Super Stars club, a division two football club in Kano State FA league has signed a new player, Ibrahim Salisu Iriyos, for the sum of N5, 000.

According to BBC Pidgin, the transfer is the most expensive one in the town as Iriyos used to play for Aston Villa Gano, before his transfer to Super Stars.

It was reported that Iriyos was known for scoring goals and showed interest in playing for Super Stars before he got signed.

Aston Villa Gano is a football club in Dawakin Kudu Local Government Area for Kano State. The same town where the Super Stars club is located.

https://www.reportminds.com/2019/09/a-football-club-in-kano-sign-player-for.html

Manchester City have assembled the first billion euro squad, says a report by the CIES Football Observatory. Pep Guardiola’s side were the first team to win back-to-back Premier League titles since Manchester United 10 years ago.

City, who have benefitted hugely since the Abu Dhabi group takeover in 2008, spent (1.014bn/£906m) on their current players with Paris St-Germain (913m euros) and Real Madrid (902m euros) in second and third.

The Premier League champions’ squad is worth 32 times the value of Norwich’s. Manchester United have the second most expensive English squad (751m euros).

CIES, the football statistics research group based in Switzerland, looked at the senior players in each team in all four of Europe’s biggest leagues – Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga.

Paderborn, promoted to the German top flight in the summer, were found to have the cheapest squad, valued at 4m euros (£3.57m).

https://www.reportminds.com/2019/09/man-city-becomes-first-euro-billion-club.html?m=1

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

Arsenal legend Nwankwo Kanu has attacked his former club over their decision to sell Alex Iwobi to Everton for £30million on transfer deadline day.

The Nigeria international has since scored twice in three games for his new club having left his boyhood team after 149 games.

However, Kanu believes Iwobi would still be an asset for the Gunners and prove to be a huge loss.

'I would say they made a mistake, 100 per cent,' the Nigeria hero told Goal.

'Why they let him go, I don't know.

'He's a boy who, in and out, is Arsenal. He always wanted to do his best for the club. He loves the club, but not only that he can play football.

'What he brings week in, week out, the fans need to appreciate that.

'I think he is still young and those are the type of people you want in the team, people who grew up here, who knows everything about the club and wants to die for the club.

'He was one of them, so for us to lose him and to let him go, was a shock. I couldn't really believe we did it, but that's football.'

Kanu also admitted he would have advised Iwobi to remain in north London had he been asked by his compatriot.

'It was a surprise to everybody because it happened right at the end of the window,' said Kanu. 'If I knew earlier, I could have said to him not to go and that it was better for him to stay.

'I would have said that there was no need for him to go because at Arsenal he will still play. He's that good and he needs to know that.

'I think Arsenal would have been the best place for him because it's a big club and you want to play in a big club and in Europe. Those are the games you want to play.'

https://www.reportminds.com/2019/09/arsenal-legend-kanu-attacks-former-side.html?m=1

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

Former Chelsea and Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri shortlisted to become new Guinea coach
Former Chelsea and Leicester City manager, Claudio Ranieri has been shortlisted to become the new coach of the Guinea national team.



The 67-year-old Italian was listed among 87 applicants for the role and is one of 17 coaches to be interviewed by the Guinea Football Federation.



Feguifoot report the 67-year-old is scheduled to be interviewed in Conakry on Thursday, September 12, 2019.



Former Chelsea and Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri shortlisted to become new Guinea coach

Other names on the list are former Belgium, Tunisia and Algeria coach Georges Leekens and DR Congo coach Florent Ibenge.



Former Burkina Faso and Gabon boss Paulo Duarte, ex-Togo coach Didier Six and Francois Zahoui will also be interviewed by the Guinea Football Federation.



The new coach will succeed Paul Put who was sacked after Guinea were knocked out of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations by Algeria at the round of 16 stages.

http://www.reportminds.com/2019/09/former-chelsea-and-leicester-manager.html

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

Nigeria's D'Tigers Beat China 86 vs 73 to seal a spot for the Olympics in Tokyo 2020.

http://www.reportminds.com/2019/09/tokyo-2020-d-qualify-for-olympics-after.html

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

Antoine Griezmann missed a penalty as France defeated Albania on Saturday.




