IN NIGERIA
Former Nigeria international, Dimeji Lawal says there are too many overhyped players in the Super Eagles.
Lawal made the claim following the Super Eagles’ humiliating three-nil defeat to Guinea-Bissau, on matchday 2, 2027 African Cup of Nations qualifier in Group L on Tuesday.
Lawal posited that most of the foreign-born players in the Super Eagles cannot cope with the physicality of African football.
The Super Eagles will be back in action in the qualifiers on 11th November when they will host Tanzania in Uyo on matchday 3.
====================
Former Nigerian international, Victor Ikpeba believes the Super Eagles would have secured a vastly different result had head coach Eric Chelle opted to start George Ilenikhena and Moses Usor against Guinea-Bissau.
Chelle’s side struggled to impose themselves throughout the contest, falling behind in the first half when Franculino Djú opened the scoring.
===================
Former Nigeria coach, Johannes Bonfrere, has described the Super Eagles’ three-nil defeat to Guinea-Bissau as absolutely ‘unbelievable’.
Bonfrère dismissed Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle’s excuses about the bad pitch and weather as unacceptable.
The 2000 AFCON silver medal-winning coach with the Super Eagles reckons that the result is a ‘shame’ for Nigerian football and that Nigeria is not only sinking football-wise but also economically.
Bonfrere, questioned the Nigeria Football Federation’s decision to retain Eric Chelle as Super Eagles coach despite his failure to lead the team to the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
===================
Former Super Falcons defender, Osinachi Ohale has left Mexican club Pachuca Femenil after three seasons.
The experienced centre-back joined Pachuca, popularly known as the ‘Bella Airosa’, after representing Nigeria at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Ohale made one hundred and five appearances for the club across all competitions during her three-year spell.
===================
The Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL, has warned coaches, club officials and other stakeholders against making disparaging public comments about the league and its match officials.
The league said the advisory was necessary to ensure that grievances over officiating are communicated through the appropriate channels rather than through public statements that could damage the image of the NPFL.
NPFL Chief Operating Officer, Ayo Abdulrahman, said the warning had become necessary as the 2026/27 season progresses, particularly following a trending video interview involving Sporting Lagos FC coach, Jeffery Buter.
=====================
Enyimba have finally secured their first win of the 2026/27 Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL, season with an emphatic four-two victory over Shooting Stars.
Richard Ezinna put the hosts ahead in the sixth minute after capitalising on a defensive error by the visitors.
Chibueze Damian, Odinaka Obichere and Ifeanyi Ihemekwele scored a goal each for Enyimba, while Shooting Stars’ two goals were scored by Mustapha Adams and Johnmark Aule
Elsewhere, defending champions Rangers moved to the top of the NPFL standings after edging Warri Wolves one-nil away in Ozoro.
Rivers United were held to a one-all draw by Katsina United and Sporting Lagos and Ikorodu City shared the points after playing out a goalless draw in their local derby at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan.
====================
Bendel Insurance media officer Kehinde Osagiede has insisted that the team remains fully focused on achieving their primary objectives in the Nigeria Premier Football League, despite their recent three-nil defeat to Abia Warriors.
Reflecting on the heavy away loss, Osagiede maintained an optimistic outlook for the remainder of the campaign.
===================
Nigeria’s Super Sand Eagles will step up preparations for the 2026 Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers with a double-header friendly against African champions Senegal next month.
The two matches will be played on 3th and 5th October at the Murtala Muhammed Square Beach Soccer Arena in Kaduna.
The friendlies are expected to provide the Sand Eagles with vital match practice ahead of their two-legged qualifying battle against Ghana’s Black Sharks.
Nigeria will host Ghana in the first leg in Kaduna on Saturday, 10th October, before travelling to Accra for the return leg on Saturday, 17th October.
The aggregate winner of the two matches will book a place at the 2026 Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations, with Senegal set to host the tournament.
====================
IN ENGLAND
Former manager Pep Guardiola has backed Manchester City’s owners and leadership and says he will always be behind the club after they were found guilty of all charges related to breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules.
An independent commission found that City arranged sham contracts with a number of commercial partners as part of a scheme to disguise secret funding of more than eight hundred and thirty million pounds.
The league confirmed City have been found guilty of all charges related to breaches of financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, and all but one in relation to failure to co-operate with the investigation.
The club continue to deny any wrongdoing and have until 2th October to submit an appeal.
Guardiola took over as City manager in July 2016 before leaving last summer.
==================
Norway camp says Erling Haaland has been unaffected by the sham contract verdict against Manchester City.
Haaland will play for the first time since the Premier League’s confirmation of City’s financial rule breaches when Norway take on Wales in Cardiff on Thursday.
The 28-year-old was kept away from the media before and after Norway’s Nations League defeat by Portugal after reports of City’s guilty verdict first emerged.
Haaland trained as normal at Cardiff City Stadium on Wednesday, with Brentford defender Kristoffer Ajer saying the 26-year-old had been no different since the news broke.
====================
U.K prime minister, Andy Burnham says he would be really concerned if Manchester City’s owners decide to sell up after the club was found guilty of Premier League financial rule breaches.
The prime minister said the situation was contested by Manchester City and he praised the club’s owners since 2008, led by Sheikh Mansour, United Arab Emirates deputy prime minister and royal family member – for investing in Manchester.
An independent commission found the club guilty of the majority of the 115 charges they faced, a verdict that City are expected to appeal.
====================
The computer hacker who released documents which led to the Premier League investigation into Manchester City says Fifa president Gianni Infantino should have no place in the future of the game.
