NIGERIA
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The Super Falcons will open their final training camp at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja, twenty-nineth June in preparation for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
According to the Nigeria Football Federation, the women’s soccer festival will hold from twentieth July to twentieth August.
Its Director of Media/Communications, Ademola Olajire, Coach Randy Waldrum’s tutored side are being primed to be in their best possible condition for the World Cup.
The Super Falcons will face co-hosts, Australia, Olympic champions, Canada and debutants, Republic of Ireland, in Group A at the World Cup.
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Former Nigerian international, Garba Lawal says Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro may be relieved of his duty soon if the team’s lackluster performance failed to improve.
Lawal who was doubtful if the NFF will be willingly to extend Peseiro’s contract, noted that Peseiro’s time with the Super Eagles are numbered as the NFF, may be looking inward for his replacement.
The Portuguese tactician was criticised by football enthusiasts for his poor substitution in Nigeria’s three-two win over Sierra Leone in a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
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The Nigeria Olympic Committee NOC has called on States to demonstrate full commitment to the success of the Olympic Day Run celebration.
Its Chairman of the Sports-for-All Commission, Ibrahim Abdul, made the call during a virtual meeting of the Committee ahead of the Olympic Day Run celebration scheduled for twenty-fourth June.
He said the Olympic Day Run had become an essential event that brings people together to celebrate the values of Olympism and promote physical well-being.
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The newly elected Chairman of Ekiti Football Association, Oluwole Oloworemo says his administration would focus on football development at the grassroots in the state.
Oloworemo gave the assurance while addressing Sports Writers Association of Nigeria SWAN Ekiti chapter, in Ado-Ekiti.
He urged them to come up with ideas that would promote grassroots football development in the state, saying his board would sustain and improve on the achievements of the immediate past board in grassroots football competitions.
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Lobi Stars are in advanced talks with Niger Tornadoes for star striker, David Okoromi.
Okoromi was instrumental in helping Niger Tornadoes maintain their Nigeria Premier League status last season.
He is the joint third-highest goal scorer in the NPL last season with six goals.
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Meanwhile, Charles Chubuike is set to switch to Lobi Stars ahead of the forthcoming Nigeria Premier League season.
The Doma United forward was spotted at the Markurdi-based side training ahead of their Naija Super Eight playoffs.
Lobi Stars will take on Nigeria National League side City FC at the Eket Stadium on Friday.
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Czech Republic giants Slavia Prague have announced the signing of former Flying Eagles forward Muhamed Tijani.
Tijani joined Slavia Prague from fellow Czech club Baník Ostrava on an eight-year deal.
He was part of the Flying Eagles squad that featured at the 2019 FIFA Under-twenty World Cup.
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AC Milan and Inter Milan are interested in signing Flying Eagles midfielder, Daniel Daga.
Daga was a member of the Flying Eagles side that took part in the 2023 FIFA Under-twenty World Cup in Argentina last month.
The youngster caught attention with his impressive displays for Ladan Bosso’s side at the competition.
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ENGLAND
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Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is set to leave the treble winners to join Barcelona on a free transfer.
Gundogan is believed to have been offered a three-year deal by Barcelona and is expected to complete his move to the Spanish champions when his City contract expires at the end of June.
City were reported to have been willing to give their 32-year-old captain a new one-year contract with the option of a further 12 months.
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Almost two-thirds of supporters have said they oppose the use of the video assistant referee VAR system in English football.
A fans’ survey published on Wednesday found that sixty-three point three percent were against VAR, with seventy-nine point one percent of match-goers rating their experience of VAR as poor or very poor.
That contrasts with a 2017 survey by the Football Supporters’ Association – prior to VAR’s introduction which found seventy-four point six percent of fans favoured the use of video referees to support on-field officials with game-changing decisions.
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West Ham fans have been banned from attending the club’s next European away match after objects were thrown from the stands at their Europa Conference League final win over Fiorentina.
Fiorentina captain, Cristiano Biraghi was left bloodied after cups and other items were thrown as he took a corner.
