Sports Archives | Page 20 of 36

AFCON 2025 qualifiers: Dele-Bashiru rescues Super Eagles against Libya

Prince Odutola3 months ago3 months ago02 mins

A lone striker by Fisayo Dele-Bashiru was all the Super Eagles needed to pip resilient Libya national team at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo on Friday. The Nigerian side had laboured to hit the back of the net before the Lazio FC midfielder struck in the 87th minute of the tie. The win keeps Nigeria on top of the Group D with 7 points ahead of Benin Republic on 6points. Nigeria needs an outright victory over Libya in Benghazi on Tuesday to punch her qualifying ticket to the next edition of AFCON in Morocco. Ballon d’Dor nominee Ademola Lookman and Victor Boniface were listed to lead Super Eagles assaults against Libya. Stanley Nwabali retained his place between the sticks for Nigeria. The South African based goalie also got cover from the defence led by William Tristan Ekong, Ola Aina, Calvin Bassey and Bruno Onyemaechi. Usual suspects like Alex Iwobi, Frank Onyeka, Wilfred Ndidi, Moses Simon were assigned the midfield role.

Family members want life-support machine unplugged on Ex-Eagles goalie

Prince Odutola3 months ago3 months ago04 mins

Trendbrio.com has reliably gathered that some family members of ailing former Green Eagles’ goalkeeper, Peter Fregene want the life-support machine on him unplugged. This development was revealed on Friday by Fregene’s national teammate, Dr. Segun Odegbami (MON). The Mathematical in a social media post wrote; “There is some good news. “Peter Fregene is being given another chance to live. “This afternoon, contrary to the request by some family members to unplug Peter from life-support and be allowed to die at home, Marian, his first child and Tina, his wife of several decades, chose to follow the advise and referral by Obule Medical Centre, and moved Peter by ambulance to the Teaching Hospital facility in Oghara, Delta State. “The hospital immediately went to work on the man, starting with his body ‘decorated’ with bedsores. He is now receiving first-class treatment and is being stabilised in the Intensive Care Unit. “The medical expenses at the Sapele hospital, and the immediate costs of treatment at the Teaching hospital are being taken care of by a few concerned Nigerians that prefer to be anonymous for now. “The avalanche of requests by Nigerians all over the world for a bank account to pay into in support of Peter Fregene has been overwhelming. Most of them do not even know him. “Once again, there is no approved bank account by the family. Anyone desirous of helping in any way can deal privately with the family through Tina or Marian. “The Federal Government and some State governments are already responding. “What is more important now is the medical care and divine touch that can help to wake Peter up from this ‘deep sleep’ and enable him to appreciate this flood of uncommon love and goodwill for him by Nigerians. “I shall not post any more reports on Peter unless there is an absolute need to do so. “What happens next is out of our hands. It lies in divine providence. “May the will of the Creator of the Universe be done. Amen.” Fregene, 77, was the first choice goalkeeper for the Nigeria national football team from 1968 to 1971, before being recalled for the 1982 African Cup of Nations finals. He also represented Nigeria at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

AFCON 2025 qualifier: Eguaveon unleashes Lookman, Boniface on Libya

Prince Odutola3 months ago3 months ago02 mins

Ballon d’Dor nominee Ademola Lookman and Victor Boniface have been listed to lead Super Eagles assaults against Libya in today’s AFCON 2025 qualifier in Uyo. The duo have been in top forms for their various clubs in Europe. Lookman’s recent form in the colours Atalanta earned him Ballon d’Or nomination for the Player of the Year award. Stanley Nwabali retained his place between the sticks for Nigeria. The South African based goalie will get cover from the defence led by William Tristan Ekong, Ola Aina, Calvin Bassey and Bruno Onyemaechi. Usual suspects like Alex Iwobi, Frank Onyeka, Wilfred Ndidi, Moses Simon were assigned the midfield role. The substitutes are; Maduka Okoye, Amas Obasogie, Raphael Onyedika, Benjamin Tanimu, Taiwo Awoniyi, Samuel Chukwueze, Kelechi Iheanacho, Chidera Ejuke, Fisayo Dele Bashiru, Oluwasemilogo Ajayi, Alhassan Yusuf and Osayi Samuel. The tie is slated to kick off at 5pm Nigeria time.

