Former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has been ranked No.1 by The Ring magazine in the latest rankings while rival Tyson Fury misses out after he gave up his belt when he announced he was retired in August.

Joshua suffered his second consecutive defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in September, which has put him out of the heavyweight world title picture for the first time in several years.

Meanwhile, Fury declared he had retired from the sport after his successful title defence against Dillian Whyte, but has now announced he will return on December in Cardiff.

Fury’s on-off retirement from the sport appears to be the reason he has been left out of the Ring Magazine rankings with the likes of Whyte and Luis Ortiz making the top 10 ahead of him in fifth and sixth respectively. Joshua tops the pile having recently fought for the title belt against Usyk, which was put on the line for their rematch after the ‘Gypsy King’ ditched the title.

The Ring Magazine belt is not a typical world title like the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO, but regarded as a prestigious trophy handed out only when the best fight the best

Although Fury has now confirmed suspicions that he’s not really retired after all, Ring have not yet decided to re-rank him. It appears this will not happen until he fights again on December 3.

Hosts Bendel Dynamos defeated Confluence Kings 24-14 on the second day of the National Division One Handball League in Benin, Edo State, to begin their quest for a place in the elite division.

Uyigue Enomwen propelled his side to a comfortable win over Confluence Kings, while the home fans played their part in an entertaining game.

In another game in the men’s category, Delta Force were no match for Correction Boys, despite an MVP performance from Obaro Ughojo, as they were beaten 22-15.

In the only match in the women’s category, star player Nesto Abigail could not save Mindscope Academy as they lost 27-21 to a Vera John-led Bayelsa Queens.

Match-Day three games will see Dynamos and Correction Boys faceoff in what promises to be an exciting tie in the men’s category, while new entrant Idah Pillars battle Delta Force.

In the women’s category, Abia Valliants have a chance of starting on a good note in their quest to get back to the Prudent Energy Handball Premier League, as they tackle Mindscope Academy.

Emmanuel Dennis’ horrific winless streak in the Premier League was extended to 12-straight games (11 defeats and a draw) following Nottingham Forest’s 1-1 draw at home against Aston Villa on Monday

The 24-year-old, who joined the Tricky Trees in a £20m switch in the summer, powered home a header on his full league debut since arriving at City Ground, against the Villains.

But his goal was canceled out by Ashley Young’s thunderous strike. However, Forest held firm to earn a draw and put an end to five straight Premier League defeats.

The goal earned Steve Cooper’s side a point as they currently have just five from their opening nine matches, after returning to the topflight for the first time in over two decades.

The Nigerian forward lost his last six games in the English topflight at Watford and has been on the losing side for Forest in all five of his six league appearances so far.

A defeat against the Villains would have edged him even closer to joining the Premier League’s biggest losers.

Norwich accounts for half the top 10, with the likes of Tim Krul, Max Aarons, Teemu Pukki, Kenny McLean and Adam Idah all suffering from the Canaries’ regular Premier League struggles.

Jack Grealish still holds the all-time record, with the England star suffering a barren run of 20 successive losses.

The £100m man’s unwanted feat began on his senior debut when he appeared as a substitute in a 4-0 defeat to his current team, Manchester City in May 2014.

Grealish’s losing streak was put on hold for years following Villa’s relegation two years later.

However, he found himself tasting defeat for the opening two topflight games at the start of the 2019/20 season upon their return, which took him past George McCartney’s previous 18-game run.

Meanwhile, Darren Bent told talkSPORT that Forest are being let down by star players – one of those being forward Dennis.

Cooper’s side have struggled at both ends of the pitch this season, scoring only seven goals with only Leicester – who sit 20th in the league – conceding more goals than Forest’s 22.

Dennis will hope to prove Bent wrong when his side travel to the Molineux to face Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.

Nigeria international Cyriel Dessers is delighted to end his goals drought after scoring for Cremonese in the Italian Serie A against Napoli on Sunday.

The 27-year-old Super Eagles striker netted his first goal, when he guided the ball past Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret shortly after the break on Sunday evening.

Dessers joined newly promoted Cremonese from Belgian side Genk for an undisclosed fee in the summer and has struggled to find the back of the net.

He had to wait for his ninth appearance before registering his first goal for the club, which turned out a mere consolation as Cremonese lost 4-1 to Napoli.

