By Omuboye Sukubo

The Rivers Government-owned Real Madrid Football Academy in Port Harcourt, says it will begin a four-day process toward admitting the first set of students for the academy.

Chris Green, Special Adviser to Gov. Nyesom Wike, on Real Madrid Academy disclosed this in a statement  in Port Harcourt on Sunday.

Green said that arrangements had been put in place to ensure a  smooth exercise under strict observance of  COVID-19 protocols.

He stated that intending students were expected to undergo aptitude tests before being subjected to physical football screening exercise at the Sharks Football Club Stadium.

“So far, over 1,500 applications have been received from an initial 2,300 that applied from every state of the federation in what promises to be a highly competitive admission process.

“The exercise is being done in conjunction with the Rivers Ministry of Education and every intending student will be given a fairground to compete,” he said.

According to Green, the high volume of applications is understandable because it is not unconnected with the world-class facility that we have at the Real Madrid Football Academy.

“I am excited at this wonderful opportunity to help a young generation of Nigerians achieve their dreams; we must immensely thank Wike for this great vision.

“This is a deliberate attempt to build future generations of Rivers youths in particular and other Nigerians in the best of football tradition,” he added.

The special adviser said Wike was enthusiastic about the project and had  given the management the free hand to choose only the best in a free and fair contest.

“We will not let him down and we want to assure all intending students of a transparent process,” he stated.

Green stressed that medical personnel would be on ground to enforce the COVID-19 guidelines.

“We shall provide all the candidates with nose masks and hand sanitisers.

“They are expected to come with their writing materials for the aptitude test and football shoes for the practical screening as all other playing gears have been provided by the academy.

“We enjoin the candidates and their parents/guardians to be orderly and obey all instructions,” he concluded. (NAN)

Leicester City beat Southampton 2-0 on Saturday to go second in the ongoing 2020/2021 English Premier League (EPL).

James Maddison and Harvey Barnes scored the goals to lift Leicester City to within one point of Manchester United, who play at third-placed Liverpool on Sunday.

Brighton and West Brom both picked up vital wins in their fight for survival Saturday while Chelsea and West Ham moved up the table with wins in the day’s other matches.

Maddison fired Leicester City ahead eight minutes before half-time and Barnes added a second deep into time added on to put Brendan Rodgers’ side above champions Liverpool.

Liverpool can regain the top spot, though, if they beat leaders Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday.

Fulham’s hopes of getting anything from their west London derby at home to Chelsea ended when Antonee Robinson was sent off for a nasty challenge on Cesar Azpilicueta.

Mount scored the only goal 12 minutes from the end to secure Chelsea a 1-0 win, lifting them to seventh, but only seven points behind the leaders. (dpa/NAN)

Mali kicked off their 2020 African Nations Championship (CHAN) campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 win over a tough Burkina Faso side in Cameroon on Saturday.

The Eagles won the West African clash in Group A thanks to an amazing 70th minute header by enterprising left-back Siaka Bagayoko at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde.

The defender, who plays for local giants Djoliba but previously featured for CS Sfaxien in Tunisia, settled the tie via an extraordinary long-range header after the Stallions failed to clear a corner-kick.

The victory takes Mali equal on three points with hosts Cameroon who beat Zimbabwe by a similar margin in the opening match of the tournament earlier in the day.

After a well-balanced contest in the first-half with several missed chances, it was Mali who made sure they pinned their opponents to get the goal and defend with a lot of caution.

Burkina Faso’s Soumaila Quattara, Illias Tiendrebeogo and Clement Pitroipa all had their attempts blocked, while Demba Diallo missed the target for Mali in what looked an easy chance to finish.

The deadlock was broken when Issaka Samake’s corner-kick was headed from behind the penalty box by Bagayoko, leaving Burkina Faso’s goalkeeper Babayoure Aboubacar Sawadogo stuck to the ground.

The Stallions team tried to push forward but failed to get the chances to even trouble the Malian defence.

With a minute remaining, Mali’s goalkeeper Cheik Abdoul Cadri blocked Claver Kiendrébéogo’s well-taken free-kick to protect his side’s lead.

The next matches will prove decisive in the group as Saturday’s winners will meet on Wednesday, while Zimbabwe will take on Burkina Faso.

The top two sides from the group will progress to the knockout stage of the competition.

The competition was initially set to be held in April 2020 but was postponed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

It is Africa’s major football event since the outbreak of the deadly disease.

Speaking after the game, Mali’s coach Nouhoum Diane said the game was not an easy ride for his team.

”I think the game was not easy, especially on the technical side. This is the first game for both teams who were under pressure to win.

“In the first half, our opponents created problems for us and it was only in the second half that we corrected ourselves and created chances.

