in Melbourne after battling past Polish teenager Iga Swiatek 6-7 (4⁄7), 7-5, 7-5 in 2hrs 42mins.

Continue Reading Here: https://sportinglife.ng/aussie-open-kontaveit-into-first-grand-slam-quarter-after-illness/

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have paid their tributes to Kobe Bryant after the NBA legend died on Sunday.

The former LA Lakers star and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were two of the nine people who died on board a helicopter when it crashed outside the city of Calabasas, which is situated to the west of Los Angeles, at around 10am on Sunday morning.

Continue Reading here: https://sportinglife.ng/messi-ronaldo-pay-tribute-to-kobe-bryant-after-nba-legend-dies/

Liberia President and former FIFA world footballer of the Year, George Weah, former Manchester City star, Yaya Toure and ex-Super Eagles defender, Godfrey Oboabona, have  paid tributes to the tragic demise of the NBA basketball legend, Kobe Bryant and his daughter,Gianna who  died in a helicopter crash near Calabasas, Califonia, on Sunday.
Cotinue Reading Here: https://sportinglife.ng/president-george-weah-toure-others-pay-tributes-to-kobe-bryant/

UEFA's Team of the Year for 2019 certainly raised a few eyebrows upon its release yesterday.

It wasn't exactly the personnel included, rather the formation implemented for the players involved.

Instead of going for the tried and tested 4-3-3 formation, UEFA opted to use a 4-2-4 one instead.

That meant Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane and Robert Lewandowski lined up as a menacing front four.

Seems a bit strange to include four forwards, doesn't it? That's because it was.

As per the Daily Mail,..
Continue reading here: https://sportinglife.ng/uefa-removed-chelsea-star-from-team-of-the-year-to-fit-in-ronaldo/

Chelsea are set to make a move for Real Madrid playmaker Isco as Frank Lampard looks to create the best midfield in the Premier League.

The Spaniard could cost the Blues £47million, but that shouldn't be a problem considering their recent transfer ban.

Continue reading here: https://sportinglife.ng/chelsea-keen-to-complete-47m-deal-for-real-madrid-star/

Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford has explained why he tried to carry on in the FA Cup tie against Wolves, despite being injured.

The England international was seen struggling with a back injury in the clash at Old Trafford on Wednesday night, and was eventually substituted.

Continue reading here: https://sportinglife.ng/fa-cup-rashford-sends-message-to-fans-after-injury-against-wolves/

Impressive 40-year old Rochdale striker Aaron Wilbraham is upbeat ahead of Tuesday's FA cup replay with Newcastle, insisting that the pressure is on the premier league side.

Wilbraham came off the bench to snatch a late equaliser against the Magpies and take their third-round tie to a replay at St James’ Park this Tuesday.

Rochdale are currently 18th in League One, 49 places below Premier League Newcastle on the football ladder, and Wilbraham feels they have absolutely nothing to lose.

The former Norwich and Crystal Palace striker told the PA news agency: ....
Continue reading at https://sportinglife.ng/fa-cup-replay-the-pressure-is-newcastles-says-rochadale/

Super Falcons captain Asisat Oshoala claimed Nigeria’s only award during Tuesday’s CAF awards in Cario, Egypt.

The Barcelona forward emerged the 2019 African Women’s Player of the Year after seeing off Ajara Nchout of Cameroon and South Africa’s Thembi Kgatlana, who claimed the prestigious award in Senegal last year.

Interestingly, the 25-year-old Oshoala claimed the title for the fourth time after winning the award in 2014, 2016 and 2017.

Equally, the Falcons forward was also among the final three in 2018, but could not get past South Africa’s Kgatlana.

Moments after the award was made public, Oshoala took to Twitter to applaud Read more at https://sportinglife.ng/caf-awards-2019-oshoala-picks-nigerias-only-award/

Senegal’s Sadio Mane has been crowned CAF African Player of the Year for 2019, with teammate Mohamed Salah finishing in the top three.

The Liverpool pair Mane and Salah were named in the final three for the award alongside Man City‘s Riyad Mahrez.
Read More at https://sportinglife.ng/sadio-mane-claims-africas-best-player-for-2019/