Sports
NPFL: Rivers, Plateau United Continue Title Chase
Four games were decided on Monday in continuation of Match day 25 of Nigeria Professional Football League, (NPFL) encounters spread through the week.
The fixtures which commenced on Monday with three games that ended in victories for home teams had a near similar scenario on Monday from the four centres except in Kaduna.
Pick of the matches slated for Monday were the ones involving title chasing Rivers United and Plateau United where both teams recorded victories.
While Rivers had it rosy to take out Niger Tornadoes in Port Harcourt, Plateau United laboured to claim the match points against a continental hopeful, Remo Stars.
Rivers United 3-0 Niger Tornadoes
League top scorer, Ishaq Kayode put the host in front a minute after the hour mark as he finished off a through pass from Morice Chukwu with a chip over Lucky Jimoh.
Rivers doubled their lead two minutes after as Nwagua Nyima tapped in a low cross from Chijioke Akuneto following a spill by Tornadoes’ keeper in the box.
With ten minutes to end the game, substitute Konan Ruffin Ngouan made quick impact to put the icing on the cake for the leaders as he stabbed home Rivers’ third after he was released by Nelson Esor in Tornadoes’ box.
The victory meant Rivers United retained their top position on the log with 55 points after 25 league games.
Plateau United 1-0 Remo Stars
The Tin City Boys kept the chase on leaders Rivers United close following a hard earned 1-0 win over Remo Stars in Jos, thanks to second half header from Ibrahim Buhari.
The hosts could have taken the lead within the opening five minutes but Jesse Akila’s goal was chalked off for offside after the referee had spotted an infringement in the build up to the goal.
Plateau United dominated for most part of the first half but met a strong Remo Stars rear line with calculative goalkeeper in Kayode Bankole who thwarted their efforts.
Whatever Fidelis Ilechukwu told his boys in the dugout worked for them as they used it to raid Remo’s defence to earn the lone goal in the 55th minute. Free scoring defender, Ibrahim Buhari rose highest to prod home from Akila Jesse’s cross for his fourth goal of the season.
Remo rallied late in the game with moments of dominance but the host held on to secure the match points.
Plateau is still within distance to Rivers with 51 points from 25 games.
Shooting Stars 2-0 Enyimba Int’l
The Oluyole Warriors outsmarted the wobbling Elephants of Aba in Ibadan with a convincing 2-0 win to push up on the log.
Enterprising midfielder Moses Omoduemeke combined well with Lucky Moses to give Shooting Stars the lead in the 14th minute.
The goalscorer would then become the provider for the second goal with five minutes to end the first half, when he fed Emmanuel Lucky, who made a simple tap in to send the home fans into frenzy.
The second period was more of an exchange in control with Enyimba making series of incursions to stage a comeback but it was too late for the Finidi George boys as Shooting protected their first half goals.
Wikki Tourists 0-0 Heartland FC
The last match on the card for Monday ended scoreless between Wikki Tourists and Heartland FC in Kaduna.
The hosts were seeking to consolidate on their last away win at MFM but found their visitors unyielding and would remain 10th on the log.
Heartland has moved a step up on the log but still in the red zone.
Matches continued on yesterday through tomorrow before the conclusion of the Match Day 25.
Sports
New Eagles Squad Excites WizKids
Nigerian Afrobeats star Ayodeji Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid, has expressed his satisfaction with the Super Eagles’ preparation ahead of their 2026 World Cup qualifier against Rwanda in Kigali.
The team, now under the leadership of newly appointed head coach Eric Chelle, held its first training session on Tuesday afternoon.
Reacting to the new squad, Wizkid took to his X handle on Wednesday, writing, “New Super Eagles team! (I) love the energy,” he wrote.
The crucial qualifier is set to take place at the Amahoro Stadium in Rwanda on Friday, March 21, with kickoff scheduled for 5 pm Nigerian time.
Following the match, Nigeria will return home to face Zimbabwe in Uyo on Tuesday.
The Super Eagles must secure maximum points from both fixtures to strengthen their chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Nigeria’s current squad features several in-form players, including Galatasaray’s Victor Osimhen, Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman, Genk’s Tolu Arokodare and Fulham’s Calvin Bassey.
The match against Rwanda will be Chelle’s first game in charge of the three-time African champions, who are desperate for a positive result to keep their World Cup qualification hopes alive.
The Super Eagles last played at the Amahoro Stadium in September 2024, where they were held to a goalless draw by Rwanda.
Sports
NLO Tasks Clubs To Complete Players’ Facial Registration
The Nationwide League One (NLO) has mandated the clubs that make up the Division One and U19 Youth League to complete their players’ facial verification process.
The Secretariat of the nation’s third-tier league regulatory body via its media department gave reasons on the essence of exercise as the March 30th players’ registration deadline draws near.
According to the NLO, clubs must complete facial verification for each player during registration to prevent duplicate registrations.
As regards players that have already been registered, the NLO explained that if a player fails verification (already registered with another club), the holding club must release the player. The NLO Admin will confirm the release and allow the verification of such a player for the new club.
The NLO stressed the importance of the release documentation and Registration Window Closure.
Releasing clubs must upload the player’s release document. This document will be reviewed and verified by the NLO Admin.
After the registration window closes, clubs cannot sign new players.
With the introduction of the new facial recognition technology, all clubs must register both their existing and new players.
These updates ensure a fair and transparent registration system. For assistance, clubs should contact NLO support.
Sports
Aruna Up For $275k WTT Chennai
Nigeria table tennis star, Quadri Aruna, will contest in the maiden WTT Contender Chennai in India after he was picked as a replacement for German star, Dimitrij Ovtcharov.
The WTT Contender Chennai is the fifth WTT event of the year and marks the first staging of the series in the City.
The event which has a prize purse of $270,000 will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai, India from March 25 to 30.
Aruna and nine other players have been confirmed for the men’s singles including his African rival, Egypt’s Omar Assar.3.
Other players confirmed so far include Denmark’s Jonathan Groth (17), Hugo Calderano of Brazil (6) and world number four Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan.
The 36-year-old has played in two WTT events this year.
In January, he made it as far as the semi-finals in the WTT Star Contender in Doha where he lost in straight sets to Japanese sensation Tomokazu Harimoto.
Last Wednesday, the world number 19 crashed out of the WTT Champions Chongqing 2025 after suffering a comprehensive 3-0 defeat to world number two Wang Chuqin of China in their round of 32 clash.
Aruna will hope to put up a more commanding show in India, as he has been tipped to shine by the world body.
“Stay tuned. There’s more to come from Quadri Aruna in India,” WTT captioned Aruna’s video on Monday after announcing his participation.
WTT Executive Director of Events Mounir Bessah also said the competition is a bold step forward as they expect Aruna and other players to deliver a memorable spectacle.
“Chennai’s inclusion in the WTT Series calendar underscores our mission to expand the reach of table tennis globally while honouring the sport’s passionate fanbase in India. With a venue like the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium and the support of Tamil Nadu’s government, we are ready to deliver an unforgettable spectacle for players and fans.”
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