Other Leagues
Delta, Edo qualify from South South rugby elimination series
Delta State Male Rugby Team and Edo State Female Rugby teams have qualified from the South South Zonal Team Sports Elimination played in Asaba over the weekend in preparation for the National Youth Games coming up Ilorin early next month.
According to the Technical Director of the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation (NRFF), ‘Mr Rugby’ Obong Ntiense Williams, who coordinated the Rugby Qualifiers for the Zone, “three states contested for the South South Zonal Elimination for Rugby 7’s Event.
“The states are Delta, Rivers and Edo. Unfortunately Akwa Ibom State dropped their rugby team on departure and Bayelsa couldn’t feature their U15’s this time around.”
Said he, “The teams played a round robin games in the Male Rugby 7’s Event. Delta State won two match against Rivers and Edo respectively, thus accumulating eight points.
“Edo State playing with only six players came second by winning a match against Rivers three points to nil and lost one to Delta 28 to 10 points, thus accumulated four points.
“Rivers came third after losing both matches, but had one bonus point when they lost to Edo within seven points.
The Female 7’s event had only two teams Edo and Delta registered as Rivers didn’t come with their Female Rugby team.
Both teams played two matches between themselves. They drew in the first match by 10 points a piece and Edo went on to defeat Delta in the Second Match by 17 to 7 points.
After all the matches, Delta State won the male event and Edo State won the female event and will both represent the Zone early next month for the main National Youth Games in Ilorin.
Meanwhile, the students of St Patrick School where the matches were played trooped out to catch a glimpse of this exciting and beautiful game.
They ended up asking for a Coach and will be producing some of the next National Youth Game U15 Rugby Players for Delta State.
In other Zonal Qualifiers, Lagos State will be representing the South West Zone in both male and female events, while in the South East Zonal elimination that took place in Ebonyi State, Abia State Male and Anambra State female teams have qualified to represent the Zone in Ilorin.
In the other Zonal Qualifiers in the North East, Bauchi State will be representing the zone with a male rugby team, while, Kano State will represent the North West Zone in both the male and female events.
Kwara State completes the North Central zonal representative.
According to Obong Ntiense Williams, “I am so happy that our hard work of introducing Rugby around the country is paying off because, for the first time, we have teams from all the six geo-political zones being represented in the rugby event.
“This is a product of inclusiveness in the mainstream of sports in Nigeria and a fall out from the just completed 20th National Sports Festival held in Edo State earlier this year, where Rugby returned as a scoring event, thus generating the much needed interest from the states which has resulted in positive Rugby development across the Country.”
Galatasaray have strengthened their squad with another Napoli player, announcing on Friday that Dutch winger Noa Lang has joined the Turkish champions on loan for the remainder of the season, linking up with former Napoli player, Victor Osimhen in Istanbul.
The Super Lig giants confirmed that they have reached an agreement with Napoli for the temporary transfer of the 15-cap Netherlands international, with the deal including a non-mandatory purchase option that Galatasaray may activate at the end of the season.
Under the terms of the agreement, Galatasaray will pay €2 million as a loan fee to Napoli, while Lang will earn a seasonal salary of €1.75 million, according to a statement released by the club.
Lang joined Napoli last year from PSV Eindhoven but struggled to fully establish himself in Italy. He featured in 27 matches across all competitions, scoring once during his time with the Serie A side.
His arrival adds attacking depth to Galatasaray and further strengthens the Napoli connection at the club, with Osimhen already a central figure in their squad as they continue to push for domestic success and progress in European competition.
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Three Sudanese clubs will join the league in Rwanda this season in a bid to keep playing while the civil strife in their country negates any chance of normal sporting activity.
Sudan has been in the grip of conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, with more than 150,000 people killed and about 12 million uprooted, creating the largest displacement crisis in the world.
People who fled when the conflict erupted have started to return this year after Sudan’s army retook the capital Khartoum, but the city’s two biggest clubs will continue their sporting exile with their old infrastructure badly damaged.
Last season Al Hilal and Al Merrikh were allowed to play in the league in Mauritania, on the other side of the continent, where they could stay active and keep up their club structures.
Now, along with Al Ahli Wad Madani, they have been given permission to join Rwanda’s league this season, the Rwanda Football Association said.
In July, Al Hilal and Al Merrikh, who between them have won all but four of the championships since Sudan’s league was created in 1965, were home for a mini-tournament to decide who would compete in continental competition in the 2025-26 season.
The eight-team tournament was hosted away from the conflict in Ad-Damer, some 430km from Khartoum, and Atbara, which is 320km north of the capital, with Al Hilal and Al Merrikh dominating again and Al Ahli Wad Madani finishing third.
But a normal league is not possible amid the continuing conflict, leading to the request to play in nearby Rwanda.
Al Hilal have secured a place in the group phase of this season’s African Champions League with a 4-1 aggregate win over Police of Kenya. They won the ‘home’ leg of their second-round tie 3-1 on Friday, which they hosted in Benghazi.
Libya has also served as the base for Sudan’s national team, who will compete at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco at the end of the year despite not playing at home since March 2023.
-Reuters
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Nigerian midfielder Wilfred Ndidi has been appointed vice captain of Turkish giants Beşiktaş JK, following a leadership shake-up announced by the club’s board and technical team.
In an official statement released on Friday, the club confirmed that the decision was approved by President Serdal Adalı and the Board of Directors, in line with a new approach to appoint captains who occupy more influential on-field positions.
As part of the changes, Orkun Kökçü has been named first captain, while Ndidi assumes the vice-captaincy role.
Beşiktaş also expressed appreciation to former captains Necip Uysal and Mert Günok for their service and leadership, wishing the new captains success in their responsibilities.
“We thank Necip Uysal and Mert Günok for their efforts during their time as captains and wish our new captains, Orkun Kökçü and Wilfred Ndidi, success in their respective roles,” the statement read.
Ndidi, who joined Beşiktaş earlier this season, has quickly established himself as a key figure in the team’s midfield. His elevation to a leadership position underscores the club’s confidence in his experience and influence both on and off the pitch.
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