NIGERIA
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Katsina United players have been treated to a heroic welcome by their fans on their return home after securing promotion to the Nigeria Premier League.
Hundreds of Chanji Boys fans were at the Dan’dagoro end of the state to welcome the players and their officials back home.
The convener of the rally, Abubakar Sani, acknowledged the hard work of the team in picking the promotion ticket.
Katsina United, Kano Pillars, Sporting Lagos and Heartland earned promotion to the NPL in the recently-concluded Nigeria National League Super Eight playoffs.
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Amobi Ezeaku is in talks with Rangers over the club’s vacant general manager position.
He was the team manager of the Flying Antelopes during the 2016 Nigeria Premier League title-winning campaign.
The young lawyer is currently in Europe for his FIFA master’s programme.
Meanwhile, Rangers recently unveiled Fidelis Ilechukwu as their new head coach.
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Super Falcons forward Toni Payne is full of excitement following the team’s 8-1 demolition of the Queensland Lions in Australia in a pre-Women’s World Cup friendly.
Payne, who scored a goal in the friendly, said the Falcons were ready to fight against their opponents in Group B.
Nigeria are paired alongside Olympic champions Canada, co-hosts Australia and the Republic of Ireland and face a tough challenge advancing from the group phase.
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The Super Falcons contingent departs the Gold Coast on Sunday for their designated camp base in Brisbane ahead of the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
The former African champions, who spent 15 days intensifying their preparation on the Gold Coast, will be lodged at the Sofitel Brisbane Central.
The Sofitel Brisbane Central is a five-star hotel accessible for high level sporting teams like the Falcons.
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World Record holder, Tobi Amusan has won the Silesia Diamond League Women’s 100m Hurdles, breaking meet record after finishing the race at 12.34 seconds.
American Kendra Harrison came a close second after Amusan caught up with her in a nail-biting race to the finish line.
Newly crowned US champion Nia Ali came third in 12.38s while Jamaican champion Megan Tapper finished fourth ahead of her compatriot Danielle Williams in fifth.
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ENGLAND
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Chelsea have signed 18-year-old Brazilian winger Angelo Gabriel from Santos for an undisclosed fee.
In October 2020, aged 15 years and 308 days, he became the youngest player in the history of the Brazilian top flight when he made his debut against Fluminense in the Maracana Stadium.
Angelo has gone on to score five goals in 129 games for Santos.
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Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez has agreed personal terms with Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli.
The winger who won a historic treble with City last month has two years remaining on his current contract at the Etihad.
But his five-year stay with City looks set to come after becoming the latest big name to agree to join Al-Ahli.
The newly-promoted side are said to be prepared to offer Pep Guardiola’s side three million pounds to secure the Algerian’s services.
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Talks between Manchester United and Inter Milan surrounding Andre Onana are close to concluding.
Onana made forty-one appearances in all competitions during his solitary season at the San Siro as Simone Inzhagi’s side captured the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana while reaching the final of the Champions League.
The move comes after David de Gea departed United after twelve seasons as the number one at Old Trafford earlier this month on the expiry of his contract.
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Harry Maguire wants to stay and fight for his place at Manchester United despite being left ‘extremely disappointed’ at having the captaincy taken off him by Erik ten Hag.
Maguire, who has emerged as a target for West Ham, met the United manager for talks over his future on Sunday and was informed that, as he is no longer a regular first team starter, he would not be continuing as captain of the club.
Bruno Fernandes stepped in to lead the team last season and is expected to continue.
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DC United manager Wayne Rooney has revealed how he used a crazy MLS rule and Jesse Lingard to potentially make his club money.
Rooney explained how he put his former Manchester United team-mate on his ‘discovery list’, which means that DC United will receive money even if Lingard makes the move to the MLS but still ends up joining a rival team.
He named Lingard on his discovery list while he was at Nottingham Forest and looked to make money from it.
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Tottenham’s players have been given a special welcome ahead of their first training session in Australia.
The north London club, whose new manager Ange Postecoglou is Australian, witnessed a Welcome to Country ritual being performed.
Richard Walley, one of Australia’s leading Aboriginal performers, led the Welcome to Country before training and was seen shaking hands with Harry Kane.
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Everton have seen a fifteen million pounds approach for Wilfried Gnonto knocked back by Leeds.
The Toffees firmed up their interest in the exciting Italian winger but their proposal swiftly rejected by the Yorkshire side who also informed Everton they have no interest in selling.
Leeds already lost a number of players from the squad that suffered relegation to the Championship including Rodrigo, Robin Koch, Diego Llorente, Brenden Aaronson, Rasmus Kristensen and Weston McKennie.
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Arsenal new-boys Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber have been included in the squad for the club’s United States tour.
After months of speculation, Rice completed a British record £105million move to the Gunners from West Ham.
Timber completed his £40m move to north London from Ajax a day earlier to bolster Arsenal’s defence ahead of the new season.
The pair were seen all-smiles as they joined their new team-mates on the plane to Washington D.C.
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Arsene Wenger has revealed that he sees Arsenal’s club-record signing of Declan Rice as a good investment in the squads future.
Following weeks of speculation, the former West Ham captain’s move to the Emirates was finally confirmed, with the £105m fee eclipsing the £100m Man City paid for Jack Grealish to make Rice the most expensive British footballer ever.
After coming agonisingly close to a first Premier League title in nearly two decades last season, Mikel Arteta has been afforded a sizeable war chest to continue his side’s progress in 2023-24.
