Four-star Eaglets down Dreamland

Golden Eaglets

Golden Eaglets yet again pulled a star performance to beat Dreamland Academy of Abia State 4-0 at the Abraham Ordia Stadium located within the University of Calabar on Friday.

The match was earlier abandoned in the morning due to poor condition of the pitch following a torrential rain after Dreamland had taken a 1-0 lead but both parties agreed to a fresh start in the evening.

Petit striker, Kehinde Ayinde along with, Ebere Osinachi, Promise Orji and Suleiman Abdullahi secured Golden Eaglets’ 12th successive win in test matches much to the admiration of the technical crew.

“The abandoned game in the morning actually gave us an idea of how best to handle Dreamland as the boys knew they are a very strong side,” noted Coach Emmanuel Amuneke.

Emanuel Amuneke

“Though there was rain again this evening, it was a good performance from both sides and I’m impressed with the fact that our boys took their chances.”

It was the Dreamland that came out smoking from the blast of the whistle during the replay as they mounted ceaseless pressure on the Golden Eaglets but could not gain the advantage despite four corner kicks.

But Eaglets’ Ayinde celebrated his first goal in the 20th minute since his last in the Bronze medal-winning match against Togo at the WAFU B Tournament on April 27th after collecting a pass from Jack Ipalibo.

The Eaglets asserted themselves thereafter with the duo of Kelechi Nwakali and Kingsley Michael showing a telepathic understanding in the midfield as they fed the attackers with incisive passes.

Striker Samuel Chukwueze intercepted a pass in the 40 minutes and immediately gave it to Ayinde whose well-driven shot was deflected by the agile Dreamland’s keeper to end the first half 1-0.

Promise Orji signalled his second-half inclusion when he ran past three defenders and squared the ball for Osinachi to score the second goal in the 65th minute. It was another substitute Abbas who provided the cross for Orji to nod home the third goal towards the end while Abdullahi added a breathtaking goal at the end of a triangular passes from Nwakali; Michael and Osinachi.

Bolowotan FC Launches Mobile App To Increase Fan Base.

bolowotan fc Ikorodu

In a bid to give her fans a unique experience about the club’s activities, Bolowotan Football Club of Ikorodu will launch a mobile Application on the 1st of July 2014 that will give fans/visitors information about the club and report sports activities all over the World.

BFC took a step further by introducing football news from the home scene, ie. fans/visitors will enjoy regular updates of Nigeria football news (all leagues, national team administrators and Nigerian players abroad).

BFC App also gives visitors/fans an opportunity to have some international football news right on their mobile phones.

The mobile app also features live score of local football league, fans will know what’s happening in different league venues through the live score tab on the app.

According to the chairman of BFC, Gafaar Oluwatoyin, the dream is to run a Nigerian football club in a professional and profitable way.

“The dream that propelled this action is to run a football club that will sustain itself, that will be run in a professional and profitable way,” Gafaar Oluwatoyin said.

The chairman, Gafaar also talked on the importance of carrying the fans along with plans and activities of the club.

“When we started the journey, we had a few passionate fans who will always come to the stadium to see our matches but BFC’s fan base has gradually increased over the years considering our achievements and the impact the club has made in the lives of players and fans alike,”

“The fans have shown great commitment and support to see the club play at the highest level and that will surely happen soon.”

“We gained promotion from the regional league to the state league. We also did same in the Nationwide League division three to division two, division one and later gained promotion to the Nigeria National League (second level football league in Nigeria) before we had to give MFM FC our slot for free because we couldn’t continue due to lack of funds,”said Gafaar.

The club boss also hinted that the purpose of the mobile app is to get closer to the fans and also create a platform for new fans to join and be proud of BFC.

FIVB World League Final Group 3, Coaches expect tough competition

The coaches of teams participating in the FIVB World League final Group 3 and their team captains collectively stated in the press conference that the competition at the extra ordinary tournament in Bursa, Turkey will be very tough and Hosts Turkey along with Cuba, China and Slovakia have equal chances to claim the first position when the finals get underway on Saturday.

The press conference was held at Crowne Plaza, in Bursa on Saturday ahead of the Semifinal matches on Saturday where Cuba take on China at 14.00 local time, while hosts Turkey will play Slovakia at 17.00.

FIVB Control Committee President Mrs. Marta Centeno, Vice President of Turkish Volleyball Federation Mr. Akif Ustundag, Bursa Provincial Director of Youth and Sports Mr. Suleyman Sahin and Vice president of Bursa Metropilitan Municipalty Mr. Abdullah Karadag attended the meeting with the captains and coaches of four participating teams, China, Cuba, Slovakia and Turkey.

China coach Xie Gouchen, stated that they have been welcomed very well in Bursa and said “First of all we would like to thank to Turkish Volleyball Federation. When we arrived, we saw a great hall and have been welcomed with a great hospitality. This is the first time in Turkey, most of us. Turkish league is one of the top leagues in the world. We will learn each other during the tournament. For the match tomorrow, we will have a good preparation. Cuba is a very strong team. We will do our best and learn from Cuba team also.”

