NIGERIA

Chairman of House Committee on Sports, Ekene Adams, has congratulated the newly appointed Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh.

According to Adams, Enoh’s vast experience would help the sector to grow.

Also, Stakeholders congratulated Enoh, tasking him to focus more on grassroots development in the country.

Director-General, National Institute for Sports, Olawale Moronkola, said Enoh was the right choice for the development of sports in the country.

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Chairman of the League Management Company, Gbenga Elegbeleye, announced that the Nigeria Premier Football League, are in partnership with the Spanish League, LaLiga, to train Nigerian players.

Elegbeleye, made the announcement in Lagos as the League inaugurated a Technical Committee to identify 11 All-Star best league players at the end of the 2023/2024 season.

The players will train and play with the best LaLiga teams.

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World Championships’ silver medallist, Ese Brume, arrived in Budapest, Hungary, with a promise not to disappoint Nigerians in the 19th edition of the competition.

The Budapest 2023 World Championship will begin at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest tomorrow and Brume is one of the athletes scheduled to open Nigeria’s campaign for medals.

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The panel of the Disciplinary Tribunal has cleared Nigerian track queen Tobi Amusan of doping violations with the provisional suspension on her lifted.

A panel of the Disciplinary Tribunal, by majority decision, found that Tobi Amusan has not committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation of three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period.

This is according to a statement by the Athletics Integrity Unit.

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One of the biggest sporting events to hold in Sagamu in recent time will begin tomorrow at the Elephant Cement Golf Club, where some of the country’s biggest golf stars will gather to test their skills.

It is the ‘Old School Golf Classic,’ a two-day event, which marries memories of the good old days to present-day golfing reality.

According to the organisers, over 80 active golfers have signed up for the classic, but registration is still open to prospective participants.

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Cyril Umebiye has won the South-west Closed Scrabble Championship held in Abeokuta.

Umebiye, a former national scrabble captain, put up a quality performance to maintain a 100 per cent record of six wins in the first period of the 12-round tournament.

Hakeem Olaribigbe of Lagos State took the second position, while Dipo Akanbi earned the third place.

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Nigeria has been named as one of the three African countries for the trophy tour of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on twenty-nineth and thirtieth August, ahead of this year’s championship in India.

The trophy is expected to arrive in Abuja twenty-nineth August, where it would be received by the board of the Nigeria Cricket Federation before being handed to the newly appointed Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh.

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IN WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

Super Falcons star, Jenifer Echiejini, has agreed to join Italian side Juventus Ladies.

Previously with the American club Florida State Seminoles, Echegini is a versatile midfielder.

Her transfer marks a historic moment, as she will become the first Nigerian to play for Juventus Ladies.

During her time at the ongoing world cup, the twenty-two-year-old made three appearances for the Super Falcons.

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United States women’s team head coach Vlatko Andonovski has resigned after the side’s disappointing World Cup campaign.

Twila Kilgore, who has worked as assistant coach for the past 18 months, has been named interim head coach while the search for a replacement takes place.

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The Spanish team has been seen being put through their paces ahead of the Women’s World Cup final showdown with England on Sunday.

La Roja were the first side to book their spot in the showpiece event with a dramatic 2-1 win against Sweden on Monday.

While the Lionesses toppled hosts Australia a day later, thanks to goals from Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo.

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Football Association’s CEO Mark Bullingham says England will reject any approach for Lionesses manager Sarina Wiegman from rival countries amid reported interest from the United States.

Wiegman guided England to the World Cup final, where they’ll face Spain on Sunday.

It’s her fourth major tournament final on the bounce, having won the 2017 Euros with the Netherlands, taken them to the 2019 World Cup final and then won the Euros last summer with England.

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Sam Kerr and Steph Catley have said Australia are at the point where they can consistently challenge for major international tournaments but that a funding model that “is not really good enough” needs to change to keep them.

Australia’s quest to secure a World Cup on home soil was dashed at the hands of England as goals from Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp, and Alessia Russo cancelled out a Kerr wonder strike and lifted Sarina Wiegman’s side to a 3-1 win.

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ENGLAND

Six players have been shortlisted for the annual Professional Players’ Association awards.

Among the shortlist are three Manchester City players – Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and John Stones, who were part of the treble-winning side last season.

Also included in the star-studded list are two Arsenal stars, Bukayo Saka and 24-year-old team captain, Martin Ødegaard.

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Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise has signed a new four-year deal with the club amid interest from Chelsea.

It was reported that the Stamford Bridge club had activated a release clause in the region of £35m for the French Under-21 international.

But Palace chairman Steve Parish confirmed on Thursday that the London-born 21-year-old would be staying put.

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Arsenal must adapt following the injury to their new Dutch defender Jurrien Timber.

Manager Mikel Arteta said ahead of their visit to Crystal Palace for a London derby on Monday.

The 22-year-old Timber, signed for 40 million euros on a long-term deal from Ajax Amsterdam, is sidelined after suffering a knee injury during Arsenal’s season-opening home win over Nottingham Forest and is set to undergo surgery.

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Luton Town have signed Dutch goalkeeper Tim Krul from Norwich City, the newly-promoted Premier League club said on Thursday.

