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How African Stars Played In Europe

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This concludes our cov
erage for Saturday, 27 August. Please join AfricanFootball tomorrow for more coverage of the continent’s best players in Europe at the weekend.
Full time in the Ligue 1 matches, where Thievy Bifouma’s Bastia went down 2-0 away to Caen, Benoit Assou-Ekotto has made a sub appearance for Metz in a 2-0 win over Angers, Ryad Boudebouz provided an assist for Montpellier in their 1-1 draw with Rennes, Mustapha Diallo scored for Guingamp in a 2-0 win at Nancy and Yassine Benzia provided an assist for Lille in their 1-1 draw at Nice.
Closing in on full time in France’s Ligue 1, while we’re half an hour away from kick-off in the late La Liga game which sees Leganes (who have Algeria’s Carl Medjani on the bench) host mighty Atletico Madrid.
News of another goal for Faouzi Ghoulam and Kalidou Koulibaly’s Napoli, who are now 2-0 up against AC Milan thanks to a second goal from Arkadiusz Milik.
Past the hour mark in the Ligue 1 games, Mustapha Diallo has scored to put Guingamp 1-0 up away to Nancy.
News of a goal in Italy, where Arkadiusz Milik has scored to put Faouzi Ghoulam’s Napoli 1-0 up at home to Italy. No further goals in the second half in France’s Ligue 1.
Back underway in the second half in the Ligue 1 games, while in Italy it’s still 0-0 between Kalidou Koulibaly’s Napoli and AC Milan.
Half time in France, no African goal scorers as yet, here are the scores so far: Caen 0-0 Bastia, Metz 1-0 Angers, Montpellier 1-0 Rennes, Nancy 0-0 Guingamp and Nice 1-1 Lille (where Algerian Yassine Benzia provided an assist for the latter’s goal).
Ten minutes from the second and last Serie A game of the day which sees Napoli host AC Milan. The former feature Faouzi Ghoulam and Kalidou Koulibaly in their starting XI.
Finished in the Premier League, where Eric Bailly’s Manchester United snatched a late, late 1-0 win over Hull City. In the Bundesliga, Ibrahima Traore’s Monchengladbach beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1.
We’re also finished in Spain’s early games, where Aymen Abdennour’s Valencia lost 1-0 at Eibar, while Real Sociedad won 2-0 at Osasuna. Kicking off now is the third La Liga match, Real Madrid v Celta Vigo, which has no African involvement.
Done and dusted in Italy, where Kwadwo Asamoah, Mario Lemina and Mehdi Benatia have helped Juventus win 1-0 at Lazio.
We’re underway in France’s Ligue 1 evening games, where we are sure to have a few African scorers…
Nancy v Guingamp sees Guy N’Dy Assembe and Youssouf Hadji start for the former, while Mustapha Diallo features for the latter. Nice have Jean-Michael Seri in their XI for the visit of Lille, who feature Adama Soumaoro, Younousse Sankhare, Vincent Enyeama and Yassine Benzia.
Kwadwo Asamoah’s Juventus have a lead at Lazio thanks to Sami Khedira’s goal, while Aymen Abdennour’s Valencia are 1-0 down at Eibar. Further team news from France: Montpellier feature Ryad Boudebouz and Steve Mounie for their home match against Rennes, who have Rami Bensebaini, Giovanni Sio and Sitoe Mexer in their XI.
Let’s start looking ahead to French Ligue 1 matches kicking off at 20h00. Caen feature Syam Ben Yousseff for their home clash with Bastia, who have Thievy Bifouma and Mehdi Mostefa in their starting XI, while Georges Mandjeck and Cheick Doukoure start for Metz at home to Angers, who have Karl-Toko Ekambi, Cheick N’Doye and Ismael Traore in their run-on team.
Half time in the Premier League, Ahmed Elmohamady’s Hull are holding Man United 0-0. In the Bundesliga, Ibrahim Traore’s Monchengladbach are 1-0 up against Leverkusen.
Not many goals at the moment… still 0-0 between Hull and Eric Bailly’s Man United in the Premier League, as well as between Lazio and Juve in Italy, and Ibrahim Traore’s Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen.
Full time in the early Ligue 1 game, where Dijon have beaten Lyon 4-2 at home. The victors featured two African goal scorers: Julio Tavares of Cape Verde and DR Congo substitute Dylan Bahamboula.
Almost up to half time in Serie A, where Kwadwo Asamoah’s Juventus are being held 0-0 at Lazio.
Underway in both the Premier League and Bundesliga, while in France’s Ligue 1 Nicolas N’Koulou’s Lyon are 3-2 down away to Julio Tavares’ Dijon with about 20 minutes to play.
Fifteen minutes until the final Bundesliga game of the day, where Ibrahima Traore starts for Borussia Monchengladbach at home to Bayer Leverkusen.
