Category: Football - Page 3 - African News Today

Former Super Eagles Captain Mikel Obi Retires from Football

28Sep

By Osaretin BalogbanNo Comments

Former Super Eagles Captain Mikel Obi Retires from Football

Former Super Eagles captain and Chelsea legend, John Obi Mikel, has retired from professional football after 20 years of action. Obi announced his retirement from football on Tuesday on his social media accounts with a farewell message to his fans. See Also: Otubanjo wins UEFA Conference League Goal of The Week Award “There is a saying that “all good things must come to an end”, and for my professional football career, that day is today." “I look back at the past 20 years of my career, and I must say that I am very satisfied with all that I was able to achieve and, more importantly, the human it has helped shape." “All of this would not have been possible without the unwavering support of my family, managers, clubs, coaches, teammates, and most importantly, my ever-loya...

Alex Iwobi Nominated for Premier League Player of the Month Award

23Sep

By Osaretin BalogbanNo Comments

English Premiership, Sports

Alex Iwobi Nominated for Premier League Player of the Month Award

Everton midfielder and Super Eagles player, Alex Iwobi, has been nominated for the premier league player of the month award for September. See Also: Otubanjo wins UEFA Conference League Goal of The Week Award The Nigeria international has been selected to contend for the award after providing the assist for Neal Maupay’s winning goal against West Ham United on Sunday. Iwobi was also named player of the match as he performed awesomely in the deeper central-midfield role as preferred by Everton’s coach, Frank Lampard. Iwobi was selected alongside Bournemouth midfielder Philip Billing, Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, Spurs’ Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Jacob Ramsey of Aston Villa, and Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford. Voting for the EA award ends at 12 pm on Monday, ...

Otubanjo wins UEFA Conference League Goal of The Week Award

17Sep

By Osaretin BalogbanNo Comments

Sports

Otubanjo wins UEFA Conference League Goal of The Week Award

Nigerian Forward, Yusuf Otubanjo, wins the UEFA Conference League Goal of the Week prize for matchday two. See Also: Napoli Suffer Injury Blow as Osimhen to Stay on the Sidelines Otubanjo’s goal in the first half for Armenian club, Pyunik, was nominated along with three others. The goal was the second and the last of the match against Slovan Bratislava securing the win for Pyunik. The Nigerian’s goal was his first in the competition this season. Otubanjo is the first Nigerian to claim the individual award. On Matchday one, Samuel Chukwueze and Peter Olayinka were also nominated. The 30-year-old moved to Pyunik from Ararat-Armenia in the summer transfer window. Source: Daily Post

Umar Sadiq to Miss The Rest of Laliga Campaign as He Suffers Injury Blow

14Sep

By Osaretin BalogbanNo Comments

Sports

Umar Sadiq to Miss The Rest of Laliga Campaign as He Suffers Injury Blow

Umar Sadiq has sustained an injury and will undergo surgery on Thursday as announced by Laliga Club, Real Sociedad. See Also: Umar Sadiq Seals Late Move from Almeria to Real Sociedad The Club announced on Monday that the Nigerian striker suffered a rupture of his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Sadiq had come off injured during Real Sociedad’s 2-1 defeat against Getafe on Sunday. In a statement, the Club said: “After suffering a rupture of his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, Sadiq Umar will undergo surgery on 15th September in Vitoria, with Dr. Mikel Sánchez taking control of the procedure". Sadiq will miss the rest of the campaign as a result of the injury. Source: Daily Post

Qatar 2022: Bring Home World Cup, Eto’o Tells Indomitable Lions

1Sep

By Kosi UchennaNo Comments

Cameroon, News, Sports, World Cup

Qatar 2022: Bring Home World Cup, Eto’o Tells Indomitable Lions

Samuel Eto’o, the President of the Cameroon Football Federation, FECAFOOT, has tasked the Indomitable Lions to bring home the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The 2022 World Cup will be placed in Qatar from the 20th of November to the 18th of December, 2022. The Cameroon national football team has qualified for eight editions of the FIFA World Cup finals so far with their best outing being a quarter-finals place. Eto’o in a tweet on his Twitter handle urged the Indomitable Lions to make the country proud at the 2022 edition. See Also: 2022 U-20 WWC: Why Falconets Crashed Out Against Netherlands – Danjuma He tweeted, “During last week’s General Assembly, we came together to discuss the road ahead for Cameroonian football. We must seize every opportunity, nationally and international...