The Barcelona star has promised to work on his penalties having joked his wife's absence may have resulted in his spot-kick miss against Albania.

France won their Euro 2020 qualifier 4-1 as Kingsley Coman grabbed a double alongside goals from Olivier Giroud and Jonathan Ikone.

However, Griezmann was unable to add to the tally when presented with a first-half chance from the spot, his effort crashing off the crossbar and coming back into play.

Asked about his penalty miss, the Barcelona attacker said: "I don't know [what happened]. I don't know.

"As I said earlier, maybe it's because my wife didn't watch the game!

"I was on a good dynamic but we can't score every time. Too bad, I'll have to work on it."

While the attacker was not impressed by his spot-kick attempt, he was delighted with the way his side put on a convincing display to remain joint-top of Group H.

"We were missing important players, whether on the field or in the locker room," he said. "The players who played in their place did it very well.

"We are on the right track and it shows that we are a group. We had a good game game. We can only regret the goal we conceded at the end."

http://www.reportminds.com/2019/09/griezmann-blames-wife-for-missed-france.html

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

Egyptian Association of Professional Players confirms Salah is named in FIFAPro World XI.


Chairman of the Egyptian Professional Players Association, Magdy Abdel Ghani received an email from the International Federation of Professional Players in which it said Mohamed Salah received a large percentage of the vote for the award of the best squad for the best 11 players in the world.

Salah was crowned Golden Shoe award as the goal of the English league Premier League in two consecutive years as well as winning the Champions League.

FIFA and FIFPRO will jointly reveal the Men's World 11 on Monday, September 23rd during the Best Football Awards in Milan's Scala theatre.

http://www.reportminds.com/2019/09/osimhen-chukwueze-lead-arrivals-for.html

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

Highlife musician, songwriter and graphic designer, Adekunle Kosoko, popularly known as Adekunle Gold, shares his football passion, memorable moments, love for Super Eagles and Manchester United in this interview with The Punch

Read the full excerpts from the Punch..

Did you ever take part in any sports growing up?

Yes I did. I played football and did other sports like table tennis, but as a boy, football was the main sport, in fact, the main thing. I started following football from childhood, and that made me love the Super Eagles so much. I played football with so much passion but at some point, I chose a career path that I loved more, which is music.

Was it a difficult decision for you to take?

As a young child it wasn’t, but several factors led me to music. Firstly, it was obvious that I had the talent in music more than in football and the path to success was glaring for me to follow.

With the kind of money players receive and the transfer fees they command now, do you regret not playing football?

Absolutely not. Musicians do command huge fees as well and I think it’s more of satisfaction that matters.

What fond memories do you have about the Super Eagles?

The 1994 World Cup in the US was the most memorable experience I had as a young boy growing up. I recall I stayed up late secretly to watch the Eagles World Cup opening game against Bulgaria and I was happy I did. The late Rashidi Yekini scored a goal that I emulated each time I played football with my friends. It was when Yekini scored that my folks knew I was awake and they couldn’t beat me because it was past my bedtime. But it was painful to see the Eagles lose in the manner they did against Italy in the second round. However, we showed we could be rated alongside the rest of the big teams in world football with our performances in our first World Cup outing. Another one was the 1998 World Cup in France. I had high hopes that we would go past our previous feat of reaching the second round, but after winning the first two games, we lost the remaining two games and crashed out at the same stage we reached at the 1994 edition. The defeat to Denmark was crushing and the fact that they used a header to beat Taribo West and score was so annoying to me because he was the best defender in the Eagles at that time.

Which football club do you support?

I’m a Manchester United fan and I don’t care about Arsenal fans. So deep is the rivalry for me.

But both team’s in recent times have not done well and have also failed to justify their big spendings?

Yes, but I think Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs time to build his team from the scratch. We can see that he has spent hugely this summer on Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan Bissaka. They need time to settle in before the team can become a force to reckon with again. We saw how Jurgen Klopp rebranded Liverpool with the players he signed in three years.

What do you make of the current Super Eagles squad?