In five minutes we have the first two La Liga matches of the day kicking off in Spain. Tunisian defender Aymen Abdennour starts for Valencia at Eibar, while Osasuna host Real Sociedad in the other fixture.
The six Premier League matches have wrapped up, here are the full time scores: Chelsea 3-0 Burnley, Palace 1-1 Bournemouth, Everton 1-0 Stoke, Leicester 2-1 Swansea, Southampton 1-1 Sunderland and Watford 1-3 Arsenal. The final game of the day in England kicks off in half an hour and sees Hull City host Manchester United. Ahmed Elmohamady starts for the former, while the latter have Ivorian defender Eric Bailly at centre-back.
Julio Tavares has scored for Dijon, who are holding Lyon 2-2 at half time in the early Ligue 1 game.
Victor Moses has a goal for Chelsea, making it 3-0 over Burnley as we approach full time in the Premier League matches which kicked off at 16h00.
We’re done and dusted in the Bundesliga, with the highlight from an African perspective the two goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to see Dortmund win 2-1 against Mainz. Here are the other results: Koln 2-0 Darmstadt, Augsburg 0-2 Wolfsburg, Frankfurt 1-0 Schalke and Hamburger 1-1 Ingolstadt. Modou Barrow has provided an assist to see Swansea pull a goal back against Leicester, it’s 2-1 to the champions at King Power Stadium.
The first Italian Serie A match of the day kicks off in 25 minutes and sees Lazio host champions Juventus. The home side has Angolan Bastos in their starting line-up, while Juve’s run-on XI features Moroccan Mehdi Benatia as well as Mario Lemina and Kwadwo Asamoah of Gabon and Ghana respectively.
Lyon lead 1-0 away to Dijon, with Clorentin Tolisso scoring to put Nicolas N’Koulou’s team ahead in the early Ligue 1 match. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has a second goal for Dortmund today, netting from the penalty spot to give them a 2-0 lead against Mainz.
Riyad Mahrez has just had a penalty saved, it remains 2-0 to Leicester against Swansea, while Watford have a goal back against Arsenal, with Odion Ighalo playing a role in a strike from Roberto Pereyra.
Everton lead 1-0 against Mame Biram Diouf’s Stoke after a penalty from Leighton Baines, while Wes Morgan has scored to put Riyad Mahrez’s Leicester City 2-0 up against Swansea.
We’re back underway in the second half of the Premier League matches, while in Germany Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Dortmund remain 1-0 up against Mainz thanks to the Gabon attacker’s goal.
We’ve hit half time in the Premier League matches, here are the scores at the break: Watford 0-3 Arsenal, Chelsea 2-0 Burnley, Southampton 0-0 Sunderland, Leicester 1-0 Swansea, Everton 0-0 Stoke and Crystal Palace 0-0 Bournemouth. No African scorers as yet.
It’s not a great day for Odion Ighalo’s Watford, who now found themselves 2-0 down at home to Arsenal, while Victor Moses’ Chelsea have gone 2-0 up at home to Burnley.
Riyad Mahrez’s Leicester City have the lead at home to Swansea, with Jamie Vardy netting his first Premier League goal of the new season.
We have some early team news from the first Ligue 1 match of the day, which will see Dijon host Lyon at 17h00. Morocco’s Fouad Chafik and Cape Verde’s Julio Tavares start for the home side, while the visitors have Cameroonian Nicolas N’Koulou in their XI.
We have our first goals in the Premier League, with Eden Hazard putting Chelsea ahead against Burnley, while Nordin Amrabat gave away a debatable penalty which has seen Arsenal take a 1-0 lead at Watford.
We are underway across the Premier League matches, let’s hope for plenty of African goals and assists in England’s top flight this afternoon…
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored for Dortmund to give them a 1-0 lead at home to Mainz. The Gabonese striker is continuing where he left off last season…
Let’s move onto team news ahead of the 16h00 Premier League matches. Victor Moses is on the bench for Chelsea, who host Burnley; Pape Souare starts for Crystal Palace at home to Bournemouth, who have Max Gradel on the bench; Yannock Bolasie and Idriss Gueye start for Everton at home to Stoke, who have Mame Biram Diouf playing up front; Leicester City feature Riyad Mahrez and Daniel Amartey in their XI (Ahmed Musa’s on the bench) at home to Modou Barrow’s Swansea; Southampton host Sunderland, who have Steven Pienaar, Lamine Kone and Papy Djilobodji in their starting team and Wahbi Khazri on the bench; and finally Watford feature Nordin Amrabat, Adlebe Guedioura and Odion Ighalo (with Isaac Success on the bench) against Arsenal, who have Mohamed Elneny waiting in reserve.

