Oyo SportsNews

...expects players' by October Midtown Town Soccer School has received massive boost from Accrington Stanley Football Club ahead of September trial. Academy Head of Recruitment, David Bailey in a chat with OyoSportsNews confirmed that the selected 18 players in the recently talent identification programme have been invited to train with the club in September. Bailey, who tutored former Nigeria international Austin Jay Jay Okocha in Bolton Wanderers before his move to Accrington assured the players of solid arrangement in September. He emphasized that only six players will be adopted into the academy. The former Manchester City Coach said Accrington will prepare all necessary papers involving the players' while fund will be refundable for players who may be denied Visa in Nigeria Also speaking at the gathering, Chief Executive Officer of Midtown Soccer School Mr. Mobolaji Joshua congratulated the players, parents and guardians. He advised the players to continue with their daily

Former Enyimba and Kano Pillars coach Salisu Yusuf has been confirmed as assistant to Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi. Yusuf thus replaces former Nigeria star Daniel Amokachi, Incidentally, Yusuf and Amokachi played together at Ranchers Bees. Ike Shorunmu has retained his position as goalkeeper trainer.

Head Coach of the Senior National Team, Stephen Keshi has released a list of 26 home-based professionals who will kick-start the team’s camping programme ahead of next month’s 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Chad. Familiar faces Daniel Akpeyi, Solomon Kwambe, Chibuzor Okonkwo, Azubuike Egwuekwe, Rabiu Ali, Kunle Odunlami, Gbolahan Salami and Ezekiel Mba are joined by exciting new faces Ibrahim Shaibu, Onoriode Odah and Igbinosa. Record scorer in the Nigeria elite division, Mfon Udoh is accompanied by former junior international goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Nelson Ogbonnaya, Nathaniel Joseph and Moses Ekpai Ubong. Enyimba FC captain Chinedu Udoji, Giwa FC’s Henlong Charles, Joe Omale of Dekina Dragons and FC Taraba’s Samuel Olabisi are coming into camp for the first time. All the invited players are expected to report at the Bolton Hotel Apartments, Wuse, Abuja on Tuesday, 19 th  May, 2015   THE FULL LIST   Goalkeepers : Daniel Akpeyi (Warri Wolves); Ikechukwu Ezenwa (Sunsh

The secretariat of the Nigeria Nation-wide league has formally withdrawn APA UNITED FC of Otukpo Benue state from the on-going league following the club's refusal to honour their first league match of the season against Dreams International FC of Makurdi on the 8th May, 2015. In a statement signed by the Executive Secretary of the NNWL, Olushola Ogunnowo, the refusal of APA United contravened Article 2:06 and 4:12 of the NNWL rules and regulations. Sequel to that, the board had directed the Secretariat to take necessary action in other to fill the vacuum that might be created due to their withdrawal to forestall breach of agreement with its partners. It is not really clear why the management of the club decided to withdraw it from the on-going abridged season of the Nation-wide league which began on the 7th of May, 2015.The club has since been replaced by Lobi Junior FC of Makurdi, a club from the same zone.

High riding Bayelsa Queens of Yenegoa will this weekend meet their march in Ede when they face a victory thirsty Osun Babes of Osogbo. The two teams who are yet to lose a match in the three weeks old league, would give the spectactors  much to cheer about. The Osun Poly Ede pitch which was in a bad shape when the home team played their first match of the season, would surely wear a  new look if the promises of the management of the Osun babes is anything to go by. Coach Rolandson Odeh, would have to deploy all his wealth of experiences in this match if he hope to leave the stadium with his heads high. Elsewhere in Oleh, Delta Queens would compound the problems of FC Robo in the League. The Dan Evuemena girls would want to take the revenge of their last week lost to Ibom Angels on the Robo girls. Confluence Queens will travel to Yola to tackle the Adamawa Queens, while Ibom Angels would welcome Martins White Doves in Uyo. In Group B, It would be a game of two new comers at the Agege Tow

…as Pinnick returns from medical trip Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Amaju Pinnick, who on Tuesday, returned from a fourweek medical trip to the United Kingdom, yesterday, presided over an Executive Committee Meeting of the federation at which the proposal for national team players and coaches to henceforth sign a Code of Conduct was endorsed. A communiqué of the sixth meeting of the NFF Executive Committee held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja and made available to our correspondent said the Flying Eagles currently training in Germany for the FIFA U-20 World Cup kicking-off in New Zealand on May 30 and the Super Falcons going for the Women’s World Cup in Canada next month, would be the first to sign the conduct code. “In the interest of the nation and as a means of regulating the conduct of players and officials representing the country at any point in time, Committee endorsed a proposal for all players and officials of the National Teams to sign a Code of Conduct, s

