Two second-half goals secured lowly Spezia a shock 2-0 home win over AC Milan in Serie A on Saturday, condemning Stefano Pioli’s side to their first league loss in two months and denting their top-four hopes.

Defender Przemyslaw Wisniewski and midfielder Salvatore Esposito helped Spezia earn their first win in nine games and move them closer to safety.

Milan, who play Inter Milan in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday after losing 2-0 at home, have won only two of their last seven league matches.

They remained fifth in the standings with 61 points, two behind fourth-placed Inter who host Sassuolo later on Saturday.

“It’s normal that the Champions League is on our minds and it’s normal that we were disappointed with the result of the first leg,” Pioli said.

“But we know that the season comes from both the championship and the Champions League and this defeat complicates our future.

“Now we don’t have many chances left to be positive this season. Tuesday is a great opportunity, we have to believe we can beat Inter.”

Milan had clear chances to take the lead in an entertaining first half when Sandro Tonali hit the post in the sixth minute and a powerful shot from outside the box by Theo Hernandez was saved by keeper Bartlomiej Dragowski.

Spezia were hopeful of getting a penalty for a handball but a VAR review prompted the referee to rule that Tommaso Pobega had blocked M’Bala Nzola’s shot with his chest.

Knowing a draw would be a disappointing result for both Europe-chasing Milan and relegation-threatened Spezia, the sides played with higher intensity after the interval.

Milan forward Brahim Diaz hit the outside of the post from a tight angle and Spezia’s Nzola forced Milan keeper Mike Maignan to save a low shot.

Spezia took a surprise lead in the 75th minute following a corner, after Kelvin Amian’s header bounced off the post and Wisniewski netted the rebound.

Esposito sealed the win for Spezia with a stunning free kick which flew into the top left corner five minutes from time.

It was the first time since 2017 that Milan had lost to opponents in the bottom three places in the standings.

Spezia remained in the relegation zone but moved on to 30 points, level with 17th-placed Verona who have a game in hand.

Atalanta dropped one place to seventh earlier on Saturday after losing 1-0 at 15th-placed Salernitana who sealed the win in stoppage time through midfielder Antonio Candreva. (Reuters/NAN)

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Edited by Idris Abdulrahman

By Emmanuel Afonne

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Mr Andrew Adejo, says sports will continue to form part of schools curricular as government strives to reposition the education sector in the country.

Adejo made this known while speaking with newsmen in Abuja on the forthcoming Federal Education Sector Games (FEDUGAM) scheduled to begin on Monday in the Nasarawa State University in Keffi.

He said the ministry has consistently been in the forefront of campaign for the promotion of sports as part of the school system.

”Just like the schools and tertiary institutions in the country enjoy the Academical football competitions, Polytechnic Games, College of Education Games and the University Games, so shall the staff of the ministry and it’s agencies, henceforth be enjoying FEDUGAM.

“The essence of FEDUGAM in the education sector is to achieve two things.

“First is to make the staff of the ministry and its agencies healthy and second, to create an atmosphere where we leave work, see ourselves, talk in an atmosphere where we will be able to interact and do sports together.

“Games like chess and scrabble help the intellectual ability. While scrabble helps words ability, chess helps the thinking ability.

“We all know the genesis of sports which started from the Roman Empire when people felt that they were too tight and they needed to express themselves and interact with one another.

“The game is to bring everybody working in education together and you discover that in all the primary and secondary school curricular, there is usually a time for sporting activities,” Adejo said.

According to him, the ministry is focusing on creating individuals that are strong and healthy, with sharper brains and then create an atmosphere of Camaraderie.

He noted that participants at the Games were strongly aware of the rules which must produce winners and losers, while their actions would be anchored on the spirit of sportsmanship.

“The ministry and its agencies came together in collaboration with the private sector to organise the Games.”

Adejo also said that they have put machinary in place to discourage mercenaries during the Games in order to create a level playing ground for participants.

“We have effective record keeping in civil service, there is a registration process in FEDUGAM and by the time an office sends in the names of their representatives, we will crosscheck the nominal roll of the office.

“If the name of the participant is not on the nominal roll, the person won’t participate; this is to discourage mercenaries from participating.

“Out of 24 agencies under the ministry, about 16 have so far registered,” Adejo added. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Sadiya Hamza

By Kennedy Kuyet

Top seeds, Stella Udokwelu and Ikechukwu Iloputa on Monday advanced to the second round of the 4th VEMP National Open Tennis Championship in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the tournament which served off with the Round of 32 fixtures on Monday.

