Friday 7 July 2017

Transfer: Iheanacho close to joining Leicester for £25 million

There are indications that Manchester City and Super Eagles striker Kelechi Iheanacho is close to joining former English Premier League champions Leicester City in a deal worth about to worth £25 million.

According to reports on  the 20-year-old is in advanced talks with the Foxes and is thought to be well interested in making the switch.

Since making his debut for the Blue side of Manchester in 2015, Iheanacho has scored 21 goals in 64 games in all competitions.

His current deal which he signed last August ends in 2021, but saw his playing time limited by the arrival in January of Brazil forward Gabriel Jesus.

Should Kelechi Iheancho join Leicester City, he would become the third Nigerian currently playing for the club joining Ahmed Musa and midfielder Wilfred Ndidi.

Tuesday 11 April 2017

Basketball: Sunshine Angels defeat Zamfara 51-32 points

The national female Basketball League dunk off today at the Indoor sports hall of the National Stadium in Abuja with Sunshine Angels starting on a good note by defeating Zamfara Angels 51-32 points.

Speaking in a telephone chat with our sports correspondent Isaac Afolabi, chairman of the association Mr Segun Ikuesan said despite the lack of motivation poor condition and the absence of match and feeding allowance the girls passionately descended on their opponent.

Ikuesan appealed for adequate motivation from relevant authorities and stakeholders in supporting sports which he noted could divert youths attention from social vices.

The 2015 winners, Dolphins basketball club and First Deepwater, Delta Force Basketball Club, Zamfara Babes, AHIP Queens of Kano Oluyole Babes of Ibadan and Nigeria Immigration basketball team are others expected to compete for honours Others include Plateau Rocks of Jos, Benue Princess, FCT Angels of Abuja, Sunshine Angels of Akure, Nasarawa Amazons, Taraba Hurricanes.
The 2017 women's league is sponsored by Zenith Bank.

In the meantime, athletes at the Ondo state sports council this morning barricaded the entrance of the Akure sports complex protesting the delay in the payment of their eleven month salaries.

The protest which prevented management staffs and staff of the sports council from gaining access to the sports complex lasted for hours.

One of the players who prefer to be anonymous said most of the athletes have been training on empty stomach.

Monday 10 April 2017

Sunshine Stars Management clears the air on Austin Eguavoen

Head of the three man committee in charge of Ondo state football agency Mr Mike Elegbeleye has denounced the insinuation that sunshine stars is about to sign Coach Austin Eguavoen.

Elegbeleye confirmed this in an interview with our sports correspondents in Isaac Afolabi in Akure shortly after the week eighteenth npfl match between sunshine stars and Remo stars in Akure.

The former director general of the national sports commission said the meeting with Eguavoen was just mutual.

Meanwhile Thomas Adesina thirteenth minute goal gave sunshine stars a comfortable 1-0 victory against Remo stars.

Reacting to the match,Remo stars coach Fatai Osho commended the officiating saying his team will improve ahead of their next game against enyimba.

On his part sunshine stars coach Kayode Olujohungbe said he is confident the team will pick vital points in subsequent matches and move up the ladder in the Nigerian league.

Monday 17 October 2016

What No One Tells You About The Job of a Football Agentl

There have series of talk on who a football agent is and what they do. Well the job of a football agent is not hard to understand.

What comes to mind when you read about the Superstar footballers who sign those bumper contracts is that the football agent (licensed intermediary) involved has cashed in big time right? Obviously the background work put in by the agent is never acknowledged by anyone because they often times do not make the headlines.

Read more https://pageone.ng/2016/09/20/job-football-agent/

How to Become A Licensed Football Agent in Nigeria

This article was written to guide you on how to become a licensed football agent. Football agents are one of the key stakeholders in global football business. They still work behind the scenes but are no longer anonymous as they use to be in the past, a typical licensed football agent now have a face and name.

In fact, some licensed football agents who manage the high-earners in the game have become very popular and powerful.

Read more https://pageone.ng/2016/09/25/become-licensed-football-agent-nigeria/

Continued Biased Refereeing Will Kill Nigeria Football League

Biased refereeing is a cankerworm in Nigeria Football League. This is because, how can you see ‘Black and call it Blue?’

Perhaps they both start with the letter ‘B’. This could be akin to what is obtained in the world of refereeing in Nigeria as we have seen recently in what many have termed biased decision-making.

You will agree that Referees are integral stakeholders in sports regardless of the title, umpire, judge time-keeper or as they are referred to in different games. Referees are responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on-the-fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection.They are expected to be professionals to the core being an important part especially in calling where the game swings at every point in time.

Read more https://pageone.ng/2016/10/13/biased-refereeing-football-league/

Wednesday 18 May 2016

When Will Ikorodu United Return Home?

By Amos Joseph
We are approaching mid-season, and teams are beginning to count their fortunes in the 2015/2016 Nigerian Professional League. The League table captured the performance of all the teams involved.

After a convincing win in their week 14 encounter against Heartland FC and a slim loss to Pillars at the Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano, fans of Ikorodu United became optimistic of a turn around in the fortunes of the club.

In their last home game, Ikorodu hosted Plateau United at Onikan Stadium in a midweek encounter with the Lagos side looking really good from kickoff, in fact it seemed like it was going to be a party for Oga boys. The pressure paid off as the home team took the lead to throw the half empty Stadium into a jubilant mood, at least for the few who made their way to the stadium to enjoy and support the team. It really looked like a party! But the visitors were unperturbed.



Unfortunately, the party was disrupted as the visitors struck and drew level to cancel Ikorodu’s lead twice and celebrated their draw at the end of the day.

Although they didn’t get a full capacity, but the few Lagos fans who took time out to see the game gave their support, shouted and cheered the team. Unfortunately, the home team were left disappointed with a 2-2 draw. Some supporters of the club murmured, “Take us to Agege Stadium, we don’t want Onikan”. The question is, are we to blame it on the stadium now?

The newly promoted side was handed an opportunity to play inside Agege Stadium against visiting Heartland on their 13th league match which ended 3-1 in their favour. Come to think of it, it was their own choice (club management) to adopt Onikan stadium as home ground upon their arrival in the top division.

As it stands, the club is rooted to the bottom of the log with just 10 points from 17 league games (2 wins, 4 draws and 11 Losses ). If nothing changes in a short while, they may return to the NNL. It is also important to mention that they had an awful outing in the Nigeria National League (NNL) Super Four, although it is sometimes difficult to judge a team based on its performance in pre-season. But could this be the case for this team as their performance sometime is questionable as to whether they had a pre-season as a team?

It is no time for blame game though, but it would be nice to examine, to review the season so far and plan towards the second half to avoid the looming relegation. The fans have clamoured to be taken to Agege Stadium to prosecute league games. Is it really an issue of the ground or how the team has fared in their outings?

On technical grounds, the team changed handlers in week 7 as Sam Okpodu took over as head coach. For a breakdown, the club’s first 10 league matches (2 home losses, 2 home draws, 5 away losses and just 1 win at home) and the next seven (2 home draws, 4 away loses, and 1 famous home win at Agege. Imagine if the club had been able to secure wins in their home games on If only they could secure home wins at least, it would have boost and helped their campaign.

Frankly speaking, this side lacks depth to grind result when it mattered. A check on the games they drew and some of the losses on home soil shows they were not just convincing enough! Can we say it is a matter of experience? May be the team management needs to consider reshuffling the squad when the window opens in mid season, and if it also deems it fit to test another ground, I think the League Management Company is ever willing to assist teams who have cogent reasons to change home grounds. Do they have one?

Culled from pageone.ng