Enyimba FC 3-0 Nasarawa Feeders (Oshogbo) – (Walk-Over) Cardinal FC 2-5 Remo Stars (Warri) Junior Spotlight 1-4 Lobi Stars (Abuja) Zabgai FC 0-1 Niger Tornadoes (Kaduna) Heartland FC 2-1 Bizi Cashless (Abuja) FRSC FC 0-1 Sharks FC (Ibadan) Idah United 1-3 Spotlight FC (Jos) Kurmi Market 1-3 BJ Foundation (Ilorin) Kano Pillars 3-0 Zara FC (Gusau) - (Walk-Over) Plateau United 1-0 Shooting Stars (Aba) Akwa Starlets 1-2 Kwara United (Enugu) ABU FC 1-1 Ajiroba FC (Lokoja) - (4-2) on penalties Giwa FC 2-2 Kukuruku Dragons (Minna)-- (4-5 on penalties) Kaduna United 1-1 Enugu Rangers (Lokoja) (7-8 on penalties) Makwada Warriors 2-1 Jigawa Stars (Gombe) Doma United 0-2 Jalingo FC (Bauchi) Inter FC 1-2 Dolphins FC (Calabar) Nembe City 0-3 Bayelsa United (Neros) J. Atete 3-1 Sunshine Stars (Benin) Christ Ambas. 1-2 Prime FC (Abeokuta) FC Abuja 0-2 Wikki Tourists (Katsina) El-Kanemi Babes 0-1 Abia Warriors. (Lafia) Nasarawa United 2-1 New Vision (Aba) Peacemaker FC 3-0 New Stars (Minna) Binani FC

A Normalisation Committee is to be set up by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to plan the election of members to run the Akwa Ibom State Football Association. Board Member of the NFF and Chairman of Chairmen, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, said in Uyo on Tuesday that as far as the “NFF was concerned, elections did not hold in Akwa Ibom, so a Normalisation Committee will be put in place in the next 48 hours to work towards holding a free and fair election in the state,” observed the NFF board member. Alhaji Gusau who was in the company with NFF Technical Committee Member, Mr Paul Bassey, had earlier addressed stakeholders in the state on the anomaly that led to the illegal election that was purported to have been held. He said on the receipt of protests and petitions, the NFF waded into the matter and asked that the election be postponed until all the pending cases were resolved, consequent upon which no member of the NFF electoral committee was in the state to supervise the elections. “It

A quick brace from rookie, Chiwendu Ali in the 30th and 34th minutes saw Dolphins through to the Federation Cup Round of 32. Ali, who joined Dolphins from Nigeria National League side, Go Round FC curled the ball beyond the reach of the Inter FC keeper in the 30th minute from the edge of the box and three minutes later forced a defender to handle the ball in the box for a penalty. Chiwendu Ali himself stepped up to score the kick. Inter FC pulled one back late in the game but Dolphins held on to win 2-1. Joseph Inya, coach of Inter FC blamed the loss on minor mistakes from his side. “You know Dolphins are a more experienced side and they capitalized on minor mistakes made by my players. “It’s a game we could have won, but for the mistakes we made,” Inya said. Dolphins coach, Stanley Eguma commended his opponents for giving his side a good game “We had to score those two goals early. I commend my opponents for a good game because they are an equally good side,” Eguma said. “I also comme

