Otunba Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke Memorial Cup Heads Into Quarter-Finals

The Otunba Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke Memorial Cup is heading into the business end, with four teams already through to the quarter-finals. 

Hammola FC of Ido-Osun ended as group winners in the Egbedore centre. Hammola FC won two of their games, drawing just one, while New Dawn FC, Ofatedo came second with five (5) points. 

In Ede North, GFCC Ede and Unity FC ended as group winners and runners up respectively. GFCC Ede North had a great run in the Competition going past Victory Football Academy and Adegbite FC to book an automatic slot in the quarter-finals. 

In the Ejigbo Centre, the final group matches will be played this week, Ifesowapo FC (Isoko) will battle Temidire FC (Ilawo) on Thursday, 30th of December, while Unity FC (Ejigbo) and Temidire FC (Ilawo) will play their last group games on Friday, 31st of December.  

In Ede South, Last year's second runner up, Eyiowuawi FC defeated their opponent Molababs FC 1-0 and look to be in a comfortable place to book a  Quarter-Final spot. 

Coordinator of the Competition Oladele Bamiji said he is satisfied with the way the Competition has been going so far. Bemidji also hailed and described  Hon. Bamidele Salam, who is the sole sponsor of the Competition as a man who has great intention and love for his people.

"We are glad and satisfied with the way the competition has been going so far, it is a clear indication that Sports is a major component that brings the old, young and everyone together.

 "People from all four centres have trooped out en masse to give the Otunba Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke Memorial Cup a major boost and we are happy about that. Last year we witnessed massive support from everyone in our Constituency and this year, the support is even more. 

"Specifically, Rep Bamidele Salam has done a lot in all areas, and coming out again for the second time to give the youths a platform through Sports, shows that he has his people dear to his heart."

The Competition, which is dedicated in honour of the first Civilian Governor of Osun State, Otunba Isiaka Adeleke is solely sponsored by Rep. Bamidele Salam who represents the good people of Ede North, Ede South, Egbedore and Ejigbo Federal Constituency of Osun State in the National Assembly.

The final Competition will come up on the 15th of January 2022 in Ede.

Sportivation Awards Edeh, Ujiri others as Media Hang Out Holds This Weekend

All is set for the 2021 edition of Sportivation Media Awards which is billed to hold in Nigeria's entertainment and showbiz capital, Lagos, on Saturday, December 18, 2021.

Organised by Sportivation Media, a sports media, events and broadcast outfit, the award recognises and celebrates sports personalities in Nigeria and beyond for their spectacular and exceptional performance in chosen sporting endeavour and contributions to the sport.

The CEO of Sportivation Media International, Mr. Taiwo Ibrahim leads the young and enterprising company with a team of enthusiastic and creative sports journalists, broadcasters, and professionals. 

This year's edition will honour six remarkable individuals who have left footnotes in the sporting world with different award categories: Sports Personality of the Year Award, Diaspora Award, Administrator of the Year Award, Special Recognition Award for Innovation, Special Recognition Award for Service to Women Football, Special Recognition Award for Contribution to Sports and Youth Development.

Masai Ujiri, the first African-born general manager of a professional sports team in America (Denver Nuggets, NBA, 2013) and first president of an NBA Team (Toronto Raports) to be born by African parents, will be presented with the Sports Personality of the Year.

Also to be awarded is Barrister Paul Edeh, the President of Ratels Sports Development Foundation, a foundation that has used sports in empowering the girl-child over the years. The RSDF is also the sole sponsor of the biggest Women Football Pre-season Championship in the whole of Africa (The Flying Officers Cup). 

Mr Shina Philips, is the Chairman of Matchmakers Consult Group, an organisation that has been hosting the biggest Sports Award in Nigeria (The Pitch Awards) since 2013. 

 Mr Marcellinus Anyanwu, a former Arsenal Soccer School Coach in Dubai, He has also helped Nigerian players with scholarship opportunities abroad. 

Mrika Valentine, a Nigerian Coach based in India and highly recommended for his contribution to football in the east Asian nation. 

Samuel Dosunmu, is being rewarded for his uprightness and East support to the brand (Sportivtion Media). 