They are a good side that needs more time together and a bit of luck.

http://www.reportminds.com/2019/09/i-dont-like-arsenal-adekunle-gold.html

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

Nigeria’s men national basketball team, D’Tigers, on Friday secured an 83-66 points win over Cote Cote d’Ivoire at the ongoing FIBA World Cup in China.

D’Tigers survived a late rally from the Ivorians to record their second win at the World Cup and also stay on course to pick an automatic ticket to the 2020 Olympics Games.

Friday’s classification game started on an even note with both team trading baskets until Nigeria pulled away at 11-6 and then ending the first quarter 28-18 with a ten-point lead.

The Ivorians switched gear in the second quarter by going up 2 points at 30-32, but Nigeria quickly bounced back to take the lead with a 3 point shot from Ike Iroegbu to tie the game at 35-35 before pulling ahead to end the second quarter 37-35.

Nigeria won the first and third quarters while tying the 4th quarter 20-20 with Cote d’Ivoire winning the second quarter.

Nnamdi Vincent led all Nigerian scorers with 15 points while Cote d’Ivoire’s Deon Thompson led all scorers with 19 points.

Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire are familiar foes as during the final phase of the World Cup qualifiers, D’Tigers defeated the Elephants in Lagos 84-73 points before suffering an away 72-46 points defeat in Abidjan to hand the Ivorians a World Cup qualification lifeline.

Already, the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF President, Musa Kida, said considering the financial implications of prosecuting the Olympics Qualification Tournament (OQT), it’s important for the team to grab the only ticket on offer for Africa at the World Cup.

“Inviting players, camping them and playing the OQT will involve money which can be channeled to developing basketball back home. The boys are fully aware of what is at stake and the need to continue their winning run.”

For D’Tigers to stand a chance of qualifying, they must win their games against Côte d’Ivoire (which they have done) and host- China to emerge as the highest placed team in Africa having enjoyed a better points deficit compared to the other four African teams.

http://www.reportminds.com/2019/09/fiba-world-cup-nigerias-dtigers.html

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

Madagascar football team cancels match with South Africa over xenophobic attacks

Madagascar's national football team, Barea, have cancelled their football match with South Africa National team, Bafana Bafana, in protest of the recent xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and other Africans residing in the country. Bafana Bafana announced this on its verified Twitter handle.



Recal that the Zambian National team also withdrew from an earlier scheduled match against the Bafana Bafana..

http://www.reportminds.com/2019/09/madagascar-football-team-cancels-match.html

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

Barcelona legend, Ronaldinho has been appointed as Brazil’s new ambassador for tourism, according to the Daily Mail.

“Tourism is very important for generating jobs and regaining our image internationally,” Ronaldinho said at his unveiling on Thursday.

Ronaldinho was praised by the Brazilian Institute of Tourism’s Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Osvaldo Matos de Melo Junior.

“You take the case of Ronaldinho, a person who has almost 100million followers in his networks and voluntarily helps us at no cost for patriotism. This attitude is invaluable,” Osvaldo said.

“Just by issuing a visa to countries like the United States and Canada, we have already had over 200 per cent increase in demand for our country. We will increasingly invest, even in intelligence, to achieve our goals.”

Ronaldinho won many honours during his glittering career with Fluminense, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan including a World Cup with Brazil in 2002, the Ballon d’Or in 2005, and the Champions League with Barcelona in 2005-06.

The 39-year-old officially announced his retirement from football in 2018.

http://www.reportminds.com/2019/09/ronaldinho-gets-political-appointment.html

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

Following his fine goalscoring run in the French Ligue 1 , Victor Osimhen has been named Lille Player of the month for August.
Osimhen heralded his arrival in France by scoring four goals for the Great Danes in his first four games.
The 20-year-old bagged a brace against
Nantes to help Lille secure a 2-1 win on August 11 and another brace as they romped to a 3-0 victory over Saint-Etienne a week ago.

http://www.reportminds.com/2019/09/osimhen-wins-lille-player-of-month-award.html

Bafana Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki with players during the South African national men's soccer team training session at Orlando Stadium on September 05, 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The crisis-struck SA Football Association (Safa) have decided to release the Bafana Bafana players from camp after xenophobic attacks in the country scuppered the national team’s preparations for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.

