IN NIGERIA
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The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF has directed members of the Super Falcons’ technical crew led by Justine Madugu to step down with immediate effect.
This follows a difficult 2026 campaign in which the team failed to secure an automatic ticket to the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The NFF Executive Committee announced the decision in a brief notice, without stating a reason for the directive.
The decision comes after the Super Falcons endured a challenging Women’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign, which ended in the quarter-finals after a defeat by Cameroon.
Following the team’s failure to qualify for the World Cup, the NFF immediately set up a fact-finding committee to investigate the country’s recent poor performances in international competitions, with particular focus on the Super Falcons.
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Super Falcons captain Rasheedat Ajibade has apologised to Nigerian football fans following the team’s failure to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, saying the players are determined to rebuild and return stronger.
In a statement on X, Ajibade acknowledged the disappointment of missing the tournament for the first time and said she personally took responsibility for the setback.
The Atletico Madrid midfielder, however, insisted that the Super Falcons gave their all throughout their campaign, despite falling short of their objective.
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Former Super Eagles winger, Baldwin Bazuaye, has outlined what he believes Nigeria must do to revive its national football teams, the Super Eagles and others.
He insisted that better planning, early preparation and greater involvement of former internationals are crucial to restoring the country’s lost glory.
Bazuaye also called for members of Nigeria’s 1985 Golden Eaglets squad, which won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in China, to be given prominent roles in the country’s football administration and national teams.
Bazuaye who currently represents Edo South Senatorial District as a Director at the Edo State Sports Commission spoke against the backdrop of the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Super Falcons’ inability to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil and the Flying Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2027 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations and, by extension, the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Bazuaye, who previously played for Ethnikos Piraeus FC of Greece, argued that the problems affecting the Super Eagles, Super Falcons and the other Nigeria’s national football teams have more to do with administration than technical ability.
Bazuaye stressed that Nigeria must abandon its current approach if the country’s national football teams are to get back on track.
The former Bendel Insurance, Shooting Stars and Concord FC player also lamented that members of the 1985 Golden Eaglets, who won the FIFA U-17 World Cup for Nigeria for the first time, appear to have been abandoned and frozen out of the national team set-up.
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Head Coach of Nigeria’s National Under-eighteen male handball team, Abdulhakim Yakubu, has invited twenty-two players to camp as preparations intensify for the 22nd African Cadets Men’s Championship in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
The invited players are already in camp in Abuja, where they are undergoing intensive training under the supervision of the technical crew ahead of the continental championship.
Yakubu and his assistants are using the camping programme to improve the players’ fitness, technical abilities, tactical understanding and team cohesion as Nigeria looks to make a strong impression at the tournament.
Nigeria have been drawn in Group B alongside North African sides Tunisia, Algeria, and Madagascar.
Group A comprises Egypt, Cameroon and Congo, while Morocco, Libya and Rwanda will compete in Group C and Hosts Côte d’Ivoire are in Group D alongside Guinea, Zambia and Burundi.
The Nigerian squad features players across seven positions, with Shuaibu Micheal, Shuaibu Muhammad and Lawal Muhammad selected as goalkeepers.
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Coventry City have announced the signing of Nigeria international Taiwo Awoniyi on a permanent transfer from Nottingham Forest.
Awoniyi brings an end to his four-year association with Nottingham Forest following his move to the Premier League newcomers.
The striker joined Forest from Bundesliga side Union Berlin in 2022 and played a key role during his time at the City Ground.
Awoniyi scored eleven goals in his debut campaign, helping the Tricky Trees retain their Premier League status in their first season back in the top flight.
The 29-year-old was also part of the Forest squad that finished seventh in the Premier League during the 2024/25 season to secure qualification for European football.
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Belgian Pro League club Cercle Brugge have completed the signing of Nigerian-born defender Tayo Adaramola from Premier League side Crystal Palace.
Adaramola signed a contract with the Green and Blacks that will keep him at the club until 2030.
The 22-year-old is no stranger to Belgian football, having spent the second half of the 2023/24 season on loan at RWD Molenbeek.