Morocco 2025: Osimhen, Ekong, Ndidi, others to battle Benin Republic, Rwanda

AFCON 2025: Super Eagles feast on Libya

Prince Odutola3 months ago3 months ago04 mins

Nigeria will host Libya in a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo this evening. The Super Eagles will be aiming to extend their unbeaten start to the AFCON qualifiers, while the visitors are still seeking their first win of the qualifying campaign. Nigeria followed up a 3-0 victory over Benin Republic in their opening match of the AFCON qualifiers with a goalless draw away at Rwanda a couple of days later. The Super Eagles top Group D with four points and are the only team yet to concede a goal in the group, and a double header victory over Libya will see them move clear and edge closer to securing qualification. This will be the fifth meeting between Nigeria and Libya, with the Super Eagles winning all four previous encounters, including two games in the AFCON qualifiers back in 2018. Augustine Eguavoen, who was appointed on an interim basis to lead the team, has retained his position and has been tasked with guiding Nigeria to the 2025 AFCON in Morocco. Nigeria finished as runners-up at the last AFCON edition and have lost just one of their last 14 AFCON qualifying matches – a run they will hope to extend on Saturday. Libya were held to a 1-1 draw by Rwanda in their opening match of the AFCON qualifiers before losing 2-1 to Benin in their second match. The Mediterranean Knights took the lead in the ninth minute from the spot via Faisal Al Badri, but a 12-minute spell in the second half saw them concede two goals that cost them the game. Head coach Milutin Sredojevic will hope his side picks up valuable points against Nigeria as they look to end their 12-year AFCON absence. Libya’s last appearance in the continental showpiece came back in 2012, but they are currently bottom of Group D with one point and will have to quickly turn things around if they are to end this run. Nigeria possible XI: Nwabali; Ekong, Ajayi, Bassey; Aina, Ndidi, Onyedika, Onyemaechi; Lookman, Boniface, Chukwueze Libya possible XI: Al Wuhayshi; Elkouri, Yusuf, Erteiba, Al Mabrouk; Al Badri, Al Shreimy; Salama, Al Khoja, Al Gleib; Krawaa

Kidnapped journalists regain freedom

Prince Odutola3 months ago3 months ago03 mins

Kidnapped Sport journalists have regained freedom, Trendbrio.com have reliably gathered. The media men, according to a statement issued by the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), were kidnapped on their way to cover the AFCON 2025 qualifier in Uyo. The SWAN statement reads; “We want to inform our Teeming Members across Nigeria and beyond that some of the Sports Journalists who were earlier kidnapped on their way to cover the first leg of 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between Super Eagles and Mediterranean Knights of Libya in Uyo, have been released. “The President of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Mr. Isaiah Benjamin, and indeed SWAN National Secretariat after making necessary contacts immediately our colleagues were abducted around Anambra/Imo axis, have been reliably informed of their release following pressure by the proactive Nigerian Security Operatives on the Kidnappers. “SWAN therefore commends the Security Operatives, particularly the Nigerian Army and Police for their prompt action which ensured that up to six of the held Sports Journalists regained their freedom with efforts to get the remaining person freed. “The rescued Media Practitioners, mostly Camera/Photojournalists are now on their way to either reunite with families or move on with other official duties. “We urge our members to remain calm and without fear in the discharge of their professional duties while maintaining regular communication with the various SWAN State Chapters’ Leadership for any formal purposes. @Also, be assured that the National Leadership of SWAN is committed to your welfare and overall well-being with uttermost regards as always.”

