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Israel Adesanya has confirmed his highly anticipated UFC comeback, with the former champion scheduled to face his arch-rival in Perth.
The 34-year-old announced a hiatus from mixed martial arts following his surprising defeat by Sean Strickland in Sydney last September.
His return to the Octagon has been widely anticipated, with Adesanya strongly considered for the headline slot at UFC 300, but his fierce rival Dricus du Plessis was unable to confirm his availability for the date.
The two fighters had exchanged taunts before, with the South African asserting that he would embody a true African champion, living, training, and breathing in Africa, unlike Adesanya, who was born in Nigeria before relocating to New Zealand.
Posting a mocked-up image of himself donning the UFC’s brand new golden glove, Adesnaya, in a post on X, on Monday, appears to announce he will return to the ring later on August 17.
He wrote: “The SUN of Africa is the same sun that lights up our planet.
“The SUN will set and will rise again until you walk into it. The SUN, enjoy while it shines. Darkness falls when it’s gone.”
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☀️??
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) June 17, 2024
The SUN of Africa is the same sun that lights up our planet.
The SUN will set and will rise again until you walk into it. ?
The SUN, enjoy while it shines. Darkness falls when it’s gone. pic.twitter.com/u5Swlzr6TW
Romelu Lukaku endured a frustrating night as Slovakia stunned favourites, Belgium 1-0 on Monday night in the second game of Group E.
Romania opened the group with a 3-0 win over Ukraine to go top of the table.
The first upset of the competition was recorded at the Deutsche Bank Park when the less-fancied Slovakia earned a shock win over Belgium.
It was an unforgettable evening for Chelsea striker, Romelu Lukaku who missed three big chances in the first half before his goal was ruled out for Luis Openda’s handball in the second half.
Ivan Schranz took advantage of a terrible Jeremy Doku’s pass to stab home the opener in the seventh minute.
Belgium dominated the game with over 70 per cent possession and seven shots in the first half but they failed to find the back of the net coupled with Lukaku’s wasteful showing.
Just after the restart, Lukaku thought he had scored the equaliser but his effort was ruled out for offside.
48th placed ranked Slovakia held on for a record-breaking win over the third best team in the world according to the latest FIFA rankings.
It was the first defeat for Belgium against a team outside the top 45 of the Fifa world rankings for the first time since 2010.
The Red Devils will hope to bounce back in their second game when they take on Romania on Saturday, while Slovakia will be seeking a place in the next round with a win over Ukraine.
Tobi Amusan has claimed her fourth consecutive national title in the women’s 100 metres hurdles event.
The 27-year-old dipped at 12.78 seconds and was way ahead of her competitors in a one-sided final of the event on Monday at the national Olympic trials in Benin, Edo state.
The victory was Amusan’s fourth national title in a row, having swept to victory at the Olympic trials in Lagos in 2021 before winning twice in Benin in the last two years.
In the women’s 100 meters, Favour Ofili clinched the national title and booked an automatic qualification for the Paris Olympics.
The 21-year-old clocked a season-best of 11.06 seconds to finish ahead of Olayinka Olajide, who came second in 11.37 seconds, and Justina Eyakpobeyan in third.
Kanyinsola Ajayi won the men’s 100-meter crown with a blistering 10.14 seconds.
He defeated Alaba Akintola, who clocked 10.16 seconds, and Usheoritse Itsekiri, who finished second and third.
Chukwuebuka Enekwechi won his fourth consecutive men’s shot put national title. He only needed three attempts to his 21.37 meters mark which was insurmountable by his opponents.
Nigerian-born British heavyweight boxer, Anthony Joshua, has overtaken Tyson Fury in the latest WBC heavyweight rankings.
Anthony Joshua has now moved to number one in the WBC heavyweight rankings, while Tyson Fury has dropped from the first spot to the second spot.
The current undisputed heavyweight title holder, Oleksandr Usyk, is ranked the winner of the rankings.
Fury dropped one spot after losing his WBC heavyweight title to Usyk in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in May 2024.
While Fury suffered a massive defeat to the Ukrainian boxer, Anthony Joshua recorded successive victories against Francis Ngannou and Otto Wallin.
