Author: The Nation

By Oluwamayomikun Orekoya

Leicester City centre-forward Kelechi Iheanacho has praised his  striking compatriots including Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, Genk’s Paul Onuachu, Almeria’s Sadiq Umar, Lorient’s Terem Moffi and Crotone’s Simy Nwankwo for their goal scoring performances this season.

Iheanacho has been in a rich vein of form and netted his 20th  goal of the season in Leicester’s 1-2 defeat to Chelsea on Tuesday. The attacker also helped Leicester win the FA Cup for the first time.

Umar has been turning heads with Almeria and is close to helping the club return to La Liga, having scored 26 goals while Paul Onuachu has also been in terrific form, for Genk in the current campaign firing on all cylinders and has now taken his tally to 37 goals across all competitions.

Simy Nwankwo was a shining spark sparking Crotone’s disappointing season, netting 20 goals for the relegated Serie A side while Terem Moffi has 16 goals in the French Ligue 1.

“If I go on social media, I see Nigerian strikers scoring. I ask myself what is going on,” Iheanacho told ESPN.”It is very good for the country, It would help us move forward.”

Iheanacho hinted that there is no competition in the national team, adding that each player brings their unique qualities to the team.

“There is no competition in the team, Everyone has their own quality and the way they play,” he added.  “It is left for the manager to know how he is going to utilize everyone in their position.

“It doesn’t matter who gets called up tomorrow, all that matters is you perform very well for your country and give your best when you are called up,” he noted.

The eighth edition of the Okpekpe international 10 km road race will hold in May 2022 in Okpekpe, Edo state of Nigeria, the organiser, Pamodzi Sports Marketing has announced.

Okpekpe 10-km race, the first road race in West Africa to be granted a label by World Athletics and designated as one of the leading road races around the world, could not hold in 2020 and will not hold in 2021 due to Covid-19.

”We are happy to announce that the eighth edition of the silver-label Okpekpe international 10km road race will be held in May 2022,”said Mike Itemuagbor, CEO of Pamodzi Sports Marketing. ‘The outbreak of the Covid-19 ensured that, like many other label races across the globe, our event could not hold in 2020 and will not hold this year.

“This is an international race that involves the invitation and participation of foreign athletes and their managers as well as the technical delegates from World Athletics and the government’s Covid-19 protocols in terms of travel and other logistics have to be enforced including the lockdown rules introduced by the Nigerian government,” he added.

Itemuagbor thanked the Edo State government led by His Excellency Godwin Obaseki, and his Deputy, Comrade Phillip Shaibu, and the race sponsors for their concern and support and assured that the race will return bigger.

”Our target is to make the race the first gold label road race in West Africa. The race made history in 2015 when it became the first road running event to be granted a bronze label. Two years later, it scored another first as the first silver label road race to hold anywhere in West Africa and our target still remains the gold,” he said.

The dream to have the national teams return to action either at the Surulere National Stadium or the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja may soon become a reality as construction work at the two stadia have reached advanced stage.

The planting of the hybrid Bermuda grass at the National Stadium Surulere is in the final stage , just as that of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.

Said one of the site engineers: “We are in the final stage of construction, as I speak to you we are planting the grass to ensure that before the end of June/July, the stadium can be ready for international matches. There’s no better way to appreciate the Sports Minister, Mr. Sunday Dare other than to complete the job on schedule.

“The Minister has been on our neck with proper monitoring with the mandate that we must get the stadium ready in due course.”

The site engineer saluted the efforts of the minister and assured that the project will be completed on time.

Anthony Joshua has joked that he is going to set up a Go Fund Me page to raise money to pay off Deontay Wilder after the American heavyweight won his legal battle to get a third fight with Tyson Fury.

After months of negotiations, AJ appeared to have finally struck a deal to fight Fury in a mammoth undisputed bout in Saudi Arabia in August only for the event to be derailed after an American judge ruled that Wilder was entitled to a trilogy fight with the Gypsy King.

Fury dismantled his rival in Las Vegas in February 2020 – the last time either man fought – but there was a clause in their contract which entitled the loser to yet another rematch.

There have been suggestions that Wilder might be convinced to step aside and allow for the Battle of Britain to take place – and then take on the victor at a later date – but the Bronze Bomber will only give up his title shot for a huge fee.

According to Joshua, Wilder is asking for an astonishing £20million to step aside and the Brit took aim at both the American and Fury on social media, suggesting neither man really wants to fight him.

“‘I’m thinking about starting a Go Fund Me page to raise money for Wilder’s step-aside payment so I can smoke that fat guy with skinny legs from Manchester,” wrote Joshua on Instagram, quoting the supposed £20m fee. “These heavyweights need a podcast or something because they do more talking than fighting.”

Fury’s promoter, Bob Arum, says a deal for the lineal champion to fight Wilder – not Joshua – in Las Vegas on July 24 has already been pencilled in, with AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn now working on a showdown with Oleksandr Usyk.