Get9jasports Get9jasports reports that Nigeria international defender Azubuike Egwuekwe has left Warri Wolves for Hapoel Tel Aviv of Isreal. The lanky Super Eagles defender signed for the Red Demons on Friday after passing his medicals, though for an undisclosed fee. Nigerian Egwuekwe Azubuike landed in the morning in Israel and signed
after passing medical tests earlier this week,” the official website of
Hapoel Tel Aviv announced with an accompanying picture of Egwuekwe in
the club.
Egwuekwe had earlier been inked with a move to two English sides,
Watford and West Ham but the deal did not see the light of the day. The former Warri Wolves skipper will wear jersey 3 for the Isreali club currently ranked eight on the Ligat HaAL log.
He is not likely to make his debut for Hapoel Tel Avi when they face Hapoel Petach Tikva on Saturday.
Kano state government has released a huge sum of 100m Naira for the
Glo Nigeria Professional Football League champions, Kano Pillars to
successfully prosecute their 2015 Caf Champions League campaign. The Chairman of the Kano Pillars Continental Committee, who is also
the state deputy governor Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, duly represented by
the Vice Chairman Ibrahim Galadima confirmed the development at a press
briefing held at the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano, goal.com reports. Galadima, appreciated the prompt approval of the state government and
promised the funds would be judiciously used to prepare the Sai Masu
Gida boys for their continental competition. The former president of the Nigeria Football Federation said the
committee will also ensure the successful camping of the team ahead of
the Caf senior competition.
Meanwhile, a four sub committees have been set-up to decentralize the
duties of the main committee which include finance, security,
technical, transport and accommodation, according to Galadima.
Head Coach Samson Siasia has charged his under-23 national male football team to show character and resilience when they take on their Tunisian counterparts in their second international friendly match.
The Dream Team VI will face the North Africans in Tunis on Wednesday, after losing 3-5 in their first meeting on Saturday.
“I don’t want to blame the players too much for the loss to the Tunisians in the first match on Saturday.
“Without appearing to be making excuses for them, we arrived in Tunis on Friday afternoon and immediately went to training but the weather did not help matters.
“Most of them were traveling outside the country for the first time and you can’t wish that away,’’ Siasia said in a statement by the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) in Abuja on Sunday.
The coach was quoted as saying the weather was a critical issue, even though he and his colleagues were trying to make amends.
“Weather was really a factor. However, in the first match, my assistants and I noticed a number of areas we need to improve on seriously before we can say we have a team,” he said.
The Dream Team VI lost 3-5 to the Olympic Eagles of Tunisia at the El Menzah Stadium in Tunis, with the Nigerian goals from Etim Emmanuel and Junior Ajayi.
Ajayi scored two of the goals in a game the team created a hatful of chances in the second half, after the first half had ended 3-3.
They were however undone by poor finishing.
“We thank the NFA for organising these matches because they will really help us prepare for the qualifiers against Gabon, and other matches in the race to the All-African gamesand the 2016 Olympics.
“We will try a number of other players in the second match and see how things work out,” the statement further quoted Siasia as saying after Sunday’s training session at the November 7 Stadium in Rades, outside Tunis.
As predicted, Nigeria and host, Egypt will battle for the top prize in the final of the team events at the ongoing International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa Senior championship in Cairo.
The two teams will be aiming for the gold medals in the men and women events of the championship.
To make it to the final of the women division, Nigeria walloped Algeria 3-0, while Egypt had a narrow escape against Congo Brazzaville in the thrilling semifinal tie which ended 3-2 in favour of the North Africans.
In the men cadre, it was Ojo Onaolapo who started the rout against Congo Brazzaville team made up of Nigerian born trio of Saheed Idowu, Saka Suraju and Abiodun Lawal. Idowu gave Onaolapo a run for the win as the game was stretched to five with the left-hand Onaolapo winning 3-2. ITTF World Player of the year, Aruna Quadri did not disappoint the fans.