The 35-year-old, who has 15 caps, has made over 200 appearances for Newcastle United and Norwich City and will be Luton’s 10th signing of the close season.

Luton, who have climbed from non-league to Premier League in nine years, did not reveal the length of Krul’s contract.

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Fulham are considering a move for Arsenal’s £50m-rated striker Folarin Balogun as they prepare to sell Aleksandar Mitrovic to Al-Hilal.

Fulham also retain an interest in Benfica defender Morato and have asked about Eric Bailly at Manchester United.

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Sevilla goalkeeper Bono is set to complete a move to Al-Hilal in the coming days worth £17.9million.

The 32-year-old played his final game for the Spanish side against Manchester City in the Super Cup, with his side coming up short versus the Treble winners.

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Super Eagles ace Wilfred Ndidi is still a very important player for the Foxes despite Cesare Casadei’s loan signing from Chelsea.

Leicester City boss, Enzo Maresca, made the submission adding that the Nigeria international remains an intergrat part of his squad

The addition of Casadei to the squad has further reduced Ndidi’s chances of playing regularly because the Foxes now have seven players who could occupy the club’s three-man midfield.

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Ansu Fati has reportedly elected to leave Barcelona, with the winger’s interest set to spark interest from Premier League clubs.

Fati feels that he is not trusted by Barcelona manager Xavi, as demonstrated by the fact that he did not come on until the 79th minute against Getafe in the opening game of the season.

Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham are among the Premier League sides that have been linked with a move for Fati.

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Newcastle United have succeeded with an offer to Chelsea for their academy graduate Lewis Hall.

Hall was named the Chelsea Academy Player of the Year for 2022-23, but it now appears to have been his last season with the club.

Newcastle have agreed a fee to take Hall to St. James’ Park.

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Chelsea captain Reece James is on the verge of undergoing a scan to determine the extent of a hamstring problem, with the defender potentially facing another spell on the sidelines.

The England international, who was appointed the new Chelsea captain before the start of the 2023-24 campaign, was replaced in the 76th minute of Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool in the Premier League.

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OTHER SPORTS

In Tennis; Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic says he missed playing in the biggest tournaments in the United States and was thrilled to be back after easing to victory in his first singles match in two years, at the Cincinnati Open.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion was not allowed to compete in the US last year and earlier this year over his refusal to take a Covid-19 vaccine.

Djokovic returned after the US government relaxed its rules for unvaccinated foreign travellers in May.

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US Open organisers have no plans to change its scheduling to avoid potential late finishes at the upcoming Grand Slam event.

The finishing of matches in the early hours has been a regular source of concern for players.

US Open night sessions start at 19:00 in New York and feature two matches.

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In Rugby; Ireland coach Andy Farrell has called the controversy over son Owen’s current disciplinary process a “circus” that is “absolutely disgusting”.

England captain Farrell’s World Cup participation is in fresh doubt.

This follows World Rugby’s appeal against a decision to overturn last Saturday’s red card against Wales.

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In Cricket; Phil Salt hit a stunning 86 from 32 balls as Manchester Originals beat Trent Rockets to boost their chances of reaching The Hundred knockout stages.

The England opener hit 12 fours and five sixes in a blistering display, reaching his half-century from 20 balls, to start the Originals innings.

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OTHER LEAGUES

Lionel Messi made the three-man shortlist announced on Thursday for the Uefa award as the best player in Europe last season.

The World Cup-winning captain from Argentina, who has left Europe to play for Inter Miami, is up against Manchester City teammates Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland.

Messi won the Uefa award twice in its 12-year history, both in years when Barcelona was European champion. Man City won the Champions League title last season.

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Africa’s premier club football competition, the CAF Champions League, officially gets underway on Friday with the first preliminary round of fixtures taking place across the continent.

The first preliminary round marks the exciting start to the most sought-after African club football prize, with the second round being the last hurdle before the remaining 16 clubs are drawn into the group stages.

To kick start the competition, Algeria’s CS Constantine play host to Etoile Sportive du Sahel of Tunisia, while KMKM SC welcomes Saint George SC of Ethiopia in the two Friday afternoon fixtures.

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TODAY’S FIXTURES

PREMIER LEAGUE

Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield United

CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE

Leeds United vs West Bromwich Albion

SCOTTISH LEAGUE CUP

Stirling Albion vs Aberdeen

SPANISH LA LIGA

Mallorca vs Villarreal

Valencia vs Las Palmas

GERMAN BUNDESLIGA

Werder Bremen vs Bayern Munich

WOMEN’S WORLD CUP ON SATURDAY

Sweden vs Australia

PREMIER LEAGUE ON SATURDAY

Fulham vs Brentford

Liverpool vs AFC Bournemouth

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Brighton & Hove Albion

Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United

Manchester City vs Newcastle United

WOMEN’S WORLD CUP FINAL ON SUNDAY

Spain vs England

PREMIER LEAGUE ON SUNDAY

Aston Villa vs Everton

West Ham United vs Chelsea

TODAY’S THOUGHT

“If you train hard, you’ll not only be hard, you’ll be hard to beat.”..Words from Herschel Walker.