“Against Cameroon, we hope to see a good match between two teams playing good football.”

On his part, Seydou Zerbo who is the coach of Burkina Faso said they have learnt lessons and were hopeful of correcting them before their next game.

“The editions follow one another but are not alike. It’s true that we lost our first game, but the tournament is still long.

“Now it’s up to us to correct our mistakes in order to have good matches in the future and achieve our goal of qualifying to the second round.

“Now we have to think about the game against Zimbabwe which is very important to us. After that, we will focus on the last match against hosts Cameroon,” he said. (NAN)

Napoli midfielder Fabian Ruiz was in home isolation after a positive coronavirus test on Saturday, the Serie A club said on Twitter.

The Spaniard is to miss Sunday’s league game with visiting Fiorentina and the Super Cup game set for Wednesday against Juventus.

The Neapolitans’ forward Victor Osimhen has been sidelined with the infection since early January.(dpa/NAN)

Referee Felix Brych can understand Borussia Moenchengladbach’s fury after he gave a penalty kick on video review in the dying moments of the 2-2 draw at Stuttgart on Saturday.

There is “already some residual doubts”, Brych said after Silas Wamangituka converted the penalty kick in the sixth minute of injury time.

He initially did not give the penalty kick but was called over to the monitor by video assistant Bibiana Steinhaus.

“It is a complex scene because there were two contacts. I think today Stuttgart can be happy with the penalty kick,” the referee added.

Moenchengladbach’s Ramy Bensebaini was adjudged to have fouled Stuttgart’s Sasa Kalajdzic in the penalty area with his arms.

However, there had been contact between Kalajdzic’s foot and a teammate beforehand.

Moenchengladbach’s Jonas Hofmann said of the refereeing team’s decision: “That is so cheeky. I don’t know what he (Brych) was thinking.

“It is madness, I have never seen anything like that. I don’t know what the video assistant is there for.”(dpa/NAN)

By Emmanuel Afonne

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has urged Golden Eaglets to go all out and ensure that they defeat their Burkina Faso counterparts in Friday’s semi-final encounter of the ongoing WAFU U-17 championship taking place in Togo.

Lawan spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on telephone through his Special Adviser (SA) on Sports, Sani Fema.

He urged the team to focus on the record already set by the country in U-17 football both at world and continental levels.

The senate president noted that Nigeria had become a force to reckon with in football, especially at the U-17 level and that anything short of victory would stain the record already set.

“Going by history, when you talk of the junior team football, Nigeria is one of the best in the world; there is no doubt we are going to defeat Burkina Faso and go ahead to lift the trophy.

“We have set a number of records in all categories of age grade football – U-17, U-21 and U-23; so, that spirit is still with Nigerian players and this team will not be an exception.

“Let us forget about how the team qualified for the semi-finals. They played fantastic games but were unlucky to win against Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana.

“I hope it will be a different approach against Burkina Faso,” Lawan said.

It will be recalled that the Golden Eaglets lost 0-1 to Cote d’Ivoire in their opening Group B match, courtesy of Charles Mezia’s 77th-minute strike.

They played 1-1 with Ghana in their second encounter after they took the lead through Joseph Arumala.

The Fatai Amoo-tutored boys eventually qualified for the semi-finals after the Ivorian team whipped their Ghanaian counterparts 3-1 in the last group game played at the Stade Municipal, Lome.

The Eaglets must defeat Group A winners Burkina Faso if they are to play in the final, while Cote d’Ivoire must overcome Niger Republic. (NAN)

By Nicholas Obisike

Rangers International FC of Enugu on Wednesday defeated FC IfeanyiUbah of Nnewi 2-1 in Enugu to climb to second spot on the 2020/2021 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) table.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Rangers moved up behind Rivers United of Port Harcourt after four matches played in the competition.

They are level on nine points with Rivers United, but they have an inferior goal difference of two.

Rangers started the match on a good note by forcing FC IfeanyiUbah’s goalkeeper Sharp Uzoigwe to make two quick saves.

Israel Abia put the home team in front in the 12th minute from a penalty kick and Ekene Awazie drew the visiting side level in the 51st minute.

Shedrack Asoegbu made it 2-1 for Rangers in the 56th minute with what turned out to be the match-winning goal.

Speaking after the match, the Rangers’ Head Coach, Salisu Yusuf, praised the players for adhering to instructions.

Yusuf acknowledged that the visitors gave his players a tough time and made the game difficult for his players.

“FC IfeanyiUbah came at us with determination, but we were able to subdue them because the players needed the points to be in a better position on the log.”

The coach gave credit to the visiting team’s goalkeeper, saying that he was his team’s main competitor on the day.

