NFF to fans: Put on Nigeria Jersey and bring in no weapons

The Nigeria Football Federation has made a passionate appeal to Kaduna fans coming to watch the crucial game between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the pharaoh’s of Egypt at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium on Friday, not to bring in any dangerous weapon.

This plea came from the NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi,  in Abuja.

“We are specially appealing to our football fans not to come with any item that might be seen as a weapon, because security will be very tight on the day. We also appeal passionately to the fans to co-operate fully with the security agents to make for hitch free entry into the venue.

“Similarly, we are appealing to the fans to come to the stadium wearing green and white colours. We want the venue proudly adorned in our national colours.”

See the player Zlatan ended his National career in ten minutes

Stoke City defender, Ryan Shawcross has explained  how Zlatan Ibramovich ended his England career in just ten minutes.

“I’m the butt of the joke in my family, just because the 10 minutes I had in international football was ruined by one man. They are consistently saying that Zlatan ruined my career! I had a chance and I don’t think many other defenders have stopped him.He said:“I was given 10 minutes to show what I could do and probably didn’t provide a good enough performance. I was against one of the best strikers in the world who was on a hot streak at the time and these things happen.”

Shawcross continued:  “I’ve been playing well for the last three or four years and I don’t seem to be getting in so I can’t see it changing in the future unless the manager changes. It’s just the way football is, some managers like players that others don’t. At the moment it’s either that he doesn't think I’m up to it or the lads he’s picking are better than me. That’s fine.

“Is that unfair? Yes, but it’s a ruthless game. You do find that the lads who move to the bigger clubs get more recognition. They play in Europe and there’s a lot more prestige around them. But my performances on the pitch for Stoke have been good enough to get in the England team and so far the call hasn’t come.”

Courtois Berates Chelsea Defence

Chelsea goal keeper Thibaut Courtois, has picked out the team back four who are suppose to defend the squad as the cause for the blues failure this season and also blame the short pre-season they had.

The Belgium international explained his preference of his national team defence, which has the likes of Vincent Kompany and Toby Alderweireld at the heart of defence.“I think our pre-season was too short. Physically, we weren’t ready,”he said.

“We lost our first game in the Community Shield, then we needed a change, and Guus Hiddink’s arrival did us some good.

“We’re still conceding too many goals, and that’s not entirely the defence’s fault, even though I prefer playing with Belgium’s back four in Europe. It’ll be hard, but we’re going to try and finish the season strongly.”

Belgium was hit earlier on this week by terrorist attack, which has put the game against Portugal in Brussels on Friday in doubt.

Jay Jay Seen At Paris Saint Germaine

Ex-Nigerian international Austin, also known as  “Jay Jay” Okocha, was seen at the the Parc Des Princes (PSG) on Sunday, March 20.

Paris Saint Germaine hosted the former player at his former home ground just before their game against Monaco.Okocha didn’t fail to entertain fans of the club with his sensational style of play before kickoff.

“I still follow the team’s performance. I’m jealous of the players that are here today  it must be a dream to play in this team now,”Okocha said in an interview.

“The current owners have invested a lot of money, but brought stability and ambition. Today, Paris Saint-Germain is in its rightful place.“I’m proud to call myself a Parisian and happy to see the team right at the top of the game,”he added.

Jay Jay adorned the Jersey of the French club  for four years between 1998 and 2002, scoring 23 goals in 84 matches for the Ligue 1 club including a debut goal against Bordeaux.

MFM plots Kano Pillars Downfall

The Assistant head coach of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries Football Club of Lagos, Alli Suleman Obinna has said the club is not scared of Kano Pillars football club, adding that the northern base club will lose in Lagos  in Match Day 8 of the ongoing Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) tie involving the two sides.

On wednesday, the 23rd the Agege Stadium will put up another interesting and entertaining top game action as the ‘Olukoya Boys’ battle with four times league champions, the ‘Sai Masu Gida’.

According to Ali, “Kano Pillars are a very good team, they’ve been in the league before us, you know we just came back from Owerri where we lost to Heartland FC, I strongly believe we are not going to lose two matches in arow.“On Wednesday, by the special grace of God, Kano Pillars will fall and we will claim the three points.

“Experience matters a lot in football but at the same time MFM has some experienced players who can match up with Kano Pillars team.“In football you can’t tell because anything can happen but I strongly believe that MFM is a team that people will look up to before the season ends,” he told MFM FC Media.

The newly promoted team are sitting second on the NPFLtable with 13points from 7 league games while the visitors are third spot on the league table with 11 points.

