Angel Di Maria scored a hat-trick on Thursday as Juventus thumped 10-man Nantes 3-0 to reach the Europa League round of 16.

Juventus who are playing away qualified on a 4-1 aggregate.

They played to a 1-1 draw against the French side in the home leg as they eyed a long run in the European competition to boost a miserable campaign in which they have been deducted 15 Serie A points for financial irregularities.

“I am happy with the performance, it was not an easy game after the first-leg result, as the crowd here is very passionate.

“Just because we were eliminated from the Champions League does not mean it will be easy to win the Europa League. It isn’t, but we have the duty to try and go all the way, just as we do in Serie A,” Juve manager Massimiliano Allegri, said.

Argentine Di Maria put Juventus ahead after five minutes with a delightful curling strike from the edge of the box into the top corner.

The evening got worse for Nantes after 18 minutes when defender Nicolas Pallois was sent off for using his arm to stop another goal from Di Maria and the 35-year-old Argentine player had no problem converting the penalty.

Filip Kostic was close to getting a third for Juventus in first-half stoppage time, but his shot hit the inside of the post and the rebound landed in the hands of Nantes keeper Alban Lafont.

Juve’s Alex Sandro sent in a diving header late in the second half but Lafont was down quickly to make an impressive one-handed save.

Di Maria completed his treble 12 minutes from time when he sent in a glancing header and the ball just crossed the line before being pushed away.

It was Juve’s first hat-trick in a UEFA competition away from home since Filippo Inzaghi in 2000.

“He is a champion and different to the others,” Allegri said.

“Everything comes easily to him, he raises the overall level of the squad and the others all feel more relaxed in his presence. Di Maria is in the category of real champions.”

In other encounters, PSV humbled Sevilla 2-0, Midtjylland lost 0-4 to Sporting CP, Union Berlin overpowered Ajax 3-1, Roma ran away with a 2-1 defeat of RB Salzburg, while Manchester United defeated Barcelona 2-1.

The draw for the round of 16 will be held on Friday. (NAN/Reuters)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Vincent Obi

By Emmanuel Afonne

The African Union (AU) has given Ghana two weeks to fix the actual dates to stage the African Games (AG).

The Games had earlier been scheduled to run from Aug. 4 to Aug. 19, 2023 but the host country is yet to approve the date, as the actual state of its facilities are yet to be ascertained.

Ghana will be hosting the Games for the first time, even as there are opposition against the country staging the Games.

A statement by Tony Nezianya, Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), stated that AU had mandated stakeholders in African Sports to ascertain the readiness of Ghana to host the Games.

The statement quoted Habu Gumel, the Treasurer-General of Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), saying “they have been given two weeks to carry out the exercise and fix the actual dates to stage the Games”.

Gumel who was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the AU meeting said that a detailed inspection would be conducted of Accra, Kumasi, and Cape Coast, where the venues and facilities for the Games are located and to ascertain their state of readiness for the Games.

He said stakeholders used the opportunity provided by the meeting to resolve the problems facing the main stakeholders – the Union of Africa Sports Confederations (UCSA), ANOCA, and the Africa Association of Sports Confederation (AASC).

The presidents of ANOCA, Moustaph Berraf; UCSA/AASC, Maj.-Gen. Ahmed Nasser, and the Chairman of the AU Commission, Musa Faki signed the relevant documents that assigned them roles to play to ensure the success of the Games.

“ANOCA’s presence among stakeholders is particularly important, as an affiliate of the Olympic Movement to ensure the Games serves largely as an Olympic qualification event.”

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Organising Committee, Kwaku I cf gosu Asare has urged Ghanaians to support the staging of the Games as it will cost as much to host as not to host. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Joseph Edeh

By Ijeoma Okigbo

The Super Falcons finally secured a victory at the Revelation Cup Tournament in Mexico, beating Costa Rica by a lone goal.

The match, played at the Leon Stadium, late Tuesday night, saw Esther Okoronkwo scoring from a close range in the 42nd minute.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria had lost her earlier two matches in the tournament to hosts Mexico and Columbia, both by a lone goal each.