Anthony Joshua desperately want Dubois rematch

Prince Odutola3 months ago3 months ago04 mins

Anthony Joshua still wants an immediate rematch with Daniel Dubois. Dubois smashed Joshua into defeat with a stunning fifth-round knockout in their IBF world heavyweight title fight at Wembley Stadium last month. It was an astonishing upset that demolished the hopes of Joshua fighting the winner of the Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury rematch for the undisputed heavyweight world championship in 2025. But rather than wait to finally take on his great rival Fury, former champion Joshua could choose to face Dubois once again in his next fight, as soon as February. Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports: “My initial thought after the fight was let’s just chill out, maybe wait for Fury-Usyk. “AJ’s reaction was quite a bit different. Obviously out of pride you always want to take the rematch. But it’s a little bit more calculated than that. “It’s more like, well, what happens if Usyk-Fury doesn’t happen? What if someone gets injured, and even if it does happen they’re not going to fight again until July, August? Then I’m out the ring for nearly a year and I want to be active.” Joshua could always fight someone outside of that top three of Usyk, Fury and Dubois, with heavyweights like Deontay Wilder or Dillian Whyte under consideration. But Hearn explained Joshua’s current thinking, saying: “I want to win the world heavyweight title, and I’ve got a shot there to win the world heavyweight title in my hand. “Obviously it’s a dangerous fight but I can’t box any worse than I did.” The promoter added that he “would expect the fighter to say I want the instant rematch” but Hearn insisted: “When you start actually thinking about it, I don’t think there’s a bad decision to make. “I know that he is leaning towards the rematch because he wants to win the world heavyweight title. Versus fighting Wilder, waiting for Fury and then you’ve got all next year bubbling around not really fighting for the world heavyweight title.” Joshua isn’t expected to have many more fights in his whole career. “It could be one, it could be five. If he beats Dubois, probably another two or three. If he loses to Dubois, he’s in a real tough position,” Hearn said. “People keep saying the Fury fight’s still there. But if they both keep losing? It will always be there but at the same time, at what value? That depends on how they do.” But Joshua is still likely to take that gamble. “If it’s solely down to AJ, which it will be at the end of the day,” Hearn said, “I think it’s going to be very hard to talk him out of taking the rematch.”

Roma considers January bid for Ola Aina

Prince Odutola3 months ago3 months ago02 mins

Roma are considering a January bid for Nottingham Forest full-back Ola Aina, a former Torino defender. The Giallorossi need reinforcements on the right flank, as Saud Abdulhamid still needs time to settle in and challenge Zeki Celik for a starting spot. For this reason, the Serie A side have reportedly set their sights on ex-Torino defender Ola Aina, currently under contract with Premier League side Nottingham Forest. The 28-year-old’s deal runs out in June 2025, so the Giallorossi hope he’ll be available for a reduced transfer fee during the winter transfer window. Ola Aina is a versatile full-back who can also play on the left flank, which is one more reason the Giallorossi are monitoring him. According to the report, Roma will need from €12m to €15m to secure the defender’s signature in two months, but the Giallorossi will likely negotiate a lower fee and may try to include Nicola Zalewski in a player-plus-cash swap deal. Zalewski was recently reintroduced to the Roma squad after snubbing a summer move to Galatasaray. He’s currently in talks to extend with the Giallorossi as his deal runs out at the end of the season. Ola Aina scored two goals and provided seven assists in 113 appearances with Torino.

NFF dismisses Libya’s poor treatment claims, insists Libya caused own problems

Prince Odutola3 months ago3 months ago03 mins

The Nigeria Football Federation has rejected claims of poor treatment on arrival in Nigeria by the captain of the Libya senior men national team, Faisal Al-Badri. NFF insists the Libyan Football Federation created chaos for its own team, the Mediterranean Knights. NFF’s Assistant Director (Protocol), Mr. Emmanuel Ayanbunmi said the Libya Federation only informed the NFF that its team was landing in Port Harcourt, and not Uyo, only three hours to the team’s arrival on Tuesday. “I spoke to the General Secretary of LFF, at length, on Monday, 7th October and he never hinted that his team would be arriving on Tuesday (the following day). He only said he would get back to me but he never did. On Monday evening, someone sent as an advance party by the LFF called me and said his team would be arriving on Tuesday by noon. We made all arrangements to receive the team in Uyo on arrival. “It was only an hour after the team was airborne that he told me the delegation would be landing in Port Harcourt. That disrupted so many things, but we still raced on hurdles to get approval from federal authorities to allow their plane to fly them to Uyo once they concluded immigration formalities in Port Harcourt. Apparently, that would have meant additional cost to the LFF from the charter company, and they didn’t want that, so they preferred to travel from Port Harcourt to Uyo by road.” Ayanbunmi added that the Libyan delegation jettisoned road transportation arrangements made for them by the NFF and instead hired buses on their own. “If they travelled on buses that were not air-conditioned, that had nothing to do with the NFF as they hired their own buses. We provided security for them, with men and vehicles in front and behind their buses, so we are unmoved about their complaints and threats.”