Speaking on the 2021 award, the Organiser, Taiwo Ibrahim said: "the Sportivation Media Awards is aimed at rewarding excellence in the sports sector, we have diligently selected the recipients based on their contributions to youth development through sports.

"The choice of Masai Ujiri was easy because of his feat in basketball in Nigeria and Africa where he is currently on a mission to build 100 basketball courts across the continent through his 'Giants of Africa' NGO.

"Barrister Paul Edeh, has also contributed a lot to the development of women football in Nigeria; a staunch supporter of the girl child.

"Mr Shina Philips has continued to defy the odds by organising the Nigerian Ptich Awards since 2013.

"Mr Marcellinus Anyanwu, a former Arsenal Soccer SchoPitchach in Dubai, has been flying Nigeria's flag very high in the oil rich country; he has also helped Nigerian players with scholarship opportunity-rich

"Mr Chika Valentine, a Nigerian coach based in India, is highly commended for his contributions to football in the east Asian nation and also gives opportunities to Nigerian players to study and easy football in the country."

The prestigious event will hold at the SWAN hall, National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos on Saturday, the 18th of December 2021.

Heartland players vow to take club to FIFA over 8 months unpaid salaries

Ahead of the 2021/22 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season scheduled to kick off next week, the players of Heartland FC of Owerri, have threatened to take the Naze Millionaire,  to World Football governing body, FIFA over eight months unpaid salaries.

Before the end of last NPFL season, the management of the Owerri-based side, promised the team, that all their financial entitlement including, the eight monthly backlog of salaries will be paid, but according to the player's nothing has been paid.

With less than a week to start another season, in the Nigerian topflight, Heartland player who pleaded to be anonymous, claimed that the weak League Management Company (LMC) has failed them hence, they have vowed to take the club to FIFA as they seek for justice.

“It’s sad that we are here talking about our unpaid salaries of about eight months after we involved the League Management Company who appear to be very weak and toothless.

“Some of us are family men, breadwinners of our families, we don’t have another profession than football, but it’s sad that after you worked tirelessly for a season, you still have to beg and cry for what is rightfully yours.

“We are highly disappointed with the LMC because by now they ought to have sanctioned Heartland and place an embargo on them, but here we are, Heartland is preparing to start the new season, having completed half of the registration process with the same LMC.

“Since it appears the League body can not help us, then we have decided to report the case to FIFA and see maybe we will get the desired justice.”

Jordan FM dazzle in OWU kits as Lagos SWAN Week continues with the Football event

The much-awaited Sports Writer Association of Nigeria, Lagos Chapter continue on Monday, ( 6 December 2021) with the football events as Jordan FM squad appears in brand new Jersey kitted by OWU Sports to the admiration of many fans present at the Legacy Pitch of the National Stadium Surulere, Lagos. 

The Jersey which has a well crafted brown stripe on the left side of the top was laced on a light blue colour, to the admiration of the spectators at the pitch.

Beyond its aestheticism, Jersey is made of high-quality material which was carefully designed by OWU Sports to meet all fabric and sporting standards. 

According to the team Jersey manager, Owolabi Aleshinloye, OWOsports,  

The design and the quality of Jersey meet the high standard the station is noted for, in terms of content production and quality delivery, as OWU lived up to the high quality the premium sports shirt designer is known for".  

Meanwhile, on the pitch, Jordan FM drew 1-1 in their first game with News Agency of Nigeria, NAN and lost the second match to Community Watch by 2-0. 

The need to defeat Multimedia Journalists on Tuesday to punch a quarter-final ticket. 

The match will be played on Tuesday, ( 7 December 2021) at the Legacy pitch. 

Here are all matchday 1 results and goal scorers 

Group A --- Day 1

Day 1 – December 6 (Monday);

• VON 0-0 Pooja Media.

• Unilag Media 1-1 TVC.

⚽ Moses Folarin --- Tope Okundalaye.

• TVC 3-0 VON.

⚽ Tope Okundalaye (2), Lekan Olu-oyinlola.

• Pooja Media 1-0 Unilag Media.

⚽ Lanre Mann. 

Group B --- Day 1 

• Community Watch 1-0 Multimedia Journalist.

⚽ Godswill Nwosu.

• NAN 1-1 Jordan FM.

⚽ Shittu Taofik --- Gbemi Babare.