We’re 10 minutes into five Bundesliga matches, here is the African involvement: Tunisia’s Anis Ben Hatira starts for Darmstadt away to Koln, Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will come up against Nigerian defender Leon Balogun for Dortmund v Mainz, Cameroon’s Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting starts for Schalke at Frankfurt and his compatriot Marvin Matip features for Ingolstadt at Hamburger.

We begin with news from the Premier League, where Kenyan Victor Wanyama played the full 90 minutes for Tottenham as they were held 1-1 at home by Liverpool, who had Senegal’s Sadio Mane and Cameroonian Joel Matip in their line-up. We have a further six matches in England’s top flight coming up at 16h00…

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22nd NSF: Ogun State Gov. Vows To Set benchmark  

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Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun believes the 22nd National Sports Festival (NSF) will set a new benchmark for future editions of the multi-sports event.

Apart from being the first host state to house all participating athletes under one roof, the Governor assured contingents, spectators, and residents of maximum security during the NSF, which will take place in Ogun State from May 16 to 30.

During a parley with journalists in Abeokuta, Governor Abiodun highlighted that Babcock University has been chosen as the games village.

Over 10,000 athletes and officials will compete at the games in Ogun State. The Governor also named former Green Eagles captain, Segun Odegbami, as Grand Sports Ambassador, emphasising the state’s readiness to break new ground with the sporting fiesta, which has revitalised all its sporting facilities.

“As the Gateway State, we want to set the pace for others to follow. For the first time in NSF history, all participating athletes and officials will be accommodated under one roof, just like it is done globally. They will be well catered for, with high standards of security and safety. Shuttle buses will convey athletes to their venues daily, and we will ensure the roads are clear for them during the games. We are excited to host the NSF and aim to make Gateway 2024 a benchmark for future games because, as the Gateway State, we want to lead while others follow,” the Governor said.

Abiodun also mentioned that the state government would use this opportunity to build a sports economy for the state. “Ogun’s business circle will experience a bumper harvest during the event, with major hotels fully booked and petty traders making brisk business,” he said.

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PRIVATE SECTOR IS KEY TO GRASSROOTS SPORTS DEVELOPMENT – NSC Chairman 

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If the grassroots development of Nigerian sports is to be actualized, the private sector would play a pivotal role. The Chairman of National Sports Commission (NSC) Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko said while speaking at the grand finale of the MTN Champs Season 3 at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium Uyo on Friday.

The NSC Chairman commended the organisers, partners, and participants of the MTN Champs for their outstanding contributions to the growth of academicals and grassroots athletics in Nigeria.

His words, “The MTN Champs is a shinning example of how private sector collaboration can drive youth development and sports excellence across the country. Mr. President places so much premium on grassroots development of sports. You will see this in the fact that he appointed an SSA on Grassroots Sports Development. That is why we are very deliberate in ensuring that sports are developed right from the grassroots. We are aggressively pursuing the revival of our school sports. It is a mandate that we must carry out. 

“Over the years, we have had issues with our conveyor belt of talents. That is why we find it hard to replace ageing talents. We have set out to ensure that there is regular supply of talents from the grassroots. We can’t do this alone without the involvement of the private sector. This is why I must commend MTN for their consistency in this project. This is really the way to go. I am sure that the talents discovered here will serve this nation in a long while to come. We need more of such initiatives. Kudos to MTN.”

He noted that the MTN Champs aligns perfectly with the Commission’s RHINSE strategic framework, which prioritises results, holistic development, Inclusion, nationwide impact, sustainability, and engagement in all sports development initiatives.

“The MTN Champs has demonstrated the transformative power of education  and grassroots sports programmes. It is a model of how strategic partnerships with the private sector can unearth young talents, inspire communities, and contribute meaningfully to national development,” Mallam Dikko stated.

The NSC Chairman reiterated the Commission’s commitment to supporting similar initiatives that align with the Renewed Hope Initiative for Nigerian Sports (RHINSE) framework, particularly those focused on creating structured pathways for young athletes to grow into elite performers while receiving education and life skills training. 

