Glasgow Rangers have been crowned Scottish Premiership champions for the first time since 2011, after Celtic were held to a goalless draw at Dundee United.

This success means manager Steven Gerrard has claimed the first major league title of his managerial career, with Rangers now holding an unassailable 20-point lead in the league table.

Rangers were consigned to Scotland’s fourth tier back in 2012 after financial collapse, but have rebuilt steadily —- and have now denied Celtic a record-breaking 10th consecutive top flight crown.

Rangers cruised past St Mirren 3-0 at Ibrox on Saturday, which brought the title in sight, and Celtic’s failure to find a winner at Tannadice gifted Rangers the silverware.

Former Liverpool and England midfielder Gerrard took the Rangers helm in 2018, and has now completed a remarkable end to Celtic’s prior dominance.

Rangers fans flouted lockdown rules at Ibrox to celebrate the 55th crown for the second day running.

“After a superb campaign so far, Gers’ win over St Mirren put them on the verge of glory, with results elsewhere today meaning they can mathematically no longer be caught, with incredibly six matches still to play,”read a Rangers statement.

“It’s title number 55 for the club – the most of any football club in the world – and the first in 10 years following one of the most arduous decades in the club’s history.”

It is former Liverpool and England captain Gerrard’s first trophy as a manager in his third season at Ibrox, and ends Celtic’s bid for an unprecedented 10th successive crown.

It is the earliest Scottish title win in chronological terms.

Rangers have dropped just eight points in an unbeaten Scottish Premiership campaign so far, with their victory on Saturday their 28th win in 32 matches.

They have scored 77 goals and conceded just nine —- only two of which have been at Ibrox.

The Glasgow club were in the bottom tier of Scottish football as recently as 2012 after their financial collapse, and returned to the top flight five years ago.

Rangers’ first game as champions will be the third Old Firm game of the campaign at Celtic Park on March 21. (dpa/NAN)

By Ijeoma Okigbo

Security operatives on Saturday foiled an attempted attack on officials handling the Week 5 game between Road Safety FC of Abuja and DMD FC of Maiduguri.

The group A2 Nigeria National League (NNL) match, played at the Area 3 football pitch, Abuja, witnessed few scoring chances from both sides as DMD FC succeeded in forcing the home team to a barren draw.

Towards the end of the game, curses and threats against the officials emanated from Road Safety’s bench alongside fans outside the pitch.

As the center referee, Jeremiah Akure, blew the final whistle, officers of the Nigeria Police Force and Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps made their way into the pitch to guard Akure and his colleagues from a few Road Safety players who attempted to attack them.

With the officials now safe, an unhappy Akande Onigbinde, coach of Road Safety FC, said the situation was borne out of frustration.

“The officiating was not good enough. Everybody (other teams) now think that Abuja is a place where you can come and do as you please.

“The referees are killing the game. It seems its all about money and power.

“When you take the pains to train hard, together with the funds the management is putting in, and you have someone destroying your effort, it is painful.

“I have spoken to the players to calm their nerves and we are looking forward to our next game,” Onigbinde said.

On his part, Balarabe Musa-Mohammed, coach of DMD FC, said the officiating was fair.

”The officiating was fair enough. We even thought that the centre referee was favouring the home side.

“We didn’t expect what we saw at the end of the game. The home team didn’t behave well,” he said.

Shehu Kagara, the match commissioner from Niger state, lauded the security operatives for their prompt response.

“The referee is a former Nigeria Professional Football League referee. The home team thought that they could win at all costs but this is impossible and they tried to torment the referee but all thanks to the security operatives available,” Kagara added.

DMD FC now has seven points from four matches while Road Safety has five points, also from four matches. (NAN)

The following are the results of Day 3 fixtures in the Group stage of the 2020/21 CAF Champions league, played on Friday and Saturday across the continent.

