NIGERIA
Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh, has pledged to provide transparent leadership in repositioning the sports sector.
Enoh made the pledge in Abuja shortly after assuming office as the 36th Minister of Sports Development.
He said inspite of the fact that he was not being an active sports personality, he was ready to hit the ground running by working as a team player with all sports stakeholders to transform the sector.
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Nigeria Olympic Committee has urged the new Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh to work assiduously to elevate the sports industry.
Its Public Relations Officer, Tony Nezianya said this in a statement while congratulating Enoh on his assumption of duty as sports minister.
He said the President of the Committee, Habu Gumel described the appointment as remarkable, while noting that President Bola Tinubu is also the Grand Patron of the Olympic Movement in Nigeria.
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Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) side Abia Warriors have announced the appointment of former Super Eagles goalkeeper Ike Shorunmu in its Technical Crew as the new goalkeeping coach.
Shorunmu, 55, was unveiled by Abia Warriors chairman, John Obuh in a brief ceremony witnessed by members of management.
Club chairman Obuh said he decided to go for the former Shooting Stars shot stopper because of his vast experience, hoping that his addition will be a big influence.
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Enyimba coach Finidi George has refused to comment on his ‘bench ban’ in Sunday’s CAF Champions League first-round game at Al Ahly Benghazi.
The former Super Eagles winger and his assistant Yemi Olanrewaju as the two-time African champions threw away an early lead to lose 4-3 to hosts Al Ahly.
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Nigeria’s Ambassador to Hungary, Dr. Modupe Enitan Erele, has paid a visit to the Park Inn hotel Radisson of Team Nigeria to motivate them.
The Ambassador told the athletes that President Bola Tinubu is appreciative of their efforts in trying to put smiles on the faces of Nigerians, both at home and in the diaspora.
She disclosed that the embassy would host the athletes and their officials before the championships end.
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The President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Tonobok Okowa, has appealed to Nigerian athletes participating in the ongoing World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, to go for medals.
Okowa, said the athletes have given their best so far in the championships, but appealed to them to put in more efforts for Nigeria to celebrate a medal in Budapest.
Meanwhile, thousands of fans stormed the Budapest stadium, to cheer World Record holder, Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan, who started training for the defence of her 200m hurdles title.
Amusan will begin her title defence at 6:12pm on Tuesday at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest.
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Nigeria will face 2021 silver medallists Kenya in the quarter-finals of the 2023 African Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship in Yaounde, Cameroon on Tuesday.
Nigeria lost to Algeria 3-2 (16-25, 18-25, 25-23, 26-24, 6-15) in their last group stage match at the Yaounde multi-purpose sports hall on Sunday and recorded two wins against Mali and Burundi and three losses to Cameroon, Egypt and Algeria in the group stage.
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Anthony Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has confirmed that he is expecting a deal for a showdown with Deontay Wilder, who previously held the WBC world title, in a few weeks.
The highly anticipated heavyweight contest is projected to take place next January in Saudi Arabia.
According to Hearn, the only way the fight will not happen is if Skill Challenge Promotion of Saudi Arabia fails to deliver the necessary funds to make the event a reality.
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The Nigeria Basketball Federation has reversed its decision to take the 2023 NBBF/Zenith League Atlantic Conference Phase One Competition away from Akure.
Five of the participating women basketball teams had called for a shift in the competition’s proposed commencement date.
This was due to the short notice of moving the event to Port Harcourt from Akure within 48 hours.
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A total of 108 foreign players from over 35 countries and 43 Nigerian players are expected to compete for honours at the sixth edition of the Lagos International Badminton Classics.
So far, 37 countries have confirmed participation in the tournament taking place at the Molade Okoya Thomas Indoor Sports Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, from thirtieth August.
The countries include Algeria, Azerbaijan, Australia, Austria, Benin Republic, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada and Czech Rep.
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IN WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
England’s World Cup final with Spain was watched by an average of 13.3 million people on television in the U.K.
This is a new country record for a women’s football match and one of the biggest audiences of the year so far.
The number of viewers peaked at 14.8 million in the closing minutes of the Lionesses’ 1-0 defeat in Sydney.
According to data released by the ratings organisation Barb, the figures are the combined TV audience from kick-off to final whistle across BBC One and ITV, both of which showed the game live.
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Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales has apologised for kissing Jenni Hermoso on the lips after Spain won the Women’s World Cup.
Rubiales kissed the Spain forward during the presentation ceremony following the team’s 1-0 win over England in Sunday’s final.
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Spain skipper Olga Carmona has dedicated her World Cup triumph to her late father after firing the nation to victory over England.
The 23-year-old learned that her father had died after scoring the only goal in Sunday’s 1-0 victory over the Lionesses in Sydney.
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ENGLAND
Arsenal shrugged off Takehiro Tomiyasu’s red card to extend their perfect start to the Premier League season as Martin Odegaard sealed a 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace on Monday.
Odegaard’s second-half penalty at Selhurst Park put Arsenal on course for their second successive win.