The decision was taken after Madagascar withdrew on Thursday from the international friendly match against Bafana which was scheduled for Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Saturday.

Safa, in an unprecedented move that saw the organisation call a 7pm media briefing, said they decided to release the squad after a meeting with the players and technical staff

“We want to reiterate that as Safa we totally condemn these acts of violence in respect of the xenophobic attacks on fellow Africans as well as the criminal looting of businesses,” said Jordaan at the briefing.

“Safa has consistently and strong condemned the xenophobic attacks and the wanton attacks of foreign nationals. We reiterate our call that these criminals must be arrested and dealt with harshly.

“We call on all footballers and sportspersons to join hands and unequivocally condemn any violation of the rights of fellow Africans in our country as well as xenophobic attacks."

Bafana were initially scheduled to play against Zambia in Lusaka but the Football Association of Zambia (Faz) called off the game on Tuesday as a result of the violence in South Africa.

The Zambians pulled out just as Bafana were finalising their travel arrangements to fly out to Lusaka.

The violence in the country also resulted in South African businesses coming under siege in Lusaka in what is believed to be retaliation for the xenophobic attacks.

South African businesses in Lusaka closed their doors on Wednesday following protests by Zambian students as a security measure to avoid looting.

Safa moved swiftly and a secured Madagascar as next opponents for Bafana. But the Indian Ocean islanders also pulled out at the eleventh hour as South Africa crumbles under the backlash from other African countries.

It is chaotic start of a new era under newly appointed coach Molefi Ntseki, who will not be pleased that after his first assignment was scuppered, albeit under circumstances beyond his and Safa’s control.

The cancellation of the fixture puts Ntseki and Bafana in a shaky position ahead of crucial back-to-back 2021 Africa Cup of Nations games against Ghana in Accra and at home against Sudan in November.

This September 2 to 10 international friendly window would have provided Bafana with much-needed game time ahead of the November qualifiers.

But all is not lost for Ntseki and his team.

Safa acting chief executive said they are already in contact with potential opponents and the organisation will strive to secure opponents for the next coming Fifa sanctioned international friendly window from October 7 to 15 before the crucial November 2021 Afcon qualifiers.

“In October we have two opportunities to play two friendly matches. It is still some way but already we are speaking with some countries and we are trying to finalise,” said Paul.

“Hopefully over the next couple of days we will be able to release those fixtures.”

https://www.reportminds.com/2019/09/bafana-bafana-players-released-from.html

Jordan Ayew equals 2015 record with goal against Aston Villa
http://www.reportminds.com/2019/09/jordan-ayew-equals-2015-record-with.html
Lalasticlala OAM4J, Mynd44

Frank Lampard’s men were heading for victory against the Blades thanks to Abraham’s first-half goals, but the visitors clawed back through Callum Robinson and Kurt Zouma’s late own goal.
He was replaced after 84 minutes for 18-year-old Billy Gilmour, who was making his first senior appearance.


The 21-year-old seems to have found his rhythm after a shaky start at Stamford Bridge, which led to fans questioning his ability to be Chelsea’s number nine.

Thanks to his heroics, the Anglo-Nigerian, who has now scored four goals in four Premier League appearances, now takes his place in Chelsea history books alongside club legend Lampard, who achieved the feat in 2010.Tammy Abraham’s brace against Sheffield United in Chelsea ’s 2-2 draw on Saturday means he becomes the first Englishman to score at least two goals in consecutive Premier League game for the Blues.

Frank Lampard’s men were heading for victory against the Blades thanks to Abraham’s first-half goals, but the visitors clawed back through Callum Robinson and Kurt Zouma’s late own goal.


http://www.reportminds.com/2019/09/tammy-abraham-equals-lampards-nine-year.html?m=1

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

The 16-year-old scored a header soon after his half-time introduction to become the Blaugrana's youngest ever to score in La Liga


Ansu Fati has scored an historic goal for Barcelona in their game against Osasuna.

The 16-year-old is the youngest player ever to score for the Catalan giants and the third youngest ever to score in the Spanish top-flight.