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Former Arsenal man, Alan Smith has hit out at Chelsea’s ‘haphazard’ approach in the football transfer market, claiming they only signed winger Mykhailo Mudryk to ‘pinch’ him from London rivals the Gunners.
Smith also said it would be hard for new Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge next season.
Chelsea beat Arsenal to sign Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk last January transfer window.
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Aston Villa are still leading the race to sign Joao Felix after PSG pulled out of a potential deal, according to a report.
The forward’s future is up in the air after his loan spell at Chelsea, which did not go to plan and ended with the London club opting against making a permanent move for the forward.
He returned to parent club Atletico Madrid but does not appear to be in manager Diego Simeone’s plans ahead of the new campaign.
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Tottenham are reportedly prepared to rival Newcastle in a bid to sign Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen this summer.
Andersen earned admirers from across the Premier League with his performances in the heart of the Eagles defence last season.
The former Lyon star built a strong partnership with Marc Guehi as a returning Roy Hodgson comfortably guided the club to a mid-table finish while suffering just two defeats in their last 10 Premier League games.
Meanwhile, Brentford made an enquiry to sign Andersen last month, with the Bees’ £20m valuation said to be significantly lower than Palace’s asking price.
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West Ham are interested in signing Manchester United captain Harry Maguire.
The England defender has an uncertain future at Old Trafford as Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez have emerged as Erik ten Hag’s first-choice centre-backs.
United also need to sell players to boost Ten Hag’s chances of reshaping his squad in the current transfer window as he closes in on Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Maguire’s contract runs to 2025.
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OTHER SPORTS
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In Tennis; Carlos Alcaraz won the Wimbledon men’s singles title for the first time by ending Novak Djokovic’s recent dominance with a stunning victory.
Spain’s Alcaraz, 20, fought back from a nervy start to win 1-6 7-6 6-1 3-6 6-4 against the defending champion.
Djokovic was going for a fifth straight win, an eighth men’s triumph and a 24th major – all record-equalling feats.
Carlos Alcaraz said his epic victory in the Wimbledon singles final is the “happiest moment” of his life.
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Hsieh Su-wei and Barbora Strycova claimed their second Wimbledon women’s doubles title together by defeating Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens.
The pair, both 37, beat the third seeds 7-5 6-4 under the roof on Centre Court.
Taiwanese Hsieh and Czech Strycova won their first Wimbledon title together in 2019.
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In Athletics; Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigsten broke his own European 1500m record at the Silesia Diamond League in Poland.
The Norwegian, 22, won in three minutes 27.14 seconds, beating the record he set at Oslo’s Diamond League meeting last month by 0.81 seconds.
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In Rugby; Ireland captain Johnny Sexton has been given a three-match ban that will see him miss his country’s three World Cup warm-up matches.
Sexton, 38, is not allowed to play in the fixtures against Italy, England and Samoa, but will be available for Ireland’s World Cup opener against Romania on 9 September.
The punishment was given after he admitted misconduct towards match officials following Leinster’s Heineken Champions Cup final defeat by La Rochelle in May.
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In Cricket; Australia retained the Women’s Ashes with a dramatic three-run victory over England, who so nearly pulled off a remarkable victory through Nat Sciver-Brunt’s masterful unbeaten century.
Sciver-Brunt, who scored 111 off 99 balls, dragged England from 203-7 to a position where they needed 15 runs from the last over and five off the final ball.
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In Golf; World number two Nelly Korda held off the challenge of Charley Hull to win her first title in Britain with victory at the Aramco Team Series London.
The American led by five shots overnight and finished her final round with a two-under-par 71 to claim the individual title by four shots.
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OTHER LEAGUES.
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Barcelona are ‘looking to shed four first team players’ from their squad before leaving for their pre-season tour of America next week.
Samuel Umtiti is the only player to leave the club so far this summer after having his contract terminated three years early, but Barcelona’s financial situation means they are keen to reduce the wage bill by selling more fringe players.
Xavi’s side are still looking to shift Clement Lenglet, Alex Collado, Franck Kessie and Sergino Dest before leaving for the US next Wednesday.
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Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeness is confident they will sign England captain Harry Kane this summer.
The German champions have reportedly bid seventy million pounds for the Tottenham striker.
Tottenham’s Chairman Daniel Levy met Bayern Munich officials over a possible sale, and Hoeness said there have been talks with the striker’s advisers.
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The continent’s chief football administrator says Lionel Messi’s arrival in Major League Soccer proves there is “no ceiling” for the game in North America.
Messi was unveiled to fans at an event held by his new club Inter Miami, while in Los Angeles a sell-out 70,000 crowd will watch Mexico face Panama in the Gold Cup final at the SoFi Stadium.
The president of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Victor Montagliani, believes it is a moment to change the perception of football in the region.
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Romelu Lukaku is reportedly unhappy with Simone Inzaghi’s decision to exclude him from the starting eleven in the Champions League final.
Football Italia report that this was a decisive factor with the forward choosing to ‘ignore’ Inter ahead of a proposed move amidst interest from Juventus has made front page news in Italy.
The Belgian looked destined for a permanent move to Inter this summer, after spending last season on loan at the San Siro and having been left out of Chelsea’s pre-season tour of the US.
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Meanwhile, Inter Milan are reportedly considering a move for Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun, with Romelu Lukaku now seeming poised to join Juventus.
Lukaku spent last season on loan at the San Siro, and throughout the season had indicated his desire to join the club permanently from Chelsea once the transfer window opened.
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TODAY’S THOUGHT
The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent,…..words from Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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