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Arsenal prodigy Butler-Oyedeji eyes Super Eagles’ future

Owolabi Aleshinloye
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Arsenal prodigy Butler-Oyedeji eyes Super Eagles’ future

Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, an Arsenal striker has revealed his eligibility for Nigeria and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, with his international future still undetermined, reports OwoSports.com.ng.

Arsenal 21-year-old Nathan Butler-Oyedeji is yet to make his international debut, but the young forward has three options if and when he receives a call-up.
Born and raised in England, having officially played for the Arsenal academy since the age of eight, Butler-Oyedeji is eligible to play for Gareth Southgate’s side. But a recent interview with Arsenal revealed his two alternative options.
“My family background is that my dad’s Nigerian and my mother is from St. Vincent,” Butler-Oyedeji explained. “The ‘Butler’ is from my mum’s side and ‘Oyedeji’ is from my dad’s side.”

2023 African Games: Tobi Amusan strikes two gold for Team Nigeria in Accra

Owolabi Aleshinloye
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2023 African Games: Tobi Amusan strikes two gold for Team Nigeria in Accra

Despite a False Start, Nigeria’s new ‘Queen of Tracks’ Tobi Amusan crossed the finish line in 12.89 seconds to win the Women’s 100m hurdles, ahead of Madagascar’s Sidonie Fiadanantsoa (13.19) and Zimbabwe’s Kamangirira Ashley Tinashe (13.59), reports OwoSports.com.ng.

Following her triumphs in Brazzaville 2015, Rabat 2019, and Accra 2023, the world record holder extends her record of being the only athlete to have won it more than twice.
Meanwhile, Amusan also led Nigeria’s quartet to their 11th gold medal in 13 editions of the women’s 4×100 meters relay at the African Games after finishing in 43.05 seconds, just 0.01 seconds short of the game record set by the country in 2003.
They finished ahead of Liberia (44.02) and host Ghana (44.21).

Chidi Okezie crowned African men’s 400m champion

Owolabi Aleshinloye
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Chidi Okezie crowned African men’s 400m champion

Chidi Okezie on Wednesday evening at the University of Ghana Stadium claimed gold for Team Nigeria after he ran a stunning race in the men’s 400m final at the 13th edition of the African Games in Accra.

OwoSports.com.ng sourced from Making of Champions that Okezie stormed to a Personal Best (PB) of 45.06s, the fastest time by a Nigerian athlete in nine years.
Okezie defeated one of the world’s fastest men in the form of Zambias Muzala Samukonga who clocked 45.37s for Silver while Diouf Cheick Tidiane of Senegal got the bronze medal with a time of 45.49s.

Finidi George: Our objective is to get good results against Ghana and Mali

Owolabi Aleshinloye
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Finidi George: Our objective is to get good results against Ghana and Mali

Coach Finidi George has told thenff.com that the principal objective of African vice champions Nigeria is to earn good results in the upcoming friendly games against Ghana and Mali’s senior teams, scheduled for the city of Marrakech in Morocco.

 

Looking ahead to Friday’s clash with four-time African champions Ghana, the two-time World Cup star reiterated that the Super Eagles are presently in high station in African football, having finished as runners-up at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, and everything must be done to maintain that status and even exceed it.

 

“We finished in second place at the Africa Cup of Nations and everyone expects us to maintain that high rating and be even better in a short while. Our objective is to get good results in these two matches and stay positive ahead of the World Cup qualifiers.

 

“They call it friendly matches but there is really nothing friendly when you play, especially Ghana. I have been involved in matches against Ghana since the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal. Matches between our countries are serious duels and always seen as battles by our peoples. The Black Stars did not perform that well at the recent Africa Cup of Nations and they will be keen to banish that memory.”

 

Finidi George won 62 caps for Nigeria, including featuring at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup finals, and won gold, silver and bronze medals from the 1992, 1994, 2000 and 2002 AFCON tournaments. His first AFCON encounter against Ghana was on 23rd January 1992, in a semi-final encounter that the Black Stars won 2-1.

 

Afterwards, the pacy winger was involved when both teams played out a barren draw in a friendly in Lagos in March 1994; a 0-0 draw in Accra in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier; a 3-0 win for Nigeria in Port Harcourt that sent Nigeria through to Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup and; a 1-0 win for Nigeria in an AFCON quarter-final match in Bamako in 2002.

 

“We will be missing four players who have pulled out due to injury but I have confidence in the team that we have here that they will wear the green-white-green with pride and with patriotic fervour.”