Kano Pillars opened their Glo Premier League Super-4 campaign on a winning note in contrast to last season’s outing that saw them fall behind to rivals, Enyimba International and Coach Okey Emordi attributed the performance to a change in orientation at the camp.
Pillars defeated Dolphins 2-0 through goals from Samuel Tswaya on the 6th minute and Christian Obiozor on the 9th but Emordi insists the team still has some more work to do to be fully ready for their Champions League contest in February.
“It was difficult last season for me but the orientation has changed. On arriving Kano last season, I needed to change the training mode and began training twice a day. I also was not speaking the language, so the start was difficult but we worked on the orientation which saw us end the season as champions”, recalled Emordi
On Pillars performance in the game and suggestions that it was not good enough for the CAF Champions League, Emordi responded, “We were good at the back, the defense communicated well and I give them kudos”
A former Golden Eaglets coach, Musa Abdulahi, is dead.
Aged 61, Abdulahi died of malaria-related illness at about 2 p.m. on Sunday in his Lokoja home in Kogi.
His second daughter, Salamatu Abdulahi, said that the late coach was buried according to Islamic rites at about 5 p.m.
“He was buried at the family house in Koton Karfe, the Kogi Local Government Area headquarters,’’ she said.
Salamatu said the late Abdullahi was taken to a private hospital on Thursday and was on admission till Saturday when he was certified fit and consequently discharged.
She said her late father was getting set to go back to the hospital for an injection when he suddenly died.
Salamatu described Abdullahi who also served as an Assistant Coach to the Super Eagles as a good and caring father.
The Central Board of the Federation of International Basketball (FIBA) has appointed former D’Tigers’ captain, Olumide Oyedeji, into its Players’ Commission for the 2014 to 2019 term of office.
This is contained in a statement by Femi Adefeso, a member of the Media Committee of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), on Sunday in Abuja.
“Oyedeji’s appointment comes following his nomination by the NBBF in line with the criteria provided by FIBA, the world governing body of basketball.
“This is vis-a-vis his achievement on the court as well as his tireless work ethic in developing the game not only in his home country and Africa but across the globe,’’ the statement reads.
Reports revealed that Oyedeji will serve in the newly-inaugurated FIBA Players’ Commission under the chairmanship of former Serbian international and NBA great Vlade Divac.
With Olumide’s appointment, Nigeria now has two members on FIBA’s Central Board with Dr. Abdullahi Muazu’s earlier appointment into the FIBA Medical Commission.
Talented Nigerian female football star and current African football queen, Asisat Oshoala who signed for Liverpool Ladies on Friday, January 23, 2015, helped her team to a resounding victory over Aston Villa Ladies on Sunday.
Asisat scored a goal in the enthralling game that ended 4-1 in favour of Liverpool on her debut. The delighted 20 year old versatile striker took to Instagram to share the good news.
Nigeria’s most modern stadium, the Akwa Ibom International Stadium,
Uyo has been nominated for the 2014 Stadium of the Year award. According to a press statement from StadiumDB.com, which keeps a
database of stadiums worldwide, the newly built stadium, also known as
the ‘Nest of Champions’, is among venues nominated for the award. Thirty-two major stadiums commissioned in 2014 have been shortlisted
for the award, and a breakdown shows that eight are located in Brazil,
three in the United States of America, while Hungary and Poland each
have two stadiums nominated.
“It’s great to see a new stadium in Nigeria to be proud of. Its white
outer cladding and illumination also makes it stand out globally and
become a true landmark for Uyo,” stated Grzegorz Kaliciak, founder of
StadiumDB.com, in a statement made available to New Telegraph.
Officially opened on November 7, 2014 by President Goodluck Jonathan,
the Akwa Ibom International Stadium hosted the Super Eagles’ 2015 Africa
Cup of Nations qualifier against South Africa.
