Author: Abdulgafar Oladimeji

FIFA World Cup 26: more than 1.5 million fans apply for Visa ticket draws A mere 24 hours into the entry period for the FIFA World Cup 26 Visa Presale Draw, FIFA has received an impressive number of applications from all over the world, with more than 1.5 million fans from 210 countries having signed up. The highest demand has thus far come from fans of the following countries: United States, Mexico and Canada followed by their counterparts in Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, England, Spain, Portugal and Germany. “The large number of entries submitted is a testament to the huge…

2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers: Nigeria’s Falconets departs for Kigali on Thursday Two-time World Cup silver-medallists Nigeria will kick off their race to next year’s FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup finals when they take on their Rwandan counterparts on Sunday, in a second round, first leg encounter in Kigali. The Falconets are scheduled to depart the country on Thursday for the clash with the Rwandan U20 girls. The clash with the Rwandan counterparts will take place at the Kigali Pele Stadium, formerly known as Stade Regional de Nyamirambo. The Confederation of African Football has appointed match officials from Sierra…

International Friendlies: Flying Eagles to take on Chile, Australia The Nigeria Football Federation has finalized arrangements for the U20 boys, Flying Eagles to sharpen their skills and competition-readiness with two friendly games against host nation Chile and Australia, ahead of this year’s FIFA U20 World Cup finals. Head of International Competitions, Dayo Enebi Achor, confirmed that the two-time silver medallists of the FIFA U20 World Cup will take on host nation Chile, who play in Group A of the competition alongside New Zealand, Japan and Egypt, on Saturday, 20th September. Nigeria, who also won the bronze medals when then USSR hosted the…

Pep Guardiola hits 600 top-five league games managed, won over 400 matches Wherever he goes records tumble. In 2009, Pep Guardiola won six trophies in a single calendar year with his infamous Barcelona side. That team also won two Champions League trophies in three years and are renowned as one of the best, and most aesthetically-pleasing, outfits to ever play the game. At Bayern Munich, the Spaniard won the Bundesliga title the earliest it had ever been claimed and took the Bavarians on a 19-game winning streak. When he came to England to manage Manchester City, many questioned whether his…

Milan to host IOC executive board meeting September 18 The International Olympic Committee, IOC Executive Board meeting has been fixed to hold on 18 and 19 September 2025 at the Westin Palace Hotel Piazza della Repubblica 20 20124 Milan Italy The IOC would proceed to host press conference on 19 September at 4 p.m. CEST, where updates on the Olympic Movement and Milano Cortina 2026 will be discussed.

Former Raccah Rovers of Kano golden boy Mohammed Idris Ayiye passes away Former Raccah Rovers of Kano star, Mohammed Idris Ayiye has passed away. The captain of the defunct popular Kano side, Husaini Alabi , who spoke with our correspondent confirmed that Ayiye is no more. He prayed for the repose of the soul of the deceased. It would be recalled that , late Ayiye was in the golden generation of Raccah players that comprises, Baba Otu Mohammed, Anas Mohammed, Safiu Mohammed, late Dele Mohammed, Godwin Bankole, Abubakar Garba Zaggalo, Iliyasu Yashin, Kalala Mohammed, Nnamdi Obiorah, and Idris Musa.

2026 Women AFCON: Super Falcons to face Cameroon, Benin republic The race for tickets to next year’s Women Africa Cup of Nations, also to be staged in Morocco just as the last two editions, will be concluded in October with Cup holders and 10-time winners Nigeria up against the She-Cheetahs of Benin Republic, and Cameroon’s Indomitable Lionesses up against a mountain. The Lionesses, runners-up in 2014 in Namibia and in 2016 when Cameroon hosted (both times beaten by Nigeria in the final), must negotiate a tricky fixture against Algeria’s Lady Fennecs in the final qualifying fixture set for 20th – 28th October. Algeria…

Moses Andishu/YSFON U17: Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina set up semi final clash Four states have set up place in the semi final clash in the ongoing first edition of the Moses Andishu/YSFON U 17 football tournament taking place in Kaduna. Jigawa who suffered 6-5 defeat to host Kaduna in the opening game had managed to stage a come back to book a place in the semi finals. Kaduna mauled their group opponents handsomely to berth in the knock out stage. Katsina had a jolly ride against Kano and Kaduna B to poach their semi final ticket. According to the final pairings…

Moses Andishu/YSFON U17 boys football competition kicks off. As Kaduna vs Jigawa opener ends in 11 goals thriller The maiden edition of the Youths Sports Federation of Nigeria. YSFON/Moses Andsihu U-17 boys north west zonal soccer tournament last Tuesday morning flagged off at the Muritala Square soccer ground in Kaduna. YSFON affiliated teams from Jigawa, Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi, Kaduna and Kano have arrived the former northern capital city of Kaduna to battle for glory in the inaugural edition of the tournament. Our correspondent reports that the tournament is billed for 24 to 30th August 2025. The country director, Freivan Support…

Ekiti Referees Council members Cry out for help over incessant financial burden Members of the Nigeria Football Referees Association , NFRA , Ekiti Council have passionately appealed to the Nigeria Football Federation, Nigeria Football Referees Association and critical stakeholders to come to their rescue over incessant financial request from the leadership of the Ekiti state Council. The members who reached out to our source have alleged that the sum of Fourteen Thousand Naira(#14,000.00) was collected from each candidate as prerequisite registration fees for the year 2025 NFRA Examination. According to the release, it reads: “Onilearo Kayode / Ekiti Referees’ Council…