IN NIGERIA
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Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh has pledged support for the Federation of African University Games, FASU, slated to hold in Nigeria.
Enoh when he received a delegation of the organising committee for the games who paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja.
He assured them that the ministry will do everything within its power to ensure the games is successfully hosted by the country.
Decrying the present state of NUGA games, he advised the committee to look inwards and take a critical look at NUGA to find out what made it such a huge success in the past.
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Falconets have taken up residence at their Wyndhad Hotel, Bogota, where the team will stay for their first two matches of the FIFA Under-twenty Women’s World Cup Colombia 2024.
The team arrived in high spirits while looking forward to their first match of the tournament against Korea Republic on 2nd September.
The Falconets have further group phase encounters against three-time champions Germany and Venezuela on 4th September and 7th September.
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Nigeria’s D’Tigress are now ranked in eighth position in the latest ranking released by the Federation of International Basketball Association, FIBA.
Rena Wakama’s side moved up four places following their remarkable performance at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
D’Tigress made history as the first African team (male or female) to be ranked in the top ten.
Mali, Senegal, Mozambique and Cameroon complete the top five teams in Africa.
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The Chairman, Lagos State Table Tennis Association, Tunji Lawal, has expressed concern over the exodus of Lagos athletes to other states due to a lack of support for table tennis.
Lawal said the trend has seen several athletes from Lagos being poached by other states ahead of major national championships, depleting the quality of athletes in Lagos.
While stressing that Lagos has historically been a hotbed for table tennis talent, Lawal emphasised the need for more support to help players reach their full potential.
To support the initiative, Lawal donated two table tennis boards, while the Director General of the Lagos State Sports Commission, Lekan Fatodu, donated one.
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Super Eagles goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali has signed a new three-year contract at South African Premier Soccer League club, Chippa United.
Chippa United also announced the goalie has been appointed the club’s new captain.
Nwabali has made thirty-two league appearances for Chippa United.
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Nottingham Forest head coach, Nuno Espirito Santo says they will get behind Super Eagles star Taiwo Awoniyi after his penalty miss against Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup.
Forest lost 4-3 on penalties to the visitors in a Carabao Cup second round tie at the City Ground.
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The Chairman of Nigeria Football Federation’s Referees Development Committee, Faith Irabor, has promised improved officiating at the 2024/2025 Nigeria Premiership Football League (NPFL)
Irabor gave the assurance on the sidelines of the Cooper test and training for referees, in Abuja at the Moshood Abiola stadium.
Irabor said the changes in officiating would be in the area of Off-side and handball.
According to her, the essence of the test was to ensure that the referees are at alert mentally and physically to be able to make the best of decision.
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Benin Republic head coach, Gernot Rohr has unveiled a twenty-five man squad for his side’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying tie against the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
Captain Steve Mounie, Jodel Dossou and veteran goalkeeper Saturnin Allagbe are some of the regular stars named in the squad by Rohr.
The Cheetahs will take on the Super Eagles at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo on 7th September.
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Team Nigeria’s sole representative in the women’s Long Jump, Prestina Ochonogor sailed to a 5th place finish in the final of the event at the ongoing World U20 Athletics Championships in Lima, Peru.
Ochonogor qualified for the final with the second overall farthest mark of 6.28m in the qualifications but was unable to replicate the same placement and distance in the final.
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Team Nigeria athlete, Mariam Bolaji, defeated India’s Mandeep Kaur 2-0 (21-8, 21-14) in the women’s SL3 badminton event at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Bolaji, who is the SL3 World Number 2, said on Thursday in Paris, that the victory had boosted her morale.
She also said she was no longer afraid of any of her opponents in the games.
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WBC Bridgerweight World Champion Lawrence Okolie believes Anthony Joshua’s performance will largely determine the outcome of his next month’s IBF heavyweight title clash with Daniel Dubois.
According to the Nigerian-born British pugilist, who has sparred with both fighters, Joshua’s consistency will be key to winning the bout.
Joshua will battle Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title on September 21 at Wembley Stadium in a potentially explosive showdown that is occasioned by Oleksandr Usyk vacating the title following his victories over Joshua and Dubois due to a mandatory rematch with Tyson Fury.
