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Afcon 2021: Draw pairs Nigeria with Egypt, Sudan and Guinea Bissau

Gernot Rohr’s men have learned their opponents for the biennial African football showpiece as they chase a fourth crown

Nigeria will face Egypt in Group D of the preliminary round of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Gernot Rohr’s men, who enjoyed a smooth qualification campaign where they were unbeaten and finished top of their group, have also been tasked with matches against Sudan and Guinea Bissau.

The draw ceremony which served up plenty of interesting match-ups took place Tuesday evening at Yaounde Conference Centre, Cameroon.

Comoros, who are making their first appearance at the tournament, will have their hands full when they take on Senegal, Ghana and Gabon in Group C.

Algeria must negotiate their way past Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire in Group E if they hope to make it to the second round of the championship.

Elsewhere, Tunisia have been zoned alongside Mali, Mauritania, and Gambia in Group F.

The Super Eagles begin their quest for glory against the Pharaohs at the Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua on January 11.

The 33rd edition of the biennial African football showpiece was due to begin on January 9, 2021, however, it was pushed back to January 2022 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic that crippled football-related activities.

Before the advent of Covid-19, the competition was moved from June-July 2021 dates to January 2022 due to the unfavourable climate in the West African country during the summer months.

Nigeria last won the championship in 2013 when they defeated Burkina Faso 1-0 in South Africa courtesy of Sunday Mba’s first-half strike.

The three-time African champions finished third at Egypt 2019 after defeating Tunisia in the third-place play-off at Al Salam Stadium, Cairo.

Check out the groups in full below.

Group A Group B
Cameroon Senegal
Burkina Faso Zimbabwe
Ethiopia Guinea
Cape Verde Malawi
Group C Group D
Senegal Nigeria
Ghana Egypt
Comoros Sudan
Gabon Guinea-Bissau
Group E Group F
Algeria Tunisia
Sierra Leone Mali
Equatorial Guinea Mauritania
Cote d’Ivoire Gambia

Nigerian Footballer, Kalu collapses On Pitch during Football Match

Football star, Samuel Kalu collapsed on the pitch during a football game between his club, Bordeaux and Marseille in a Ligue 1 match on Sunday.

Kalu, 23, had been preparing to form a defensive wall at a free-kick when he collapsed to the turf in the 25 degree Marseille heat.

After being attended to by Medical staff, he regained consciousness and was allowed to play for 8 more minutes before being substituted.

Concerned team-mates formed a human shield around him, the like of which was seen when Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest during Euro 2020.

The cause of this incident is not yet known but its not the first time Kalu has collapsed. On the eve of Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations opener in Egypt back in 2019, he collapsed during training over what was decribed as ‘severe dehydration’.

FIRSTBANK SPONSORS THE 5TH EDITION OF THE CHIEF OLUSEGUN OBASANJO GOLF TOURNAMENT

First Bank of Nigeria Limited has announced its sponsorship of the 5th edition of the Chief Olusegun Obasanjo golf tournament, organized by the Abeokuta golf club. The competition, which is scheduled to hold on Saturday, 14th August 2021 will have Chief Obasanjo perform the ceremonial Tee-off to the glamour of the 150 golfers participating from across Nigeria.

Speaking on the competition, Kola Adeneye, the Captain of the Abeokuta golf club, said; “Abeokuta golf club is putting up this tournament, fully sponsored by First Bank of Nigeria Limited to celebrate Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, whom we all know to be an icon, a patriotic Nigerian and an entrepreneur. He is worthy to be celebrated and it’s not only when somebody dies that you celebrate him.

“So, Abeokuta golf club has put this tournament together to celebrate him and this is the fifth edition and we want to sincerely thank FirstBank for the support… It’s going to be a wonderful experience, a nice outing for golfers all over Nigeria to come and celebrate Baba Olusegun Obasanjo”, the captain emphasised.

Highlighting the Bank’s contribution to sports development in Nigeria, Mr. Tunde Owolabi, FirstBank’s Group Executive, Retail Banking (Lagos & West) said “we are delighted to join The Abeokuta Golf Club to honour Chief Olusegun Obasanjo for the indelible roles he has played to the socio-economic and political development of the country. The Bank’s influence in the development of sports in Nigeria is under its First@Sport initiative.

