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African Scorers In Europe: Manucho Scores, Sees Red In Spain

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It was a red card filled day for African players in Europe at the weekend following a harvest of red by three of them.

Angola’s Manucho saw red in Spain, Ivory Coast’s Cheick Tiote and South Africa’s Steven Pienaar were also sent off in England.

However, 28 African players registered their names on the score sheets across Europe, albeit, Demba Ba scored against his team.

SPAIN

In Spain Angola striker Manucho scored the opener in the ninth minute for Real Valladolid away to Malaga but his early jubilation was spoiled when he was sent off on 81 minutes, and his side lost 2-1.

Morocco striker Youssef El-Arabi pulled a goal back for 10-man Granada but his side still went down 2-1 at home to Real Zaragoza.

NETHERLANDS

Ivory Coast striker Wilfried Bony became top scorer in the Dutch top-flight at the weekend after his two goals for Vitesse Arnhem helped his side to secure all three points in the 3-0 win over NAC Breda.

Zambia striker Jacob Mulenga secured the points for Utrecht with his 40th-minute goal as his side came from behind to beat ADO Den Haag 2-1.

FRANCE

League holders Montpellier continue to struggle after losing 2-1 to Rennes. Morocco midfielder Younes Belhanda scored in the 69th minute from the penalty spot for Montpellier. Cameroon midfielder Jean Makoun had given Rennes a 13th-minute lead.

Vincent Aboubakar scored twice in the last 10 minutes for Valenciennes who crushed Lorient 6-1. The Cameroon striker had only been on the pitch as a substitute for two minutes when he scored his first goal of the season in the 81st minute before helping to finish the rout in the last minute.

GERMANY

Karim Matmour gave Eintracht Frankfurt the lead in the fifth minute as they strolled to a 3-1 win over Hannover ’96. It was the Algeria midfielder’s first goal in the Bundesliga this season.

UKRAINE

Nigeria striker Issy Lucky Idaho scored the vita third goal for Zorya who picked up all three points by beating Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 3-2.

GREECE

The Greek league’s top scorer Rafik Djebbour from Algeria took his tally to eight goals after scoring twice at the weekend for Olympiakos who dismissed Xanthi 4-0.

RUSSIA

Anzhi Makhachkala maintained their lead at the top of the table after coming from behind to beat Spartak Moscow 2-1. Anzhi equalised through their Ivory Coast striker Lacina Traore who came on as a second-half substitute to level in the 64th minute.

Nigeria’s Ahmed Musa continued his fine form after scoring his fifth goal of the season for CSKA Moscow in their 2-0 win over Rubin Kazan.

BELGIUM

Ebrahima Ibou Sawaneh became the top scorer in the league after his hat-trick inspired Leuven from a goal down to a 4-1 win over Club Bruges. The Gambia striker, who has 11 goals this season, scored twice in the first half and completing his hat-trick in the 78th minute from the penalty spot. Leuven’s fourth goal came through their Zimbabwe midfielder Ovidy Karuru.

Morocco midfielder Moustapha Oussala scored the only goal of the game as his side Kortrijk edged out Gent to move to fourth position in the standings.

Lokeren won 3-0 away at Zulte-Waregem with the Tunisia striker Hamdi Harbaoui scoring the third goal in the 81st minute.

Mechelen played the last three minutes with 10 men after the Cameroon defender Antonio Ghomsi was sent-off, but they still beat Cercle Bruges 2-1 with Ghana midfielder Abdul-Yakinu Iddi scoring the opening goal.

Cameroon striker Aloys Nong scored twice in the last two minutes for Mons who came from behind to beat Standard Liege 3-1. Gambia striker Mustapha Jarju had equalised for Mons in the 34th minute.

TURKEY

There were plenty of African goal scorers in the game between Antalyaspor and Sivasspor. Nigeria’s Isaac Promise scored twice, while two other goals by Senegal striker Lamine Diatta and Morocco midfielder Ismail Aissati gave Antalya a 4-2 victory. Sivasspor’s Nigeria striker Michael Eneramo scored one of the goals for his side in the 48th minute.

Senegal striker Moussa Sow equalised for Fenerbahce in the 23rd minute in his side’s 1-1 draw with Bursaspor.

Another Senegalese, Diomansy Kamara, scored twice for Eskisehirspor who outclassed Karabukspor 5-2.

ENGLAND

Malian Modibo Maiga was on target for West Ham, helping his side to beat their fellow Premier League newcomers 4-1. Maiga, whose two other goals since his pre-season transfer came in the League Cup, had only been on the pitch five minutes when he beat three Southampton defenders with a fine run before curling his shot past Artur Boruc.

There was misery for two of Newcastle’s Africans involved in the 1-1 draw at Sunderland and Newcastle. Ivory Coast Coast midfielder Cheick Tiote was sent off mid-way through the first half for crunching into Steven Fletcher with his foot high. Senegal striker Demba Ba scored an own goal late on, deflected John O’Shea’s header into his own net, to hand Sunderland a share of the points.

Everton’s South African midfielder Steven Pienaar was another to see red. The former Bafana Bafana captain was dismissed for two bookings in the second half of a 1-1 draw at QPR. Pienaar ‘s second booking was for a trip on Jose Bosingwa, a decision which Everton boss David Moyes called “ludicrous”.

