Category: Sport

AFCON 2021: Eguavoen Releases Super Eagles 28-man Provisional Squad [Full List]

 

The Super Eagles of Nigeria interim head coach, Augustine Eguavoen, on Saturday named a 28-man squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
Naija News reports that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) disclosed the provisional list of players ahead of the tournament holding in Cameroon next month.

Among those called up are; Huesca’s Kelechi Nwakali, Union Berlin’s Taiwo Awoniyi, Almeria striker Sadiq Umar and in-form Watford forward Emmanuel Dennis all made the cut.

There is however no place for Venezia’s Tyronne Ebuehi in the Super Eagles squad.

Nigeria will tackle Egypt, Guinea-Bissau and Sudan in group D at the 2021 AFCON.

FULL SQUAD:

Goalkeepers:

Francis Uzoho (AC Omonia, Cyprus); John Noble (Enyimba FC); Daniel Akpeyi (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa); Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam, The Netherlands)

Defenders:

Chidozie Awaziem (Alanyaspor FC, Turkey); Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain); Leon Balogun (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); William Ekong (Watford FC, England); Olaoluwa Aina (Torino FC, Italy); Jamilu Collins (SC Padeborn 07, Germany); Abdullahi Shehu (AC Omonia, Cyprus); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal); Olisa Ndah (Orlando Pirates, South Africa)

Midfielders:

Frank Onyeka (Brentford FC, England); Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Chidera Ejuke (CSKA Moscow, Russia); Kelechi Nwakali (SD Huesca, Spain)

Forwards:

Ahmed Musa (Fatih Karagumruk, Turkey); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal FC, Spain); Victor Osimhen (Napoli FC, Italy); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Sadiq Umar (UD Almeria, Spain); Taiwo Awoniyi (Union Berlin, Germany); Odion Jude Ighalo (Al-Shabab Riyadh, Saudi Arabia); Alex Iwobi (Everton FC, England); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England); Emmanuel Dennis (Watford FC, England).

 

Clean Nigeria Initiative; Ecobank Applauds International Football Star, David Alaba

Clean Nigeria Initiative; Ecobank Applauds International Football Star, David Alaba

Ecobank Nigeria has commended David Alaba for his support towards the success of the Clean Nigeria Initiative being part of the Federal Government’s efforts to end open defecation in Nigeria by 2025, under the distinguished Chairmanship of Vice-President Osinbajo.

Ms. Adebukola Ademiluyi, Head Diaspora Banking, Ecobank Nigeria, said Ecobank will facilitate the disbursement of funds donated by David Alaba to build public toilets in Ogere Remo in Ogun State, but is also prepared to partner other Nigerians abroad who have interest in funding specific projects back home. Alaba, who is a private sector Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (OPS-WASH) Clean Nigeria Campaign Ambassador as well as a Real Madrid player recently donated N13.3 million towards the initiative to curb open defecation in the country, with Ecobank, the number one Diaspora Bank facilitating the disbursement of the project funds.

Further, Ms. Ademiluyi disclosed that Ecobank was working closely with Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), ably led by the Chairman/CEO, Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa towards the engagement of Nigerians in the diaspora on policies, projects and other initiatives geared at developing the nation, noting that the bank understands the peculiar needs of the Nigerians living abroad and has created tailor-made solutions to serve them effectively.

Stating what the bank is currently doing to support Nigerians abroad on easy repatriation of funds, she advised them to avail themselves of the bank’s Rapidtransfer solution to send money home to their loved ones particularly during this yuletide season, stating that “you can download the Rapidtransfer app to send money home and your beneficiary can pick up USD cash at any Ecobank branch nationwide or have it directly credited into their Ecobank domiciliary account. You can also send money through our remittance partners such as Ria and Small World for cash pick up and direct credit. Other partners such as Western Union and MoneyGram are available for cash pick up only. You can wire funds directly to your foreign currency account through our correspondent bank in dollars, British Pounds and Euro.” She noted that the bank is currently running an end of year reward scheme for remittances.

