FIRST ROUND FALLOUT;NORTH AFRICA CLUBS DOMINATE CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AGAIN AS KANO PILLARS CRASHED OUT

North African clubs were the big winners in the return leg of the first round of qualifying in the CAF Champions League, with seven teams from the region advancing to the last 16 of the competition. As four of the clubs have been drawn against each other, a total of five clubs could remain in the competition once the group stage gets underway later in July. The winner of the event will represent the continent at the FIFA World Club Cup in Morocco at the end of the year.

Game of the week
Enugu Rangers  beats 2-0 Vital'O,Makes historic 2nd Round
Making only their second appearance in the Champions League, Nigeria’s Enugu Rangers advanced to the second round for the first time in their history with a 2-0 second leg and aggregate win against Vital'O. Rangers coach Okey Emordi had to take off two injured defenders late during the game and could not replace them as he had already made his three substitutions, but they had enough of a cushion from early goals by Uche Oguchi and Efe Yarhere. The home side should have been further ahead in the second-half, but Sanusi Sani hit the crossbar and Alhaji Gero saw his shot well saved by the visiting goalkeeper. The visitors were thrown a life-line in second-half injury time when Yarhere brought down a Vital'O player in the box, but Ranger's goalkeeper Godwin Ayalogu pulled off a fine save from Steve Nzigamasabo to deny the club from Burundi a consolation goal.

The surprise
AC Leopards 3-0 Kano Pillars,pillars OUT
After winning the home leg 4-1 against Congolese club AC Leopards, Nigerian champions Kano Pillars were expected to get the job done in the return leg and advance to the final qualifying round of the competition. However, it was not to be as the home side scored in the first half to play themselves back into contention. Two second-half goals - the last an injury-time penalty - saw Leopards advance on the away goal rule after the tie ended 4-4 on aggregate. The result also denies Nigeria an opportunity to have both their Champions League entrants qualify for the lucrative group stage of the competition for the first time since 2009.

Other matches
Egyptian giants Al Ahly, secured a 2-0 win against Tusker for a 4-1 aggregate victory, with Emad Meteab scoring the second goal to take his tally from the tie to three. The defending champions will be joined in the second round by compatriots Zamalek, who played to a goalless draw in Kinshasa against AS Vita Club for a 1-0 aggregate victory. Algeria also have two representatives in the next round as JSM Bejaia surprised Asante Kotoko 1-1 in Kumasi and went through on the away goal rule after a scoreless first leg, while ES Setif beat ASFA Yennenga from Burkina Faso 4-2 for a 5-3 aggregate victory. The only other country with two clubs in the final round of qualifying is Tunisia after Khalil Chammam gave Esperance a 1-0 victory against Primeiro de Agosto, and CA Bizertin advanced 3-1 on aggregate despite losing 1-0 in Zimbabwe against Dynamos. The final North African team in the second round is Moroccan club FUS Rabat, who also lost 1-0 in Cameroon against Union Douala, but went through 3-1 on aggregate.

Ethiopian club Saint George held Djoliba to a 1-1 draw and went through 3-1 on aggregate, while former champions TP Mazembe recorded the biggest win of the round beating Mochudi Centre Chiefs 6-0, with Tresor Mabi Mputu scoring twice. Angola’s Recreativo do Libolo repeated their 2-1 first leg victory against Al-Merrikh in Sudan. Cameroon's Coton Sport, who were runners up in 2008, managed a 2-1 victory against AFAD Djekanou to advance, while Stade Malien also won their second match of the round against Casa Sport 2-0 for a 4-1 aggregate victory.

Player of the week
Côte d'Ivoire club Sewe Sport thought they had done most of the hard work done in their opening game against Sudanese club Al Hilal after a 4-1 victory. But the return leg in Omdurman turned out to be anything but easy, as Mohamed Tahir, Ahmed El Basha and Mohamed Traore gave Al Hilal a 3-0 lead, which would have been enough to go through to the next round on the away goal rule. However, there was last drama as Kako Rostan scored a goal for his side deep into injury time to put the visitors through 5-4 on aggregate. Judging by the young Cameroon striker's performance against Al Hilal, more will be heard of him during the season.

First round  Results
Team 1                       Agg.                 Team 2                                                    1st leg 2nd leg
Zamalek Egypt                1–0     Democratic Republic of the Congo AS Vita Club     1–0     0–0
Saint George Ethiopia     3–1     Mali Djoliba     2–0     1–1
CA Bizertin Tunisia     3–1     Zimbabwe Dynamos     3–0     0–1
Tusker Kenya     1–4     Egypt Al-Ahly     1–2     0–2
Zanaco Zambia     1–3     South Africa Orlando Pirates     0–1     1–2
Mochudi Centre Chiefs Botswana     0–7     Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe     0–1     0–6
Vital'O Burundi     0–2     Nigeria Enugu Rangers     0–0     0–2
Recreativo do Libolo Angola     4–2     Sudan Al-Merrikh     2–1     2–1
JSM Béjaïa Algeria     1–1 (a)     Ghana Asante Kotoko     0–0     1–1
Primeiro de Agosto Angola     0–2     Tunisia Espérance ST     0–1     0–1
FUS Rabat Morocco     3–1     Cameroon Union Douala     3–0     0–1
Séwé Sport Ivory Coast     5–4     Sudan Al-Hilal     4–1     1–3
AFAD Djékanou Ivory Coast     1–3     Cameroon Coton Sport     0–1     1–2
Casa Sport Senegal     1–4     Mali Stade Malien     1–2     0–2
Kano Pillars Nigeria     3–4     Republic of the Congo AC Léopards     4–1     0–3
ASFA Yennenga Burkina Faso     4–5     Algeria ES Sétif     2–1     2–4

