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Champions League: PSG Survives Thriller at The Villa

Fola Badmus5 months ago5 months ago05 mins

Paris Saint-Germain beat Aston Villa 5-4 on aggregate to move into the semi-final of the Champions League where they will play Arsenal or holders Real Madrid. PSG went into the game at Villa Park leading 3-1 from the first leg at the Parc des Princes in Paris. Morocco international Achraf Hakimi increased the aggregate score to 4-1 when he swept home after 11 minutes. Fellow defender Nuno Mendes got his second goal of the tie mid way through the half to put the visitors 5-1 up and looking set to saunter into the semis. But just before half-time, William Pacho deflected Youri Tielemans’ shot into his own net past goalkeeper Gigi Donnarumma to offer Villa a shred of respectability. That transformed into a glimmer of hope 10 minutes after the pause. Villa skipper John McGinn picked up the ball just inside the PSG half and barrelled forward. Unchallenged, he let fly from 30 metres and his shot rose and dipped over a befuddled Donnarumma into the net. Donnarumma pushed away a vicious goal-bound drive from Marcus Rashford for a corner a couple of minutes later but from the ensuing kick, Villa worked the ball back to Rashford who foxed two defenders on the right wing, drove into the penalty area and cut back for Ezri Konsa to steer the ball past Donnarumma for 3-2 on the night and inflame Villa’s dreams. Villa pushed but PSG held off the charge to slink into the semis – 5-4 on aggregate. “Very proud of the boys,” Konsa told broadcaster Amazon Prime. “The two goals at the start killed us but we showed great heart to get back into the game. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough.” PSG will take on the winners of the tie between holders Real Madrid and Arsenal who go into the game at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night leading 3-0 from the first leg at the Emirates Stadium. “It’s going to be such a difficult semi-final whether it’s Arsenal or Real Madrid,” PSG skipper Marqinhos told Amazon Prime. “But there’s belief we can go all the way. We knew it was going to be difficult against Villa. The tie is never won in the first leg. They scored the goals in the second-half and it wasn’t easy at times but we did what we needed to do and we are through to the next round.” In Tuesday night’s other quarter-final, Guinea international Sehrou Guirassy hit a hat trick as Borussia Dortmund beat Barcelona 3-1 at the Signal Iduna Park. However, the Spaniards advance 5-3 on aggregate to a semi-final clash with Inter Milan or Bayern Munich who play on Wednesday night. Inter won the first leg in Munich 2-1.

Rice Cook Real Madrid With Stunning Freekicks To Double Fires Arsenal to 3-0 Win Over

UCL Second-Leg Fireworks on GOtv: Can Arsenal Hold Off Madrid?

Fola Badmus5 months ago5 months ago03 mins

Semi-finalists for the 2025 UEFA Champions League wil emerge this week, as the second leg matches of the lquarter-finals take place across different match venues. The pick of the matches, which will be broadcast live on GOtv, is the clash between defending champions, Real Madrid and Arsenal. Scheduled for Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabeu, the game will see Madrid attempt wipe out the 0-3 deficit suffered at the Emirates last week in what will require a staggering attacking performance. Arsenal go into the game with comfort and could adopt a safety-first approach that preserves their three-goal advantage. The action begins on Tuesday with Aston Villa welcoming Paris Saint-Germain to Villa Park in a match that is live on Channel 65 (SS EPL). Villa lost 1-3 in Paris and must pull off something special to reach the semi-finals. While PSG are among Europe’s elite this season, Villa’s home form and attacking spirit could make this one interesting. The French champions are well-rested after being exempted from domestic duties over the weekend and will arrive fresh and focused. Also on Tuesday, Borussia Dortmund host Barcelona at the Signal Iduna Park, The Spanish giants won 4–0 in the first leg and are unbeaten in 24 matches across all competitions. With 145 goals scored this season, Hansi Flick’s side have been ruthless. But Champions League history has seen bigger turnarounds. Can Dortmund deliver the impossible? The second game on Wednesday will see Italy’s Inter Milan host German giants Bayern Munich. Inter Milan hold a narrow advantage heading into the game after a surprising 2–1 win at the Allianz Arena. Though Inter are in form and have a home advantage, Bayern are not out of this yet. The game is live on Channel 65 (SS EPL). Don’t miss two nights of electrifying Champions League action live on GOtv, Channel 65 (SS EPL) and Channel 66 (SS Action). All matches kick off at 8:00 PM.