Ms. Ademiluyi added that Ecobank also helps Nigerians in the diaspora with resources for wealth management through investment in the money market, capital market, real estate and treasury products at attractive and competitive interest rates on both foreign and local currencies, stating that the bank offers financial planning advisory, including information on stocks, bonds, real estates and insurance products, in addition to helping customers retrieve outstanding dividends and missing shares. She advised them to open a multi-currency online account in Naira, GBP, USD and EURO via its website, adding that they can also download the bank’s award-winning mobile banking app, Ecobank Mobile, which is available on app stores to enjoy real-time access to their accounts from the comfort of their home. She further said the bank is offering mortgage loans to Nigerians living abroad to finance property ownership in the country, stressing that the terms and conditions are flexible and easily accessible.

Champions League last 16 draw declared void after Uefa gaffe

 

UEFA was forced to declare the Champions League draw void after a series of mistakes were made during the process on Monday morning.

Manchester United had been handed a mouth-watering last-16 tie against Paris St Germain, but only after being erroneously paired with Villarreal in the first instance and then mistakenly left off the list of possible opponents to face Atletico Madrid.

After clubs sought clarification from the European governing body on what had happened, UEFA announced the ties would be redrawn at 2pm on Monday.

“Following a technical problem with the software of an external service provider that instructs the officials as to which teams are eligible to play each other, a material error occurred in the draw for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16,” a statement said.

“As a result of this, the draw has been declared void and will be entirely redone at 1500 CET.”

Confusion began when United were paired with Villarreal – a side they had already faced in Group F.

UEFA deputy general secretary Giorgio Marchetti apologised for the “technical issue our draw is experiencing” before asking former Arsenal forward Andrey Arshavin to try again, and this time it was neighbours Manchester City who were paired with the Yellow Submarine.

But the problems did not stop there.

When Atletico Madrid were the next side to be drawn, Marchetti said: “For Atletico Madrid, the possibility are all [teams] except for Liverpool, who was in the same group, and Manchester United as they were already drawn.”

But as United’s drawing was a mistake, they should still have been potential opponents for Atletico. UEFA’s head of club competitions Michael Heselschwerdt began collecting balls to put in the pot, but compounded the error by appearing to take a ball from Liverpool’s pot rather than United’s.

Atletico were ultimately paired with Bayern Munich, but given the series of errors, UEFA had no choice but to declare the draw void.

 

Full List: UEFA Champions League round of 16 draw

 

The Champions League draw was done on Monday.

The stand-out tie is undoubtedly the showdown between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United, which will see a return of old enmities as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo collide once more.

first leg matches will be played in February 15/16/22/23, while the second leg matches will be played in March 8/9/15/16

Here are the ties
Benfica vs Real Madrid

 

Villarreal vs Manchester City
Atletico Madrid vs Bayern Munich

Salzburg vs Liverpool
Inter Milan vs Ajax
Sporting Lisbon vs Juventus
Chelsea vs Lille
Paris Saint-Germain vs Manchester United

Why NFF sacked Gernot Rohr – Pinnick

 

Amaju Pinnick, President of the Nigerian Football Federation, said Gernot Rohr was sacked to prevent a “disaster” waiting to happen.

Pinnick said this on Monday while he was a guest on Channels Televisión’s Sunrise Daily breakfast programme.

He said: “It wasn’t an individual decision; it was a collective decision from the committee.

“We didn’t want a disaster to happen before taking the decision.”

Pinnick, however, note that the federation still owes Rohr some salaries.

 

Samuel Eto’o Elected President of the Cameroon Football Federation

 

Former Barcelona striker, Samuel Eto’o has been elected the President of the Cameroon Football Federation, the body has announced.

Eto’o defeated his rival, the acting president Seidou Mbombo Njoya with 43 votes the body revealed on Saturday. Njoya secured 31 votes.

The former Cameroon international had expressed confidence of becoming the next president of the football body when he filed his candidacy last November.

Njoya had won the position in a 2018 election, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport in January annulled his victory.

The 40-year-old will oversee Cameroonian football for the next four years.

He said on his Instagram that, “I’ll be remembering today as one of the proudest moments of my life.

‘I’m deeply grateful to be elected as the new president of @fecafootofficiel.

“Every single vote represents the energy and ambition of our football family to take our beloved sport to a level we’ve never seen before. Let’s get to work.”

 

FA Cup Third Round Draw (Full List)

 

The draw for the FA Cup third round was released on Monday as English Premier League side, Chelsea will clash with Chesterfield, while Liverpool host Shrewbury at Anfield.
The cup holder, Leicester City will play against Watford, Machester United will welcome Aston Villa to Old Trafford.