Second round Fixtures

Zamalek Egypt                              VS               Ethiopia Saint George             
CA Bizertin Tunisia                 VS               Egypt Al-Ahly    
Orlando Pirates South Africa   VS              DR Congo TP Mazembe    
Enugu Rangers Nigeria                  VS              Angola Recreativo do Libolo    
JSM Béjaïa Algeria                 VS              Tunisia Espérance ST    
FUS Rabat Morocco                 VS     Ivory Coast Séwé Sport    
Coton Sport Cameroon                 VS    Mali Stade Malien    
Kano Pillars Nigeria                  VS               Algeria ES Sétif    

First leg will be played on friday of 19th - Sunday 21st of April and the 2nd leg will come up on Friday 3rd of May  - 5th of May 2013

The losers from the second round enter the 2013 CAF Confederation Cup play-off round. While the winners make it to the Money spinning Group stages

2013 AFRICA U20 YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: fixtures and schedules and results

Africa future Stars go to war as the 19th AYC Kick off this weekend in Algeria                                                     

The 2013 African U-20 Championship will be the 19th edition of the African Youth Championship ,AYC. The competition will take place in Algeria from March 16 to 30  in the  cities of Oran & Aïn Témouchent instead of the popular algiers due to better facilities at the former cities.

The stade ormar oucief (11,000 capacity) in  Ain Temouchent  will host   teams in Group A which comprises  of the host country,Algeria and her North Africa neighbor Egypt both teams will slug it with two west Africa neighbors in Ghana and Benin. The group has been dubbed the group of death and its a pure case of survival of the fittest when hostilities begins on march 16,in a group which have the potentials  of  dividing the fans  along regional sentiments.

While Nigeria,Gabon,Mali and Congo DR were in Group B and they will have their matches at the 40,000 capacity stade Ahmed Zabana, in Oran .The semifinalists will participate in 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey later this year.
The Flying Eagles of Nigeria are the clear favorites to lift the trophy, a feat the team achieved last term out in South africa two years ago as the coach John obuh has named a strong squad that comprises of some of the best legs in the winning squad that won the 18th Edition of the AYC  ( South Africa  2011)  as players like Abdul Jelleel Ajagun, Olanrewaju Kayode and Goyi Aliu will be staging a come back to the AYC and a repeat of their efforts in 2011  where they took all comer  to the cleaners  will be on their cards.

                                       

 GROUP A                                                                  GROUP B

ALGERIA                                                                    NIGERIA
GHANA                                                                      MALI
BENIN                                                                        CONGO DR
EGYPT                                                                        GABON

                          FIXTURES     
March 16    17:30    Algeria    0     vs     Benin 0    Stade  Omar Oucief, Aïn Témouchen                     March 16    20:30    Ghana     1     vs       Egypt 2    Stade   Omar Oucief, Aïn Témouchent

March  17   17:30     Nigeria     0     vs      Mali  1     Stade  Ahmed Zabana, Oran       
March 17    20:30     Congo DR  0   vs      Gabon 0       Stade   Ahmed Zabana, Oran
March 19   17:30     Ghana       1      vs      Benin 0     Stade    Omar Oucief, Aïn Témouchent
March 19   20:30      Algeria     0     vs       Egypt 1      Stade    Omar Oucief, Aïn Témouchent
March 20  17:30      Mali          2       vs     Congo DR 1        Stade Ahmed Zabana, Oran
March 20  20:30      Gabon      0       vs      Nigeria    1          Stade Ahmed Zabana, Oran
March 22  17:30      Algeria     0         vs     Ghana  2               Stade Omar Oucief, Aïn Témouchent
March 22  17:30      Benin      0          vs     Egypt  1                Stade Ahmed Zabana, Oran
March 23 20:30      Nigeria     3           vs    Congo DR       1       Stade Ahmed Zabana, Oran
March 23 20:30      Mali            0         vs           Gabon      2              Stade  Omar Oucief, Aïn Témouchen
The best two teams from each group qualifies for the semi finals as well as the world youth championship in Turkey later in the year.

                                      SEMI FINALS    FIXTURES

17:00      EGYPT  2 VS  NIGERIA  0                         Stade  Omar Oucief, Aïn Témouchen  SF 1
17:00      MALI 2 (0)  VS  GHANA (0) 4 AET                         Stade Ahmed Zabana, Oran                 SF 2

                                                  THIRD PLACE FINAL

         MARCH 29 17:30        NIGERIA   2   VS     MALI   1    Stade Ahmed Zabana, Oran

                                                         FINAL

       MARCH 30  17:30         EGYPT 1 VS    GHANA  1( 5-4) AET Stade Ahmed Zabana, Oran


                      OFFICIALS
      Referees
    Ethiopia                     Bamlack Tessema Weyesa
    Senegal                       Maguette N'Diaye
    Zambia                        Janny Sikazwe
    Seychelles                 Bernard Camille
    Rwanda                      Hudu Munyemana
    Namibia                     Reinhold Shikongo
    Burkina Faso             Juste Zio
    Burundi                      Thierry  Nkurunziza
    Algeria                        Mehdi Abid Charefa
    Ivory Coast Denis   Dembele

    Reserve Referees

    DR Congo            Achille Madila
    The Gambia       Bakary Camara   

    Assistant   Referees

    Kenya                  Peter Sabatia
    Senegal              El Hadji Malick Samba
    Mauritius          Balkrishna Bootun
    Tunisia                Anouar Hmila
    Angola                 Jerson Dos Santos
    Ivory Coast         Moussa Bayere
    Mozambique     Arsenio Marengula
    Djibouti                Yacine Hassan Egueh
    Algeria                   Mohamed Bechirene
    Chad                       Issa Yaya
    Guinea                   Sidiki Sidibe
    Eritrea                     Berhe Tesfargiorgh
    Burkina Faso         Seydou Tiama
    Cameroon             Elvis Guy Noupue Nguegoue

   Reserve  Assistant referees

    Ethiopia     Kindie Mussie
    Niger           Yahaya Mahamadou
          
       
             


       
                                             

                  

           

Nigeria professional football league: All the updates and Results

WEEK 7 FIXTURES

3sc vs Akwa utd
ABS fc vs Bayelsa
Heartland vs lobi statrs
Sharks vs kano pillars
Rangers vs Dolphins
Nassarawa vs Gombe
Enyimba vs kwara utd
Nembe vs Kwara
All matches will be on 14th of april,2013 by 4pm


THE NPFL WEEK 6 ROUND UP

KANO PILLARS BEATS SUNSHINE TO CONSOLIDATE LEAD

The Week 6 matches which was played on Wednesday 10th  and Thursday 11th of April  saw Both Rangers  international and Sunshines star relinquished their unbeaten status leaving on Warri wolves to that toga.

