Sports

The Super Eagles of Nigeria beat Bafana Bafana of South Africa 4-2 in penalties to reach the African Cup of Nations finals. The Super Eagles secured a penalty after African Player of the Year Victor Osimhen was brought down in the box by Mothobi Mvala (South Africa) at the Stade de la Paix in Bouake, Ivory Coast. Nigeria led 1-0 in the 67th minute when Captain William Troost-Ekong converted a low-driven penalty into the middle of the net fooling Ronwen Williams in goal. Nigeria thought they had sealed the game with a 2-0 lead when Osimhen scored as he latched on to a pass inside the penalty box and fired a perfect low strike, which went inside the left post. However, a VAR review verdict said that there was no goal for Nigeria due to a foul in the build-up play. The decision was ...

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has commended the Super Eagles for defeating the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon to qualify for the quarter-finals at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations. Mr Akpabio gave the commendation in a congratulatory message to the Nigerian team signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Eseme Eyiboh, in Abuja on Sunday. Mr Akpabio said the Eagles’ triumph over Cameroon had shown that they had the capacity to beat any team in Africa. He said the resourcefulness of the Super Eagles was never in doubt. “I felt proud watching the Super Eagles demobilise the Lions; apart from dominating the Indomitable Lions, the Eagles tamed the Lions and made them look ordinary. That is the Nigerian spirit and I congratulate you for making millions of Nigerians pr...

Super Eagles chief coach, Jose Peseiro, says his team will immediately put Saturday’s victory over Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions behind them and look ahead. Peseiro said they would be keeping their focus on Angola, their next opponents at the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire. Nigeria beat Cameroon 2-0 on Saturday in the competition’s round of 16 to earn the quarter-finals ticket against Angola. We will now focus on our next match against Angola, who are having an excellent tournament,” he said. Peseiro, however, cautioned that they must take their opponents seriously. “For now, we will continue to sleep early and eat pasta,” he said with a laugh. “Jokes aside, all the teams at this stage are capable of winning the tournament,” the coach added. ...

By Victor Okoye Mouktar Mohammed, the Chairman, FCT Football Association has been honoured with an award in Paris, France for excellence in football development. This is according to a statement by the FCT FA and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja. The statement said Mohammed bagged the award for his immense contribution to growth and development of football in the FCT. NAN reports that Mohammed, who was re-elected FCT FA boss for a second four-year term recently, has been widely hailed for the remarkable giants strides football in the FCT has achieved under his able leadership. The statement said the award tagged Nigeria-France Sports Award and Gala was organised by OJB Media. It added that the ceremony was graced by some ex-interna...

Sports minister John Owan-Enoh says Nigeria will present a bid to host the 2027 AFCON at the CAF executive committee meeting in Cairo on Wednesday. The minister and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) leadership will attend the meeting. Nigeria and the Republic of Benin presented a joint bid to host AFCON 2027. All countries who submitted bids to host the AFCON 2025 and 2027rnament, respectively, are expected to attend the meeting. Nigeria will make a 10-minute presentation to the CAF. The delegation includes NFF president Ibrahim Gusau, general secretary Mohammed Sanusi and bid coordinator Mainasara Ilo. The Independent Assessment Committee of CAF will submit their reports for assessment and discussion by the CAF executive committee. CAF’s team had previously visit...

Team Nigeria has won seven medals, comprising two golds, two silvers, and three bronzes, at the World Para Powerlifting Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The championship will enable Nigeria to participate in the 2024 Paralympics in France. Charles Ezenwanne, president of Para Power Lifting, commended the athletes’ impressive display. He noted that the athletes must keep improving and never stop developing new strategies to keep Nigeria at this level of dominance. He added that as the sport evolved, the athletes must also develop new rules and techniques. “The performance of our contingent underlines the country’s status as a leading force in para-powerlifting and our strong winning culture and competitive mentality. “We must not take things for granted...

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has confirmed payments of match bonuses and allowances for the Super Falcons. The federation’s president, Ibrahim Gusau, made this known in Abuja while appearing before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee on the dispute between Super Falcons and NFF. Gusau said no funding was released for participation but revealed that in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup hosted by Australia and New Zealand, $960,000 was given to all 32 qualified countries. According to him, this preparation money provided by FIFA is to be used by these countries to prepare the teams for the World Cup. “We can’t use this money to pay outstanding allowances for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup,” he said. Rep Blessing Onu, the committee chairperson, questioned how...

The Secretary-General of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), Ms Fatma Samoura has told Super Falcons of Nigeria that it is because of players like them that FIFA decided to pay prize money directly to players. The FIFA secretary general who addressed the Super Falcons after their 0-0 draw with the Republic of Ireland in their dressing room, noted that she knows “it has been tough” and that they had to “face the reality of Nigeria.” She, however, added that for the first time, the prize money would be paid to them – players – because of such realities. “It is because of you that for the first time in the history of FIFA, the FIFA women world cup prize money will be paid directly to you, the players,” Samoura said, amid cheers from the nine-time African ch...