NIGERIA
Super Eagles camp for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Sao Tome and Principe will now open on Wednesday in Uyo.
The camp was initially expected to open on Monday, but it has now been shifted to Wednesday, as the invited players are expected to start arriving in the country.
The list of twenty-three invited players was made public by the Nigeria Football Federation NFF on Sunday.
The game is slated for the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, on Sunday, ten September.
The 2023 AFCON finals will be hosted by Cote d’Ivoire.
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Nine places are still up for grabs when the final round of qualifying matches for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations take place in September.
A total of fifteen countries are already guaranteed a berth, including Ivory Coast, who qualify automatically as hosts.
The 2024 tournament will begin with the opening match at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan on thirteen January 2024, and the final will take place on eleven February.
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Gombe United have unveiled Mohammed Babaganaru as their new head coach.
He replaced Aliyu Zubairu, who left the post for a return to El-Kanemi Warriors.
Meanwhile, Coach Mohammed Babaganaru has urged Gombe United supporters not to put pressure on the team to achieve success.
Babaganaru who confessed that the time to prepare for the 2023-24 Nigeria Professional Football League season is short, said he would work tirelessly in assembling a team that would fight to succeed.
Gombe United will kick-start their campaign against Sporting Lagos at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Lagos Onikan on sixteen September.
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Lobi Stars have intensified their preparations for the 2023/24 Nigeria Professional Football League season.
The Pride of Rivers started a close camping exercise on Sunday.
Lobi Stars will kick-start their campaign against 2023 Nigeria National League champions Heartland in Owerri on sixteen September.
The new season will start this weekend with Shooting Stars taking on Plateau United in Ibadan.
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Shooting Stars have returned to Ibadan after a one-week close camping in Ijebu-Ode.
Gbenga Ogunbote’s side defeated Juvenile FC two-nil in their final pre-season at the Otunba Dipo Stadium.
Emeka Obiora and Michael Bamidele scored both goals for the Oluyole Warriors.
Shooting Stars will entertain Plateau United in their opening fixture of the season at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan on Saturday nine, September.
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IN WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
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ENGLAND
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Arsenal are second-favourites once again with Sky Bet to win the Premier League following their incredible win against Manchester United at the Emirates on Sunday.
With the scores level at one-all after ninety minutes, the Gunners displayed their steel as Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus bagged two goals in stoppage time to help their team secure a huge three-one win in the dying stages.
That victory at home against a top-four contender could prove crucial in the context of their season – and as a result of their late-game heroics – the north London club are now six over one to win the league.
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Manchester United manager, Erik ten Hag is expected to hold clear-the-air talks with Jadon Sancho after his omission from the squad against Arsenal on Sunday.
Ten Hag insisted the England winger had been left out because he failed to make a strong enough impression in training recently but Sancho has challenged that version of events.
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Former Aston Villa player, Chris Sutton believes Jadon Sancho’s days at Manchester United are numbered after the winger hit back at Erik ten Hag on social media.
Sancho was left out of the squad for United’s three-one defeat by Arsenal, with Ten Hag stating after the match that he dropped him over his performances in training.
He fired back on social media that the claims were ‘completely untrue’ and said that he has been made a scapegoat at Old Trafford.
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Police are investigating an alleged assault at Emirates Stadium during Arsenal’s three-one win over Manchester United, following the circulation of footage on social media showing Sports pundits Micah Richards and Roy Keane involved in an altercation with an individual.
Former Manchester United captain Keane was reportedly the alleged victim of the assault, as Richards was “acting to defuse a situation”.
Richards, and Keane, were working on Sky Sports’ coverage of the Premier League game.
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Police have arrested a man after footage emerged of a fan allegedly headbutting Roy Keane in a hospitality area at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, leaving ‘blood on the floor’.
Footage shared on social media showed Keane’s sports pundit colleague Micah Richards grappling with someone to restrain him, but he had left before security guards arrived.
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Arsenal hope key midfielder Thomas Partey will be available after the October international break after he suffered an upper leg muscular injury in training last week.
The Ghana international pulled up on Thursday and has undergone a series of tests to determine the extent of the damage, which has been pinpointed as a combination of a groin and thigh injury.
The team’s coach, Mikel Arteta has not publicly put a timescale on Partey’s recovery but it is understood club medics expect Partey to miss at least six weeks.
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Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana could miss up to seven games for the team during the Africa Cup of Nations after deciding to make an international comeback for Cameroon.
The goalkeeper quit the national team after he was sent home from the World Cup in December following a fall-out with coach Rigobert Song.