Double strikes from Gombe's utd Bishop onyeundo ( top the scorer's chart with 5 goals) is Enough to condemned Rangers  to their first loss of the season . Warri wolves played 1-1 draw with Nembe fc to take drawn matches to four in a row.

Kano pillars bounced back from their shock CAF champions league exit last weekend to take their home winning streak to 157  matches in the Nigeria top flight when they defeated sunshie stars of Akure by a lone goal  to consolidate on their top position on the log especially when their closest rivals, Rangers , have no point to show for the week.
Lobi stars is another team that recovered early enough from their CAF confederation cup mishap last weekend when they exited the competition scandalously by losing 7 goals to 1 on the night to the Liga muchulmana of mozambique.
lobi stars beat struggling sharks fc 2-0 to restore some pride to thier battered image at the continent.

The week also saw Shooting stars scored their first away goal but it's not enough as they continue to search for their first away point in the campaign despite having  won all their home matches. The oluyole warriors lost to Bayelsa united by 3 goals to 1.

Nassarawa utd  beat kwara united in ilorin to take the away victories for the season to a record six in just after match day six.
kaduna utd also beat Enyimba fc  by a solitary goal,the Aba Elephants are struggling to find the form that ensured that they Won CAFCL  back to back and remained the only nigeria side to have won the competition.
Heartland Fc CAF confederation cup travelling woes was compounded by  Dolphins  Fc when the team lost by two goals to one in port harcourt

 Week 6 Results

Wednesday 10th April 2013
Gombe United 2-1 Enugu Rangers
Kwara Utd 0-1 Nasarawa Utd
El-Kanemi Warriors 2-1 Akwa United
Wikki Tourists 1-0 ABS FC
Kano Pillars 1-0 Sunshine Stars

Thursday 11th April 2013
Dolphins 2-1 Heartland
Lobi Stars 2-0 Sharks FC
Warri Wolves 1-1 Nembe City
Bayelsa United 3-1 Shooting Stars
Kaduna Utd 1-0 Enyimba

 THE NIGERIA PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE WEEK FIVE ROUND UP

ITS GOALS RAIN AS KANO PILLAR WIN AT ABS TO REMAIN TOP

The Nigeria Premier Football League on match day 5 Witnessed Goals galore as a total of 28 goals were scored at seven match centres while only two matches ended in a draw.
While the match between Sunshine and Lobi stars Failed to hold.

 Kano pillars got three away goals to remain at the summit while Heartland Fc continue to maintain their newly found form by hitting  four goals past,Enugu Rangers sent Kwara utd to their first lost of the season  with an empathic three goals to one victory at the Nnamdi stadium to remain unbeaten after match day 5.

Also Shooting Stars op Ibadan were stretched to the limit at home when they defeated Wikki tourist at the lekan salami stadium ,the interesting week 5 Encounter produced a whooping 5 goals as the match ended 3-2 .

Akwa utd  put three unreplied goals past Bayelsa utd and Nassarawa utd also scored three home goals against kaduna utd while the away team can only score once .

Enyimba struggled against Warri wolves all through 90 minutes as the highly explosive encounter produces no goal,the same result was recorded at the port harcourt as both sharks and dolphins laboured to boring 90 minutes.

WEEK FIVE RESULTS

SHOOTING STARS 3 VS WIKKI TOURIST  2
ENYIMBA 0 VS WARRI WOLVES 0
SHARKS 0 VS DOLPHINS 0
NEMBE CITY C 2 VS EL KANEMI 1
ABS 2 VS KANO PILLARS 3
HEARTLAND 4 VS GOMBE 0
ENUGU ANGERS 3 VS KWARA UTD 1
AKWA UTD 3 VS BAYELSA 0
NASSARAWA 3 VS KADUNA UTD 1

LEADING GOAL SCORERS
Uche Ihiarulam Bayelsa utd 3goals
Bishop Onyeudo Gombe utd 3goals
Ichull Lardson ABS 3goals
Gambo Mohammed Pillars 3goals
Ubong Ekpai Akwa utd 3goals
Isah Akoh Heartland 3goals

LEAGUE TABLE AS AT MATCH DAY 5

POS                     TEAMS                     PL          PTS

 1     •     Kano Pillars     5     12
2     ↑     Enugu Rangers     5     11
3     ↑     Shooting Stars     5     9
4     ↑     Akwa United     5     9
5     ↓     Sunshine Stars F.C     4     8
6     ↑     Nasarawa United F.C     5     8
7     ↓     Enyimba     5     8
8     ↓     Kwara United F.C     5     8
9     ↑     Heartland FC     5     7
10     ↑     Nembe City F.C     5     7
11     ↓     Bayelsa United F.C     5     7
12     ↓     Lobi Stars     4     6
13     ↓     Gombe United F.C.     5     6
14     •     Dolphins F.C     5     5
15     ↑     Warri Wolves F.C     5     4
16     ↓     Wikki Tourists     5     4
17     ↓     ABS F.C     5     4
18     ↓     Kaduna United F.C.     5     4
19     ↑     Sharks F.C     5     4
20     ↓     El-Kanemi Warriors     5     3

Nigeria Professional Football League

Week 5 Fixtures All matches to be played today

•At Adamashingba Stadium; Shooting Stars vs Wikki Tourists.

