Sports

Kante Prefers Chelsea Stay To Madrid, Barcelona Move

Published

5 years ago

April 16, 2020

N’Golo Kante remains keen to stay at Chelsea despite reports in the Spanish media linking him with a transfer to Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Kante has missed 20 of Chelsea’s 42 games this season due to a host of injuries to his hamstring, knee and ankle, and concerns over his long-term fitness have seen Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho strike up a good partnership in his absence.
Meanwhile, Billy Gilmour’s emergence and Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s return from injury add to Frank Lampard’s options with Ross Barkley and Mason Mount also in the squad.
Chelsea is also monitoring Lille’s 21-year-old midfielder Boubakary Soumare but he currently ranks lower on the club’s priority list than a left-back and another forward.
Manager Lampard is yet to signal to any of his first-team squad whether or not they will be surplus to requirements in the off-season as he bids to create a competitive training environment until the end of the coronavirus-hit campaign.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has long been an admirer of Kante and is said to be looking for a back-up option for Casemiro, with Rennes’ 17-year-old wonderkid Eduardo Camavinga and Soumare also on the Blancos’ shortlist.
But Kante, who is currently Chelsea’s highest-paid player on £290,000 ($362k) per week, is unlikely to accept a back-up role.
Barcelona would interest Kante as well but only if he was told that Chelsea want to sell him ahead of the summer, with reports in Spain claiming the Blaugrana would be willing to offer Philippe Coutinho in exchange as part of a swap deal.
Kante is settled in London and he has three years left on his Blues contract but he previously harboured ambitions of playing for one of Spain’s big two clubs at one stage in his career.
Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, along with Serie A giants Juventus, were interested in Kante when he signed for Chelsea from Leicester for £32 million ($40m/€36m) in 2016.
French champions PSG had wanted to create a homecoming story for the World Cup winner. However, he has been cautious about returning home due to off-field legal issues with his former agents.
Kante has denied allegations in the French investigative publication Mediapart which suggested that he was threatened at gunpoint to sack his agent Abdelkarim Douis by his former advisors in Paris.
The report goes on to say that the dispute was resolved upon Kante’s contract renewal in 2018, with an agent fee being shared between his current agent and his former advisors.
However, in February 2020, Kante’s ongoing legal battle with his former image rights advisor Nouari Khiari were detailed .
Meanwhile, like all their fellow Premier League clubs, Chelsea is training at home with advice coming in from the coaching team on routines to keep fit ahead of a return to action which will be in mid-May at the earliest.
Lampard has been in regular contact with his squad and he is using the increased amount of time to do some long-term planning for the club’s future.
“We have the good young players, we have had experienced players around them that have helped them this year, but we know there are little areas within the squad [we can improve],” Lampard toldTidesports source.

Sports

IAUE VC Football Cup Final Holds In PH, Wed

Published

4 days ago

September 13, 2025

The Tide

Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, in Rivers State, will be at the centre stage on Wednesday as the VC Cup final, both male and female categories will be played at the prestigious Stadium in the school.

The both final matches promises to be exciting, as arrangements have been concluded to watch one of the best VC football Cup finals in the history.

VC Cup tournament is an annual sporting event that involves all students in various facilities.

According to the Chief coach of the University football team, David Egbiri, the female will final will kick off 2pm between faculty of Human Kinetics and Management Sciences, while the male will kick off by 4pm between Social Science and Natural Applied Science

Egbiri, who was former coach of Abiola Babe FC and Concord FC, lauded the Vice Chancellor. Prof. Okechukwu Onuchukwu for releasing funds on sports development, saying that he has never also failed the School in terms of infrastructural development.

“The VC who is also a sports personality has not failed to release funds for this tournament, apart from that he has not also disappointed in terms of developing the school in all ramifications.

“I want to say that my major reason for accepting to coach the school football team is to develop the youth through sports”, Coach Egbiri said.

The former Eagle Cement Coach, explained that he was not encouraged the way and manner the young ones are going about sports because there is no discipline and so much quest for quick money.

