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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Nigeria Meets 96% of OPEC Quota In August

By Prince Iroka Nigeria’s upstream oil sector recorded a year-on-year increase in output, averaging 1.63 million barrels per day (bopd) of crude oil and condensates in August 2025, up from 1.58 million bopd in the same period last year. This is based on Crude Oil and Condensate Production for August 2025, released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) at the weekend. A breakdown of August 2025 production comprises 1.43 million bopd of crude oil, which grew 5.47 per cent compared to August last year, which posted a daily crude oil average of 1.36 million bopd. This reflects a steady recovery and improved operational performance across the industry. Daily condensate production in August stood at 197,229 bpd, reflecting a slight decline from 220,435 bpd in August 2024. Notably, Nigeria’s crude oil output in August met 96 per cent of its OPEC quota, which is set at 1.5 million bopd. This demonstrates the country’s capacity to meet its production targets under the OPEC agreement. On a month-on-month basis, there was a slight 4.7 per cent drop in combined crude oil and condensate production from 1.71 million bopd in July. Similarly, crude oil production itself declined by 4.8 per cent, down from 1.5 million bopd in July 2025. The month-on-month drop was driven by a single day unscheduled maintenance at an oil facility. In the month of August, the lowest and peak combined crude and condensate production were 1.59 million bopd and 1.85 million bopd respectively. In the review month, Forcados Terminal topped the production charts, delivering a total of 8.99 million barrels, including 8.08 million barrels of crude oil and 915.2k barrels of condensates. Following closely was Bonny Terminal, which produced a combined 6.26 million barrels, consisting of 5.8 million barrels of crude and 418.27k barrels of condensates. Meanwhile, Qua Iboe Terminal recorded a total of 4.99 million barrels, with 4.94 million barrels of crude and 50.5k barrels of condensates. Escravos Oil Terminal also made a solid contribution, producing 4.18 million barrels, comprised of 4.08 million barrels of crude oil and 107k barrels of condensate.

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NWFL Congratulates Newly Promoted Premiership Clubs

The Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) has extended hearty congratulations to Sunshine Queens, Castmog Ladies, Ahudiyannem Queens, and Imo Striker Queens on their successful promotions to the NWFL Premiership at the conclusion of the 2025 Championship season, staged from September 11 to 21 in Umuahia and Abiriba, Abia State, South-East Nigeria. Sunshine Queens of Ondo State, a government-owned side with Premiership pedigree, return to the elite division. They are joined by three ambitious debutants, Castmog Ladies of Ogun State, Ahudiyannem Queens of Abia State, and Imo Striker Queens of Imo State, all privately owned and making history with their maiden ascent. In a statement on Monday, September 22, 2025, NWFL Chief Operating Officer, Modupe Shabi, commended the promoted clubs for their resilience and quality performances while appreciating other participating clubs. “We warmly congratulate the four teams on their deserved qualification to the Premiership. Their success is a testament to hard work, determination, and commitment to excellence. The NWFL is proud of the quality of football displayed throughout this year’s Championship and we are excited to welcome fresh talents and new clubs into the top division,” said Ms. Shabi. The league organisers also paid glowing tribute to the official sponsor of the 2025 Championship, Dr. Robert Daniel Onyeani, Chairman of Ahudiyannem Queens, whose support was pivotal to the successful delivery of this year’s event. “We owe a special gratitude to Dr. Onyeani for his vision and generosity in sponsoring this Championship. His investment has not only elevated his club but also strengthened the entire ecosystem of women’s football in Nigeria. He has set a laudable benchmark for private sector involvement in our game,” Shabi added. The NWFL COO further appreciated the Abia State Football Association, the Abiriba community, participating clubs, referees, match officials, and fans whose dedication and commitment ensured the smooth organisation and vibrant atmosphere of the tournament. “The unity of purpose displayed by all stakeholders reaffirms our vision to raise the standard of women’s football across Nigeria. We deeply value the contributions of everyone who played a part in making this Championship a success,” Shabi concluded. With the Championship now concluded, the NWFL reiterated its pledge to strengthen its competitions, empower young female footballers, and sustain the Premiership as a benchmark of excellence, integrity, and inclusivity in Nigerian women’s football.

