Author: Olukayode Oke

Clubs that fail to qualify for UEFA’s competitions are set to receive a greater share of revenue from the European governing body from next season. The arrangement is under a new distribution model announced on Wednesday by UEFA. UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA) signed a renewed working agreement until 2030 which will “bolster long-term stability and sustainable growth in European club football,” the governing body said in a statement. The change will be effective from the start of the 2024-25 season, coinciding with a new format in UEFA’s Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League. Under the…

Cristiano Ronaldo says he and Lionel Messi “changed the history of football” but their rivalry is now “gone”. “We are respected all over the world, that’s the most important thing,” Ronaldo said. Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo has been left off the shortlist for the first time since 2003, while Messi could win it for the eighth time. “He makes his way, I make mine. He’s done well, from what I’ve seen. It’s about continuing, the legacy continues,” added 38-year-old Ronaldo, who now plays in Saudi Arabia for Al-Nassr. When asked if hatred was a feature of their rivalry, he said: “Those…

Demarai Gray has left Everton to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq. The fee has not been disclosed but reports suggest the 27-year-old Jamaica winger has moved for £8m on a four-year deal. Gray was rebuked by Everton boss Sean Dyche after seeming to criticise his manager on social media after a switch to Fulham failed to go through. Gray wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday: “The truth is I gave my all to this club on and off the pitch.” He added: “There has been a lot of speculation about my situation all summer. I was ready to play as much football…

Victor Osimhen has been nominated for the 2023 Ballon d’Or. The striker who plies his trade in Italy with Napoli made the 30-man list -announced earlier today- of the back of an impressive 2022/2023 season where he scored 31 goals and made 5 assists across all competitions including 26 goals in the Serie A which made him top scorer in the league. He was nominated alongside fellow teammate and last season’s Serie A MVP Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and former Napoli defender Kim Min-jae who has now moved to Bayern Munchen. The former LOSC Lille striker is the first Nigerian since Nwankwo…

Kylian Mbappe, Pedri and Gavi have previously won the prize, but who will pick it up this year at the ceremony in Paris on October 30? It’s not just the men’s and women’s Golden Balls that will be handed out the Ballon d’Or ceremony, as a swathe of new prizes have been added to the roster by organisers France Football. One of those is the Kopa Trophy, which is awarded to the best player under the age of 21 in the previous season. The 2022-23 campaign saw a number of youngsters thrive at the highest level, with some of the defining…

Jenni Hermoso has filed a legal complaint over the kiss by Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales. Rubiales kissed Hermoso on the lips after Spain’s World Cup final win, which she says was not consensual. Rubiales claims the kiss was “mutual and “consensual”, but has been provisionally suspended by football’s world governing body FIFA. The complaint means the 46-year-old could face criminal charges. On 29 August, Spanish prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation into whether the incident amounts to a crime of sexual assault. At the time, Spain’s top criminal court said it was opening its investigation in light of the “unequivocal…

The Super Eagles camp is bubbling with life following the arrival of Victor Osimhen, William Troost-Ekong and nine others players. The eleven new Eagles in camp are , Jamilu Collins, Taiwo Awoniyi, Wilfred Ndidi, Raphael Onyedika, Calvin Bassey, William Troost Ekong, Ola Aina, Semi Ajayi, Joseph Aribo, Lookman Ademola, Victor Osimhen. This brings to twenty-two the number of Super Eagles players that have been received at the Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo on Wednesday September 6, 2023. Enyimba FC skipper Ojo Olurunleke is the other player and is said to be in camp already leaving Head Coach with a full…

The kickoff date for the 2023/2024 Nigeria Premier Football League season has been postponed AGAIN. This was conveyed in a letter signed by the Chief Operating officer of the NPFL Davidson Owumi on Wednesday September 6, 2023. The 2023/2024 Nigeria Premier Football League season was scheduled to kickoff with a flagoff game between Shooting Stars Sports Club and Plateau United FC on September 9, but that will not hold as earlier scheduled due to the postponement. According to the NPFL board, a new date will be fixed and announced for the commencement of the season. Kickoff date for the 2023/2024…

Bukayo Saka has been voted England men’s Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. Midfielder Jude Bellingham was second in the ballot while captain and all-time goalscorer Harry Kane was third. Saka has scored seven goals in 10 Three Lions appearances in the last 12 months, including three strikes at the 2022 World Cup and a first career hat-trick against North Macedonia in June. He is in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine on Saturday before the World Cup quarter-finalists face Scotland on Tuesday.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Wednesday, met with Nigerian and Indian captains of industry on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, India. The Nigerian leader was accompanied to the meeting by the Coordinating Minister of Economy and Finance, Wale Edun; Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite; and Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar. President Tinubu, on Tuesday, arrived in New Delhi to the immediate embrace of Gopichand Hinduja, the Chairman and CEO of the Hinduja Group of Companies, a conglomerate with a total asset portfolio exceeding $100 billion U.S. Dollars. The Indian Industrialist was received by the President…

The Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel of the Presidential Petition Election Tribunal on Wednesday said the Allied Peoples Movement’s petition challenging the qualification of Vice President, Kashim Shettima, was a pre-election matter. Reading his verdict, Tsammani said the matter ought to have been challenged before the conduct of the presidential election. He said, “The issue of qualification or disqualification is a constitutional one. The issue of disqualification or qualification is a pre-election matter. “It must be determined before the conduct of the election. This court has no jurisdiction to hear the matter and even if it does it is status-barred…

The nominees for the 2023 Ballon d’Or awards will be announced on Wednesday, with 30 male and 20 female players set to make the shortlist. The annual prize, given to the best footballer of the year, is widely considered the most prestigious in the sport. On Thursday, 30 nominees for the men’s Ballon d’Or and 20 nominees for the Ballon d’Or Feminin will be revealed. There will also be a 10-man list of nominees for the Yashin and Kopa trophies, awarded to the best goalkeeper and best Under-21 player respectively. Argentina and Inter Miami star Lionel Messi has won the…