The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • NPFL fine-tunes plans for 2024/2025 season

    NPFL fine-tunes plans for 2024/2025 season

    The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) has  declared readiness for the commencement  for another season even though the 2023-24 season was just concluded last weekend.

    The Chief Operating Officer of the NPFL, Davidson Owumi said   as much on  Sports Salsa anchored by Mitchell Obi,  that the fixtures and probable dates for the start of the 2024-25 season are ready but pending  ratification of the Club Owners and the Nigeria Football Federation(NFF)  during the league body’s Annual General Meeting (AGM)

    “Not that relaxed because the end of one game is the beginning of another,” Owumi  said.“The pressure of events to begin the coming season is another round of pressure. From the NPFL internal workings, we already have that one in place but the league board also need to call the Congress of Nigeria Clubs for them to agree.

    “ It is the only thing left to be done because the fixtures, dates and other things are ready. But we cannot say that because the Congress of Clubs need to ratify it so that we do not jump the gun.”

    Read Also: Sports Minister blasts NFF after World Cup fiasco

    Owumi further  praised  key stakeholders like the fans, media and the league sponsors for making the just concluded season interesting and successful, even as he  confirmed that  champions, Enugu Rangers, are due to collect their N150 million prize money for winning the league.

    He said: “The NFF put up a good selection of people to be in the NPFL board and the clubs too were also cooperative while the press was there too. It was a win-win situation for the entire sectors involved in the league. We could not have done anything without the fans. It is just the beginning of a very long journey.

    “They have given the mock cheque while they should receive their prize money cheque in the next few days hopefully they will get it if they come for the 2024 President’s Federation Cup this weekend because it ought not to be more than seven working days after they win the league.”

  • Ex-Eagles Odemwingie becomes golf professional

    Ex-Eagles Odemwingie becomes golf professional

    Nigerian football legend Peter Odemwingie has traded football for golf after joining the Professional Golfers Association (PGA).

    The 42-year-old turned out for the Super Eagles between 2002 and 2014 – earning 65 caps and finding the back of the net 11 times.

    Odemwingie retired from professional football in 2018 after a successful stint at Thailand’s Madura United – scoring 15 goals in 23 league matches.

    The former West Bromwich Albion and Lille OSC star explained that he fell in love with golf during the final days as a professional footballer.

    “I’m really proud of all of myself and my friends who are graduating today as well. It is a long journey. I fell in love with the game,” Odemwingie said.

    Read Also: Arsenal ditches Osimhen for Girona’s Dovbyk as NFF denies banning Napoli strike

     “I play lots of pro-ams as an amateur. I am coming from a football background. I had a decent-level career in a group sport. Now I am in a different sport, sometimes you can be lonely in golf — just you and your caddie, if you have one.

     “And seeing what the PGA professionals enjoy. I pass the playing ability test, I was accepted on the programme and I was excited that day as I am today.”

    He played for Nigeria at two FIFA World Cups and four Africa Cup of Nations, as well as winning silver at the 2008 Olympics.

  • Joshua to fight Dubois for world title at Wembley

    Joshua to fight Dubois for world title at Wembley

    Anthony Joshua will face fellow Briton Daniel Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium on 21 September.

    Undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt on Tuesday and interim champion Dubois, 26, was elevated to champion status as a result.

    Two-time world champion Joshua, 34, is on a four-fight winning streak and has three stoppages in his past three bouts.

    Dubois has won his past two fights, stopping Jarrell Miller in December and Filip Hrgovic this month to become interim champion.

    Ukrainian Usyk initially requested that he not be stripped of the IBF belt so the undisputed title could remain on the line when he faces Britain’s Tyson Fury in a rematch on 21 December, but then changed his mind.

    “Anthony and Daniel, I know the IBF title is important to you. It is my present to you on 21 September,” Usyk said in a video message on X.

    Read Also: EURO 2024: Denmark’s  Schmeichel wary of ‘World class’ England

    Dubois lost in controversial fashion to Usyk in August in his first bid to win a world title.

    Dubois floored Usyk in the fifth round with what the referee deemed a low blow, before losing by stoppage in the ninth.

    Dubois has won 21 of his 23 fights, while Joshua has 28 victories and three losses. They have a combined 45 knockouts.

    It will be  the first time since Fury’s win over Dillian Whyte in December 2022 that Wembley will host boxing.

    Joshua will be making his fourth appearance there – and third as a headliner – while Dubois will fight in a main event at a 60,000-plus venue for the first time.

    The winner will put themselves in prime position to fight the winner of Usyk-Fury.