West Ham have been fined forty-three thousand pounds for the incident and a further eight thousand euros for a pitch invasion following the game in Prague.
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Manchester City are set to land their first reinforcement of the summer after agreeing a twenty-five million pounds fee with Chelsea for Mateo Kovacic.
The Croatian is still to undergo a medical at the City Football Academy but the two clubs have completed talks over a move that includes five million in additional clauses based on performance.
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Arsenal have agreed a deal with Chelsea worth around sixty-five million pounds for Germany international forward Kai Havertz.
It is understood the clubs have made an agreement in principle that will allow the player to discuss personal terms and have a medical.
The fee for Havertz, who scored nine goals in forty-seven games for the Blues last season, could rise with add-ons.
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Arsenal are preparing a summer clear-out in anticipation of new arrivals as Mikel Arteta attempts to rebuild his squad ahead of the Premier League season.
The futures of Eddie Nketiah and Folarin Balogun appear under consideration, with Arsenal reportedly willing to let one of the attacking duo leave, but not both.
The Gunners are also apparently prepared to listen to offers for midfielder Thomas Partey and Scottish full-back Kieran Tierney.
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Manchester United have increased their offer for priority midfield target Mason Mount, but are still not in agreement with Chelsea.
Erik ten Hag is eager to land the England international to bolster his midfield this summer, but the clubs are still apart when it comes to the valuation.
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Manchester United are ready to rival Arsenal in their pursuit of Declan Rice by sanctioning a player-plus-cash offer for the West Ham captain.
Rice is the subject of intense transfer speculation with the Gunners already having a ninety million pounds bid rejected and Manchester City are also interested in securing a possible deal.
United have been monitoring the situation and are considering offering either club captain Harry Maguire or Scottish midfielder Scott McTominay, along with a cash sum.
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Former Manchester United defender, Rio Ferdinand, has called on the Red Devils not to hesitate but to pay Nigerian international, Victor osimhen’s asking price if they are to land him this summer.
Ferdinand reckons Osimhen would be the ideal forward for the club and urged United to pay his asking price.
Manchester United manager, Erik ten Hag is in the market for a new striker and have been linked with Osimhen, Harry Kane and Rasmus Hojlund.
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Arsenal have withdrawn their new one hundred- and ten-pounds home shirt from sale while a “design error” is corrected.
The shirt honours the ‘Invincibles’ season, twenty years on from when Arsene Wenger’s side went unbeaten throughout an entire Premier League campaign.
The club unveiled the striking jersey in May and revealed the design had taken inspiration from the heroics of their Invincibles side from the 2003-04 campaign.
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Patrick Vieira is emerging as a serious contender for the Leeds United head coach vacancy.
The Elland Road hierarchy are closing in on making their next managerial appointment after Sam Allardyce’s interim spell in charge came to an end after relegation from the Premier League was confirmed.
And Vieira has admirers at Leeds is understood to be among one of the coaches the club want to discuss the role with over the coming days.
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Newcastle will continue to explore a deal for Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali after talks with intermediaries this week.
Tonali is high on the list of Eddie Howe’s preferred midfield targets and, were a price with the Serie A club to be agreed.
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Manchester United captain, Harry Maguire’s retrial will be held on seventh February 2024, three and a half years after
he was arrested following an incident on the Island of Mykonos.
Maguire was convicted of assaulting a police offer and attempted bribery by a court on the Island of Syros in August 2020.
The England defender, was handed a suspended twenty-one month sentence.
His legal team appealed, at which point he was deemed innocent until proven guilty under Greek law.
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OTHER SPORTS
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In Boxing, American professional boxer, Jarrell Miller’s promoter Dmitriy Salita is offering his client as a replacement opponent for Anthony Joshua after discussions broke down with Dillian Whyte.
Joshua was set to rematch Whyte twelveth August, as Eddie Hearn claims the Body Snatcher priced himself out of the contest.
Negotiations were not able to progress and now Joshua is expected to face a new opponent on the same date.