NFF to Organize Coach Educators’ Programme in June

Fola Badmus5 months ago5 months ago02 mins

The Nigeria Football Federation has secured the approval of the Confederation of African Football to organize a CAF Educators’ Course between 16th and 25th June 2025. “This programme is part of our quest to increase the number of CAF-Licensed Coach Educators across the length and breadth of Nigeria. There will be only 20 participants. Applicants must have CAF B-License, be proficient in the English language, have a teaching background, be passionate in helping other coaches and must have competence in computer software such as PowerPoint, Excel and Word. “They must also be 50 years old or younger. They have to submit copies of previous coaching certificates, a recent photograph and data page of their international passport to an email (nffheadofeducation@gmail.com), on or before Friday, 25th April 2025,” NFF Technical Director, Coach Augustine Eguavoen explained to thenff.com. Eguavoen also disclosed that a CAF CMS Registration link will be sent to all successful applicants to complete their registration.

Morocco 2025: Flamingos Step Up Preparations as Algeria’s U17 Contingent Flies into Lagos

Fola Badmus5 months ago5 months ago03 mins

Nigeria’s U17 girls, Flamingos, have stepped up preparations for this weekend’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup final qualifying round, first leg clash with their counterparts from Algeria, scheduled for the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne-Remo. The 2022 World Cup bronze medallists, under the watchful eyes of Head Coach Bankole Olowookere and his assistants, have remained in camp at the stellar Remo Stars Sports Institute since the demolition of South Africa’s Bantwana over two legs last month. Nigeria trashed South Africa 3-1 in the first leg at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretoria, and followed up with a 2-0 win in Ikenne-Remo for a handsome 5-1 aggregate. The Algerians suffered a 2-1 reverse in their first leg against Botswana in Gaborone, but fired from all cylinders to win 4-0 in the return leg in North Africa. The Algerian girls, whose senior team lost to the Super Falcons in two friendly matches in Ikenne-Remo and Lagos in October last year, will land in Lagos on Wednesday evening, while the match officials are expected to arrive in Nigeria on Thursday. The Confederation of African Football has appointed Ugandan Shamirah Nabadda as referee, with Fides Bangurambona from Burundi as assistant referee 1. Nabadda’s compatriots Immaculate Ongiera and Diana Murungi will serve as assistant 2 and fourth official respectively. Naa Odofoley Nortey from Ghana will be the commissioner, with South African Deidre Carmill Zealand to be in the role of referee assessor. Both teams will battle things out in the return leg at the Stade Mustapha Tchaker in Blida (outside Algiers) on Friday, 25th April, with the winner on aggregate qualifying for the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup finals. This year’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup will be hosted by Morocco, 17 October – 8 November, with Africa to present 5 teams (including host nation Morocco) at the finals, which has been expanded to a 24-nation championship.

117 Referees Shortlisted for 2025 Club World Cup

Fola Badmus5 months ago5 months ago05 mins

Following a thorough preparation process that included seminars with FIFA referees from all six confederations, the FIFA Referees Committee has announced the match officials who will oversee games at the groundbreaking FIFA Club World Cup 2025, which will take place from 14 June to 13 July across 12 stadiums in 11 Host Cities in the United States. A total of 117 match officials – 35 referees, 58 assistant referees and 24 video match officials – from 41 member associations will take charge of the matches. Commenting on the appointment of Team One, the chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, Pierluigi Collina, said that it would be a “privilege” for those chosen to officiate at the very first edition of the FIFA Club World Cup: “As every new competition starts, the selected referees are among those who have the privilege to be part of this for the first time, so I’m sure that all the match officials will be thrilled. “We are coming from high standard performances delivered during the last FIFA tournaments. So the bar is higher and when you get the bar higher, it’s more difficult to keep the standard. But we are working very hard and Team One will make a solid contribution to the success of this exciting competition. “I like to compare the preparation of a football team and a referee team because both need to work hard and deliver to the highest standards,” noted FIFA Director of Refereeing Massimo Busacca. “We try to find as much uniformity and consistency as possible in what we are doing because football is the same everywhere, but we know that we have to understand the different mentality in football, and this is crucial.” In line with the changes to the Laws of the Game approved by The International Football Association Board (The IFAB), FIFA will implement new rules designed to cut down on time-wasting by goalkeepers. If a goalkeeper holds the ball for longer than eight seconds (with the referee using a visual five-second countdown), the referee will award a corner kick to the opposing team (rather than the current indirect free kick for more than six seconds). In addition, following The IFAB’s support for FIFA’s undertaking to test body cameras worn by match officials to identify possible future use and develop quality and safety standards, referees will be equipped with body cameras on a trial basis at the FIFA Club World Cup. The live footage from these cameras will be made available to fans across the world via DAZN, the exclusive global broadcaster of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 . “We think that it is a good chance to offer the viewers a new experience, in terms of images taken from a perspective, from an angle of vision, which was never offered before,” said Mr Collina, emphasising that it was a trial. “It also has a purpose in terms of referee coaching because, of course, having the possibility to see what the referee sees is important in the debriefing, to evaluate how the call was made by the referee. So, it’s a combination of a new experience for broadcasters and also for coaching purposes.“

