IN NIGERIA
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Super Eagles has touched down in Morocco for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The players and their officials arrived in Moroccan city on Thursday.
Éric Chelle’s men spent five days in Cairo Egypt for their short preparation ahead of the biennial competition.
The Super Eagles are expected to intensify preparation for the AFCON 2025 finals on Friday.
The three-time champions are drawn in Group C with Tanzania, Tunisia, and Uganda.
They will face Tanzania in their opening fixture next week Tuesday.
The West Africans will play all their group games at the Complexe Sportif de Fès.
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Former Nigerian international, Dimeji Lawal has advised the Super Eagles to kick off their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations campaign on a winning note against Tanzania.
He stated that a victory in their opening match would boost the confidence of the players before facing Tunisia in their next game.
Lawal stated that picking the maximum three points against Tanzania must be the team’s first priority.
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Former Super Eagles forward, Odion Ighalo believed Victor Osimhen should be named new captain of the team.
Ighalo said Osimhen was best suited for the role.
Meanwhile, midfielder Wilfred Ndidi has been widely tipped to take up the role.
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Nigerian football legend Segun Odegbami has said he has stopped following the Super Eagles’ preparations for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, insisting the team were not good enough after their failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The former Green Eagles winger said Nigeria’s exit from the World Cup play-offs had deeply affected him and many football-loving Nigerians, dampening interest in the national team ahead of the continental tournament.
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Former Nigeria international, Benedict Akwuegbu has disclosed that Ahmed Musa has done well for Nigeria after announcing his retirement from the Super Eagles.
Akwuegbu stated that Musa was undoubtedly one of Nigeria’s greatest players of all time.
The forward, who earned one hundred and eleven caps, described the milestone as a privilege.
Musa’s last appearance for the Super Eagles was against the Black Stars of Ghana at the Unity Cup invitational tournament in May.
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Nottingham Forest head coach, Sean Dyche has provided a positive injury update on Super Eagles star Ola Aina.
Dyche said the defender was now more involved in team training, but it was important to manage his recovery.
Aina sustained a hamstring injury while on international duty with Nigeria in September.
The 29-year-old is gradually working his way back to full fitness.
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Former Ivory Coast forward, Salomon Kalou has named the Super Eagles his favourites to win the title at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Kalou insisted that they have the quality to go all the way this time around.
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Bafana Bafana head coach, Hugo Broos says his side is well equipped for the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Broos declared that his charges are well on schedule regarding their preparations.
The competition will get underway in Morocco this weekend.
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Egypt forward, Omar Marmoush insists the Pharaohs can win the title at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Marmoush said they have the quality to conquer the continent again.
The North Africans will be gunning for a record-extending eighth title in Morocco.
Hossam Hassan’s side are drawn in Group B with South Africa, Zimbabwe and Angola.
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Former Super Eagles captain Mikel Obi has criticised Nigeria’s preparations for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, launching a scathing attack on the Nigeria Football Federation over ongoing administrative issues.
Speaking on his ObiOne podcast, Mikel expressed disappointment with the build-up to the tournament, which kicks off on Sunday in Morocco, and questioned how a national coach could be owed salaries at such a critical stage.
Anthony Joshua faces Jake Paul in one of boxing’s most divisive fights in Miami on Friday, with the British-Nigerian heavyweight vowing to end the YouTuber’s run.
Joshua, 36, returns to the ring for the first time since a fifth-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois last September, while Paul is having his 14th professional bout following a points win over former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in June.
Paul predicted the biggest upset in the history of sports and claimed he is more important for boxing than anyone else in the last decade.
Nigeria’s Junior D’Tigress have recorded a significant rise in the latest FIBA World Ranking Girls, climbing nine places to 26th and emerging as one of the biggest movers in the newly released standings published on Thursday.
The update places Nigeria among the top climbers globally, ranking as the fourth biggest mover overall and the highest-ranked nation to make such a leap within the top 30.
The Junior D’Tigress now sit third in Africa with 469.5 points, behind Mali, who are 16th, and Egypt, who climbed four places to 21st.
At the summit, there was no change as the United States retained top spot with 787.3 points, ahead of Spain and Canada.
Nigeria dominated the opening day of weightlifting competition at the 4th African Youth Games in Angola, claiming eight gold medals and one silver on Thursday.
Favour Cornelius led the charge in the 44kg category with an outstanding performance, winning three gold medals after lifting 50kg in the snatch, 64kg in the clean and jerk, and finishing with a total of 114kg.
In the 48kg division, Esther Ezenwa delivered another triple-gold display for Nigeria, recording 63kg in the snatch, 77kg in the clean and jerk, and posting a combined total of 140kg to top the category.
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IN ENGLAND
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Crystal Palace will have to win a knockout phase play-off in February if they are to advance to the round of sixteen of the Conference League after two-all drawing with KuPS at Selhurst Park.
Palace boss Oliver Glasner fielded a mixture of fringe players and youngsters for the must-win match against the Finnish champions.
Sixteen-year-old Joel Drakes-Thomas became the youngest Englishman to play in Europe’s third-tier competition, while Dean Benamar, 17, and George King, 18, also made their senior debuts.