Group A
Al Ahly, Egypt 2-2 AS Vita Club, DR Congo
Al Merrikh, Sudan 0-0 Simba, Tanzania

Group B
Belouizdad, Algeria 1-1 Al Hilal Omdurman, Sudan
TP Mazembe, DR Congo 1-2 Mamelodi Sundowns, South Africa

Group C
Wydad Casablanca, Morocco 2-0 Horoya, Guinea
Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa 2-0 Petro de Luanda, Angola

Group D
Espérance Sportive de Tunis 3-1 vs Zamalek, Egypt
Teungueth, Senegal 0-1 MC Alger, Algeria

Day 4 matches will be played on March 16.

In the group stage, each tie will be played on a home-and-away, round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group will advance to the quarter-finals of the knockout stage. (PANA/NAN)

By Isaiah Eka

Akwa United put up a convincing performance on Sunday to record a resounding 3-0 victory over visiting Rivers United of Port Harcourt in a 2020/2021 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) fixture.

The victory at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo in this Match Day 13 fixture took Akwa United FC to fifth place on the NPFL table.

A first half goal by striker Mfon Udoh and two second half goals by striker Charles Atshimene and midfielder Morice Chukwu saw the Promise Keepers continue their impressive home run.

They have now won five and drawn two of their seven home games, and also picked up one win and two draws away from home so far this season.

The victory over Rivers United moves Akwa United to 22 points from 13 games having scored 16 goals and let in nine.

Boboye made just one change to the starting line-up of the team which drew in Aba, with Udoh given the nod to start after recovering from illness while Ubong Essien started on the bench.

Six minutes before half-time, Ndifreke Effiong recieved a good pass and located Seth Mayi who took on three Rivers United defenders neatly before sending a low ball through to Udoh.

He fired a powerful left-footed shot beyond Theophilus Afelokhai into the bottom left corner of the post to put the home team in front with his third goal of the season.

Udoh had a golden opportunity to increase the tally and his team’s lead when he was served a wonderful pass but he hit it straight at the goalkeeper from inside the goal area.

Deep into first half stoppage time, Udoh saw his shot hit the side of the net, as they went into the break with a deserved lead.

Six minutes after the restart, Akwa United doubled their advantage through Atshimene who benefitted from Afelokhai’s error to score his third goal of the season.

The win is Akwa United’s sixth victory of the season and their fifth win at home in seven matches.

They will next face hosts Warri Wolves on Match Day 14 away. (NAN)

By Nicholas Obisike

Rangers International Football Club of Enugu on Sunday beat visiting Heartland FC of Owerri 2-0 in a Match Day 13 fixture of the ongoing Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

Isaac Loute put hosts Rangers in front after 10 minutes through a powerful strike from outside the penalty box in the match played at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium.

Godspower Aniefiok made it 2-0 from Loute’s corner-kick in the 45th minute to ensure the home team take a two-goal lead into the break.

Heartland FC were reduced to 10 men when former Rangers player Orji Kalu received a red card after the interval, following his second yellow card in the match

Speaking after the encounter, Heartland FC’s coach Fidelis Ilechukwu said he would return to base to work on his team.

He regretted that his team lost the match and acknowledged that Rangers are a good team.

The coach added that he would do everything possible to beat Abia Warriors in the upcoming match day 14 game and start a new unbeaten from there.

“We are going home to work on our lapses to ensure that we start another unbeaten run in the league.

“As for our next match against Abia Warriors FC, that is a sure three points for us,” Ilechukwu assured.

Rangers’ coach, Salisu Yusuf, on his part said his team found their rhythm and that made the win so easy for them on Sunday.

“We created goalscoring chances but did not execute them well and it does not speak well for a team like Rangers.

“But, having won the game, this will help stabilise our position at the top side of the league table,” Yusuf said.

He added that the club would keep working to do well with other tactics because each game comes with its style and game plan.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Rangers have now climbed to third place on the league log with 23 points after 13 matches.

Heartland remain ninth with 17 points after the same number of matches. (NAN)

By Emmanuel Afonne

Sajo Mohammed, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nigeria National League (NNL), says plans are now in place to make the second-tier league the best competition in the country.

