The former international ignored the hurt and disappointment of the last few days to send well wishes to his compatriots and the Portuguese manager

Coach Augustine Eguavoen has sent heartfelt messages to supporters of the Super Eagles and AS Roma’s manager Jose Mourinho.

In an interim capacity, Eguavoen led the Nigerian national team to a disappointing second-round elimination at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

It is the first time the Super Eagles would be knocked out at the Round of 16 stage since it was introduced to the Nations Cup.

The abrupt exit was even more shocking considering that the Eagles played some of their best football in recent times, recording three straight wins over Egypt, Sudan, and Guinea-Bissau in the group stage.

There were even talks of Nigeria being one of the favourites to lift the title in Cameroon, raising fans’ expectations on a team that was not given much of a chance to impress a few days to the tournament.

But all those hopes were dashed when Tunisia’s Carthage Eagles inflicted a 1-0 defeat on the Super Eagles to dump them out of the Afcon.

Many Nigerian fans have been disappointed, hurt, and angry since Sunday after that unexpected result.

But Eguavoen, while appreciating the fans’ immense support, has urged them to keep their faith in the Super Eagles as the team will return more potent than ever.

“Our greatest strength is in the fact that we always come back stronger. Your support of the Team over the past few weeks has been exceptional.

“Thank you Naija, we will be back,” the former defender wrote on social media.

Eguavoen also sent birthday wishes to AS Roma manager Jose Mourinho.

The former Chelsea and Manchester United tactician, regarded as one of the best in the business, turned 59 on Wednesday, January 26.

And posting a picture he took with the Portuguese manager, Eguavoen wrote: “Happy 59th Birthday to the Special One, José Mourinho.”

The Super Eagles return to action in March to face arch-rivals Ghana’s Black Stars in the FIFA World Cup final playoff round.

But it is yet unclear whether Eguavoen will continue with the team permanently or Portuguese manager Jose Peseiro, hired in December, will take over in the coming days.

Talks for Anthony Joshua to step aside from his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk are on the verge of collapse.

WBC champion Tyson Fury and his team were working to convince Joshua to forfeit his right to fight unified champion Usyk so an undisputed heavyweight bout could take place.

But talks have broken down with both sides blaming the other.

Fury is now expected to fight mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte – with purse bids for the bout due on Friday.

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn first broke the news on Thursday at a news conference for Lawrence Okolie’s upcoming cruiserweight world title defence.

“There are four people in this mix – Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, Dillian Whyte, Anthony Joshua – and everybody has to be on board with the same proposal,” Hearn told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“Ultimately it’s Tyson Fury who doesn’t want to fight Oleksandr Usyk next in an undisputed fight, he wants to have an interim fight in March. There’s no conversation to be had.

“As we stand here right now, Dillian Whyte against Tyson Fury will go to purse bids tomorrow [Friday] in Mexico City.”

Fury’s co-promoter Frank Warren described Hearn’s version of events as “rubbish”, insisting Fury was not the reason the fight was not going ahead.

Team Fury claim negotiations hit a brick wall when Joshua asked for £20m rather than the £15m already on offer.

“Deal is dead. We move on to [Fury v Whyte] purse bids tomorrow,” Warren told BBC Sport.

While Hearn admitted it was unlikely a step-aside deal over a rematch could be done, Joshua’s promoter said there was still a chance an agreement could be reached.

“They’re never over, up until those envelopes are open,” Hearn said.

“But there’s no real negotiations for Fury against Whyte outside of purse bids. It would take Tyson Fury probably to say ‘yeah OK look maybe I’ll fight Usyk’, but you never know what he’s going to do.

“Right now this morning he wants to fight Dillian Whyte. He hasn’t really mentioned that before but right now that’s what we’re doing. We’ll be ready to bid tomorrow.”

Joshua is believed to be against the idea of stepping aside while his team, which includes Hearn and his management company 258 MGT, see the benefits of penning a step-aside deal, with the two-time heavyweight world champion set to make changes to his coaching team.

Fury tweeted soon after the news broke of talks breaking down that he was looking forward to fighting his mandatory challenger Whyte.

He said: “Who else can’t wait for the fight? The best of Britain.”

World number one Novak Djokovic is set to make his return to action in Dubai next month.

The 34-year-old was deported from Australia on the eve of the Australian Open after losing a court bid to overturn his visa cancellation.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner is on the entry list for the Dubai ATP Tour event, which begins on 21 February.

Entrants to Dubai, where the Serb is a five-time winner, do not need to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

Tennis Australia said it deeply regret the impact Djokovic’s deportation saga had on players at the Australian Open, as the focus on the 2021 champion’s fate overshadowed the build-up to this year’s tournament.

Djokovic was initially granted a medical exemption to enter Australia by two independent health panels after testing positive for coronavirus in mid-December, however the Australian Border Force detained him for not meeting federal Covid requirements.

Formula 1’s governing body is planning a new race-management structure in an attempt to avoid a repeat of the problems at last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

There is widespread acceptance across the sport that race director Michael Masi failed to follow the rules correctly during a late safety-car period in the title-deciding race.

