In what looks like an addition to his usual philantropic gesture Super Eagles star Ahmed Musa has approved the reduction of pump price of his own filling station to help Nigerians lamenting over the fuel hike.

It will be recalled that few days after Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announced an increase of the petrol pump price to N617 per litre in some areas while some states now record price tag of N700 per litre.

The former Leicester City and Al Nassr ace made the announcement on his verified twitter page.

Via Twitter, Musa declares, “Fuel #580 @MYCA -7 Filling Station Kano”, sparking excitement among Nigerians.

One Twitter user, Scala @lakaas123, excitedly enquired How manage Alhaji? N580 in Kano when not in Lagos? Are you whining us?” to which Musa replies, “That is what me I decide to sell my own

In 2018, he purchased a filling station and was pictured personally filling up a tricycle.

He also owns a sports and fitness centre which also features all-weather football pitches in the northern region of Nigeria. Ahmed Musa is also encouraging education as he recently opened a new school where he donated books to according to him encourage leaders of tomorrow. I Visited one of my newly opened schools today to spread the magic of books and learning! Donated quite a number of textbooks to encourage our leaders of tomorrow” he had said on that occasion.

The Women’s World Cup being hosted by Australia and New Zealand is on track to be the best attended in the competition’s history, world football governing body FIFA has announced.

Ticket sales have now exceeded 1.5 million in just five days, a new benchmark for any FIFA women’s World Cup event.

At the 12 matches played by Tuesday morning, almost 364,000 people had attended games, Football Australia said.

This represented an average match attendance of 30,326, eclipsing the average of 21,756 for France 2019 and the historical tournament average of 24,780 for all FIFA women’s World Cup matches.

The 72 percent increase in attendance compared to France 2019 through the first 12 games further highlighted the growing popularity of women’s football globally, Football Australia said.

Australia alone has contributed over 1.1 million to the total ticket sales.

Broadcast viewership has also soared with the New Zealand versus Norway game being the most viewed women’s World Cup match in New Zealand history.

A television outfit, over one million viewers tuned in to watch the opening match.

In Australia, the game between Australia and the Republic of Ireland, also on the opening day of the tournament, recorded an average audience of 1.94 million viewers.

This nearly tripled the previous record and was about surpassing viewership figures from the FIFA men’s World Cup in Qatar.

“This tournament is creating history and we are delighted as Host Nation.

“We are seeing a surge in support for women’s football, not just in ticket sales, but also in broadcast viewership, fan festival participation and merchandise sales,” Football Australia chief executive James Johnson said.

Nigerian winger Samuel Chukwueze’s much-anticipated move to Milan is nearly done as the Italian giants have successfully concluded negotiations with Villarreal and the Nigeria international is set to undergo his medicals on Tuesday 

The deal is all but finalized, with only minor administrative formalities remaining to be resolved within the next few hours.

The final details are expected to be ironed out today once Chukwueze completes , paving the way for contract signings and official confirmation of the transfer.

Sources indicate that the transfer fee amounts to a substantial €20m, accompanied by an additional €8m in performance-related bonuses. Chukwueze’s current contract with Villarreal was due to expire at the end of the ongoing season, adding further motivation to finalize the deal swiftly.

One noteworthy complication as a result of his status as a Nigeria international, which means he does not possess an EU passport and this requires extra attention during the transfer process.

The 24-year-old forward is on the verge of committing to a five-year contract with Milan worth €3.6m, solidifying his position as the latest reinforcement to bolster their attacking prowess, alongside Christian Pulisic and Noah Okafor.

Chukwueze’s imminent arrival in Italy is expected on Tuesday for his medicals which will be the final step before he begins his journey as a proud Rossoneri.

The successful conclusion of this deal will prompt Milan to expedite his travel arrangements, ensuring his timely presence in the United States for the pre-season tour, where he will join Stefano Pioli’s squad.

As excitement builds within the Milan fan base, all eyes are now on the official announcement, eagerly awaiting Chukwueze’s debut in the iconic red and black jersey.

The Junior Yellow-Greens of Nigeria will on Monday launch their quest for a spot in the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka 2024 with an encounter with Sierra Leone at the University of Dar -es-Salam (UDSM) Cricket Oval in Tanzania.

The eight-day event, which got underway on Sunday with a rain-washed doubleheader between host Tanzania and Kenya on the one hand and Namibia and Uganda on the other, means that weather could be a factor in deciding the series.

