Category: Sports

North London side, Arsenal have completed the signing of Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus on a long-term contract from Premier League champions Manchester City. The fee for the 25-year-old is understood to be £45m and he moves to the Emirates after undergoing medical and agreeing to personal terms. Jesus will wear the No 9 shirt recently vacated by Alexandre Lacazette, who left for Lyon on a free transfer. The Gunners put in nearly six months of work with Jesus’ representative Marcello Pettinati to ensure they were in pole position to recruit…

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Liverpool defeated Chelsea FC of London 6-5 on penalties to lift th2 2022 English FA cup thanks to Alisson Becker’s spot-kick heroics that secured another penalty shoot-out triumph against their arch-rival. Just 76 days after the Reds edged past Thomas Tuchel’s men on penalties following a scoreless League Cup final, Wembley witnessed another gripping clash between the two Premier League giants. Nothing could split them after 90 minutes and extra time finished goalless again, with Alisson coming up trumps in the shootout as Liverpool won their first FA Cup since…

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Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich on Wednesday confirmed he will sell the Premier League club amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian billionaire Abramovich has decided it is in the “best interest” of the Champions League holders if he parts ways with the club he has transformed since his purchase in 2003. “As I have stated before, I have always taken decisions with the club’s best interest at heart,” Abramovich said in a statement. “In the current situation, I have therefore taken the decision to sell the club, as I believe this…

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Nigeria’s 2008 long jump silver medalist Blessing Okagbare has been banned for 10 years for doping, the Athletics Integrity Unit thus ending her hitherto illustrious athletics career in shame. Okagbare, 33 who also doubled as a sprinter for Nigeria, was expelled from the Tokyo Olympics last year before the women’s 100m semi-finals after testing positive for human growth hormone at an out-of-competition test in Slovakia on July 19. “The Disciplinary Tribunal has banned Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare for a total of 10 years,” read an AIU statement. A copy of…

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The Super Eagles of Nigeria are out of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations courtesy of a lone goal victory by the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia in the AFCON Round of 16. Tunisia had shocked the Super Eagles of Nigeria by scoring just two minutes into the second half. A long-range shot from Youssef Msakni gave the Carthage Eagles their first goal in the game. The goal came after Msakni’s shot from outside the 18-yard box was poorly parried into the net by Nigeria’s goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye. Super Eagles had…

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Bayern Munich’s record-setting striker Robert Lewandowski retained FIFA’s top men’s player title Monday at “The Best” of 2021 ceremony as Barcelona captain Alexia Putellas collected the award for best women’s player. The 33-year-old Lewandowski, who set a Bundesliga goal record last season, won the trophy for the second time, edging Argentine Lionel Messi of Paris Saint-Germain and Egyptian Mohamed Salah of Liverpool. It was some consolation for the Polish striker who lost out to Messi for the Ballon d’Or in November. For Putellas, it marked an awards double as the Spaniard triumphed…

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Amaju Pinnick, President of the Nigerian Football Federation, has said that Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr was sacked to forestall a “disaster” waiting to happen. “It wasn’t an individual decision; it was a collective decision from the committee,” Pinnick said on Monday when he featured as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily breakfast programme monitored by The PUNCH. “We didn’t want a disaster to happen before taking the decision,” he added. Pinnick said the last two games under Rohr were abysmal and Nigeria won’t have qualified for the last round…

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Argentine soccer star, Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or title for a record seventh time ahead of highly favoured Bayern Munich star, Robert Lewandowski. He was announced as the winner of the men’s award at the prestigious awards ceremony held in Paris, France. The Argentine defeated Lewandowski and other players on the 30-strong shortlist for the men’s award. Prolific Bayern Munich striker Lewandowski finished second and Chelsea and Italy midfielder Jorginho was third in the voting by a jury of journalists from around the world. Ronaldo, meanwhile, came in…

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Argentina captain Lionel Messi scored twice to break Pele’s record and become the leading international goalscorer in the history of South American football on Thursday. The Paris Saint-Germain forward opened the scoring for Argentina in their World Cup qualifier against Bolivia at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires to tie Pele’s mark of 77 international goals. The 34-year-old then struck his 78th international goal on 64 minutes to give Argentina a 2-0 lead.x Messi’s double came in his 153rd appearance for Argentina. The former Barcelona star’s great rival Cristiano Ronaldo…