NNL Holds Monthly Award Ceremony in Abuja

Fola Badmus5 months ago5 months ago02 mins

The Nigeria National League has concluded plans to organize its monthly award ceremony for players and teams in the league on Tuesday, 15th April in the Federal Capital, Abuja. Chief Operating Officer of the NNL, Danlami Alanana, told thenff.com that the event will commence at 2pm at the West-Point Hotel, Zone 7, Wuse. Award categories include Best Behaved Team of the Month, Best Coach, Best Goalkeeper, Highest Goal Scorer, Best Goal, Best Referee and Most Valuable Player. Crown FC’s Oladeji Joshua has been selected as the best goalkeeper, having kept clean sheets in three matches, while Abdullahi Umar of Kebbi United FC is the most valuable player with four goals, among these a hat-trick scored against Kada Warriors – which happened to be the first hat-trick notched in the season. Umar also takes the highest scorer’s gong, while Solution FC’s Coach Emmanuel Duetsch is best coach and Gateway United is the best-behaved team, having remained without any form of caution in the period under review. Gateway United’s Babatunde Taofeek notched the goal of the season, and Ogunfolaju Joshua from Osun State is the best referee of the month.

BAL: Rivers Hoopers Cruise Past Stade Malien to Wrap Kalahari Conference in Style

Fola Badmus5 months ago5 months ago03 mins

Rivers Hoopers concluded their Kalahari Conference campaign in an emphatic fashion with a 79-59 blowout win over Stade Malien, stamping their dominance as they head into the Basketball Africa League (BAL) Playoffs in Pretoria, South Africa. Having already secured qualification to the playoffs of the 2025 BAL, the KingsMen stepped onto the court with nothing to prove but a lot to affirm, and it was done neatly. From the tip-off, the Hoopers set the tone, controlling the tempo and keeping Stade Malien in check with a stifling defense that held the Malian side to just 28.6% shooting from the field. The Nigerian side, on the other hand, shot a solid 45.3% and displayed their growing team chemistry. Raphael Putney was the spark plug for the Hoopers, dropping 15 points in under 19 minutes with clinical efficiency knocking down five of his eight attempts at a 62% clip. Putney was ably supported by Madut Akec, whose hustle on both ends saw him finish with 14 points on 46% shooting. Off the bench, Micheal Afuwape provided instant offense, scoring 13 points in just 14 minutes and converting 80% of his shots, including a perfect 3-for-3 from the line. Abel Chidiebere Offia added 9 points and Ifeanyi Anthony dropped 9 points and 3 rebounds in 20 minutes. Rivers Hoopers also outplayed Stade Malien beyond the arc, making nine of their 30 three-point attempts (30%), while Stade Malien managed just 9-of-37 (24.3%). The Hoopers’ ball movement, defensive rotations, and bench depth were simply too much for their opponents. With this win, Rivers Hoopers closed out the Kalahari Conference with a 4-2 record and firmly focused on their next stop Pretoria, South Africa, where the best of the continent will battle for glory in the BAL Playoffs.

Ex-Eagles’ Striker, Ideye, Denies Second Wife Rumours

Fola Badmus5 months ago5 months ago01 mins

AFCON 2010 winning Super Eagles’ striker, Brown Ideye has reiterated that he is not secretly married to another woman outside wedlock. Furious about the rumours spediang like wildfire, the Enyimba FC forward took to his twitter handle now X to dismiss the claims. “Have said this before and I’m saying it again. I don’t have a second wife or family home or abroad. Happily married 2010 and God bless my wife and with two lovely boys. “Don’t take my silence for foolishness. Period!,” he warned. The goalpoacher, who is married to Damka Ideye and were blessed with two boys, Andriy Ideye and Brown Ideye Jr. was accused of having children with a Ukrainian woman during his career at Dynamo Kyiv of Ukraine.