• Multimedia Journalist 3-0 NAN.

⚽ Martin Ifodo, Sawadinho, Adegbile Michael.

• Jordan FM 0-2 Community Watch.

⚽ Godswill Nwosu, Dada Tobi. 

Group C --- Day 1 

• Complete Sports 4-1 Inspiration/Lasgidi FM.

⚽ Kunle Salawu (2), Michael Ekezie, Julius Ojeagbase --- Felix Egbomuche.

• Radio Nigeria 3-0 Megalectrics.

⚽ Ogunshina Jude, Sunday Sholanke (2).

• Inspiration/Lasgidi FC 0-5 Radio Nigeria.

⚽ Jude Ogunshina (3), Sunday Solanle (2).

• Megaletrics 0-3 Complete Sports.

⚽ Kunle Lawal (2), Nuru Salawu.

Jordan FM tackle News Agency of Nigeria as Bet9ja/Lagos SWAN Cup begins

 

Jordan FM Sports desk will square up against their counterpart from the News Agency of Nigeria as the 2021 Bet9ja/Lagos SWAN Cup begins on Monday.  

The match which is one of the four matches lined up in Group B on an opening day will take place at the Legacy pitch Surulere Lagos by 9 am. 

The team will face Community watch by 10 am later in their second match of the day. 

The team coordinator Olusola Adebayo has given his assurance that the players won't disappoint as they will seek to grab automatic quarter-final tickets on an opening day. 

" The team has prepared for this and I can assure all our listeners and fans that we won't disappoint them. We will go out for victories in the two matches on the opening day which will guarantee a place in the quarter-final of the competition as the players are ready and rearing to explode " said the Nigeria Sports Express presenter. 

12 media houses are participating in the competition which is part of the activities marking the Sports Writers Week of the Lagos State chapter of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria.  

The event will be rounded on Friday, 10th of December, 2021.

This year's event is proudly sponsored by Bet9ja with Lagos State Sports Commission, Owu, Nestle Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries, Intercontinental Distillery, Redbull, La Liga, Guarantee Trust Holding Company and Multichoice as partners.

2022 AWCONQ: Lady Elephant's threat is the beginning of wisdom for the NFF

      

The threat posed by the Lady Elephant of Cote d'ivoire is real and NFF has started taking proactive steps towards securing a place for Super Falcons of Nigeria in the 2022 Africa Women Cup Of Nations (AWCON) and the 2023 FIFA Women World Cup. 

           

The Super Falcons rounded off a 9-day training camp on Tuesday 30th November 2021 at Abuja.  

The first of such camp since Randy Waldrum takes over as the coach of the team over a year ago, an exercise the American coach describes as a marvellous experience as it's a rare opportunity to truly assess the players. 

"I am happy we had this training camp as we were able to see the home-based players and the overseas-based, and everyone bonded very well. 

“We will look to have periodic campings like this to be able to put forward the best of Nigeria women players for matches and championships at any time,” Waldrum told the NFF media. 

This is coming after the coach's first two International games against the Black Queens of Ghana in the first round of 2023 Africa Women Cup Of Nations ( AWCON) qualifiers. 

It was a scary 180 minutes as the Super Falcons struggled to break down the Ghanaians in Lagos and laboured to an unconvincing 2-0 victory and the Super Falcons lost the second leg in Accra by 1-0 but qualified by 2-1 on aggregate in October. 

The team's performance on both occasions wasn't good enough and it confirms that the dominance of the Super Falcons on the continent is fast becoming a thing of the past. 

This is a fact the NFF knows and part of the measures in arresting the downward slide of the team is the introduction of the periodic training camps as the team cannot afford not to defend the 2019 AWCON title won in Ghana two years ago. 

Standing between this dream is the Lady Elephants of Cote d'Ivoire as both countries will square up in March next year for a place in place in the competition. 

The General Secretary of the NFF, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, knows the threat posed by the Ivorians hence the need for the camping exercise. 

" We are aware of the challenge that Cote d’Ivoire will pose when we confront them for a place at next year’s Women AFCON. We need players who are committed and are proud to dorn the country’s colours and will strive to deliver no matter the circumstances". 