•At Lafia Township Stadium; Nasarawa United vs Kaduna United

•At Sharks Stadium; Sharks vs Dolphins

•At Ilorin Township Stadium; ABS vs Kano Pillars.

•At Uyo Township Stadium; Akwa United vs Bayelsa United.

•At Enyimba Stadium; Enyimba vs Warri Wolves.

•At Dan Anyiam Stadium; Heartland vs Gombe United.

•At Samson Siasia Stadium; Nembe City vs Elkanemi Warriors.

•At Nnamdi Azikwe Stadium; Enugu Rangers vs Kwara United.

•At Akure Township Stadium; Sunshine Stars vs Lobi Stars.

All matches to be played on 31st of march,2013

WEEK FOUR ROUND UP

KANO PILLARS DEFEATED 3SC;TOPS THE LEAGUE TABLE AFTER WEEK FOUR

The peak of the week clash between high riding shooting stars of ibadan and league champion kano pillars in kano lived up to expectation as the oluyole warriors find the maisugida too hot to handle and were  condemned to a 2-0 defeat courtsey of a brace from mohammed gambo.
 The same result posted by warri wolves when the team hosted Akwa utd at home in one of the earlier matches played on Wednesday,the  match between Gombe and sharks also recorded similar in favour of Gombe
Kwara utd though cannot put  two past heartland like other victories elsewhere but the lone goal is enough to grabbed all the three points at stake when they confronted Heartland of owerrito keep thir unbeaten intact.
The last victory recorded in this exciting week was recorded by Lobi stars when they defeated ABS in markurdi by a goal to nil.
The other five games ended in draw with four the matches ended in score draw with the highest recorded in far away el kanemi stadium when Bayelsa utd and share the spoils in a four goal thriller with both teams scoring two goals apiece while other games ended 1-1 a piece the only match that fails to produce any goal is the encounter Warri Wolves and Nassarawa utd
After four rounds of the defending champion is dictating the pace with 9 points and same thing cant be said of sharks,they occupied the rear position on the log as they are yet to win any of their games in the four weeks old league. The other teams that are yet to post any win are Elkanemi and warri wolves as the battle for survival has started already with El kanemi occupying the 19th position and warri wolves on 18th all the three teams are on 3points with the team separated by goal difference .
The battle at the top is also fierce as the trio of Sunhine fc,Enugu and kwara remain unbeaten so far and they are on 8 points and closely following the league leader,kano pillars.

NFPL week 4 Results
Dolphins FC 1-1 Sunshine Stars
Gombe Utd 2-0 Sharks FC
Kaduna Utd 1-1 Rangers Int'l
Nembe City 1-1 Enyimba Int'l
Warri Wolves 0-0 Nasarawa Utd
Lobi Stars 1-0 ABS FC
Kano Pillars 2-0 3SC
El-Kanemi Warriors 2-2 Bayelsa Utd
- Wednesday:

Wikki Tourists 2-0 Akwa Utd
Kwara Utd 1-0 Heartland FC.

THE TABLE AS AT 28TH OF MARCH,2013
Pos.     Team     GP     Pts     W     D     L     GF     GA     +/-    
   

1     Kano Pillars     4     9     3     0     1     4     1     3    
   
2     Sunshine Stars     4     8     2     2     0     6     4     2    
   
3     Enugu Rangers     4     8     2     2     0     4     2     2    
   
4     Kwara United     4     8     2     2     0     3     1     2    
   
5     Bayelsa United     4     7     2     1     1     5     3     2    
   
6     Enyimba     4     7     2     1     1     4     2     2    
   
7     Shooting Stars SC     4     6     2     0     2     5     4     1    
   
8     Gombe United     4     6     2     0     2     5     5     0    
   
9     Lobi Stars     4     6     2     0     2     4     5     -1    
   
10     Akwa United     4     6     2     0     2     3     4     -1    
   
11     Nasarawa Utd     4     5     1     2     1     2     2     0    
   
12     Heartland FC     4     4     1     1     2     5     5     0    
   
13     Nembe City FC     4     4     1     1     2     5     6     -1    
   
14     Kaduna United     4     4     1     1     2     4     5     -1    
   
15     Dolphins FC PH     4     4     1     1     2     2     3     -1    
   
16     Wikki Tourists     4     4     1     1     2     2     3     -1    
   
17     ABS FC     4     4     1     1     2     1     2     -1    
   
18     Warri Wolves     4     3     0     3     1     2     3     -1    
   
19     El Kanemi Warriors     4     3     0     3     1     2     4     -2    
   
20     Sharks FC     4     3     1     0     3     2     6     -4


WEEK THREE ROUND UP
SUNSHINE ON TOP
Shooting stars of ibadan recover from their away  defeat in the hands of dolphins last week in port hacourt to beat lobi stars 3-1 who are smarting from recent success at the CAF confederation cup.
Talking about recovering the greatest team that recovered best from the earlier two games slumber was heartland Fc ,they used the week 3 encounter against kaduna utd to tell those who care to listen that they are ready to claim their rightfulplace in the Nigeria league,the FA and Super cup Winner  defeated kaduna utd by four goals to one
Kwara Utd away victory against Sharks of Portharcourt clearly stand them out of the crowd as the best performer of the week as away victory in the Nigeria professional football league is a luxury that is hard to comeby;nevertheless this season so far has witnessed at least an away victory every week a signal to the fact that the officiating is getting better and clearly a break away from the usual norm that home victories are non negiotiable whether the home team deserve it or not ,the referee must conjure a victory either by hook or crook
Nembe city FC one of the teams that have recorded an away victory this season has failed to reproduced the form that saw beat Heartland at owerri as the team has slumped to back to back to defeat since that unexpepectedfeat in owerri ; a bapstism of fire of sort for the new comer,they lost to Rangers at home last week and got beaten by Nassarrawa FC in week 3 ,now they need to re group early enough before their next game in order to put a halt to the free fall they ve found themselves 'after thier initial gra gra' of week one.
Enyimba FC kept it late but did enough to beat Elkanemi two goals to nil,as the two goals came in the 84th and 86th minutes for the Ever vociferous Aba fans to breath a sigh of relieve
While Sunshine of Akure made kept thier unbeaten run so far in the league when they defeated Gombe utd at the Akure township stadium in a five goal thriller,the ended three goals to two in favour of the home side o shoot to the top of the log.
 Rangers international failed to win for the first time this season after playing goalless with warri wolves

