Super Eagles and Zanzibar battled to a two-all draw in a pre 2024 African Nations Championship, CHAN, friendly at the Mau Stadium.

Head Coach Eric Chelle made five changes to the team that played the first game, giving starting shirts to Akanni Kudus, Egbe Manyo, Malik Jabbar, Vincent Temitope, and Anas Yusuf.

Yusuf, who was top scorer in the Nigeria Premier Football League, last season scored the curtain raiser for Nigeria.

Remo Stars’ Adedayo Olamilekan netted the second goal for the Home-base Super Eagles.

Zanzibar however scored twice in the second half to earn a share of the spoils.

The Super Eagles will now shift attention to the CHAN 2024 finals which will get underway this weekend.

The team is in Group D alongside champions Senegal, Congo and Sudan.

==================

Super Eagles star, Victor Osimhen has joined Galatasaray on a permanent transfer from Napoli.

Osimhen spent last season on loan with the Yellow and Reds, helping them to win the domestic double.

Galatasaray activated the seventy-five million euros release in the striker’s contract to sign him from Napoli.

The Nigeria international put pen to paper on a four-year contract with Okan Buruk’s side

==================

Super Eagles star, Samuel Chukwueze is on target in AC Milan’s nine-nil thrashing of Australian club Perth Glory in a pre-season friendly.

It was AC Milan’s last friendly of their Asia-Pacific friendly tour.

Chukwueze scored Maximilliano Allegri’s side fifth goal of the game one minute after the half hour mark.

Noah Okafor and Rafael Leao scored a brace each, while Christian Comotto, Samuele Ricci, Filippo Terracciano, and Yunus Musah netted a goal each for AC Milan in the game.

===================

Spanish club, Real Oviedo has opened talks with Porto for Super Eagles defender Zaidu Sanusi.

Sanusi is expected to leave Porto this summer after failing down the pecking order at the club.

The 28-year-old spent the majority of last season on the sidelines due to a long-term injury.

Nigeria’s D’Tigress, have advanced to the semifinals of the 2025 Women’s AfroBasket tournament by defeating Cameroon 83-47 and keeping their title defense campaign alive in Cote d’Ivoire.

The victory extends their unbeaten run in Africa to twenty-seven, dating back to 2015, while moving them closer to a record fifth title in a row, Only Senegal has achieved Nigeria’s current feat of four.

Following the dominant win against Cameroon, D’Tigress will now face Seengal in the semi-finals on Saturday 2nd August.

Air Warriors overcame a tough challenge from Nigeria Customs to win 64-56 at the ongoing 2025 Women’s Basketball Premier League in Abuja.

The match was part of Phase One of the Premier League, taking place at the indoor hall of Moshood Abiola National Stadium.

Nigeria Customs started strongly, dictating the game’s pace and showing composure both in attack and defence to claim the first quarter 25-22.

In the second quarter, the Customs ladies extended their lead, scoring 12 points to Air Warriors’ 11, ending the half at 47-34.

Air Warriors came out fighting in the third quarter, showing resilience and forcing Customs to play more defensively.

The quarter ended 11-11, narrowing the gap and bringing Air Warriors within two points of Nigeria Customs before the final quarter.

The capital city of Abuja in Nigeria is set to bustle with activity, with the arrival of teams on Friday for the 2025 Confederation of African Volleyball U-18 Boys and Girls Beach Championship.

The event, which is scheduled to run from 1th to 7th August, will see as many as 20 countries on the continent battle it out on the sands for the right to be called junior champions of Africa.

Day one of the championship will witness the arrival of all participating teams on August 1, with action expected to kick off later during the course of the weekend.

All is set for Nigeria to host the 2025 CAVB U18 Beach Volleyball Championship in Abuja.

Nigeria’s men’s 100m champion and Paris 2024 Olympics semifinalist, Konyinsola Ajayi, is ready to face a strong field of challengers for the title at the 2025 national trials, which will be held from Friday to Sunday, 3rd August, at Yabatech, Lagos.

Ajayi won the title for the first time last year at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, with a time of 10.14s, beating Alaba Akintola, who followed closely to take second in 10.16s, while 2023 champion, Usheoritse Itsekiri, claimed third in 10.22s.

This year, Ajayi will face the likes of Israel Okon, Fakorede Adekalu, Favour Ashe, Olaolu Olatunde and other contenders to defend his title.

IN ENGLAND

Tottenham Hotspur beat Arsenal in the first north London derby outside of the UK with a goal from Pape Matar Sarr’s excellent long-range chip.

The match, which was played in front of a stadium-record crowd of forty-nine thousand, nine hundred and seventy-five gave a glimpse into what both sets of supporters can expect from their sides this season.

Sarr lobbed the ball over David Raya from near the halfway line in the 45th minute after Spurs won the ball back in midfield.

===================

Manchester United star Rasmus Hojlund says he could have done with some help in the team attack in previous seasons – and is more than ready for more competition in the main striker role.

The 22-year-old scored ten goals in fifty-two appearances in all competitions last season as United ended a dismal Premier League campaign in 15th place, but has vowed to stay and fight for his place in Ruben Amorim’s side.

Since joining United in 2023, Hojlund has scored twenty-six goals in ninety-five competitive appearances, just over a goal every four games.

======================

Nottingham Forest has signed Switzerland winger Dan Ndoye from Bologna.

Ndoye signed a five-year deal at the City Ground to bring his two-year stint in Italy to an end.

The 24-year-old scored nine times in forty-one appearances for the Serie A side last season.

Ndoye is Forest’s third major signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Igor Jesus and Jair Cunha from Botafogo.

