Sport
Monday, 11 December 2017 05:02
City open up 11 point lead over United with derby win
MANCHESTER UNITED 1 MANCHESTER CITY 2 Runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City moved 11 points clear at the top after a 2-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford in their derby clash on Sunday. The victory means City are the first team to win 14 consecutive English top-flight games in the same season. The result ended United's run of 40 home games unbeaten in all competitions. City's lead over second-placed United means the title is now theirs to lose and, while Pep Guardiola's side did not provide a classic display of their manager's attractive passing football, they showed they…
Sunday, 10 December 2017 04:26
Ronaldo celebrates Ballon d'Or with 2 goals in Madrid rout
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his fifth Ballon d'Or award by leading Real Madrid to victory on Saturday, while Valencia kept the pressure on Spanish league leader Barcelona. Ronaldo presented his trophy for the best player in football to Real Madrid's fans then scored twice as Sevilla was routed 5-0 at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Ronaldo received the honor on Thursday in Paris, his fifth trophy equaling Barcelona rival Lionel Messi. After soaking up the ovation before kickoff from his fans, Ronaldo went on to have his best performance in the league this season. His brace earned him another loud round of applause…
Friday, 08 December 2017 03:36
Ronaldo moves level with archrival Messi with 5 Ballon d'Ors
A decade of dominance as the world's two best soccer players has left Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi level with five Ballon d'Or awards each. Despite once trailing 4-1 to his longtime rival, Ronaldo moved level after winning the award again on Thursday. "With Messi the fight continues, in a good way," Ronaldo said after being presented the trophy awarded by France Football magazine at a ceremony held at the Eiffel Tower. Messi was second in the voting and Neymar, who left Barcelona in the offseason to join Paris Saint-Germain for a world record transfer fee of 222 million Euros…
Thursday, 07 December 2017 03:48
Secret recordings emerge as key evidence at FIFA bribe trial
A turning point in the investigation of soccer's governing body came with a 6 a.m. wake-up call by the FBI to the five-star Miami hotel room of a Brazilian sports marketing executive named Jose Hawilla.A startled Hawilla, after learning he was a target of the probe, eventually decided to cooperate by wearing a wire - a coup for U.S. prosecutors at the ongoing U.S. trial of three former South American soccer officials charged in the corruption scandal that's embroiled FIFA. The prosecutors have used the hours of the secretly recorded audio evidence to help bring charges against dozens of other…
Wednesday, 06 December 2017 03:26
World Cup: FG budgets N3bn for Super Eagles
The Federal Government has budgeted N3bn for Super Eagles at 2018 World Cup 2018 which starts on June 14 in Russia. This was disclosed by Minister of Youths and Sports, Mr. Solomon Dalung, to State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday. “We have a conservative budget of about N3bn but out of that N3bn, FIFA is going to raise about N900m; our sponsors and partners are also going to bring about N600m. Government will conservatively raise about N2bn or N2.5bn to complement,” the minister said. He said plans were…
Tuesday, 05 December 2017 03:46
Will Nigeria escape from World Cup Group D?
