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...

The secretariat of the Nigeria Nation-wide league has formally withdrawn APA UNITED FC of Otukpo Benue state from the on-going league following the club's refusal to honour their first league match of the season against Dreams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 ...

…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 technica...

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...

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...