Manchester City will travel to Swindon Town, while North London side, Arsenal will be away at Nottingham Forest.

The games will be played the weekend of January 8, 2022.

 

Jubilation turns sour As Football Manager Dies While Celebrating Team’s Last Minute Goal [Video]

 

An Egyptian second division manager has died after suffering a heart attack while celebrating his team’s last minute win.

 

El-Magd SC were facing El-Zarqa at home on Thursday, Dec 2, when they managed to clinch a 1-0 victory.

El Magd manager, Adham El-Selhadar, watched on as his side scored against El-Zarqa in the 92nd minute in an Egyptian Second League match.

 

Wild celebrations ensued as they progressed up to seventh in the table on 14 points.

 

Amongst all the drama and celebrations, coach Adham El-Selhadar collapsed on the sidelines as players and staff ran over to check what had happened.

He was attended to by medics before being taken to hospital, where he was confirmed dead.

 

El-Selhadar had been a professional player in the 1990s, winning the Egyptian Premier League and Egypt Cup before becoming a coach.

 

Watch video here

 

Klopp clashes with reporter after calling AFCON ‘little tournament’

Liverpool boss, Jurgen Klopp has lashed out at a reporter after he was accused of insulting Africa by referring to the Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, as a ‘little tournament’.

Before Liverpool’s Champions League match against Porto on Wednesday night, Klopp was asked about the lack of international breaks until March.

And in response, Klopp said, “No international break until March, I’ve heard that so often, but in January there’s a little tournament in Africa, I just want to say.”

And after Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Porto, a reporter returned to the Liverpool boss, asking him to apologize to the people of Africa for his choice of words.

The German said, “It’s all good, I didn’t mean it like that. I don’t know why you understand it like that to be honest.

“I didn’t mean it like that, come on… so I was not even close to it being the idea in my mind that I want to talk about the AFCON as a ‘little tournament’ or about the continent of Africa as a ‘little continent’, not at all.

“What I meant was, if you watch the full press conference, then you might have understood it the right way if you wanted to because I said there are no international breaks until March now.

“I said, ‘oh, there’s a little tournament in January’ and I didn’t mean a ‘little’ tournament, I was just saying it’s still a tournament, it’s ironic. It’s still a tournament, a big one. We [will] lose our best players to that tournament.

“I am not a native speaker but if you want to understand me wrong, you can do that all the time.

“I really don’t… I know that I would never think like this. I don’t understand why you thought this to be honest, but that’s really not OK as I would never do that.

“But that is it now. It was not my intention but you made something [more] of it, so that is not so cool to be 100 per cent honest.”

Bayern Munich Loses Eight Players To COVID-19 Ahead Of Dynamo Kyiv Clash

 

At least five players of Bayern Munich are currently in quarantine after testing positive for the dreaded COVID-19 disease.
The Bundesliga club is facing such a setback ahead of their UEFA Champions League clash with Dynamo Kyiv on Tuesday, November 23, 2023, Naija News reports.

The likes of Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala, Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting, and Michael Cuisance have been reportedly placed in self-isolation over issues of vaccination.

This is coming after the club’s manager, Julian Nagelsmann, had as well missed four of the team’s games after contracting COVID-19 despite being vaccinated.

Bayern Munich midfielder, Joshua Kimmich is said to have also admitted that he is not vaccinated. Daily Bild reports that Munich is planning to dock the pay of all five unvaccinated players during their isolation period.

Speaking on his squad’s well-being ahead of their Tuesday game, Nagelsmann said: “The players who are not vaccinated understand that the risk of missing games or training sessions is much greater as an unvaccinated person than as a vaccinated person.”

The coach disclosed further that Bayern would be without eight first-team players for this week’s UEFA Champions League game against Dynamo Kyiv.

Gnabry, Musiala, Choupo-Moting, and Cuisance were all placed in quarantine hours after reports emerged in German media about pay cuts. Their vaccinated teammate Niklas Süle had tested positive for COVID-19 last week.

Naija News understands that Munich had made it to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League before the coronavirus catastrophe.

The development is observed to have contributed to Munich’s 2-1 defeat to Augsburg on Friday. Meanwhile, the club will also face title rivals Borussia Dortmund on December 4.

 

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