Nigerian Football
Flying Eagles land in Cote d’Ivoire for AFCON U-20 dress rehearsal
The delegation of Nigeria’s U20 boys, Flying Eagles, landed in Abidjan on Tuesday morning ahead of two friendly matches against the Young Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire.
The contingent is led by a member of the NFF Executive, Ganiyu Majekodunmi.
Coach Aliyu Zubairu selected 21 players for the task, among whom are team captain Daniel Bameyi, first-choice goalkeeper Ifeanyi Harcourt, defender Haruna Aliyu, midfielder Cletus Simon and forwards Clinton Japhet and Olalekan Sulaiman Alabi.
The seven-time African champions take on their Ivorian counterparts at the Stade Félix Houphouët Boigny in the Ivorian capital starting from 3.30 pm CIV time (4.30 pm Nigeria time) on Wednesday.
Both teams will again clash on Friday at the same venue, with the same kick-off time.
FLYING EAGLES FOR FRIENDLY GAMES WITH CIV
Goalkeepers: Ifeanyi Harcourt (Sporting Lagos); Abubakar Rufai (Mavlon FC)
Defenders: Adamu Maigari (El-Kanemi Warriors); Daniel Bameyi (Bayelsa United); Emmanuel Okoro (Sporting Lagos); Haruna Aliyu (Wikki Tourists); Babatunde Jimoh Faruq; Stephen Jolomi (Mavlon FC)
Midfielders: Kingsley Matthew (Kings FC); Gbolahan Ajisafe Wasiu (Smart City); Anthony Ezekiel; Mohammed Sabiu Ibrahim (Niger Tornadoes); Olalekan Sulaiman Alabi (El-Kanemi Warriors); Shafiu Adamu Duguri (Wikki Tourists); Cletus Simon (Mavlon FC); Nasiru Salihu (El-Kanemi Warriors)
Forwards: Bidemi Olalekan Amole (Real Sapphire Academy); Clinton Japhet (Enyimba FC); Abdulmuiz Adeleke (Adoration FC); Divine Oliseh (Fostar Academy); Ayomide Muftau Mubarak
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The Nigeria Football Federation has felicitated Etubom Paul Bassey and Chief Isaac Danladi, two eminent members of the Nigeria football family who have been appointed commissioners by the Akwa Ibom State and Nasarawa State governments respectively.
“These appointments are, no doubt, just reward for the excellent contributions that these two illustrious men have made to football development in their different States in particular, and the country in general, in over one decade.
Etubom Bassey and Chief Danladi have had their hands on the plough in Nigeria football for a very long time, and they have always shown great passion, dedication and diligence all the time.
“The NFF congratulates them on their new posts and believe they will do more than enough to justify the confidence reposed in them by their State Chief Executives,” NFF President, Ibrahim Musa Gusau, said on Tuesday.
Bassey, a dyed-in-the-wool communication expert, rose through the ranks from the position of a reporter to becoming a newspaper publisher and also worked as a member of the Media Committee of the Confederation of African Football.
He mutated to become a CAF and FIFA General Coordinator and has been Chairman of elite-division club, Akwa United FC for over a decade, alongside serving meritoriously as special adviser to the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Sports.
He has always been at the forefront of ensuring comfort and easefulness for players and officials of the National Teams whenever they are in Uyo to play international matches.
Chief Danladi, who recently retired as a permanent secretary in the Nasarawa State Civil Service, was also Chairman of NPFL club, Nasarawa United FC for over a decade, and surely, is leaving giant footprints in the sands of time.
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All things being equal, the teams for Nigeria’s national all-comers competition, the President Federation Cup will emerge this Weekend.
Owing to that, there are no matches in the Nigeria Premier Football League this weekend. In its stead, the states’ finals of the President Federation Cup will played to produce two teams representing each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The National Play-Off of this year’s competition has been scheduled for 5th March, with the National Draw one week later, while the Rounds of 64, 32 and 16 are scheduled for 19th March, 2nd April and 16th April 2025 respectively.
The quarter-finals have been slated for the 3rd and 4th of May, with the semi-finals fixed for the 17th and 18th of May.
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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Nigeria’s national football coach, Eric Chelle, has revealed to Sports Village Square that he has seen some players in the domestic league with prospects of getting national team call-up.
The coach unveiled in January as Nigeria’s coach, watched the Ikorodu City’s match with Plateau United in Lagos as well as the Remo Stars’ encounter with Kwara United in Ikenne.
He said that in the Lagos match, he saw four players with prospects of the national team call up and in the second match in Ikenne, three players impressed him.
He would not name the players as he remarked that he was still taking notes.
However, he revealed that the players he had spotted displayed proficiency in specific skills such as passing and shooting and were physically fit as they displayed endurance on the pitch.
Other qualities he noted were their mental fitness and ability to decide as well as good ball sense.
He was particularly thrilled by the positional ball displayed by Remo Stars in their 2-0 defeat of Kwara United on Thursday night.
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