These two victories have qualified Joshua to contest for the vacant IBF title against Daniel Dubois in September.
Agit Kabayel who recently beat Frank Sanchez during one of the under-cards on the Fury vs Usyk bill in May, takes the third spot in the WBC rankings.
Zhilei Zhang who stunned Deontay Wilder with a knockout win earlier this year is the fourth-highest-ranked boxer in the world according to the WBC.
Nigerian heavyweight boxer, Efe Ajagba completes the top five list thanks to the WBC ‘silver’ trinket belt he is currently holding.
Jared Anderson is ranked 6th, Martin Bakole is ranked 7th, Sanchez 8th, Joe Joyce 9th, and Bakhodir Jalolov is ranked 10th in the WBC rankings.
Former Super Eagles head coach, Finidi George has opened up on why he resigned from the position.
Finidi submitted his resignation letter to the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, on Saturday.
The 53-year-old took the decision after the NFF announced it would hire a foreign technical adviser to tinker the team.
In a video posted on social media hours later, a former media officer of the Eagles, Colin Udoh, confirmed he had spoken to Finidi after his decision.
“Finidi confirmed to me that he resigned his position indeed,” Udoh said.
“The reason being that he met with the NFF on Thursday, and they had a very good conversation.
“They spoke about the things they need to do going forward and he (Finidi) asked if he will be back.
“At no point during that meeting did anyone tell him they were going to appoint a foreign technical adviser.
“The NFF board had met on Wednesday and made that decision. But it was when Findi landed in Port Harcourt after that meeting that someone called him and informed him. He (Finidi) had to park his car and read the link to see that it actually was true.
“So he waited for two days to see if anyone would contact him but nobody spoke to him. So he (Finidi) felt they didn’t want him anymore and so he decided to turn in his resignation.”
Former Super Eagles coach, Finidi George, on Sunday, reacted to the viral video of Victor Osimhen on social media, where he denied accusations of faking an injury to avoid participation in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Naija News had earlier reported that Osimhen, on Saturday, in an Instagram Live, disclosed that the claims about him staging an injury to skip national team duties were false.
In the video, Osimhen addressed some rumours linked to Finidi George, claiming that the former Enyimba gaffer said that he won’t beg him [Osimhen] to play for the Super Eagles.
Osimhen attacked the former Super Eagles coach, stating that he has lost respect for him.
The controversy prompted Nigerian sports journalist, Colin Udoh to seek clarification from both the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) and Finidi George.
Udoh reached out to senior NFF officials, who confirmed that Finidi never accused Osimhen of feigning an injury.
Udoh also revealed that he reached out to Finidi, who refuted ever making such a statement and expected Osimhen to have handled the situation differently.
Udoh said on Instagram, “So I called a couple of people who were at that meeting between Finidi, the NFF, and the minister to find out if what is alleged to have been said was actually said, and so these people are usually very, very senior and reliable people and I was told categorically that Finidi did not say the things he’s alleged to have said.
“He did not say he wasn’t going to beg Osimhen. He did not say that Osimhem was not committed. in fact, he did confirm when he was asked about Osimhen’s absence that he called him from Germany, and that’s why he was excused.
“It was when the issue of player’s commitment was raised; that’s why he said he would not beg anybody to play for the Super Eagles, but he did not mention any player by name, specifically.
“And so, I also called Finidi himself to ask him if that was the case and he also confirmed to me that he never said any of those things.
“In fact, he corroborated what the other gentleman had told me and that he would have no reason to call out any player, whether in public or in private, and that he would address issues with the players themselves if there were any issues.
“And then, as soon as the video was brought to his attention, he said he reached out to Osimhen and let him know that one, he never said those things, and two, even if he had, Osimhen should have reached out to him first to find out if he did say, what he was alleged to have said, rather than going, public with such disrespect.”