That resulted in Red Bull’s Max Verstappen passing Lewis Hamilton on the final lap to beat the Mercedes driver to the title.

Governing body the FIA has been seeking the teams’ views on the matter.

The inquiry launched after Abu-Dhabi is still ongoing and no concrete conclusions have yet been reached.

But sources have told BBC Sport that the FIA’s plans are to introduce a series of safeguards that will leave the race director freer to make decisions in a calmer environment.

Many insiders admit that Masi made a series of operational errors in the closing laps at Yas Marina that were contrary to the rules and accepted protocols – and there remain serious questions about his future in the role.

At the same time, it has been accepted that the Australian was left exposed, isolated and under too much pressure in the final laps of the race.

A support structure is being planned for the race director, insiders say.

This is likely to include a barrier between that role and the teams to avoid the direct lobbying to which Masi was subjected from the team bosses of both Mercedes and Red Bull in Abu Dhabi.

Revisions to the operations of the stewards – who are independent of the race director and decide on penalties for breaches of the rules – are also being considered.

Will Masi keep his job?

Removing Masi and finding a new race director is a recommendation some of the teams have made to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, BBC Sport has learned.

Some senior insiders say they cannot see how Masi can credibly remain in his role into another season, arguing not only that Abu Dhabi fatally undermined his credibility, but that the errors he made there were merely the biggest and latest of a series over the course of the 2021 season and before.

And high-level sources say that the most likely scenario is that a new race director will be installed for the 2022 season.

However, there is far from unanimity on the matter. Other teams are said be either ambivalent as to whether Masi stays or would have no problem with it, as long as a more effective support system was put in place around him.

Red Bull denied that they had called for Masi to go. Ferrari said they were not aware of any such request. Mercedes, McLaren, Alpine, Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo and Haas were unavailable. Williams said it “does not believe it is for teams to decide FIA personnel”.

The drivers’ views on Masi remain unclear, although a number complained over the course of last season about the inconsistency of decisions, particularly in the context of some of the battles between Hamilton and Verstappen.

The FIA was unavailable for comment but Ben Sulayem said in a letter to FIA member clubs after his election that he “will take all the necessary decisions after examining the findings of the detailed analysis on this subject decided unanimously by the World Motor Sport Council meeting in Paris last 15 December.

“I will do so in complete independence, refusing any pressure from any quarter, in the sole interest of our sport.”

Why is this a big deal?

The fallout from Abu Dhabi remains the single biggest topic facing F1 and the FIA.

The credibility of the sport has been called into question – the FIA itself has admitted it was “tarnishing the image” of F1.

And Hamilton, who is said to have lost trust in the FIA will not decide whether to return to F1 this year, until he has an understanding of the actions the governing body plans to take to address the concerns that arose during 2021 over race management.

There is a feeling that the FIA initially believed the furore over Abu Dhabi would die down with time.

But one influential senior figure told BBC Sport: “Anyone thinking this would go away has not realised the gigantic size of this event.”

Where is the FIA’s inquiry?

Ben Sulaymen has consulted with all the team bosses to seek their views on what went wrong in Abu Dhabi and what changes could be made to militate against a repeat.

The FIA’s secretary general for motorsport and executive director of single-seaters Peter Bayer last week took part in a meeting of the teams’ sporting directors, which the FIA says was part of the inquiry into Abu Dhabi.

Masi chaired the meeting, but insiders say he recused himself when the subject turned to the operation of the safety car in Abu Dhabi and the consequences and ramifications of that.

It was agreed at the meeting that, in future, the race director’s actions have to be predictable – it was Masi’s improvisations around and failure to follow the rules in Abu Dhabi that led to the outcry after the race.

Bayer is next expected to meet the F1 drivers to seek their views on Abu Dhabi and other matters, although no date has yet been set for this meeting.

Following that is a meeting of the F1 Commission – which involves the teams, the FIA and F1 – on 14 February, at which it is expected that the changes the FIA proposes as a result of Abu Dhabi will be discussed.

What is the fuss about

Hamilton lost out in Abu Dhabi after Masi over-rode the rules with regard to the operation of the safety car.

Masi’s motivation, it is said, was an apparent attempt to ensure the race did not end under caution. It had been previously agreed by the teams that, in the event of a late safety car, ending grands prix under racing conditions was a preferable outcome where possible.

But the result was that Masi failed to apply the rules correctly in two separate areas – over dealing with lapped cars, and in the timing of the restart.

In doing so, Hamilton, who was on course to win the race and the world title, was left a sitting duck on old tyres when the race resumed for just one final lap and Verstappen, on fresh tyres, passed him to take the race and the championship.

Heartland FC have been given up to close of business on Friday, January 28 to provide evidence of compliance in respect to payment of overdue payments  to players and Coaches.