The left-back began his football journey in the youth ranks of St Kevin’s Boys and St Mochta’s before joining Crystal Palace’s academy in 2015.
Technical director Luciano Murchio expressed excitement with the defender’s arrival at the club.
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Former Super Eagles midfielder, Austin Okocha has disclosed that Bayern Munich wanted to sign him in 1991, but the deal did not happen because he was under 18 years old.
Recall that Okocha played with Bayern Munich’s youth team at a tournament in Switzerland, impressing them enough to prompt an offer.
Okocha recalled that his European journey did not begin at Eintracht Frankfurt, as many fans assume, but at third-division Borussia Neunkirchen.
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Super Eagles star, Samuel Chukwueze is enjoying his new role at AC Milan under head coach Ruben Amorim.
Chukwueze impressed in Milan’s pre-season friendly victory over Manchester United in Wroclaw.
The Nigeria international registered a goal and two assists as the Rossoneri claimed an entertaining four-two victory.
The 27-year-old has been deployed as a wing-back by Amorim, adapting to a different role in the Portuguese tactician’s system.
Chukwueze said he is determined to make the most of the opportunity as he looks to establish himself as a regular in the team.
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Nigerian forward, Peter Olayinka has completed a permanent move to Saudi Arabian club Al Wehda.
Olayinka joined the Red Giants on a free transfer after parting ways with Cypriot side APOEL Nicosia.
The 30-year-old scored two goals in fourteen league appearances during his spell with APOEL.
The well-travelled forward has previously played in Czechia, Serbia, Cyprus and Belgium.
Olayinka enjoyed the most successful period of his career at Czech First League side Slavia Prague, where he won three league titles and three Czech Cups.
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IN ENGLAND
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Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly and director Mark Walter have explored selling their stakes in the club to majority owner Clearlake Capital.
Multiple sources said talks have begun within Chelsea’s ownership group after a rift, first apparent in 2024, led both sides to explore buying each other out.
However, it has since emerged that Clearlake, the club’s majority owner with a 61.5% stake and led by co-founders Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano – could now buy out their minority partners.
Boehly and Walter each own 12.8% and are reported to value the club at five billion pounds, meaning they would each receive about six hundred and forty million pounds from a sale.
Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss is also closely aligned with the pair and owns a further 12.8%, although his position remains unclear at this stage.
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Ipswich Town has signed winger Julio Enciso and midfielder Abdoul Ouattara from French club Strasbourg.
Paraguay international Enciso, and Ivorian Ouattara, have both penned five-year contracts with the Tractor Boys.
The reported combined fee for both players has the potential to reach £47.3m, with both players having played for boss Gary O’Neil in France.
Enciso, who spent three years at Brighton, spent the second half of the 2024-25 campaign on loan at Portman Road before moving to Strasbourg.
Ipswich begin their Premier League campaign at home to Sunderland on 22nd August.
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Coventry City have signed Nigeria striker Taiwo Awoniyi from Nottingham Forest for nine million pounds.
The 29-year-old joins Coventry before Friday’s Premier League opener at champions Arsenal, with the club returning to the top flight after a 25-year absence.
Awoniyi was given a guard of honour by the Forest squad and staff before the second half of their final pre-season friendly against Brest on Sunday to allow him to say goodbye at the City Ground, where he spent the past four seasons.
Awoniyi became Forest’s record signing at the time when he joined from Union Berlin in 2022 for seventeen point two million pounds.
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Liverpool legend, Jamie Carragher has disclosed that Manchester United can not win the Premier League and Champions League under Red Devils manager Michael Carrick.
He claimed that rivals do not fear Man United with Carrick in charge and that winning the league demands a truly special manager.
He also expressed surprise that United passed up on signing midfielder Mateus Fernandes for eighty-five million pounds.
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Manchester United intend to reject any offer for Bruno Fernandes before next month’s transfer deadline.
It is thought Galatasaray had a deal they were intending to put to United, which would reach a final fee of forty-two point seven million pounds.