Rwanda head coach, Thorsten Frannk Splitter, says he will be relying on Gernot Rohr for essential information to claim the scalp of the Super Eagles in their 2026 World Cup CAF Qualifying Group C match day 5 fixture on March 17, 2025, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
After four rounds of matches, Rwanda are surprisingly topping the group with seven points, the same as South Africa in second place due to an inferior goal difference, and the East Africans can now fancy their chances at maiden World Cup qualification by adding Nigeria to their conquest list.
Rohr led Benin to a historic 2-1 win over Nigeria at Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, on June 10, and Splitter feels the Franco-German, who coached Nigeria for almost six years before being appointed by Benin, is the right man to advise him on how to beat Nigeria.
“I am very sure we (me and Gernot Rohr) will have a phone call before; it may be two or three, and if he can tell me something, I will be stupid not to take it. For that, we will try to be in contact; if possible, we can help each other; for sure, we will do it,” the Belgian tactician told Brila FM on Saturday.
Rohr was carried shoulder-high by Cheetahs players after Jodel Dossou scored on 37 minutes to cancel out Raphael Onyedika’s 27th-minute opener for Nigeria, and Steve Mounié scored the decider three minutes into added time of the first half to give Benin their first victory against their illustrious neighbours in Ivory Coast.
Nigeria are stuck in fifth spot on the log with miserly three points in for matches, and the three-time African champions will look to revive qualification hopes when the series resumes early next year, which will see them host Zimbabwe on March 24 on the back of the Rwanda trip.
This will be under a new coach following the resignation of Finidi George on Saturday, June 15, shortly after the Nigeria Football Federation announced its decision to hire an expatriate technical adviser to boss him.
VIDEO: ‘Eni kure, Ogun kill anyone who doubts my commitment’ - Victor Osimhen fumes over non-appearance for Super Eagles
AFOLABI
Super Eagles and Napoli forward Victor Osimhen has fired back at former Super Eagles manager, Finidi George, and individuals doubting his commitment to the Super Eagles.
Osimhen was ruled out of the Super Eagles games against South Africa and Benin Republic.
However, in a live Instagram video on Saturday, Osimhen reacted angrily to some comments attributed to Finidi, stating that he wanted to stay with the players in camp.
He said, “I knew things like these would happen and that’s why I have the videos and screenshots of when I called Finidi while I was with the doctor in Germany.
“I got injured in our (Napoli’s) last game against Lecce and I went to the MRI scan. And I called Finidi there for him to listen to the doctor too.
“I asked Finidi George to allow me stay with the players in the camp, but Finidi asked me not to bother that I should stay with my family.
“I’m not addressing anything, everybody knows I play my heart out whenever I’m playing for the club or national team. I’ll share the screenshot and videos of my conversation with Finidi for the sake of those believing what Finidi said.
“I’ve lost respect for that man because before I disrespect anybody, I always respect them.
“Now after two bad games, everybody is now blaming me.
“I know how many injuries I’ve played with for Nigeria and I played my heart out but after two bad games, everybody is attacking me.”
Media
VIDEO: 'Eni kure, Ogun kill anyone who doubts my commitment', Victor Osimhen fumes over non-appearance for Super Eagles
— Vanguard Newspapers (@vanguardngrnews) June 15, 2024
Credit:X //MUDIAGA pic.twitter.com/9m6ZGFWVi8
Ex-Premier League striker Kevin Campbell has died aged 54, his former clubs Arsenal and Everton announced on Saturday.
Campbell, who died after a short illness, holds the record for most Premier League goals, 83, by a player never to win an international cap.
“Everyone at Arsenal Football is devastated to hear of the death of our much-loved former player Kevin Campbell,” said Arsenal.
Campbell joined the Gunners as a schoolboy in 1985, making his first-team debut in 1988. He went on to play 228 times for Arsenal scoring 59 goals and winning a league title, an FA Cup, a European Cup Winners Cup and a League Cup.
“To actually play for the team I supported was a dream come true,” he said.
In 164 games for Everton he scored 51 goals, including nine in five games which saved them from relegation in 1999.
“Everyone at Everton Football Club is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of one of the Club’s most popular and much-loved former strikers, Kevin Campbell,” they said on their website.