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Federation of International Football Associations; FIFA, has corrected the Nigerian Football Federation’s record that Super Eagles’ Captain, Ahmed Musa has earned 100 caps for the Nigerian national team. FIFA insists that the Fatih Karagumruk winger has made 98 appearances for Nigeria and will only become the third Nigerian player to reach the centurion mark playing for the three-time African Champions after Joseph Yobo and Vincent Enyeama if he features for the team in their double-header against the Central Africa Republic next month. FIFA clarified that Musa featured in two games…

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Cristiano Ronaldo says breaking the all-time international goalscoring record with his 110th Portugal goal is special to him. Ronaldo scored an injury-time winner to salvage his country a dramatic 2-1 World Cup qualifying victory over the Republic of Ireland in Faro on Wednesday. The 36-year-old Ronaldo, whose return to Manchester United from Juventus was confirmed on Tuesday, had missed a penalty in the 15th minute before John Egan gave Ireland a half-time lead. But Ronaldo equalised in the 89th minute with a header, before outjumping the Irish defence again in…

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Cristiano Ronaldo has sent an emotional farewell message to Juventus fans following his return to Manchester United. In the emotional farewell message posted on his Instagram handle, the 36-year-old thanked the fans for the respect they showed him. He noted that he gave his heart and soul for the Italian club, adding that Juventus will always be in his heart. He wrote, “Today I depart from an amazing club, the biggest in Italy and surely one of the biggest in all of Europe. I gave my heart and soul for Juventus and…

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Ese Brume has won the first medal for Nigeria at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She won bronze in women’s long jump. Germany’s Malaika Mihambo soared to gold in the women’s long jump, snatching victory from former champion Brittney Reese with her last leap of the competition. Mihambo was lying in the bronze medal position ahead of her final jump, but powered down the runway to register a season-best jump of 7.00 metres. That left 2012 Olympic champion Reese – who had led the competition with a best jump of…

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Despite warnings to participants to “avoid unnecessary forms of physical contact” at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, organisers are expected to hand out 160,000 branded condoms. Thousands of athletes will stay at the Olympic Village during the pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo Games, which start on Friday, July 23rd and ends August 9th; and the Paralympics from August 25 to September 6. According to Statista, a German company specializing in market and consumer data, “approximately 11,100 athletes for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and about 4.4 thousand for the Paralympics were expected to compete…

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Twenty-five years after long jumper, Chioma Ajunwa, conquered the world by winning a gold medal at Atlanta ‘96 Olympics, another Nigerian, Ese Brume, has made big headlines in that country, this time in the city of California. Brume, who was Nigeria’s only athlete to reach the final of any event at the Rio 2016 Olympics in Brazil, jumped a distance of 7.17m on Saturday at Chile Vista Festival in California to become the first African woman to ever make such a mark. She shattered Ajunwa’s 25-year-old Long Jump record of…

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It was a massive day for two Super Eagles players; Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho as the duo made history with Leicester on Saturday, 15 May, 2021 winning the first FA Cup for the Foxes. Belgian international, Youri Tielemans’ 60th minute goal decided the keenly contested encounter at Wembley Stadium in London. Chelsea taught they had equalised when former Leicester player, Ben Chilwell poked home in the 88th minute but the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) spotted an offside in the build-up to what would have been a relief for the…

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Technical Adviser Gernot Rohr has drawn up a provisional squad list of 31 players for Nigeria’s international friendly game against five-time African champions Cameroon in Austria on Friday. The game will take place at the Wiener Neustadt in the Austrian capital, Vienna starting from 8.30 pm Austria time, according to a statement from the Nigeria Football Federation. Headlining the list unveiled on Friday is Captain Ahmed Musa, with deputy captain William Ekong, goalkeeper Maduka Okoye, defenders Kenneth Omeruo and Chidozie Awaziem, midfielders Wilfred Ndidi and Oghenekaro Etebo and forwards Victor…