The tournament, however, is a build up to the Women’s World Cup billed for July in Australia and New Zealand. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Muftau Adediran/Idris Abdulrahman

Young Chipolopolo coach Chisi Mbewe says his team will have to look at themselves again after their nail-biting 1-1 draw with Benin Republic on Tuesday.

At the ongoing Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt, Zambia came from a goal down to hold the impressive Cheetahs from Benin Republic in a Group C match in Alexandria.

Second-half substitute Rickson Ng’ambi drew level on the hour mark following Rodolfo Aloko’s fine opener.

But Mbewe said his team was not impressive in the early period of the encounter. “We were unrecognisable in the first half, then we quickly equalised.

“We regained control of the match, but it was not enough to win. What I retain is the spirit of our reaction.”

The coach said that his boys would have to be more focused when they face The Gambia in their next group match on Friday.

“We cannot be satisfied with this result. We have to question ourselves, find our drive,” Mbewe added.

The Gambia had earlier defeated Tunisia by a lone goal in the first Group C encounter as the Abdoulie Bojang’s Young Scorpions dominated possession against the Young Carthage Eagles.

The match was a repeat of the third-place match in 2021 which the Young Scorpions won on penalty kicks in Nouakchott, Mauritania.

The match saw both sides trying to start the play from behind as they build up to the midfield and spread it around the wide areas.

The West Africans who are appearing in the tournament for the fourth time started the better side with Mahmud Bajo, Haruna Rasid Njie and Alieu Gibba dictating the contest’s flow.

The first half saw neither side register a shot on goal.

But it was the Young Scorpions who had the first attempt of the match through Hawks FC left-back Sainey Sanyang.

The second half saw both sides make changes to undo each other in the encounter.

However, it was The Gambia who had the best opportunity after 70 minutes through Rasid Njie as the Gunjur midfielder headed over Sainey Sanyang’s cross.

Tunisia held their own but they were caught out six minutes from normal time when Saine headed in Sanyang’s delivery in off the post to secure The Gambia all three points.

The Gambia won bronze twice in their three previous participations in the tournament. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Olawale Alabi

Goals from Victor Osimhen and Giovanni Di Lorenzo gave dominant Napoli a comfortable 2-0 victory at Eintracht Frankfurt in their UEFA Champions League last-16 first leg tie on Tuesday.

Napoli, bidding to reach their first quarter-final in the competition, went ahead when Osimhen, tapped in at the far post after 40 minutes.

The Super Eagles striker has now scored 10 goals in his last nine games across all competitions.

Eintracht Frankfurt were reduced to 10 men just before the hour and Napoli captain Di Lorenzo soon doubled the visitors’ advantage in the 65th.

He scored from a superb back-heel assist by the tricky Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who made amends for his first half penalty kick miss.

“I am happy with the performance,” Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti said. “From the start the team played with character, took control of the game and did what we wanted to do.

“We probably had the chance to score an extra goal that could have been useful for us. I still think it is 50-50 for qualification, because there is still a game to be played.

“We need the utmost humility because when you face a team convinced you have an advantage you can then end up dealing with unexpected situations. Arrogance is the biggest enemy.”

Error-prone Eintracht Frankfurt had Randal Kolo Muani red-carded for a foul in the 58th minute.

They were no match for the Italians who were sharper from the start and hit the post in the 34th minute through Hirving Lozano.

Napoli earned a penalty kick immediately after as Eintracht Frankfurt’s Aurelio Buta kicked Osimhen in his effort to clear the ball.

Georgia forward Kvaratskhelia, who with Osimhen has a combined total of 32 goals in all competitions this season for Napoli, failed to beat Kevin Trapp from the penalty kick spot.

Osimhen did it much better only five minutes later after Mexican Lozano, who wreaked havoc down the right with his darting runs, whipped in another low cross to the far post.

The Nigerian striker only needed to bundle the ball home to score.

Osimhen put the ball in the net again in an almost identical move a minute later but his effort was ruled out for offside.

Close-season signing Kvaratskhelia had a golden chance to double the lead in the 57th minute but again did not manage to beat Trapp in a one-on-one after another Lozano through-ball.

