NIGERIA
The Super Eagles have been drawn in Pot 1 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup African qualifiers, which draw will hold in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire thirteenth July.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The seedings, released by the world football governing body, were based on the FIFA rankings for June.
Nigeria was seeded in the same pot with Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Cameroun, Mali and Cote d’Ivoire.
This means that the Super Eagles will not meet any of the teams in Pot 1 in the group stages.
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Twenty-one players are currently in the Super Falcons camp in Gold Coast, Australia for the team’s final preparations ahead of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The duo of Francisca Ordega and Halimatu Ayinde are the two players yet to link up with their teammates in camp.
Randy Waldrum’s side will engage in friendly games before the start of the World Cup.
The competition which will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand will run from twentieth July to twentieth August.
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Rangers International Football Club of Enugu, has unveiled Fidelis Ilechukwu as its new technical adviser for the 2023/2023 season.
The unveiling was held at the administrative office of the club in Enugu.
In attendance at the event were Rangers Administrative Secretary, Ferdinand Ugwuarua, Ex-Rangers and Green Eagles Skipper/Coach, Chairman Christian Chukwu, and other club executives and administrators.
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Kano Pillars and Katsina United have secured promotion to the Nigeria Premier League.
The two clubs qualified from the Northern Conference of the Nigeria National League (NNL).
Katsina United confirmed their qualification after defeating Kano Pillars one-nil in their NNL Super Eight playoffs encounter at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba on Wednesday.
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Former Nigerian international, Tijani Babangida has been selected to mentor Enyimba at the Naija Super eight tournament.
Babangida has been tasked with motivating, advising, and supporting the nine-time Nigeria Premier League champions throughout the tournament.
Mutiu Adepoju will guide Lobi Stars, Sporting Lagos will benefit from the mentorship of Jonathan Akpoborie, Ike Shorunmu will assume the role of mentor for Akwa United, while Remo Stars of Ikenne will have the privilege of being mentored by Julius Aghahowa.
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Bayelsa United players are expected back in camp on Thursday for the resumption of training activities ahead of the 2023/2024 Nigeria Premier League season NPL.
The twenty-six players retained by the club are to report to the camp in Ogboloma in preparation for the new season.
According to the club, the early resumption is to enable the team to prepare for a better season having sustained the NPL.
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Nigeria Premier League champions, Enyimba are closing in, on signing Sikiru Alimi on a free transfer.
Talks are now at the final stage with his agent to complete the deal.
Alimi was in the books of Shooting Stars last season but failed to agree a contract extension.
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Cameroon defender, Dennis Ndasi has left Rivers United after the expiration of his contract.
The centre-back disclosed his departure in a farewell message to the club.
Ndasi acknowledged the sacrifice the Pride of Rivers head coach, Stanley Eguma took in giving him a chance in the Nigeria Premier League.
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Serie A giants, AC Milan have submitted a bid for Super Eagles star, Samuel Chukwueze.
AC Milan identified the Nigerian international as the man to help strengthen the right side of their attack.
The Rooseneri submitted an opening bid in the region of thirty-five million dollars for the Nigerian.
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World record holder, Tobi Amusan has declared readiness to compete in the national trials for the 2023 World Championships to be held in Budapest, Hungary.
Amusan who confirmed her readiness for the trials through her Facebook page, said the public could watch the “very best” of Nigerian athletes compete live from Wednesday through Friday.
Amusan has had a splendid week as she won Bronze in Ostrava, Silver in Lausanne, and Gold in Stockholm Diamond League and sent a warning signal to rivals.
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Haruna Quadri dropped one spot from 17th to 18th in the latest International Table Tennis Federation world rankings for the month of June.
Despite the drop, the 34-year-old is still the top-ranked player in Africa, having accumulated 1,150 points during the month under review.
Egypt’s Omar Assar is second in Africa after he moved up one spot from 23rd to 22nd globally.
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Nigeria’s most successful sprinter this season, Godson Brume, may have been shut out of Team Nigeria’s squad to the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, following his absence at the ongoing national trials in Benin City, Edo State.
The Athletics Federation of Nigeria had declared a few days ago that any athlete, who failed to attend the national trials should consider himself/herself out of the team to Budapest.
The event started inside the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, with other foreign-based athletes in attendance, but Brume was nowhere to be found.
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The Cycling Federation of Nigeria, CFN, has urged government and corporate bodies to support the national team, as it begins preparations for the World Cycling Championship slated to hold in Glasgow, Scotland, from third to thirteenth August.
It says the country’s cyclists are already in camp in Abuja perfecting strategies for the championships, adding that they need total support from the government various organisations to excel at the international event.
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ENGLAND
England international, Mason Mount says Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United blueprint convinced him to leave boyhood club Chelsea.
The midfielder is Ten Hag’s first signing of the summer in a transfer deal worth an initial fifty-five million pounds, plus a possible five million pounds in add-ons.
Mount has signed a five-year contract with the option for a further year.
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Manchester United legend, Rio Ferdinand has outlined his delight after the team completed the signing of Mason Mount.
Ferdinand praised the club for their work in completing a deal for the England international.
Erik ten Hag’s side were rebuffed several times in their approach for Mount this summer, but agreed a fee at the fifth time of asking.
Also, Chelsea have released a farewell statement to Mason Mount after his switch to Manchester United.
