Nigeria National League: Teams set for photo finish

The participating teams in the Nigeria National League (second division) will need to fight till the last match to know if they will pick promotion or demotion tickets to play either in the lucrative Premier League or the amateur ranks next season.

The league season officially ends on Saturday August 31 with the last set of matches billed to take place simultaneously across the country.

As all the teams in Group A and B gear up to play the final round of matches of the 2012/13 season, only Giwa Football Club has gained promotion to the elite division next season while four other clubs will have to wait for the last blast of the whistle on Saturday to know if they will join Giwa to play in the Premiership next season.

However, the teams with good chances of picking the remaining three tickets are Abia Warriors, which needs a home win to top Group B even as Crown FC of Ogbomosho and Remo Babes are hot on the heels to join the big boys party.

Also, Ranch Bees FC Taraba; Plateau United and Kaduna-based DSS FC are struggling to go through with Giwa in Group A.

In the same vein there will also be fierce battles to avoid relegation to the amateur rank as teams go to the final battle on Saturday to win to escape relegation to the less fancied third tier league.

Among the troubled teams are Adamawa Utd and Niger Tornadoes, as well as Prime FC and Rising Stars FC in Groups A and B respectively.

The above scenario has made the final matches of the NNL very unpredictable for each club would not know their faith until the end of the game especially the table toppers and back backbenchers alike.

Meanwhile, NNL chairman, Emeka Inyama, has reiterated the resolve of his board to ensure the competition ends on a good note to crown the hard work that management staff, board members, the media and clubs have put in the league.

”I have no doubt in my mind that we shall see perfect ending of the league with the logistics deployed to ensure a flawless handling of the final matches nationwide,” Inyama boasted.

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Kanu Heart Foundation to raise N3bn for specialist hospital

The Kanu Heart Foundation has disclosed that it is working in partnership with Ecobank to gather funds for the realisation of a N5 billion cardiac specialist hospital project.

The Executive Secretary of the Foundation, Onyebuchi Abia, revealed that Ecobank would sell N100 raffle tickets in support of the Foundation’s ‘Touch a Heart, Save a Soul’ campaign.

He added that the lottery, which has been sanctioned by the National Lottery Commission, was expected to yield an estimated N3 billion

Abia also disclosed that Kia Motors had donated 12 cars as part of the prizes for the lottery.

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Fernabahce suspension: Emenike, Yobo out of Europe till 2015

Emenike was Nigeria’s highest goal scorer at the Nations Cup.  

After a celebrated move back to Turkey to rejoin Istanbul giants Fenerbahce, Emmanuel Emenike’s mega million move may have turned sour as he is now to miss out on top European action for the next two seasons.

Unless Emenike, Nigeria’s top striker and highest goal scorer in January’s African Cup of Nations, and compatriot, Joseph Yobo, move away from their current Turkish club they remain banned from European club competition till the 2015/16 football season.

Emenike was Nigeria’s top scorer at the last Africa Cup of Nations Cup in South Africa and was deeply missed at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil. Eagles Coach, Stephen Keshi, admitted after the competition that the Super Eagles would have done better if Emenike, who missed the competition to injury, had been part of the squad.

The now limited European action for the former Spartak Moscow of Russia forward may not augur well for the African champions who are seeking a berth at the Brazil 2014 World Cup where Emenike is one of the trusted legs to deliver the needed goals.

The European ban follows the final ruling delivered on Tuesday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport which dismissed Fenerbahce’s appeal against a two-year competition ban which had been imposed by UEFA.

Tuesday’s ruling means Fenerbahce remain expelled from the Europa League, which they would have taken part in this season after losing a Champions League qualifier to Arsenal. They are also barred from any European competition next season following a match-fixing case they were found guilty of in Turkey.

UEFA expelled Fenerbahce in June after judging that club officials helped fix matches to win the 2011 Turkish league title.

UEFA rules bar clubs which are implicated in fixing matches played since April 2007. The European football governing body however agreed to let Fenerbahce play Champions League matches pending Tuesday’s CAS verdict, with no further appeal available to the Turkish club.

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Winners and Losers of the Champions League draw

The Champions League is undoubtedly the most prestigious club trophy in football - a competition that in order to conquer requires a lot of skill, but also a fair degree of luck.

A modest Champions League group goes a long way to paving the path to glory, which is why every club who were in the hat for Thursday's 2013-14 group stage draw will have been watching on nervously.

Below we take a look at who were the big winners and losers in Monte Carlo.

WINNERS

Chelsea

Sides under Jose Mourinho make a habit of qualifying from the group stages with minimum fuss and that will be no different given the complexion of Group E. There is nothing for fear for the 2012 champions as they avoided any significant banana skins in the draw. Schalke are brittle and seemingly getting worse with only Julian Draxler to stem the tide. Basel, industrious as they are, have again lost players and Steaua, while undeserving of the 'whipping boys' tag will do well to avoid two defeats by Chelsea. They will be in the draw for the last 16 after four matchdays.

PSG
After being placed in Group C with Benfica, Paris St Germain have defied Uefa's coefficient seeding system and are the strongest team in the group. They boast a better squad than last season and should be untroubled by a second Portuguese group-stage challenge in two years. Olympiacos have just lost their best player to Nottingham Forest, which tells you all you need to know about where they stand, and Anderlecht have some promising players but no longer boast the talents of Lucas Biglia and Dieumerci Mbokani. Simply, Laurent Blanc could not have hand-picked a better draw himself and, ominously, PSG already look a looming European superpower.