 

As of Wednesday morning, only Turkey-based defender Bright Osayi-Samuel was being expected in the Adam Park Hotel of the Eagles in Marrakech, with 21 players having settled in.

 

Ghana will also be led by a renowned former international, Otto Addo, who has just been recalled for a second stint in charge of the Black Stars.

 

Friday’s match will be the 60th encounter between both countries, since a Jalco Cup match on 20th October 1951 ended 5-0 in favour of Nigeria. Twenty of the previous 59 duels have ended in draws, including their last two encounters (2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches) in March 2022.

 

Their last friendly match, in London on 11th October 2011, ended scoreless.

 

NIGERIA, GHANA IN HISTORY

 

20 0ct 1951 (Jalco Cup): Nigeria 5 Ghana 0

11 Oct 1953 (Jalco Cup): Ghana 1 Nigeria 0

30 Oct 1954 (Jalco Cup): Nigeria 3 Ghana 0

30 Oct 1955 (Jalco Cup): Ghana 7 Nigeria 0

27 Oct 1956 (Jalco Cup): Nigeria 3 Ghana 0

27 Oct 1957 (Jalco Cup): Ghana 3 Nigeria 3

25 Oct 1958 (Jalco Cup): Nigeria 3 Ghana 2

10 Oct 1959 (Olympics Qualifier): Nigeria 3 Ghana 1

26 Oct 1959 (Olympics Qualifier): Ghana 4 Nigeria 1

22 Nov 1959 (Jalco Cup): Ghana 5 Nigeria 2

28 Aug 1960 (WC Qualifier): Ghana 4 Nigeria 1

10 Sep 1960 (WC Qualifier): Nigeria 2 Ghana 2

9 Oct 1960 (Nkrumah Cup): Nigeria 0 Ghana 3

29 Oct 1960 (Zik Cup): Nigeria 1 Ghana 1

8 Apr 1961 (AFCON Qualifier): Nigeria 0 Ghana 0

30 Apr 1961 (AFCON Qualifier): Ghana 2 Nigeria 2

17 Dec 1961 (Friendly): Ghana 5 Nigeria 1

10 Nov 1962 (Friendly): Nigeria 0 Ghana 0

23 Feb 1963 (Nkrumah Cup); Ghana 5 Nigeria 0

30 Oct 1965 (Zik Cup): Nigeria 0 Ghana 4

7 Nov 1965 (Zik Cup): Ghana 3 Nigeria 0

23 Jan 1967 (Zik Cup): Nigeria 2 Ghana 2

12 Feb 1967 (Zik Cup): Ghana 2 Nigeria 0

22 Oct 1967 (Zik Cup): Ghana 2 Nigeria 1

23 Dec 1967 (Zik Cup): Nigeria 2 Ghana 2

10 May 1969 (WC Qualifier): Nigeria 2 Ghana 1

18 May 1969 (WC Qualifier): Ghana 1 Nigeria 1

8 Jan 1973 (All-Africa Games): Nigeria 4 Ghana 2

10 Feb 1973 (WC Qualifier): Nigeria 2 Ghana 3 – abandoned, match awarded 2-0 to Ghana

25 Feb 1973 (WC Qualifier): Ghana 0 Nigeria 0

11 Aug 1974 (Festival): Nigeria 1 Ghana 0

17 Aug 1974 (Festival): Nigeria 0 Ghana 1

24 Aug 1975 (Festival): Ghana 1 Nigeria 2

30 Aug 1975 (Festival): Ghana 3 Nigeria 0

4 Sep 1977 (Ecowas Cup): Nigeria 2 Ghana 1

8 Mar 1978 (AFCON): Ghana 1 Nigeria 1

21 July 1978 (All-Africa Games): Ghana 0 Nigeria 0

1 May 1983 (ECA Anniversary): Ghana 1 Nigeria 0

15 Oct 1983 (Olympics Qualifier): Nigeria 0 Ghana 0

30 Oct 1983 (Olympics Qualifier): Ghana 1 Nigeria 2

5 Mar 1984 (AFCON): Ghana 1 Nigeria 2

27 July 1986 (Friendly): Ghana 2 Nigeria 0

2 Sep 1990 (AFCON Qualifier): Ghana 1 Nigeria 0

13 Apr 1991 (AFCON Qualifier): Nigeria 0 Ghana 0

23 Jan 1992 (AFCON): Ghana 2 Nigeria 1

9 Mar 1994 (Friendly): Nigeria 0 Ghana 0

28 Aug 1999 (Friendly): Nigeria 0 Ghana 0

11 Mar 2001 (WC Qualifier): Ghana 0 Nigeria 0

29 July 2001 (WC Qualifier): Nigeria 3 Ghana 0

3 Feb 2002 (AFCON): Ghana 0 Nigeria 1

15 Dec 2002 (Friendly): Ghana 0 Nigeria 1

30 May 2003 (LG Cup): Nigeria 3 Ghana 1

23 Jan 2006 (AFCON): Ghana 0 Nigeria 1

6 Feb 2007 (Friendly): Ghana 4 Nigeria 1

3 Feb 2008 (AFCON): Ghana 2 Nigeria 1

28 Jan 2010 (AFCON): Ghana 1 Nigeria 0

11 Oct 2011 (Friendly): Ghana 0 Nigeria 0

25 Mar 2022 (WC Qualifier): Ghana 0 Nigeria 0