He headed home after being sent on at half-time with his team trailing, levelling the scores.

http://www.reportminds.com/2019/08/fati-becomes-youngest-ever-barcelona.html

Cc lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

Cesc Fabregas says former Chelsea teammate Eden Hazard can succeed with Real Madrid.

The AS Monaco insists Hazard can handle the demands.

He told Marca: " He's got a very special personality. He's very care-free, but inside he's a winner; he always wants to compete well, which brings good vibes to the dressing room. He's always playing jokes.

"You can't expect Hazard to be an internal leader because he doesn't like to speak in meetings; he stays on the outside, he's not this type of leader, but on the pitch he is. He never hides, he wants the ball, he's great one-on-one, he's very good with his back to goal, he makes assists, scores goals. He's the complete player and if all goes well, he will perform incredibly for Real Madrid."

Fabregas added: "Barcelona and Real Madrid are always big words, but looking at what I saw at Chelsea, I will say yes. He was always there when we needed him. I see him more than capable of it."


http://www.reportminds.com/2019/08/cesc-warns-real-madrid-hazard-not-leader.html

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

Tobi Amusan, Africa’s 100-metre hurdles champion, on Wednesday, broke yet another record.

According to reports, Tobi surpassed Glory Alozie’s 20-year-old Africa Games record of 12.74s instantly setting a new one of 12.68s (-0.6).

Tobi, who is a 22 -year -old gold medalist in the Women’s 100m final at the 12th Africa Games at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Morocco, is sure trending on social media as many have taken to different platform s to celebrate her and appreciate her dedication to the sport.

http://www.reportminds.com/2019/08/nigerias-tobi-amusan-breaks-20-year-old.html

Lalasticlala OAM4J, Mynd44

Inter Milan have confirmed the arrival of Alexis Sanchez on a season loan.
Earlier, Manchester United confirmed that the forward who has struggled for form at Old Trafford has moved to Italy.

Recall that Sanchez joined Manchester United in 2018 on a player swap deal that saw Henrik move to Arsenal.

http://www.reportminds.com/2019/08/official-alexis-sanchez-unveiled-at.html?m=1

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

Head coach of the Super Eagles, Gernot Rohr, has invited Anderson Esiti who plays for PAOK Saloniki in Greece, to replace the injured Wilfred Ndidi, for the September 10 friendly against Ukraine.


Ndidi tweaked his hamstring in Leicester City’s 1-1 draw at Chelsea in the Premier League.
He is expected to be out for two weeks.


Esiti, 25, has been impressive for his former club KAA Gent of Belgium, which earned him a lucrative transfer to the Greek champions this summer.


“We are thinking about Anderson Esiti of Paok Saloniki, to replace injured Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi for the friendly match against Ukraine on September 10,” Rohr told SportingLife.

Source http://www.reportminds.com/2019/08/ukraine-vs-nigeria-rohr-names.html

Lalasticlala OAM4J, Mynd44

Alexis Sanchez posted a farewell message to his Manchester United teammates after sealing a move to Inter Milan.

The 30-year-old striker, who spent three seasons in Serie A with Udinese from 2008 to 2011, has agreed to join the Nerazzurri on loan.

The Chilean brings to an end a torrid 18 months at Old Trafford where he scored just five goals in 45 appearances following his arrival from Arsenal.

Posting a picture with some of his United teammates on his Instagram account, Sanchez said: 'Good luck for the rest of the season @manchesterunited.'

He will now link up with former United striker Romelu Lukaku who left the club in a £73million deal this summer.

Sportsmail reported earlier, however, that Sanchez will still be United's second-highest earner despite being on loan to Inter.

It is understood that the 30-year-old pockets an eye-watering £400,000 a week, before bonuses, at United after signing from Arsenal last January.

Inter have agreed to pay close to £4.5m of the Chile international's £21m annual salary, meaning United will have to subsidise a significant portion of his wages.

Source http://www.reportminds.com/2019/08/alexis-sanchez-bids-farewell-to.html

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

Former Manchester United striker, Eric Cantona, quoted a Shakespeare play in a bizarre acceptance speech, at the UEFA Champions League draw on Thursday.

Cantona was handed the President’s Award at the event.

He paused for a moment, before slightly misquoting the Earl of Gloucester in King Lear to a bemused audience.

