NIGERIA
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Sports Development Minister, Senator John Owan Enoh, has described the Sports Performance Reward Fund (SPRF) as a well-packaged project worthy of commendation.
According to the minister, SPRF, which is meant to reward excellent performances at international competitions, would motivate athletes and their coaches to work harder, knowing that they would be rewarded for every honour they bring to Nigeria.
Speaking when the SPRF board of trustees paid him a courtesy call in his office at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja, the minister said the SPRF “will fill a major vacuum – the nexus between performance, incentives and rewards – that has dogged Nigeria’s sports for years,” adding, “the growth of the sports sector will thrive much better in the hands of the private sector.
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Former Nigerian international, Tijani Babangida says he is optimistic the Super Eagles will make a good impact at the forthcoming 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria has been pitted alongside Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau in Group A.
Reacting on the chances of the team at the tournament, Babangida stated that the Super Eagles have the quality to qualify from Group A.
The Super Eagles will commence their campaign against Equatorial Guinea fourteenth January, 2024 at the Stade Olympique Alassane Quattara, Abidjan.
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Super Eagles star, Alex Iwobi who plays for Fulham, has vowed to repay the team’s manager, Marco Silva’s faith in him.
Silva signed Iwobi for Everton in 2018 and convinced the versatile midfielder to switch to Craven Cottage in the summer.
Iwobi, who was full of praise for his current boss, is determined to do well under his tutelage.
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Nigerian international, Akor Adams who plays for Montpellier, has been included in the Ligue 1 Team of the Week.
Adams bagged his second brace in his last three Ligue 1 games for Montpellier, as the French side thrashed Toulouse three-nil.
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Shooting Stars head coach, Gbenga Ogunbote says he will continue to work on the attacking department of the team as the 2023/24 NPFL season progresses.
Despite the team’s three-one victory over Doma United FC of Gombe, Ogunbote expressed satisfaction with the improvement so far,
He admitted that there was still room for improvement.
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Rangers Chairman, Barrister Amobi Ezeaku has expressed gratitude to the club’s supporters following Saturday’s four-one win against Kano Pillars at the Awka City Stadium.
The Flying Antelopes moved to top position on the log following the emphatic victory.
The club administrator admitted that the game was tough but the massive support from the fans boosted the players morale.
Rangers will take on Lobi Stars on Thursday at the Lafia City Stadium.
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Niger Tornadoes head coach, Hamza Abarah has faulted his team’s two-one loss to Sporting Lagos; blaming it on cheap mistakes made by his side.
Abarah said his team came up with a good game plan but failed to utilize their chances in the game.
Niger Tornadoes will take on Enyimba in their next game on Wednesday.
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ENGLAND
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Manchester United manager, Erik ten Hag, has claimed it is impossible to make the team play like his successful Ajax team, after reflecting on the Red Devils’ bitter three-nil defeat against rivals Manchester City.
Ten Hag, who watched his side slip to eighth in the Premier League table at Old Trafford, has made a stunning confession in relation to his successful Ajax team which won a hatful of domestic trophies and reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2019.
Erik ten Hag retained the full backing of Manchester United’s board despite their dismal start to the season.
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Manchester United fans have hit out at their manager Erik ten Hag after he revealed his reason for starting Jonny Evans over Raphael Varane in Sunday’s desperately disappointing Manchester derby defeat.
Erik ten Hag’s struggling side now sit eighth in the table, already eight points adrift of fourth-placed Liverpool.
The home side were booed off the pitch and attention quickly turned to Ten Hag’s team selection.
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Meanwhile, Richard Keys has warned the Manchester United job is ‘clearly too big’ for Erik ten Hag as he accused pundits Gary Neville and Roy Keane of going easy on the Dutchman.
United boss, Ten Hag has come under mounting pressure amid his side’s dismal start to the season, which continued with a three-nil humbling by arch-rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The loss to City means United have been beaten in five of their opening ten league games for the first time since 1986.
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Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has accepted that the Blues must improve their home results.
The club won just one of their last thirteen Premier League fixtures at Stamford Bridge.
Pochettino’s side fell to a disappointing two-nil defeat to Brentford in their last game on Saturday.
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Chelsea are laying on free coaches for supporters for the club’s Christmas Eve trip to Wolves to help ease their travel concerns.
In a goodwill gesture following last week’s controversial rearrangement of the game, any Blues fan who buys a ticket will also be able to book a seat on one of the buses travelling to and from Molineux at no additional cost.
Premier League confirmation that the game was being moved, scheduling the first December twenty-four game since 1995, sparked a furious backlash with head coach Mauricio Pochettino agreeing he too was not happy with the fixture amendment.
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Brentford have spoken out against the racist abuse suffered by Frank Onyeka following Saturday’s victory against Chelsea.
Onyeka was a second half substitute in the two-nil win at Stamford Bridge.
Meanwhile, the English Premier League has also condemned the action, reiterating that they have no place for racism.
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Former Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger has pinpointed the big mistakes Manchester United made during their Premier League defeat to Manchester City on Sunday.
Wenger believes Manchester United’s inability to build up play from the back dented the confidence of the players.
The Frenchman insisted that Erik ten Hag’s side had no hope during the clash, adding that he felt sorry for them.
