The Nation Newspaper

Tag: PLAYERS

  • NFF not imposing players on me, says Amodu

    NFF not imposing players on me, says Amodu

    Nigeria caretaker coach Amodu Shaibu has said the list of 66 players given to him by the Technical Department of the Nigeria Football Federation was a positive move to help guide him in decision making.

    On Tuesday, the 54-year-old was handed a list of players eligible to be invited for the Super Eagles’ crunch 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Congo and South Africa next month.

    Amodu led his technical crew, made up of Salisu Yusuf, Gbenga Ogunbote and Alloy Agu, to meet with the Director of the Technical Department of the NFF, Emmanuel Ikpeme to start preparations for the upcoming matches.

    “What the Technical Department of the NFF has done by giving us the list of (66) players is what a proper Technical Department should do for any coach that is coming in,” Amodu told reporters.

    “They have just listed players who play regularly in their clubs home and abroad. These are the kind of inputs we expect from this department.

    “They are not imposing any player on me. They just told me that, ‘look at this large pool of players and come out with the players you want and we will support you.’ That is what they told me,” Amodu clarified.

    He also said that he won’t beg to be appointed the Technical Director of the federation if the new leadership fails to legitimize the appointment that was made by former president, Aminu Maigari.

    “After the Eagles job even if I don’t come back here [to the NFF as Technical Director] I won’t blink an eye because I am not looking for work. At least this is on record and I am not going to repeat myself,” Amodu said.

    Nigeria need to win their two remaining matches in order to qualify for the 2015 AFCON.

    They will travel to Congo on November 14 before hosting group leaders South Africa five days later.

    Amodu was brought in to replace dismissed Stephen Keshi following the poor showing of the African champions who have just one victory after four matches and lie in third place in Group A.

  • RANGERS MANAGEMENT TO PLAYERS: BEAT HEARTLAND GET N.5M

    RANGERS MANAGEMENT TO PLAYERS: BEAT HEARTLAND GET N.5M

    Enugu Rangers’ players will get 500,000 Naira from the club’s management immediately after their home game with Heartland today at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium if they beat their neighbours in a Premier League Week 33 tie.

    The Oriental Derby has always been fierce in the past and to ensure that Flying Antelopes do not allow the encounter to overwhelm them, general manager of the club, Paul Chibuzor Ozor has told Goal that the players would be half a million Naira richer if they do the needful against the Naze Millionaires to get the maximum points.

    Rangers went on a six-game unbeaten run with four wins and two draws before this was punctured at Katsina Ala where they were beaten 2-0 by Lobi Stars last Sunday.

    But Ozor said that he has had useful deliberation with the players and they have promised him that they would get the maximum points against Heartland and thereafter commence another unbeaten streak.

    Ozor said: “The players have been told the importance of the home game with Heartland [and] they have assured me that they would win it without any problem.

    “The management has encouraged them with a sum of N500,000 which they would collect at the end of the match if they win.

    “We have told them to forget about the loss to Lobi Stars and focus their attention on beating Heartland to begin  another unbeaten streak till the end of the season,” Ozor told Goal.

  • Yusuf sticks with same players against Sharks

    Yusuf sticks with same players against Sharks

    •Adewale, Mohammed to start

    El Kanemi Warriors Technical Adviser, Salisu Yusuf is planning to make use of the same squad he paraded against Crown FC when they host Sharks FC of Port Harcourt on Sunday in a Week 29 Glo Premier League at the Kano Pillars Stadium, Sabongari, Kano.

    SportingLife gathered that the duo of Kabiru Adewale and Tasiu Mohammed will be in the starting line up against the Blue Angels.

    The club’s media officer, Anthony Obaseki said the team will come out with a different pattern despite fielding same squad.

    “I want to inform you that we are going to use the same players that played against Crown FC but we will come out with a different pattern. Kabiru Adewale and Tasiu Mohammed. They were part of the team that travelled to Ibadan. They were also impressive in the team’s last training session. Tasiu came in the second half in Ibadan . Adewale is starting the match against Sharks he has been one of our super subs,” Obaseki told SportingLife.

    Meanwhile the team’s second leading goal scorer Abraham Audu is of the hope that he will score more goals to increase his tally. Audu has scored five goals so far this season.

    “I am happy I will be in the team on Sunday. My target is to score more goals. I am not underrating Sharks and I am in top form, remember we lost to Sharks 2-0 in Port-Harcourt, so it is our turn to take our full points, they score us with two penalties.”

    The team will miss the services of Suleiman Abdullahi who got a red card against Crown on Wednesday, also out is Ibrahim Mustapha.