Enyimba FC 3-0 Nasarawa Feeders (Oshogbo) – (Walk-Over) Cardinal FC 2-5 Remo Stars (Warri) Junior Spotlight 1-4 Lobi Stars (Abuja) Zabgai FC Vs Niger Tornadoes (Kaduna) - 4pm, 13 May Heartland FC 2-1 Bizi Cashless (Abuja) FRSC FC Vs Sharks FC (Ibadan) - 4pm, 13 May Idah United 1-3 Spotlight FC (Jos) Kurmi Market 1-3 BJ Foundation (Ilorin) Kano Pillars 3-0 Zara FC (Gusau) - (Walk-Over) Plateau United 1-0 Shooting Stars (Aba) Akwa Starlets 1-2 Kwara United (Enugu) ABU FC 1-1 Ajiroba FC (Lokoja) - (4-2) on penalties Giwa FC 2-2 Kukuruku Dragons (Minna)-- (4-5 on penalties) Kaduna United 1-1 Enugu Rangers (Lokoja) (7-8 on penalties) Makwada Warriors 2-1 Jigawa Stars (Gombe) Doma United 0-2 Jalingo FC (Bauchi) Inter FC 1-2 Dolphins FC (Calabar) Nembe City 0-3 Bayelsa United (Neros) J. Atete 3-1 Sunshine Stars (Benin) Christ Ambas. 1-2 Prime FC (Abeokuta) FC Abuja 0-2 Wikki Tourists (Katsina) El-Kanemi Babes 0-1 Abia Warriors. (Lafia) Tornadoes Feeders Vs Shinkafi United (Kano) - 4pm, 13 May

The door appears finally shut against Daniel Amokachi as the Super Eagles assistant coach. Amokachi served as an assistant to Stephen Keshi in his first term but it appears very confirmed now that there won’t be a place for the former national team striker on the Eagles bench even as the Nigeria Football Federation delays the announcement of the assistants to Keshi under the current dispensation. An  AfricanFootball.com  report states that Amokachi is favoured to take over as coach of Nigeria Premier League outfit FC Taraba. It will, though not be his first time with a Nigerian club. He had handled Nasarawa United and Enyimba. He was also a coach of the Nigeria U23 national team. His former national teammate and close friend Tijjani Babangida is a consultant to Taraba. ‘The Bull’, as Amokachi was called in his playing days, was in Jalingo to watch the team draw 3-3 at home with Gabros on Sunday and a source inside the Taraba camp said the coach is coming in as the new technical adviser

The Flying Eagles on Tuesday defeated German side Hoffenheim U23s in their first of three friendlies lined up to prepare them for the U20 World Cup, which will kick off on May 30 in New Zealand. Second half substitute Taiwo Awoniyi was the star of the match grabbing a hat-trick, while Chidera Ezeh and Godwin Saviour scored a goal each to secure a 5-2 win over their German opponents in the training match, which was played at the Hoffenheim sports ground, Germany. The African champions, who are in the same group with five-time champions Brazil, Korea and Hungary, scored first through Saviour, and shortly after the Germans equalised. Eze restored Flying Eagles’ lead but the Germans made it 2-2 just before half time. With the introduction of Awoniyi with 35 minutes to go, the pendulum swung in the Nigerians direction as he went on to strike thrice in quick succession. The match is expected to influence coach Manu Garba’s choice of players that will make up his 21-man list for the World Cup

Former D’Tigers coach, Ayo Bakare, has shockingly revealed that the Nigeria Basketball Federation owes him close to N80m. At a press conference in Lagos on Tuesday, Bakare said contrary to insinuations by those he termed ‘NBBF supporters’, he was not lashing out at the president of the basketball body, Tijjani Umar, because of the money he was owed or because he was not made coach of the national team. Rather, the former national team coach said he was “pained to drag the current president (of NBBF) and his administration into the public domain as a last resort to save Nigerian basketball from the decay they have foisted and continue to visit upon it.” Bakare said his claim was backed by “written and other factual evidences” despite the federation’s insistence that it owes him N60m. He added that the NBBF has continuously refused to acknowledge the said amount, which he claimed it owed him between 2011 and 2013. He stated, “It is an incontrovertible fact that the NBBF owe me and third

Former African  and World footballer of the year, George Weah has said the problems that have seen Nigerian football struggle  over the last year have nothing to do with Stephen Keshi, but rather with the team. The former AC Milan striker also says it doesn’t mean the team is bad, but they probably lack team work which has really affected them. “Nigeria is a great nation and the fact that they didn’t qualify (for AFCON 2015) doesn’t mean they don’t have a good team or a good coach,” Weah said. “They need to find a rhythm, try again and redouble their efforts and get back on the world stage. “Sometimes it is not about the coach, but about team work because Nigeria may not have a team but they have lots of players but you should know players win games and teams win championships. “So I hope they rebuild their team so they’re seeded again at the world stage,” Weah said. The Liberian was speaking with regards to the concerns over the Nigeria Football Federation’s decision to award Stephen