FC IfeanyiUbah’s coach, Uche Okagbue, on his part said his team fought like wounded lions but lost concentration after they equalised.

The coach however said he was beginning to be worried of his team’s failure to win any match so far in the ongoing league.

“We changed tactics after the first 45 minutes and that was what fetched us the equalising goal.

“Had it been that we beat Rangers, the players would have regained confidence for our forthcoming matches.

“As it stands now, we are going home to work more on our playing tactics to ensure we turn the situation around,” he said.

By Emmanuel Afonne

Theophilus Afelokhai, the Goalkeeper of Rivers United FC of Port Harcourt says the team’s superlative performance in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) is due to Governor, Nyesom Wike’s love for sports, especially football.

Afelokhai said this on Wednesday in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

According to him, the governor has shown so much commitment to the club that nobody is owed a dime even before the new league season commenced.

“The team is doing well because he provides whatever the club needs to succeed.

“He is a governor that loves sports and since I joined the team, he has never disappointed us for once. I have seen how other governors handle their clubs, but the way Wike does his things is entirely different.

“He is a governor that wants to do more for the team provided the players and officials are doing well.

“A team succeeds when salaries and match bonuses are paid regularly and nobody is owed, and you are rewarded immediately whenever your team wins a match.

“These things go a long way to motivate the team and propel it to success and having a governor and team management committed to its players’ welfare, there will be no room for failure.

“But in all things, I give God the glory,” Afelokhai said.

According to him, the club is strategising for its CAF Confederation Cup second-leg encounter with South African club side Bloemfontein Celtic.

He said the team would not rest on its oars until it achieved its target for the season.

“The match is not over, we have to work hard just the way we did in the first-leg encounter to ensure we qualify for the next round.

“It is important to us and I am assuring Nigerians that by God’s grace, we will qualify to the next round.

“Anywhere I go, I always succeed, and I always have a personal target of winning the league title or continental laurel, this is my target with Rivers United,” he added.

Afelokhai also said he was working hard to break into the Super Eagles first team and that he would not fail to grab the opportunity when it comes.

“I am praying and working toward that and if it comes, I will be the happiest man on earth and I will embrace it with all my heart.”

NAN reports that Afelokhai is rated among the best domestic shot-stoppers having manned the goalpost in the past for clubs like Kano Pillars, and Enyimba International FC of Aba. (NAN)

By Nicholas Obisike

Rangers International FC of Enugu players have assured its supporters of a win against visiting FC Ifeanyiubah of Nnewi in the midweek match day four of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the match will be played at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu.

The club’s Media Officer, Norbert Okolie, told sports journalists in Enugu on Tuesday that the players were ready and had promised their coach and supporters of a convincing win.

He said: “Striker Isreal Abia said that FC Ifeanyiubah will be turned back home empty handed on Wednesday.

”He has also said that players are ready for the visitors’ antics and we are not going to relent on our good run in the league.

“Abia further said that Coach Salisu Yusuf’s ideology of ‘never underrate any team’ “is what is giving the good results in the league.

“He also said the players were reminded about the club’s slogan of ‘never say die’.

“The only answer to the match against FC Ifeanyiubah is nothing beyond a win as we look forward to reach the top of the league.”

Also, Femi Ajayi, who scored the lone goal in Kaduna against Jigawa Golden Stars, said that Rangers will play the match like a final.

”With the team work among the players, I strongly believe that we can take on any team and challenge for the league shield perfectly.

”We are not underrating any team, talk more of a team like FC Ifeanyiubah, but we just pray for luck to be at our best and come out with the desired victory,” Ajayi said.

NAN reports that Rangers defeated FC Ifeanyiubah 3-1 in Enugu on Jan. 8, 2020 during the first leg of the 2019/2020 league match before the league was suspended because of COVID-19 pandemic. (NAN)

By Muhyideen Jimoh

The Baby Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire, on Tuesday, whipped their Ghanaian counterparts 3-1 in the last group B match of the ongoing WAFU U-17 tournament in Togo, to pick a semifinal ticket.

The win also helped Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets pick the second ticket in the group and squeeze into the semi-finals of the competition.

The Golden Eaglets, who are five-time world champions in the age category, had started the competition on a poor note, losing 0-1 to the Baby Elephants.

They drew 1-1 with the Black Starlets of Ghana in the second match, thereby requiring the Ivorians to beat Ghana by more than one goal to qualify.

Cote d’Ivoire topped group B with 6 points, while Nigeria came a distant second with just one point, same as Ghana, but with a better goal difference.

Nigeria will now play Burkina Faso in the semi-finals, while the Ivorians will take on Niger Republic.

The two finalists automatically qualify for the 2021 CAF U-17 AFCON in Morocco. (NAN)