But Dessers was happy to have finally got off the mark in Italy as the former Heracles Almelo striker took to Twitter to express his joy.

First goal in Serie A, scoring under our curve was a great emotion. We continue to grow, to the next! Force Cremo,” Dessers wrote on his Twitter handle.

His fine form in the Belgian league last season earned him a call-up by Super Eagles coach José Santos Peseiro for the friendly against The Desert Foxes of Algeria in September.

Born in Belgium to a Belgian father and a Nigerian mother, Dessers chose to represent the Eagles at senior level and made his debut against Tunisia in an international friendly in Austria in October 2020.

Before joining Cremonese, Dessers hit the target three times in three games for KRC Genk in the Belgian league.

The 27-year-old also finished as the top scorer of the maiden Europa Conference League last season with 10 goals in 13 games.

The Nigerian Boxing Federation (NBF) has invited 30 boxers from across the country for a two-day trial, which begins today at the Brai Ayenote Boxing Gym, National Stadium, Lagos.

According to the Federation, the trials are aimed at selecting boxers that will represent Nigeria at the International Boxing Association (IBA) U-18 World Youth Championship billed to hold from November 14 to 26 at the Giudad Camilo Camp Arena, Spain.

According to NBF Secretary General, Dapo Akinyele, the 30 boxers (17 men and 13 women) were invited based on merit in accordance with their performance at the last National Youth Games.

NBF Vice President, Azania Omo-Agege Siena, who is also the vice president of Africa Boxing Confederation (ABC), said Nigeria’s participation in IBA programmes, especially at the youth level, such as the forthcoming championship, is significant as it will help in developing boxing in the country.

He disclosed that those, who excel at the end of the two-day trials, will be camped for further grooming ahead of the championship in Spain.

• Jighere is MVP as Airpop Alpha wins Mindgames Premier League 
Thrilled by scrabble’s growing awareness among youths and the country’s outstanding performance globally, chairman of Lekki Scrabble Club, Ebikeme Adowei, has urged government at all levels and the private sector to invest in the sport.

Adowei said the sport could be used to create employment for Nigerian youths, as it offers different championships within and outside the country.

Speaking on behalf of the teams that participated in the Mindgames Scrabble League (MSPL) at the grand finale of the tournament at NEBO Hall, NA Ordinance Barracks, Lagos, at the weekend, Adowie congratulated Airpop Alpha team for winning the league. He noted that his team, Lekki Bombers, which came second, as well as other teams’ involvement, showed that people can engage in a brain tasking and productive sport like scrabble throughout the year and get rewarded for their efforts if government and corporate Nigeria invests in its development.

“MGL has created a platform to empower people through participating in the sport they love.

“If more sponsors invest in scrabble competitions, it will provide jobs for the youths.

“The game of scrabble is brain tasking and also highly educative, which can add value to people’s intellectual well being. On behalf of other team members, I thank the organisers of the Mindgames Premier League for giving a new phase to the development of the sport in the country,” he said.

Also speaking on the sport, convener of the league, Lukman Owolabi, while commending the winners of the championship, Airpop, said that the Premier League, which is designed to keep players busy all through the year with financial benefits, has helped to create more awareness for the sport across the country.

“The Scrabble Premier League, which was introduced in 2019 as a team championship where top players organised themselves into groups to compete across selected cities in the country over four weekends, has helped to promote the game in Nigeria.

“With the Patrons Cup also added to the event to give individuals who don’t belong to any team opportunity to play in the championship, I believe there is more value in the tournament.

“People have to be engaged in scrabble all year round to be outstanding in the sport.

“Apart from scrabble, Mindgames is also focused on developing chess in Nigeria,” he said.

The former world number nine scrabble player also pleaded with corporate sponsors to involve their company in the Premier League.

Lagos, Benin and Abuja hosted games in the league’s A and B divisions.

Airpop Alpha got N1.5 million top prize, Lekki Bombers came second and got N800, 000 for their efforts, while Brainiacs earned N500, 000.

In Division B of the League, Southern Crowns emerged champions and gained immediate promotion to the elite division. Team Anagrammer came second, while Bayelsa Virtuosos won the third place.

Other monetary awards, trophies and medals were given to outstanding players and teams in the tourney, with former world champion, Wellington Jighere, who featured for Lekki Bombers in Division A winning the MVP award.