Taiwo Awoniyi Vows to Make Nigeria Proud in The Premier League

24Aug

By Osaretin BalogbanNo Comments

English Premiership, Nigeria, Sports

Taiwo Awoniyi Vows to Make Nigeria Proud in The Premier League

Nigerian football player, Taiwo Awoniyi believes he can make his country and family proud after scoring his first ever goal for the newly promoted English Club, Nottingham Forest. Taiwo said he believes he can keep performing on the top flight as he acknowledges how popular the premier league is. See Also: Victor Osimhen Scores His 30th Goal for Napoli “I know how much Nigerians love the English Premier League, I know how much they watch the game.” “For me being here, being a player of Nottingham Forest, and also coming from Nigeria, I just want to make myself and my country proud. I believe it, it all boils down to what I do here so if everything goes well I believe a lot of Nigerians will be following." “Of course, I know all my family and my friends are looking forwa...

Victor Osimhen Scores His 30th Goal for Napoli

22Aug

By Osaretin BalogbanNo Comments

Sports

Victor Osimhen Scores His 30th Goal for Napoli

Napoli striker and Nigeria’s National Team player, Victor Osimhen, scored his 30th goal as Napoli trashed Serie A side Monza four goals to nil at the Stadio Maradona Stadium. The Nigerian Striker joined Napoli from French club Lille in 2020 and he has proven to be a formidable player as he bags a total of 30 goals and 10 assists in 63 games for the club. Osimhen netted his 30th goal in yesterday’s Sunday match against Monza as he scored in the 47th minute making the scoreline 2-0 at halftime. See Also: Anthony Joshua Loses To Usyk Again, Fails To Reclaim Heavyweight Titles Osimhen praised his teammates for their performance in yesterday’s game, he also praised Georgia winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for scoring 2 goals in the match. “It was a great performance, I’m proud o...

2022 U-20 WWC: Why Falconets Crashed Out Against Netherlands – Danjuma

22Aug

By Kosi UchennaNo Comments

News, Nigeria, Sports

2022 U-20 WWC: Why Falconets Crashed Out Against Netherlands – Danjuma

Head coach of the Falconets, Chris Danjuma, has blamed wasted chances for the team’s failure to beat the Netherlands in the semi-finals of the 2022 U-20 Women’s FIFA World Cup. The Falconets were defeated 2-0 by the Netherlands at the Estadio Alajuela Morera Soto to bring an end to a good outing at the tournament. Despite dominating most part of the match, the Falconets paid for a lack of clinical finish. Zera Hulswit and Ziva Henry were on target for the Dutch. Reacting to the defeat, Danjuma said, “This is football when your opponent capitalizes on your mistake and they punish you for that. See Also: Pinnick Comments on Possibility Of Vying For Third Term “I think we had these few mistakes starting and we were punished for it and we had our chances and we could not...

Nigeria’s Falconets Qualify for the U-20 World Cup Quarterfinals

18Aug

By Osaretin BalogbanNo Comments

Sports, World Cup

Nigeria’s Falconets Qualify for the U-20 World Cup Quarterfinals

Nigeria’s Falconets qualify for the quarterfinals of the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after defeating Canada 3-1 in their final group game on Thursday morning. The Falconets were able to maintain their unbeaten run after winning their first two games of the tournament. The West Africans conceded in four minutes by a goal from Canadian, Kaila Novak but the Nigerians leveled the scoreline after Esther Onyenezide scored from the penalty spot in the 24th minute. See Also: 2022: U-20 WWC: How Falconets Beat South Korea – Danjuma The Falconets took the lead as Onyenezide scored another goal eight minutes later again from the penalty spot after a foul on Mercy Idoko. The last goal came from Mercy Idoko who made the scoreline 3-1 after she made a close-range shot into the b...

Pinnick Comments on Possibility Of Vying For Third Term

16Aug

By Kosi UchennaNo Comments

News, Nigeria, Sports

Pinnick Comments on Possibility Of Vying For Third Term

Amaju Pinnick, the President of the Nigerian Football Federation, NFF, has confirmed that he will not run for a third term after his current tenure expires this year. Pinnick, a former chairman of Delta State Football Association took over as NFF President in 2014 and his tenure is expected to end next month. There has been speculation that Pinnick who is equally a member of the FIFA executive council committee nurtures the ambition of seeking a third term. See Also: 2022: U-20 WWC: How Falconets Beat South Korea – Danjuma However, the NFF President in an interview with Arise Television said that he will not interfere with the process to elect a new President. He said, “There are so many Nigerians capable of being there (NFF boss). I will assist and work with any...