The message from senior sources at Old Trafford is that Galatasaray would be wasting their time.
Fernandes has one year left on his current deal, with an option for an additional season. It is known he would prefer to stay.
A fifty-seven million pounds release clause in the Portugal international’s contract has now expired.
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Manchester City is in advanced talks with Lille over a move for Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi.
The Premier League side want to conclude the transfer this week after agreeing to sell Rodri to Barcelona.
It is understood Lille value the 18-year-old at eighty-five point six million pounds.
City have also not given up hope of signing Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez.
Should they be successful in moves for both Bouaddi and Fernandez, it would complete a trio of costly midfield signings for City following Elliot Anderson’s arrival from Nottingham Forest.
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Multiple sources claim that Chelsea defender Benoit Badiashile will undergo medical tests with Napoli on Tuesday.
Chelsea defender Badiashile is on the verge of joining Napoli on loan and will undergo medical examinations with the Partenopei on Tuesday.
Badiashile will undergo medical tests at Villa Stuart in Rome before travelling south to Naples, as is customary for all new Napoli signings.
Reports say Napoli will pay three million euros plus one million euros add-ons for the player’s loan, adding an option to buy for twenty-seven million euros.
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Liverpool legend, Jamie Carragher has disclosed that Manchester United can not win the Premier League and Champions League under Red Devils manager Michael Carrick.
He claimed that rivals do not fear Man United with Carrick in charge and that winning the league demands a truly special manager.
He also expressed surprise that United passed up on signing midfielder Mateus Fernandes for £85 million.
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Brighton have rejected a seven point five million pounds bid from Scottish Premiership side Rangers for winger Amario Cozier-Duberry.
The 21-year-old enjoyed a successful season on loan at Bolton last season as they won the League One play-offs, scoring eight goals and providing twelve assists in thirty-four appearances and earning a place in the League One team of the season.
He continues to have interest from Championship clubs over a potential loan move, while Rangers are among a number of teams believed to be interested in signing him permanently.
The offer would have been Rangers’ second-highest transfer fee in more than 20 years.
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Cagliari striker Yael Trepy is in intensive care in hospital after he lost consciousness in a swimming pool in Sardinia.
Cagliari released a statement, external to say the 20-year-old is being treated at Santissima Annunziata Civil Hospital in Sassari.
Trepy was airlifted to hospital after being pulled from the water at a villa on Sunday afternoon.
Cagliari players had the weekend off after they beat Arezzo one-nil in the Coppa Italia, in which Trepy played fifty-four minutes.
Trepy scored once in eight Serie A appearances last season after being a Cagliari youth player.
He joined the club’s academy in 2022, having started his youth career with Parisian side US Creteil-Lusitanos.
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OTHER LEAGUES
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Spain midfielder, Rodri says it is his dream to play for Barcelona after he arrived in the city to complete his move from Manchester City.
Barcelona agreed to pay City about sixty-five million pounds, with the 30-year-old to sign a four-year contract with the La Liga champions.
Rodri added that he is aiming to win the Champions League and everything else that comes our way with Barcelona.
Rodri leaves City having won 12 major honours, including four Premier League titles, two FA Cups, three EFL Cups and the Champions League in 2022-23.
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Fifa’s chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour has left the governing body less than three weeks after he strongly criticised its president Gianni Infantino’s aborted plan to sell stakes in competitions to private investors.
A statement by Fifa confirmed that the working relationship between Fifa and Kevin Lamour as Chief Operating Officer has ended.
Lamour joined Fifa in November 2024, having previously served as deputy general secretary at Uefa, and was two layers of management below Infantino.
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The Scottish Football Association has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino and will not be voting for his re-election as president of Fifa.
Association’s chief executive Ian Maxwell said the position of the SFA has been clear since the fifty-five Uefa associations met.
He said the association would not be voting for Gianni Infantino come the re-election in early 2027.
Maxwell rejected the suggestion that the SFA had previously failed to publicly state it no longer supported Infantino because its president, Mike Mulraney, heads up the Fifa finance committee.