  • Para-athletes  begin camping for Paris 2024

    Para-athletes  begin camping for Paris 2024

    As the date for the commencement of the 2024 Paralympics Games draw nearer, Paralympic Committee of Nigeria(PCN) has commenced camping exercise for its athletes.

    The paralympic games will hold between August 28  and September 8 in Paris .

    President of Paralympic Committee of Nigeria(PCN), Sunday Odebode, informed  that the para-athletics and para-badminton will be in Abuja for their camping exercise while para-powerlifting and para-table tennis will be in Lagos for the exercise.

    Read Also: Sports Minister blasts NFF after World Cup fiasco

    “As you are all aware, the paralympic games is around the corner and we at PCN is not leaving any stone unturned to ensure adequate preparations for our athletes, hence the decision to commence camping in earnest. This will put the athletes in good shape during the games where we hope to excel and make the country proud,” he said.

    He further said that other federations will soon embark on their camping once venues have been secured.

  • President Federation Cup: Ogbonda tips experienced Angels against Naija Ratels

    President Federation Cup: Ogbonda tips experienced Angels against Naija Ratels

    Whyte Ogbonda is not your ordinary sweat merchant. Even among his colleagues, it is widely acknowledged that the former tactician of Ibom Angels FC of Uyo knows his onions, and more.

    On Saturday, Ogbonda will be gunning for his first National Cup title as head coach, having guided unfancied Ibom Angels to runners-up position in 2017 and 2018. On both occasions, they lost to Rivers Angels. The strategist has tasted victory previously, albeit as assistant coach, when Rivers Angels won the trophy in 2014.

    Read Also: NFF decries undisciplined conduct of Super Eagles

     “Yes, Rivers Angels have always reached the women’s final of the Cup, and here we are again. Our target is to lift the trophy and bring it back to Rivers State, having lost the opportunity to win the league. As a team, we are indebted to Rivers State government to bring back the trophy. That is the only way we can show appreciation for the government’s huge investment in the team.”

    Ogbonda insists that his girls, who include in their ranks Nigeria U20 girls’ forward Blessing Okpe and Flamingos’ forward Peace Effiong, will not underrate Naija Ratels, but will go all out to accomplish victory.

    The women’s final will kick off at 1pm on Saturday at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, with the men’s final to commence at 4pm.

  • Confident Abia Warriors land in Lagos for President Federation Cup

    Confident Abia Warriors land in Lagos for President Federation Cup

    Ambitious Abia Warriors became the first of the four finalists in the 2024 President Federation Cup grand finale to arrive in Lagos and Coach Bethel Orji has no doubt that his Umuahia giants will come good on Saturday at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena.

     “We are here and we’re highly motivated. We are all elated. I thank God for the turn-around in the fortunes of the team, and I am delighted to be playing my first Cup final as a coach,” Orji told thenff.com.

    A great player and former Cup winner himself, Bethel Orji will be banking on the precision of forwards Samson Obi and Sunday Megwo when Abia Warriors confront the two-time champions by the Lagos Waterfront on Saturday evening.

    Read Also: Ces’t  Fini-di :  NFF set to hire foreign  technical adviser for Super Eagles  

    “We are prepared for the game, physically, mentally and psychologically. The players are in high spirits; they are raring to go.”

    Abia Warriors reached the men’s final of the President Federation Cup four days after ensuring they will play in the Nigeria Premier Football League for the 12th consecutive season, come next season.

  • Hardwork will  deliver  President Federation Cup to  El-Kanemi , says Zubairu

    Hardwork will  deliver  President Federation Cup to  El-Kanemi , says Zubairu

    El Kanemi Warriors’ Technical Adviser Aliyu Zubairu has credited hard work for his team’s progress into the men’s final of this year’s President Federation Cup, and believes the same virtue will see the Maiduguri landlords pick up their third Nigeria Cup title in Lagos on Saturday.

     “Hard work has been our mainstay. Everyone works for the other, including the players on the pitch. It was a tough league season, and our real objective at the beginning of the season was to gain promotion back to the NPFL. However, after the Round of 16, we suddenly realized that with more hard work, we could go all the way to the final.

    Read Also: Onigbinde, Uchegbulam berate  NFF on poor World Cup results

     “I commend the players for not only ensuring promotion back to the top flight, but also reaching the President Federation Cup final. Yet, it is not over until it is over. We are here and we are determined to wrest the title. We have had some days to rest and we are going to work hard to deliver the trophy to our number one supporter, Governor Babagana Umaru Zulum.”