The turning-point for Eintracht Frankfurt came a minute later when their top scorer Kolo Muani got his marching orders for a clumsy challenge on Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa.

Napoli’s pressure grew and they were rewarded when Kvaratskhelia picked up the ball in the box and backheeled it for Di Lorenzo to curl a shot into the far bottom corner.

“We still have a second leg to play,” said Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Mario Goetze. “They scored two goals here, why should we not do that as well? We know everything is still possible.”

Elsewhere on Tuesday, defending champions Real Madrid produced a stunning comeback from two goals down to earn a devastating 5-2 victory at Anfield in the first leg of their last-16 encounter. (Reuters/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Olawale Alabi

By Chimezie Anaso

Rommy Ezeonwuka, the Managing Director of Rojenny Stadium and Games Village, Oba in Idemili South LGA of Anambra has urged sports loving Nigerians to vote massively for Mr Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party.

Ezeonwuka, in a statement made available in Awka on Monday, said Nigerians should vote Obi in the interest of the nation’s talented youths and of the growth of the sports sector.

He said Peter Obi’s contributions to the sports sector both as a governor of Anambra and a private citizen had remained uncelebrated.

Ezeonwuka said Obi not only built sports infrastructure in Anambra but was the first governor to visit Rojenny Stadium and approved grant for upgrading of the facilities at the stadium.

According to him, when Peter Obi came to Rojenny he said that the person who invested such an amount of his personal money on sports facility should be recognised as one of the highest developers of Nigeria youth talents.

“Peter Obi loves sports, he represents the best interest of sports among all the candidates, so as an authority in the development of sports in Nigeria, I endorse him and call on all lovers of sports to vote massively for him.

“As a governor, Peter Obi built two mini stadiums, the Chuba Ikpeazu Stadium and Godwin Achebe stadium from scratch at a time when Anambra did not have a playground not to talk of stadium.

“He went further to commence the Awka Township Stadium and built it to a point before leaving office.

“Under Peter Obi, school sports and state sports festivals were regular and a lot of talented athletes were discovered,” he said.

Ezeonwuka said that if well developed, the sports sector could be used to create wealth opportunities as the United States of America, Jamaica and Brazil had done for their youth.

He said Nigeria needed a president who would give priority to sports as an instrument for empowering millions of youths in the streets.

He said Peter Obi’s presidency would activate and harvest sporting talents across Nigeria and create a virile sports economy.

“Under Peter Obi, I see Nigeria winning football World Cup; bad leadership has driven our best talents to the streets where they are languishing, our Nigeria football league and athletics will bounce back.

“Sports is a gold mine, we need a president that will help the youth tap from it, an Olympic gold medal can earn the athletes about a thousand dollars and you know what that means to the family and economy in general.

“As sports men and women, let us help ourselves by voting Peter Obi and ensuring he wins the race on Feb. 25, ” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Maureen Atuonwu

By Emmanuel Afonne

Manchester City fell two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal after being held to a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Arsenal left it very late to beat Aston Villa 4-2 earlier on Saturday and climbed back to the top of the standings, putting pressure on City to earn victory at Forest, with the visitors starting the encounter at a blistering pace.

City dominated possession and deservedly took the lead four minutes before the break with Bernardo Silva slamming the ball into the net from the edge of the box.

The visitors should have doubled their advantage midway through the second half but the usually lethal Erling Haaland hit the crossbar from close range before blazing the rebound over the top.

That miss proved pivotal as, out of nowhere, Forest’s January signing Chris Wood tapped home at the far post to level up six minutes from time and lift the roof off a damp City Ground.

City eventually came out in full force in search of a dramatic late winner but they could not break the hosts’ resistance, leaving City two points behind Arsenal having played one game more, while Forest climbed to 13th place.

“It is one of the best games we have played but we dropped two points; we should be more aggressive. There are many games still to play, we know it.

“We had amazing chances but it’s football. We have to score. We did everything. You have to do it. There were too many clear chances to score,” City coach Pep Guardiola said.

City beat Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday to drag themselves back to the top of the standings after having trailed the Londoners for much of the season.

