NIGERIA
Ese Brume has won gold in the women’s long jump event at the African Games 2023.
Brume’s 6.92m in her first attempt was enough to nail the win and defend her title from 2019.
It was an international debut to remember for a relatively unknown Prestina Ochonogor who claimed Bronze.
Ochonogor made a leap of 6.67m to finish third while Burkina Faso’s Koala Marthe won the silver.
Ruth Usoro missed out on the podium as she placed fourth with her 6.62m jump.
================================
World Record holder Tobi Amusan won Gold in the women’s 100m Hurdles final at the ongoing African Games in Ghana, completing a hat-trick of African Games titles over the event.
After a false start scare, Amusan flew to an easy win in the women’s 100mH final at the African Games, clocking a time of 12.89s (-2.1).
She completes a hat-trick of African Games titles with that win and defeated Sidonie Fiadanantsoa, who ran 13.19s to finish 2nd.
===================================
Eight Nigerian boxers have secured spots in the finals of the 13th African Games in Accra, Ghana, following their impressive performances in the semi-finals.
Zainab Adeshina led the charge when she defeated Grace Fanhbulleh from Liberia by a resounding 5-0 victory to secure her place in the final of the women’s 50kg category.
Joining Adeshina in the finals is Joy Ojo, who delivered a stellar performance against Khouloud Hlimi of Tunisia, to advance to the final of the women’s 57kg event.
================================
For the first time in the history of the ITTF World Cups, eight African players led by Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna and Egypt’s Omar Assar have been confirmed for the $1m prize money elite tournament, taking place in Macao, China from 15th to 21st April, 2024.
2023 African Games champion Assar and finalist Aruna top the list of African players already listed for the championships.
In the men’s event, Assar and Aruna will be joined by Egypt’s duo of Ahmed Saleh and Mohamed El-Beaili.
==================================
Members of the 15-player senior women’s cricket team at the 2023 African Games in Ghana, who won bronze at the continental sports showpiece, do not know where their fate lies when medallists from the Games will be rewarded by the Federal Government.
This is because the team was dropped by the Ministry of Sports Development before the Games, but the Nigeria Cricket Federation ensured their participation in the event.
Despite being the lowest-ranked team at the tournament, the Female Yellow Greens upset Namibia by a 47-run win in their second group game, before proceeding to claim the bronze medal with a three-wicket win over Uganda.
=================================
Super Eagles interim coach, Finidi George says his players know what is at stake in Friday’s friendly game against Ghana’s Black Stars.
Finidi who stated this after the team’s final training session on Thursday, said the players are ready and hopefully they would win.
On the tactical approach to the game, the former Nigeria international said he would add a little bit of few elements that would help the players.
After Friday’s game against Ghana, the Eagles will take on Mali in another friendly game billed for Tuesday 26th March.
=================================
Super Eagles star, Kenneth Omeruo says the team will approach their upcoming clash with the Black Stars of Ghana like a competitive fixture.
Omeruo insisted the rivalry between both countries means the Super Eagles could not afford lose to the Black Stars.
The centre-back also reflected on his team’s preparation for the highly anticipated game.
The Super Eagles will keep a date with Otto Addo’s men in a friendly at the Grand Stade de Marrakech on Friday.
=================================
The salary of the new head coach of the Super Eagles is set to be increased.
The Nigeria Football Federation, is ready to pay the new man eighty thousand dollars every month.
The last head coach of the national team, Jose Peseiro, was being paid fifty thousand dollars.
It was a reduced package for Peseiro, after his initial contract saw his earn seventy thousand dollars a month.
=================================
Rangers have intensified preparation for their oriental derby clash against Heartland in Aba.
The Flying Antelopes had an intense training session at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium on Thursday.
Rangers are billed to do battle with Heartland in a matchday 27 fixture at the Enyimba International Stadium on Sunday.
The seven-time Nigeria Premier Football League champions are yet to taste defeat in eight games.
=================================
Doma United midfielder, Bidemi Owoku, has urged his teammates to prove that they deserve to be among the top clubs in the Nigeria Premier Football League.
Owoku enjoined his teammates to be ready for the end of the season.
Doma United will lock horns with Gombe United in a matchday 27 fixture at the Pantami Stadium on Saturday.
===================================
Vice President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Babs Ogunade, is hopeful D’Tigress will break their Olympic duck and win their first game at the global sports showpiece at the 2024 edition in Paris.