Campbell, who also played for Leicester, Leyton Orient, Nottingham Forest, Trabzonspor, West Bromwich Albion and Cardiff, said one of his favourite memories in football was scoring the winner in the 2000 Merseyside derby, Everton’s last victory at Anfield for 22 years
“It was at the Kop End and my view, which will live with me until the day I die, is the Blues in the Kop going crazy,” he said.
In January 2001, manager Walter Smith made Campbell Everton’s first black captain.
“He made me the first black captain of Everton, which is something that I’m so proud of,” Campbell said.
Campbell moved to West Brom in January 2005 and was part of their “great escape”, as they became the first club bottom of the Premier League at Christmas to survive.
His son, Tyrese Campbell, is a striker who has just been released by Championship side Stoke City after seven seasons at the club.
Nigeria Super Eagles’ coach, Finidi George has resigned from his post as Super Eagles’ coach, two days after the Nigeria Football Federation announced it was going to employ a foreign technical adviser.
A source close to Finidi told Sports Village Square that Finidi sent his resignation letter to Ibrahim Gusau “3o minutes ago.”
Finidi was said to be livid that the NFF leadership met with the sports minister two days ago, but failed to mention that players reported late to the camp and that they didi nothing to mobilise Nigerians in Cote d’Ivoire to come out to support the Super Eagles in last Monday’s match with Benin Republic.
“He complained that the NFF heaped all the blames on him”, said the source.
Calls to NFF officials to verify the information were not answered.
[sportsvillagesquare]
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Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, has identified Barcelona midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, as one of the smartest players he has coached in his career.
Guardiola coached the Germany international at Man City before the player left for Barca.
They both won several trophies, including the Champions League and the Premier League.
“İlkay didn’t talk much, but when he did, everyone listened to him, including me as a coach,” Guardiola said (via Barca Blaugranes).
“It was clear and direct. He is a very intelligent player, one of the smartest I have ever coached. He was the key to our success.”
[DailyPost]
The least I can say now is that there is confusion in the ‘house’ of Nigerian football.
The last two matches played within a space of a few days, against South Africa and Benin Republic, have thrown the Nigerian Football Federation, custodians of the game in the country, into a state of frenzy.
It is hard for any observer to understand the transformation of the Super Eagles. For almost 10 barren years, with unknown foreign coaches mostly in charge, the Super Eagles grovelled in the dark in search of an answer to her dwindling fortunes in African football.
Five months ago, fortune smiled on the team. At the African Cup of Nations in Cote D’Ivoire, against all odds and with plenty of luck, playing a mostly pressure-laden defensive style of play that ‘killed’ six Nigerians, the team got to the finals before capitulating to the home-team that they had beaten in the first round.
Nigerians were so appreciative of that brief spell of success that brought joy and relief from the hardship of life that the government lavished on the team rewards and awards unheard of in the history of football in the world.
Ironically, the foreign coach was so ‘good’ that Nigeria did not renew his contract. Of course, everything considered, everyone knew Jose Paseiro was not good enough. Yet, in what many people still consider a set-up designed to fail, they settled for his assistant, a Nigerian.
After only two games with Finidi George in charge, the team’s fortunes have plummeted and have set off a chain of reactions that have the strength of a volcano to consume Nigerian football if not handled carefully.
Last Thursday, the Executive Committee of the Nigerian Football Federation, NFF, rose from its emergency meeting, and limped back to its previous vomit.
With threats hanging over the board like the Sword of Damocles, the board decided it will immediately embark on a search for a new foreign coach and keep Finidi as his assistant again in the technical team. In addition to that, they will heed to wise counsel and look into amending the constitution of the NFF to include some new stakeholders as advised by the government one year ago.
All of these plus a few other matters, of course, are as a result of the shameful performance and loss to Benin Republic last Monday. It shattered the camel’s back.
Indeed, it was the most humiliating football match. The Super Eagles not only failed to win, they played without spirit, like ‘school boys’ on a vacation. It was a massive dent to the country’s image and reputation as a giant in African football. The result of that match left the public baying for blood.
The federal government was going to wield the big stick. The Minister for Sports fired the first salvo by requesting explanation from the NFF. Till now, huge threats still hang precariously over the board.