Bellow is the summary of the result in week three


3SC 3-1 Lobi
Enyimba 2-0 Elkanemi
Heartland 4-1 Kaduna
Bayelsa 2-0 Wikki
Sharks 0-1 Kwara
Sunshine 3-2 Gombe
ABS 1-0 Dolphins
Akwa Utd 1-0 Pillars
Rangers Int'l 0-0 Warri Wolves
Nasarawa Utd 2-1 Nembe City

WEEK FOUR FIXTURES

Nigeia Professional Football League(NPFL)FIXTURES:

Wednesday 27 Mar 2013

El-Kanemi v Bayelsa United

Kwara United v Heartland

Wikki Tourists v Akwa
United
Thursday
28 Mar 2013

Dolphins v Sunshine Stars

Gombe United v Sharks

Kaduna United v Rangers

Lobi Stars v ABS F.C.

Nembe City v Enyimba

Warri Wolves v Nasarawa United
Kano Pillars vs 3sc
WEEK 3 RESULTS
3SC 3-1 Lobi
Enyimba 2-0 Elkanemi
Heartland 4-1 Kaduna
Bayelsa 2-0 Wikki
Sharks 0-1 Kwara
Sunshine 3-2 Gombe
ABS 1-0 Dolphins
Akwa Utd 1-0 Pillars
Rangers Int'l 0-0 Warri Wolves
Nasarawa Utd 2-1 Nembe City



2012/2013 NPFL WEEK TWO ROUND UP

 WEEK TWO ROUND UP

Wednesday 20: 3: 2013

Gombe Utd 1 ABS 0
Elkanemi 0 Wikki 0,
Kano Pillars 1 Bayelsa Utd 0
Kwara Utd 1 Sunshine 1.


Thursday,21:0 3:2013
Dolphins FC 1Vs 0 Shooting stars
Enyimba FC 1Vs. 0 Nasarawa Utd
Gombe Utd ? Vs.? ABS FC
Kaduna Utd 2 Vs. Sharks FC
Lobi Stars 2 Vs. 1 Akwa Utd
Warri Wolves 1 Vs 1 Heartland FC

Friday 22:03:2013
•Nembe City 1 FC Vs. Enugu Rangers 2

kano pillars last season champion in good start

WEEK ONE ROUND UP
SHOOTING STARS IN EARLY LEAD


The 2012/2013 Nigeria professional football league ,NPFL, got up to flying start Last weekend,with last year champion Kano Pillars recording an away victory with a lone gal victory in far away Wikki to announce to all other teams who care to listen that they are here to retain defend their title.
 Also new comer Nembe city put two away goals past Heartland FC in Oweri to show that they are no push over while the FA cup and super cup Champion can only reply with a goal to join Wikki tourist as the only two teams that have nothing to show for their effort despite playing in front of their of home fans.
Also the oriental league opener between former champions Rangers and Enyimba ended in lone goal victory for Rangers,just like Akwa Sunshine stars, Bayelsa, sharks and Shooting stars recorded an opening three points in front of their home fans.
In far away Northern part of the country,the match between Nassarawa and Elkanemi ended in goalless draw,the same results posted in the kwara derby between  ABS and kwara utd.
A cursory look at the Results shows that Shooting stars are  leading the park with 3 points and +2 goals difference coutsey of the two Unreplied goals scored against Gombe utd to the delight of their vociferous home crowd.
Two away victories was recorded,two matches ended in a draw while six home victories were witnessed
Thirteen goals were scored across the ten Centres with five of them scored by  away teams showing an average of 1.3 goals per match

ALL THE RESULTS

Rangers 1 vs Enyimba 0
Bayelsa 1 vs Lobi Stars 0.
Wikki T. 0 vs  Kano Pillars. 1.
 Akwa utd 1. vs Dolphins 0.
 3SC.2 vs Gombe utd FC. 0
 Heartland 1 vs Nembe City 2.
 Sunshine. 1 vs Kaduna Utd 0.
ABS FC. 0 Kwara Utd FC 0.
 Sharks. FC.2  vs W. Wolves 1.
Nasarawa.0 vs El-kanemi. 0

CAFCL 2013; RESULTS AND FIXTURES AS FIRST ROUND BEGINS

PRELIMINARY RESULTS

Zamalek Egypt       7–0     Chad Gazelle                             7–0     0–0
AS Vita Club            5–1   Togo Dynamic Togolais             3–0     2–1
Jamhuri Zanzibar     0–8     Ethiopia Saint George                0–3     0–5
CA Bizertin Tunisia  2–1           Libya Al-Ittihad                   1–1     1–0
Dynamos Zimbabwe     3–1         Lesotho Correctional        3–0     0–1
St Michel United Sey    1–7     Kenya Tusker                       1–4     0–3
Zanaco Zambia      3–2     Swaziland Mbabane                     3–2     0–0
Orlando Pirates S/A    9–0     Comoros Djabal Club            5–0     4–0
Maxaquene Mozambi    0–2     Botswana Mochudi Ce         0–1     0–1
APR Rwanda                    2–2 (a)       Burundi Vital'O         1–2     1–0
Enugu Rangers Nigeria     w/o1     São Tomé and Príncipe Sporting Clube do Príncipe     —     —
Simba Tanzania     0–5     Angola Recreativo do Libolo             0–1     0–4
JSM Béjaïa Algeria     3–0     Niger Olympic FC                        3–0     0–0
Asante Kotoko Ghana     8–0     Eq. Guinea CD Elá Nguema     7–0     1–0
Primeiro de Agosto An    4–3     Madagascar AS Adema           4–2     0–1
FUS Rabat Morocco     2–2 (a)     The Gambia Real de Banjul  1–0     1–2
Union Douala Cameroon 3–1     Liberia LISCR                         2–1     1–0
Horoya AC Guinea     0–3     Ivory Coast Séwé Sports              0–0     0–3
AFAD Djékanou Ivory C    6–2     Sierra Leone Diamond Stars   5–1     1–1
Coton Sport Cameroon     0–0 (4–3 p)Uganda URA                   0–0     0–0
Moghreb Tétouan Morocco 1–1 (1–3 p)     Senegal Casa Sport  1–0      0–1
Kano Pillars Nigeria     5–1     CAR Olympic Real de Bangui       5–1     0–0
AC Léopards CONGO DR  2–1     Gabon CF Mounana            2–0     0–1
ASPAC Benin     2–2  (4–5 p)     Burkina Faso ASFA Yennenga 1-  1       1–1