In the Women’s Singles Round of 32 matches played so far, fourth seed Udokwelu was forced to work hard on Monday by Rebecca Ekpeyong in her first match.

Udokwelu was stretched to the limit by the unseeded Ekpeyong before prevailing 6-4, 7-6 (1) to stay on course and advance to the second round at the end of a pulsating encounter.

“Overall it was a really solid start, especially in the first set I played on a higher level.

“I served pretty good too which I think gave me an edge against a very tough opponent who was hell-bent on fighting for every ball in the court,” she said.

In other results, Jesutoyosi Adeusi defeated Chidinma Ezeh 7-5, 6-1, while Toytin Asogba beat tournament wildcard, Loveth Ogah 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the second round.

Blessing Amuna was forced to retire due to injury as Blessing Samuel advanced 6-2 (rtd) to the second round of the women’s singles event.

In the men’s singles event, number seven seed Iloputa made light work of unseeded Joseph Jimoh 6-4, 6-0, while Chima Michael was forced to retire due to injury as Thomas Otu advanced 4-0 (rtd).

Godsgift Timibra strolled past wildcard Noah Adamu 6-3, 6-0, while Michael Emmanuel defeated Michael Osewa 6-4, 6-2 to also advance to the second round.

The week-long tournament which is its fourth edition is expected to end on Saturday. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Joseph EDeh

By Emmanuel Afonne

Fifteen players have been selected from the South-West zone for the final of the maiden Global Grassroots Football Tournament (GGFT) scheduled to take place in Abuja on May 17.

Joseph Ombugala, Chief Zonal Coordinator, Global Grassroots Football Tournament, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) over the telephone on Sunday that the 15 players were chosen on merit.

“We saw players in the South-West that think with their feet,” he said.

Ombugala said that 60 players from the six states of the South-West zone participated in the rigorous selection process which eventually produced 15 players.

“So far, we have concluded South-South and South-East with seven and eight best players selected respectively for the final in Abuja.

“From South-South, we arrived South-West, using Obasanjo’s farm in Ogun State as base.

“When we came, we saw 60 selected best of best players ready for the tournament at Obasanjo’s farm.

“From the 60 players, Uchendu Nwabara, Proprietor of Prestige Football Academy, Abuja, myself and the Chief Scout, Yahaya Adamu, worked together to pick 15.

“We worked without sentiment. We saw talents and we were amazed with what we saw in the South-West,” Ombugala said.

According to him, none of the players that emerged from the scouting process will be rejected going by the quality of talents on parade.

He said that players so far selected were presumed the best and would in no distant time play for the country’s various national teams.

“We believe that none of the players we selected in the various zones will be rejected by foreign scouts because we worked without bias.

“We can decide to leave a zone if we don’t see quality players because a lot of people are coming to watch the final in Abuja and we won’t want to feed them with underperforming players.

“This is one of the best scouting programme I have ever seen in Nigeria and we hope to sustain it on annual basis.

“We are here to select and give opportunity to the best players to showcase themselves. These players performance in the future will go a long way to show what we have done.

“We hope that players that emerge from our tournament will win Africa and World footballers award,” Ombugala said.

NAN reports that the tournament moves to North-East (Bauchi) zone beginning from May 8, after its successful outing in South-West. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Vivian Ihechu

By Emmanuel Afonne

The Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Sunday Dare has commended the Nigerian athletes to the just concluded African Under-18/20 Athletics Championship in Zambia.

A statement issued by Toyin Ibitoye, Special Assistance to the Minister on Media, said the athletes won 17 gold, 10 silver and 9 bronze medals to finish in second place on the medals table behind South Africa.

Nigeria competed at the Meet with 41 athletes, while South Africa presented over a hundred athletes for the competition.

The Minister while commending the athletes urged them to stay focused and disciplined and to continue to pay attention to their careers and wait for opportunities to come to represent the country in bigger competitions.

Nigeria’s second place finish in the just concluded event in Zambia is an improvement on her third place finish at the previous edition of the championship held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, four years ago. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Ekemini Ladejobi

By Olayinka Owolewa

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has concluded arrangements to install Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in regional stadiums in the country as plans are underway to train and retrain referees to achieve the purpose.

The President of the federation, Malam Ibrahim Gusau, stated this on Saturday in Ilorin at the National Elective Delegates Conference of the Nigeria Referees’ Association (NRA).

Gusau, represented by an NFF official, Malam Muhammed Ameenu, charged the incoming leadership of the association to come up with development plans, to forecast, organise and ensure the future of Nigeria Referees are properly nurtured and watered towards the growth of the game.

