The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Joshua, Fury clash for June

    Joshua, Fury clash for June

    Agency Reporter

     

    Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has confirmed the all-British heavyweight showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury has been verbally agreed.

    The blockbuster bout is likely to take place between next May or June after a breakthrough in negotiations.

    The Matchroom promoter Hearn admitted that ‘minor issues’ need to be resolved before an official date is confirmed.

    It is set to be one of the biggest British showdowns ever as the two giants to head-to-head to determine who will be crowned undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

    The Atheltic’s Mike Coppinger wrote on social media: “Eddie Hearn says Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua is verbally agreed to and contracts are being drafted for the heavyweight championship fight in May/June.

    “Hearn says only ‘minor issues to resolve’ such as who walks last, the site, etc. This fight is going to happen next.”

    It is likely to be a two-fight deal worth a staggering £500million while the destination could be in the Middle East.

    AJ overcame his first obstacle by breezing past Kubrat Pulev last weekend while Fury remains in a legal battle with Deontay Wilder over their failed trilogy of fights.

    Read Also: Mayweather tags Joshua ‘one hell of a fighter’

    Another obstacle preventing the deal is the fact Oleksandr Usyk is currently the mandatory challenger for AJ’s WBO belt.

    Hearn has previously admitted that both fighters could ditch their belts, from the four major sanctioning bodies, if they try to block the undisputed decider.

    He said: “We’ve just got to be a bit careful because you may be on the verge of saying: ‘Let’s just get rid of politics right now.

    “Let’s just drop all the belts because if we lose one belt, we might as well lose them all. We will do whatever we can to make sure that every belt in boxing is on the line in the Tyson Fury fight.

    “What we won’t be is held to ransom and we won’t let politics get involved in a fight that boxing needs.”

     

  • Super Simy creates Serie A record with Crotone

    Super Simy creates Serie A record with Crotone

    Tunde Liadi

     

    Crotone’s Simy Nwankwo achieved some important milestones when he netted from the spot in the last minute of the first half of their 3-1 loss to Sampdoria in a Serie A tie on Saturday.

    Nwankwo’s fourth goal of the season made him the leading marksman for the Rossoblu in Serie A with the strike being his 14th spread over three seasons of 2016-17 (3); 2017-18 (7) and the on-going 2020-21 (4) from 57 topflight matches.

    Read Also: Eyes on Osimhen as Serie A starts

    He was holding the feat with Diego Falcinelli on 13 goals before his success from 12 yards against Sampdoria.

    Besides becoming the Red and Blue’s leading scorer in Serie A, Nwankwo’s last weekend’s goal was his 50th goal for Crotone in all competitions – four goals behind the club’s all-time leading goals scorer, Andrea De Florio who scored 54 goals before his retirement.

    Nwankwo who joined Crotone from Portuguese side, Gil Vincente at the beginning of the 2016-17 seasons has 14 goals in Serie A from 57 games; 34 goals in Serie B from 70, and two goals from seven Coppa Italia games. He has played 134 games for the Rossoblu with 50 goals and 10 assists.

  • 2021: Zenith Bank plots big for 2021 sports

    2021: Zenith Bank plots big for 2021 sports

    Our Reporter

     

    One of the major sponsors of sports in Nigeria, Zenith Bank Plc, has pledged to bounce back stronger in its support for various sports disciplines in Nigeria.

    Zenith Bank are the title sponsors of the Women’s Basketball League, Delta State Principals’ Cup, NFF Future Eagles competition and also one of the sponsors of the Super Eagles.

    The bank also stage annual tennis and swimming competitions at Ikoyi Club and Lagos Country Club respectively.

    Group Managing Director of the bank, Ebenezer Onyeagwu, noted that the Coronavirus pandemic affected all the sports programmes of the bank.

    Onyeagwu said: “We did not cancel or default in all the sports sponsorship but the situation all over the world affected these activities. We still serviced some of our football commitments to the NFF in the year.

    Read Also: Zenith Bank records N509b earnings in Q3 2020

    “The tournaments we are scheduled to sponsor were all shifted due to the effect of the pandemic but I must assure everyone that our commitment to sports remain as solid as ever.

    “The dividends of our investment in sports are very glaring with the exploits of the women’s basketball team at African and global stage and the brilliance of the national U-17 team where many of our products in the U-13, U-15 Future Eagles event develop to represent the country in the U-17 tournaments.

    “For example, Samson Tijani who was recently invited into the Super Eagles camp is a product of our future Eagles tournament and we are proud of this.”

    The Zenith Bank boss assured that all its regular sporting events will bounce back in the New Year.

    “We have great plans for all our sports events. We are particularly interested in grassroots development and we will continue to invest on those areas of sports,” Onyeagwu added.

     

  • Ghana win WAFU B U-20 Championship

    Ghana win WAFU B U-20 Championship

    Our Reporter

     

    Ghana came from behind to beat Burkina Faso 2-1 and win the WAFU B U-20 Championship trophy at the Stade Charles De Gaulles in Porto Novo on Sunday.