    Founded in the late mid-1980s, by the football-passionate then military governor of Borno State, Col. Abdulmumini Aminu (who would later serve as Chairman of then NFA between 1996 and 1999), El-Kanemi Warriors won their first Nigeria Cup in 1991, when they defeated Kano Pillars 3-2 in the first-ever all-northern final at the National Stadium, Surulere. The following year, the Warriors successfully defended their title when they pipped Stationery Stores 1-0 at the Aper Aku Stadium in Makurdi.

    In their third final in 2001, they lost 0-1 to Dolphin of Port Harcourt at the National Stadium, Surulere.

  • Olowookere affirms Naija Ratels’ readiness for  President Federation Cup final

    Olowookere affirms Naija Ratels’ readiness for  President Federation Cup final

    World Cup bronze medal-winning strategist, Bankole Olowookere, is entertaining no fear ahead of Saturday’s women’s final of the President Federation Cup against eight-time champions Rivers Angels in Lagos.

     “We thank God for taking us this far in the competition. During the league’s regular season, we did not quite meet up with our own expectations. However, our target at the beginning of the season also included doing well in the Cup, and now we are in the final.

     “For sure, we are the distinct underdogs against Rivers Angels that have won this trophy eight times before now. But no team is unbeatable. We have a plan and a strategy to emerge champions on Saturday. We want to do this for our proprietor and for our supporters who have been with us through victory and defeat, through thick and thin. I can assure you that Naija Ratels are determined to make history.”

    Read Also: NFF switches President Federation Cup grand finale to Lagos 

    Olowookere led the Nigeria U17 girls, Flamingos, to win the bronze medals for the first time at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in India two years ago. He has also now qualified the team for this year’s finals to be staged in the Dominican Republic.

    Naija Ratels is the first club from Abuja in 24 years to reach the women’s final of the Cup. In 2000, FCT Queens lost to the same Rivers Angels in the final.

  • Plateau United embark on  three weeks’  break

    Plateau United embark on  three weeks’  break

    Plateau United FC have announced an official three-week break for the main team following the culmination of NPFL24 season.

    General manager, Habila Hosea Mutla announced this in a meeting with all players and technical team  at the New Stadium, Zaria road, Jos.

    The General manager asked that the players go back home on break to reflect seriously on their  future investments as well as performance in the season under review.

    He thanked them for their performances that  ensured the team placed fifth at the end of the season but expressed dissatisfaction on the team’s inability to secure a continental spot even as he  thanked members of the technical crew for their invaluable efforts during the season.

    He however made clear of plans to fix a date for official thanksgiving prayers for a safe and fruitful end of season.

    Read Also: African Football Confederation (CAF)

    Mutla added that he will make a number of  changes in the team’s technical crew comprising the men’s  main team, women’s and the youth team respectively to enhance efficiency.

    He said, the aim is to ensure that the club and fans target of reaching very laudable heights come next season, is achieved.

    Meanwhile, Mutla  equally announced that Abel Iliya, ceases to be the Team Manager of Plateau United FC henceforth following  the appointment of Ibrahim Title as new Team Manager with immediate effect.

    Plateau United FC Technical Adviser, Mbwas Mangut advised the players to ensure they get enough rest to enhance recuperation ahead of next season’s challenges amidst charges to ensure that their weight levels are kept in check to enhance quick integration to pre- season routines.

    Mbwas thanked the players for their commitment throughout the season and wished them well ahead of next season.

  • CAF rolls out  dates for 2024-25 Inter Club competitions

    CAF rolls out  dates for 2024-25 Inter Club competitions

    The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced key details for the 2024/25 Inter Clubs season.

    The continental soccer ruling body  announced that the preliminary round of both CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup competitions will hold in the weekend of August 16th  to 18th  while the group stages would start from December this year and knockout phases to hold from March next year with the final games slated for May 2025.

    Read Also: NFF writes FIFA, CAF over Nigeria, S/Africa clash

    CAF stated that Algeria, Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, RD Congo, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia and Tanzania are the 12 countries that are eligible to present two teams each in both club competitions.

    “Kick-off Dates: Preliminary Round from 16–18 August 2024, Group Stages from October to December 2024, Knockout Phase and Finals from March to May 2025.

    “Top 12 Ranked Member Associations eligible for two clubs in both CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup: Algeria, Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, RD Congo, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, Tanzania.”

    Meanwhile, CAF  have asked Nigeria clubs and other affiliated countries to ensure they complete their registrations for the preliminary rounds before July 20th , adding  there will be  ‘no  more transition from the CAF Champions League to the Confederation Cup for teams eliminated in the second round’.