SENEGAL — When Nigeria’s Ikechukwu Ibenegbu clinched the top scorer award at the 2011 WAFU Cup of Nations, having won the tournament alongside current Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa the year before, he appeared primed to enjoy a move to a lucrative European league.
However, unlike other African players who leverage the opportunity afforded them by the regional West African Football Associations tournament, or the African Nations Championship (CHAN) for local-based players across the continent,…
While Cup Final weekend is upon Nigeria, as Kano Pillars go up against Niger Tornadoes to determine who wins the 2019 Aiteo Cup on Sunday, the talk is still on the Super Eagles’ Afcon campaign.
Conversation in Nigeria remains centred on the future of coach Gernot Rohr as the team’s failure to reach the continental final continues to enrage, but little has been said about the team itself. Specifically, the loss of key personnel.
And therein lies the crux of the matter. The Aiteo final, and the domestic…
Samad Kadiri was the match-winner for Lobi Stars, who emerged 1-0 winners against Enugu Rangers on Tuesday in the 2018 Nigeria Super Cup played at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba.
The big centre forward grabbed the winner in the first-half for the 2018 Nigeria League champions when he capitalised on Okey Odita’s error.
The annual contest, which serves to usher in the new Nigeria football league season, is played between the league champions and Aiteo Cup winners.
Rangers, who secured a dramatic…
Kano Pillars took a big step towards a return to CAF club competition after a four-year absence as they beat four-time Aiteo Cup champions Enyimba 4-2 in a rescheduled quarter-final fixture at the Patani Stadium in Gombe on Sunday.
The result means Pillars join five-time champions Enugu Rangers, Nasarawa United and Katsina United in the last four to do battle to determine Nigeria’s flag bearer in the 2019 CAF Confederation Cup.
In Wednesday’s pairings, Pillars and Katsina face off at the Agege…
The Aiteo Cup round of 32 fixtures played across various match venues on Sunday produced further upsets, FC Ifeanyi Ubah and Niger Tornadoes the latest big guns to exit the cup competition.
Emmanuel Uangbadje’s 24th-minute strike was the match-winner as giant-killers J. Atete knocked out 2016 champions FC Ifeanyi Ubah 1-0 at the Sharks Stadium in Port Harcourt.
2017 Aiteo Cup runners-up Niger Tornadoes were denied a spot in the round of 16 following a shock 1-0 defeat against Kogi United in the…
Four-time champions Shooting Stars were one of the major casualties in the first round of the 2018 Aiteo Cup, losing 5-4 on penalties to third tier Supreme Court in Benin in the round of 64.
The game ended goalless in regulation time, and the Ol…
Nigeria’s football federation avoided a suspension from FIFA this week, after the government of the African country dispatched a letter that recognised the leadership of Amaju Pinnick as the head of the NFF.
Pinnick is the FIFA-recognised president of Nigerian football, and the wrangling between Chris Giwa, who claims to be the leader but is under a FIFA ban, and Pinnick’s supporters came to a head in July.
The country’s football has been in disarray ever since, with all league activity suspended,…
Nigeria acknowledged a FIFA-approved appointee as the sole head of its national soccer federation on Monday, minutes before the world governing body was due to ban the country from international matches over political interference in filling the post.
FIFA had said it would suspend Nigeria at 1100 GMT – thereby excluding the team from next month’s African Cup of Nations qualifiers – over alleged state meddling in the running of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF).
The NFF voted in FIFA’s recognised…
Nigeria’s government contacted FIFA over the weekend in a last-ditch move to stave off a proposed suspension of the Nigeria Football Federation as a result of the ongoing crisis in the country’s football.
Sources told KweséESPN that the government sent a letter to FIFA, assuring world football’s governing body that Amaju Pinnick and his Exco were in charge of football in the country.
Additionally, the government assured FIFA that football in the country was being run — and will continue to…
In what appears to be a move to find a negotiated settlement to Nigerian football’s ongoing crisis, the NFF Congress have extended an olive branch to Chris Giwa — on the condition that he terminate his legal proceedings.
A statement after an Extraordinary General Assembly of the NFF on Thursday offered to lift a ban on Giwa and others, reinstate his club Giwa FC into the league, and open the electoral process to anyone — including Giwa — to take part.
“The Congress having duly deliberated on…