  • Enyeama: I don’t pick Eagles’ players

    Enyeama: I don’t pick Eagles’ players

    Super Eagles and Lille of France goalie, Vincent Enyeama has refrained from suggesting  the players to be invited for the AFCON 2015 double header qualifier next month.

    Enyeama, 32, missed the qualifiers against Congo (in Calabar) and South Africa (in Cape Town), both of which the Super Eagles could only manage one point from a possible six.

    “I wouldn’t want to delve into that issue as to who to invite and who not to invite. That is for the coach to  decide,” he told footballlive.ng.

    Enyeama posited also that he hopes the issue of contractual agreement between Stephen Keshi and the Nigerian federation is resolved quickly.

    “I hope the issue of who is going to be the coach of Nigeria is resolved as soon as possible so that we will know the way forward. The coach knows who to invite and officials of the NFF know who they are negotiating with.”

    Enyeama says he’s a firm believer in possibilities, and as a result, believes qualification is not out of Nigeria’s reach.

    “I have always believed in possibilities and I have absolute confidence that we can always achieve the best no matter what. There are still four games to play and I’m very confident we will make it to Morocco 2015, we just have to keep the focus,” he said.

    Nigeria are third in Group A, with Congo topping with a maximum points haul of six, South Africa are second with four points, while Sudan are bottom with no  points from the two games played so far.

  • Mashaba lists 34 players for Eagles

    Mashaba lists 34 players for Eagles

    Newly appointed Coach of South Africa Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba, who is in his fourth spell at the helm of Bafana Bafana, has called up 34 players ahead of their upcoming AFCON 2015 qualifiers against Sudan and Nigeria.

    He also named Owen Da Gama to serve as his assistant in his role as coach.

    South Africa are in the same group A with Africa Champions Nigeria, Sudan and either Congo or Rwanda pending on Rwanda’s appeal over their dismissal by CAF for fielding an ineligible player.

    Bafana Bafana will open their campaign against Sudan in Khartoum on September 5 before taking on Nigeria five days later.

    25 players are pencilled in for the Khartoum game and a further nine will join up with the rest of the team for the clash against Nigeria in Cape Town.

    Surprise omission in the list includes Kermit Erasmus, Tsepo Masilela, Tefu Mashamaite, Teko Modise, Kathlego Mphela, and the pair of Thulani Serero and May Mahlangu, who were both fit and available.

    Mashaba also left out Simphiwe Tshabalala and Bernard Parker due to injury, but included Lokeren’s Ayanda Patosi who recently underwent a knee operation a month ago.

     

  • Enugu Rangers to players: Beat Enyimba, get N500k

    Enugu Rangers to players: Beat Enyimba, get N500k

    Enugu Ranger’ players have been promised N500 000 by their General Manager, Paul Chibuzor Ozor, if they beat ‘Oriental brothers’,

    Enyimba in a Glo Premier League Week 22 tie slated for Sunday, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu.

    The Flying Antelopes have been lukewarm since the beginning of the season and even lost 1-2 to relegation-haunted Nembe City on Wednesday.

    But Ozor told SportingLife he has charged the players to reciprocate recent good gestures of the Enugu State Government with an impressive display against Enyimba of Aba.

    The club’s General Manager said the commencement of enhanced salary payment early this week – among other things measures to motivate the players – should encourage them to give their best for the club.

    “We desire to get the three points (against Enyimba) and we are tasking the players to do so as a way of compensating for the huge investment in the team.

    Also, as a way of encouraging them, I have promised to give them N500, 000 if they beat Enyimba on Sunday,” Ozor told SportingLife.

  • Oshiomhole orders immediate payment of Bendel Insurance Players

    GOVERNOR Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has ordered the immediate payment of the salaryn arrears of Bendel Insurance players and officials .

    The directive to pay all outstanding monies came when the governor received some key persons who are involved in sports management in the state and Nigeria.

    Oshiomhole, who our sources said expressed some reservation in the way and manner coach Austin Eguavoen left the club, said the governor promised to do all that is necessary to get Bendel Insurance out of the National league and into the premiership .

    The governor also directed that a 36-seater bus should be provided for the players , while a 14-seater bus for the officials .

    The Commissioner for Sports , Comrade Chris Okaeben last week told sports journalists in Benin that the vouchers were currently in the office of the Accountant- General while also promising to ensure prompt release of their salary arrears .

    Okaeben expressed confidence in the players and the technical crew led by Roland Ewere to deliver Bendel Insurance our of their present predicament .