Portuguese Liga

Porto have absorbed the loss of James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho and continue to look strong. Provided they claim two wins against Atletico they should be set for the last 16 as Zenit and Plzen do not have the quality to trouble them. Benfica, while inferior to PSG, will probably have enough quality to ride their coat-tails to the knockouts. What that means is that the coefficient totals of the Portuguese league will continue to prosper. With AC Milan, Juventus and Napoli enduring pretty tough draws in their own right, the Portuguese national coefficient may be good enough to overhaul's Serie A. At the end of this campaign the totals from the 2008-09 season expire and with it Italy's five-point lead over Portugal. Depending on results we could see Portugal boast the fourth-best league on the continent.

LOSERS

Arsenal
Much had been said in the days leading up to the draw about how Arsenal didn’t deserve to be in pot one having struggled to make the latter stages of the Champions League in recent years. So the fact that the Gunners feature in the ‘Group of Death’ can be seen as justice being served. Last year’s finalists Borussia Dortmund will expect to win Group F, but second place will be hotly contested between Arsenal, heavy-spending Napoli and a Marseille side who have also impressed in the summer transfer market. Drawing the toughest team from both pot three and four will pile the pressure on under-fire Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

Manchester United

There's a running joke that involves Manchester United and straightforward Champions League draws at the group stage, but this year David Moyes will have every right to be concerned at the standard of opposition his side face. This is arguably United's most testing section since being joined by Barcelona and Bayern Munich when they lifted the trophy in season 1998-99; Shakhtar have proven tournament pedigree, reaching the last 16 and quarter-finals in recent years, and represent a daunting away trip. Leverkusen, meanwhile have commenced their Bundesliga campaign promisingly and Real Sociedad trounced Olympique Lyonnais in the play-offs. They are very much here on merit. It is a group that Moyes and United must be very careful not to underestimate.

Uefa

It is a pastime of most football fans to whinge about football governing bodies such as Uefa and Fifa, even when there is nothing to complain about. However, any fresh criticism of Uefa based on the group stage draw is fully justified as it was nothing short of a farce. Celtic legend Billy McNeill, who captained the Glaswegians to the European Cup in 1967, was chosen to help with the draw but awkwardly failed to open any of the eight capsules containing the pot one teams. Before a global audience, the 73-year-old McNeill became a figure of ridicul




source: goal.com

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Super Eagles Chibuzor Okonkwo Off to Libya

Super Eagles and Enugu Rangers defender Chibuzor Okonkwo is the latest player to quit the Glo Nigeria Premier League for ‘greener’ pastures in the Libyan League futaa.com has confirmed.

player to quit the Glo Nigeria Premier League for ‘greener’ pastures in the Libyan League futaa.com has confirmed.

Though the details of the move are still sketchy, an official with the Flying Antelopes confirmed that the former Heartland player is already away in the oil-rich North African country to seal a deal.

“Yes, he has gone to Libya to sign for one of their top clubs but I don’t have the details now; before the end of the day, other details will be announced, an official of Rangers told futaa.com.

Okonkwo who was part of the 2008 Beijing Olympic silver-winning Nigeria side had before now undergone trials in England, Ukraine, Russia and the Netherlands.

He now joins the likes of Lobi Stars striker Tony Okpotu and Warri Wolves Ike ThankGod who have also made a switch to play their club football in Libya.

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Chelsea sign Eto'o from Anzhi

Chelsea have confirmed the signing of striker Samuel Eto'o from Anzhi Makhachkala on a one-year deal.

Jose Mourinho has tracked Wayne Rooney for much of the summer, with two bids rejected, but has now moved for the 32-year-old after abandoning his pursuit of the Manchester United man.
Eto'o shone under Mourinho during Inter's Champions League-winning 2009-10 season, before becoming the highest-paid player in the world - earning a reported €300,000 (£167,825) a week - when he moved to Anzhi  and is delighted to be reunited with the Chelsea boss.

"I am very happy to be here but also anxious because I want to get playing as soon as possible," he told the club's official website.

"It wasn't a hard decision. I saw the qualities Chelsea have, and I was very happy with Jose Mourinho before, so when the opportunity came, I was very happy to take it."

Eto'o becomes Chelsea's second summer recruit from the Russia outfit after Willian's arrival on Wednesday for £31.7m, joining Cristian Cuevas, Andre Schurrle, Mark Schwarzer and Marco van Ginkel at Stamford Bridge.

Goal understands Eto'o's arrival at Chelsea is likely to herald the departure of Ba on a season-long loan. The Senegal striker has attracted strong interest from West Ham and Roma.

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Balotelli: Comparing me to Ibra is a compliment to him!

AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli has claimed that comparisons between him and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are complimentary to the Paris Saint-Germain star.


The Italy international has made a stunning impact since arriving at San Siro in January, helping to fill the void left by the Swede's departure to the French capital.

The former Inter man believes that he and the 31-year-old are very different players but joked that he was superior.

"We are two different people, but comparing me to Zlatan is a compliment to him," he told Sky Italia after his side's 3-0 win over PSV.

Victory against the Dutch giants sealed progression to the Champions League group stages and Balotelli has set his sights on winning the tournament.

"In Netherlands we didn't play well, but we killed them here in Milan. We had a bad game in Eindhoven. It happens. It is better if that happens in the first leg than the second."

Milan will be looking to kickstart their Serie A campaign with a trip to Cagliari on Sunday, having lost their first fixture to Hellas Verona.

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