IN UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE
Tottenham will face Manchester United in the Europa League final as the team cruised past Bodo/Glimt to stay in the hunt for a first European title in forty-one years.
Ange Postecoglou’s men navigated a tricky semi-final second leg in Norway to reach their sixth European final, and first since the 2019 Champions League final.
Dominic Solanke and Pedro Porro struck in the second half to seal a five-one aggregate success and confirm an all-English showdown with United in Bilbao on 21st May.
Postecoglou’s bold statement in September that he always wins silverware in his second season at a club had been met with mockery at times this term, with Tottenham 16th in the Premier League.
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Manchester United star, Mason Mount has ended twenty months of torment with a brilliant second half double as the team booked an all-English Europa Cup final with Tottenham in Bilbao on 21st May.
Mount chose exactly the right time to step up.
After Casemiro and Rasmus Hojlund had steered United into a winning lead, Mount pounced on a loose ball 45 yards out and floated a superb shot into an empty net.
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Chelsea has booked its place in the Conference League final later this month after sealing a comfortable semi-final triumph against Djurgarden at Stamford Bridge.
Despite ten changes from Sunday’s win over Premier League champions Liverpool and handing a first senior start for 16-year-old Reggie Walsh, the Blues hardly broke a sweat to complete a five-one aggregate victory against the Swedish visitors.
Having won the first leg in Sweden 4-1 last week, Enzo Maresca’s side increased their advantage when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall picked out the bottom corner from just inside the box after played through by Tyrique George.
Chelsea will now meet Real Betis in the title clash to be played in the Polish city of Wroclaw on 28th May.
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West Ham United star, Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been selected to join the Democratic Republic of Congo national team for their upcoming international friendlies in June, marking a significant milestone in his career.
This call-up is the 27-year-old’s first to the senior national team, reflecting his growing influence at the club level and his connection to his Congolese heritage.
Wan-Bissaka previously made a brief appearance for Congo under-20 side in 2015, demonstrating his early ties to the nation before opting to represent England at various youth levels.
His decision to join the senior Congo squad highlights a pivotal shift in his international career, offering a fresh chapter with the Leopards.
Democratic Republic of Congo is set to face Mali on 5th June, 2025, in what is expected to be a challenging encounter.
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Manchester United women manager Marc Skinner, says the inaugural Women’s World Sevens tournament will be utter carnage and fun.
United are one of eight teams taking part in the new seven-aside competition which takes place in Estoril, Portugal, from 21st to 23rd May.
They are joined in the tournament – which has a prize money pool of five million dollars by Manchester City, Ajax, Benfica, Roma, Paris St-Germain, Rosengard and Bayern Munich.
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IN NIGERIA
Flying Eagles has landed in Ismailia, ahead of their quarter-final match at the 2025 Under-twenty Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
The team’s arrival was announced by the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF.
The coach Aliyu Zubairu-led side finished second in Group B after recording a win and two draws.
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Meanwhile, Flying Eagles will do battle with Senegal in the quarter-final of the 2025 Africa Under-twenty Cup of Nations.
Senegal booked a date with Nigeria after recording a comfortable two-nil victory over Democratic Republic of Congo in their final Group C game.
The Cubs finished second in the group with four points from three games.
Black Satellites of Ghana top the standings with seven points from same number of matches.
The Flying Eagles will face Senegal at the Suez Canal Stadium, Ismailia next week Monday.
The encounter will start at 1pm Nigeria time.
The winner will earn a berth at the 2025 FIFA Under-twenty World Cup scheduled to take place in Chile from 27th September to 19th October, 2025.
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Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong has praised the Flying Eagles’ progress to the quarter-finals of the ongoing 2025 Under-twenty Africa Cup of Nations.
Reacting to the team’s performance, Troost-Ekong, congratulated the Flying Eagles and urged the players to continue to make Nigeria proud.
The Flying Eagles still remain unbeaten at the tournament and will be hoping to progress to the semi-finals.
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Niger Tornadoes midfielder Papa Daniel is set to complete a move to Swiss club Young Boys.
Daniel caught the eye with his impressive displays for the Ikon Allah Boys this season.
The 23-year-old has registered three goals and three assists in twenty-one league appearances for Niger Tornadoes.
The player also earned an invitation to the Super Eagles for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe in March.
Daniel was part of the home-based Super Eagles side that qualified for the 2024 African Nations Championship, CHAN following a three-one aggregate win over Black Galaxies of Ghana.
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Super Eagles star Bright Osayi-Samuel who plays for Fenerbahce, is on the verge of sealing a move to Premier League club Crystal Palace.
Osayi-Samuel’s contract will expire in June, and he is not willing to extend his stay at Fenerbahce.
The right-back has scored sixteen times in one hundred and sixteen appearances for the Canaries.
The Nigeria international has been offered a four-year contract by Crystal Palace with a proposed annual salary of four point five million euros.
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Former Super Eagles forward Daniel Amokachi has expressed his delight at having beaten Manchester United in the final of the FA Cup.
The former Everton star, who was part of the victorious 1994/1995 side, noted that the team was not given a chance to lift the trophy.
Recall that Amokachi netted a brace in Everton’s four-one win over Tottenham in the semi-finals.
Nigerian hurdler Tobi Amusan has confirmed her participation in the upcoming Adidas Atlanta City Games, set to take place on 17th May at Piedmont Park.
The current world record holder in the women’s 100m hurdles announced her entry via social media, expressing enthusiasm about competing alongside other elite athletes.
President of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, Daniel Igali, has commended the Federation’s athletes for always making the nation proud whenever they participated in any international competitions.