China Captain Zhong Weijun commented that they are very happy to be in Bursa and qualify for the finals and they want to show a good effort.

FIVB Volleyball Word League 2014 Final Four, Press Conference

Rodolfo Luis Sanchez, coach of Cuba team, said “This is a great opportunity to be here. Our team came to the finals very strong. Tomorrow we will do our best against China.” and captain of Cuba Rolando Cepeda added “It does not matter how many matches you played in the past. We have to play good. We want the trophy of Group 3 Finals.”

Slovakia coach Flavio Gulinelli mentioned the excellence of facilities in Bursa: “First of all thanks to the organization for very good facilities. We hope to be in condition to exchange a good performance on the court. Being here is a good opportunity for our team. We would like to perform as good as we can in this tournament.”

“We will try to do our best. We are happy to participate in this organization. We will play against Turkey. We hope to play good volleyball and win against home team.” said Emanuel Kohut, captain of Slovakia.”

Emanuele Zanini, coach of Turkish National Team, stressed that there is difference in Women’s and Men’s volleyball: “I think women’s volleyball is one thing and men’s volleyball is another. These are two different worlds. Turkish league improved a lot. There will be a lot of great players in Turkey next season. It’s a pleasure to be here. We are here not for just we are organizer but we deserved it. We are here because we are the second placed team of our group. China, Cuba and Slovakia are all more experienced than us and higher in the world rankings than us. We hope that a lot of people to join and sport us in Bursa. We will do our best. We have great hope and will try to reach the final.”

Italian coach of Turkey Emanuele Zanini, who was in charge for the Slovakian team for 4 years, said that he is happy to compete against his old team: “It is pleasure to meet some players and people that I coached for 4 years. We won European League twice. It was an important experience and gave me satisfaction. We met last season and the match was very close. We lost 3-2 in the European championship. Tomorrow will be another fight. I hope the final result will be different.”

Captain of the hosting team, Arslan Eksi stated that they are very proud of hosting the Group 3 Finals in Bursa and expects a good support from their fans: “We are very proud to host FIVB World League Group 3 Finals. We are the host team and that is an advantage for us but we have three strong opponents. We played well during the group matches. If we will play our own game against Slovakia, I believe we will reach the final. This is an important competition for Men’s volleyball in Turkey. We want to be permanently in World League. We hope our fans will be there and support us as they do every time.”

ITTF African Top 16 Cup: NTTF may suspend Offiong, as tournament enters knockout stage

ITTF AFRICA

Following her inability to show up for the first round match of the ongoing International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa Top 16 Cup on Friday, the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) may suspend Edem Offiong.

Offiong, who is seeded number four in the tournament was failed to show up for her first match of the preliminary round against Ghana’s Cynthia Kwabi and this resulted in a walk-over.

For this, the NTTF decided to query her for failing to report for the match.

According to the federation, this was what happened during the last World Championship in Tokyo, Japan when the female team failed to report for the group game against Portugal and this also resulted in a walk-over for the team.

Nigeria Table Tennis Federation

This prevented the team from qualifying from the group at the tournament.

To ascertain her progress to the knockout stage of the competition, Offiong had to win her next two matches against Onyinye Nwachukwu of Congo Brazzaville and South Africa’s Khanyisile Madlala.

Meanwhile, a major upset was recorded in the men’s qualifiers, as number four seed, Congo Brazzaville’s Saheed Idowu was beaten 3-2 by Tunisia’s Adem Hmam.

A disappointed Nigeria-born Congolese star said he was not in good shape for the encounter having featured in the four-day Lagos World Tour.

“I was not in good shape for the match and I just managed to play the game.

Unfortunately I could not cope with the pace of the player and this caused me the victory. I still a tough task ahead of me as I will be facing Nigeria’s Segun Toriola who defeated me in the World Tour,” he lamented.

On Saturday, the knockout stage will begin with the winner in the men’s and women events representing Africa at this year’s ITTF World Cups.

FABIYI REMAINS ABIA WARRIORS PLAYER – MANAGEMENT

Glo Premier League Logo

Glo Premier League side, Abia Warriors Football Club of Umuahia has declared that goalkeeper Emmanuel Fabiyi remains Abia Warriors player and asked all teams romancing with his services to steer clear.

In a statement signed by the club’s Media Officer, Igwe Onuoha, Abia Warriors regretted that the former Bayelsa United goaltender could not return to camp after a two-week break, granted the players by the technical crew following the conclusion of the first phase of the league.

The club observed that Fabiyi, who is still under contract with Abia Warriors until the end of the season, has been spotted training with a rival team from the South-West part of the country and warned of the obvious consequences of fraternizing with a player who is still under a valid contract with another club.

