The U.S. Women’s National Team thrashed Nigeria’s Super Falcons 4-0 in front of a boisterous crowd of 14,502 at Children’s Mercy Park.

The USA, which outshot Nigeria 14-8, put their opponents under pressure from the opening whistle and by the time the first water break arrived midway through the opening half, the Americans had a 2-0 lead thanks to forward Sophia Smith scoring on a breakaway and midfielder Lindsey Horan converting off a Smith feed in the right side of the penalty area.

Smith would tack on a second strike in first half stoppage time, giving the USA a commanding 3-0 advantage going into the break.

Soon after the teams began the second half, forward Mallory Pugh raced into the Super Falcons’ penalty box on the left side where she was fouled by Nicole Payne.

Forward Alex Morgan dispatched the resulting penalty with aplomb in the 52nd minute to provide what would be the final margin of victory.

It was a dream debut for Nigerian striker Sadiq Umar as he scored a goal in their 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid in a Spanish La Liga game.

The 2016 Rio Olympics highest goal scorer and bronze medalist joined Real Sociedad from Almeria on a four-year deal on transfer deadline day.

He wasted no time in winning over fans of his new employers with a scintillating goal.

The match ended 1-1 but Sadiq has now scored 3 consecutive goals in the La Liga this season.

If Nigeria ends up losing the gold medal, the outing in Birmingham will no longer be the country’s best-ever as widely celebrated.

There are strong indications that Nigeria may be stripped of one of the gold medals won at the recently held Commonwealth Games n Birmingham, England.

The gold medal won in the 4x100m Women’s event is now under threat after the failed dope test of one of the athletes in the winning quartet of Tobi Amusan, Favour Ofili, Rose Chukwuma and Grace Nwokocha.

The quartet had se a new games record of 42.10s to win what was Nigeria’s 11th gold medal in Birmingham and it was a historic moment for the country at the Games.

However, with the latest developments, the fanfare and excitement that came with that gold medal and the African record will amount to nothing owing to the doping rules.

The doping rule nullifies any performance in its entirety, even if just a member of the team is guilty of the doping infraction.

The fact that it is only the relay gold that Nigeria risks losing suggests the culprit is not Tobi Amusan who also won the 100m Women’s hurdles gold.

Though the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN is yet to make a public statement on the identity of the erring athlete, an official in the AFN board confirmed how devastated they are by the sad turn of events.
“I cannot talk to you yet on the issue. Just wait for the official statement that would be released, but this is very sad. Just when we thought we were making some headway, this has really brought us back,” the AFN official told PREMIUM TIMES.

The Athletics Integrity Unit, the body in charge of global doping cases, is also yet to make a public statement on the matter since the result of the ‘B’ sample, which is often the same as ‘A’ is still being awaited.

Incidentally, the AIU in the build-up to the Commonwealth Games had praised Nigeria for its improved effort at combating doping.

Unlike the Tokyo Olympics, where Nigeria had 10 of its athletes barred from competing for failing to do the required number of out-of-competition tests, the case was different in Oregon at the World Championship where Nigeria had a clean bill of health.

“While Nigeria did a paltry 26 tests in 2021, it has already conducted 157 this term, and the quantum improvement has been hailed even though it is admitted that even more can still be done to totally get rid of cheats in the sports.

“It is accepted now in our sport that National Federations must play their part in supporting anti-doping efforts,” David Howman, Chair of the AIU Board said in a statement issued about two weeks before the commencement of the Commonwealth Games.

If Nigeria ends up losing the relay medal, the outing in Birmingham will no longer be the country’s best-ever at the Commonwealth Games as widely celebrated.

The Head of safety and Security for Confederation of African Football (CAF), Dr. Christian Emeruwa, has said that he was eligible to run as the head of the country’s football body.

Speaking on his eligibility for the presidency of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in Lagos yesterday, Emeruwa revealed that the provisions in the NFF Electoral Act made it possible for him to run despite spurious claims by others eyeing the leadership of Sunday Dankaro house that the seasoned sports administrator was not qualified to run.

Emeruwa said he was more than competent to contest for the election, adding it would be

 a turnaround time’ for Nigerian football since his vision and strategy would be in tandem with international best practices.

Emeruwa, quoting from the NFF Electoral Act, said inter alia : “For the election of the President, two-third of the votes recorded as valid should be necessary in the first ballot. In a second or any other requisite ballot, an absolute majority of votes recorded, 50 percent or more is sufficient if there are more than two candidates.

“Only members of the NFF may propose candidates for the office of the President of NFF. Members shall notify the general secretariat in writing on the name of the candidate for the president of the NFF at least two months before the date of the General Assembly.”

He continued:” The statutes did not say only members can become president, it states only members can propose candidates for the president. Members include state associations, referee associations, coaches associations, leagues and players unions.

“I am from Abia state and I am being proposed (to run) by my state football association because my state association is a member of the Nigeria Football Federation.