I am in my observatory high up in the hills of Wasimi. I am trying to work it all out and understand the motivations for the NFF decisions tumbling down accompanied by many begging questions.
What is the nature of foreign coach this time around? Another journey-man coach? Or a ‘world-class coach as many analysts demand? What is the definition of a world-class coach? Who in that category is available and willing? Who will pay their humongous wages?
What will happen to all of Finidi George’s hired technical assistants?
And so on and so forth. Questions, all begging for answers.
However, whilst waiting for the details of implementation of the NFF’s decisions, I shall share a few random reactions of the public on my platform to the match against Benin Republic last Monday night. They make interesting reading. One or two may even be in support of the decisions of the NFF.
I reproduce them here, unedited.
Opeyemi Ajala
Those opposed to indigenous coaches will gleefully appoint a Lagerback who failed to qualify Sweden but would be eager to sack Amodu that qualified the Eagles.
Mancini won the Euros but fell to Macedonia
John Mastoroudes
Segun, I cannot believe we lost to Benin.
It’s as if I was afraid that this might happen when I sent my last message to you!
I am all for a foreign coach, BUT A BIG NAME, who can inspire our selected players, because in our case it’s all about psychology.
If NFA cannot afford it, many well-to-do Nigerians, I am sure, will be willing to sponsor the salary for at least 3 years. This is my personal view.
I have nothing against Finidi whom I respect as a great footballer.
Toyin Imevbere
I’m still too “pissed off”. Whenever I flash back on that embarrassing match, it looks to me like the match was ‘sold’. There was definitely no urge to win on the part of the Eagles.
I’m not happy at all. My son gave up on them. He went to sleep and said he did not want anyone to give him hypertension jare.
Finidi is too soft to handle the national team.
Prof. Seun Omotayo
I have spoken about the need for psychological management of the Super Eagles players. The game is nothing but a mind-game at all levels, including telepathic connections.
Dapo Oguntoyinbo
Segun, we are all saddened by the loss of the Super Eagles to Benin. Finidi may have underrated them. How could he go to the match without his key players: Ekong, Osimhen, etc? In addition, I do not think the players spent enough time together before going for the match. It was a great blunder by Finidi and will be difficult for him to recover from.
Now, everyone is asking for him to be axed. As a new coach, he should have realised that his first matches would be a make or mar affair. All of us who supported the choice of a Nigerian Coach are now licking our wounds !!!
Godwin Akhigbe
NFF wants to hire a foreign coach to boss Finidi George. It reminds me of what Taju Disu said: that the football body will mess Finidi up like all other ex-internationals who have handled the team. The Eagles refused to play for Finidi.
Omotayo Olanrewaju
The search by NFF for a foreign coach is unfortunate and ill-advised. The solution is not replacing Finidi George but about ensuring the application of Sports Coaching Science and Performance Optimization strategies. NFF should support the Finidi-led Technical crew rather than going on another wasteful quest for a Foreign Coach at this point of our Football Development in Nigeria.
NFF should NOT crucify Finidi for the current performance of the Super Eagles, but should rather ensure the adequacy of his back-room staff which is suspect, a situation and concern that I pointed out on a television program about three weeks ago. Who is Finidi’s Match Analyst?Who is Finidi’s Sports Psychologist? Who is Finidi’s Exercise Physiologist etc? I use this opportunity to reiterate my call for the need for all Sports outfits across categories to be put in place as the SPORTS MEDICINE TEAM.
Kalima
I watched the team. There was no hunger, no thirst, and no leader on the pitch. The captain spoke more with the coach than with his fellow players.
The players have individual skills that can be harnessed with humility. Someone must do the dirty job on the pitch. The mid-field was porous.
Yakubu Mohammed
I am a patriot and I want us to be in the USA, Mexico and Canada, but nothing so far has fired my patriotism.
The Flamingos have qualified for the 2024 U-17 Women’s World Cup after beating Liberia 6-1 on aggregate.
Harmony Chidi’s strikes, one goal in each half, ensured Nigeria won the second leg of the encounter 2-0 at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja on Friday.