=====================

West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta has been cleared of spot-fixing charges by an independent regulatory commission – almost two years after the Football Association launched an investigation into him.

The FA started their investigation in August 2023 and the Brazil international was charged in May last year for allegedly getting booked deliberately for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market.

The regulatory commission found the four charges to be not proven following the hearing.

West Ham vice-chair Karren Brady said the club are pleased by the verdict and resolutely stood by Paqueta throughout the process.

The FA said it was awaiting the written reasons from the regulatory commission and would not be commenting further until that time.

======================

Sheffield Wednesday has appointed Henrik Pedersen as the club’s manager, replacing Danny Rohl.

Dane Pedersen had served as assistant under the German at Hillsborough since arriving at the club in October 2023 and signed a contract extension at the club earlier this month while Rohl’s future remained uncertain.

His appointment comes during a chaotic summer for the team.

======================

OTHER LEAGUES

Paris-Saint Germain captain Marquinhos has decided to remain with the Ligue 1 side for what would be his 13th consecutive season in the French capital.

Marquinhos’ decision means he will equal Jean-Marc Pilorget’s record of thirteen seasons with the Ligue 1 side.

=====================

Dundee United has progressed in Europe for the first time in twenty-eight years with a narrow and nervy victory over UNA Strassen in Conference League qualifying.

A goal up after last week’s first leg at Tannadice, Jim Goodwin’s side had to wait until midway through the second half in Luxembourg for Iurie Iovu to nod in and ease any jitters.

United’s last triumph over two legs on the continent came when they hammered the Andorran minnows CE Principat 17-0 on aggregate in the 1997-98.

They will now face either Rapid Vienna or Decic in the third qualifying round.

======================

OTHER SPORTS

In Tennis, Stefanos Tsitsipas has reappointed his father Apostolos as his coach following a split with former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic.

The Greek’s brief stint with Ivanisevic came to an end last week, less than two months after the pair started working together.

Ivanisevic, who guided Novak Djokovic to nine of his twenty-four Grand Slam titles, was critical of Tsitsipas and said he has never seen such an unprepared player in his life following his first-round exit at Wimbledon.

Tsitsipas reached number three in the world under the guidance of his father, who was his full-time coach from an early age, but has slipped to number thirty since their split in 2024.

=======================

In Formula one, Max Verstappen has ended questions about his future by saying that he will definitely stay with Red Bull for next season.

The four-time world champion is under contract to Red Bull until 2028 but had been courted by Mercedes and had been considering his options.

Verstappen’s confirmation effectively confirms George Russell and Kimi Antonelli will remain at Mercedes next season.

Russell, who had already expected that Verstappen would be staying at Red Bull, said he was not in a hurry to sign a new contract.

======================

Also, Lando Norris says the Formula 1 world title will be decided this year by which contender makes the fewest mistakes.

Norris trails McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri by sixteen points heading into this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, following Piastri’s win in Belgium last weekend.

======================

In Rugby, 2009 tourist Ugo Monye, says Blair Kinghorn will be a massive player for the British and Irish Lions in the third Test against Australia on Saturday.

The 28-year-old replaces James Lowe on the left wing as one of two changes from the starting line-up that dramatically clinched the series last Saturday at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Scotland’s Kinghorn, who came on for Lowe in Melbourne, impressed in the final quarter by adding dynamism to the Lions attack.

======================

In Cricket, England somehow took six India wickets on a bizarre opening day of the decisive Test that was marred by a shoulder injury to Chris Woakes.

Woakes was hurt chasing the ball to the boundary late in the day at The Oval and went from the field with his left arm in a makeshift sling, a further injury to a depleted England pace-bowling attack.

It is an injury that could have serious ramifications to the outcome of the series.

England, needing to avoid defeat to secure a 2-1 win, could be left with three seamers and the spin of Jacob Bethell and Joe Root.

====================

In Athletics, Britain’s top athletes will compete in Birmingham this weekend for a place at the World Championships.

The nation’s stars will target a top-two finish at the UK Athletics Championships which, combined with a World Athletics entry standard, will guarantee a place in the squad for Tokyo.

Olympic medallists Josh Kerr, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Georgia Hunter Bell are among those in action on Saturday and Sunday, but are each assured of selection by virtue of their achievements last summer.

Olympic eight hundred metres champion Keely Hodgkinson is among the notable absentees as she continues her recovery from injury, and faces a race against time to prove her fitness for the championships which take place in Japan’s capital from 13th to 21st September.

=====================

In Cycling, Maeva Squiban has produced a superb performance to become the first French rider to win a stage at the 2025 Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift as Kim le Court retained the yellow jersey.

Squiban attacked with thirty kilometres to go on stage six and crossed the line in Ambert one minute and nine seconds ahead of compatriot Juliette Labous, who finished just ahead of the yellow jersey group.

It is only the second time a French rider has won a stage of the race since it was relaunched under its new name four years ago, after Cedrine Kerbaol won stage six last year.

Three stages remain, with the riders tackling a mountainous one hundred and fifty-nine points seven kilometres route between Bourg-en-Bresse and Chambery on Friday.

=====================

In Golf, Lottie Woad shot a level-par first round to lie five shots off the Women’s Open lead jointly held by Japanese duo Eri Okayama and Rio Takeda.

England’s Woad began as favourite at Royal Porthcawl, having won two events and narrowly missing out on a first major title in July.

The 21-year-old, playing in her second tournament since turning professional, made lengthy birdie putts at the first and sixth holes as she reached the turn in level par.

===========================
FOOD FOR THOUGHT.

In baseball and in business, there are three types of people. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happened…. words from Tommy Lasorda.