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WAFU-B U17 Boys Tourney: Golden Eaglets Pass MRI Tests

All 20 players of the U17 Boys National Team, Golden Eaglets, to this year’s WAFU-B U17 Boys Tournament in Yamoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire have scaled the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) hurdles. The tests were conducted on the players in the early hours of Thursday by the CAF Medical Team. The Eaglets will play their first match of the competition on Wednesday, 24th September against their counterparts from Benin Republic. They will also play Burkina Faso in group B. Hosts Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Niger Republic and Togo make up group A.

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2026 U20 World Cup Race: Falconets Battle-Ready for Rwandan Opponents

The Falconets have commenced training in Kigali ahead of Sunday’s 2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup second round, first leg clash with the Rwandan U20 girls. The match will take place at the Kigali-Pele Stadium, formerly known as the Stade Regional Nyamirambo. On Friday morning, the players had a recovery training session at the gym of their hotel. They were full of energy, zeal and motivation as they went through the routine under the guidance and encouragement of the technical crew, showing great spirit and determination. The Confederation of African Football has appointed match officials from Sierra Leone and Liberia to take charge of proceedings of the encounter in Kigali. Aminata Fullah will be the referee, with Liberian Hannah Lydia Moses as assistant referee 1 and another Sierra Leonean, Fatmata Mansaray as assistant referee 2. The fourth official is Love Tuu Wehyee from Liberia. Militna Ivanete Amrie from Seychelles will be the commissioner while Amegee Aissata Ameyo will be the referee assessor. Sunday’s match will kick off at 3pm Rwanda time (2pm in Nigeria).

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Super Eagles Slip on FIFA World Ranking

Former African Champions, Super Eagles have dropped one spot in World football governing body, FIFA monthly world ranking. The Eric Chelle lads are ranked 45th in the world and are sixth in Africa behind Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria and Cote d’Ivoire. Nigeria won 1483.86 points as against her 1484.26 points in July. Meanwhile, Spain have returned to the ranking summit after a making a sensational start to qualifying for World Cup 26. They kicked off their campaign with a 3-0 win in Bulgaria, then made it back-to-back away victories with a 6-0 trouncing of Turkey. La Roja last topped the ranking back in June 2014, when they were world and European champions. Argentina – the reigning world champions – booked their ticket to next year’s global finals back in March and had already secured top spot in the CONMEBOL qualifying standings before their final-round defeat to Ecuador. That loss has resulted in them losing their grip as the planet’s top-ranked team, however. La Albiceleste are now third, with France second after back-to-back wins over Ukraine and Iceland.

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24th FIFA U20 World Cup: Flying Eagles Begin Training in Santiago

Nigeria’s U20 boys, Flying Eagles, had their first training session in Santiago, Chile on Wednesday evening at Cancha Liga Training Pitch. The session, which lasted for 2 hours, was supervised by head coach Aliyu Zubair. This comes after a recovery session in the morning at the team’s base, Le Meridien Hotel. The Flying Eagles were scheduled to continue training on Thursday in their build-up ahead of the friendly game against Chile U20 team on Saturday, 20th September. They will also play against the Australia U20 team on Tuesday, 23rd September.

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Flamingos Win Back-to-Back Friendlies in Abuja

Nigeria’s U17 Women’s National Team, the Flamingos, stepped up preparations for the 2025 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco with two wins on Wednesday, 17th September at the FIFA Goal Project, Abuja. In the first game, the Flamingos edged Eagle’s Wing U13 Boys 1–0 thanks to an early strike from Fatimoh Shuaib, who calmly slotted home after a neat exchange with Tabitha Terlumu. Despite pressure from the opponents, goalkeeper Elizabeth Boniface and her defence held firm to secure the narrow win. Later in the day, the Flamingos returned to action against Harmony FA U13 Boys, sealing a comfortable 3–0 victory. Zainab Raji opened the scoring after pouncing on a defensive error, before Olamide Olanrewaju tapped in for the second. Substitute Favour Etim made an instant impact, adding the third to complete a dominant performance, even as Terlumu saw her penalty kick saved. With these results, the Flamingos have now shown both resilience and attacking sharpness as all called-up players remain in camp ahead of the World Cup (Oct 17–Nov 8), where they face Canada, France, and Samoa in Group D.

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