Sports
17-Year-Old Athlete Jostles For Commonwealth Games Ticket
Teenage sensation, Sunday Akintan, 17, is among athletes in Abuja from different parts of the country to jostle for inclusion in the country’s squad to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games scheduled for July and August.
The competition in Abuja is the third and final leg of the All Comers competition, which involves the country’s best athletes. The All Comers competition began at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin in March, moved to Yaba College of Technology Sports Ground, Lagos, last month and is now making its final stop in Abuja.
While the competition in Lagos was used as the final window for home-based athletes to secure the qualification standard for the 22nd African Senior Athletics Championships scheduled to hold in Mauritius in June, the Abuja event will serve as the final chance for the athletes to secure places in the AFN Classics scheduled to hold in Benin in a fortnight.
According to AFN Secretary General, Adeniyi Beyioku, the event in Abuja will begin today and end tomorrow. The AFN scribe told The Tidesport in a telephone chat yesterday that majority of the athletes have settled down in their various hotels in Abuja.
AFN Technical Director, Samuel Onikeku, said the All Comers competition was designed to give athletes the competition they need to aid their preparations for major athletics championships and games this summer. “The AFN is happy with the performances of some of the athletes as they prepare for the major events ahead, starting with the African championships in Mauritius next month. Our team to the championships will be dominated by home-based athletes and the federation is happy to always get them ready in terms of competitions,” he stated.
Onikeku said, from the competition and others organised by coaches in some states across Nigeria, the athletes have continued to impress. “It is heartwarming to note that a number of our junior athletes have been churning out personal best performances since the start of the season.
“For example, Sunday Akintan, a 17-year-old has jumped from a 10.65 seconds runner just a little over a year ago to run a 10.23 seconds lifetime best. Same as 19-year- old Ogheneovo Nicholas Mabilo, who ran 10.24seconds at the first edition of the AFN All Comers in Benin in March.
“Another teenager, Konyasila Ajayi, improved from a 10.92 seconds personal best to run 10.26 seconds at the Yaba College of Technology sports ground last month, while Gracious Junior Ushie, a 20-year-old also ran a new 10.25 seconds personal best last month in Ilaro.
“Prosper Oghenemine Ekporore’s 13.71s performance in the 110m hurdles in Lagos last month is the fastest any Nigerian man has run since Oyeniyi Abejoye ran 13.69 seconds in June 2019. Abejoye himself was second in the race in Lagos with a 13.72 seconds performance.”
The AFN technical director is also impressed with the women sprinters, including Praise Ofoku, the 100m finalist at the World U-20 championships in Nairobi, Kenya, last year, who ran a new 11.49 seconds personal best in Benin two months ago.
“There is also the story of 16-year-old Rejoice Sule Hadijat, who broke 12 seconds for the first time in her career by running a huge 11.66 seconds personal best in Ijebu Ode three months ago.
“The future of track and field is very bright in Nigeria and with what our athletes are doing in the colleges in America, the AFN is confident Nigeria is on the path to restoring and surpassing her lost glory,” Onikeku said.
Sports
Gyokeres Situation, Transfer Under Cloud At Sporting

Sporting have not received an offer for striker Viktor Gyokeres and there is no gentleman’s agreement for him to leave for £59million, says club president Frederico Varandas.
Sweden international Gyokeres, 27, has been heavily linked with Manchester United and Arsenal after scoring 97 goals in 102 matches during two seasons in Portugal.
He has a 100m euro (£85m) release clause in his contract.
It has been widely reported that, after staying at Sporting last summer, Gyokeres and Sporting agreed he could leave for 70m euros (£59m) this summer.
However, Varandas said the club’s only promise to Gyokeres was that they would not demand his full release clause.
“I can guarantee that Viktor Gyokeres will not leave for 60m euros plus 10m euros because I never promised that,” Varandas said.
“To this day Sporting has not had an offer for Gyokeres, neither today nor last season.”
Gyokeres spent three seasons with Coventry City in the Championship before joining Sporting under Ruben Amorim.
Manchester City director of football Hugo Viana was sporting director at Sporting last summer, when Gyokeres’ agent sought assurances about his leaving if a suitable offer arrived.
“One of the agent’s biggest concerns was whether we would demand the termination clause,” said Varandas.
“He wanted to guarantee certain things. And what was agreed? That Sporting would not demand a release clause now.
“For one reason: he was going to be 27 years old and no player leaves Portugal at 27 for 100m eurors or 90m euros.
“In that same meeting the agent wanted to anchor the exit to a value. I said this sentence: ‘It’s not worth us setting a value because I don’t know what will happen in a year’s time. I don’t know if it will be 40m euros, 60m euros or 80m euros. What I can guarantee is that I will not demand 100 million euros.’”
Sports
Concacaf Opposes 64-Team W’Cup Plans

Concacaf President Victor Montagliani has criticised a proposal to expand the 2030 men’s World Cup to 64 teams.
The plans, put forward by South American governing body Conmebol, have also drawn opposition from Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The tournament will be hosted by Spain, Morocco and Portugal, after the opening matches are held in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The 2026 World Cup, which will take place across the United States, Mexico and Canada, has already been expanded from 32 to 48 teams.
But Conmebol said it wanted to add more participants to mark the competition’s 100-year anniversary.
“I don’t believe expanding the men’s World Cup to 64 teams is the right move for the tournament itself and the broader football ecosystem, from national teams to club competitions, leagues, and players,” Montagliani told Tidesports source
“We haven’t even kicked off the new 48-team World Cup yet, so personally, I don’t think that expanding to 64 teams should even be on the table.”
Concacaf is the governing body of football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
The decision to expand the 2026 World Cup to 48 teams was taken in 2017 following a unanimous vote at a Fifa congress.
Fifa’s 75th congress will be held in Paraguay on 15 May, when Conmebol’s proposal could be discussed.
If the proposal is accepted, the 2030 edition would consist of 128 matches, double the number played under the 64-game format used from 1998 and 2022.
In March, Ceferin described the proposal as a “bad idea” while AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa said it would cause “chaos”.
“If the issue remains open to change, then the door will not only be open to expanding the tournament to 64 teams,” said Salman.
“But someone might come along and demand raising the number to 132 teams. Where would we end up then? It would become chaos.”
Sports
Brazil Edge Paraguay, Book W’Cup Spot

Brazil qualified for the 2026 World Cup this week with a 1-0 win against Paraguay in South American qualifying to give Carlo Ancelotti his first win as manager.
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jnr scored from close range in the second half, finishing after fine work from Manchester United-bound playmaker Matheus Cunha.
The victory, Ancelotti’s first after a 0-0 draw against Ecuador on his debut last week, means Brazil has now qualified for every edition of the World Cup.
“We needed to win and qualify for the World Cup,” said Vinicius Jr.
“Now the coach will have more time to work. Of course today wasn’t one of our best performances, but the important thing is always to win.
“Now it’s time to celebrate qualifying.”
Elsewhere, World Cup holders Argentina played out an entertaining 1-1 draw with Colombia in Buenos Aires.
Liverpool winger Luis Diaz opened the scoring with a fine individual goal, dancing through three defenders before finishing past Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Argentina was reduced to 10 men with 20 minutes remaining when Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez was sent off for a high-boot challenge on Colombia’s Kevin Castano.
But Lionel Messi’s side found an equaliser nine minutes from the end through Lyon’s Thiago Almada, leaving Colombia four points clear of seventh-placed Venezuela.
Ecuador, Argentina’s nearest challengers, booked their spot at next summer’s tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States after a 0-0 draw away at Peru.
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