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The Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF), is launching the CAF Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Academy for the 54 CAF Member Associations, a move that is aimed at elevating the standard of officiating in Africa.
Following CAF’s recent hosting of the most successful Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) that saw the quality of officiating being singled out, CAF is building onto this success with the innovative academy set to be rolled out between September and October 2024.
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ENGLAND
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Liverpool will face Champions League holders Real Madrid and a trip to RB Leipzig, following the draw for the new-look format in the Champions League.
Manchester City will play Inter Milan at home and away to Paris Saint-Germain, while Arsenal will face PSG at home, visit Inter Milan, and also host Shakhtar Donetsk and travel to Atalanta.
Aston Villa will at home face Bayern Munich, and also host Juventus, while Celtic will play RB Leipzig and Club Brugge at Parkhead, and facing trips to Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta.
Each team plays eight fixtures in the ‘league phase’, with this year’s men’s tournament seeing a radical change, including the end of a group stage.
The order of matches will be confirmed on Saturday, after the Europa League and Conference League draws have been made.
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Manchester United midfielder Mason Mount has suffered a new injury setback that will keep him out of action for up to five weeks.
Mount was substituted at half-time of last weekend’s Premier League match against Brighton, where he had started for the third consecutive match this season.
He injured a hamstring, which means he will miss the next four to five weeks and the start of United’s Europa League campaign next month.
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Liverpool have signed winger Federico Chiesa from Juventus for ten million pounds, with a further two point five million pounds in add-ons based primarily on team performance.
Chiesa joined on a four-year deal and is Arne Slot’s first signing to arrive at the club.
The forward was a star of the Italy squad that beat England on penalties in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.
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Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah says he is only focused on enjoying the last year of his contract before making a decision on his future.
Salah is yet to sign a new deal at the Reds, with his contract set to expire this summer.
Liverpool rejected one hundred and fifty million pounds offer from Al-Ittihad for Salah last September.
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Bournemouth have signed Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga on a season-long loan deal.
Kepa is the world’s most expensive goalkeeper after moving to the Blues in 2018 from his boyhood club Athletic Bilbao for seventy-nine million pounds.
By signing a new deal at Chelsea, the Blues avoid the prospect of losing Kepa on a free transfer at the end of his loan spell with the Cherries.
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England interim manager, Lee Carsley has handed call-ups to Angel Gomes, Tino Livramento, Morgan Gibbs-White and Noni Madueke in his first squad.
Lille winger Gomes, Newcastle defender Livramento, Nottingham Forest midfielder Gibbs-White and Chelsea winger Madueke all played for Carsley during his time as England U21 manager.
England take on the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on 7th September and Finland at Wembley on 10th September in the Nations League.
Manchester City playmaker Jack Grealish, has been recalled and Manchester United defender Harry Maguire.
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England defender, Kieran Trippier has announced his retirement from international football.
The 33-year-old was capped fifty-four times with his only goal coming against Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semi-final defeat in Moscow.
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OTHER LEAGUES
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Napoli have signed Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea in a thirty million pounds deal.
Lukaku’s departure comes as Chelsea midfielder Tino Anjorin also moves to Italy’s Serie A, joining Empoli on a three-year deal.
Napoli’s move for Lukaku, has been driven by their manager Antonio Conte, under whom the Belgian enjoyed two prolific seasons for Inter Milan from 2019 to 2021.
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Wales international, Daniel James is out of the team’s Nations League games against Turkey and Montenegro.
Leeds United boss Daniel Farke revealed the news before the Football Association of Wales confirmed it.
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OTHER SPORTS
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In Basketball; Dani Olmo marked a stunning start to his FC Barcelona career as he scored the winning goal in the team’s 2-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano.
It was an exciting moment for the summer signing, who had to exercise a lot of patience for Barcelona to be able to register him to the squad, just a day before the game.
The signature move, which Olmo has performed previously with RB Leipzig and the Spanish national team, has now made its way to FC Barcelona.
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Panathinaikos has agreed to a two-year deal with Omer Yurtseven, with an opt-out clause after the 2024-25 season.
Yurtseven will earn around 1 million euros per season.
Earlier this month, Panathinaikos’ head coach Ergin Ataman, who previously coached Yurtseven with the Turkish national team, approved the club’s decision to bring the talented center on board.