Onana was named in the Cameroon squad for the upcoming AFCON Group C qualifier against Burundi, but it was unclear if he would bury the hatchet with Song and accept the invitation.
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A furious Manchester United legend, Gary Neville has again ripped into the team’s controversial ownership and accused the Glazer family of treating the club like a ‘toy’.
The Glazers are set to remove United from the market, having failed to generate bids close enough to their anticipated asking price, as the dramatic U-turn has generated fury among the fanbase.
The family made it known last November that they were open to offers for either one hundred per cent of the club, or a partial sale that left them with a sizeable stake.
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Manchester City defender, Kyle Walker has admitted he was “close” to leaving for Bayern Munich this summer.
The England international is now set to sign a new contract at the Etihad Stadium.
Walker was wanted by the Bundesliga champions, but will now stay with the Premier League champions until 2026 at least.
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West Ham are expected to make a short-term contract offer to Jesse Lingard during the international break.
The former England international has been impressing staff at the club’s Rush Green training ground since he has returned though manager David Moyes wants to be sure about the player’s commitment before giving the deal the green light.
An incentivised deal until the end of the season with an option was considered to be the most likely course of action.
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New Liverpool signing Ryan Gravenberch will not head on international duty this week and instead stay on Merseyside to ‘focus on his new club’.
The midfielder who joined the Reds on deadline day from Bayern Munich for thirty-five million pounds had been called up to Netherlands’ Under 21s squad for their fixtures against Moldova and North Macedonia.
Gravenberch communicated to the Dutch FA that he wanted to prioritise adapting to his new club during the Premier League’s two-week hiatus and therefore made himself unavailable for selection.
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OTHER SPORTS
In Rugby, France’s sports minister, Amelie Oudea-Castera, says the country has “learned lessons” from the 2022 Champions League final fiasco at the Stade de France.
In February, an independent panel of experts exonerated Liverpool supporters and found UEFA and the French authorities responsible for the near “mass fatality catastrophe”.
Fans were kettled into dangerous crushes and sprayed with tear gas by riot police officers as kick-off was delayed by thirty-six minutes.
Oudea-Castera claimed that the deployment of seven thousand extra security personnel was a sign that France could safely host the Rugby World Cup.
The tournament starts on Friday with France taking on New Zealand at the same venue in Paris, which will also host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024.
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English rugby union coach, Steve Borthwick, says England’s players feel “they have been written off a bit too early” before the Rugby World Cup.
Borthwick’s side have endured a highly difficult build-up, with three defeats in warm-up matches, as well as injuries and suspensions to key players.
England open their campaign against Argentina in Marseille on Saturday.
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In Formula one, Spanish racing driver, Carlos Sainz has thanked Milanese police after he was reportedly the target of an attempted theft after Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix.
Reports suggest that the Ferrari driver and a bodyguard chased down thieves who targeted the Spaniard’s watch.
They were then helped by members of the public before the police arrived.
Sainz finished third in front of a rapturous Italian crowd at Monza, behind the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez but ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc.
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OTHER LEAGUES
Mason Greenwood will wear the number twelve shirt at Getafe after the Spanish club signed the Manchester United forward on loan.
Greenwood, has been given the opportunity to rebuild his career in LaLiga after he was told he had no future at Old Trafford.
Getafe have now revealed in a social media post that Greenwood, who wore number eleven at Manchester United, will wear twelve for the remainder of the season.
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A Saudi Arabian delegation has arrived in London on Saturday as they make one last push to persuade Liverpool to sell Mohamed Salah this week.
The public message from Anfield and Jurgen Klopp, in particular, has been loud and clear that the Egyptian was not for sale.
An offer around one hundred and fifty million pounds was dismissed last Thursday and his performance against Aston Villa on Sunday underlined the player’s commitment to the cause.
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Inter Miami star, Lionel Messi has spoken postgame for the first time in Major League Soccer competition as scrutiny intensified due to his absence being a violation of the league’s media policy.
Messi’s spoke with journalists following the three-one win at LAFC, fulfilling his obligation of speaking to media as was required of all MLS players.
Despite sitting eight points outside the Eastern Conference playoffs – albeit with two games in hand with nine matches remaining, the Argentine is aiming to conquer America this season, as he has done Spain, France and Europe itself.
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Wales captain, Aaron Ramsey has pledged his support to under-pressure manager Robert Page.
Page has faced criticism over Wales’ poor form, including losses to Armenia and Turkey in June which have dented Euro 2024 qualification hopes.
But with an important qualifier in Latvia ahead, Ramsey believes Wales can still reach next year’s tournament in Germany under their current boss.
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THOUGHT
“Without self-discipline, success is impossible, period.” – Lou Holtz
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