Nigeria’s head coach, former national team player Daniel Gim, said his team is in good shape and looks forward to making the best of the talents that the team is made of.

“Mental preparation and game awareness are things we have been focusing on,” he said. “Our bowling is our trump card. It should take us over the line with the trio of Prosper Useni, captain Ridwan Abdulkareem and Chiemelie Udekwe at the front. In a round-robin event, everyone is our rival, and we will tackle them as they come.”

Only one World Cup ticket is being vied for by the six participating countries in Dar-es-Salaam. The teams include Nigeria, Kenya, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and host Tanzania.

President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Uyi Akpata, says Nigeria’s team is a product of grassroots campaigns and unrelenting commitment from stakeholders to grow the game.

“On the continents now, our efforts are being recognised, as more of our players are matching-up with the best,” he said. “We have, on several occasions, rattled the existing powerhouses of the game and hence every team here is very wary of Nigeria at this event.

“On our part, we have presented a team that is solely homegrown and a reflection of our best talents at the age category. We are more than confident we would be well-represented.”

Nigeria’s team, as part of their preparation, had a two-week drill at one of the best Cricket facilities in India in May. And, ahead of the games in Tanzania took on a select Rwandan side in Kigali in a three-way ODI tune-up game where they won two and lost one.

Nigeria had qualified for the final rounds of the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka 2024 through a Division-2 Qualifier hosted in Abuja in October 2022, where Kenya and Sierra Leone also picked their slots.

The Atletico Madrid star says she is in the best frame of mind to get her World Cup campaign underway.

Super Falcons midfield dynamo, Rasheedat Ajibade, has declared she is ‘pumped up’ for Thursday’s clash between Nigeria and Australia at the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Ajibade was unable to play any part in the Super Falcons’ opening group game against Canada as she was serving out a two-match ban.

Now good to go after serving out her ban, the Athletic Madrid star says she is in the best frame of mind to get her World Cup campaign underway even though she admits the game against Australia will be a difficult one for many reasons.

“Personally, I’m fine. Really pumped up for the game. It’s going to be a difficult game because we’re playing the host team in front of their own fans and at their own stadium with so much crowd. A lot of factors,” Ajibade said.

Our forward Rasheedat Ajibade, the blue hair girl, speaks ahead of Thursday’s meeting with co- hosts Australia.

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Despite listing the factors that may work in favour of the Australians, the blue-haired Ajibade believes the Super Falcons can upset the co-hosts.

“…I think we’ve got this. I trust the team. We have the capacity; we have the talent and we have the energy. We just have to bring our ‘A’ game to the party and we can do it.

Australia, with three points, top Group B after the first round of matches, with Nigeria and Canada joint second with one point each.

For the Matildas, victory will take them to six points and all but guarantee a place in the Round of 16, ahead of their much-anticipated clash with Olympic champions, Canada.

The Super Falcons also need to avoid defeat to have a realistic chance of progressing into the knockout phase.

Even though they qualified as Africa’s best fourth team to the World Cup, the Super Falcons have the best record so far among the four teams representing the continent in Australia/New Zealand.

While Zambia and Morocco were hammered 5-0 and 6-0 respectively, reigning African champions, South Africa lost their opening game 2-1 to Sweden.

Nigeria’s champions, Enyimba are to face Libya’s Al-Ahly Benghazi in the opening round of the CAF Champions League which kicks off next month.

The two teams had met in the Confederation Cup two years ago, Enyimba won their home leg 2-1 in Aba but lost 1-0 away.

In this year’s Champions League, Al Ahly will host the first leg in the weekend of 18-19 August.

Remo Stars begin Champions League adventure in Ghana

Nigeria’s Remo Stars who upgraded from competing in the CAF Confederation Cup to Champions League this year will begin their quest for honours in Ghana as they are drawn to face Ghana’s Medeama next month.

In the draw conducted by CAF, Medeama will host the first leg in the weekend of 18 -19 August. Remo Stars will host the second leg in Ikenne on either 25 or 26 August. Remo Stars are runners-up in the Nigerian Premier League. Medeama Sporting Club, founded in January 2011, is a young club in Ghana and was formerly knowns as Kessben FC. It is based in Ghana’s Western Region in Tarkwa. They won the Ghanaian League in the season just ended.