The reigning world champion also signed another mega-deal

The athletics season is officially over but World 100m record holder Tobi Amusan has continued to hug the headlines for the right reasons.

From her arrival at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport a fortnight ago, till now, Amusan has been the beautiful bride of all: the media houses, the government, corporate bodies and all a sundry.

On Wednesday night in Lagos, Amusan was treated to a befitting Homecoming Dinner by her Sports management outfit, Plug Sports.

Obi Asika (M) and other guests at the event

The well-attended dinner, which took place in Victoria Island, Lagos had in attendance guests from the entertainment industry, political figures, socialites and reporters alike.

The dignitaries include Nigerian hip-hop legend, Naeto C, Obi Asika, Adesola Adesugba, Bukola Olopadenilayo, FK Abudu and a host of others.

There were also major appearances from Flutterwave, who signed a multi-year partnership with Amusan.

“It’s very difficult to find athletes who embody our core values the way Tobi does.” a representative of the company told reporters.

The World Athletics had on Tuesday ratified Amusan’s World Record of 12.12s (0.9) set at the World Championships after winning the gold medal in the women’s 100m hurdles at the 2022 Commonwealth games.

The current record held by Amusan was an improvement on the 12.20s, set by USA’s Kendra Harrison in London in 2016 and followed that with a wind-assisted 12.06 (2.5m/s) to dominate the final.

Ratified record

Speaking with reporters at the Lagos event, Amusan, who was elated with the reception and enthusiasm shown by the guests seeing her in their midst, said the ratification of her record by the World Athletics was a breath of fresh air, as she knew she already bagged the record but was happy to know that the milestone was now cast in stone.

“It’s a breath of fresh air for me and I’m still getting a hang of everything happening to me right now. My 200 million soldiers across Nigeria supported me through the World Championships, Commonwealth Games and the Diamond League, I trust them.

“As an athlete, I eat everything that I can, especially things that can give me energy,” Amusan said.

Speaking on the build-up to her historical moment in Oregon, Amusan said it didn’t come easy as it looked.

“Yes, definitely. I’ve got injuries a couple of times,” she said.

“There was so much I needed to do when it comes to my health as a professional athlete, and staying on top of my game required a lot of funding.”

National honour

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, recently conferred the Officer of the Niger (OON) national honour on Amusan following her exploits in the past three months.

“It’s a great feeling to be recognised by the president.

“In as much as we did the work, it was an honour that they realised that we did the nation proud and it was a great feeling getting that title,” she said.

Proudly, Amusan is a world champion, a world record holder in (12.12s), a Diamond League champion, an African champion, a Commonwealth champion, and a national champion, with 17 wins in 25 races in the just-ended athletics season.

Plug Sports, which currently manages Amusan, also have some other sports personalities in their stable, including Henry Onyekuru, Asisat Oshoala and Clement Ugah.

The punishment slammed on the Nigerian-American coach is widely seen as one of the harshest ever in NBA history.

The Boston Celtics have come down hard on their Nigerian-American head coach, Ime Udoka.

The NBA franchise on their official Twitter handle late Thursday night announced they have suspended Udoka for the entire 2022-23 NBA season for “violations of team policies.”

“A decision about his future with the Celtics beyond this season will be made at a later date,” the team said in a statement.

“The suspension takes effect immediately.”

Though the Celtics were silent about what Udoka’s policy violations were, an earlier report by ESPN and The Athletic revealed the 45-year-old had a consensual relationship with a female member of the Celtics staff that broke the franchise’s code of conduct.

Udoka’s season-long suspension ranks among the harshest ever issued to an NBA head coach and it is coming barely a week to the commencement of the Celtics’ pre-season training camp.

In a statement, Udoka said he has graciously accepted the Celtics’ decision and would make no further comments on the issue.

“I want to apologise to our players, fans, the entire Celtics organisation, and my family for letting them down,” Udoka said. “I am sorry for putting the team in this difficult situation, and I accept the team’s decision.

“Out of respect for everyone involved, I will have no further comment.”

A former key player with Nigeria’s D’Tigers, Udoka is the 18th head coach of the Celtics after he had previously served as an assistant for nine years with the club.

Though born and raised in the United States, Udoka’s late father was born in Nigeria, which qualified Udoka for Nigerian citizenship.

Among other numerous appearances, Udoka played for the Nigerian men’s basketball team at the 2006 FIBA World Championships.

Udoka played seven seasons in the NBA, the last four with San Antonio before his playing career ended in 2011.

Udoka’s sister, Mfon, not only played for the Nigeria women’s team, D’Tigress but also led the team for a long while and was at a time a member of the coaching crew.

Super Eagles head coach, Jose Peseiro says the team will strive to win every game under his tutelage.

The three-time African champions will take on the Desert Foxes in the first of two friendlies at the Mohamed Hamlaoiul Stadium, Constantine on Friday

The Eagles lost their first two games under the Portuguese but are now unbeaten in their last two matches.

Peseiro is determined to see his side extend their unbeaten run against the Algerians.

“Every time we want to win because Nigeria are one of the best teams in Africa and we have to create the habit to win always,” Peseiro told NFF TV.

“Algeria have a good national team.

“But we want to improve our team because we want to win the next AFCON,” he added.

Fifteen players have quit the Spanish women’s national team in an “unprecedented” mass resignation, the Spanish football federation (RFEF) announced late Thursday, coming after weeks of speculations of divisions in the camp.

Spanish media has recently reported that part of the women’s national team wanted coach Jorge Vilda to be sacked.

The RFEF on Thursday published a statement saying that 15 players had each sent them the same email of resignation.

“They state the current situation generated affects them ‘significantly’ in their ’emotional state’ and their ‘health’ and that ‘as long as it is not reversed’, they are resigning from the national team of Spain,” the federation announced.

Condemning the players for questioning “the continuity of the national coach”, RFEF said they will not “call up players who do not want to wear the Spain shirt”.

“The Federation will only use committed players, even if it means playing with youth players,” it said

“It is an unprecedented situation in the history of soccer, both men’s and women’s, in Spain and worldwide.”

A Spanish radio station COPE reported that current Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas, out injured for the season, was not among the players who resigned.

But her Barcelona teammates Patri Guijarro, Mapi Leon, Sandra Panos, Aitana Bonmati, Claudia Pina and Mariona Caldentey were in the group.

Manchester United’s Ona Batlle and Lucia Garcia and Manchester City’s Leila Ouahabi and Laia Aleixandri were also reported to be among those who have resigned.

Earlier this month, the Spanish women’s league season was delayed by a week after a refereeing strike caused the postponement of the first round of fixtures. Some have called for independent investigation into the reasons fronted by the players and the on goings in the national team.