Christantus Uche and Justin Devenny scored a goal each for Crystal Palace, while KuPS’ two goals were scored by Piotr Parzyszek and Ibrahim Cisse.
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Tottenham’s Europa League final match-winner Brennan Johnson is facing an uncertain future at the club amid growing Premier League interest in the attacker.
Tottenham, while not actively looking to sell the Wales international, are open to letting Johnson leave should they receive a suitable offer.
Crystal Palace are currently the club most advanced in their interest for Johnson, but other teams are believed to be monitoring his situation closely.
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Former Arsenal and France striker, Thierry Henry has been honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award at BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2025.
The 48-year-old, widely considered to be one of the Premier League’s greatest players, retired in 2014.
He was presented with the award by his four children at the show on Thursday.
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West Ham women has sacked head coach Rehanne Skinner after winning only one of their opening eleven Women’s Super League games this season.
The Hammers, who are second from bottom, drew two-all at home to bottom club Liverpool.
The team said the process of finding Skinner’s replacement is under way.
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England forward, Michelle Agyemang has been named BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year 2025.
The 19-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough year as she helped the Lionesses win Euro 2025 in Switzerland, just three months after making her senior international debut.
She proved decisive off the bench at the Euros, scoring crucial late equalisers in the quarter-final win against Sweden and in the semi-final victory over Italy.
Her interventions led to her being named young player of the tournament, and she was later awarded the Golden Girl trophy for the best young player in Europe.
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England women’s manager, Sarina Wiegman has been named the BBC Sports Personality Coach of the Year for a second time.
The Dutchwoman guided England to their second straight European Championship title with victory over Spain in the Euro 2025 final.
The victory meant the Lionesses became the first England team, women’s or men’s to win a major trophy on foreign soil.
Wiegman became the first woman to claim the Coach of the Year award in 2022, while this year’s victory means she is the first woman to win the award on multiple occasions.
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Meanwhile, England manager, Sarina Wiegman says she hopes to inspire the next generation of female football managers after becoming the first woman to be named Dutch Coach of the Year at an awards ceremony in the Netherlands.
Wiegman was honoured at the annual sports gala staged by the country’s Olympic and Paralympic committees in Arnhem.
She was named best women’s coach of the year for a fifth time at the Fifa Best Awards and also won the women’s coach of the year at the 2025 Ballon d’Or awards in September.
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OTHER LEAGUES
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Ecuador defender, Mario Pineida has died at the age of thirty-three after being shot in Guayaquil.
Pineida was shot on Wednesday by two people on motorbikes who opened fire on him, his mother and another woman outside a shop in the north of the city.
Ecuador’s interior ministry said it has sent a special police unit to investigate.
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OTHER SPORTS
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In Cricket, Former captain, Michael Vaughan says England should not make wholesale changes to their playing group even if their expected Ashes defeat is confirmed.
Ben Stokes’ side look set to once again lose a series in Australia at the earliest opportunity after slipping to 213-8 on the second day of the third Test, 158 runs behind.
Defeat in Adelaide would seal a fourth successive series defeat in Australia and extend a winless run in this country to eighteen Tests.
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In Rugby, Scotland’s Hollie Davidson will become the first woman to referee a men’s Six Nations match when Ireland host Italy on 14th February.
The 33-year-old is no stranger to landmark achievements, having become Scottish Rugby’s first full-time female referee in 2017 and the first woman to referee a New Zealand Test in November, when they beat Wales 52-26 in Cardiff.
Davidson has officiated two Women’s World Cup finals, as well as the 2025 European Challenge Cup final between Bath and Lyon.
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In Golf, Golfer Rory McIlroy has been voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2025 after clinching the career Grand Slam and playing a key role in Europe’s Ryder Cup win.
The 36-year-old Northern Irishman achieved golfing immortality in April when he won the Masters at Augusta National to complete the set of all four major trophies.
He became just the sixth man and first European to achieve the Slam, joining Americans Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, and South Africa’s Gary Player, in accomplishing the feat.
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SOCCER ACTION CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND
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IN ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
ON SATURDAY
Newcastle United vs Chelsea
Bournemouth vs Burnley
Brighton vs Sunderland
Manchester City vs West Ham
United
Wolves vs Brentford.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool
Everton vs Arsenal
Leeds United vs Crystal Palace
ON SUNDAY
Aston Villa vs Manchester United
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IN SPANISH LA LIGA
ON SATURDAY
Real Oviedo vs Celta Vigo
Levante vs Real Sociedad
Osasuna vs Alavés
Real Madrid vs Sevilla
ON SUNDAY
Girona vs Atletico
Madrid
Villarreal vs Barcelona
Elche vs Rayo Vallecano
Real Betis vs Getafe
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IN ITALIAN SERIE A
ON SATURDAY
Lazio vs Cremonese
Juventus vs Roma
ON SUNDAY
Cagliari vs Pisa
Sassuolo vs Torino
Fiorentina vs Udinese
Genoa vs Atalanta
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
To know how much there is to know is the beginning of learning to live….words from Dorothy West.
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