First round Result Fixtures
Zamalek Egypt               vs Democratic Republic of the Congo AS Vita Club    
Saint George Ethiopia     vs     Mali Djoliba

 BizertTunisia                 vs    Zimbabwe Dynamos                                        
Tusker Kenya                 vs     Egypt Al-Ahly                                                            
Zanaco Zambia               vs    South Africa Orlando Pirates    
Mochudi Centre Chiefs   vs      Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe
Vital'O Burundi               vs    Nigeria Enugu Rangers    
Recreativo do Angola     vs    Sudan Al-Merreikh    
JSM Béjaïa Algeria         vs    Ghana Asante Kotoko
Primeiro de Agosto        vs     Tunisia Espérance ST    
FUS Rabat Morocco      vs     Cameroon Union Douala    
Séwé Sports CIV           vs    Sudan Al-Hilal    
AFAD Djékanou Ivory   vs    Cameroon Coton Sport    
Casa Sport Senegal       vs     Mali Stade Malien    
Kano Pillars Nigeria       vs   Republic of the Congo AC Léopards   
ASFA Yennenga B/faso vs    Algeria ES Sétif
First leg to be played on the weekends of  15-17th of March,2013 and the 2nd leg will take place on the weekend of 5-7th of April,2013.   

CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RETURN WITH SECOND LEG PRELIMINARY ROUNDS

CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RETURN WITH SECOND LEG PRELIMINARY ROUNDS

The 2013 CAF Champions League (also known as the 2013 Orange CAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) will be the 49th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 17th edition under the current CAF Champions League format. The winner will qualify for the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup, and earn the right to play in the 2014 CAF Super Cup.
Qualification ties are played over two legs on a home-and-away basis. If the sides are level on aggregate after the second leg, the away goals rule is applied, and if still level, the tie proceeds directly to a penalty shootout (no extra time is played).
Preliminary round
A total of 75 goals were scored in the first leg averaging 3.26 per match
The below shows the result of the first leg
Zamalek Egypt  VS Chad Gazelle  7–0    
AS Vita Club Democratic Republic of the Congo VS Togo Dynamic Togolais     3–0    
Jamhuri Zanzibar  VS Ethiopia Saint George     0–3
CA Bizertin Tunisia  VS    Libya Al-Ittihad  1–1
Dynamos Zimbabwe  VS  Lesotho Lesotho Correctional Services  3–0
St Michel United Seychelles VS  Kenya Tusker     1–4
Zanaco Zambia     VS Swaziland Mbabane Swallows  3–2
Orlando Pirates South Africa VS Comoros Djabal Club     5–0    
Maxaquene Mozambique VS Botswana Mochudi Centre Chiefs  0–1    
APR Rwanda VS Burundi Vital'O  1–2    
Enugu Rangers Nigeria     w/o     São Tomé and Príncipe Sporting Clube do Príncipe
 Enugu Rangers advanced to the first round after Sporting Clube do Príncipe failed to show up for the first leg    
Simba Tanzania VS Angola Recreativo do Libolo  0–1    
JSM Béjaïa Algeria VS Niger Olympic FC  3–0    
Asante Kotoko Ghana VS Equatorial Guinea CD Elá Nguema 7–0    
Primeiro de Agosto Angola VS    Madagascar AS Adema     4–2
FUS Rabat Morocco VS    The Gambia Real de Banjul     1–0
Union Douala Cameroon VS Liberia LISCR     2–1    
Horoya AC Guinea  VS    Ivory Coast Séwé Sports  0–0
AFAD Djékanou Ivory Coast VS    Sierra Leone Diamond Stars  5–1    
Coton Sport Cameroon     VS  Uganda URA  0–0    
Moghreb Tétouan Morocco  VS    Senegal Casa Sport  1–0
Kano Pillars Nigeria VS    Central African Republic Olympic Real de Bangui  5–1    
AC Léopards Republic of the Congo VS    Gabon CF Mounana  2–0
ASPAC Benin VS Burkina Faso ASFA Yennenga     1-1
and the return leg matches to be played between 1st and 3rd of march,2013

OSCAR PISTORIUS ; FRESH UPDATES AS HE WAS GRANTED BAIL

The world woke up to the devasting news that the south african blade runner has killed his girlfriend on a day,saint valentine's day,when love are meant to be shared freely between lovers and since then all attention is beamed on the former apartheid colony,south africa, for updates on the premeditated murder case of oscar pistorius as the events unfold in the court room as well as outside of it.
Olusola Adebayo takes a look at the drama of the last nine days.