“In over a century, FirstBank has sponsored various sporting events known as its legacy sport. These events include the Georgian Cup of Kaduna Polo Club, for over 100 years; the Dala Tennis Hard Court in Kano Club for over 30 years; the FirstBank Lagos Amateur Open Golf Championship in Ikoyi Club which will be in its 60th year this November and the Obasanjo Pro-Amateur tournament of Abeokuta Club now in its 5th year”, he concluded.

Chelsea Lifts UEFA Super Cup After Penalty Drama With Villareal

UEFA Champions League winners, Chelsea defeated Villareal, winners of the Europa League on penalties to claim the UEFA Super Cup, on Wednesday night.

Moroccan international, Ziyech had given the Premier League side a first half lead, which was canceled out but Gerrard Moreno on the 73 minute.

Chelsea had the best of chances to kill the game but were kept at bay by their Spanish opponents for the whole of 90 minutes, and even till the end of extra time.

Kepa Arrizabalaga came on in the 119th minute and proved to be the hero of the night as he kept out two spot kicks from going in.

Chelsea won the UEFA Super Cup on 6-5 penalties after Kai Harvetz had missed the club’s first spot kick in the shootout.

The Blues next take on Crystal Palace for the opening league of the 2021/2022 Premier League season on Saturday.

Just In: : Lionel Messi Agrees Two-year Contract With PSG, Set To Undergo Medicals

Argentine international Lionel Messi has agreed to join Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year contract.

The six-time Ballon d’Or winner arrived in Paris on Tuesday afternoon to seal his move to the French club on a deal worth £25m per year after tax, plus bonuses.

Messi had two other options after leaving Barcelona last week but has opted to move to PSG, who will have the option of extending his stay in the French capital by the third year.

Messi – who will receive a £25m signing-on fee as part of the move – was set to extend his 21-year stay at Barcelona by signing a new five-year deal this summer.

However, the club announced on Thursday that “financial and structural obstacles” meant the deal could not be completed, meaning Messi left as a free agent.

The 34-year-old said he wanted to stay at Barcelona and “did everything” he could to remain at the club, including agreeing to a 50-per-cent wage cut.

However, Barcelona are hamstrung by La Liga’s rules on club spending and even halving Messi’s pay was not enough to ensure he remained at the Nou Camp.

Messi is now set to join PSG, with their potential to compete for major trophies – including the Champions League – understood to be a key factor in his decision to move to France.

Messi is also believed to be keen to reunite with Neymar, with whom he won two La Liga titles, three Copa del Reys and the Champions League during their time together at Barcelona.

Asked about a move to PSG at his farewell press conference last weekend, Messi said: “That is one possibility, to reach those heights.

“I had a lot of calls, a lot of interested clubs. At the moment, nothing is closed, but we are talking about a lot of things.”

Roma Agree £34m Deal To Sign Tammy Abraham

Chelsea would prefer to sell Abraham to a foreign team than a Premier League rival; 23-year-old striker fell out of favour at Stamford Bridge after Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard; Arsenal also interested in signing England forward.

Roma have agreed a £34m deal to sign Tammy Abraham from Chelsea, reports Sky in Italy.

The 23-year-old striker must now decide if he wants to join the Italian club, who are managed by former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.

Fellow Serie A side Atalanta and Arsenal are also interested in Abraham, but Chelsea’s preference is to sell him to a foreign club, making a move to their London rivals less likely.

Abraham fell out of favour at Chelsea midway through last season as Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard as head coach and was left out of the squad for May’s Champions League final, despite being fully fit.

The imminent arrival of Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan is set to push Abraham further down the pecking order and all but end the possibility of him staying at Stamford Bridge.

Despite his limited game-time during the second half of last season, Abraham ended the campaign as Chelsea’s joint-top scorer with 12 goals.

He has featured in each of Chelsea’s three pre-season friendlies and could be involved as they take on Villarreal in the Super Cup final on Wednesday.

Mourinho was in charge at Stamford Bridge as Abraham was coming through the Chelsea academy, but the forward didn’t make his first senior appearance for the Blues until after the Portuguese had left the club.

Abraham’s form for Chelsea under Lampard saw him feature for England in Euro 2020 qualifying and in their most recent Nations League campaign, but a lack of playing time under Tuchel saw him fall out of Gareth Southgate’s plans in the months before this summer’s tournament.