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In Rugby; La Rochelle and Leinster will play a repeat of their epic Heineken Champions Cup final when they meet in the 2023-24 pool stage.
The French side have won back-to-back Champions Cups, beating Leinster in each of the past two finals.
They defeated the Irish team 27-26 in May having been 17-0 down at half time.
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In Tennis; Britain’s Harriet Dart reached a second successive grass-court quarter-final as she continued her Wimbledon preparations at the Birmingham Classic.
The 26-year-old secured a comprehensive 6-3 3-6 6-1 win over Ukrainian fifth seed Anhelina Kalinina.
The Briton beat the same opponent last week to reach the last eight of the Nottingham Open.
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British number one Cameron Norrie came from behind to reach the Queen’s quarter-finals for a second time with victory over Australian Jordan Thompson.
Fifth seed Norrie, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year, recovered from his first-set errors to win 4-6 6-3 6-2.
“It was the perfect match,” said Norrie, who will face American Sebastian Korda next.
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In Golf; Leading figures from the world of golf have been invited to testify at a US Senate hearing into the merger between the PGA, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund governor Yasir al-Rumayyan and LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman have all been asked to attend on 11 July.
US Senator Richard Blumenthal said the hearing aimed to “uncover the facts” about the merger.
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OTHER LEAGUES
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Roma coach, Jose Mourinho has been banned for four matches by Uefa for confronting English referee, Anthony Taylor, after the Europa League final.
The charge relates to an incident in a car park after the game, when Mourinho directed a foul-mouthed rant at Taylor.
The Portuguese had been booked by Taylor in Budapest, where Sevilla beat Roma on penalties after a one-all draw.
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Paris Saint-Germain and France forward, Kylian Mbappe, believes that he can beat other competitors to the 2023 Ballon d’Or award.
Mbappe said he meets the criteria for the Ballon d’Or award this year.
The current favourites for the award are Argentina captain, Lionel Messi and Norwegian striker, Erling Haaland.
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Real Madrid midfielder, Toni Kroos has signed a one-year contract extension with the club.
The new deal ties the Germany international to Madrid until thirtieth June, 2024.
Kroos, has made four hundred and seventeen appearances for Real Madrid, including thirty in La Liga and twelve in the Champions League last season.
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Belgian winger Yannick Carrasco has slammed his national teammate, Thibaut Courtois over the Real Madrid man’s reaction to their captaincy issues.
Carrasco said Courtois should not have responded to the manager’s comments and should have understood his position.
Belgium boss, Domenico Tedesco recently said Courtois was unhappy with his decision to name Romelu Lukaku as the team’s captain for Belgium’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Austria.
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Former Barcelona defender, Dani Alves has insisted the ‘only person’ he has to apologise to after his sexual assault allegations is his wife, despite the player facing up to twelve years in prison following claims he raped a woman in a nightclub toilet.
Alves has been in custody at Brians 2 in Catalonia since twentieth January after he alleged he had assaulted her at the well-known Sutton club.
He is set to go on trial between October and November this year and has seen several requests to be released on bail rejected, meaning he will stay behind bars.
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Ghana’s record goalscorer, Asamoah Gyan has announced his retirement from football.
Gyan fought back tears as he revealed his decision while on stage with former Ivory Coast striker, Didier Drogba in the Ghanaian capital, Accra.
The striker scored fifty-one goals in one hundred and nine appearances for the country, making him Ghana’s all-time top scorer.
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Hibernian will face Faroese side Vikingur or Inter Club d’Escaldes of Andorra in the Europa Conference League second qualifying round.
Lee Johnson’s side finished fifth in the Scottish Premiership last season and secured a European place after champions Celtic won the Scottish Cup.
The first leg at Easter Road will take place on twenty-seven July, with the second leg on third August.
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German newspaper Bild has sent out an SOS call to Jurgen Klopp to rescue their national team’s chances of winning next year’s European Championship on home turf.
With Hansi Flick under pressure following last year’s World Cup failure and just three wins from their last eleven matches, Bild’s sport editor has called for the country’s football association to try and convince the Liverpool boss to take charge.
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