Read what Beckham said about this Manchester United youngster

Former Manchester united midfielder David Beckham has praised  the youthful ebullience of striker Marcus Rashford, after scoring the lone goal in the Manchester Day derby over the weekend.

The former Paris Saint Germain star was quick to heap commendations to the youngster in an Instagram post, saying that "it is “refreshing” to see a youngster playing with such when a young kid that loves the club he is at and loves the game he is playing this is what you get.

"The excitement in Marcus’s face after scoring against our rivals is exactly what a kid his age should look like… It’s refreshing and pleasing to see. Congrats to Marcus on another great day" @manchesterunited.

Marcus Rashford has scored  five goals in eight senior appearances for the ‘Red Devil’ this season.

Aigbogun: With Stability in the team, Nigeria can beat Egypt

Ahead of the much talked about AFCON qualifiers, the Coach of Enyimba FC Paul Aigbogun, has said Nigeria game against Egypt will be a tough one, stating  the NorthAfricans have a more advantageous position, due to the instability of the Nigerian Squad.

But the manager believes the Super Eagles can grab a win in Kaduna and ensure they get  a draw in the return leg in Alexandria, adding that the Eagles  delivers most when they are in a tight situation.

“Will be a tough game certainly, I know that the Egypt team is in good condition now while there are a number of changes in Nigeria,”Paul Aigbogun told filgoal.com.

“In contrast, the team of Egypt is in a state of stability now,which would benefit any team for sure.“But at the same time the Nigeria squad is known to me , they offer the best performance when playing under pressure.”

Aigbogun added: “But Kaduna match will not be easy on the Egyptians.  I think the best for Nigeria will win here with trying to get the point of the second game. “But all that will be determined according to the result of the first match.”

Mikel: Defeating Egypt our major priority

Nigeria and Chelsea midfielder has said that the Egyptian team Nigeria would play against is totally different from the one that he faced with the Super Eagles in 2006,  but he is optimistic the Eagles can defeat the Pharaohs.

"I don’t really know the team (Egypt), I haven’t played against them in a long time. They have a different team to the one we played against in an African Nations Cup.“It will be a difficult game, we are ready, we want to win and want to qualify for the Nations Cup”.

The former Lyn Oslo midfielder also debunked ideas of him finding it difficult to mix with new members of the team.

“This is my job (playing football), I do this everyday, I don’t need to play with someone everyday to know they are or how they play.“We do not have to play together every time but we have to play as one team and fight for the same thing.”

Super Eagles will the Pharaohs at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna on Friday, March 25.

Kanu beckons on fans to cheer Super Eagles

Former Super Eagles captain Nwankwo Kanu has appeal to Nigerians to come out on Friday and support the national team to victory against the Pharaohs of Egypt.

The former Arsenal player said he will in   Nigeria on Thursday, to cheer the team to victory.

“I’m arriving on Thursday to give my support to the team and we must rally everybody behind the Super Eagles against Egypt,” explained Kanu.

“The Super Eagles must go all out and get the three points which is important in other to overtake Egypt on the table because we (Nigeria) have four points.”I believe in the calibre of our player and we must all support the team to ensure victory in Kaduna on Friday.

“That is the most important match for now; after that we can begin to plan for the return match on Tuesday.”

Nikyu: Falconets won't concede goals in South Africa

Nigeria U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, is set to depart for Johannesburg on Wednesday morning for the return leg of the final qualifying round for this year’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup against South Africa.

This was noted on the  Nigeria Football Federation official website on Tuesday.

According to coach Bala Nikyu, “We are not going to allow the Bantwana to cancel any of the goals we scored in Nigeria. Rather, we are going to score more goals and hope to replicate the feat we achieved in Namibia by beating them in South Africa.”

“The girls are confident of cementing their World Cup qualification and it can only be done if we do not underrate the South Africans, and go all out on the attack".

This year’s edition will be held in Jordan from September 30 to October 21 this year.

Super Falcons Need A competitive match to shape up

Despite her absence in the Super Falcons training camp,  preparation is yet to kick start in full gear, which have got mouths wagging on how long the girls can progress.

The falcons will face an uphill task, when they battle it out against the Teranga Lionesses of Senegal in the last round of the 2016 African Women's Cup of Nation and they are yet to play a competitive game.

Since  crashing out of the race for an Olympic ticket last year, the Falcons are yet to play against another national women's team.