The Ivorians threat is real, as they stopped the Super Falcons from participating at the 2020 Olympic Games and the manner with which the Lady Elephants despatched the Niger Republic in the first round of the 2022 AWCON qualifier scoring 20 goals in 180 minutes.  

No doubt this camp is desirable and timely as its importance cannot be overstated as the task ahead is far beyond just two-legged AWCON qualifiers against Cote'd'ivoire as the 2022 AWCON will also determine the countries that will represent Africa at the 2023 FIFA Women World Cup. 

Hence the threat posed by the Ivorians cannot be overemphasised and camping the team is a good step to ensuring the Super Falcons scale the hurdle, kudos to the NFF for being proactive.

FALCONS WHO WERE INVOLVED IN THE TRAINING CAMP:

Goalkeepers: Onyinyechukwu Okeke (Bayelsa Queens); Ibubeleye Whyte (Rivers Angels); Uchenna Chukwu (Nasarawa Amazons)

Defenders: Onome Ebi (Minsk FC, Belarus); Maureen Okpala (Nasarawa Amazons); Patricia George (SC Sand, Germany); Ashley Plumptre (Leicester City, England); Miracle Joseph (Bayelsa Queens); Joy Duru (Nasarawa Amazons); Nicole Payne (West Virginia University, USA); Michelle Alozie (Houston Dash, USA); Glory Edet (Bayelsa Queens); Akudo Ogbonna (Edo Queens)

Midfielders: Adekite Dada (Watford FC, England); Peace Efih (Kiryat Gat, Israel); Yetunde Aluko (WFC Ramat Hasharon, Israel); Amanda Mbadinuju (Bayelsa Queens); Goodness Onyebuchi (Edo Queens); Grace Igboamalu (Bayelsa Queens); Toni Oyedupe Payne (Sevilla FC, Spain); Regina Otu (Minsk FC, Belarus); Christy Ucheibe (FC Sevilla, Spain)

Forwards: Rasheedat Ajibade (Atletico Madrid, Spain); Esther Okoronkwo (AS Saint Etienne, France); Mary-Ann Ezenagu (Rivers Angels); Anam Imo (Pitea IF, Sweden); Vivian Ikechukwu (Rivers Angels); Gift Monday (FC Robo); Juliet Bassey (Bayelsa Queens); Chinonyerem Macleans (Gonirk Leczna (Poland)  

Ballon d’Or 2021: Results as Lionel Messi beats Lewy by just 33 votes

Lionel Messi beat Robert Lewandowski to the 2021 Ballon d’Or title by just 33 points after football figures the world over cast their vote for the globe’s best player.

Each nation was represented in the voting by the national team’s manager, captain, and a leading sports journalist nominated by the country’s association. They selected a top three with three points for the winner, two for second place, and one for third.

It led to Messi being awarded 613 points ahead of the 580 claimed by Lewandowski - a thin winning margin but by no means the smallest claimed by the Argentine superstar.

Messi beat Virgil van Dijk to the 2019 gong by just seven points while Kevin Keegan and Alfredo Di Stefano share the closest near-misses, finishing runner-up in 1972 and 1956 respectively while just three points behind - under previous voting systems.

Finishing third in Monday’s ceremony was Jorginho, who scored 460 points.

Karim Benzema came home fourth with 239 points ahead of Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante on 186.

Cristiano Ronaldo beat Mohamed Salah to sixth place and almost took Kante too, finishing on 178 points. Salah earned 121 points to Kevin De Bruyne’s 73, with 58 for Kylian Mbappe and 36 for tenth-placed Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Outside the top ten were Erling Haaland (33), Romelu Lukaku and Giorgio Chiellini - both with 26 but the Belgian officially ahead due to the weighting of his votes.

Leonardo Bonucci (18), Raheem Sterling (10), Neymar (nine), Luis Suarez, Simon Kjaer (both eight), Mason Mount and Riyad Mahrez (both seven) completed the top 20.

Bruno Fernandes and Lautaro Martinez (both six) shared 21st place ahead of Harry Kane (four), Pedri (three), Phil Foden (two) and the trio of Nicolo Barella, Ruben Dias and Gerard Moreno who all took home a single point.

Cesar Azpilicueta and Luka Modric did not receive any votes and finished tied for 29th.

Culled: The Standard