Sports
Globacom Mobilises Goodwill For Golden Eaglets
Globacom Limited, the official sponsor of the Nigeria Under-17 team, the Golden Eaglets has called for massive support to inspire the team to achieve the double record of being the first to successfully defend the title and also the first host nation to win the FIFA cadet World cup.
The company announced that it has set up a special short-code for Nigerians to send solidarity massages to the players to boost their morale and increase their confidence as the opening match draws close.
100 lucky fans that sent messages to the team stand a chance to win free tickets to watch the matches. Also to be won are Globacom T-Shirts. In a statement by Globcom’s Group Chief Operating Officer, Mr Mohammed Jamael, the company said Nigerians can identify with the team through solidarity messages sent to 33006 from their Glo mobile network lines.
“This would cup offers Nigeria an opportunity to enter the record books as the first cup holder to successfully defend the cup and also the first host nation to win. It is therefore very important for us to send your goodwill massages to 33006 through the Glomobile network,” the statement added.
The messages will be compiled in a giant book that will be presented to the team today October 23, in Abuja.
He said the Golden Eaglets have the opportunity to turn a positive and bright page in Nigerian football after the failure of the Flying Eagles in Egypt.
Nigerians have not been too happy with our recent results and the Golden Eaglets can bring back the smiles if they rule the world in the “Nigeria 2009”, Globacom said.
Globacom is also the official national supporter and Telecommunications provider for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup. The company recalled that before setting up the “Support Eagles” short-code, it had announced a motivational bonus of N50 million for the team to win the championship. “Globacom believes the boys can do it and to inspire them, we have offered the biggest reward ever in Nigerian football, N50 million reward for the boys to win. We enjoined every Nigerian to also support the boys, send goodwill messages wear Nigerian colours and go to the stadium to cheer them.”
Sports
UCL: Henry Calls For Return Of Away Goals Rule
Thierry Henry has called for the return of the away goals rule in the aftermath of the bombastic Champions League semi-final between Inter Milan and Barcelona.
The visitors at the Estadio Olimpic Lluis Companys came within milimeters of clinching the first leg of the final-four clash after former Arsenal star Henrikh Mkhitaryan netted late in the second-half.
But the linesman was quick to raise his flag, and semi-automated offside ruled out what would have been a thrilling conclusion to the high-octane 3-3 draw.
The hosts came from behind twice to share the spoils, chasing Inter Milan from the first minute of the game after Marcus Thuram stunned the Barcelona faithful into silence with his neatly flicked goal.
Denzel Dumfries doubled Inter’s lead 20 minutes later, but it took just three more for the Blaugrana to finally get on the scoresheet courtesy of a moment of magic from teenage starlet Lamine Yamal.
Ferran Torres drew Barcelona level ahead of the break, but Lamal was forced to play catch-up again in the second-half after Dumfries scored his second.
In light of the impressive effort from Inter, Henry wondered if the team should have got more from the fixture ahead of the second-leg at the San Siro.
‘I know it’s been like that for a very time, and we have to accept it,’ Henry said of the removal of the away goals rule, ‘But off air I was talking to Jamie (Carragher), and I was like, “how can you score three goals away from home and you don’t have an advantage?”
‘Away goals for me were massive, you score three goals away and you still don’t have an advantage 0-0 at home,’ Henry shrugged.
UEFA took the decision to scrap the rule which gave goals scored away from home the ability to act as a tiebreaker in the case of level scorelines ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Current FIFA Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger claimed during his time as Arsenal manager in 2015 that the away goals rule ‘encouraged the team at home not to attack’ and that ‘the weight of the away goal (was) too big today’.
Without the rules, the tie at San Siro will go to extra time and penalties to decide which teams books their spot in the Champions League final.
But based on Wednesday evening’s performance, Henry seemed to give Inter a fighting chance against the newly minted Copa del Rey champions.
Sports
London Marathon Breaks World Record
The 2025 London Marathon set a new world record for the number of finishers despite hot conditions on Sunday for its 45th edition.
A total of 56,640 runners crossed the finish line at the end of the 26.2-mile route, Guinness World Records has confirmed.
The number surpassed the previous record of 55,646 set by the New York Marathon in November.
Hugh Brasher, chief executive of London Marathon Events, said he hoped the high number of finishers inspired people to apply for the 2026 race ballot.
“The London Marathon was already the most popular in terms of ballot entries, with 840,318 people applying for the 2025 race,” he said.
“It is also the world’s largest annual one-day fundraising event with more than £1.3bn raised for charity since 1981.”
The number of people applying for the ballot to enter this year’s race broke the world record of 578,304 for the 2024 edition.
Of UK applicants 49% were female, while there was a 105% increase in applications from people aged between 20-29.
Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa surged to victory in the elite women’s race in a world record for a women’s only field, while Kenya’s Sebastian Sawe triumphed in the men’s event.
Sports
Arsenal Eye Special Performance In Paris
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has said that his side will have to do something special in Paris if they are to reach the Champions League final following defeat in their semi-final first leg.
Ousmane Dembele’s early strike at the Emirates leaves the Gunners needing to overturn a one-goal deficit against Paris St-Germain in the second leg at the Parc des Princes next week.
It was an ultimately frustrating night for Arsenal at Emirates Stadium, who failed to convert any of their five shots on target.
“If you want to win the Champions League final, you have to do something special. We’re going to have to do something special in Paris to be there,” Arteta said.
PSG dominated the opening 20 minutes of the match and, while the hosts grew into the game, they continued to be frustrated by the French side’s solid defence, failing to score in a home Champions League match for the first time since February 2016.
“We have a lot of chances to be in that final. As I repeat myself, you have to do something special in the competition to have the right to be in the final. And the time to do it is going to be in Paris,” said Arteta.
Arsenal have not reached the final since 2005-06 while PSG are hunting a first Champions League trophy.
As they did against Liverpool and Aston Villa earlier in the campaign, Luis Enrique’s side relied on Italian keeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma to keep them out of trouble.
The 26-year-old kept a clean sheet and made five saves – including important stops to deny Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard in one-on-one situations.
“At the end, we have two of our front players one v one with Donnarumma. If they scored the goal it is different. He made the saves, like he did against Liverpool and Villa, and that’s the difference in the Champions League,” Arteta said.
But Enrique says the shot-stopper was just doing his job.
“That’s the work of a goalkeeper, no? Save the team, they work every day for that. In a semi-final, you need all the players,” the Spaniard said.
-
Niger Delta1 day ago
Federal Workers Shun Protest In C’River
-
Nation1 day ago
‘New Aeronautics Varsity ’ll Transform Nigeria Into Aircraft Manufacturing Hub’
-
Business1 day ago
Farmers Set Expectations For New BOA MD
-
News1 day ago
Tinubu Urges Youths To Leverage NASRDA Skills Acquisition Project For Employment
-
Politics1 day ago
Bayelsa PDP Crisis Deepens As Factional CTC Sacks Party Management Structure
-
Niger Delta1 day ago
Health Professions Not Superior To Others – Bayelsa Dep Gov
-
Nation1 day ago
CBEX Resumes Operations Despite SEC Ban, N1.2trn EFCC Probe
-
Women1 day ago
Justice Prevails Over Osinachi’s Death