football Archives | Page 11 of 13

Another Nigerian star joins Galatasaray

Fola Badmus12 months ago12 months ago01 mins

Super Falcons’ defender Oluwatosin Blessing Demehin has signed a one-year contract with Turkish Super League club Galatasaray. The new signed on makes it the second Nigerian on the bills of Galatasaray after Victor Osimhen’s loan move in August. “Grateful beyond measures. “A new chapter has begin,” wrote on her X handle on Monday. In a similar vein, Galatasaray Niaja fans page also wrote; “Naija we don sign another one oooo! una no go show am love!” Demehin competed in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and was also included in the 23-player Nigerian squad for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She had previously played for Rivers Angels and Stade de Reims of France.

Morocco 2025: Libya’s Knights drag Super Eagles to Benina

Fola Badmus12 months ago12 months ago02 mins

Bottom team Libya has opted to host Group D leaders Nigeria at the Martyrs of Benina Stadium, in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying Matchday 4 encounter. The facility is located in the city of Benina, some 19 kilometres outside the country’s second city, Benghazi. Known previously as Hugo Chávez Stadium, the stadium is a 10,000-capacity facility with an artificial turf. Both countries will do a Matchday 3 battle at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo on Friday, 11th October, before the clash in the city at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday, 15th October. While the match in Uyo will kick off at 5pm, the battle in Benina will commence at 8pm Nigeria time. Libya remain bottom of Group D after two rounds of matches, following a 1-1 at home to Rwanda (a game that was played at the Tripoli International Stadium) and a 1-2 loss to the Cheetahs of Benin Republic in Abidjan. Nigeria top the pool with four points, after a 3-0 spanking of Benin Republic in Uyo on Matchday 1 and a scoreless draw with Rwanda’s Amavubi in Kigali on Matchday 2.

Bundesliga: Boniface nets Leverkusen winner in seven-goal thriller

Fola Badmus12 months ago12 months ago01 mins

Nigeria’s Victor Boniface struck late as Bayer 04 Leverkusen twice come from behind to beat VfL Wolfsburg 4-3 in a Bundesliga classic. In the third minute of stoppage time, substitute Boniface produced a moment of magic. Receiving the ball with his back to goal, the Nigerian striker turned and fired a low shot into the bottom corner, sending the BayArena into raptures. It was a fitting end to an incredible match, showcasing Leverkusen’s never-say-die attitude and their ability to produce in crucial moments. Leverkusen are second on the table and will face off with the league leaders Bayern Munich on Saturday in Munich.

NPFL: Remo Stars stun Kano Pillars, top League table

Fola Badmus12 months ago12 months ago01 mins

Remo Stars Sports Club of Ikenne has maintained her 100 percent start in the Nigerian Premier Football League this season. The Daniel Ogunmodede lads thrashed League giants Kano Pillars by two nil at the Sani Abacha Stadium on Sunday. Sadiq Ismail puts the away side ahead in the 26th minute before Franck Mawuena doubled the lead in the 60th minute of the tie. Remo Stars are holding firm to the top spot of the log with nine points from three games, while Rivers United and Niger Tonadoes trails on seven points. The league leaders will host League champions, Enugu Rangers in their next game on Sunday, 29 September in Ikenne, Ogun State.

Super Eagles retain spot on FIFA ranking

Fola Badmus1 year ago1 year ago02 mins

Nigeria’s Super Eagles retained her 39th position the World football governing body, FIFA, monthly ranking. The formers African kings secured 1489.02 points to keep her place in August. Nigeria however have slipped from fifth best team in Africa to six. They are currently trailing Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Côte d’Ivoire and Tunisia. Nigeria will hope to bounce to reckoning in the next round of matches of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers in November. The Nigerian side also hope to win the remaining six games in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers when the qualification series resume in January. Meanwhile, it is getting tighter at the summit. After respectively being beaten 2-1 away to Colombia and 3-1 at home to Italy, Argentina (1st) and France (2nd) will be looking nervously in their proverbial rear-view mirrors. Spain (3rd) and England (4th) are looming large in pursuit, with Brazil (5th) and Belgium (6th) hot on their heels. Yet, despite the tremors, the top ten remains unchanged, continuing to be rounded off by the Netherlands (7th), Portugal (8th), Colombia (9th) and Italy (10th). The next FIFA Men’s World Ranking will be published on 24 October.

Ronaldo’s Al Nassr fires coach Castro

Fola Badmus1 year ago1 year ago02 mins

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi club Al Nassr announced the departure of Portuguese coach Luis Castro on Tuesday, a day after starting their AFC Champions League Elite campaign with a disappointing draw. Monday’s 1-1 stalemate with Iraq’s Al Shorta in the Asian competition compounded a slow start to the domestic season with the current contract of Ronaldo, 39, due to expire next summer. “Al Nassr can announce that head coach Luis Castro has left the club,” said a statement posted on X. “Everyone at Al Nassr would like to thank Luis and his staff for their dedicated work during the past 14 months, wishing them the best of luck for the future.” Castro, 63, is the third coach to depart Al Nassr since Ronaldo’s groundbreaking arrival in early 2023 on a contract that was said to net him 400 million euros over two-and-a-half years. Frenchman Rudi Garcia quickly left that April, followed by a brief stint by Croatian coach Dinko Jelicic before Castro was appointed in July last year. The highly decorated Ronaldo is yet to win a Saudi trophy with the Riyadh club, with his sole silverware so far being last year’s Arab Club Champions Cup. Al Nassr, who finished a distant second in the last Saudi Pro League season, have drawn twice in three matches at the start of the new campaign. Ronaldo’s arrival heralded a rash of high-profile signings by Saudi clubs last year, with Neymar and Karim Benzema among those opting for the oil-rich, conservative kingdom.

Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania to Co-Host CHAN 2024

Fola Badmus1 year ago1 year ago02 mins

The Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) has confirmed that Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania will co-host the 2024 TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) from February 1 to February 28, 2025. This announcement was made by FUFA Executive Committee member Rogers Byamukama during the unveiling of the new Uganda Cranes kit ahead of the AFCON Qualifiers. Byamukama revealed that the East African trio, were granted hosting rights by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to hold the CHAN tournament, to serve as a preparatory competition for their larger goal of hosting the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). He also highlighted that CAF had sent several inspection teams to assess the preparedness of Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania before granting the hosting rights. Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania were awarded joint hosting rights for the 2027 AFCON in September 2023. Hosting CHAN 2024 will be a critical test run to ensure the three nations are fully equipped to handle the scale of a major tournament like AFCON. The CHAN tournament, which began in 2009, exclusively features players who are actively competing in their national leagues, making it distinct from AFCON, where players from international leagues also participate. The tournament brings together 18 African nations, and Uganda has qualified for six of the seven editions since its inception, although they have yet to progress beyond the group stages.

Ahmed Musa reveals plans to return to NPFL

Fola Badmus1 year ago1 year ago02 mins

Former Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa has revealed plans to return to the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL). The pacy winger gave this hint in a post on his official X handle on Tuesday. He asked; “Let’s go again, which of this teams do you wish for me to sign?” Musa was loaned to Kano Pillars in the 2009–10 season where he set the league record scoring multiple crucial goals as Pillars finished second. Hereford held the record for the highest goals ever scored in one season in the history of the Nigeria Premier League until November 2011. Musa became the first Nigerian to score more than once in a FIFA World Cup match, after scoring twice against Argentina in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Musa is also the first Nigerian to score in two FIFA World Cup competitions, after scoring another brace against Iceland in the group stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.