But Mikel Arteta’s side had to dig deep to preserve the points after Japan defender Tomiyasu was controversially sent off for a second yellow card midway through the second half.
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Former France forward Thierry Henry has been appointed coach of the country’s under-21s on a two-year contract.
The Arsenal legend, who helped France win the World Cup on home soil in 1998, succeeds Sylvain Ripoli.
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Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood will leave the club by mutual agreement after a six-month internal investigation into his conduct.
Greenwood was arrested in January 2022 following allegations surrounding material which was published online.
Charges against the 21-year-old England international, including attempted rape and assault, were dropped on 2 February 2023.
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Gary Neville says Manchester United’s handling of the Mason Greenwood investigation has been “pretty horrible” and lacked strong leadership.
Greenwood, 21, will leave the club by mutual agreement after a six-month internal investigation.
It came after charges against the player, including attempted rape and assault, were dropped in February.
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Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin faces another spell on the sidelines after sustaining a facial injury in Sunday’s 4-0 defeat at Aston Villa.
Calvert-Lewin, 26, was substituted after 38 minutes following a collision with Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez as he challenged for the ball.
He has a bruised face and will undergo further assessment with the club’s medical staff this week.
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Police are investigating “racist comments” directed towards Everton’s Belgium midfielder Amadou Onana.
The 22-year-old shared a screenshot of a racist message he received after Sunday’s 4-0 loss at Aston Villa.
Everton said that “such abuse is vile” and Merseyside Police added “we condemn such behaviour in the strongest terms.”
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Liverpool will appeal against Alexis Mac Allister’s red card in the 3-1 Premier League win over Bournemouth.
The Argentina midfielder, 24, faces a three-game suspension after he clipped Ryan Christie’s foot in the 58th minute at Anfield.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said it was “harsh” and that his side have been “punished enough” by the dismissal.
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A British pundit, Dean Jones, says Gift Orban is pleased with the contract presented to him by Tottenham Hotspur as efforts to sign the Nigerian forward continue to gain momentum.
The London club had agreed personal terms with the striker as they continue their search for a replacement for star striker Harry Kane, who joined Bayern Munich this summer.
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French Ligue 1 side Monaco are not ready to give up on their pursuit of Fulham centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo, after they had two initial bids for the Manchester City Academy product rejected.
The centre-back has also been linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur, with Frank Trimboli, the agent in charge of negotiating his exit from Craven Cottage, doing everything possible to make him move to Spurs.
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OTHER SPORTS
In Athletics; Sha’Carri Richardson made up for missing the Tokyo Olympics due to a drug ban to sensationally win the women’s 100 metres world title in Budapest in a championship record of 10.65sec.
The 23-year-old American stormed home from lane nine to edge Jamaican duo Shericka Jackson, who ran 10.72sec, and five-time champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who clocked 10.77sec.
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In Tennis; Ahead of the draw for the US Open on Thursday, Novak Djokovic neared a return to world number one after outlasting Carlos Alcaraz to win the Cincinnati Open.
In his last warm-up event for the season’s final major, Djokovic took some revenge on Sunday on the 20-year-old Spaniard who won their final at Wimbledon 17th July.
Djokovic fell a set behind but fought back to win 5-7, 7-6, 7-6 on his fifth match point and after 3 hours 49 minutes of play.
The Serb cut Alcaraz’s lead atop the rankings to 20 points, and will reclaim top spot if wins his first-round match at the US Open.
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In Rugby; Wales head coach Warren Gatland has chosen flanker Jac Morgan and hooker Dewi Lake as co-captains for the 2023 World Cup in France.
They will lead a 33-man squad that only includes two specialist scrum-halves in Tomos Williams and Gareth Davies, with Kieran Hardy left out.
The party contains injured players Taulupe Faletau and Gareth Anscombe.
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In Cricket; Defending champions Oval Invincibles ended their Hundred campaign with a three-run win over Trent Rockets.
The Invincibles recovered from 85-5 to post 155-6 in their first innings after Nadine de Klerk’s explosive 51 from 25 balls.
Lizelle Lee and Nat Sciver-Brunt led the charge for Rockets in a brave reply, with a stand of 63 from 37 balls.
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OTHER LEAGUES
Manager Michael Beale says Rangers face “the sternest test” against PSV Eindhoven in the final round of Champions League qualifying.
Rangers host the Dutch club in Tuesday’s first leg, having beaten the same side at this stage last season.
The loser of the play-off tie will enter the Europa League group stage.
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Atletico Madrid on Monday said they had signed 19-year-old striker Samuel Omorodion from Granada.
The Spain under-19 international joins on a five-year contract.
Spanish media reported Atletico had activated the striker’s buyout clause of six million euros ($6.5 million).
Omorodion, born to Nigerian parents, made his league debut for Granada in their season opener fourteenth August against Atletico and scored the team’s goal in a 3-1 loss.
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TODAY’S THOUGHT
“You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them…..Words from….Michael Jordan.
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