Nigeria will welcome Senegal in Abuja on
April 9 and it will be the first time Omagbemi stand in the team’s dugout

Ibenegbu allays injury scare, says it not serious

Enyimba FC of Aba midfielder Batholomew Ibenegbu aka 'Mosquito',  has explained the injury he had over the weekend against Vital'O in a CAF Champions League was not something serious.

He said: "As for my injury in the game, it is not a major one. I thank God. Within a day or two, I will be fine," he told Enyimba website.

The former heartland player was also excited on grabbing  his first goal for Enyimba, describing it as a "special moment".

"I have been praying to score and I thank God I have finally done it. It is a special moment for me,” he said.“In this club every goal is important so I'm happy I have done my part for the team."

Enyimba remains the only team from Nigeria to advance in the competition,  after a 6-3 aggregate win.

Iwobi pledges allegiance to Nigeria ahead of England

Reports coming out of England earlier on,revealed that the FA made a last minute effort in convincing 19-year-old Alex Iwobi in ditching Nigeria, to become a Three Lion player.

According to the source, who spoke to ESPN FC, a request was sent to his  email to let him know it was not too late to change his mind and play for England, instead of Nigeria.

But the sensational midfielder, who just scored his first Premier League goal over the weekend, has decided to adorn the green and white colour of Nigeria.

"Alex is committed to Nigeria," the source told ESPN FC. "It's taken over nine months of hard work to complete the paperwork on his switch and he will not throw all that away now."

Meanwhile, Iwobi posted on one of his social media platform" Arrived Safely In Abuja✌��️����- Alexander Iwobi (@alexiwobi)20 March 2016.

Iwobi so far, has played in two friendly games for Nigeria and he intends to cement his place in the team.

AFCON: Elneny says Nigeria will bow to Egypt

As the AFCON qualifier draws nearer, Egypt midfielder, Mohamed Elneny has opened up on warning his Arsenal teammate, Alex Iwobi, that the clash between both countries will be tough, but believes the Super Eagles will bow to the Pharaoh's, come this Friday in Kaduna, and next week.

Elneny said: "I have a good feeling that we will be able to win the match. Nigeria is a tough team, but we are good," Elneny told MBC TV.

"I also feel that I am surrounded by support from everyone encouraging us to get back to winning."I told him (Iwobi) that it will be hard for Nigeria to beat Egypt."

The Pharaohs will arrive in Nigeria on Wednesday, aboard a chartered aircraft.

Source: Completesortsnigeria.com

Enyimba won't give up, despite losing

After the crashing out of Nassarawa united and Warri Wolves from the CAF champions League, coach of Enyimba FC of Aba, Paul Aigbogun is optimistic his boys will scale through despite their loss to Vital’O.

“We came down to Burundi with one aim, to qualify. If we had beaten them here it would have made a positive story, but we didn’t, so we have to not worry about it and instead concentrate on our next games in the competition because we have done the job here,” he told EnyimbaFC.net after the match.

“In this competition, the priority is always to qualify, to qualify, until you get to the group stage. Then after that, you focus on reaching the semi-finals and final. You can’t go in with the mindset of, we have to win every team home and away. No.”

“Sometimes only a draw is needed and then you have to play with that mindset, so you don’t open yourselves up to an embarrassing defeat. We want to go as far as possible in this tournament so we have to be a very organized and disciplined team, a team with an eye on the prize and not be careless.

“Will this defeat affect the team, no. We knew they were going to come out and fight for a win, just for pride so we are not going to drop our heads down and feel sad. We will remain focused and prepare for our next opponents.”

Serena, Kings, Djokovic, Azarenka Reacts To Moore Comment on tennis women riding on the ' coattail' of men

Sixty-nine year-old former touring pro from South Africa, Raymond Moore has apologised to women tennis players over his remark on why they should be grateful to their male counterparts for making the game easy for them.

Highly rated Serena Williams was against such statement, saying, "Those remarks are very much mistaken and very, very, very inaccurate."

Here is the statement Moore made, that got top tennis players upset.

"In my next life when I come back I want to be someone in the WTA because they ride on the coattails of the men. They don't make any decisions and they are lucky. They are very, very lucky," he said. "If I was a lady player, I'd go down every night onmy knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born, because they have carried this sport."

Serena added: "Obviously I don't think any woman should be down on their knees thanking anybody like that. It is a disservice to Billie Jean King, one of the co-founders of the WTA Tour, female athletes and "every woman on this planet that has ever tried to stand up for what they believed in and being proud to be a woman."

King later tweeted: "Disappointed in (hashtag) Raymond Moore comments. He is wrong on so many levels. Every player, especially the top players, contribute to our success."

