Author: Olukayode Oke

Napoli continued their steady march towards the league title on Saturday. Luciano Spalletti’s men beat Salernitana 2-0 in Salerno thanks to goals from Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Victor Osimhen to move 12 points clear of second-placed AC Milan, who have a game in hand. It will be a tough task for the Partenopei not to lift the league title to the skies above Naples. Napoli did not miss the opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the table when they took on bottom-placed Salernitana. Spalletti’s side, the only top side playing on Saturday, easily beat an opponent that held on for most of the first half thanks to Guillermo…

Newcastle United moved up to third in the table after a goalless draw at Crystal Palace extended their unbeaten run to 15 Premier League matches. The visitors dominated possession throughout the contest, which saw the visitors squander 15 corners, while the hosts were dealt a blow when Wilfried Zaha was forced off with injury in the second half. Magpies goalkeeper Nick Pope, who kept his ninth straight clean sheet in all competitions, made a brilliant leaping save to deny substitute Jean-Philippe Mateta the chance to break the deadlock. The result drew Newcastle level on 39 points with Manchester United, who face…

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in collaboration with operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, on Thursday, busted a criminal syndicate involved in the trafficking of fake United States dollar notes and recovered a total of $269,000 counterfeit at Oniru in the Shoprite area of Lekki, Lagos State, where three suspects were arrested. Meanwhile, the NDLEA operatives also dealt a lethal blow to a cluster of cannabis syndicates operating in the Opuje forests in Edo State, where massive warehouses and tents storing over 317,417kg of the psychoactive substance were destroyed and set ablaze, while four suspects…

Liberian President, George Weah, has come out in full support of Morocco’s bid to host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after the hosting rights were withdrawn from Guinea over its lack of preparations. President Weah stated his position while reacting to ”false and misleading, reports making rounds in some international media outlets” that he was supporting the bid by Algeria to host the same tournament. He expressed his “fullest and strong” support for the Moroccan bid instead, which he has further emphasized to the Moroccan government. Liberia fully endorses and supports Morocco’s bid to host CAF Nations Cup 2025.…

Juventus have confirmed they would appeal against their fifteen point deduction as they consider it “a clear injustice towards millions of fans”. The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) confirmed the punishment on Friday following an investigation into the 36-time Italian champions’ past transfer dealings. The Bianconeri have slipped from third in Serie A to 10th and are 12 points off the champions League places with 20 matches left to play. The FIGC also hit the club’s former president Andrea Agnelli and former excutive Maurizio Arrivabene with two-year bans from Italian football. Former sporting director Fabio Paratici, who is now at Tottenham,…

Juventus have been deducted 15 points for the current season by an Italian soccer court investigating its transfer dealings, the national soccer federation (FIGC) said Friday. The ruling, which also deals a blow to the club’s reputation, is tougher than a nine-point deduction a soccer prosecutor had requested earlier in the day during a hearing looking at the way Juventus and a number of other teams dealt with player exchange deals. With 20 games left to play this season, Juve were third in Serie A with 37 points, 10 behind leaders Napoli. The deduction pushes them down into 10th place, outside…

Leicester have bolstered their defensive options in a bid to remain in the Premier League with the signing of Danish full-back Victor Kristiansen from FC Copenhagen for an undisclosed fee. The 20-year-old left-back, capped at under-21 level by his country, has signed a five-and-a-half-year deal and will join the Foxes subject to international clearance. The Premier League is probably the best league in the world and Leicester is a top team, so of course I was excited. It was a no-brainer for me to say yes to this great opportunity,” Kristiansen told the Leicester website. Kristiansen played in all six…

Arsenal have snapped up a £22million deal for a little-known defender after winning the race for Leandro Trossard this week. Trossard has been undergoing his medical on Friday morning ahead of signing a three-and-a-half year deal with the Gunners as he arrives from Brighton & Hove Albion for an initial £21million. He is now set to be joined at the Emirates Stadium by their second signing of the January transfer window as Jakub Kiwior edges closer to a move. The Polish defender will reportedly fly to London over the weekend to complete his medical and sign on the dotted line…

The United States has expressed interest in strengthening its economic ties with Africa in the year 2023. The U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to pay a visit to three African countries to begin this US-Africa economic buff, starting this Friday. This initiative is following decades of Chinese prominence on the continent. Africa’s demographic boom is a key subject that would be addressed during her visit, as this development is partly the reason why the US has pronounced Africa an economically attractive destination. This subject would be addressed by the Treasury Secretary on her trip to Dakar, Senegal. She…

Ligue 1 club, OGC Nice are now firm favourites to sign Terem Moffi from Lorient after increasing their bid for the striker. According to a report in Ouest-France, Nice has submitted a bid worth €20m to Lorient. The Eagles offered to pay €17m upfront and add-ons of €3m. Nice has already agreed on personal terms with the 23-year-old and is awaiting Lorient’s response to their proposal. Premier League club, West Ham United are also keen on signing Moffi but he is not willing to move to England at the moment. The Nigeria international arrived in Lorient from Belgian Pro League…

Ahead of next month’s general elections, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, CJID, has called on governments at all levels and the security agencies to ensure the safety and security of journalists. The call comes in the wake of many recorded cases of attacks on journalists, especially during political rallies and elections. At a security training for 50 journalists across Nigeria, the CJID Deputy Director, Busola Ajibola disclosed that from the CJID Press Attack Tracker, about 53 attacks on journalists were documented in 2022 and many of which occurred during political rallies. She lamented that journalists in most cases…

A professor of Mathematics, University of Lagos, Johnson Olaleru, has received a gold medalist award. According to a statement on Friday, the don, was awarded at the UNILAG 60th convocation ceremony on January 18, 2023. The statement read in part “In addition to being the Head of Department of Mathematics for three years, a member of counselling board, a member of CITS board and contributions to the university service in various committees of the Senate, Faculty of Science and Postgraduate School, the University Web Ranking Committee was set up in 2010 in response to Prof. Olaleru’s proposal to the university…