    Set-piece specialist Percious Boah was the Black Satellites hero, as he set up a goal before firing the winner from a freekick to hand his country the title in the Benin capital.

    It was his second freekick goal of the tournament that also serves as the Total U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, Mauritania 2021 qualifiers.

    Read Also: WAFU B U-17 Tourney: Amoo seeks early preparation for Eaglets

    Despite the victory of the Ghanaians, Burkina Faso midfielder Botue swept all the individual awards as he was named the Best Player of the Tournament and added the Top Scorer Award for scoring three goals in the tournament.

    The two teams will represent WAFU B at the Total U-10 AFCON in Mauritania next February, and hope to excel at the tournament that will witness some of the best U20 sides from the continent.

     

  • Leao scores fastest-ever Serie A goal after six seconds

    Leao scores fastest-ever Serie A goal after six seconds

    Our Reporter

     

    AC Milan forward Rafael Leao scored the fastest-ever goal in Serie A history on Sunday netting after just six seconds in a 2-1 win at Sassuolo which kept his side top of the table ahead of city rivals Inter Milan.

    Milan, chasing a first Serie A title since 2011, launched straight into attack from kick-off, with Turkish midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu setting up Leao to slot home the rapid opener.

    The previous fastest goal in the Italian top flight had been Paolo Poggi’s for Piacenza against Fiorentina in December 2001 after eight seconds.

    Milan have a one-point advantage on Antonio Conte’s Inter who beat Spezia 2-1, with champions Juventus four points behind the leaders in third after a 4-0 win over Parma on Saturday.

     

  • NFF: Ministry to review remunerations for Eaglets, Flying Eagles

    NFF: Ministry to review remunerations for Eaglets, Flying Eagles

    Oluwamayomikun Orekoya

     

    Minister of Youth and Sports Development in Nigeria, Sunday Dare, has said that his ministry would work with the Nigeria Football Federation to review remunerations for the national youth football teams.

    Dare was miffed  about the free-fall of  age-grade teams under  the current  dispensation  even more so after the Ladan Bosso-led  Flying Eagles crashed out of the U-20 AFCON qualifiers WAFU B in Benin Republic last week.

    The Flying Eagles will miss out on next year’s U-20 African Cup of Nations in Mauritania and the 2021 U-20 World Cup in Indonesia.

    Speaking in Lagos on the margins of  his inspection visit at the National Stadium in Surulere on the on-going renovation of the main bowl, Dare noted with emphasis that  the ministry would review remunerations for the junior teams.

    “We are going to work with the NFF to do a review of the age grade competitions,” declared Dare, `”We would also work with them to review the lack of remunerations as it is because I think it is important; we have seen what has happened to the U-20 side (Flying Eagles), the U17 (Golden Eaglets) starts in January.

    Read Also: Dare, Rohr differ on Super Eagles

    “We are going to do a total review and we hope we can return to the regime where we pay good attention to their welfare.

    “We need to fix a few things and we are going to have that crucial conversation.”

    Dare said that the ministry would also tackle age cheating in the junior teams, adding that age fraud is as bad as doping and the ministry would not tolerate it anymore.

    He said: “Beyond that we are going to look at the question of age cheating which is a problem; some information has come to me from the media about the MRI which is coming back.

    “Age cheating is as bad as doping. Both ruin any sport and we are going to pay very close attention to these vices,” he noted.

     

     

     

     

  • I-Star dares Gentle Boy ahead GOtv Boxing Night

    I-Star dares Gentle Boy ahead GOtv Boxing Night

    Our Reporter

     

    Rising welterweight boxer, Isaac ‘I-Star’ Chukwudi, has warned his next opponent Taiwo ‘Gentle Boy’ Olowu not to dream of lasting beyond three of the eight-round challenge duel.

    Their fight is one of the seven lined up to hold at GOtv Boxing Night 22 on New Year’s Day.

    “I’m confident that I can finish him off in the first round, but i will do so in instalments over three rounds, so that fans can enjoy the fight. He’s a baby when it comes to boxing,” bragged I-Star.

    Their fight is one of the three welterweight bouts scheduled for the event with the World Boxing Federation (WBF) International welterweight title bout that will see Rilwan “Baby Face” Babatunde take on Mkalekwa Salehe Omari of Tanzania.

    The other is a challenge bout between Sikiru ‘Lion’ Ogabi and William ‘Kaki’ Amosu.

    Read Also: GOtv Boxing Night 22 to hold January 1

    The event will also feature the WBF International lightweight bout between Nigeria’s Rilwan “Real One” Oladosu   and Ghana’s Emmanuel Quartey.

    Other fights lined up are the national super middleweight challenge duel between Femi ‘Small Tyson’ Akintayo and Matthew ‘Wise Man’ Obinna; national super featherweight challenge between Yusuf ‘Innocent’ Ogunbunmi and Sikiru ‘Omo Iya Eleja’ Shogbesan; as well as national light heavyweight challenge clash between Timothy ‘Nsiefinagaije’ Gonze and Segun ‘Success’Olanrewaju.