Igali who in Abuja, said Team Nigeria had an outstanding performance at the just-concluded 2025 African Senior Wrestling Championship in Casablanca, Morocco.
According to him Team Nigeria won four gold medals in the female category, and won thirteen medals at the end of the championship on the first day of the competition.
He said the girls did well in their events adding that wrestlers like Christianah Ogunsanya, Esther Kolawole, Damola Ojo and Hannah Reuben each won gold medals on the first day.
Team Nigeria won ten gold, one silver and two bronze medals at the tournament.
Former head coach of Nigeria women’s senior national team D’Tigress, Sam Vincent, will have his sights set on delivering a commendable outing for modest South African outfit MBB when they feature in the Nile Conference of Basketball Africa League in Kigali, Rwanda later this month.
The 61-year-old American, who took over the reins as the new head coach of the South African franchise on 4th February, will have his work cut out when MBB clash with APR of Rwanda, Libyan giants Al Ittihad Tripoli and Kenya’s Nairobi City Thunder during the week-long competition.
After weeks of waiting, Nigerian athletes and officials were finally granted visas for the 2025 World Relays, which begins on Saturday in Guangzhou, China, putting the Athletics Federation of Nigeria in a logistics sprint to meet up with their counterparts.
The National Sports Commission confirmed that the visas were approved after hopes of participation in the two-day event were initially dashed.
The World Relays will also serve as an avenue to qualify for the 2025 World Championships, which will be held later this year in Tokyo.
OTHER LEAGUES
Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique has spoken about how the exit of Kylian Mbappe from the club helped them as a team.
Enrique pointed out that he believes his team was better now than when Mbappe was played there.
He spoke about how his players took Mbappe’s departure as a challenge and stepped up as a unit, producing better than he would have.
Since Mbappe’s exit, the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue, and Bradley Barcola have provided the goods.
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OTHER SPORTS
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In Tennis, Defending champion Iga Swiatek cruised through to the Italian Open third round with a crushing straight-set win over Italian wildcard Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Swiatek won 28 of 35 service points and did not face a break point as she wrapped up a 6-0, 6-1 victory in just 52 minutes.
Swiatek will play Danielle Collins in the last 32 after the American beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania 6-3, 6-3.
Also, Japan’s Naomi Osaka continued her fine run of form on clay with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over Swiss lucky loser Viktorija Golubic.
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In Cricket, The Pakistan Super League is considering postponing the remainder of its season amid the ongoing tensions between Pakistan and India.
Pakistan said thirty-one people have been killed and fifty-seven injured by air strikes in the country and Pakistan-administered Kashmir since Wednesday as India responds to a deadly militant attack on Indian tourists in Kashmir last month.
Players at the PSL, including those from England, took part in an emergency meeting held by tournament organisers on Thursday.
Thursday’s match between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings, due to be held in Rawalpindi, was postponed after Pakistan’s military said Indian drones were destroyed in various Pakistan cities.
In Rugby, Northampton’s 20-year-old forward Henry Pollock will tour Australia with the British and Irish Lions this summer, but former England captain Owen Farrell, the son of head coach Andy, misses out.
Pollock’s inclusion marks a warp-speed rise to the top of the game.
Elsewhere, Ireland’s first-choice fly-half Sam Prendergast misses out with Scotland’s Finn Russell and England pair Fin Smith and Marcus Smith preferred as stand-off options.
Scrum-half Tomos Williams and flanker Jac Morgan are the only two Wales players included, a low for a Lions tour in the modern era.
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In Athletics, The world’s best sprinters head to China this weekend to compete for titles and qualification places for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September.
The mixed four by one hundred meters and four by four hundred metres relay events are set to make their global debut in Guangzhou.
While athletes will compete in a total of six events, including the women’s four by one hundred metres and four by four hundred metres relay and the men’s four by one hundred metres and four by four hundred metres relay.
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TODAY’S FIXTURES
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IN SPANISH LA LIGA
Las Palmas vs Rayo Vallecano
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IN ITALIAN SERIE A
AC Milan vs Bologna
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SOCCER ACTION CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND
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IN NIGERIA PREMIER FOOTBALL LEAGUE
ON SUNDAY
Sunshine Stars vs Niger Tornadoes
Abia Warriors vs El Kanemi Warriors
Akwa United vs Bayelsa United
Plateau United vs Lobi Stars
Remo Stars vs Ikorodu City
Enugu Rangers vs Katsina United
Bendel Insurance vs Heartland Owerri
Kano Pillars vs Shooting Stars
Nasarawa United vs Enyimba
Kwara United vs Rivers United FC
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IN ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
ON SATURDAY
Fulham vs Everton
Ipswich Town vs Brentford
Southampton vs Manchester City
Wolves vs Brighton
Bournemouth vs Aston Villa
ON SUNDAY
Newcastle United vs Chelsea
Manchester United vs West Ham United
Nottingham Forest vs Leicester City
Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace
Liverpool vs Arsenal
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IN SPANISH LA LIGA
ON SATURDAY
Valencia vs Getafe
Celta Vigo vs Sevilla
Girona vs Villarreal
Mallorca vs Real Valladolid
Atlético Madrid vs Real Sociedad
ON SUNDAY
Leganés vs Espanyol
Barcelona vs Real Madrid
Athletic Club vs Deportivo Alavés
Real Betis vs Osasuna
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IN ITALIAN SERIE A
ON SATURDAY
Como vs Cagliari
Lazio vs Juventus
Empoli vs Parma
ON SUNDAY
Udinese vs Monza
Hellas Verona vs Lecce
Torino vs Inter Milan
Napoli vs Genoa
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Obstacles do not have to stop you. If you run into a wall, do not turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it…words from Michael Jordan
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