“As flies to wanton boys, we are for the gods.


“They kill us for their sport. Soon the science will not only be able to slow down the ageing of the cells – soon the science will fix the cells to the state. And so we will become eternal.


“Only accidents, crimes, wars will still kill us, but unfortunately crimes and wars will multiply. I love football. Thank you,” Cantona said.


Source http://www.reportminds.com/2019/08/full-text-of-eric-cantonas-bizarre.html

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

Heavyweight world champion Andy Ruiz Jr has pledged to end Anthony Joshua’s career after confirming for the first time that he will contest the rematch in Saudi Arabia.

The 29-year-old, who was born in America but fights for Mexico, shocked the division in New York in June when he inflicted a first defeat on Joshua to win the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO world titles.

Ruiz is set to face the Briton again on December 7 in Diriyah – a fight announced by Joshua’s camp earlier this month but not confirmed by Ruiz until now.

“I dethroned the king June 1st and made history becoming the first Mexican/American Heavyweight Champion of the world. I’m looking forward to ending his career in the desert,” he said on Twitter.

On Saturday the champion posted on social media: “I’m excited to announce my rematch with Anthony Joshua.

“In the first fight I made history and became the first ever Mexican/American heavyweight champion of the world.

“I am grateful to Saudi Arabia for inviting me. I took it to AJ in The Big Apple and I’m looking forward to ending his career in the Desert. Don’t miss this fight!”

Read more http://www.reportminds.com/2019/08/andy-ruiz-jr-looking-forward-to-ending.html

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

Tammy Abraham opened his Chelsea account with a first-half goal in Saturday’s Premier League encounter against Norwich City , finally ending his 15-year wait for a Blues goal.

It took the Nigerian three minutes to open the scoring and give Frank Lampard’s men the lead at Carrow Road.

Christian Pulisic played in Cesar Azpilicueta on the overlap before picking out Abraham, who sent a delicious first-time volley past Tim Krul.

The towering Abraham has returned to Stamford Bridge after a successful loan spell with Aston Villa where he scored 25 in the Championship last season.

He's been at Chelsea since joining the club as a youngster in 2004. He spent 12 years in the club's youth set-up, before being promoted to the senior side in 2016.

The Anglo-Nigerian attacker also went on loan to Bristol City and Swansea City , but this is the first campaign in which he's truly been afforded the opportunity to make his mark for the Blues.

Chelsea have failed to win a game under new coach Lampard, being defeated by
Manchester United and Liverpool in the league and Super Cup respectively, before being held by Leicester City in the top flight.

Read more http://www.reportminds.com/2019/08/tammy-abraham-scores-first-goal-for.html

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

The Nigerian table tennis teams will not be in action at next year’s Olympic Games after they failed to qualify for the games.

The battle between the bigwigs in African table tennis brought out the best in Nigeria and Egypt at the 12th African Games with Egypt securing the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games tickets in the men and women events after emerging as continental champions.

With this development, the Egyptian teams because the first country to berth in Tokyo and was also rewarded with two gold medals to increase the medal haul of Egypt in Morocco.

It was the Egyptian ladies that first secured their slot after beating Nigeria 3-2 in the final. The comeback of the Nigeria team was thwarted by Dina Meshref.

The Nigerian ladies were down 2-0 but spirited efforts from Edem Offiong and Olufunke Oshonaike to put the match at par with the Egyptians were thwarted by the African Champion in the fifth match which was deciding when she beat Cecilia Akpan 3-0 to hand Egypt the gold medal.

Just like it happened in the women, the same scenario played out in the men as Nigeria had to come from 2-0 down to level up at 2-2.

The sheer determination from Aruna Quadri and Olajide Omotayo restored Nigeria into the match but Omar Assar avoided what played out in 2015 when he dismissed veteran Segun Toriola who is aiming for eight Olympic Games with a 3-0 bashing.

source

https://googleweblight.com/i?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reportminds.com%2F2019%2F08%2Ftable-tennis-egypt-beat-nigeria-to.html&geid=NSTN&hl=en-US

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

Arsenal manager Unai Emery is allegedly encouraging David Luiz to continue to play the long, direct balls he became well-known for during his time at Chelsea .

