Sport

Sunday, 22 July 2018 03:11

Niger 2019: Nigeria’s Flying Eagles beat Mauritania to qualify

Flying Eagles of Nigeria have qualified for 2019 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations to be staged in Niger Republic in 2019. Nigeria U-20 team sealed their qualification in style on Saturday at Agege Stadium in Lagos as they thumped their counterparts from Mauritania 5-0. The Flying Eagles scored two goals in the first half and did more in the second half to confirm their superiority over their opponents. It was Wasiu Alalade that put Nigeria in front in the 12th minute with a shot from a goalmouth scramble. After a flurry of missed chances, Flying Eagles doubled their lead after…

Tuesday, 17 July 2018 05:07

Buhari orders repatriation of Nigerians stranded in Russia

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama and Minister of State, Aviation, Mr Hadi Sirika, to commence the process of repatriating Nigerians who travelled to Russia for FIFA 2018 World Cup and got stranded after the competition. The Presidency said Nigerian football fans got stranded in the country following activities of some unscrupulous travel agents who cancelled their return tickets and abandoned them to their fate. It said Onyeoma and Sirika have in compliance with the president’s directive taken necessary actions to bring the Nigerians back. “The Presidential directive is in line with the policy…

Tuesday, 17 July 2018 05:05

World Cup win gives France new set of heroes, needed boost

The welcome was grand, the emotion visceral as France's victorious World Cup team rolled down Paris' Champs-Elysees Avenue in an open-top bus Monday while tens of thousands of people cheered with unrestrained pride and jets streamed the national colors — blue, white, red — overhead. The crowd that waited for hours to greet the soccer team, under a hot sun and amid celebratory smoke bombs that choked the air, got its moment hours after the team returned from Russia to hoist the gold trophy on French soil for the second time in 20 years. The national team's 4-2 win over…

Tuesday, 17 July 2018 05:04

More than 250,000 welcome Croatia home after World Cup final

In an outburst of national pride and joy, Croatia rolled out a red carpet and staged a euphoric heroes' welcome for the national team on Monday despite its loss to France in the World Cup final. Hundreds of thousands of people wearing national red-and-white checkered colors and waving Croatian flags poured into the streets in the capital Zagreb to greet the team. Observers described the homecoming event as the biggest ever in Croatia. The joyful, singing crowd crammed the central squares and the route where the players passed in an open bus, greeting fans and signing autographs. Police said more…

Monday, 16 July 2018 04:19

With flags, song, pride, French celebrate unifying victory

It was a victory for all of France and the home crowd did it justice, pouring into Paris' Champs-Elysees Avenue by the tens of thousands to celebrate in an explosion of joy. France's 4-2 win over Croatia in the World Cup final in Moscow on Sunday marked the second time in 20 years that France has won the World Cup, and came at a time when the people feel needy. "It represents enormous things," said Goffrey Hamsik, dressed in a hat resembling a rooster — the French national symbol — and a shirt with the No. 10 for Kylian Mpappe,…

Monday, 16 July 2018 04:18

Russian women push back at shaming over World Cup dating

Hundreds of thousands of foreign men have flooded into Russia for the monthlong World Cup, setting off a fierce debate in the host nation about the roles and rights of women. Russian women who have dated the soccer fans have been shamed by some Russian commentators, denounced for allegedly undermining the country's morals and gene pool. The widespread, vehement criticism has shown the dominance of patriarchal and sexist views in Russia, where the concept of gender equality is a generation behind that of the West's. Still, the reaction against Russian women's World Cup dalliances has been so strong that some…

Sunday, 15 July 2018 04:00

Kerber tops Williams at Wimbledon for 3rd Grand Slam title

Angelique Kerber was not about to be overwhelmed by the setting or the stakes in this Wimbledon final. She knew exactly what to expect — and what to do — against Serena Williams. Two years after losing to Williams with a title on the line at Centre Court , Kerber came through. So steady, so patient, so accurate throughout, she never really gave Williams much of a chance this time, putting together a 6-3, 6-3 victory Saturday for her first championship at the All England Club and third major overall. "I think it's the experience. You have to go through…