In his reaction, the Secretary of Abia Warriors FC, Mr. Oliver Ndife said that Fabiyi, who only joined the club at the end of last season, has not handed in any transfer request neither did he discuss orally with the management or technical crew of his purported movement to another clubside.

Mr. Ndife wondered why the player should even contemplate moving to another club when his contract with Abia Warriors was yet to elapse, pointing out that a player under contract must be cleared by his present club before he contemplates moving to another side.

The club’s scribe therefore called on the League Management Company (LMC) to call the Benin Republic international goalkeeper to order by not granting him any clearance to play for another club so as not to bring the league into disrepute.

FIFA World Cup Round Of 16 Fixtures, Venues, Results and Kick-Off Time – UPDATED

fifa world cup trophy

ROUND OF 16

Brazil VS Chile

DATE – Saturday 28 JUN 2014

TIME – 13:00 Local time (NIGERIAN TIME 17:00)

Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte

FT – Brazil 3 – 2 Chile *PEN

Colombia VS Uruguay

DATE – Saturday 28 JUN 2014

TIME 17:00 Local time (21:00 NIGERIAN TIME)

VENUE – Maracanã – Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho, Rio De Janeiro

FT – Colombia 2 – 0 Uruguay

ROUND OF 16

Netherlands VS Mexico

DATE – Sunday 29 June 29 JUN 2014

TIME – 13:00 Local time (17:00 NIGERIAN TIME)

VENUE – Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza

FT – Netherlands 2 – 1 Mexico

Costa Rica VS Greece

DATE – Sunday 29 June 29 JUN 2014

TIME – 17:00 Local time (21:00 NIGERIAN TIME)

VENUE – Arena Pernambuco, Recife

FT – Costa Rica 1 – 1 Greece *PEN 5-3

ROUND OF 16

France VS Nigeria

DATE – Monday 30 JUN 2014

TIME 3:00 Local time (17:00 NIGERIAN TIME)

VENUE – Estadio Nacional, Brasilia

FT – France 2 – 0 Nigeria

Germany VS Algeria

DATE – Monday 30 JUN 2014

TIME – 17:00 Local time (21:00 NIGERIAN TIME)

VENUE Estadio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre

FT – Germany 2 – 1 Algeria

ROUND OF 16

Argentina VS Switzerland

DATE – Tuesday 01 JUL 2014

TIME – 13:00 Local time (17:00 NIGERIAN TIME)

VENUE – Arena Corinthians, Sao Paulo

FT – Argentina 1 – 0 Switzerland

Belgium VS United States

DATE – Tuesday 01 JUL 2014

TIME – 17:00 Local time (21:00 NIGERIA)

VENUE – Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador

FT – Belgium 2 – 1 United States

2014 FIFA World Cup Final Group Standings

Brazuca, 2014 World Cup Ball

2014 FIFA World Cup Final Group Standings

Group A

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Brazil 3 2 1 0 7 2 +5 7
Mexico 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7
Croatia 3 1 0 2 6 6 0 3
Cameroon 3 0 0 3 1 9 −8 0

* Brazil and Mexico Qualify for Knock out round

Group B

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Netherlands 3 3 0 0 10 3 +7 9
Chile 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 6
Spain 3 1 0 2 4 7 −3 3
Australia 3 0 0 3 3 9 −6 0

* Netherlands and Chile Qualify for Knock out round

Group C

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Colombia 3 3 0 0 9 2 +7 9
Greece 3 1 1 1 2 4 −2 4
Ivory Coast 3 1 0 2 4 5 −1 3
Japan 3 0 1 2 2 6 −4 1

* Colombia and Greece Qualify for Knock out round

Group D

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Costa Rica 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7
Uruguay 3 2 0 1 4 4 0 6
Italy 3 1 0 2 2 3 −1 3
England 3 0 1 2 2 4 −2 1

* Costa Rica and Uruguay Qualify for Knock out round

Group E

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
France 3 2 1 0 8 2 +6 7
Switzerland 3 2 0 1 7 6 +1 6
Ecuador 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
Honduras 3 0 0 3 1 8 −7 0

* France and Switzerland Qualify for Knock out round

Group F

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Argentina 3 3 0 0 6 3 +3 9
Nigeria 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
Bosnia & Herze 3 1 0 2 4 4 0 3
Iran 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 1

* Argentina and Nigeria Qualify for Knock out round

Group G

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Germany 3 2 1 0 7 2 +5 7
United States 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
Portugal 3 1 1 1 4 7 −3 4
Ghana 3 0 1 2 4 6 −2 1

* Germany and United States Qualify for Knock out round

Group H

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Belgium 3 3 0 0 4 1 +3 9
Algeria 3 1 1 1 6 5 +1 4
Russia 3 0 2 1 2 3 −1 2
South Korea 3 0 1 2 3 6 −3 1

* Belgium and Algeria Qualify for Knock out round

Complete World Cup Draw