Despite losing two of their three games at the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Antwerp, Belgium last month, D’Tigress still managed to qualify for the women’s basketball event at the 2024 Olympics.
African champions D’Tigress are competing at the Olympics for the third time having qualified for the Athens 2004 and Tokyo 2020 editions.
=======================================
In a remarkable display of strength and skill, Nigerian para powerlifters have clinched four gold medals at the ongoing Para Powerlifting World Cup in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
Two gold medals were won on Wednesday and on Thursday, two other para-athletes doubled the tally.
=======================================
ENGLAND
Bukayo Saka has withdrawn from the England squad for friendlies against Brazil and Belgium because of injury.
The Arsenal winger, has not been able to take part in training since reporting for international duty.
The Football Association said Saka had reported to St George’s Park earlier in the week with an injury.
England face Brazil at Wembley on Saturday before hosting Belgium at the national stadium on 26th March.
=======================================
Newcastle forward, Anthony Gordon says playing for Scotland was never a thought after receiving his first call-up to the senior England squad.
Gordon has ten goals and seven assists in all competitions for Newcastle this season.
Scotland had been interested in securing his services as he qualified to play via his grandparents.
=======================================
Manchester City attacker, Erling Haaland says the team’s manager Pep Guardiola does not want him to return injured to Etihad from the international break.
Haaland joined his Norwegian teammates for their international friendlies against the Czech Republic on Friday and Slovakia on Tuesday.
======================================
Leicester City have been charged by the Premier League with allegedly breaking spending rules during their last three seasons in the top flight.
Leicester have been referred to an independent commission for breaching profit and sustainability rules and failing to submit audited finances.
If found guilty the Championship high-flyers could face a points deduction.
======================================
Manchester United women forward, Nikita Parris says they can compete with rivals Manchester City but they need to learn from previous experiences in the derby.
They go head-to-head at Etihad Stadium on Saturday with twelve points separating City and fourth-placed United.
But Parris hopes United can show the quality which helped them finish as Women’s Super League runners-up last season and cause an upset.
======================================
OTHER LEAGUES
Bayern Munich honorary president, Uli Hoeness says the club are competing with Liverpool to appoint Xabi Alonso as manager.
Spaniard Alonso, a former player of both clubs, is on the brink of guiding Bayer Leverkusen to their first German Bundesliga title.
Bayern and Liverpool are both looking to appoint new managers this summer.
======================================
Northern Ireland manager, Michael O’Neill says his side are expecting a challenging game against Euro 2024 finalists Romania in Bucharest.
The sides meet in a friendly on Friday, with O’Neill’s charges then facing Scotland on Tuesday.
Defender Jonny Evans misses the double-header, while Dan Ballard, Jamal Lewis and Ross McCausland have been ruled out of the meeting with the Romanians.
=======================================
Northern Ireland midfielder, Shea Charles says the side’s two-nil win over Denmark which completed their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign in November gave them a boost of confidence.
The victory ended a disappointing campaign for Michael O’Neill’s side, with their only other wins coming in their two matches against San Marino.
=======================================
Scott McKenna has followed fellow central defender Grant Hanley in pulling out of Scotland’s squad for the friendlies against the Netherlands and Northern Ireland.
McKenna who is on loan at FC Copenhagen from Nottingham Forest, will miss the game in Amsterdam on Friday and Tuesday’s meeting with Northern Ireland on Tuesday.
======================================
Former Brazil international football player Robinho has been arrested to serve a nine-year prison sentence for rape.
He was convicted two years ago in Italy for his part in the gang rape of an Albanian woman at a night club in Milan in 2013.
Robinho, 40, was arrested at his flat in his home city of Santos.
=======================================
OTHER SPORTS
In Boxing; Lawrence Okolie will challenge Lukasz Rozanski for the WBC bridgerweight title on 24th May in Poland.
The former British and European champion has been out of action since losing his WBO cruiserweight title to Chris Billam-Smith in May 2023.
Okolie has decided to move up to the bridgerweight division, which sits between cruiserweight and heavyweight.
=======================================
In Basketball; The Los Angeles Clippers will seek to continue their domination of the Portland Trail Blazers when the teams wrap up a two-game set on Friday night in the Pacific Northwest.
Los Angeles has won eight straight games against the Trail Blazers and improved to 3-0 this season with Wednesday night’s 116-103 victory in Portland.
Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden were all solid contributors for the Clippers (43-25) on Wednesday.
=======================================
RJ Davis scored 22 points and Armando Bacot had a double-double in the first half as North Carolina began the NCAA Tournament by whipping Wagner 90-62 in the West Region’s first round Thursday afternoon.
Bacot finished with 20 points and 15 points, Jae’Lyn Withers notched 16 points and 10 rebounds off the bench and Cormac Ryan posted 13 points for the top-seeded Tar Heels, who shot 55 percent from the field.
North Carolina (28-7) meets ninth-seeded Michigan State (20-14), a 69-51 winner against eighth-seeded Mississippi State on Thursday, in the second round Saturday.
=======================================
In Tennis; Britain’s Katie Boulter is through to the Miami Open third round after teenage opponent Brenda Fruhvirtova was forced to pull out through illness.
Boulter, who is Britain’s leading women’s player after a strong start to 2024, led 7-6 (7-5) 1-0 when 16-year-old Fruhvirtova decided to stop.
After leading by an early break, the Czech started to suffer in the Florida heat and twice asked to see a doctor.
======================================
In Athletics; British sprinter Victoria Ohuruogu has been cleared of an anti-doping rule violation concerning alleged prohibited association with a banned athlete.
It had been alleged the 31-year-old was being coached by her boyfriend Antonio Infantino, who is serving a three-year doping ban.
But this was dismissed by a United Kingdom Anti-Doping panel.
======================================
In Tennis, Britain’s Katie Boulter is through to the Miami Open third round after teenage opponent Brenda Fruhvirtova was forced to pull out through illness.
Boulter, who is Britain’s leading women’s player after a strong start to 2024, led 7-6, 1-0, when Fruhvirtova decided to stop.
After leading by an early break, the Czech started to suffer in the Florida heat and twice asked to see a doctor.
=======================================
In Formula one, Lewis Hamilton says there is no transparency and no accountability in Formula 1 as the sport continues to be rocked by off-track wrangles.
The seven-time champion appeared to conflate controversies involving governing body the FIA and the behaviour of Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
=======================================
In Cricket, the Indian Premier League – the world’s biggest T20 franchise tournament – returns for its 17th edition on Friday.
As usual there are a host of stars involved, but there are some big-name English absentees.
=======================================
In Rugby, Captain Marlie Packer will win her 100th cap in England’s opening game of the Women’s Six Nations against Italy on Sunday.
The 34-year-old flanker debuted for the Red Roses in 2008 and becomes the seventh woman to reach the milestone.
Fly-half Zoe Harrison, centre Emily Scarratt and lock Abbie Ward all return to the starting line up.
=======================================
In Cycling, Lora and Neil Fachie and pilot Corrine Hall were mugged and had their silver medals stolen after the opening day of the Para-cycling Track World Championships in Rio.
Husband and wife Neil and Lora, both double Paralympic champions, also had their passports and money stolen.
The Fachies and pilots Hall and Matt Rotherham took silver behind Italy in the tandem team sprint on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, British Cycling has reported the incident to police and cycling’s governing body, the UCI.
=======================================
TODAY’S FIXTURES
IN INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES
Ecuador vs. Guatemala
Tanzania vs. Bulgaria
North Macedonia vs. Moldova
Armenia vs. Kosovo
Azerbaijan vs. Mongolia
Nigeria vs. Ghana
Liechtenstein vs. Faroe Islands
Norway vs. Czech Rep
Senegal vs. Gabon
Albania vs. Chile
Hungary. vs. Turkey
Netherlands vs. Scotland
Romania vs. Northern Ireland
Egypt vs. New Zealand
Spain vs. Colombia
Algeria vs. Bolivia
Morocco vs. Angola
=====================================
SOCCER ACTIONS CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND
=====================================
INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES
ON SATURDAY
Argentina. vs. El Salvador
Zambia vs. Zimbabwe
Malawi. vs. Kenya
Ivory Coast vs. Benin
Republic of Ireland vs. Belgium
Slovakia vs. Austria
Denmark vs. Switzerland
England vs. Brazil
France vs. Germany
Tunisia vs. Croatia
ON SUNDAY
Ecuador vs. Italy
Guatemala vs. Venezuela
======================================
TODAY’S THOUGHT
To be the best, you must face the best. And to overcome your fear, you must deal with the best…words from Baseball Player, Barry Bonds.
securityandsafetymatters 