Sunday, 15 July 2018 03:58

Belgium overpower tired England to secure third place

Belgium beat England 2-0 in the World Cup third-place playoff on Saturday to secure their best ever finish at a World Cup and send Gareth Southgate's side home with a second straight loss. A fourth-minute goal from Thomas Meunier and an 82nd-minute Eden Hazard strike earned Belgium the victory and third place, which improved on their previous best performance of fourth in 1986. "It’s all about that achievement. I think these players deserve that," Belgium coach Roberto Martinez said. "What we have seen in this World Cup is that the players did not want to rely on talent anymore, they…

Friday, 13 July 2018 04:26

Nigeria's amputee football team prepares for World Cup debut

Sixteen years after Emmanuel Ibeawuchi lost a leg in a road accident, his dream of playing soccer in a World Cup is about to become a reality. He will captain Nigeria's team when it makes its debut at the Amputee Football World Cup in Mexico in October. The team hopes to follow in the footsteps of Nigeria's disabled athletes who won eight gold medals at the 2016 Paralympics, along with two silver and two bronze medals, to finish 17th in the medal table and top among African countries. "We are the best all over the world so whatever we do…

Friday, 13 July 2018 04:24

Serena Williams nears 8th Wimbledon title, 24th Slam overall

Yes, this will be Serena Williams' 10th Wimbledon final. Yes, it's her 30th title match at any major. And, well, sure, she's widely regarded as not just the best of her era, but any era. Let others shrug at this latest accomplishment, as if all it signified were merely another chance at another in a long line of trophies. Williams is not shy about saying she, for one, is impressed by this. Rightly so. For it was only about 10 months ago she was having a baby and then dealing with a serious health scare that followed. Even after all…

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Thursday, 12 July 2018 04:32

Croatia in World Cup final for 1st time, beats England 2-1

Croatia's legs seemed heavy, burdened by the accumulated toll of consecutive penalty-kicks wins needed to get this far. England had gone ahead with a free kick just five minutes in, dominated play and appeared headed to its first World Cup final since 1966. Then the second half started and it was as if a different Croatian team had replaced the lethargic one. Ivan Perisic tied the score in the 68th minute , Mario Mandzukic got the go-ahead goal in the 109th and Croatia shocked England with a 2-1 victory Wednesday that advanced a nation of just over 4 million to…

Wednesday, 11 July 2018 03:29

Euphoric France dreams of World Cup glory after 20-year wait

France began dreaming of World Cup glory after a two-decade wait after Les Bleus on Tuesday defeated Belgium to reach the final, unleashing a wave of soccer euphoria across the country. Delirious supporters draped in the Tricolor flag spilled on to Parisian boulevards as the blare of car horns reverberated through the French capital. In a fan zone outside City Hall on the banks of the River Seine, jubilant supporters embraced and lit smoke flares. "I'm totally blown away, this is crazy," said 41-year-old Gilles Rove in Paris' Belleville neighbourhood. "Nobody believed this could happen at the beginning of the…

Monday, 09 July 2018 03:47

National sporting event cancelled after protest by athletes

Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) on Sunday cancelled All Nigeria Athletics Championship holding in Abuja, following protests by participating athletes over poor welfare. Mr Sunday Adeleye, AFN Technical Director, said the decision followed an emergency meeting of the board of AFN regarding the protest. “The decision we have reached is that the championship is cancelled and we further decided that we are going to select athletes who will represent Nigeria at All African Senior Athletics Championships,” he said. All Nigeria Athletics Championships, which kicked-off at Abuja National Stadium of Saturday, was supposed to be the National Trials for athletes expected…

Sunday, 08 July 2018 05:08

England reach first World Cup semi-final in 28 years

England defied almost three decades of disappointment to move confidently into the World Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1990 as headers from Harry Maguire and Dele Alli downed a dogged but toothless Sweden 2-0 on Saturday. Far more fancied England sides had failed to reach the last four in the past but Gareth Southgate's young squad powered on as they continued to make a mockery of dampened pre-tournament expectations with another impressive display in Russia. They were set on their way when Maguire rose imperiously to head home from a corner and Alli added the killer blow after…

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