He further reiterated NSC’s commitment and objectives to provide all the enablers to drive grassroots sports and creating a professional pathway for growth as evidenced with the NSC introduction of the Invited Junior Athletes (IJA) to compete at the 22nd National Sports Festival, Ogun State under the sponsorship of the commission as the 38th State and the ongoing collaboration with Federal Ministry of Education towards the revival of school sports.   

Mallam Dikko applauded MTN Nigeria for setting a commendable template for corporate participation in sports and encouraging other private sector organisations to emulate this example by investing in sustainable developmental sports programmes that empower Nigerian youths and promote national unity.

The NSC Chairman was joined by the Chief Finance Officer of MTN Nigeria, Mr. Modupe Kadiri, the Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government, Prince Enobong Uwah and other dignitaries

The MTN Champs, in its 3rd season, a nationwide school and grassroots athletics competition, witnessed widespread participation from students across Nigeria and served as a platform to identify and nurture the next generation of champions.

On the sidelines of the programmes, the NSC Chairman engaged with MTN executives on further areas of possible collaboration between the two organisations in the advancement of sports in Nigeria. Subsequently MTN reaffirmed its commitment to continued support of the sector. 

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Omo-Agege sues Minimah, NOC Over NBF Crisis

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The Nigeria Boxing Federation crisis has taken a turn as interim president Azania Omo-Agege has filed a comprehensive lawsuit against Kenneth Minimah, the Nigeria Olympic Committee, and five other defendants at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Saturday.

Court documents obtained by our correspondent reveal that Omo-Agege’s lawsuit, filed on Monday, names the National Sports Commission, International Olympic Committee, Nigeria Olympic Committee, Rtd. General Kenneth Minimah, Mr. Akinyele Oladapo, World Boxing, and the Board of Nigeria Boxing Federation as defendants in the case.

The legal action primarily challenges the controversial affiliation with World Boxing, which Omo-Agege claims was executed without proper consultation with stakeholders and board members.

In the nine-point suit, Omo-Agege seeks several declarations, including that “the inclusion of Nigeria Boxing Federation as a member of World Boxing by the defendants is illegal, void, and not in compliance with the Articles of Association of Nigeria Boxing Federation, and therefore Nigeria Boxing Federation still remains a member of International Boxing Association.”

The interim president also asked the court to declare that Minimah “is no longer the president of Nigeria Boxing Association, parading himself as the president of Nigeria Boxing Association after being suspended by the International Boxing Association and already completing his tenure.”

A key component of the lawsuit is Omo-Agege’s claim that the November 11, 2023 meeting that led to his suspension was “illegal, null and void and all decisions made in the said meeting are invalid and inconsequential.” He maintains that as the former vice president, he became the rightful interim president when Minimah’s tenure expired.

The plaintiff is seeking “an order of mandatory injunction restraining the 4th defendant (Minimah) from further parading himself as the President of Nigerian Boxing Federation” and “an order of perpetual injunction restraining World Boxing from further naming Nigeria Boxing Federation as one of its members.”

Additionally, the lawsuit asks the court to order all defendants to recognise Omo-Agege as the interim president of the federation.

The legal action comes just days after the African Boxing Confederation officially lifted Omo-Agege’s suspension in a formal letter dated April 26, signed by AFBC Interim Secretary General Yohannes Brehane.

“The African Boxing Confederation is writing to formally inform you that, during its Board of Directors meeting held on February 9, 2025, the matter of your suspension was reviewed and resolved. The Board has decided to lift your suspension with immediate effect,” the letter stated.

In the court documents, Omo-Agege alleges that the move to World Boxing “was as a result of the International Olympic Committee’s pressure through the NOC by the machination of World Boxing.”

He claims that a letter was written to all African federations “mandating all International Boxing Federations across the world, especially Africa, to withdraw their membership from the International Boxing Association and join World Boxing as members.”

The factional leadership has significantly affected Nigeria’s boxing performance, with athletes expressing concerns about preparation and administration.

The lawsuit also contains allegations of financial misconduct, claiming that “monies belonging to the NBF have been expended fraudulently” by Minimah and Oladapo, including partial payment of athletes’ allowances and diversion of funds to private accounts.

The case, which has been filed through the law firm of Karina Tunyan (SAN) & Co, is expected to further complicate matters for Nigerian boxing, which has already struggled with administrative challenges affecting athlete preparation and performance at international competitions.

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