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A major military and police search is under way in Colombia for the father of Liverpool forward, Luis Diaz, with the authorities offering a forty thousand pounds reward for information leading to his rescue.
More than one hundred and twenty soldiers, plus police, searched northern Colombia for Luis Manuel Diaz on Sunday, amid reports armed men had taken him and his wife.
The army said it had set up roadblocks and deployed two motorised platoons, unmanned aircraft, helicopters and a plane with radar in the search for his father.
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Former England midfielder Danny Drinkwater has retired from football after becoming frustrated in limbo.
Drinkwater, now thirty-three, helped Leicester City win the Premier League in 2016 and joined Chelsea for thirty-five million pounds a year later.
He left Stamford Bridge when his contract expired in June 2022, having made little impact, and has not played since.
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Aston Villa legend, Charlie Aitken has died at the age of eighty-one.
The club’s all-time record appearance holder played six hundred and sixty times for Villa between his debut in one thousand, nine hundred and sixty-one and departure in one thousand, nine hundred and seventy-six – all at left-back.
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England women manager, Sarina Wiegman, says the team will focus on things that will improve their game when they face Belgium in the Women’s Nations League on Tuesday.
The Lionesses beat Belgium one-nil on Friday but missed several chances to extend their lead.
They must win their group to stand a chance of qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games on behalf of Team Great Britain.
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OTHER LEAGUES
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Lionel Messi has been named the 2023 Ballon d’Or winner, taking home the award as the best football player of the season for a record-extending eighth time.
The 36-year-old Argentine forward led his country to their first World Cup title since 1986, claiming the Golden Ball award at the tournament in Qatar.
He also won the French title with Paris Saint-Germain before moving to Inter Miami in the summer.
In August, he helped his new team to their first ever title as they clinched the Leagues Cup.
Aitana Bonmatí has won the 2023 Ballon d’Or Féminin award, succeeding her Barcelona and international teammate Alexia Putellas, who won the prize in 2021 and 2022.
The 25-year-old Spanish midfielder led Spain to their maiden Women’s World Cup title in Australia and New Zealand, winning the Golden Ball award at the tournament.
She also helped her club to win La Liga and a second Champions League title, earning her the UEFA Player of the Season award in August.
Messi and Bonmatí were presented with their awards at a star-studded ceremony in Paris on Monday (30 October.
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Former Spanish football federation president, Luis Rubiales has been banned from all football-related activities for three years by Fifa.
World governing body Fifa announced the three-year ban for breaching article thirteen of its disciplinary code.
Rubiales said he intends to appeal against the ban.
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Ajax have appointed the team’s former player, John van’t Schip as interim head coach, a week after they parted ways with Maurice Steijn.
The Dutch giants sacked boss Maurice Steijn after a shocking start which has left them bottom of the Eredivisie table.
Van’t Schip and Ajax have agreed to him stepping into a function in technical management from first July 2024.
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Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate is unlikely to play again before Christmas because of a hamstring injury.
He picked up the injury in the first minute of last week’s Champions League draw against Atletico Madrid.
Tests have revealed significant damage and the Japan international faces two months on the sidelines.
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OTHER SPORTS
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In Boxing, Former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou has shocked the world in Saudi Arabia – knocking down current WBC world heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury in the third round.
Additionally, there were many who believed the hard-hitting Cameroonian, who was making his professional boxing debut, did enough to get the nod on the judges’ scorecard after the scheduled ten rounds came to a close.
It was not to be as Fury was awarded a split-decision victory in controversial circumstances.
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In Formula one, Michael Schumacher’s family lawyer has explained exactly why no report on his condition has ever been released – ten years after his skiing accident.
The seven-time Formula One champion has been entirely out of the public eye since his fall in Meribel, France, in 2023, which initially left him in a coma.
The German superstar emerged from that coma in 2014, but was unable to communicate nor walk.
Meanwhile, no further information has ever been divulged about his condition.
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In Cricket, Afghanistan kept their World Cup semi-final dream alive with a comfortable seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka.
After Fazal Farooqi took 4-34 to help bowl Sri Lanka out for 241, Rahmat Shah made a composed 62 to put Afghanistan on course in the chase.
Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai then put on an unbroken 111 to get Jonathan Trott’s side over the line with 28 balls to spare in Pune.
Victory moves Afghanistan to within two points of fourth-placed Australia.
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In Athletics, Double Olympic eight hundred metre champion, Caster Semenya says her focus is now more about winning battles against the authorities than collecting medals.
Semenya, was born with differences of sexual development and cannot compete in any track events without taking testosterone-reducing drugs.
The South African wants to hold World Athletics to account for discrimination against athletes with hyperandrogenism.
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Still on Athletics, British athlete Bianca Williams says she is shocked with the amount of money that has been raised for two constables fired for gross misconduct.
More than one hundred and thirty thousand pounds has been donated to Jonathan Clapham and Sam Franks who carried out a stop and search of Ms Williams and Ricardo dos Santos.
Despite being trolled even more, she had no regrets about reporting it.
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TODAY’S THOUGHT
I always felt that my greatest asset was not my physical ability, it was my mental ability. says Bruce
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