Football

GHANA stand-in skipper Andre Ayew rued Christian Atsu missed chances in the first half, which he said would have won Black Stars the AFCON Group C match.   Ghana fell 2-1 to Senegal in the opening game in the group widely referred to as “Group of Death”.   “Had Atsu got those two big chances…

NO fewer than 400 male and female athletes will compete for honours at the maiden edition of the Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed U-17 Badminton Championships in Ilorin, which opens on Jan. 27.   The sponsor of the competition, Dr Abdulfatai Olokoba, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin.  …

AFRICAN queen of the track, Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor, has suggested to telecommunication giant, Globacom and other corporate bodies in Africa to put in place an event that would showcase the achievement of top athletes, as it is done for footballers.    Okagbare captained Team Nigeria to Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and became the biggest attention of…

THE Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has been urged to complete without delay the issue of signing a coach for the Super Eagles to enable the team begin early preparations for the 2017 AFCON    President of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club,  Raufu Ladipo, who made spoke Monday in Abuja also urged the NFF to sponsor…

THE Nigeria Football Federation has denied a report in a section of the media that its President, Mr. Amaju Pinnick was in Laussane, Switzerland last week to testify in a case before the respected Court of Arbitration for Sports by some football stakeholders led by Ambassador Chris Giwa.    “Our attention has been drawn to…

GOLDEN Eaglets Coach Emmanuel Amuneke has reiterated his commitment to assemble a formidable squad that would surmount any team in next month African U-17 Championship slated for Niger Republic.    The former Super Eagles winger stated that preparations are in top gear to put the players in high spirit for the cadet championship.    Amuneke…

...Zambia’s Sinkala out injured NIGERIA international Mikel Obi has expressed his disappointment over the country’s failure to defend the AFCON in Equatorial Guinea.   Champions Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2015 AFCON when they were upstaged in the final day of the qualifiers by South Africa and Congo in November.   “It will be…

AS part of its contribution to carrying out a holistic development of Nigerian tennis, the International Tennis Academy, ITA, has sent four Nigerian players to the Clarke Francis Tennis Academy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to learn the latest tricks in tennis coaching.   According to Godwin Kienka, Director of the Academy, the idea behind…

THERE is excitement and high expectations in the camp of Dolphins FC, one of the teams involved in the Premier League Super Four (invitational) tournament featuring four top teams of the league and two junior national teams.  Dolphins, last season’s Federations Cup losing finalist and 2015 CAF Confederation Cup hopefuls regrouped at the weekend ahead…

• Yemen coach accepts defeat AFTER two friendly games against Cote d’ Ivoire In Abu Dhabi and Yemen in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Super Eagles made up entirely players from the Nigeria Premier League have commended the leadership of the NFF under Amaju Pinnick, for the friendlies even as the players ask…

SANTI Cazorla scored one goal and created another as Arsenal ended Manchester City's 12-match unbeaten run and damaged their title hopes. Spain playmaker Cazorla converted a first-half penalty after Vincent Kompany fouled Nacho Monreal. Arsenal added a second after the break when Cazorla's free-kick picked out Olivier Giroud and the France striker headed in from…

GHANA will be looking to continue the impressive record against Senegal when the two come face to face Monday in Group C opener.   Both teams have met three times in previous tournaments and Ghana have two wins and a  draw.   The Black Stars will look to Nations Cup veteran likes of Asamoah Gyan,…