WHO IS OSCAR PISTORIUS

Oscar Pistorius was born to Henke and Sheila Pistorius on 22 November 1986 in Sandton, Johannesburg, in what was then Transvaal Province (now Gauteng Province) of South Africa. He grew up in a Christian home, and has an elder brother, Carl, and a younger sister, Aimée. Pistorius credits his late mother, who died at the age of 43 when Pistorius was 15 years old, as a major influence in his life. He is a White South African with Italian ancestry from his mother's grandfather, an Italian emigrant to Kenya.
Pistorius was born with fibular hemimelia (congenital absence of the fibula) in both legs. When he was 11 months old, his legs were amputated halfway between his knees and ankles. He attended Constantia Kloof Primary and Pretoria Boys High School where, between the ages of 11 and 13, he played rugby union in the school's third XV team, water polo and tennis. He also played water polo and tennis at provincial level. In addition, Pistorius took part in club Olympic wrestling, and trained at Jannie Brooks's garage gym in Pretoria, South Africa. After a serious rugby knee injury in June 2003, he was introduced to running in January 2004 while undergoing rehabilitation at the University of Pretoria's High Performance Centre with coach Ampie Louw, and "never looked back". His first racing blades were fitted by South African prosthetist Francois Vanderwatt. Because he was unable to find suitable running blades in Pretoria, Vanderwatt ordered some to be made by a local engineer. However, as these quickly broke, Vanderwatt referred Pistorius to American prosthetist and Paralympic sprinter Brian Frasure to be fitted for blades by Icelandic company Össur.

MURDER CASE

On 14 February 2013, it was reported that a woman had been shot and killed at Pistorius's Pretoria gated community home, with one police spokesman reportedly stating the woman was Reeva Steenkamp, Pistorius's girlfriend. Johannesburg's Talk Radio 702 told Sky News that police had arrested a 26-year-old man believed to be Pistorius on suspicion of murder and a 9mm pistol was recovered from the scene. Chief investigating officer Hilton Botha later confirmed that he arrived at the house at 04:15, to be met by Pistorius, his brother and a lawyer. Steenkamp was found lying dead on the ground floor, wearing white shorts and a black vest, covered in towels.
Police charged Pistorius with Steenkamp's murder, and Pistorius appeared in the Magistrates Court in Pretoria on 15 February, to face formal premeditated murder charges.

OSCAR'S ACCOUNT

The central extracts of the court affidavit of Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius, who is accused of murdering girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp last week.
The affidavit was read out in Pretoria magistrates court by the head of Pistorius' defence team, Barry Roux.
– By about 2200 on Feb. 13 we were in our bedroom. She was doing yoga exercises and I was in bed watching television. My prosthetic legs were off. We were deeply in love and I could not be happier.
– I have received death threats before. I have also been a victim of violence and burglaries before. For that reason I kept my firearm – a 9mm Parabellum – underneath my bed when I went to bed at night.
– During the early morning hours of 14 Feb. 2013 I woke up, went onto the balcony to bring the fan in and closed the sliding doors, the blinds and the curtains. I heard a noise in the bathroom and realised someone was in the bathroom.
– I felt a sense of terror rushing over me. There were no burglar bars across the bathroom window and I knew contractors who worked at my house had left the ladders outside. Although I did not have my prosthetics legs on, I have mobility on my stumps.
– I believed someone had entered my house. I was too scared to switch a light on. I grabbed my 9mm pistol from underneath my bed.
– On my way to the bathroom I screamed words to the effect for him/them to get out of my house and for Reeva to phone the police. It was pitch dark in the bedroom and I thought Reeva was in bed.
– I noticed that the bathroom window was open. I realised that the intruder/s was/were in the toilet because the toilet door was closed and I did not see anyone in the bathroom. I heard movement inside the toilet. The toilet is inside the bathroom and has a separate door.
– It filled me with horror and fear of an intruder or intruders being inside the toilet. I thought he or they must have entered through the unprotected window.
– As I did not have my prosthetic legs on and felt extremely vulnerable, I knew I had to protect Reeva and myself.
– I believed that when the intruder/s came out of the toilet, we would be in grave danger. I felt trapped.
– I fired shots at the toilet door and shouted to Reeva to call the police. She did not respond and I moved backwards out of the bathroom, keeping my eyes on the bathroom entrance.
– Everything was pitch dark in the bedroom and I was still too scared to switch on the light. Reeva was not responding.
– When I reached the bed, I realised that Reeva was not in the bed. That is when it dawned on me that it could have been Reeva who was in the toilet.
– I returned to the bathroom calling her name. I tried to open the toilet door but it was locked. I rushed back into the bedroom and opened the sliding door exiting on to the balcony and screamed for help.
– I put on my prosthetic legs, ran back to the bathroom and tried to kick the toilet door open. I think I must have then turned on the light. I went back into the bedroom and grabbed my cricket bat to bash open the toilet door. A panel or panels broke off and I found the key on the floor and unlocked and opened the door. Reeva was slumped over but alive.
– I battled to get her out of the toilet and pulled her into the bathroom. I phoned Johan Stander, who was involved in the administration of the estate and asked him to phone the ambulance. I phoned Netcare and asked for help. I went downstairs to open the front door.
– I returned to the bathroom and picked Reeva up as I had been told not to wait for the paramedics, but to take her to the hospital. I carried her downstairs in order to take her to the hospital. On my way down, Stander arrived. A doctor who lives in the complex also arrived. Downstairs, I tried to render the assistance to Reeva that I could, but she died in my arms. I am absolutely mortified by the events and the devastating loss of my beloved Reeva.
– With the benefit of hindsight, I believe that Reeva went to the toilet when I went out on the balcony to bring the fan in. I cannot bear to think of the suffering that I have caused her and her family, knowing how much she was loved.
– I also know that the events of that tragic night were as I had described them and that in due course I have no doubt the police and the expert investigators will bear this out.

BOTHA DISAGREE

However, in evidence to the bail hearing, chief investigating officer Hilton Botha stated during cross-examination that there were no police records of Pistorius having previously reported death threats or other crimes, but admitted that police had made procedural mistakes during the initial investigation of Pistorius' home, and had found no evidence that directly contradicted Pistorius' account of the shooting. Later, prosecutors questioned Botha again, and he said the distance was closer.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued that Pistorius could not have gone past his bed without having seen that Steenkamp was not in it.  Botha also said that .38-calibre pistol rounds were found in a safe, but that no pictures were taken of them, and that the ammunition was taken away by others at the scene.