Warri Wolves, the only Nigerian club left in the Confederation’s Cup, will depart Warri today for Lagos and leave for Congo Brazzaville tomorrow via Ethiopian Airline for the first leg of the third round against Athletic Club Leopards de Dolisie. Spokesperson, Moses Etu, said Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, has made funds available for the journey. Etu said the governor has done well and all that is left now is for the players to deliver. He added that team’s management decided it should leave on time to get acclimatized to the environment before the encounter. The match would feature the same set of players that conquered MK Etanchetie of Congo; except for Gbolahan Salami who will not make the trip because of card offence. He would be replaced by Solomon Kwambe, who is yet to take part in the continental matches. “We are set for the crucial match and the Governor as usual has made available funds for the trip,” Mr. Moses said. “We are going with almost the same set of playe

Former youth international, Emmanuel Babayaro, has warned Nigerians not to expect any spectacular change in the Super Eagles under Coach Stephen Keshi. Keshi is expected to submit his list of players and programme to the Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) technical committee ahead of the 2017 African Nations Cup qualifying match against Chad in Kaduna. Babayaro, a member of the national Under-23 team that won the 1996 Olympic gold medal, says he has not seen any change with the second coming of Keshi that would suggest an improvement in the Super Eagles’ games. He argued that even though Keshi may have learnt some lessons from the way he was dribbled by the NFF before he was eventually offered a new contract, stressed that with the coach in charge of the Super Eagles, the team will never play good football. “In terms of understanding, I always insist that no one can be an island. You need to humble yourself some times and listen to other people’s opinion. In that particular aspect, I

•Receives Oyo FA boost The first edition of the annual Iyaloja Football Competition will begin next Monday, May 18, 2015 at the Olubadan stadium organizer has announced. The competition which is sponsored by the Iyaloja of Ibadanland, Chief Mrs Labake Lawal will featured 13 (teams) markets in Ibadan. The tournament according to the donor was put together to provide quality recreation and skills development in the game of football for all youth in Ibadan. Labake Lawal while speaking before the draws thanked all participating markets and promised a hitch free tournament with a view of expanding it in the next edition. She said the idea is also to contribute her quota to the development of football in Oyo state while seeking for corporate sponsors. Also speaking at event, chairman organizing committee, Alhaji Lukman Alaka warned all teams to shun hooliganism and follow the rules and regulation guiding the competition. He noted that any team caught with irregularities will be duly punished

Remo Stars Football Club travel down to the South South area of the country to face Anambra based side Cardinal FC in the round 64 of the Federation Cup. Head Coach Uche Okagbue has expressed satisfaction over his team's preparedness for the Cup game in Warri. Okagbue who heads down to Warri with his 18 man squad, said it's a game to show his team's readiness for the league Season.            Remo Stars players warming up "We want to progress in the Federations Cup and we have to start with the game against Cardinal FC in Warri. "We have to command the game from the 1st minute, dominating the game will be key for us and it will encourage us to impose our game on our  opponents." "We want to improve on the club's record in this competition and we have to take it one game at a time as this game would also help in getting our match rhythm before the start of the league. The Sky Blue Stars qualified for the round of 64 as Ogun State Champions after defea

Timi Ebikagboro, the Media Officer of Nigeria’s under-23 male football team, on Monday in Abuja said the team’s players would resume camp on May 25. The Media Officer said the Dream Team VI would be resuming ahead of the qualifiers for the Men’s Football Tournament of the 2016 Olympic Games scheduled for Rio in Brazil. The team had been on break since April 17, after securing a spot at the 2015 All-Africa Games (AAG) scheduled for Congo-Brazzaville. Ebikagboro said players would be selected for camping based on merit, while the overseas-based ones would be invited to reinforce the team if the need arose. “Players who have not measured up will be dropped for those who can add value to the team. “In addition to that the coach (Samson Siasia) intends to have a look at some overseas-based professional players to observe those who can bolster the squad,’’ he said. The team official however said the players should not see their qualification for the AAG as the ultimate. “They should rather s

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have announced they are in talks with Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana over for friendly matches against World Cup-bound Super Falcons. The move according to NFF general secretary Sanusi Mohammed is to help put the African champions in shape for next month’s World Cup in Canada. “We are in talks with Cameroon, Ghana and Cote d’ Ivoire for a possible friendly for the Falcons,” Sanusi said. “You know they were supposed to play Mali at the weekend, but Mali pulled out in the last minute. So we now have to arrange friendlies for the team before they depart for Canada.” Sanusi who confirmed that the Falcons will head out to Canada on May 19, added that, the NFF are also planning friendlies for the team while they are in Canada. “The team departs for Canada on the 19th, God’s willing. While in Canada, we are making arrangements to see that they play friendly matches also,” he said. The Super Falcons are in what has been tagged the ‘Group of Death’ with