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AS Roma have appointed Jose Mourinho as their new head coach ahead of next season. The club made the announcement on Tuesday, weeks after Mourinho was sacked by Tottenham Hotspurs. “We are thrilled and delighted to welcome José Mourinho into the AS Roma family,” club president Dan Friedkin and vice-president Ryan Friedkin said as seen on the club’s website. “A great champion who has won trophies at every level, José will provide tremendous leadership and experience to our ambitious project. “The appointment of José is a huge step in building…

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Karim Benzema came to Real Madrid’s rescue again on Tuesday, his acrobatic volley earning them a 1-1 draw against an impressive Chelsea side in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.  Christian Pulisic grabbed Chelsea an away goal in a soaking wet contest at Valdebebas but Madrid will be satisfied too, after recovering from a chastening opening half an hour before Benzema’s brilliance left the tie in the balance. Eden Hazard was given 24 minutes off the bench against his former club but despite some twinkling touches, he was…

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Chelsea Boss, Thomas Tuchel has named his 24 man squad that will be travelling to Spain to face real Madrid in their first leg of the UEFA champions league semi final. Chelsea who qualified after beating Porto 2:1 on aggregate will be up against a strong Real Madrid side who defeated Liverpool 3:1 on aggregate. Chelsea fans will be glad to see their in-from team show same character and team effort when they face real Madrid away in Spain. Mateo kovacic is the only player out of the Squad as…

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ZInedine Zidane, Real Madrid’s coach has released his teams’s ‘killer squad’ list for Tuesday’s clash against EPL table toppers, Chelsea FC of England in the first leg of the Champions League Semifinals. REAL MADRID SQUAD: Goalkeepers: Courtois, Lunin and Altube. Defenders: Carvajal, E. Militão, R. Varane, Nacho, Marcelo, Odriozola and Miguel. Midfielders: Kroos, Modrić, Casemiro, Isco, Arribas and Blanco. Forwards: Hazard, Benzema, Asensio, Vini Jr., Mariano and Rodrygo. As expected, Toni Kroos is back with the team. The German midfielder rejoined the squad in training on Sunday and is 100% ready to play against Chelsea, so…

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Cristian Ronaldo’s fellow Portuguese and manager, Jose Mourinho has been sacked as Tottenham coach after 17 months in charge of the London club. The dismissal by Spurs is the fourth for the self acclaimed ‘Special One’ in the Premiership haven been sacked twice by Chelsea, once by Manchester United and now by Tottenham. According to reports, Ryan Mason and Chris Powell will be in temporary charge until a new permanent manager is appointed. It was gathered that Tottenham have begun the process of appointing a new coach. Mourinho was sacked…

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Kano State Governor, Umar Ganduje, is expected to unveil Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa as Kano Pillars latest signing. The club made this known in a series of tweets on Wednesday. Musa is expected to be unveiled before the second stanza of the league season, according to the club. “Kano State Governor, @GovUmarGanduje to unveils @Ahmedmusa718 before the commencement of the@LMCNPFL second stanza,” the tweet read. Musa joins Sai Masu Gida for the rest of the season, 11 years after he first featured for the club. The 28-year-old previously played for the…

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Manchester City set up a blockbuster Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain as Phil Foden’s second-half winner sealed a 2-1 victory at Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday to send the Premier League leaders through 4-2 on aggregate. England midfielder Jude Bellingham gave Dortmund an early lead, but a second-half Riyad Mahrez penalty and Foden’s powerful strike moved City into the last four of Europe’s top club competition for the second time. Having also scored the 90th-minute winner to give City a 2-1 victory in last week’s first leg in Manchester, England…

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Kylian Mbappe netted twice as Paris Saint-Germain secured a thrilling 3-2 win at holders Bayern Munich in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg, in a repeat of last year’s final. Bayern had their 19-match unbeaten run ended in the Champions League with their first European defeat since March 2019 as head coach Hansi Flick suffered his first loss in Europe. PSG raced into a 2-0 lead after just 28 minutes behind closed doors at the Allianz Arena as Neymar created goals for Mbappe and Marquinhos. Bayern, whose top scorer Robert…

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Frank Lampard is set to be sacked as head coach by Chelsea with former Borussia Dortmund and PSG boss Thomas Tuchel replacing him, it will be confirmed later today. Chelsea beat Luton Town 3-1 in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday but the result was not enough to keep Lampard in his job. According to Sky in Germany, Tuchel is in line to replace Lampard. The German coach left PSG in December. Lampard was appointed head coach at Stamford Bridge in July 2019 and during his first season guided the club…