The 32-year-old signed for the Gunners on deadline day, with Emery keen on adding a ball-playing centre-back to his squad.

During his second spell at Chelsea Luiz often played long balls to Pedro, and created more 'big chances' than any other Premier League centre-back last season with 11.

According to the Telegraph Emery has told Luiz to aim for star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang when he receives the ball, and he is hopeful the Brazilian will be able to set up the Gabonese forward on a number of occasions this season.


It will be interesting to see whether this tactic is put into effect during Arsenal's upcoming trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool .

Both Luiz and Aubameyang are expected to start the match, with the latter looking to continue his scoring streak having netted once in each of Arsenal's opening two fixtures, a 1-0 win over Newcastle and 2-1 victory against Burnley .

The Telegraph's report also claims that Emery was 'delighted' with the signing of Luiz having got to know the player during his time at Paris Saint-Germain.


Luiz was desperate for a move having been clearly told by new Chelsea boss Frank Lampard that he would be the fourth-choice centre-back behind Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger, and was thrilled to be given the opportunity to stay in London and link up again with Emery.

Nicolas Pepe could make his full debut for Arsenal against Liverpool having come off the bench as a substitute in the Gunners' first two matches. Midfielders Mesut Ozil and Granit Xhaka will have late fitness tests, with Ozil recently suffering from illness and Xhaka recovering from a leg injury.

Read more http://www.reportminds.com/2019/08/unai-emery-urges-david-luiz-to.html

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

former midfielder of Nigeria’s women national team the Super Falcons, Ifeanyichukwu Chiejine, has passed on Wednesday, August 21.

The sad news has come as a huge shock for football fans across the world as the 36-year-old, who was on the books of SSVSM-Kairat Almaty in the Kazakhstani Championship, failed to recover from a brief illness.


Ifeanyichukwu Chiejine was part of the Super Falcons team which qualified for a first ever FIFA Women’s World Cup appearance in 1999.


She went on to make further appearances for Nigeria at the World Cup 2003 and 2007 while also representing Nigeria at the 2000 and 2008 Olympics, scoring 15 goals in 61 matches for Nigeria.


The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on its part wrote: “We are sad to announce the sudden demise of former Super Falcons player Ifeanyichukwu Chiejine.

Source http://www.reportminds.com/2019/08/so-sad-former-super-falcons-star.html?m=1

Lalasticlala OAM4J, Mynd44

Football fans in the UK won't be able to watch La Liga on television from the beginning of September with no one willing to pay what the Spanish league want for tv rights.

The likes of Lionel Messi, Eden Hazard and Joao Felix will be off UK televisions, other than for Champions League nights, after September 1st.

ITV have a deal with La Liga to show one game per week for the opening three match weeks, with the channel showing Athletico Bilbao vs Barcelona last Friday, but nothing extends past that.

On Wednesday Sky confirmed on Twitter that they have 'no plans' to buy the rights to La Liga this season, having lost them ahead of last season.

Last year Eleven Sports bought the rights for three years for La Liga, ending Sky's run of showing the Spanish league for 20 years, but they had to cancel the contract before the end of the season.

Eleven were available through a streaming service but were hoping to get a television channel on Sky or BT. When they failed it didn't seem financially viable to keep the rights.

At the end of the season the channel shared the rights with ITV and Premier Sports but none of the trio have been able to secure the rights for the long term.

Premier Sports do have an offer on the table for the rights but La Liga have deemed it unsatisfactory and have decided they'd rather not sell the rights than do so for less than they want.

That means that UK viewers won't be able to watch what could be the most intriguing title race in Spain for some years.



Barca's loss to Bilbao on the opening shows they are fallible, especially when Lionel Messi is missing, while Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid have spent big this summer to improve their teams.

Source http://www.reportminds.com/2019/08/la-liga-won-be-shown-on-uk-television.html

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

Frank Ribery has signed a two-year contract with Fiorentina.


The former Bayern Munich midfielder joins as a free agent.


“Hello Fiorentina," wrote Ribery on social media.
“A new chapter for me and my family is beginning. Blessed and happy to sign a new contract at a great club in a great city.