    Bendel Insurance will on Saturday play their third match in the second half of the 2013/14 league season with MFM Football Club in the Samuel Ogbemudia stadium main bowl.

  • Players’ Salaries : LMC clears seven new clubs

    Players’ Salaries : LMC clears seven new clubs

    • Pillars, Abia Warriors, Bayelsa Utd get second installment payment

    The League Management Company (LMC) has said seven new clubs have been certified to have met requirements on minimum wage for players following their submission of proof of salary payment document as directed by the league body.

    The Chief Operating Officer of LMC, Salihu Abubakar disclosed this yesterday.

    The seven clubs that received clearance as at close of business on Friday, according to Abubakar, include Heartland FC, Sunshine Stars, Enyimba International and Warri Wolves.

    Others are El-Kanemi Warriors, Rangers International and Lobi Stars.

    Abubakar also informed that the three clubs, Kano Pillars, Abia Warriors and Bayelsa United that were earlier certified to have met the proof of compliance, have now been paid the second installment of the basic award.

    All the 20 clubs of the Glo Premier League at the start of the season received N10m each from the LMC as the first installment of the basic award and the LMC had said they could receive more in the course of the season if they are found to have complied with requirements.

    The LMC has also been paying an enhanced honorarium of all match officials covering their hotel accommodation and travel costs which represents additional expenses the league body relieved the clubs from since the 2012/13 season.

    Abubakar said other clubs will also receive their basic awards as soon as comprehensive verification of their documents are completed.

    “We have created these procedures to protect players from the previous tales of unpaid salary arrears and will be working with the clubs to ensure overall improvement of players’ welfare”, remarked the LMC official.

    Gombe United, Sharks and Giwa FC submitted documents that showed they were not paying players the NPFL minimum wage of N150,000 and were thus not certified.

  • Lobi Stars sign 12 players

    Lobi Stars sign 12 players

    • Target impressive run in second stanza

    Experienced premier league players, Musa Najare, Musa Kunde  and Moses Udoh are top of the list of 12 new players signed by Lobi Stars ahead of the second stanza of the Glo Premier League.

    Besides Najere, who joined the Makurdi side from Warri Wolves, Lobi also have enlisted Efosa Ikhimin, Shauibu Amadu and Uche Ilo to add steel to the attacking options.

    The club also added John Otene, Adams Ilo and Musa Kunde to the midfield while Samson Gbadebo, Bright Essien, Moses Udoh and Lucky Talmel have also been recruited to shore up the defence and serve as cover to the goalkeepers in the team’s rank.

    Disclosing this information to SportingLife, Lobi Stars’ Team Manager, Barnabas Imenger, said  the new players have been carefully picked after painstaking effort from the club’s coaches and input from other stakeholders in the team.

    Imenger, a striker of repute during his playing days for the Super Eagles, assured that Lobi Stars would have an improved performance than they did in the first stanza based on the new players they have signed.

    “We have brought in players that we know will improve our  position at the end of the season. The good thing is that they are all from premier league sides which means they won’t be short of experience at all,” Imenger told SportingLife.

  • Nembe players protest 6 months salary arrears

    Nembe players protest 6 months salary arrears

    Players of Nembe City FC are protesting the non-payment of their salaries and other entitlements for the past six months.

    Some players of the club who don’t want their name mentioned for fear of being haunted allege that the club’s chairperson, Mrs. Baribote and her husband, Chief Victor Baribote Ramson are threatening to end their football career if they continue to protest against non- payment of accrued salaries and entitlements.

    They also alleged that the Baribotes have also threatened to take on any authority who tries to take side with the protesting players including the League Management Committee led by Nduka Irabor.

    The protesting players who are fourteen in number said that they are grappling with untold hardship and pressure from their various families over the continuous withholding of their money.

    The fourteen players are therefore calling on the League Management Committee (LMC) to come to their rescue and compel the club to pay them their money.

    “The second round of the domestic football season is about to finally kick off but there is no physical indication that the players will even be paid salaries and entitlements of the first round matches after about six months of delay,” one of the players lamented.

    There is palpable fear  that some of the players will boycott matches of the upcoming second round, unless authorities of the club pay them their overdue salaries.

    When confronted with the reports suggesting that the management is yet to pay the officials and players, three players, Israel Banigo, Israel Kagu and Miebaka Stowe among others affirmed that they have refused to have their usual training session as they protest over unpaid fees.

    All attempt to speak to the technical adviser of the team, Gabriel Umunna Samuel who also has been owed proved abortive as rumours of his exit rents the air.