Sport

Saturday, 22 January 2022 06:29

AFCON moves into knockout stage. Here’s how Nigeria, Cameroon, Tunisia, others got to this crucial round

Africa Cup of Nations finals head into the knockout stages from Sunday, lifting the stakes and adding excitement to a tournament that came alive over the last days after a static opening week. Hosts Cameroon lead a heavyweight list of contenders into the last 16 but it is the likes of the Comoros Islands, Equatorial Guinea and Gambia who have stolen the spotlight, shrugging off their minnow status to advance to the second round. Equatorial Guinea’s 1-0 win over defending champions Algeria and Comoros’ 3-2 triumph over Ghana this week were among the great upsets of tournament history and sent…

Thursday, 20 January 2022 06:16

AFCON: Super Eagles top group after win over Guinea-Bissau

Nigeria beat Guinea-Bissau 2-0 in Garoua to become the only side at the Africa Cup of Nations to win all three group games. After making eight changes to the side that beat Sudan to seal their last-16 place, Nigeria took time to warm up. Umar Sadiq opened the scoring shortly after the break following a cross from striker partner Kelechi Iheanacho. Captain William Troost-Ekong sealed the win after tapping into an empty net after fine work by Moses Simon. Three-time champions Nigeria had already topped Group D and knew their round of 16 clash on Sunday would be in Garoua,…

Sunday, 16 January 2022 06:13

Super Eagles move to next stage of AFCON contest after beating Sudan

Nigeria defeated Sudan 3-1 in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Group D match played at the Stade Omnisport Roumde Adjio in Cameroon on Saturday night. Consequently, the three-time African champions progressed to the last 16 with a game to spare. The Super Eagles dominated the game from the first whistle and it did not come as a surprise when Samuel Chukwueze broke the deadlock three minutes into the encounter. The winger sidefooted to the far corner from Moses Simon’s pass for the first goal of the game. This prompted the Sudanese to come out of their shells and try…

Wednesday, 12 January 2022 06:02

Super Eagles overcome Egypt in AFCON opener

Super Eagles of Nigeria overcame Egypt 1-0 in their opening match at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) at the Estadio Roumde Adjia in Cameroon on Tuesday evening. Kelechi Iheanacho scored the only goal of the match as the Super Eagles outclassed the Pharaohs and took charge of group D. The Pharaohs, who paraded Mo Salah, Ramadan Sobhi, Mohammed Elneny and Trezeguet, struggled to find their groove in a game that the Super Eagles dominated, most especially in the first half. Iheanacho put the Eagles ahead in the 30th-minute with a stunning, long-range shot. The England-based striker, who played…

Thursday, 06 January 2022 06:15

World’s No.1 tennis player Novak Djokovic denied entry to Australia, has visa canceled over Covid-19 vaccine issues

Novak Djokovic’s chance to play for a 10th Australian Open title was thrown into limbo Thursday when the country denied him entry and canceled his visa because he failed to meet the requirements for an exemption to Covid-19 vaccination rules. The top-ranked Djokovic announced on social media Tuesday that he had “exemption permission” and landed in Australia late Wednesday after receiving a medical exemption from the Victoria state government that was expected to shield him from the strict vaccination regulations in place for this year’s first major tennis tournament. But border authorities did not accept the exemption. The Australian Border…

Thursday, 30 December 2021 05:49

NFF appoints new head coach for Super Eagles

Jose Peseiro has been appointed as the new head coach of the Super Eagles. Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) announced Peseiro’s appointment in a communique Wednesday evening. The Portuguese tactician replaces Gernot Rohr, the Franco-German, who was sacked on December 12. Peseiro is expected to be at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as an observer, while Augustine Eguavoen, the former international, will be in the dug-out when the three-time African champions file out at the tournament next month in Cameroon. “After careful consideration of a memo presented by Chairman of the Technical and Development Sub-Committee, the Executive Committee endorsed…

Saturday, 18 December 2021 06:12

UAE bars Nigerian athletes from world swimming contests

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday reportedly barred Nigerian athletes from participating in the 15th FINA World Swimming Championships in Dubai. According to PUNCH, the athletes and their representatives claimed they were denied access to take part in the competition on the order of UAE authorities. The athletes also alleged that they had arrived in Dubai to participate in the event but were disallowed from representing their country even though they did not travel from Nigeria. “On sighting our Nigerian passports, the UAE officials treated us with disdain,” a female athlete was quoted to have said. It is understood…

