THREE England-based players, Taiwo Awoniyi, Ola Aina and Jamilu Collins, have all withdrawn from the Super Eagles squad for the friendly matches against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique in Portugal, the Nigerian national team confirmed today.

The Super Eagles face Saudi Arabia on Friday and Mozambique next Monday, with both matches to be held in Portimao, Portugal.

Nottingham Forest pair Awoniyi and Aina have been replaced with Tyrone Ebuehi and Sadiq Umar respectively, while Chidozie Awaziem comes in for Cardiff City defender Collins.

Both striker Awoniyi and defender Aina missed recent Premier League fixtures for Forest with injuries.

Awoniyi missed Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace with a knock while Aina was not in the squad for the 1-1 draw with Brentford on October 1 and Saturday’s clash.

On his part, left-back Collins, who has made nine appearances in the Championship this season after recovering from a long-term injury, played all 90 minutes on Saturday as Cardiff drew 1-1 with Watford.

The Super Eagles players are expected to arrive in Faro, Portugal from tomorrow for the games.

The Nigeria Football Federation says the friendlies have been arranged as tune-up games for the Super Eagles ahead of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

The three-time African champions begin the race by hosting Lesotho in Uyo on November 17 before travelling away to play Zimbabwe four days later.

[NaijaNews]

Sevilla have sacked Coach Jose Luis Mendilibar after winning just two of their opening eight La Liga games this season.

Saturday’s 2-2 league draw at Rayo Vallecano left Sevilla in 14th position in the standings with eight points taken of a possible 24.

Mendilibar, 62, took the helm of Sevilla in March and guided the club to defend their La Liga status and won the Europa League for a record-extending seventh time.

“The club wants to thank the services provided by the Basque coach, whose role will go down in the club’s history by winning the seventh Europa League,” the club said in a statement.

Sevilla will host LaLiga leaders Real Madrid on October 21 before welcoming Arsenal to the Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in the Champions League three days later.

Under Mendilibar, the team drew their opening two Champions League games against Lens and PSV Eindhoven.

They sit third in the standings, two points adrift of group leaders Lens and one point adrift of Arsenal.

[Leadership]

Rooney made the announcement after DC United were beaten by New York City FC. The Athletic says he doesn’t a new job lined up.

“It’s the right time [to leave D.C. United],” Rooney said. “I’ve done everything I can to get this club into the playoffs. It’s not a single thing that’s happened. It’s about timing.

“What lies ahead, I don’t know. I’ve seen a lot of reports in the media. I’m going back with nothing lined up.

“I want to say on record to everyone involved in the club. Staff, players: I’m grateful.”

[NewsGuru]

Former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Peterside Idah has disclosed that it would take Nigeria more than 40 years to host the FIFA World Cup.

Idah cited the country’s poor maintenance culture of its sports facilities, which he said has affected some of the quality stadiums in the country.

The 49-year-old in an interview on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily, noted that the only available stadium, where good football can be played at the moment, remains the Godswill Akpabio International stadium in Uyo.

He emphasized that neglecting these facilities could limit Nigeria’s ability to compete on the global stage, not only as a future World Cup host but also as a genuine challenger in a variety of sporting disciplines.

“On record presently, the only playing field which we have is a grass stadium and it is the Uyo stadium, but 20 anything(years) is still very long maybe in the next 40 years, we would have had some kind of stability,” he said.

“We have facilities everywhere like in Port Harcourt where I live in Port Harcourt now, we have three stadiums in Port Harcourt, and we play well. This stadium must be working. We have the civic centre that had everything such as the swimming pool but these facilities are not being maintained. And once these facilities are not maintained how do you expect us to firstly chunk out athletes and be able to contest or contain the world. We have to go back to basics.”

Nigeria last hosted a global football tournament back in 2009, which was the U-17 FIFA World Cup with Switzerland emerging as champions and Golden Eaglets taking the runner-up spot.

[Leadership]

Despite her 16-match winning streak coming to a close in a semi-final showdown against second-ranked Polish tennis star Iga Swiatek, 19-year-old U.S. tennis star Coco Gauff has pocketed another substantial sum at the 2023 China Open, cementing her status as one of the top earners in women’s tennis.

Gauff, who had been on an unprecedented winning spree since her title victory in Cincinnati last August, faced a formidable challenge in the semi-final on Sat., Oct. 7, at the Diamond Court. The match ended with Swiatek emerging victorious, but Gauff’s remarkable performance throughout the tournament did not go unrewarded. She earned $781,100 from her efforts at the China Open.

This substantial income from the China Open adds to the $5.017 million that Gauff secured at the 2023 U.S. Open, where she made history by winning her first-ever Grand Slam title. Her victory at the U.S. Open earned her a grand prize of $3 million, making her the youngest woman to clinch a Grand Slam title since Serena Williams accomplished the feat in 1999.