Victory over Forest, whom they beat 6-0 in the reverse fixture earlier in the season, was expected, with the only downside in an impressive first-half display being that City were unable to score more than once to make their dominance count.

Elsewhere, Liverpool ended the unbeaten record on Newcastle United with a 2-0 win at St. James Park.

Liverpool were clinical in the first half and they quickly grabbed their two goals courtesy of Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo in the 10th and 17th minutes respectively.

Newcastle, despite being down to 10 men, were the better side in the second period until the last few minutes when Liverpool should have capitalised on the Toon’s lack of energy and scored more.

Goalkeeper Nick Pope was sent off having kept 12 clean sheets in the Premier League this season for the Toon after a red card in the first half, for a handball outside his area.

In other encounters, Bournemouth defeated Wolves 1-0 away, Crystal Palace and Brentford ended paly 1-1, Everton pipped Leeds United 1-0, Fulham edged Brighton 1-0, while Chelsea lost at home 0-1 to Southampton. (Reuters/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Emmanuel Afonne/Vincent Obi

By Segun Giwa

The Ondo State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Bamidele Ologunloluwa, has called for more presence of national team coaches at league venues to improve chances of home based players in the national team.

Ologunloluwa said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Akure.

According to Ologunloluwa, the presence of national team coaches at match venues will give them room to share experiences with coaches of clubsides, especially those in the lower leagues.

The commissioner,who appreciated the visit of the Super Eagles Coach, Jose Paseiro, urged him to look inwards for good players as the country is blessed with abundant talents.

“I am happy to meet Jose Paseiro here in Akure, he is our guest and from what I heard, this is the second time he will be watching our team play, though, first time in Akure.

“If we have more of these visits, it will be a morale booster and will raise hopes that more of our indigenous players will be called to the national teams.

“It’s not that we don’t have home based players, but the coach coming down himself to watch them play shows commitment.

“And if he intends to win the AFCON, he will need best of legs from the country mixed with those outside the country to achieve it.

“I will also urge our coaches at the age grade levels to emulate the national team coach and look for materials in the country,” he said.

The commissioner later expressed his appreciation to Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, for his support to ensure that youths in the state were employed and off the streets through sports.

Earlier, the Ondo State FA Chairman, Dele Ajayi told NAN that the current board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) was doing everything possible to bring back the lost glory of football.

Ajayi said that part of what the board was doing was to ensure that national team coaches visit match venues and watch the league.

The chairman said that soon, the country would reap the gains of the plan being put in place by the board.

NAN reports that the commissioner met with Super Eagles Coach, Paseiro, in Akure during match day seven involving Sunshine Stars and Niger Tornadoes in Akure.

Paseiro was in Akure to watch match day seven of the NPFL involving Sunshine Stars and Niger Tornadoes, which the home team won 2-0. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Gregg Mmaduakolam/Bayo Sekoni

By Ijeoma Okigbo

The Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) says it is targeting one million new entrants into the game annually in the country.

Emeka Igwilo, General Manager of the federation told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday that, the target was given to the country by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Igwilo said the international body was happy with the progress of the game in the country and felt Nigeria could get more entrants to the game.

The NCF official said that the earlier task for the federation was 250,000 entrants annually, one that the country has surpassed.

“The ICC is very happy with Nigeria and their message to us is straightforward; that we continue the good work.

“The ICC is also focusing on a special intervention programme with the NCF to grow the numbers of the game, especially considering the size of our population.

“The special project is that of getting one million new participants annually.

“Our previous target was 250,000 but with what the ICC have seen with the videos of the coaching clinics around the country, data reports, level of grassroot developments etc., they felt the NCF could get more than the earlier target,” Igwilo said.

The former cricket player said the programme would mean funds going directly to the states to aid in introducing participants to the game.

“The states are happy; they are already challenged because they have seen that the programme would mean more money, equipment, motivation, incentives for them.

“This is not the ICC/NCF grant, this is a special intervention programme and funds sent to the states directly.

“We are working on this plan with the ICC and soon, we will see the results of our efforts,” Igwilo added. (NAN)(www.nannnews.ng)

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Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Joseph Edeh