Monday, 13 December 2021 06:01

NFF sacks Rohr as Super Eagles coach, makes interim replacement

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has sacked Gernot Rohr as technical adviser of the Super Eagles. NFF confirmed the development in a statement posted on its website on Sunday. Augustine Eguavoen was named the interim coach of the three-time African champions. The statement reads: “The Nigeria Football Federation has appointed Augustine Eguavoen, currently its Technical Director, as the Technical Adviser of the Super Eagles on an interim basis. This is with immediate effect, and follows the termination of the relationship with Franco-German Gernot Rohr, who has been in charge of the three–time African champions for the past 64 months, and is…

Tuesday, 07 December 2021 06:01

U.S. officials to boycott Beijing Olympics over rights violations

U.S. government officials will boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing because of China's human rights "atrocities", the White House said on Monday, just weeks after talks aimed at easing tense relations between the two superpowers. The diplomatic boycott, which leaves athletes free to travel to Beijing to compete, has been encouraged by some members of Congress and rights advocacy groups for months. Beijing threatened unspecified "resolute countermeasures" against any such move before Monday's announcement, which is certain to further strain relations already at their lowest point in decades. President Joe Biden's administration highlighted what Washington says is genocide against…

Saturday, 20 November 2021 05:47

‘I wanted less than a minute’: 105-year-old unsatisfied after 100m world record

Like all elite athletes, Julia “Hurricane” Hawkins has a ruthless streak. So, despite setting a 100m world record on Sunday at the Louisiana Senior Games, she still wants to go faster. “It was wonderful to see so many family members and friends. But I wanted to do it in less than a minute,” the 105 year-old said after the race, where she recorded a time of 1:02.95, a record for women in the 105+ age category. When someone pointed out that 102 is less than her age and asked if that made her feel better, Hawkins answered: “No”. The retired…

More...

Sunday, 26 September 2021 05:44

Anthony Joshua loses 3 titles at a go as Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk prevails

Oleksandr Usyk has defeated Anthony Joshua by unanimous decision to be crowned the new unified world heavyweight champion. The Ukrainian boxer became the new heavyweight champion after all the three judges scored him 117-112, 116-112, 115-113 over Joshua. The Nigerian-born British boxer was left stunned by Usyk in front of 67,000 fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night. Joshua was defending his WBA, IBF, and WBO titles for the second time since recovering them back from Andy Ruiz Jr two years ago. The first upset was handed by Ruiz Jr in 2019 at the Madison Square Garden in New…

Thursday, 08 April 2021 05:49

National sports festival shuts down as organisers accuse FG of failing to release funds

Organisers of the National Sports Festival have threatened to end the event abruptly over failure of the Federal Government to release funds. They took the decision at the end of a meeting of the Local Organising Committee of the Sports Festival. According to the Coordinator of Media and Publicity, National Sports Festival, Ebomhiana Musa, Federal Government has failed to fulfil its promise to make funds available for the festival. “The Local Organising Committee, Edo2020 regrets to announce that it will end the games abruptly today, Thursday, April 8, 2021, for lack of funds,” the statement read. “Rising from an emergency…

Wednesday, 31 March 2021 05:21

AFCON 2022: Super Eagles peck Crocodiles of Lesotho 3-0

Super Eagles marked their return to Lagos with a 3-0 win over Crocodiles of Lesotho on Tuesday evening in their final game of the 2022 AFCON qualifiers. Victor Osimhen, Oghenekaro Etebo, and Paul Onuachu got a goal each as the Super Eagles ended their campaign in grand style. Super Eagles had already booked their place at next year’s AFCON tournament in Cameroon with their 1-0 win over the Benin Republic last Saturday in Porto Novo. Match Gernot Rohr made four changes to the starting 11 from the match against the Benin Republic. Francis Uzoho started his first game for the…

Sunday, 28 March 2021 05:17

Nigeria celebrate Cup of Nations place with Benin Republic win

Nigeria are through to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations - but Group L rivals Benin will have to wait after conceding an injury time goal to the Super Eagles and losing 1-0 in Porto Novo. Nigeria had already been confirmed as having qualified for the tournament in Cameroon next year thanks to a 0-0 draw between Lesotho and Sierra Leone earlier in the day. That result also meant Benin only needed a point from the game at home against Nigeria, and they held out for 93 minutes - until Paul Onuachu scrambled in Nigeria's winner deep into injury time.…

Page 6 of 37

Sport

More...

Search

Most Read

Editorial

News

Business

Politics

Opinion

Features

Strangely

Crime

Wars

SCIENCE & TECH

SPECIAL REPORTS

Sports

VIDEOS