“Looking forward to the future with my new teammates and all the fantastic fans here."
Ribery will wear the Number 7 jersey at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Source http://www.reportminds.com/2019/08/ex-bayern-star-frank-ribery-joins.html

Lalasticlala OAM4J, Mynd44 Seun

No FIFA-Badged Nigerian Referee Selected for U-17 W/Cup

NationSport can report that no Nigerian made the total list of 57 referees for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup which kicks off from 6 October to 17 November in Brazil.

A total of nine officials were picked in Africa by the world football governing body with three pegged down for duty as Centre Referees, and six as Assistant Referees, and none as Video Assistant Referees.

The three African officials that will function as center referees include; Gomes Victor from Republic of South Africa, Jiyed Redouane from Morocco, and Mohamed Amin from Egypt.

For the assistant referees, FIFA picked officials from five African countries which include; Morocco, Sudan, Libya, Madagascar and Lesotho.


Nigeria has FIFA badged referees for international tournament but none has been engaged in any recent time.

Recently, FIFA released its annual list of official referees for international tournaments and Nigerian referees only featured on three categories of: 11-Aside football, Men Futsal and Beach Soccer.

In 11-Aside football, FiFA recognises 21 officials comprising seven male referees, seven male assistant referees, three female referees, and four female assistant referees.

It is expected that the youth grade football competition in Brazil will give ambitious FIFA referees the opportunity to showcase their quality while taking another big step in their careers.

Referee preparation for this prestigious youth competition is organised by the FIFA Refereeing Department and focuses on a wide range of topics, including officials’ reading of the game, and football understanding.

Others include; positioning to adjudge offside, teamwork, good decision-making, and the importance of taking up the best position or angle – i.e. being in the right place at the right time.

All of these aspects reflect the philosophy of FIFA Refereeing and are key to referee preparation. As such, they are vital to the attainment of consistency and uniformity at the elite level of refereeing.

Source http://www.reportminds.com/2019/08/no-fifa-badged-nigerian-referee.html

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

Anthony Joshua has declared that he believes Mike Tyson is the ‘GOAT’ when it comes to heavyweight boxing.

The recently dethroned world champion took to social media on Wednesday to pay homage to some greats of the past in the wake of his recent spat with Lennox Lewis.

AJ first put up an image of his former opponent – and long-reigning ruler of the division – Wladimir Klitschko with the caption: “Appreciation day. I respect this man.”

He then followed it up with an image of Mike Tyson and captioned it with the acronym: “G.O.A.T.” Joshua added: “There’s not enough words to say about this man. He was and still is my motivation.” The posts comes at an interesting time for the 29-year-old, following his very public exchange of words with Lennox last week. Some accused him of being disrespectful to his elders after he branded Lewis a ‘clown’ and refused to back down from his position in spite of the former undisputed champion’s reply.

Source http://www.reportminds.com/2019/08/joshua-names-mike-tyson-greatest-of-all.html

Cc lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

SUPER Eagles’ star, Wilfred Ndidi said he knew he would score in yesterday’s English Premier League game between Chelsea and Leicester City which ended 1-1 at the Stamford Bridge.

The Foxes’ midfielder was involved in both goals after he was dispossessed by Mason Mount in the seventh minute of the game as the 20-year-old opened the scoring for the Blues on his home debut in the Premier League.

The Nigeria International atoned for his error in the second half though, netting the equaliser as Leicester ended up with a point, although it could have been all three, with the Foxes missing some good chances to win the game.

Speaking after the match, Ndidi reflected on the goal he scored and concluded that he trained for such moves with his teammate during practice sessions ahead of yesterday’s match against Chelsea.

“It’s a mixed feeling, you know. We tried a couple of times in training with Madders [Maddison] and he told me I was going to score.

“We actually put a poor first half aside, and we were asked to push up and forget about the one goal they scored, and we just had to react,” he said.

Ndidi also admitted that he did not know Mount was near him after being caught in possession by the Chelsea midfielder for the opening goal of the game.

“It’s football. I just try to move on. No, I did not [know Mount was there],” Ndidi admitted.

https://thenationonlineng.net/i-knew-ill-score-against-chelsea-says-ndidi/amp/