The first leg of the encounter had ended 4-1 in Nigeria’s favour, meaning Friday’s victory gave the Flamingos a 6-1 aggregate win to seal their ticket for the competition later in the year.
En route to booking a ticket for the tournament, Coach Bankole Olowookere’s girls scored 25 goals.
They smashed the Central African Republic 12-0 on aggregate in the second round of the qualification series.
The team followed that up with a 7-1 aggregate win over Burkina Faso in the next round.
This year’s U-17 Women’s World Cup will run from October 16 to November 3, 2024, in the Dominican Republic.
Led by Coach Bankole, Nigeria finished third in the last edition held in India in 2022, the second African side to earn that feat after Ghana did so in 2012.
Germany thrashed 10-man Scotland 5-1 as the Euro 2024 hosts kicked off the tournament in style in Munich on Friday, the start of a journey they hope culminates in a record fourth continental title.
Florian Wirtz struck the opening goal 10 minutes in and Jamal Musiala soon doubled Germany’s lead with an emphatic finish.
A greatly awaited night for Scotland went from bad to worse before half-time when Ryan Porteous was sent off for a two-footed challenge on Ilkay Gundogan, with Kai Havertz tucking away the resulting penalty.
Niclas Fuellkrug powered in a fourth midway through the second half after coming on as a substitute and not even a late own goal from Antonio Ruediger could spoil an otherwise perfect start to the campaign for Germany.
There was even time for Emre Can to add a fifth goal with the final kick of the game.
Disastrous Scottish Start
Scotland could surely not have envisioned such a disastrous beginning, but they must regroup quickly with games to come in Group A against Switzerland and Hungary.
After three successive failures at major tournaments, including back-to-back group stage exits at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, this was a strong statement of intent from an experienced Germany side.
It is Germany’s first men’s major tournament as hosts since the 2006 World Cup, and they are looking to recreate the magic that helped rekindle the passion for the national team after a spell in the international doldrums.
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann had spoken of his players’ hunger to atone for the failures of recent times, with the outlook improving and optimism gradually increasing since his appointment in September.
His counterpart Steve Clarke on the other hand urged Scotland to “fear no one” going into the country’s second straight Euros after more than two decades in the international wilderness.
Almost right away Germany took the game to a Scotland side who arrived in Munich with only one win from their past nine matches — an unimpressive 2-0 victory over lowly Gibraltar last week.
Scotland goalkeeper Angus Gunn alertly blocked from an offside Wirtz, but Germany did not wait long in grasping the match by the scruff of the neck.
Toni Kroos, coaxed out of his Germany retirement earlier this year, pinged a ball out to Joshua Kimmich, who teed up Wirtz to sweep in from the edge of the area as Gunn could only help the shot in via the post.
Kroos will hang up his boots for good after the tournament, but with him and Gundogan running the Germany midfield they bring a level of knowledge and maturity few can match.
Gundogan threaded a pass through the Scotland defence to Havertz, who worked it back towards Musiala, the Bayern Munich attacker created himself space to crash a strike into the roof of the net.
Germany were initially awarded a penalty as Musiala went down in a heap after getting caught between Ryan Christie and Kieran Tierney, but referee Clement Turpin deemed the foul occurred outside the area after consulting the touchline monitor.
That merely delayed Germany’s third goal, which did eventually come from the spot following another VAR review that led to Porteous being sent off for a crude challenge on Gundogan, who was chopped down attempting to convert the rebound from his own header.
Havertz calmly sent Gunn the wrong way and drained any remaining optimism from Scotland’s once boisterous and sizeable travelling contingent of supporters.
Scotland tried to limit the damage in the second half, but there was no stopping Fuellkrug’s thumping drive into the top corner within a few minutes of his introduction as a replacement for Havertz.
Fuellkrug had the ball in the net a second time, but fortunately for Scotland they were spared further misery when he was ruled offside.
The only bright spot for Scotland came three minutes from time as Ruediger inadvertently diverted Scott McKenna’s header past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
But there was still more punishment to come as substitute Can curled home from 20 yards right at the death to cap a glorious night for the Germans.