Mohammed told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja that the league management for a start has, among other things, embarked on an enhanced publicity of its matches.

He said the move was to encourage the teeming Nigerian youths to reduce the attention they pay to foreign league competitions and transfer such to the Nigerian league.

“Many of these fans have never travelled to England, but you can see them talking about a club that is over there as if the club has been part of them for long. So, we need the publicity,” Mohammed said.

The NNL CEO said the plan for publicity would also attract followership and more sponsors to the league.

“I doubt if we can for now have some Nigerian youths who can name three Nigerian clubs. But they will mention all the foreign clubs for you.

“This makes it a massive job for us. But once the sponsors are on ground, we will demand from clubs the programme of their activities and the number of fans they have, because the publicity is important.

“There was a time I was South Africa and I saw how they organise their fan base. They even call for meetings of fans to educate them and also start early to mentor their children to know that this is the jersey of their club.

“From there the children will grow to know so much about the club.

“What we lack here is that while we were growing up, we were not telling our kids that clubs like Rangers, Shooting Stars, Bendel Insurance or Calabar Rovers are great clubs.

“When we were growing up, we were so fanatical about our clubs and there were no satellite cable to show matches, but now, we have to publicise our matches the way the Football Association (FA) and the Premier League did to get the English Premier League (EPL) to become a worldwide phenomenon,” Mohammed said.

He urged Nigerians, especially the corporate organisations, to support NNL’s development and the sports sector in general.

The NNL CEO said this would help to create jobs for the youths and prevent them from engaging in crime.

“We must support the youths by engaging them in sports activities. With that we will have less criminal activities.

“The majority of our population are youths and football will give employment to a lot of these youths. So, my appeal is for organisations, industries and well-to-do individuals to invest in football.

“I know that there is a reward for that,” he added. (NAN)

By Muhyideen Jimoh

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nigeria National League (NNL), Sajo Mohammed, has pledged to raise the standard of officiating in the league in line with international best practice.

Mohammed told the News Agency of Nigeria ((NAN) on Sunday in Abuja that it was glaring that a high standard of officiating was needed to improve football generally in the country.

He said it was even more important to have good and fair officiating in the second tier national league, in view of its importance, in order to raise the game’s standard.

“We try as much as possible to impress on the clubs to obey the rules, and not only the clubs but also the match officials.

“We want our referees to go by the rules, for fair officiating. These are all rules that should be followed religiously.

“ Once you don’t follow the rules in football, then it is not the game of football,’’ Mohammed said.

He also harped on the need for all clubs to respect the COVID-19 protocols while warning that clubs without adequate medical facilities, ambulances and paramedics would be sanctioned.

“We have written to all clubs to observe COVID-19 protocols and we also told the clubs that the issue of medical is very important and they must ensure that all players and officials undergo the COVID-19 test.

“ All clubs must also make sure that they have club doctors and physiotherapists, as well as a functional ambulance attached to every club.

“Not just on the field of play but even during their trainings. We have informed them of the need to have all these in place.

“Any club that violates these instructions will be sanctioned either through fines or if need be the club will be stopped from participating in the league,” the NNL CEO said.

On the issue of travel arrangements by clubs, he advised clubs to shun night travels while also beefing up security when traveling for their league matches.

“We have also advised the clubs against night travels. We have urged them to as much as possible travel in the day time and we are also trying to send a circular instructing the clubs to travel with security at all times.

“It is very necessary for the teams to travel with a minimum of two armed policemen in the event of any attack because nowadays we have a lot of security challenges in the country and our roads are also not too good.

“We want the safety of everybody and that is why we have also insisted that they must ensure that the buses they are traveling with are insured.

“We already have an insurance company and we have instructed all clubs to ensure they do both vehicle as well as life insurance for the players,” Mohammed added.

