Lead City University stunned African champions University for Development Studies of Ghana 1-0, handing the Ghanaian side its first defeat at the 15th West African University Games in Ile-Ife.

The result came after UDS had opened their campaign with an impressive 4-2 victory over Afe Babalola University, scoring four goals to emerge as early Group B contenders.

Lead City, however, put in a disciplined defensive display to keep the Ghanaians scoreless, and a single goal was enough to secure all three points.

The defeat marks a sharp contrast for UDS, who went from scoring four goals in a six-goal encounter against ABUAD to failing to find the net against Lead City.

While ABUAD managed to breach the Ghanaian champions’ defence twice, Lead City went a step further by shutting them out and making their chance count at the other end.

The result has opened up the Group B race, with UDS unable to build on their opening victory and Lead City boosting their chances of progressing to the knockout stages.

For UDS, the defeat represents their first setback of the competition and a test of their response after their impressive opening performance.

Lead City, meanwhile, have made an early statement by containing one of the tournament’s leading sides and securing a valuable three points in the process.

The result adds further intrigue to the men’s football competition in Ile-Ife, with the battle for progression in Group B now wide open.

Christian Eriksen has left Wolfsburg by mutual consent, just over three months after collapsing during Denmark’s friendly with Ukraine.

The former Manchester United midfielder’s contract with the German second-tier side had been scheduled to run until June 2027.

Eriksen, 34, had previously suffered a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s opening European Championship group match against Finland in Copenhagen in 2021.

“At the moment, it is important for me to be close to my family in Denmark. I’m pleased that we were able to find a solution together,” Eriksen said.

“My time in Wolfsburg was marked by many highs and lows. I know that the club is now in good hands as it aims to make its way back to the Bundesliga, and I am convinced that a successful future lies ahead.”

Eriksen, who has not played since June, joined Wolfsburg as a free agent a year ago after leaving Manchester United and made 34 appearances for the club.

The 151-cap international has previously played for Ajax, Tottenham, Inter Milan and Brentford.

In a statement, Wolfsburg’s managing director for sport, Dieter Hecking, said: “It was clear that the decision about his future had to be Christian’s.

“We wanted to give him that freedom in this particular situation and have now agreed to his request to terminate the contract.

“Despite his short time here, he has left a lasting impression on his team-mates, our staff and the fans.”

The president of the Life Youth Sports Development Initiative (LYSDI) in Nigeria,

Odikibo Solomon Odikibo has called on the Rivers State governor, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, through the Ministry of Sports to reconstruct the Alfred Diete Spiff Sports Complex (Civic Center) with the view to providing track and field facilities.

He stated the state has abundant talents in track and field events but limited facilities to train with to improve themselves.

Odikibo, who won several medals in long jump and high jump for the state, made this call in an exclusive interview with Tidesports shortly after conducting a training session with young athletes under his tutelage, at the weekend in Port Harcourt.

According to him, with what is going on with track and field events in the state, the disciplines could soon go extinct, especially,as track and field athletes are currently growing old without adequate replacement in sight to replace themand it appears that relevant authorities do not care to discover and groom athletes.

” I am passionately appealing to the state government to reconstruct the Civic Center to accommodate track and field facilities as it was before.

“Young athletes are eager to do sports but have no facilities to train with. We all know that without training facilities, no athlete will improve, so there’s a need to bring the Civic Center back to her original state, Odikibo said.

He explained that the organization is a grassroots sports initiative designed to discover young athletes from secondary schools, and that it was established out of passion to discover hidden talents from secondary schools. “It is self-sponsored with the intention to catch them young.

“In my days of active sports, there were  lots of secondary school sports competitions and tournaments; it was there they used to discover athletes. It was from school sports that I was also discovered. I did high jump, long jump, and hurdles” he stated.

By: Tonye Orabere