Author: Chief Editor

Tunde Odesola So much dust has been raised since Abba Kyari bit the dust last Friday. When he walked the surface of the earth, the Chief of Staff to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), was omnipotent. He was a sociologist and a lawyer – two unique fields that expound theories and ideas in human behaviour and regulation. Kyari combined his learning with the abdication of powers by Buhari to emerge the most powerful CoS in the history of the country. James Arogbofa was the random CoS to President Goodluck Jonathan. He never had Jonathan in his pocket. When…

More tributes have continued to pour in for late Mallam ABBA Kyari, the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari who died and was buried on Saturday, April, 2020. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), yesterday expressed shock at the passage of Kyari, describing it as a big loss to the federation and the nation. “Mallam Abba Kyari’s death is a big loss to the NFF, Nigerian Football family and the entire country as a whole,” NFF’s Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire, said. The NFF spokesman stressed that the football industry in the country has lost a friend. “Nigeria’s football industry…

There is unlikely to be any relegation from the English Premier League if the season ends with no more play possible because of the coronavirus outbreak, Brighton and Hove Albion owner Tony Bloom has told British media. Premier League clubs met on Friday to discuss possible models for finishing the season but all options remained hypothetical after the U.K. government extended lockdown restrictions for another three weeks. Brighton were two points clear of the relegation zone with nine matches remaining when the league was brought to a halt on 13 March. If the season ended with no more play possible,…

*Lille president confirms two EPL teams’ bid for Osimhen Brazil’s Internacional have joined Botafago in the race to sign former Super Eagles captain John Obi Mikel. Mikel has been linked with a move to Botafago in recent weeks but Internacional are now looking to secure his services. The former Chelsea midfielder has also confirmed talks with Botafago, but hinted he has not make up his mind yet on the move to Brazil. Mundo Deportivo reported at the weekend that Internacional officials have got in contact with Mikel and are desperate to bring him to Brazil. Mikel mutually terminated his contract…

The financial squeeze put on Premier League clubs by the coronavirus crisis could be felt across the continent in the coming months as the well to fund massive transfer fees runs dry. For each of the past four summers, Premier League clubs have flexed their financial muscle to splurge over £1 billion ($1.3 billion) on transfers. That has helped spread the wealth of television contracts worth billions across Europe and crucially down the divisions to cash-strapped clubs in England. Now even the world’s richest league is facing economic meltdown. Premier League matches have been suspended indefinitely with no return expected…

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire believes the Red Devils are on the right track towards contending for the Premier League title again. United have not won the league since Alex Ferguson retired as manager in 2013 and were a mammoth 37 points behind leaders Liverpool when the Premier League season was put on hold due to coronavirus last month. However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men were on an 11-match unbeaten run before the shutdown with Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka beginning to repay the lavish sums spent on them last summer and January signing Bruno Fernandes making an immediate impact. “I knew…

President Aleksander Ceferin said Monday that leagues across Europe were ready to return to action behind closed doors in a bid to limit the damage caused by coronavirus. Football leagues have been suspended since mid-March due to the pandemic which has claimed more than 100,000 lives throughout the continent. But the head of European football believes that playing would be an important step towards a return to normal life and avoid heavy financial losses for leagues. “I believe there are options that can allow us to restart cup championships and to complete them,” Ceferin said in an interview with Italian…

Increasing numbers of professional footballers are struggling with anxiety and depression having been forced out of action with the sport suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report by global players’ union FIFPro released on Monday. FIFPro surveyed 1,602 players across 16 countries, including England, Scotland, France, Australia and the United States, with 468 female players featured in the study. It found that 13 percent of male players surveyed, and 22 percent of female players, reported symptoms of depression. Close to one in five of both male and female players reported symptoms of anxiety. “In football, suddenly young…

Wahidi Akanni, a former Chairman of Lagos State Football Association, on Monday in Lagos said the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has been unfair to Gernot Rohr, the Super Eagles’ Head Coach. Akanni told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the public disclosure of terms and conditions of possible renewal of Rohr’s contract by the NFF was unnecessary. NAN reports that NFF President Amaju Pinnick had recently said Rohr would be handed a new contract to sign if he agreed to the terms. Akanni, an ex-international, however told NAN that making Rohr’s contract public as Pinnick did would only mean…

Both Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou announced plans on Saturday to stage matches at their tennis academies. With top-level professional tennis shut down until at least July 13, both academies said they were examining the possibility of staging and broadcasting matches so fans could watch remotely. While the Rafael Nadal Academy, based on the Spanish island of Mallorca, said on its website that it was in talks with the ATP on how to proceed, Mouratoglou released a statement unveiling a planned “league” of 50 matches at his academy near Nice in the south of France and talking…