CAF African Schools Football Championship: Nigeria’s Flag-Bearers to Emerge on Friday

Nigeria’s representatives to this year’s WAFU-B Schools Football Championship, a qualifying tournament for next year’s CAF African Schools Football Championship, will emerge on Friday, at the conclusion of the ongoing round-robin competition in Abuja. Matches are being played at the FIFA Goal Project inside the MKO Abiola National Stadium and the Area 3 Football Pitch, with representative teams of the FCT, Adamawa, Gombe and Lagos States involved in the female category. The FCT, Kaduna, Delta, Enugu, Ekiti and Taraba States are represented in the male category. The winner-school in each category will fly Nigeria’s flag at the WAFU-B Schools Football Championship that will hold in Burkina Faso, 27th – 30th November. While the names of the winner-schools will be adopted, players deemed to be exceptional from other schools will be co-opted to form a ‘Schools National Team.’ Successful schools at the WAFU-B tournament will join other qualifiers from the CECAFA (East & Central Africa), COSAFA (Southern Africa), UNAF (Northern Africa), UNIFFAC (Central Africa) and WAFU-A at next year’s CAF African Schools Football Championship.

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Confed Cup: Kwara United Moves Asante Kotoko Tie to MKO Abiola Stadium

By Bunmi Ogunyale Nigeria’s Kwara United has moved their Confederation Cup preliminary second leg match against Asante Kotoko to Moshood Abiola Sports Arena, Abeokuta. The Ilorin-based side fondly known as the Afonja Warriors made the announcement on her Twitter handle now X on Tuesday. “Due to ongoing renovations at the Rashidi Yekini Mainbowl, our CAF Confederation Cup preliminary round second leg match against Asante Kotoko of Ghana will now be played at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta,” Kwara United stated on their official X handle. Asante Kotoko edged Kwara United 4-3 in a thrilling first-leg clash at Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday. Both teams delivered an intense, attacking display that kept fans on the edge of their seats throughout the match. The Nigerian side will aim at overturning the first leg result and secure a place in the next round of the CAF Confederation Cup.

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Arsenal’s Madueke Out for Six to Eight Weeks

Arsenal’s Noni Madueke to miss about six to eight weeks with the knee injury sustained in the 1-1 draw with Manchester City on Sunday. However, the 23-year-old England international is not believed to have suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury. The summer signing from Chelsea was substituted at half-time of the Premier League match with City and has been undergoing tests to discover the severity of the problem. Sources are indicating medics are waiting for the swelling to subside before making a definitive diagnosis on the injury, but it is understood that Madueke will be sidelined for a minimum of six weeks, though that timescale is thought to be the best-case scenario. The news will arrive as major blow to Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta and England head coach Thomas Tuchel given Madueke’s promising start to the season. If the initial prognosis is confirmed, Madueke will not return to action until November at the earliest, ruling him out of a clutch of key domestic and European games for the Gunners. The attacker is set to miss England’s forthcoming games against Wales and Latvia, while also making him a doubt for World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania in mid-November. Arsenal face Sunderland on 8 November in the Premier League. If Madueke is unavailable for that games and the international break, he could return for the north London derby versus Tottenham on 23 November.

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Ballon d’Or: NFF Congratulates Nnadozie, Madugu

The Nigeria Football Federation has congratulated Super Falcons and Brighton & Hove Albion of England’s safe hands Chiamaka Nnadozie on her fourth-place finish at this year’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, in Paris on Monday night. Nnadozie, who has been Africa’s Best Goalkeeper for the past two years, was also named Goalkeeper of the Tournament for this summer’s Women Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco, where she played a key role in Nigeria’s 10th triumph. “We heartily congratulate Chiamaka Nnadozie on her fourth-place finish in the race. It is a commendable feat given the calibre of goalkeepers she was up against. Finishing fourth is a big achievement and we believe in her capacity to win this trophy very soon,” NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi said. Sanusi also gave kudos to Super Falcons’ Head Coach Justine Madugu, who also finished fourth in the Women’s Coach of the Year category. “Coach Madugu’s feat further underscores the fact that the NFF was right to have given him the Super Falcons’ head coach’s role, which had earlier been validated with him leading the team to victory at the WAFCON in Morocco. We congratulate him on this feat and wish him victory in the awards in the coming years.” Nnadozie finished fourth behind England and Chelsea FC’s Hannah Hampton who took home the Trophée Yachine (named after former Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin), Gotham FC’s Ann-Katrin Berger and Barcelona FC’s Cata Coll. She however finished above Arsenal FC’s Daphne van Domselaar in the Top Five. Madugu was fourth in a race won by Sarina Wiegman, who led England to the UEFA Women’s Championship title, and which also included Chelsea’s Sonia Bompastor, Brazil’s Arthur Elias and Arsenal FC’s Renée Slegers.