29 Mar 2022 (WC Qualifier): Nigeria 1 Ghana 1

 

Accra 2023: Chukwuebuka Enekwechi strikes gold for Nigeria in Shot Put

Owolabi Aleshinloye
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Accra 2023: Chukwuebuka Enekwechi strikes gold for Nigeria in Shot Put

Team Nigeria’s Chukwuebuka Enekwechi successfully defended his African Games Shot Put title, winning Nigeria’s 1st gold medal in Athletics at the 13th edition of the Games in Accra, Ghana, reports OwoSports.com.ng.
This is Enekwechi’s second consecutive title at the African Games.
The Nigerian lit up the University of Ghana Stadium with a throw of 21.06 meters to beat Egypt’s Mostafa Amr Hassan and Mohamed Magdi Hamza.
The Egyptians secured silver and bronze medals respectively, with throws of 20.70 metres and 20.29 metres.
Enekwechi is a 2018 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Game Silver medallist and reigning African Champion in the shot put. He also won GOLD at the 2019 African Games and holds the title of Nigerian National Sports Festival Champion.
In 2019, Enekwechi recorded a PB and National Record of 21.80 meters to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. He also won the event at the All-African Games in Rabat, Morocco, with a throw of 21.48m, and finished eighth at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, with a shot put mark of 21.19m.
He further solidified his stance as the biggest male Shot Putter to ever come out of Africa, starting 2024 in amazing form by breaking the indoor African Record in the event with a brilliant 21.63m. He would go on to place 6th in the final of the event at the World Indoor Championships, his highest placing at a global championship.

13th African Games: Hockey Resume On Wednesday

Tosh Micheal
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13th African Games: Hockey Resume On Wednesday

 

Ademola Fagbemi

Action resume on Wednesday in the hockey event of the ongoing 13th African Games at the Theodosia Okoh Hockey Stadium, Accra.

The tournament which kick-started on Sunday saw the host country, Ghana and Egypt having an easy cruise of the competition in the men and women category.

The competition resumes after a day rest with Nigeria men and women face off with Kenya men and women while Ghana will face Egypt in the male category.

In the opening game, Tenkorang Stephen’s men earned a
Narrow 1-0 victory over Nigeria while Kenya suffered 3-2 defeat in the hand of Egypt.

The matchday 2 fixture saw Egypt defeat Nigeria 5-4 and Ghana beat Kenya 3-1.

In the women category, Kenya women and Nigeria women were destroyed by Ghana women by 4-1 and 1-0 respectively.

Following South Africa men and women’s team withdrawal from the competition, four teams were left in the men category while the women category reduced to three.

Men: Ghana, Kenya, Egypt and Nigeria.

Women category: Ghana, and Kenya, Nigeria.

Agboola: Magic Scouting Tourney has achieved its objectives

Owolabi Aleshinloye
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Agboola: Magic Scouting Tourney has achieved its objectives

President of Nationwide League One (NLO) team Magic Stars and the brain and financier of the maiden Magic Scouting Tourney, Kayode Agboola has informed of plans to host the programme annually, as the project is a learning curve, OwoSports.com.ng reports.