Chief Executive Officer of the League Management Company, Honourable Nduka Irabor has called on Nigerians to organise community-based football clubs in order to ensure a sound financial base for clubs and the continuous survival of the Nigerian league. Irabor who was guest of the Vanguard roundtable conference yesterday said clubs as presently run and funded in Nigeria were doomed. “Most of our clubs have been hijacked by government. Some of these clubs were formed during the military era as publicity stunts. They formed the clubs because they wanted to ingratiate themselves with the people but today these clubs are drain pipes where millions of naira that would have been used for other productive sectors are sunk into their running’’, Irabor said. He noted, “Nigeria is perhaps, the only country where government runs football clubs. We can stop this with the new rules on ground. We have set the rule where government should not own more than 50 per cent of a club let the people own the

THE country’s national taekwondo team will participate at the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF)-organised world championships scheduled to hold this week in Chelyabinsk, Russia.   Three experienced athletes led by Beijing 2008 Olympics bronze medalist, Chika Chukwumerije will hoist Nigeria’s flag at the global tournament, where athletes are expected to garner points for their final qualification for the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil.   United States-based Saturday Bashir and France-based Murtala Mohammed will be on duty at the tournament kicking off tomorrow at Traktor Arena in Chelyabinsk.   Besides Nigeria, some top African teams like Gabon, Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire and Tunisia are also using the tournament as a tune-up to this year’s All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville.   According to the President, Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF), George Ashiru, who was at the WTF yearly General Meeting (AGM) said the team’s build up was hampered by the political and economic situation in the country

The Nigeria Women Football League has concluded arrangements to partner the KC Gaming Network proponents of the Bet9ja as the title sponsors of the league. Revealing this after meeting with Management of the Company in Lagos, the Chairman of the Nigeria Women Football League Chief Mrs)Dilichukwu Onyedinma said all the arrangements have been concluded for signing of the memoranda of understanding. Quoting her words the NFF Board member said “discussions have reached the final stage with KC Gaming Network, the owners Bet9ja to come into the League as our title sponsors for the Nigeria Women Premier League. We have been discussing with them, and there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. We are now set to make it public and the memoranda of understanding would soon be signed. This is a good thing for our Women Football League, and whatever that accrues from the deal will go a long way to reduce the burden of our clubs. I want to thank our various clubs for their patience and suppor

Kano Pillars captain Gambo Muhammad has begun light training at the Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano more than two months after he was shot by armed men. Gambo suffered several gunshot wounds and had to be operated on when robbers attacked the Pillars team bus on March 3 along Abaji-Lokoja road on their way to Owerri to honour a Nigeria league match against Heartland. Pillars media officer Rilwanu Idris Malikawa disclosed that Gambo was at the Sani Abacha Stadium Monday morning and jogged for about 30 minutes. Malikawa said Gambo, who has been capped by Nigeria at full international level, has started light workout based on the directives given to him by the doctor who is looking after him. “It’s very encouraging to see Gambo Muhammad on the track today, we wish him quick recovery,” Malikawa said. Gambo himself confirmed he is feeling a lot better and hopes to soon recover fully. He commended the team for coming back to their winning ways in the league and prayed for positive results in bot

*Matches hold Wednesday and Thursday The Match Commissioners’ Appointment Committee of Nigeria Football Federation has released the list of Match Commissioners for the Round of 64 matches of this year’s Federation Cup competition. A total of 34 matches, including the 32 matches of the Round of 64 of the men’s competition, and the two matches of the first round of the women’s competition, will be played between Wednesday and Thursday this week to trim the field. There will be 24 matches on Wednesday and 10 on Thursday. ALL THE FIXTURES/MATCH COMMISSIONERS WOMEN’S COMPETITION Moje Queens Vs Golden Babes (Warri) – Akpojevwa Awata Oginni Queens Vs Rising Queens (Ilorin) – Elder S. D. Dangana MEN’S COMPETITION Enyimba FC                     Vs          Nasarawa Feeders (Oshogbo) – Akin Adio Cardinal FC                      Vs          Remo Stars (Warri) – Y. E. Areweremi Junior Spotlight               Vs          Lobi Stars (Abuja) - Ikezie Elumelu Zabgai F