SCOTLAND

Kenyan striker Victor Mugabe Wanyama scored twice in the space of six minutes to help Celtic beat St Mirren 5-0. Nigeria defender Efe Ambrose also scored in the game as Celtic led 4-0 at half-time.

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‘Nigerian Football Suffering From Eight Years Of Neglect’

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The President-General of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club, Dr Rafiu Ladipo, has strongly lamented the low state of Nigeria football. The man who has led Nigerian football supporters to different countries in the last two decades says the drop in overall performance is a result of the ground the country lost in the last eight years.
Ladipo said, “We actually had eight underutilized years with the last administration. We achieved far less than we should have done because the man who was in charge focused more on himself and aesthetics than proper development of football in Nigeria. Rather than build up the system we focused too much on elections and people getting into international offices.”
Ladipo who lamented on the backdrop of the Flying Eagles performance in Egypt said the lack of growth pattern is now showing in our teams and clubs on the continent.
“Did you see how we lost to The Gambians? That is just a sign. Are we ever sure of the Super Falcons anymore? Did the Super Eagles qualify for the last World Cup? No is the answer.”
“I am not saying that a country like Gambia cannot beat Nigeria but it did not bring shock this time because the slide has been steady.
We have declined so much. How many games have the Falcons won of their last 10 matches? Did we qualify for CHAN? How many of our clubs can stand firm on the continent today like Enyimba used to do not too long ago? Now compare our performance in the last four years with countries like Senegal and Morocco. We are running in the opposite direction. We are dropping while they are going up. What did we get other than dividing the supporters club instead of facing football development?

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Amusan Clinches Silverbird Sports Personality Award

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World record holder and Adidas track athlete, Tobi Amusan has emerged the winner of the Silverbird TV 2022 Sports Personality of the Year.
The world champion clinched the award at the 2022 Silverbird Man of The Year which held at the Eko Hotel and suits, Lagos.
Lanre Vigo, the co-founder of Plug Sports, the sporting division of The Plug Entertainment, who received the award on her behalf, shared the news via his Instagram handle.
“Congratulations @ihurdle_33.0inches on being awarded as the @silverbirdtv sports personality of the year,” he wrote on Instagram.
“I’m honoured to receive this award on your behalf and to say a few words. Honestly @ihurdle_33.0inches I wish you were here to receive all these awards in person and feel the love Nigerians have for you,” he added.
Vigo, in his acceptance speech at the event noted that his key resolve was to encourage both the private sector and the government to invest more in athletes as there are many Tobi Amusan’s out there waiting to be discovered.
“There are a lot of talented sports people in Nigeria, and I feel like if the government and private sector invests more in these people, we will have more superstars in Nigeria.
“So I’m encouraging everyone to please support Tobi Amusan on this quest or possibly find the next Tobi Amusan,” Vigo said.
Amusan became Nigeria’s first World champion and World Record holder at the World Championships in Oregon, where she won the 100m Hurdles titles in WR times of 12.12s in the semifinals and a wind-assisted 12.06s in the final.
She also successfully defended her Commonwealth Games and Diamond League titles, clocking record-breaking times of 12.30s and 12.29s respectively.
Her 12.30s time was also a new record at the Games.
With this accomplishment, the 25 year-old Amusan is the first World Champion to win Gold in the event and the first Nigerian athlete to be crowned champion at all levels of athletics in the same year.
She beat Jamaican duo Danielle Williams, Megan Tapper, England’s Cindy Sembre, Michelle Jenneke of Australia, and Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas.

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Betking Partner Ikorodu City Football

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Betking has signed a partnership agreement with Ikorodu City Football Club (FC) as a way to encourage sports development at the grassroots level.
The leading sports betting and digital entertainment firm, which made the announcement at a media briefing in Lagos, said the partnership is an effort to reaffirm the brand’s commitment to supporting the growth and development of local sports in communities within Nigeria.
It said that the collaboration would support the club’s plans to become the leading team and compete with their peers nationally, added that it will also provide capacity building for the players and an opportunity for them to reach their full potential, thereby contributing to the advancement of grassroots sports in the country.
Commenting on the alliance, Managing Director, King Makers, Gossy Ukanwoke, said: “We are committed to sports development and driving the growth of grassroots football here in Nigeria. Our commitment is expressed in this partnership with Ikorodu City FC.
“We’re happy to be backing a team that wins, which is one of our ethos as a company, we are winners and kings and hope that Ikorodu City FC will also become kings. With this partnership, we will work closely together to build future stars and create opportunities to grow and make a difference.”
He added: “By extension, the company will continue to invest in local sports development, youth empowerment, health, education, and other initiatives that improve the socio-economic well-being of individuals and communities.”
Also speaking on the teamwork, Vice President, Ikorodu CityFC, Adeyemi Doherty, said, “I want to sincerely thank BetKing for partnering with us. What they have done is laudable, and we hope other organisations take a cue from them.
“This partnership will not only contribute to sports talent development, but open doors for national exposure. As you invest and build confidence in us, we will be as transparent and honest as possible. We are pleased with this partnership and look forward to its continuity.”

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