Despite Yurtseven’s efforts to secure a spot with various NBA teams over the summer, he will now team up with Ataman in Athens.
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In Paralympics, Teenage swimmer Poppy Maskill created history with Britain’s first gold of the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
The 19-year-old from Cheshire, who is making her Games debut, set a new world record to win the women’s S14 one hundred metres butterfly.
Maskill’s win came moments after team-mate Will Ellard took silver in the men’s race.
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Daphne Schrager won Great Britain’s first medal of the 2024 Paralympics with silver in the women’s C1-3 three thousand metres individual pursuit, after team-mate Kadeena Cox earlier crashed out of her final.
Schrager, world champion in her discipline, then hoped to pick up Great Britain’s first gold but had to settle for silver after being dominated by Xiaomei Wang of China in the final.
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In Tennis, Defending champions Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff will aim to clean up their games as the going gets tougher in the third round of the US Open on Friday.
Djokovic, chasing a fifth US Open title and a record 25th Grand Slam crown, said he served awful in a tight second-round victory over compatriot Laslo Djere, which ended when Djere withdrew while trailing early in the third set.
He’ll have to do better against Australian Alexei Popyrin, who won the biggest title of his career this month when he triumphed at the ATP Montreal Masters.
Gauff, who coughed up nine double faults and put just 44 per cent of her first serves in play in an uneven victory over Tatjana Maria, can expect a stronger challenge from 27th-seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina.
Second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, runner-up to Gauff last year and winner of the Australian Open in January, is also in action.
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Still on Tennis, World number one Jannik Sinner outclassed Alex Michelsen in straight sets to reach the third round of the US Open.
Italy’s Sinner beat the American 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 for his 50th victory of the year.
Elsewhere, seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz was knocked out in a 7-6, 6-1, 7-5 defeat by Australian Jordan Thompson.
Another seed soon fell as American 16th seed Seb Korda was beaten 6-4 6-2 6-4 by Czech Tomas Machac.
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In Cricket, Joe Root’s record-equalling 33rd century ensured England did not waste the chance to bat first on the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s.
Root’s flawless one hundred and forty-three took him level with Sir Alastair Cook for the most Test centuries for England and was the bedrock of the hosts’ 358-7.
Without Root, England would have been in severe trouble, having surprisingly been inserted by Sri Lanka on a docile pitch under blue sky and sunshine.
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British sprinter, Louie Hinchliffe has announced his decision to turn professional after winning an Olympic medal in Paris this summer.
The 22-year-old enjoyed a dramatic rise, culminating in helping the British relay team take bronze in the men’s four by one hundred metres.
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In Formula one, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says he has an open communication channel with Max Verstappen regarding a potential future with the team.
Wolff abandoned hopes of signing the Red Bull driver for next season, and Mercedes are expected to confirm soon that Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli will race next season alongside George Russell.
He admits it was a long shot but said he made the approach because there was not a zero possibility in the wake of the disruption at Red Bull – following allegations of sexual harassment.
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SOCCER ACTION CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND
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IN ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
ON SATURDAY
Arsenal vs Brighton
Brentford vs Southampton
Everton vs AFC Bournemouth
Ipswich Town vs Fulham
Leicester City vs Aston Villa
Nottingham Forest vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
West Ham United vs Manchester City.
ON SUNDAY
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace
Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester United vs Liverpool
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SPANISH LA LIGA
ON SATURDAY
Barcelona vs Real Valladolid
Athletic Club vs Atlético Madrid
Espanyol vs Rayo Vallecano
Leganés vs Mallorca
Valencia vs Villarreal
ON SUNDAY
Deportivo Alavés vs Las Palmas
Osasuna vs Celta de Vigo
Sevilla vs Girona
Getafe vs Real Sociedad
Real Madrid vs Real Betis
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ITALIAN SERIE A
ON SATURDAY
Bologna vs Empoli
Lecce vs Cagliari
Lazio vs AC Milan
Napoli vs Parma
ON SUNDAY
Fiorentina vs Monza
Genoa vs Hellas Verona
Juventus vs Roma
Udinese vs Como
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
The ideal attitude is to be physically loose and mentally tight…words from Arthur Ashe.
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