In a message on X,, Rui Pinto, creator of Football Leaks, repeated allegations from 2018 that Infantino intervened to help City and Paris St-Germain avoid financial fair play sanctions from European football’s governing body Uefa.
===================
England boss Thomas Tuchel says it will be impossible to find another Harry Kane as his free-scoring captain continues to break new ground.
Kane scored a record-extending 87th goal for the Three Lions against the Czech Republic on Tuesday.
However, while the 33-year-old Bayern Munich forward is in the form of his life, with his 73 goals for club and country last term putting him well into the conversation as a possible Ballon d’Or winner, he cannot go on forever and Tuchel admitted that there is no obvious successor.
====================
England captain, Harry Kane has heaped praise on teammate Anthony Gordon, asserting that the winger’s high-profile transfer to Barcelona has fundamentally accelerated his development and elevated his game to new heights.
Kane highlighted how testing oneself in a different footballing culture and at a historic club like Barcelona has transformed Gordon’s mindset and on-field execution:
Gordon made the bold switch to Camp Nou, a move that raised eyebrows among some pundits given the tactical adjustments required for English players moving to La Liga.
====================
OTHER LEAGUES
Portugal star, Cristiano Ronaldo says he has left Portugal’s international camp and will explain the reasons why in time.
It comes after head coach Jorge Jesus earlier said there was no rift with the captain, following claims the five-times Ballon d’Or winner had refused to train.
The Al-Nassr forward did not feature in Portugal’s two-one win over Norway in Olso, and did not join his team-mates in going over to the visiting fans at the final whistle.
Instead, the former Real Madrid and Manchester United player headed to the changing rooms, prompting reports he was unhappy with the manager.
Speaking to media before Portugal’s Nations League match against Denmark on Thursday, Jesus said there was no incident whatsoever.
=====================
Republic of Ireland head coach, Heimir Hallgrimsson says the team’s second Uefa Nations League game against Israel will go ahead as planned.
Hallgrimsson’s side beat Israel three-nil in Hungary after the Republic of Ireland players voted to fulfil the fixture.
Speaking before Thursday’s game against Austria in Dublin, Hallgrimsson said the Republic of Ireland will fulfil the second Israel fixture and that he is not aware of a squad meeting to decide whether to play the game.
====================
The Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS, has set 8th October, 2026 as the date to hear Senegal’s appeal against the decision that stripped the country of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title and awarded it to Morocco.
A statement from the CAS confirmed the hearing will take place at 9:30am at its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, behind closed doors after none of the parties requested a public hearing.
The case will be heard by a three-member panel chaired by French arbitrator Prof Gérald Simon, alongside Italy’s Prof Luigi Fumagalli and Germany’s Prof Dr Ulrich Haas.
====================
Ghana head coach, Carlos Queiroz has firmly rejected calls for his resignation, insisting that walking away will not fix the deeper structural challenges facing the nation’s football following a shocking four-two defeat to The Gambia in their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
Addressing a tense post-match press conference, Queiroz acknowledged that stepping down is often viewed as the easiest route during a crisis, but argued it is a superficial fix.
The Portuguese tactician apologised to supporters for the collapse and stressed that the team must regroup quickly for their upcoming double-header fixtures against Somalia as they attempt to resurrect their continental ambitions.
=================
OTHER SPORTS
In Boxing, British heavyweight rivals Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are set to come face-to-face for the first time in London ahead of their blockbuster showdown.
The long-awaited clash, officially confirmed for Friday, 11th December, 2026, will take place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, and will stream live globally on Netflix.
The development comes days after Fury raised fresh doubts over the fight, claiming there was only a one per cent chance of him facing Joshua next.
==================
In Tennis, Novak Djokovic has maintained his remarkable unbeaten record at the China Open as he beat Nuno Borges to secure his first win since reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.
The 39-year-old former world number one struggled in the second set but came through to win 6-3, 7-6, for his 30th consecutive victory in Beijing, albeit in his first appearance at the event since 2015.
Playing in the tournament for the first time in 11 years, the Serb, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, is bidding to win the China Open for a record-extending seventh time.
Meanwhile, Great Britain’s Katie Boulter is through to the second round in the women’s draw with a straight-set victory over Mai Hontama of Japan.
Boulter, claimed a 6-3, 6-4 win and will now face Czech seventh seed Karolina Muchova in the next round.
====================
In Cricket, West Indies dominated India’s bowlers to pile up their highest ever total in one-day internationals.
John Campbell (101), Shai Hope (104) and Amir Jangoo (114) all struck centuries in the tourists’ 405-7 in the second ODI in Guwahati.
It is only the sixth time in ODI history that a team has had three centurions in one innings and the Windies’ total eclipses their previous best of 389, scored against England at St George’s in 2019.
Campbell and Hope put on 110 in 79 balls for the second wicket, before a huge third-wicket partnership of 182 between Hope and Jangoo set the platform for a recrod total.
The two-time World Cup winners are also facing a battle to qualify directing for next year’s competition, having been consigned to a qualifier in early 2027.
=====================
In Formula one, Esteban Ocon is fighting to save his Formula 1 career after the Haas team announced they would split with the Frenchman at the end of the year.
Ocon, who won the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix for Alpine, joined Haas in 2025. He has been in F1 since 2016 and has also driven for the Manor and Force India teams.
=====================
TODAY’S FIXTURES
IN CAF AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS QUALIFIERS
Guinea vs Kenya
==========================
IN UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE
Germany vs Serbia
Greece versus Netherlands
Israel vs Kosovo
Republic of Ireland vs Austria
Denmark vs Portugal
Wales vs Norway
========================
FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
The initial and the most difficult risk we need to take is to become honest…words from Walter Anderson.