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2026 FIFA U20 W/Cup Race: Falconets Begin Training in Ibadan for Rwanda

Two-time World Cup silver medallists, Falconets of Nigeria, have commenced training in the Oyo State capital, Ibadan ahead of Saturday’s 2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup second round, second leg showdown against the She-Amavubi of Rwanda. The delegation of players and officials was received in Ibadan on Monday afternoon by the Oyo State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Hon. Wasilat Adegoke, who assured the team of the Oyo State Government’s unwavering support and encouragement, while offering prayers for its success in the crucial match. Captain Joy Igbokwe thanked the State Government on behalf of the team, pledging the Falconets’ readiness to put up a strong performance and make the country proud on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football has appointed Gambian official Ngum Fatou as referee for Saturday’s match, with her compatriots Jainaba Manneh, Abbie Ceesay and Isatou Touray as assistant referee 1, assistant referee 2 and fourth official respectively. Jodie Marian Reid Seton from Liberia will serve as commissioner while Egyptian Hayam Mohammed Baraka will be in the role of referee assessor.

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2026 U20 Women’s W/Cup Race: Falconets Return, Head to Ibadan

The victorious Nigeria U20 girls, Falconets, returned to the country from Kigali on Monday morning, after their 1-0 defeat of Rwanda’s She-Amavubi in a 2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup qualifying match on Sunday. Alaba Olabiyi struck with 20 minutes left of the encounter at the Kigali-Pele Stadium to give Nigeria victory and the advantage in the fixture, ahead of the return leg at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan on Saturday. Players and officials have headed to the Oyo State capital, to continue intensive preparations for Saturday’s final leg of the fixture, with players in high spirit, and eager to impress on home soil and secure passage to the third round of the qualification series.

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24th FIFA U20 World Cup: Flying Eagles Take on Australia in Another Friendly Match

Nigeria’s U20 boys, Flying Eagles, will take on their Australian counterparts in a friendly game on Tuesday. The encounter is part of both teams’ preparations for the 24th FIFA U20 World Cup finals starting in Chile on Saturday. The match, which will be played at the Complejo Deportivo Ruca Mapu in the city of Santiago, will kick off at 5pm Chile time (1pm in Nigeria). On Saturday, Chile’s U20 boys forced the Flying Eagles to a 1-1 draw in a friendly in Rancagua, with Ahmed Akinyele scoring for Nigeria in the 18th minute, before a 36th minute equalizer by Felipe Faúndez. Australia will play in Group D alongside Italy, Cuba and Argentina, while Nigeria will contend with Norway, Saudi Arabia and Colombia in Group F.

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WAFU-B U17 Championship: Golden Eaglets Take on Baby Cheetahs in Yamoussoukro

Five-time world champions Nigeria will begin their quest for another title with a game against their counterparts from Benin Republic in Yamoussoukro on Wednesday, in their first match of the ongoing WAFU-B U17 Championship. Venue is the Stade du Lycee Scientifique. The competition in the Ivorian city is the qualifying tournament for next year’s Africa U17 Cup of Nations, at which Africa’s flag-bearers to the 2026 FIFA U17 World Cup finals in Qatar will be decided. In group A, Cote d’Ivoire defeated Niger Republic 2-0 while Togo and Ghana drew 1-1 as the competition kicked off at the weekend. Burkina Faso’s Baby Stallions on Sunday laboured to a 1-0 win over the Beninoise squad, in the first match of the three-team group B. Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Niger Republic make up group A.

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