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The first group of Manchester United players will report back for pre-season training at Carrington on Thursday, thirty-three days after the FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City at Wembley.
Preparations for the new season are underway and, for many, it represents a fresh start.
For Mason Greenwood, on the other hand, very little seems to have changed.
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Manchester United have made a verbal proposal of thirty-four million pounds plus add ons for Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Erik ten Hag is eager to get his desired number one in before the start of pre-season and talks are now underway with Onana keen to move.
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FA Cup replays could be scrapped, the early rounds moved to midweeks and the final staged on an ordinary Premier League weekend from the 2024-25 season in the biggest shake-up in the competition’s one hundred and fifty-two year history.
The terms of an extraordinary deal which would see the Premier League sell overseas TV rights for the FA Cup for ten years from the 2024-25 season, giving the top-flight clubs control of the entire domestic calendar.
The FA insist that the tender process for overseas rights remains ongoing.
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Arsenal have reached a full agreement with Ajax to sign defender Jurrien Timber.
The Gunners are hoping to complete deals for both Timber and Declan Rice by the end of the week.
Mikel Arteta’s side have already reached a one hundred and five million pounds agreement with West Ham for Rice.
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Leicester City have received a huge fine from the Government after admitting to an anti-competitive arrangement with sportswear powerhouse JD Sports.
The Foxes endured a disappointing few months after having their relegation from the Premier League confirmed at the end of the season, after an eighteenth-place finish.
But now the former top-flight champions will have to pay a fine of eight hundred and eighty thousand pounds after admitting their guilt.
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OTHER SPORTS
In Tennis; Just Stop Oil protesters interrupted play twice at Wimbledon by throwing orange-coloured confetti and jigsaw pieces on to court 18.
The contest between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro was targeted by two protesters.
A third protester then targeted Katie Boulter’s match against Daria Saville.
Two men and a woman were arrested.
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Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Dominic Thiem in a five-set first-round Wimbledon epic to set up a Centre Court meeting with Britain’s Andy Murray.
The 24-year-old Greek won 3-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (10-8) in a match that lasted three hours 56 minutes.
Novak Djokovic continued his pursuit of an eighth title by beating Australia’s Jordan Thompson 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 7-5.
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Top seed Iga Swiatek continued her pursuit of a maiden Wimbledon title with victory on Centre Court against Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Swiatek, 22, took a comprehensive 6-2 6-0 victory to move into the third round.
The Pole has never managed to go beyond the fourth round on the SW19 grass but has looked in superb form this week.
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In Cricket; England captain Heather Knight says her side are “going to fly” after winning their first points in the women’s Ashes.
The hosts won the second T20 by three runs at The Oval, but still trail 6-2 in the multi-format series.
But one more win for Australia, with one T20 and three one-day internationals remaining, will see them retain the Ashes.
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In Athletics; Jake Wightman will not defend his 1500m title at August’s World Championships in Budapest after admitting “shortcuts” failed to heal a foot injury.
The Scot burst past Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen and clinched a surprise gold in Eugene a year ago.
However, the 28-year-old suffered a stress fracture in January and has decided not to risk racing this summer with an eye on next year’s Olympics.
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OTHER LEAGUES
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Former Spain and Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has been appointed head coach of Paris Saint-Germain.
The Spaniard replaces Christophe Galtier, who has been sacked despite winning the Ligue 1 title in his one season in charge.
Luis Enrique has signed a two-year contract with the French champions.
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Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper, Sergio Rico has been discharged from intensive care after a riding accident.
The accident occurred in May when Rico was participating in an annual pilgrimage in the El Rocio region of Spain.
Rico’s family said he suffered a serious mishap when he was struck by a loose horse.
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Barcelona has announced the signing of Inigo Martinez.
Martinez, joined Barcelona on a two-year-deal from Athletic Bilbao.
He had joined Athletic Bilbao in 2018 from Real Sociedad.
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Paris Saint-Germain have again reiterated that Kylian Mbappe must sign a new contract or risk being sold this summer.
The club’s president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, stated that Mbappe will not be allowed to run down his deal.
This means that if PSG does not sell him before next season, they risk losing the France forward on a free transfer.
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Turkey defender, Caglar Soyuncu has joined Atletico Madrid on a four-year deal following his departure from Leicester City.
Soyuncu, left the Foxes after they were relegated to the Championship when his contract expired in June.
The centre-back played one hundred and thirty-two games after joining Leicester from German side Freiburg for nineteen million pounds in 2018, winning the FA Cup and Community Shield in 2021.
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Brazilian club Corinthians have condemned cowardly fans who assaulted midfielder Luan at a hotel.
Local media reported he was dragged out of the building by angry supporters unhappy with his performances.
Luan, whose contract expires at the end of the season, posted a picture on Instagram of his blood-stained clothes.
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Fisayo Dele-Bashiru has joined Turkish club, Hatayspor.
Dele-Bashiru joined the modest side from Sky Bet Championship club Sheffield Wednesday.
The former Manchester City star who penned a three-year contract, scored eleven goals in eighty-six appearances during his time with Sheffield Wednesday.
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TODAY’S THOUGHT
“PASSION FIRST, AND EVERYTHING ELSE WILL FALL INTO PLACE, WORDS FROM HOLLY HOLM.
“THE HARDER THE BATTLE, THE SWEETER THE VICTORY, WORDS FROM LES BROWN.
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