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Diego Maradona has died at the age of 60 after suffering a cardiac arrest. The football legend had a heart attack at his home just two weeks after leaving hospital where he underwent surgery on a blot clot in his brain.  Maradona, regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, helped Argentina win the World Cup in 1986, the pinnacle of an illustrious career.  He played club football for Boca Juniors, Napoli and Barcelona among others and was adored by millions all over the world for his brilliant…

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The head of African football Ahmad Ahmad has been suspended by FIFA for five years for corruption, the global governing body announced on Monday. Ahmad, from Madagascar, has been president of the African Football Confederation (CAF) since March 2017 and was standing for re-election when FIFA banned him for “governance issues”. In their statement, FIFA said that Ahmad had “breached his duty of loyalty, offered gifts and other benefits, mismanaged funds and abused his position as the CAF President”. Ahmad has also been fined 200,000 Swiss francs ($220,000) by FIFA…

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Arsenal won away at Manchester United in the Premier League for the first time in 14 years as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s penalty earned a thoroughly deserved 1-0 win for the Gunners on Sunday. United’s run without a home win in the league stretches to six games as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men sink to 15th in the table. Starved of the chance to counter-attack by the visitors’ disciplined set-up, United were far from the threat that thrashed RB Leipzig 5-0 in the Champions League in midweek. Arsenal have struggled for goals of…

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Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench to score a brace on his return from coronavirus as Juventus got back to winning ways in Serie A with a 4-1 victory against promoted Spezia on Sunday. The champions ended a run of three consecutive draws to move second in Serie A, four points behind leaders AC Milan, who beat Udinese 2-1 earlier in the day thanks to a spectacular late winner from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ronaldo replaced Paulo Dybala in the 56th minute in Cesena with the match level after Tommaso Pobega had…

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Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara has tested positive for coronavirus, the Premier League champions confirmed on Tuesday. The 29-year-old, who joined from Bayern Munich this month, missed Monday’s 3-1 win over Arsenal and will now self-isolate. “Thiago Alcantara has tested positive for Covid-19 and is currently self-isolating according to the necessary guidelines,” Liverpool said in a statement. “The club has, and will continue to follow, all protocols relating to Covid-19 and Thiago will remain in self-isolation for the required period of time.” The Spanish international will miss another clash with Arsenal…

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Everton completed the signing of James Rodriguez from Real Madrid on Monday, reuniting the Colombian playmaker with manager Carlo Ancelotti for a third time. The Premier League club are reported to have paid £22 million ($29 million) for the 29-year-old, who was top scorer at the 2014 World Cup. James’s performances on the world stage earned him an 80 million euro ($95 million) move to Madrid six years ago and he shone in his first season in the Spanish capital under Ancelotti’s management. However, he fell down the pecking order…

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Former Super Eagles defender Ajibade Babalade died today in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, after suffering cardiac arrest. Babalade, 48, The PUNCH learnt, died while being rushed to the University College Hospital, Ibadan, in the afternoon. The hard-as-nails retired defender was a squad member of the Eagles that won bronze at the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal. He started his professional career at Stationery Stores of Lagos in 1990, before several stints at 3SC, helping the Oluyole Warriors reach the final of the CAF Champions in League in 1996. He…

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Barcelona super star, Lionel Messi, has insisted that the £700m release clause in his contract with FC Barcelona is what was responsible for his decision to stay back at the “club of my life.” Although there were pressure from his wife and children, whose reaction to his planned exit from the club he described as ‘brutal’ Messi said, “I thought and we were sure that I was free. The president always said that at the end of the season I could decide if I stayed or not and now they…

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The top hierarchy and rank-and-file of the Nigeria Football Federation have been thrown into deep mourning following the death on Saturday evening of the Federation’s Head of ICT, Mr. Tolulope Abe. Abe passed on at the National Hospital, Abuja as a result of complications that arose after a surgery. He was 48. Highly dedicated, diligent, energetic, savant, proficient and goal-driven, Tolulope Abe exemplified hard work and industry, and was loved by all for his sapience, dynamism, sense of duty, productivity and humility. NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, was at…

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