“Let nobody deceive us, the statues are clear on how the candidates for President should be proposed. The statues never said you must be a member and when you go further and read the electoral guidelines: ‘Eligibility; the person shall be to contest election into the executive committee if; 1: he is a citizen of Nigeria in accordance with the provision Subsection 39 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’, I am not a Nigerian?” he queried.

He said his administration if elected, would ‘want to remodel the existing foundation of Nigerian football and build a new foundation whose pillars will be enshrined on administrative competence, credibility, transparence, accountability and above all, integrity’ and insisted that he will have zero tolerance for corruption

“My strategy and vision is to rebuild the NFF as a world class, innovative organisation , inspiring a whole nation and every boy and girl to be part of the Nigerian football family,” he noted.

Emeruwa’s declaration in Lagos was attended by former Secretary General of Nigeria football, Dr. Bolaji Ojo-Oba who described him fit for the exalted position.

Paris Saint-Germain must pay 10 million euros ($10 million) for breaking UEFA financial rules, with seven other clubs also punished for overspending since 2018.

UEFA said its club finance investigators ordered prize money from European competitions totaling 26 million euros to be withheld from the eight clubs sanctioned under Financial Fair Play rules.

A further 146 million euros in total punishments could be imposed if the clubs fail to meet financial targets in the next three to four years they have agreed to in settlement deals, UEFA said.

PSG will have the biggest amount deducted. A group of Italian clubs were next in line: Roma must forfeit prize money of 5 million euros, Inter Milan 4 million euros, Juventus 3.5 million euros and AC Milan 2 million euros.

French champion PSG declined to comment on the case, which covered the 2021-22 season when it added Lionel Messi to a super forward line that already featured Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.

AC Milan said in a statement, “We will continue with confidence on the virtuous path towards financial sustainability.” The Italian champion was bought this week by American investors RedBird Capital Partners in a 1.2-billion euros deal that included the New York Yankees as a minority partner.

The other deductions imposed by UEFA were 600,000 euros from Besiktas and 300,000 euros each from Marseille and Monaco.

Nottingham Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi (left) against Kyle Walker at Etihad Stadium in Britain on Aug 31, 2022. 

Nottingham Forest returned to the Premier League  following a 23-year absence and, judging by their summer shopping spree, they look determined to stay in the top flight after bringing in an English record 21 players in a single transfer window.

On Thursday’s (Sept 1) transfer deadline day, the newly promoted side completed deals for Wolverhampton Wanderers centre-back Willy Boly, Blackpool winger Josh Bowler – who was loaned to Greek side Olympiakos – and defender Loic Bade on loan from Rennes.

The previous English record for the most signings in one transfer window was Crystal Palace’s 17 in the summer of 2013, according to specialist website Transfermarkt.

Forest, who earned promotion through the Championship play-offs, have spent close to £150 million (S$243 million) rebuilding a team ravaged by the departures of five players on free transfers as well as five on-loan players.

The East Midlands club smashed their transfer record to sign midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White for a reported initial fee of £25 million, while also spending big to sign striker Taiwo Awoniyi and defender Neco Williams for £18 million each.

Among other high-profile arrivals are England international Jesse Lingard, who joined on a free transfer, with goalkeeper Dean Henderson and left-back Renan Lodi arriving on loan from Manchester United and Atletico Madrid, respectively.

Under manager Steve Cooper, Forest have taken four points from their opening five games and sit 15th in the league standings ahead of Saturday’s trip to Everton.

S. Open – Flushing Meadows, New York, United States – September 2, 2022 Serena Williams of the U.S. shake hands with Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic after losing their third round match

Ajla Tomljanovic admitted to feeling “a little bit like the villain” after she beat her idol Serena Williams on Friday at the U.S Open in what was likely the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s final match.

The Australian overcame a Serena-crazed sold-out crowd and an in-form Williams to emerge with a hard-fought 7-5 6-7(4) 6-1 third-round victory under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium.

It was probably the most conflicted I’ve ever felt after a win,” she told reporters.

“During the match I was so eager to win. I wanted to win as much as the next person because I didn’t look at her like, Oh, Serena, her last tournament.

“But then when it ended, it almost didn’t feel right. When she started talking about her family and everything, I got emotional because I can relate to having a strong bond with your family.”

A tearful Williams, who is considered by many to be the greatest of all time, thanked her family and fans for what she called “an incredible journey” over her 27-year career in an on-court interview before an adoring crowd.

Tomljanovic, 29, said the journey that Serena and her older sister Venus have been on has served as a lifelong inspiration to her.

“Growing up I didn’t really have idols, but Serena and Venus were just so good that I looked up to them the most,” she said.

To beat Serena, Tomljanovic said she took a page out of the six-time U.S. Open champion’s book.

“Serena one time said she only thinks about the next point,” she said. “If I’m playing her, I might use her tactic.”

Asked how it feels to be the answer to a possible future tennis trivia question about who beat Serena Williams in her last match, Tomljanovic said it would be “cool” to be part of tennis history.

“No one’s going to pronounce my name right,” she said with a laugh. “That’s going to suck.”