He described as regrettable the recent accidents and attacks on team buses of some NPFL clubs while traveling to honour their away fixtures. (NAN)

By Emmanuel Afonne

The Nigeria National League (NNL) is to visit police formations nationwide, to seek collaboration of the force in providing adequate security during league encounters.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NNL, Sajo Mohammed, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday that the league management had zero tolerance for hooliganism at match venues.

He said it was in line with this that the NNL would adopt every possible measure to ensure the safety of players and officials during matches.

“We have zero tolerance for hooliganism at match venues and we have informed clubs to take security seriously as we will embark on a tour of all police formations for them to assist us with security in our stadiums,” he said.

The NNL CEO said also that the league management was working on having the identities of fans belonging to a particular club for easy identification of hooligans.

He noted that any hooligan identified at any match venue would be banned from accessing match venues.

“I am a security man and as a member of the Security Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation, I have seen a lot of security issues at match venues and one thing I want to do is to ensure the safety of everybody.

“I want the safety of the fans, safety of the officials and players. It is our priority.

“We will put in place a mechanism where hooligans will be identified and possibly banned from attending our matches.

“This is the area I have a lot of interest in and we will not sit and watch fans attack referees or rival teams and we are serious about this,” Mohammed said.(NAN)

By Ijeoma Okigbo

The Nigeria National League (NNL) says it will announce its sponsor for the 2020/2021 season in the next few weeks.

Sajo Mohammed, the league’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja that this would surely boost competition and improve the level of play in the league.

“Football is a serious business and as such it requires funding, and that is why the management is doing all it can to get sponsors for the league.

“We have found an organisation that has indicated interest in sponsoring the league.

“The company is knowledgeable about football and its benefits in the long run.

“They sponsored our Annual General Meeting in Abakiliki in January and I believe that in the next few weeks, they will be officially unveiled as our major league sponsor,’’ Mohammed said.

The NNL CEO also added that the feat would lead to the league’s matches being shown live across the world.

“Just like the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), we will want to showcase our matches live.

“We can pick one or two star matches of the week and televise it, thereby exposing the great talents we have in the country to the world,’’ he said.

The football administrator also appealed to the actors in the private sector to aid in sponsoring sports, adding that government alone cannot do it.

The 2020/2021 NNL season began on Feb. 13 with 46 clubs participating. (NAN)

By Ijeoma Okigbo

Road Safety Football Club of Abuja beat K&G Shekarau FC of Kano 2-1 in a Group A2 Match Day 3 fixture of the ongoing 2020/2021 Nigeria National League (NNL).

In the match at the Area 3 pitch in Abuja, both sides created very few goalscoring chances, but it was Road Safety FC who were better off after utilising chances created.

Sanusi Jubril broke the deadlock 43 minutes into the game following a goalmouth scramble to put the home side in the lead.

The second half began with Adannu Adannu’s attempt to increase the lead for the Abuja side, but he opted for a shot which went wide.

The 60th minute witnessed Sunday Dansu of Road Safety FC needing the services of an ambulance after he collided with goalkeeper Zaharadeen Mohammed of Shekarau FC while reaching for the ball.

Suleiman Abba scored the second goal for the home side after he benefited from a good pass from Adannu seven minutes later.

A direct red card was however issued to Sani Sadeeq of Shekarau FC in the 73rd minute for a foul against a player of the  opposing team.

Five minutes later, Mustapha Dan-Azumi scored the consolation goal for the visiting side via a free-kick.

After the game, Rabiu Tata, the coach of K&G Shekarau, whose team now have only one point from three games, said he was disappointed with the officiating.

“We had a pre-match meeting and we were assured that the game would go well. But the officiating didn’t speak well of the game.

“My team did their best in the match and hopefully we will win our next game against Zamfara United at home,” Tata said.

On his part, Onigbinde Akande, the coach of Road Safety FC, said he was appreciative of his team’s efforts

“The team played well today and I am happy about it.

“Now we have four points from three matches. It’s a good one for us and we hope we continue to improve on our games,” Akande said. (NAN)