Despite Messi’s Absence, Barcelona Thrash Juventus To Win First Trophy

Despite Messi’s Absence, Barcelona Trash Juventus To Win First Trophy
Spanish professional football club Barcelona, on Sunday, August 8 beat toothless Juventus 3-0 to win Gampher Trophy.
This is the first trophy after many years that the Catalans lifted without former captain, Lionel Messi, Naija News reports.
We reported earlier that Messi on Sunday evening said goodbye to Barcelona in an emotional press conference, leaving Nou Camp after 21 years of his football career with the club.
Messi left Barcelona as a free agent after failing to agree fresh terms with the club.
The 34-year-old player’s exit was, however, put aside as his former teammates crushed Juve to win a trophy.
Memphis Depay opened the scoring after just three minutes. Martin Braithwaite made it 2-0 with a thumping header just before the hour mark from a corner.
Riqui Puig added a third in stoppage time with a curling left-foot drive.
Barcelona will host Real Sociedad on Sunday in their opening fixture with the new LaLiga season kickstarting on Friday

Lionel Messi Breaks Down In Tears As Football Legend Says Goodbye To Barcelona

Argentina captain, Lionel Messi on Sunday was in tears at the start of the Barcelona press conference over his future on Sunday.
This is coming after La Liga side, Barcelona announced that they are unable to seal a deal with their long time captain, who is reportedly close to a move to Paris Saint-Germain.

He said, “These recent days I’ve been thinking, giving a lot of thought to what I can say. And the truth is that I can’t think of anything, this is difficult for me after so many years.

“I’ve been here my entire life, I’m not ready for this. And last year with all the nonsense, I was convinced of what I wanted to say, but this year it is not the same.

“This year my family and I were convinced we were going to stay here, that is what we all wanted more than anything. We were at home, and we thought we’d be staying here in Barcelona, the time we’ve hard here and with the city and [in terms of the] football has been amazing.

“But today, I have to say goodbye to all of this.”

Rangers Suffers Defeat As Dundee United End Champions Unbeaten League Run

Rangers were beaten for the first time in 41 league games as Dundee United handed the Scottish Premiership champions a shock 1-0 defeat on Saturday.

Jamie Robson’s second half strike at Tannadice condemned Steven Gerrard’s side to their first league loss since Hamilton beat them in March 2020.

After opening their title defence with a comfortable victory against Livingston last weekend, this was a reality check for Rangers.

Although Rangers dominated possession and had more attempts on goal, they looked toothless for long periods and Robson made them pay.

It rounded off a frustrating week for the Glasgow club, who were beaten 2-1 in Malmo in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier on Tuesday.

Rangers have to bounce back quickly as Malmo visit Ibrox for the crucial second leg on Tuesday, while the first Old Firm derby of the season against Celtic looms on August 29.

“The result and performance is on me. We don’t create clear-cut chances and that’s on us,” Gerrard said.

“When you face a setback, it’s a chance to reset. We’ve got no time to feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve got a massive game in three days’ time.

“Defeats are always raw. We’ve lost two games on the spin. We’ll put it right.”

Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos flashed a shot wide in the seventh minute before heading a Ryan Kent cross over the bar.

United goalkeeper Ben Siegrist dived to his right to parry away a powerful 25-yard drive from Rangers defender James Tavernier in the second half.

But Rangers were punished for their failure to convert those chances in the 64th minute.

Adrian Sporle’s pass deflected off Steven Davis into the path of Robson, who steered a cool finish past Jon McLaughlin.

Belgian Goal Machine, Romelu Lukaku reportedly agrees five-years deal with Chelsea

Romelu Lukaku has reportedly agreed terms on a five-year contract with Chelsea, worth around £212,000-a-week.

The Belgian goal machine is now edging closer to sealing his return back to west London following his departure in 2014.

Despite failing with a bid of £85.3m plus Marcos Alonso, multiple reports suggest that Chelsea will eventually get a deal over the line with Lukaku open to another spell at Stamford Bridge.

According to football. london, an agreement is already in place with regards to a five-year contract for the Belgium international. All that is left to resolve in the final fee between the two clubs with negotiations now nearing a conclusion.

Inter are now expected to sell up after Lukaku himself made it known that he wanted to join Chelsea.

Lukaku has scored 64 goals in all competitions during his first two years at San Siro.

Tuchel refused to comment on Chelsea’s pursuit of Lukaku on Wednesday night following the 2-2 draw with Tottenham.

“I will not talk about players who don’t play in my squad,” the former PSG boss said. “He is a fantastic player but a player from Inter and with all due respect I will not talk about him. Not everybody but I can imagine a lot of players want to come and join [Chelsea] but we don’t comment on that.”