Nigeria's focus was on the 2018 World Cup draw held in Moscow on Friday as the Super Eagles learned the teams they were to be paired with in the group stage of next summer's showpiece in Russia. Many anticipated a tough group, as the Super Eagles started the day in Pot Four among the lowest ranked teams, and ultimately, the West African nation was paired in Group D alongside familiar foes Argentina, Croatia and debutants Iceland. It could have been worse, perhaps, but do the three-time African champions have any chance of making it past this first obstacle? On one…
Sunday, 03 December 2017 03:09
10-man United beat Arsenal in thriller to keep heat on City
Manchester United held on with 10 men after Paul Pogba's late dismissal to beat Arsenal 3-1 in a pulsating game at the Emirates Stadium on a day when Liverpool and Chelsea also kept up the heat on Premier League leaders Manchester City. With Pep Guardiola's free-flowing side not in action until Sunday, second-placed United closed the gap at the top to five points with a thrilling display that belied manager Jose Mourinho's reputation as overly defensive away from home. While goals from Antonio Valencia and Jesse Lingard inside 11 minutes, and a further second-half strike from Lingard, showed United at…
Saturday, 02 December 2017 03:27
World Cup favourites spared tough groups in Russia
The favourites to win next year's World Cup in Russia were given navigable paths to the last 16 with the coaches of Germany, Brazil, Argentina and Spain having reason to feel reasonably optimistic after Friday's draw. Even hosts Russia, the lowest-ranked of the 32 nations taking part, breathed a sigh of relief after learning they will open the 21st edition of the tournament against Saudi Arabia before tackling Egypt and Uruguay in Group A. Holders Germany will open their bid for a fifth title against dark horses Mexico, with Sweden, conquerors of Italy in last month's playoffs, and South Korea…
Saturday, 02 December 2017 03:26
Twitter reacts to Nigeria’s World Cup pairing
Nigeria have been paired with Argentina, Iceland and Croatia in the Group D of the 2018 Fifa World Cup. The 2013 African champions begin their quest for glory against Croatia in Kaliningrad on June 16, 2018. But the Super Eagles will play La Albiceleste for the fifth time in the group stage of the quadrennial showpiece with previous fixtures in the 1994, 2002, 2010, 2014 editions. Having defeated Jorge Sampaoli’s men 4-2 in a friendly encounter at the Krasnodar Stadium in November, football enthusiasts took to social media to express their reactions to the draw which took place at the…
Saturday, 02 December 2017 03:24
Nigeria, 4 other Africa’s reps at 2018 World Cup to get N175m each for preparation
Confederation of African Football (CAF) has said it would grant financial subsidy of $500,000 (about N175 million) to all five African representatives at the forthcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup. The continental football governing body said the decision was taken by its Executive Committee and other stakeholders on the sidelines of 2018 FIFA World Cup draws in Moscow on Friday. “At its last meeting held on Nov. 16 in Rabat, Morocco CAF Executive Committee decided to set up an ad hoc committee chaired by CAF First Vice President, Kwesi Nyantakyi,” the continental football body said in a statement on Friday. “The…
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Friday, 01 December 2017 03:29
Woods returns with solid round and good start in Bahamas
Tiger Woods looked a lot better in his return to golf than he did when he left. Playing for the first time since his fourth back surgery, Woods returned from a 10-month layoff with a 3-under 69 on a breezy Thursday in the Bahamas that left him three shots behind Tommy Fleetwood after the opening round of the Hero World Challenge. "For me, I thought I did great," Woods said with a smile. And in a sign that he was ready to get back into the mix, he was far from satisfied. Unlike a year ago, when Woods ended a…
Friday, 01 December 2017 03:27
Everton name Allardyce as manager
Everton have named former England boss Sam Allardyce as their manager on an 18-month contract, the Premier League club said on Thursday.Allardyce replaces Dutchman Ronald Koeman, who was sacked last month after the Merseyside club dropped into the relegation zone. "I’ve always thought Everton was a great club. Obviously, the club has gone through a difficult spell and hopefully I can put that behind us as quickly as possible and start looking upwards again," Allardyce said in statement. "Ultimately, it’s the ambition of the club, the ambition of the owner and the Board, allied to the fact that it’s Everton…
Tuesday, 28 November 2017 03:19
Super Eagles coach, Rohr, gets two-year contract extension
Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Mr Amaju Pinnick, announced monday that Super Eagles Technical Adviser, Mr Gernot Rohr, has been given a new contract till 2020 after he guided Nigeria to next year’s World Cup in Russia. Pinnick announced Rohr’s new deal at the launching of a short code – *1945# – which will be used for all campaigns at the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals in Russia. He also disclosed the coach has been paid his salaries till December 2017. Rohr, 64, signed an initial two-year deal in July 2016 with the provision of an extension if he qualified…
Sunday, 26 November 2017 03:01
Mazembe retain African Confederation Cup title
TP Mazembe Englebert, of the Democratic Republic of Congo, retained the African Confederation Cup on Saturday, a goalless draw at South Africa's SuperSport United in the second leg of the final in Pretoria securing their 2-1 win on aggregate. It was the fifth major continental title inside a decade, and the third in successive seasons for the Congolese club who were also African Champions League winners in 2015. Both sides ended with 10 men as the game descended into a tempestuous affair in the closing stages, with Mazembe defender Kabaso Chongo and SuperSport's midfielder Thuso Phala both being sent off…