Novak Djokovic said: "We have to be fair to say that it's not politically correct."Djokovic was coached by a woman early in his career, and he noted that women pros often delay or sacrifice having families to play professionally, something men don't face.

"I have tremendous respect for what women in global sport are doing and achieving," he said. "I'm completely for women power."

Azarenka: "What women do best is rise above those comments. You don't hear complaints or bad comments towards men," she said. "If we rise above that and keep working hard in everything we do, we're better. We're better at taking opportunities and being graceful. It's our duty to keep just working hard through whatever comments there is. We've got to rise above that.

Moore, however apologized in a written statement."I made comments about the WTA that were in extremely poor taste and erroneous," he said. "I am truly sorry for those remarks, and apologize to all the players and WTA as a whole. We had a women's final today that reflects the strength of the players, especially Serena and Victoria, and the entire WTA. Again, I am truly sorry for my remarks."

AFCON: Super Eagles loses another foreign based star to injury

The Super Eagles of Nigeria will miss Leon Balogun, as he joins the list of foreign base players with injuries ahead of the crucial AFCON 2017 qualifiers double header against Egypt.

The Mainz of Germany player, received a late call up invitation to the Eagles squad did not feature for his club.

According to a statement from the club side, “Leon Balogun hasn’t linked up with the Nigeria team yet. The centre back sustained a thigh injury in training and will be sidelined for the upcoming days. It’s not yet known whether he will join them at a later date or remain in Germany for the entire period.”

The Super Eagles will face Egypt on March 25 and 29.

Victor Ikpeba begs NFF to shield its differences and focus on Egypt game

Former Super Eagles International  Victor Ikpeba has made a passionate appeal to sports  stakeholders to shield their difference and show support to the Super Eagles, as they battle Egypt.

Just as the match draws nearer, former Super Eagles handler, Sunday Oliseh and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have been throwing each other with threats, after Oliseh resigned due to unpaid salary.

Victor took to his twitter handle to write, “It’s time! Let us put all controversy behind us and focus on supporting our @NGSuperEagles to victory against Egypt."

Some soccer loving Nigerians are appalled with the way the NFF and Oliseh Brouhaha is going.

See what Kanu Nwankwo did to this young starlet

It has been revealed that Former Nigeria international and  Arsenal legend, Nwankwo Kanu, had a hand in pushing the deal that made Nigeria U17 skipper Kelechi Nwakali, append his signature to Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger had shown an interest in bringing the central midfielder to the Emirates, after scouting him at the 2015 Fifa Under 17 World Cup, before he contacted Kanu to get the player by all means.

“Kanu Nwankwo has played for Arsenal, so Arsene Wenger contacted him to ask about Nwakali. Through him, Arsenal were able to sign the player, ” the source told allnigeriasoccer.com.

“Nwakali has an agent, Stellar Group, but Kanu was brought in because he is close to us, so we connected him with the British agent.

“Arsenal followed him during the World Cup. Manchester City wanted him even before the tournament but told him to train with the Academy team before being offered a contract, so the deal collapsed.”

It was earlier reported that Chelsea and West Ham had wanted the signature of Kelechi Nwakali, but  Arsenal had the upper hand.

Hart, Sterling, to miss England friendlies due to injuries

Manchester City football club of England has confirmed that the duo Joe Hart and  Raheem Sterling, will be out for three or four weeks after getting injured  in Sunday’s loss to Manchester United.

Former liverpool winger, Sterling ended his playing time in the 26th minute due to a groin injury  at the Etihad Stadium, while shot stopper, Hart had to be carried  off after damaging his calf, while making  a clearance early in the second half.

“Both of them have muscular injuries. Raheem it’s his groin and Joe his calf. “I don’t think that with a muscle injury you will be fit in one week. Normally it’s three or four weeks," he told reporters.

With these injuries, Pellegrini will have to sweat it out as both players are ikely to miss England’s forthcoming friendlies against Germany and the Netherlands.

Hiddink says Pato is still unfit, that is why he is yet to play for Chelsea

The manager of Chelsea football club,  Guus Hiddink has dropped reasons on why Alexandre Pato is yet to kick the ball for the club.

According to Hiddink,  Pato hasn’t put in enough effort in training as he supposed to be, which makes him unfit to start in Chelsea games.

“I make my judgement based on what I see in training and I make my decision. when Costa is not there we have Remy , we also have Traore and Pato. They are competing for the second spot. I make my judgement on what we see.

“Loftus-Cheek is strong, can penetrate and he can play physically and technically well, which he showed. You have to make a choice on who to bring on.”