Recent financial analysis by Billionaires.Africa, based on official figures from the China Open authorities, reveals that Gauff earned an additional $108,400 from a doubles match earlier in the tournament. Her five singles matches, including the semi-final defeat to Swiatek, contributed $763,843 to her overall earnings from the competition.

While her total earnings of $781,100 from the 2023 China Open may be comparatively lower than the windfall at the U.S. Open, this figure significantly boosts her earnings this year. As of Sept. 15, Gauff, presently ranked as the world’s number three female tennis player, trailing behind 22-year-old Iga Swiatek and 25-year-old Belarusian pro Aryna Sabalenka, has amassed a staggering career earnings total of $11,107,463.

This remarkable milestone comes nearly five years after her professional debut in 2018. The year 2023 has proven to be a watershed moment for Gauff’s financial success. In this year alone, she has amassed $5,557,372 from all competitions as of Sept. 15, firmly establishing herself as one of the top earners among active female tennis players.

[billionaires.africa]

Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has claimed the club will not sign a new striker in January.

This comes amid speculations linking the Gunners with a move for Brentford’s Ivan Toney.

In the summer, Arteta allowed Folarin Balogun to join Monaco, leaving just Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus as the senior strikers in his squad.

Nketiah and Jesus have managed just three Premier League goals so far this season. But Arteta insists he retains faith in the duo.

Ahead of Sunday’s summit meeting with Manchester City, Arteta was asked whether he needed another striker.

He said: “We believe in the players that we have first of all. Because we have the resources that we have secondly, and at the moment we feel we are covering that position.”

Toney is currently serving an eight-month ban for breaching betting regulations.

[DailyPost]

Former Manchester United striker, Dimitar Berbatov, has dropped his predictions of how matches would end at different grounds on the Match-Day eight of the 2023-2024 Premier League season.

Burnley will tackle Chelsea on Saturday in an away Premier League tie at Turf Moor, while Manchester United will face Brentford at Old Trafford.

Arsenal will host Premier League holders Manchester City at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Providing his predictions, Berbatov was quoted by Metro UK as saying:

Luton Town 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Burnley 1-1 Chelsea
Fulham 2-1 Sheffield United
Brighton & Hove Albion 2-2 Liverpool
Manchester United 1-0 Brentford
Everton 1-1 Bournemouth
Crystal Palace 0-1 Nottingham Forest
West Ham United 2-1 Newcastle United
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-2 Aston Villa
Arsenal 2-2 Manchester City

[DailyPost]

Serie A Champions Napoli have condemned the sale and manufacturing of a Victor Osimhen doll, detaching themselves from the item.

Images of an Osimhen doll went viral on social media recently and the doll, which has the trademark hair and mask of the Nigerian striker, has been made out of the template of one of the most prominent dolls in Italy. It is, in fact, a new design of the Cicciobello Bomber, which is made by Giochi Preziosi.

It was reported in the media that the doll has been authorised by Napoli and Aurelio de Laurentiis and that it will be sold soon later this month.

But Napoli have released a statement, confirming that the Partenopei never authorised the sale and they condemned the reports which state otherwise. They have stated that the product is ‘unofficial’ and the club never authorised it from their end. The club have now taken actions to protect its interests.

Napoli announced that they will take legal action against the famous Italian toy store for an unlicensed.

“With reference to the news, which appeared on numerous online information sites, relating to the imminent marketing of a children’s game called “Cicciobello Bomber” – a doll that reproduces the features of the player Victor Osimhen, portrayed wearing a uniform clearly referable to the shirt from the Club’s first team – the SSCN specifies that this is an unofficial product, the creation of which has not been authorized in any way by the Club,” Napoli said in a statement.

“The Company has therefore taken steps to protect its interests in the appropriate places.” the statement read.

Osimhen was recently involved in a TikTok video row with Napoli.

The Nigeria international’s contract extension is currently in doubt and his relationship with the Serie A champions remains frosty.

He has scored five goals in nine appearances across all competitions for Napoli this season.

Jurgen Klopp wants Liverpool’s match at Tottenham to be replayed due to the VAR error that cost them the opening goal at the weekend.

Spurs went on to win the Premier League game 2-1.

The fallout from the VAR failure in Saturday’s defeat, in which officials wrongly disallowed Luis Diaz’s goal due to a misunderstanding over the on-field decision, is still being felt.

Referees body Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) released the audio conversation between the match officials after a request from Liverpool, but Klopp said that had made little difference to their thinking.

“The audio didn’t change it at all,” he told a press conference on Wednesday. “It is an obvious mistake. I think there should be solutions for that. I think the outcome should be a replay.

“The argument against that would be it opens the gates. It is unprecedented. It has not happened before.

“I’m used to wrong and difficult decisions, but something like this never happened and so that is why I think a replay is the right thing to do.”

Questioned over whether the club had asked or would formally ask the Premier League for a replay, Klopp added: “At this stage we are still going through the information we have.”

Liverpool also had Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota sent off as their unbeaten start to the season came to an end.

PGMOL released a statement admitting a “significant human error” had led to the wrong decision being made.

[Vanguard]