Author: The Nation

Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC of Ibadan  have described the death of Chairman, Nigeria Football Coaches Association, Oyo State chapter, Festus Adegoju as a monumental loss.

Mourning the decease in a condolence message signed by the club’s Executive Chairman,  Babatunde Olaniyan, the management said the demise of Adegoju was a huge loss to the football fraternity.

Itwould be recalled that   Adegoju died Sunday night after battling stroke for about a year.

Adegoju was popularly called ‘Professor’ by admirers and friends because of his in-depth knowledge on issues.

Olaniyan’s message reads in part :”We received the news of the passing away of the chairman, Nigeria Football Coaches’ Association, Oyo State Chapter, Festus Adegoju, with shock.

“It is disheartening that the cold hands of death snatched him away from us at a time when his contributions were still needed.

“However, while we deeply mourn his exit, we take solace in the fact that he lived a good life and that he has gone to rest with his maker.

“Our heartfelt condolences go to the coaches association and the football family as whole and we pray that God consoles and give his immediate and extended family the fortitude to bear the monumental loss”.

Manchester United’s Premier League clash against Bournemouth is set to broadcast live on DStv and GOtv.

Customers can tune in to SuperSport Football (GOtv channel 31) at 8:50pm tonight to enjoy the Old Trafford game.

Erik Ten hag’s team have bounced back from their sloppy start to the season and they climbed fourth on the league table after they defeated Wolves by a lone goal on New Year’s Eve.

Reacting to the win at the post-match press briefing, Ten Hag said, “We made a good step today, it is the first time we’ve made the top-four but it means nothing.

“There is a long way to go, we have to live from game to game. You can win something this season, that is what we are aiming for, but it demands hard work.”

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The Red Devils, buoyed by an in-form Marcus Rashford, will be keen to secure victory against an opponent that has lost eight of their nine away games at Old Trafford in all competitions.

However, Ten Hag will also be wary of his team’s recent poor home record in January games. Manchester United have lost three of their last five home Premier League games in January.

Other Premier League games to watch include the mid-table duel between Fulham and Leicester City at the Kingpower Stadium. This will air live on SuperSport La Liga (GOtv channel 32) at 8:35pm tonight, while the Leeds United and West Ham United game will air on SuperSport Football (GOtv channel 31) at 8:35pm tomorrow.

African EdTech giant, uLesson Education has been announced as part sponsor of the biggest youth cricket event in the country, the 4th PWC – NCF National Under 17 Cricket Championship.

The competition which has served as a pathway for identifying the next generation of Nigerian cricketers starts on the 20th of January with zonal qualifiers taking place across all geo-political regions of the country and culminates in a week-long grand finale in February in Abuja.

Senior Vice President, of Academics and Curriculum at uLesson, Iheanyi Akwitti described the partnership as a logical move. “Our goal, not only as a company but also as a community of educators and parents is to produce well-rounded young people and to help all learners be the best version of themselves and sports is one of the ways to achieve that”.

Incidentally, uLesson has long been supporting cricket in Nigeria since its partnership with many schools, has contributed to programmes like The Middle Stump’s Greenshoots Summer Camp.

Oluwafemi Fadipe, Vice President of Marketing at uLesson, said they were excited about aligning with the impact the game of cricket is having across the nation, especially the demography that it is appealing to.

“Cricket has been one of the sports that has shown itself as being organized and also being deliberate about its developmental plans,” he said.“The Under 17 Championship has been one event that has gained traction, especially with the school-age kids, which interestingly lies squarely within uLesson’s target population.”

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He added that among other things, the national outlook of the event, given that over 30 states entered for the event last year provides a leverage point for both organisations, especially as it concerns youth development.

“On a grander scale, the Nigeria Cricket Federation has a goal in reaching out to 250, 000 kids yearly across the nation, and at uLesson, we believe partnering to equip these boys and girls will see us build a better future and stronger nation in the end,” he added.

The General Manager of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Emeka Igwilo has added that the 4th PWC/NCF National Under 17 Cricket Championship will flag off with regional qualifiers from January 20th to 30th.

He said: “We will have each state that has registered send their team to the regional qualifying zones within the set dates and slug it out to qualify for the national finals, from there. These regional qualifying centres have been set up across the six geo-political zones for ease of participation and spread as well.”

More than 850 players registered and took part in the regional qualifiers last year. Organisers are already preparing for bigger participation across the region for this edition.

“The event keeps growing and it starts from the developmental work that has been put in place by officers and coaches across the states, and we have them in all states of the country. The year 2022 has been very fruitful and hence we look forward to the regional events with optimism, especially chattering the figures we have in terms of entry for the boys and girls teams.” He added.

The national finals in February will feature teams representing each region as the players are drawn from the regional finals.

 Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo will be unveiled before thousands of fans at Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr club today , a spokesman said, after sealing a shock move estimated at more than 200 million euros.

The 37-year-old great, a five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or, will arrive late on Monday with his family together with media and technical staff, club spokesman Al-Walid Al-Muhaidib told AFP.

Ronaldo, who left Manchester United under a cloud after slamming the club in a TV interview, will appear at Al Nassr’s 25,000-capacity Mrsool Park stadium in Riyadh at 7:00 pm (5:00pm Nigerian time ) today, officials said.

The latest, and possibly final, chapter in an illustrious career comes weeks after Portugal’s quarter-final exit from the World Cup in neighbouring Qatar, where his great rival Lionel Messi lifted the trophy with Argentina.

Ronaldo’s signing until June 2025 is just the latest foray into top-level sports by oil-rich Saudi, which has moved into Formula One, boxing and golf and snapped up English club Newcastle United.

Critics have dubbed the strategy “sportswashing” – an attempt by the conservative country to distract attention from its human rights record.

Al Nassr is expecting a full stadium for the unveiling, according to one official who did not want to be named because he was not authorised to speak to media.

Ronaldo is by far the biggest star to play in Saudi Arabia, although other heavyweights including George Weah, Pep Guardiola and Xavi also had stints in the wealthy Gulf in the twilight of their careers.

Al Nassr, the nine-time Saudi league champions, have called Ronaldo’s signing “more than history in the making”, claiming he will inspire the rest of the league and even the country.

In a tweet, Saudi Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal pledged to “support the rest of our clubs for quality deals with international stars soon”.

United terminated Ronaldo’s contract during the World Cup after an explosive interview where he said he felt “betrayed” by the club and had no respect for coach Erik ten Hag.

The Portuguese forward has long been one of the top-paid players in football, earning a reported salary of 31 million euros at Juventus before taking a pay-cut to re-join United.

Ronaldo has won five Champions League titles (2008, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018), league titles in Italy (2019, 2020) with Juventus, in Spain (2012, 2017) with Real Madrid and in England (2007, 2008, 2009) with United.

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He is also the top scorer in the Champions League and with the Portuguese national team, with whom he won Euro 2016.

In Qatar, he became the first man to score at five World Cups with his penalty in the group-stage win over Ghana.