The League Management Company (LMC) in a memo reminded the club of its undertaken through a letter dated January 11, 2022 in response to LMC letter of inquiry dated  January 7 requesting for 14 days moratorium to clear the overdue payments and provide proof to the LMC.

n the ultimatum conveyed through the LMC memo, ” you will recall that you requested 14 days moratorium within which to settle your outstanding liabilities to players and officials salaries your club admitted owing and that the process is on-going to ensure settlement. The grace period has elapsed”

“You are therefore to furnish us with the current position of the payments before close of work tomorrow, Friday, January 28, 2022 to enable us endorse to the relevant bodies for action.

“Should we not receive any submission by the stated time, we would assume no payments have been made and we will take a decision in line with the NPFL Rulebook and Club Licensing regulations”, ended the memo signed by Salihu Abubakar, the LMC Chief Operating Officer.

Patrick Boamah, the Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central has advised the Ghana Football Association to forfeit the World Cup play-off between the Black Stars of Ghana and Super Eagles of Nigeria.

Ghanaweb, an online publication reports that the paliamentarian remarked that the Black Stars in their current state is no match for the Nigerian team and that it will be in the interest of Ghana to forfeit that game.

He is reported to have advocated the dissolution of the Black Stars and contended that the Black Stars should embark on no international competition for the next five years

The lawmaker said that whereas Nigeria distinguished itself at the AFCON, the Black Stars failed miserably.

“If need be we should dissolve our national team and prepare a team over the next five years.

“We should not waste our time playing Nigeria in the next World Cup qualifier. Look at the team Nigeria has, even though they are out of the tournament I don’t think with this current set-up, we can stand the Nigerians.”

The performance of the Black Stars at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations formed the heart of debate by the Parliament of Ghana on Wednesday, January 26, 2021

The MPs took turns to advance why Ghana football needed to be wheeled out of its current abysmal state.

The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu charged the Minister of Youth and Sports to put in place the needed measures to qualify the team for the World Cup.

“The Ghanaian people expect the Black Stars to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar this year. That is what we ask of you, make sure we qualify for Qatar and perform better than we did in Cameroon,” the Minority Leader said on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, January 26, 2022.

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote has explained when he’ll buy Arsenal, according to reports by UK newspaper, Mirror.

Aliko Dangote has been Africa’s Richest Man for the past 11 years and the billionaire has regularly spoken about wanting to buy Arsenal – although the Kroenke’s are adamant the club is not for sale.

rsenal’s ownership under the Kroenke’s has been a rocky road. The American businessman became majority shareholder of the Gunners in 2011 and the club have since found success hard to come by.

That has led to spells of discontent amongst fans, as well as interested parties throwing their hat into the ring to buy the club.

Last year, in the wake of the European Super League scandal, Swedish businessman and Spotify founder Daniel Ek launched a high-profile takeover bid which was abruptly turned down.

The Kroenke’s insisted at the time that the club is not for sale under any circumstances, issuing a statement saying: “In recent days we have noted media speculation regarding a potential takeover bid for Arsenal Football Club. We remain 100% committed to Arsenal and are not selling any stake in the Club. We have not received any offer and we will not entertain any offer.”

Whilst the Kroenke’s resisted that £1.8billion offer and look set to maintain the same stance, they could have another takeover proposal to consider in the near future.

That’s because Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has regularly stated his desire to try and buy the club.

Speaking in January 2020, he outlined he would look at launching a takeover as soon as he finished other projects he was working on.

At that time, he suggested 2021 as a potential target date, but that has now passed and the timeline of his other projects is unclear.

Speaking in 2020, Dangote said of Arsenal: ”It is a team that yes I would like to buy some day, but what I keep saying is we have $20billion worth of projects and that’s what I really want to concentrate on.

“I’m trying to finish building the company and then after we finish, maybe some time in 2021 we can.

“I’m not buying Arsenal right now, I’m buying Arsenal when I finish all these projects, because I’m trying to take the company to the next level.”

Dangote and other interested parties have been told exactly how much it would likely cost to takeover the Gunners – or another ‘big six’ club.

In March 2020, Bob Ratcliffe – head of the football division for Ineos and brother of Sir Jim Ratcliffe claimed: “They’re all for sale”

Ghana has fired coach Milovan Rajevac after the country’s early exit from the group stage at the ongoing African Cup of Nations.

“This follows the receipt of the technical report from the coach, and the report from the management committee, following Ghana’s early exit from the Africa Cup of Nations,” a GFA statement on Wednesday said.

The Black Stars will look to hire a replacement before its two-leg World Cup playoff against Nigeria in March.

“The GFA will soon announce the reconstituted technical team and management committee after due engagement with all relevant stakeholders.” The GFA said.

Ghana finished in last place in its group at the African Cup after collecting one point from games against Morocco, Gabon and Comoros.

The 3-2 loss to tournament debutant Comoros in their final group match was one of the biggest shocks in the competition’s history.

68-year-old Rajevac was hired in September 2021 for a second spell in charge of the national team.

“We firmly believe that we have the right man in place, a coach who is very experienced, a coach who knows our country…” Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku, Ghana Football Association president said.

The Serbian coach also led Ghana from 2008-10, guiding the team to the quarterfinals of the World Cup in 2010.