Month: September 2024

Super Eagles skipper, William Troost-Ekong, Taiwo Awoniyi, Ademola Lookman and four other players are early birds in the national team camp in Uyo.  The others players that have arrived camp as at press time are; Ola Aina, Semi Ajayi, Olisa Ndah and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru.  More players are expected to hit the camp later today ahead of their build for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Cheetahs of Benin Republic and the Amavubi of Rwanda this month. 

Interim manager Augustine Eguavoen has selected Enugu Rangers’ head coach, Fidelis Ilechukwu and Daniel Ogunmodede of Remo Stars to assist him plot the downfall of the Cheetahs of Benin Republic and the Amavubi of Rwanda in the Super Eagles’ 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches this month. Ilechukwu led the Flying Antelopes to triumph in Nigeria’s elite division last season, with Ogunmodede’s Remo Stars in second place. They will be joined in Uyo by Tomaz Zorec, a fitness trainer from Slovenia, goalkeeper trainer Olatunji Baruwa and match analyst, Eboboritse Uwejamomere. Players and officials of the three-time African champions are expected in Uyo on Monday to kick off preparations for Saturday’s clash with the Cheetahs at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, from 5pm. The team will depart for Kigali on Sunday, for Tuesday’s Matchday 2 clash with the Amavubi (Bees) of Rwanda at the Amahoro Stadium, starting from 3pm Rwanda time (2pm Nigeria time). 

Antonio Conte has informed Victor Osimhen he will remain banished from the Napoli first-team after a summer move to Chelsea failed to materialise. Chelsea pushed hard to sign Osimhen before the summer transfer window closed on Friday night but a delegation from Stamford Bridge left Naples disappointed. The Blues were unwilling to match Osimhen’s current salary or the one he has been offered to join Saudi club Al Ahli. Chelsea did make a contract offer to the Nigerian but he rejected the proposal before reportedly ending talks with the frustrated Premier League club. The failed transfer means Osimhen remains a Napoli player, for the time being at least, but Conte has not changed his stance and does not intend to pick him going forward. Osimhen was left out of Napoli’s dramatic Serie A win over Parma on Saturday and his No. 9 shirt was handed to new signing Romelu Lukaku, who scored in the victory just a few days following his move from Stamford Bridge. Conte was asked to assess Napoli’s activity in the summer window after the game, with Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour also joining his squad from the Premier League. ‘Strong players have arrived from a market that was difficult and at times blocked,’said Conte, who previously worked for English clubs Chelsea and Tottenham. ‘They came to fill the slots, and I’m happy with the work done by the club.’ Conte then took a swipe at Osimhen by saying: ‘Of course, if Osimhen had been sold, we would have completed the situation better.’ The manager’s quotes come as Napoli inform Osimhen that he will not be welcomed back into Conte’s squad. That will likely force Osimhen to consider a move to Saudi Arabia, something he had reservations over earlier in the summer. But it remains to be seen whether Al Ahli will still be interested in signing Osimhen after they completed a deal for England striker Ivan Toney on deadline day. Conte, meanwhile, praised his Napoli players after they scored two injury-time goals to complete an impressive comeback against Parma. ‘It was a performance of heart against an excellent team with good players who press well,’ he said. ‘We could have done much better. We’ll take these three points knowing there’s work to be done.’

Stringent regulations of German tax authorities have conspired to abort the agreement between the Nigeria Football Federation and Coach Bruno Labbadia for the latter to mount the saddle as Head Coach of Nigeria’s Senior Men Team, Super Eagles.   “We have been on the tax issue for the past three days, and I told him clearly that there was no way the NFF will agree to offset the concomitant tax percentage on his salary that will be demanded by German tax authorities. It is not possible for us to shoulder the responsibility of shelling out another money, between 32% to 40% of his salary, after paying the agreed monthly wage. “The NFF and Mr. Labbadia reached an agreement in principle before we made the announcement that he would become the Head Coach of the Super Eagles. The tax details were never part of our discussions, and he had personally agreed to all terms before the tax issue came up. We were doing our best to be flexible in the discussions but he was adamant that the NFF had to pay the full tax amount as well. We simply cannot do that,” President of NFF, Ibrahim Musa Gusau, said on Friday evening. In the event, Technical Director of Nigeria Football Federation, Coach Augustine Eguavoen will now take charge of the Super Eagles for the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Benin Republic (Uyo, 7th September) and Rwanda (Kigali, 10th September). It will be Eguavoen’s fourth stint in charge of the three-time African champions, after earlier experience in 2005-2007, 2010 and 2022.