While reiterating the unflinching support of the NFF to NRA in their quest to change the face of football in the country, Gusau said installation of VAR is to the growth and development of football.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Malam Sani Zubair emerged winner after polling 53 votes from the 54 accredited delegates to beat Elder Daniel Olokor to replace Otunba Tade Azeez. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

By Victor Okoye

A number of international athletes on Friday expressed concerns over the weather condition in the city ahead of the maiden Abuja International Marathon on Saturday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the weather forecast for Abuja is estimated at 35 degrees Centigrade with an expected humidity of 49 percent and wind speed of 14 kilometres per hour.

Some of the elite athletes who spoke to NAN said they were concerned that the humid and hot weather might affect their performance.

Mercy Kumbai of Kenya, with a personal best of two hours 27 minutes, said she was worried she might not be able to run her best due to the heat.

“I am not promising to run my best in this maiden Abuja marathon.

“My target is to run two hours 38 minutes, which is fair because of the high temperature and humid conditions.

“But I will still try to push myself to the limit and see if I can do probably two hours 35 minutes. Definitely, nothing lower than this,” she said.

On the reception she has received since her arrival in Nigeria, Kumbai noted that Nigerians were good and welcoming people, adding that the hospitality and local delicacies have been top notch.

Also, Kenya’s Emmanuel Naibet, who has a personal best of two hours eight minutes, said his observation of the weather conditions since his arrival in Abuja shows it was quite humid.

He however said his goal was still to improve on his personal best regardless of the conditions.

“Since my arrival in Abuja, I have been observing the weather here and noticed that it is a bit hot and humid in the morning.

“Notwithstanding the conditions, I still hope to push through and improve on my personal best.

“The main goal for coming to any marathon is to finish in good time and also aim for a podium finish.

“So, I am looking forward to running under two hours and nine minutes and then if that is enough to win the title, I will be very happy,” he said.

On his impression about Nigeria, Naibet noted that it was his first time in the country, but he was looking forward to enjoying himself and watching some nice Nollywood movies.

“I have heard so much about Nigeria and I am happy to be finally here. I plan on finding time to relax and watch some Nollywood movies, which the country is very famous for,” he said.

Dida Negasa from Ethiopia, with a personal best of two hours 29 minutes, said it was her third time in Nigeria, having participated in the Lagos Marathon in its last two editions.

“I am kind of used to the weather in this part of the continent. I took part in the last two editions of the Lagos Marathon where I posted a record of two hours 55 minutes and two hours 42 minutes.

“So, I am very optimistic about the Abuja marathon. Even though it is quite hot and humid here, I think I can give a good account of myself. But I really don’t know what to expect,” she said.

Thomas Olukayode, the Race Director, said no fewer than 32 International athletes and 121 Nigerian athletes had registered and were presently in Abuja to take part in the event.

Some of the international elite athletes at the press conference to herald the race on Friday in Abuja include: Naibet and David Kipkorir of Kenya (2 hours 11 mins).

Others are: Kure Takele of Ethiopia (2 hours 15 mins), Kenya’s Daniel Muidi (2 hours 09 mins) and Dickson Ngei also of Kenya (2 hours 12 mins).

The female international elite athletes present were: Kumbai, Negasa, Kenya’s Monica Cheruto (2 hours 32 mins) and full marathon debutant Ruth Jebet of Bahrain (1 hours 09 mins for half marathon).

NAN also reports that the winner of the international elite full marathon is expected to return home with 50,000 dollars as prize money.

The first- and second runners-up will pocket 40,000 and 30,000 dollars respectively.

There are other prize monies for the fourth to 10th position winners, ranging from between 20,000 to 2,000 dollars for the category.

Also, the winner of the international marathon for male and female Nigerian nationals only will receive three million Naira.

The first- and second runners-up will receive two million Naira and one million Naira respectively.

Other prize monies for the fourth to 10th position winners range from N750,000 to N100,000 for the category.

The 10km road race and 5km student race also has mouth-watering prize monies ranging from one million Naira to N250,000 for the top five finishers in the category.

The full marathon race (42.195 km) which begins at the Abuja City gate from 6 a.m. is expected to terminate at the Eagle Square.

The 10km race will start from 6.45 a.m. at the Wuye bridge.

The 5 km will begin at 6.15 a.m. from the bridge on Sani Abacha Way before Abuja Continental Hotel (former Sheraton Hotel). (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Olawale Alabi