Timi Olaitan won the Patrons Cup, which was played at the same venue alongside the MGI League.

Plateau United coach says the first leg will help his team prepare properly for Saturday’s return leg

Fidelis Ilechukwu, Plateau United Technical Adviser says his team still has a 50/50 chance of qualifying for the 2022/23 CAF Champions League group stage.

Jos-based Plateau United on Sunday came from behind to beat Esperance of Tunisia 2-1 in a CAF Champions League second preliminary round first leg fixture in Abuja.

Ilechukwu, however, told reporters at a post-match press conference that the result meant both teams still had a 50/50 chance of qualifying for the competition’s group stage.

He admitted that even though his team won the match, they still had a lot to do if they hope to progress.

“To me, it’s a 50/50 chance for us now because this is football.

“After all, nobody believed that we were going to win this game due to the experience and pedigree of our opponents.

“Before this game, we had talked to ourselves and had a good discussion on the need to ensure we score a lot of goals in the first leg here at home.

“We have found ourselves in this kind of situation so many times before, even in the local league, and we have always dug deep to emerge victorious at the end.

“So, I wasn’t really bothered when we were a goal down because I knew the quality of players that I have.

“I was confident that they will bounce back and win the game,” the coach said.

He, however, stated that the job was not yet done.

“We will go back to the drawing and re-strategise to ensure that we perfect our tactics and approach to the game,” Ilechukwu said.

He added that their goal ahead of the game was to gain experience and use the first leg to prepare for what they intend to achieve in the return fixture.

“So, we will build from what we have achieved here today and ensure that we approach the second leg with more strength and vigour.

“We are not going to sit back and defend in the second leg in Tunisia, but we will rather come out all guns blazing because we understand what is at stake

We will quickly move on from this victory and approach the second leg as though we are still at par with our opponents,” the coach said.

Also, Mustapha Ibrahim, scorer of Plateau United’s second goal during the match, expressed gratitude to the fans who turned up to cheer the team.

FIFA is set to pay Europe’s leading clubs a record amount of $10,000 per player per day while their stars are at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Manchester City, Real Madrid, Tottenham and Barcelona were some of the top earners at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Four years ago, FIFA distributed $209million under its Club Benefits Programme.

The more players a club has at the tournament and the further they progress in the tournament, the more money they stand to earn under the scheme.

And the pot on offer has been increased from a rate of $8,530 (£6,440) per player per day in 2018 to $10,000 (£9,012) this time around.

It means Premier League clubs such as Chelsea, who have as many as 20 players in contention for World Cup selection, stand to profit most from their stars being away.

Man City could have as many as 17 internationals away in Qatar this time around.

The Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare has tasked the newly elected Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) to improve all levels of football in the country.

Dare dropped this charge on Tuesday, in his office, at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, when the NFF leadership paid him a courtesy visit.

The Minister said football is a national asset, a unifying force in Nigeria and the Federal Government, through his Ministry is interested in its growth and development.

His words: “I am happy to see that you have settled down to work as a team. I thank you for this courtesy visit and want to urge you to get down to business quickly to the enormous task ahead of you.

“You have to move the game in the right direction, where all the genuine stakeholders want it to go. You have to hold crucial and critical conversations before you take crucial decisions. Let the interest of the nation be the first and most important consideration in all you do.”

“As a new board, this is a new beginning. You have to move things to a higher level. If there are some areas of our football that are broken, then you must fix them and if some areas are unbroken, then don’t try to fix them.

“I urge you to improve all levels of our football, build strong national teams, well structured, efficiently run leagues by improving their governance structures.

“This new leadership must be aware and sensitive to the issues that will lead to the growth and development of our football and I promise that as a Ministry, we will continue to do our best to seek the right kind of funding for your programmes,” he added.

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Ismaila Abubakar congratulated the new board and charged them to work with the Ministry in developing the game.

The newly elected NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau thanked the Minister for his support and pledged, along with other members of his board, to work in the interest of the country.

Other members of the new NFF leadership on the visit were Ahmed Yusuf Fresh, Rabiu Inuwa, Aisha Falode, Margaret Icheen, Rt.Hon Essien Udofot and the General Secretary Dr Mohammed Sanusi.