BOTHA IN SOUP?

The case against Oscar Pistorius took another astonishing turn on Thursday when the lead detective investigating the case was sacked after being charged with seven counts of attempted murder himself.
It emerged that Hilton Botha, who had given an unconvincing performance in the witness stand on Wednesday, and two other police officers are accused of drunkenly firing shots at a minibus carrying seven passengers in October 2011.
The case had previously been dropped but the charges against Botha were reinstated on Wednesday, as he argued before Pretoria magistrates court for Pistorius to be denied bail. The long-serving officer is due to appear in court in May.

BAIL OR JAIL HEARING FOR FRIDAY

The blade runner will know his fate as far as his bail from the police custody his concerned on friday,22nd of february 2013 in the presence of the presiding magistrate, the Chief Magistrate of Pretoria Desmond Nair.
Nair will decide if Pistorius is freed with conditions or if he is held until trial. Pistorius faces the sternest bail conditions in South Africa because of the seriousness of the charge, meaning his defence lawyers have to prove there is an "exceptional" reason for him to be freed.
He has been held at a police station in Pretoria since last week, but suspects who are denied bail are typically held in a prison.
Defence lawyer Barry Roux argued on Thursday that the evidence backs up Pistorius' statement that he shot through a toilet door at his home because he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder, killing her by accident.
"I think there will be a level of shock in this country if he is not released (on bail)," Roux said in court.
Opposing bail, prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued Pistorius was too willing to shoot. The prosecution says Pistorius planned to kill his 29-year-old girlfriend, a model and budding reality TV star, after an argument in the early hours of Valentine's Day.
In 2009 Pistorius was arrested and charged with common assault by South African police for slamming a door on a woman at his home. The charges were later dropped.
Will he be second be time lucky? only time will tell

BREAKING...........PRETORIA
 Oscar Pistorius was granted bail Friday,
 paving the way for him to be freed from custody pending his trial in the Valentine's Day shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair made the ruling Friday after four days of arguments from prosecution and defense in Pistorius' bail hearing, and after spending about one hour and 45 minutes announcing his decision.

Nair said Pistorius' affidavit, in which he gave his version of the events of the shooting on morning of Feb. 14 in a sworn statement, had helped his application for bail in Pretoria Magistrate's Court.

Pistorius' supporters shouted "Yes" when the magistrate made his ruling. Nair then ordered a court break before establishing the terms of the bail.

Pistorius shot and killed Steenkamp in the predawn hours of Feb. 14. The athlete says he shot his girlfriend accidentally believing she was an intruder in his house. Prosecutors say he intended to kill Steenkamp and charged him with premeditated murder, saying the shooting  followed a loud argument between the two.

AFCON 2013; NIGERIA SILENT MIRACLE WORKER

MIKEL OBI; THE SILENT MIRACLE WORKER
Personal information
Full name     John Michael Nchekwube Obinna
Date of birth     22 April 1987 (age 25)
Place of birth     Jos, Nigeria
Height     1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position     Midfielder
He was born in Jos, Nigeria as John Michael Nchekwube Obinna, the son of Michael Obi, who runs an inter-state transport company in Jos, the capital of Plateau state. As his father was a member of the Igbo ethnic group, "Nchekwube" means "hope" and "Obi" is a nickname for the Igbo name "Obinna" (meaning "Father´s heart").
                                   



He started his official football career at 
the age of 12 when picked as a talented footballer from over 3000 young talents to play in Pepsi Football Academy. A team which at that particular time was well known for going around Nigeria to search for the best there is from all the upcoming future stars, young talents to later move on to rather more professional football. Already then Obi stood out to all the scouts. He got picked to play in a top-flight team Plateau United also known for making stars from players like Celestine Babayaro, Victor Obinna, Chris Obodo and many more which moved on to playing in European teams and representing their country later on in their careers. Later known as John Obi Mikel he was gaining headlines for his country at the FIFA Under-17 World Championships held in Finland. Subsequently he went on trial to South Africa club Ajax Cape Town, before joining Lyn in Norway.

During preparations for the 2003 FIFA Under-17 World Championships, the Nigerian Football Association mistakenly submitted "Michael" as "Mikel" for the tournament in Finland. He decided to keep the new name, saying that it had a special ring to it. On 31 July 2006, he stated that he prefers to be called Mikel John Obi instead of John Obi Mikel, as he had most commonly been called.

In the summer of 2005, Mikel played for Nigeria at the FIFA World Youth Championships held in the Netherlands. He had an excellent tournament until Nigeria reached the final, where they lost 2–1 to Argentina. Obi won the Silver Ball after being voted the tournament's second best player
Mikel made his debut for Nigeria's senior team on 17 August 2005, when he came on as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 friendly win over Libya. He did not play for the national team again prior to being named in the squad for the 2006 African Cup of Nations. In Nigeria's first group game, which was against Ghana, Mikel was an unused substitute. However, he was introduced into the second game, against Zimbabwe, early in the second half. Within ten minutes of coming on, he had supplied both the corner that resulted in Christian Obodo heading the game's opening goal, and scored Nigeria's second goal. He made his first international start in Nigeria's final group game, a 2–1 victory over Senegal.

During the 2008 African Nations Cup in Ghana, he scored 1 goal and registered one assist, both against Benin Republic, to help Nigeria qualify for the quarterfinals against hosts, Ghana where they narrowly lost 2–1.

He was called up to Nigeria's 23-man squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. Where he has become a trojan in the midfield his dodgedness in the the middle has seen the eagles won many battles in the midfield especially against yaya toure and seydou keita which are pivotal to the nigeria team success at the AFCON 2013 so far,come february 10  a whole lot will depend on his wealth of experience and his numerous pin point passes as the Nation seek to win the trophy for the third time in history.