” Honestly, the way young players are looking money was just too much. Looking for short cuts always to make money that is more reason some of them don’t go far and end up badly

” In our days we first of all think about how to make name and we are passionate about it. I went to school and saw myself in sports, while my initial intention was to read electrical engineering” he stated.

Tonye Orabere

Sports

Gov. Decries Delta’s Poor Performance At 2025 NYG

Published

5 days ago

September 12, 2025

The Tide

Pix: Team Delta State

The Delta State Sports Commission has come under scrutiny following the state’s disappointing performance at the just-concluded National Youth Games (NYG) in Asaba, where Lagos dethroned Delta to clinch top spot.

Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, visibly displeased with both the poor outing of Team Delta and the organizational lapses witnessed during the Games, summoned an emergency meeting with the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) immediately after the closing ceremony.

Delta, which had dominated the NYG by finishing first in the last eight editions, only managed second place this time — a result the governor described as “totally unacceptable,” especially given the state’s significant investment in the event.

According to a reliable source privy to the meeting, Governor Oborevwori expressed deep disappointment, stressing that his administration had provided all necessary support to the Sports Commission and the LOC to ensure Delta retained its traditional top position.

In a decisive move, the governor demoted his Executive Assistant on Sports and former Director-General of the Sports Commission, Festus Owhojero, under whose leadership the Games were organized. Owhojero was reassigned from Executive Assistant (EA) to Senior Special Assistant (SSA) with immediate effect.

The governor’s action, our source revealed, reflects his zero-tolerance stance on incompetence and underperformance within his administration. Mr. Owhojero thus becomes the first high-profile casualty of the governor’s resolve to reposition sports in Delta State.

Furthermore, Oborevwori directed the Sports Commission and LOC officials to submit a detailed report on the Games, outlining what went wrong and providing recommendations for improvement. The governor emphasized the need for urgent reforms to restore Delta’s dominance, especially as the state is set to host the next edition of the Games under an existing memorandum of understanding (MoU).

Sports

WCQ: NFF Denies Post Match Statement

Published

5 days ago

September 12, 2025

The Tide

Pix: Super Eagles players in celebration mood.

The Nigeria Football Federation has distanced itself from a post-match statement that criticised some Super Eagles players following the team’s 1-1 draw with South Africa in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

The statement, issued by the NFF’s Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire, singled out forward Cyriel Dessers and captain William Troost-Ekong for criticism.

It accused Dessers of being sluggish and faulted Ekong for the own goal that gave Bafana Bafana the lead.

However, NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, said on Wednesday that the statement did not represent the official position of the Federation.

“I saw the release just like everyone else did. Nobody in the Federation is happy with it,” Sanusi said.

“The NFF did not authorise that statement. We have great respect for all the players. Blaming an individual for a team result is unfair.”

He added that the Federation regards the South Africa match as a collective effort and will not support attempts to scapegoat any player.

“When we win, it’s a team victory. When we lose, it’s also collective. No player should be singled out,” Sanusi said.

He described the targeted criticism of Troost-Ekong as unjustified, noting that the defender had previously been celebrated as the Most Valuable Player at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire.

“It was an unfortunate own goal. His intention was to clear the ball. Anyone who knows football understands that such things happen,” he said..

Sanusi also expressed confidence in the team’s unity, revealing that efforts were ongoing to regroup and refocus ahead of the remaining qualifiers and AFCON.

“Our house is in order. We’re preparing for the rest of the qualifiers and the AFCON in Morocco,” he said.

“There’s no problem with our players or coaching crew. Our relationship remains cordial. The government and the NFF are proud of the players’ efforts.”

The Federation had initially praised Calvin Bassey for his equalising goal and lamented the team’s failure to convert second-half chances.

But Sanusi made it clear that internal disciplinary action would be taken over the unauthorised release.

“I can assure you the NFF will take action on the matter,” he said.

Nigeria currently sit third in Group C of the CAF World Cup qualifiers with 11 points from eight matches. South Africa lead the group with 17 points.

The Super Eagles must now win their remaining games against Lesotho and Benin Republic and hope other results go their way to secure qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.