The scouting tournament aimed to bring about good young players on the Romanian project for Africa, with Scout and Football Agent, Jonny Sanda, and Bodgan Petre from Romania in attendance.
Agboola who spoke with the tourney’s Media Channel at the end of the programme at the Legacy Pitch, National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos State.
“We felt very satisfied with the scouting tournament, as it was an eye opener for us, Jonny Sanda, and Bodgan Petre, didn’t hide their excitement and satisfaction with the talents and quality of skills and play they saw in the five days of football activities. Both told me of their willingness to come to Nigeria again to scout for more players.
“We have achieved our set objectives from the scouting programme but more needs to be done by getting more football talents. For us at Magic Stars, it was an eye-opener, as we have realized that much needed to be done in talent discovery.
“It’s been a wonderful progress for Magic Stars, as we have done projects for many players. For me, Magic Stars is still a work in progress and the ultimate goal is for the club to do better.”
The facilitator of the programme, Coach Mathew Olorunleke said: “Delighted it ended well without injuries, as the players made the most of the opportunity, though it was challenging.

“The next stage is the follow-up, where decisions will be made. We saw good players who’ll become talents. The players we picked have the edge and are ready to become the next Victor Osimhen, Boniface and others.”
Ojodu City FC, SGFC Athletics, Ablaze FC, Magic Stars FC, Rolly FC, FC Bethel, Real Dream FA, and Power of de Cross SA were the eight (8) teams that competed in the Magic Scouting Tourney.

Injury stops Osimhen from Super Eagles versus Ghana Black Stars, Mali friendlies

Owolabi Aleshinloye
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0
Injury stops Osimhen from Super Eagles versus Ghana Black Stars, Mali friendlies

Super Eagles talisman Victor Osimhen has been ruled out of Nigeria’s upcoming international friendlies against West African neighbours Black Stars of Ghana and Mali as Napoli confirmed that their star player has not been declared fully fit to play, OwoSports.com.ng reports.

The Super Eagles are scheduled to face Ghana’s Black Stars and the Eagles of Mali on March 22 and 26 respectively, in Marrakech- Morocco.
The 25-year-old had been dealing with fitness issues and started on the bench for Napoli in a crucial Serie A clash with Inter Milan on Sunday.
According to an Italian media outlet, Alfredo Pedulla said Napoli has not permitted Osimhen to join the Super Eagles camp for the upcoming friendly matches.
The report further added that Napoli is also seeking to negotiate with the Nigerian Football Federation to prevent Osimhen’s involvement in the friendlies.
“SSC Napoli has communicated, through its official website, the list of Italian players called up by their respective national teams and Victor Osimhen is not among the players involved,” as quoted by Alfredo Pedulla.
“The striker will not start for Nigeria to recover from the injury that forced him to stop playing against Inter.”

FA Cup: State FAs risk NFF ₦1m fine

Owolabi Aleshinloye
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FA Cup: State FAs risk NFF ₦1m fine

The 36 States Football Associations and the FCT have been warned by the Nigeria Football Federation to play their Federation Cup final matches on either 30th March or 31st March as instructed, or risk a penalty of N1 million, reports OwoSports.com.ng.

Ruth David, NFF’s Director of Competitions, said on Monday that the football-ruling body will no longer condone the disruptive attitude of some FAs who set their timetables outside that of the NFF.
“The NFF has stated clearly in the schedule from the beginning, that the States must play their final matches either on Saturday, 30th March or Sunday, 31st March. We have also reminded the States again about this schedule, and any State that fails to abide by the dates will have itself to blame.
“Any State that fails to conclude its championship by Sunday, 31st March will be fined the sum of N1million. Any State that concludes its championship before Saturday, 30th March will be fined the same amount of money.”
This year’s Federation Cup competition in the States began on Friday, 1st March 2024.

Shooting Stars Condemn Physical Harassment On Sikiru Alimi

Owolabi Aleshinloye
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0
Shooting Stars Condemn Physical Harassment On Sikiru Alimi

Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) of Ibadan has condemned the physical harassment melted on Remo Stars FC of Ikenne striker, Sikiru Alimi by some unidentified fans.

The Remo Stars forward revealed on his Twitter handle that some fans physically assaulted him after the Matchday 26 encounter between his team and the Ibadan soccer lords.
OwoSports.com.ng gathered from a
statement issued by the club on the incident.
“We learnt of the harassment on the person of Remo Stars’ striker, Sikiru Alimi, by some unidentified fans after Sunday’s match at the Lekan Salami Stadium.
“It is hugely unacceptable and we as a club, condemn the act in its totality. Sikiru Alimi is a professional player whom we hold in high esteem, moreso he was once our player.
“Our General Manager, Dimeji Lawal even spoke with him on Monday morning immediately after he got wind of the incident.
“We regret the unfortunate incident and we use this medium to apologise to the striker, who is currently one of Nigeria’s best forwards in the domestic league. “

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