He also announced Belgian Sebastian Pocognoli as the new Scotland head coach.
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OTHER SPORTS
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• In Basketball; Nikola Kalinic has announced his retirement from professional basketball.
Kalinic finishes his career with Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, where he spent the past two seasons after returning to Belgrade from FC Barcelona in 2024.
The defining club chapter of Kalinic’s career came with Fenerbahce Istanbul, where he played from 2015 to 2020 under Zeljko Obradovic.
Kalinic helped Fenerbahce win the 2017 EuroLeague championship, the first in club history, while also collecting three Turkish league titles and three Turkish Cups during his five seasons in Istanbul.
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In Boxing; Claressa Shields is a unified middleweight
champion again, stopping Kaye Scott in the sixth round at State Farm Arena in Atlanta to claim the WBA and WBC titles.
Shields was the more active and accurate fighter throughout, opening up Scott’s face as early as the second round and forcing a relentless pace.
The only real moment of adversity came in the fifth, when Scott backed her to the ropes and had her briefly uncomfortable.
Shields responded in the sixth by turning up the pressure and wobbling Scott with a left hook.
An overhand right forced a count. Scott beat it, but a subsequent barrage prompted her corner to throw in the towel at 1:38 of the round.
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In Tennis, Wimbledon semi-finalist Arthur Fery has been included in Great Britain’s Davis Cup team to face Ecuador in September.
Former world number four Jack Draper is not included but a fifth player will be added closer to the time.
British number one Cameron Norrie, Henry Patten and Lloyd Glasspool make up the team to play at London’s Copper Box Arena.
This will be Fery’s first outing in England since Wimbledon.
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Formula 1 says farewell to the Dutch Grand Prix this weekend with the final event at Zandvoort before it drops off the calendar.
Orange smoke has hung in the air of the seaside venue since it returned to the schedule in 2021 after a 36-year absence, with sell-out crowds overwhelmingly supporting Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Despite its popularity, organisers have not been able to make the event work financially and have decided not to continue hosting F1.
Before Zandvoort signs off, we take a look back at a selection of images from the Dutch Grand Prix, which was first run as an F1 event in 1952.
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In Cricket, Jordan Cox says advice he received from India superstar Virat Kohli will stick with him forever as he prepares to be part of the England team to play Pakistan this week.
Cox has been a team-mate of Kohli in the Indian Premier League with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
The pair met in London before Cox made his debut in the second Test against New Zealand at The Oval in June.
On that occasion, the 25-year-old was part of a much-changed England team in the aftermath of the nightclub incident involving Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson.
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In Rugby, Wales centre Eddie James has signed a new contract with Scarlets.
After making his international debut in 2024, James became a Wales regular in the 2025-26 season under head coach Steve Tandy and now has 11 caps to his name.
The 24-year-old still had a year to run on his existing contract but has committed early to his home region.
The length of James’ new contract has not been disclosed.
James and the rest of the Scarlets’ international contingent will return to training next week.
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In Golf, LIV Golf has cancelled its Team Championships in Michigan after weeks of speculation, saying it needs to focus on building its next chapter.
It had been widely expected that the event from 27th to 30th August would not happen, as players including Tyrrell Hatton entered the British Masters over the same dates and tickets were no longer being sold.
However, confirmation came with a statement from LIV Golf outlining changes to the schedule, meaning this week’s event in Indianapolis will be the last of the season and double up as a team competition.
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In Cycling, Two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard will miss the rest of season as he continues his recovery from a broken collarbone sustained in this year’s race.
On stage 15, the 29-year-old Visma-Lease a Bike rider was tackling a tight right-hand bend off a roundabout when his front wheel slid out, causing him to land on his shoulder.
The injury required surgery and ruled the Dane out of challenging for a third Tour victory, with Tadej Pogacar going on to win a record equalling fifth yellow jersey.
Vingegaard will be absent from September’s UCI Road World Championships in Montreal, Canada, when Pogacar will go for a third straight world title.
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work in hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus…words from Alexander Graham Bell.
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