    GOtv Boxing Night 22 will hold behind closed doors in line with COVID-19 safety protocols. It will be broadcast live to GOtv subscribers on Select 2 (channel 34) and to DStv subscribers on channel 209.

     

     

     

     

  • StarTimes to Beam NBA matches on ESPN

    StarTimes to Beam NBA matches on ESPN

    Our Reporter

     

    Affordable pay-TV platform, StarTimes, will beam all the actions of NBA live and exclusive on its ESPN channels.

    With the 75th  season starting this  week, the Lakers are amongst the favourites, especially since digging deep and issuing 35-year-old James with a two-year contract worth 85 million dollars.

    Other teams expected to be strong are the Milwaukee Bucks, the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets.

    The star player for the Bucks is Giannis Antetokounmpo, who won the NBA MVP award for the last two years running and teams up in Mike Budenholzer’s team with his brother Thanasis.

    Born in Athens to first-generation Nigerian immigrants, the “Greek Freak” as he is nicknamed for his impressive 6 foot 11 inch height and 11 inch-long hands, has said he considers himself both Greek and Nigerian.

    “The Nigerian and Greek cultures are always present in my home, whether it’s through music, or food or what’s being watched on TV. The first thing I did when I arrived in 2013 [in Milwaukee] was to locate the closest Greek and African restaurants,” he said.

    Read Also: La Liga Live on StarTimes as Barcelona Struggle

    “Non-StarTimes subscribers can stream the matches live on StarTimes-ON mobile app at N400 weekly, with an option to subscribe with MTN airtime.

    “NBA lovers with active StarTimes subscription can also stream the matches live on their mobile phones via the StarTimes-ON streaming app at no extra cost by linking their smartcard numbers to StarTimes-ON apps on three various mobile devices. Thus, access can be shared with loved ones to watch their favourite content simultaneously.

    “This handy application provides users with over 100 TV channels which include live sports, replays and highlights,” Lazarus Ibeabuchi, PR Manager, StarTimes Nigeria said.

     

     

  • Aruna’s TTC suffers setback in Bundesliga

    Aruna’s TTC suffers setback in Bundesliga

    Olalekan Okusan

     

     

    A spirited effort by Quadri Aruna could not save TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell from going down 1-3 at home on Sunday to TTC Neu-Ulm in Wilmington Halle in  week 11 of the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL).

    German international Filus Ruwen who started the campaign for TTC fell 3-0  against French international Emmanuel Lebesson

    Aruna  restored the tie back for TTC  with a hard-won  3-2 scores  against Portuguese international Tiago Apolonia .

    The  Nigerian started well winning the first game at 11-8 but Apolonia recovered to level up in the second game with 7-11 win. He later  raced to the lead with 11-2 win in the third game and once again the Portuguese restored parity in the fourth game with 9-11 win.

    But in the decider, Aruna fought well from the start with an overall  3-2  win to put the game at 1-1.

    Read Also: Quadri falls with TTC in German Cup

    But Fan Bo Meng who  has been without a win in the season   was the culprit as he was beaten by Russian Vladimir Sidorenko 3-0  while Ruwen  also fell 3-1 to Apolonia in the fourth game as TTC  team  suffered their third consecutive home defeat.

    The loss now leaves TTC in 10th place on the 12-team TTBL table with four wins and seven loses from 11 league matches.

    A disappointed Aruna described the defeat ‘as unfortunate’ while hoping that the team would bounce back in the New Year when the league resumes in January 2021.

     

     

     

     

  • ‘Leaders must always speak the truth’

    ‘Leaders must always speak the truth’

     Bisi Olaniyi, Benin

     

    THE Planter of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Deliverance Centre, Benin, Edo State, Prophet John Osagie Odigie, has urged leaders to always speak the truth.

    Prophet Odigie stated this on Sunday at the headquarters of the church in Benin, during a well-attended annual harvest thanksgiving service.

    The 86-year-old cleric said: “God can change situations within seconds. There is nothing impossible for God to do. God will change Nigeria for the better.”

    “Nigerians should not lose hope, but they must continue to pray and be God-fearing. The leaders should always do the right things and speak the truth at all times, to move the nation forward.”

    He also urged Nigerians to embrace holiness and righteousness, thereby shunning criminal activities.

    Read Also: NANS leadership at a time like this

    The guest preacher, Pastor Peter Edioma, who is the General Overseer of the General Assembly of Christ Church, Benin, in his sermon, titled: “Appreciating Divine Satisfaction,” with the scriptural text taken from Psalm 136:1-end noted that it was imperative to always give thanks to God.

    Edioma, who is also the Vice-President of United Pastors’ Prayer Association Worldwide admonished Nigerians and other people across the globe to learn how to continually appreciate God.

    The guest preacher added that there was the need to fully have the word of God, be filled with the anointing of prayers and the Holy Spirit.