All sports stories from Naija – Latest from the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), Nigerian Super Eagles and Super Falcons preparations for the FIFA World Cups, and the Nigeria athletes compete at the Commonwealth Games, Olympics and the IAAF World Championships.
8 February 2011 The midweek FIFA-sanctioned dates are packed with international friendlies involving European teams, but two matches featuring four former world champions stand out: Brazil v France in Paris/Saint-Denis and Germany v Italy in Dortmund. The latter clash sees the Azzurri head back to the scene of their famous semifinal win over Germany en-route to winning the 2006 World…
7 February 2011 Angola snatched a stoppage-time equaliser against Tunisia and Senegal stunned Rwanda with two late goals as the drama continued Monday at the African Nations Championship in Sudan. Veteran defender Carlos 'Kaly' Alonso was the toast of Angolan football after he scored in the second additional minute to cancel a lead Tunisia had held since the sixth minute…
8 February 2011 High-riding Bukola Babes of Ilorin managed to salvage a point against bottom team in the Nigeria Premier League JUTH FC two minutes from time. Abdulkadir Aminus tap-in inside the six-yard box in the 88th minute of a highly entertaining duel Monday meant Bukola Babes dropped to fourth spot with 24 points, but still preserved their seven-game unbeaten…
7 February 2011 No less than 28 African national teams will play international friendlies this midweek as they prepare for the resumption of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers next month. That all but two of the fixtures see sides from the continent take on one another makes it clear that getting match practice against African opponents is the…
7 February 2011 Defending champions DR Congo suffered an opening game loss at the 2011 African Nations Championship as they went down 2-0 to Cameroon in Group C on Sunday. In the pool's other match, Cote d'Ivoire beat Mali 1-0 to move into second after the first round of matches. Joseph Mamosso and Ousmaila Baba netted for Cameroon against the…
7 February 2011 Ekhigo Ehiosun netted the first hat-trick this season in the Nigeria Premier League to shoot to the top of the goals chart and propel Warri Wolves to third spot in the standings. Ehiosun hit target in the 15th, 63rd and 83rd minutes to take his goal haul to seven, one better than Sunshine Stars midfielder Ajani Ibrahim.…
7 February 2011 Carlo Ancelotti insists Fernando Torres will quickly live up to his 50 million price tag despite the Chelsea striker's dismal debut in a 1-0 defeat against his former club Liverpool. Torres looked totally out of sorts as Liverpool enjoyed a sweet moment of revenge over their former idol just seven days after his controversial British record transfer…
5 February 2011 Lionel Messi hit a hat-trick as Barcelona made history by winning a record 16th successive Spanish League match to beat the previous best of Alfredo Di Stefano's 1960-1961 Real Madrid. Messi scored all the goals in the 3-0 win over Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou as the defending champions opened up a 10-point lead over Real Madrid…
5 February 2011 South Africa created the first shock of the 2011 African Nations Championship with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory against Ghana in Sudan Saturday. Most of the winning team play for third-tier league clubs as Premiership and first division sides refused to release their stars for a tournament restricted to home-based footballers. Ghana, runners-up to the Democratic Republic of…
6 February 2011 Dolphin have reopened a four-point lead at the top of the Nigeria Premier League after a 1-0 home win over closest rivals Sunshine Stars. Dolphin thus have 30 points from 14 matches, while Sunshine Stars stay on 26 points. Ghanaian striker Owusu Addae was the match hero for the Port Harcourt side with a 20th minute strike…
4 February 2011 The 2011 African Nations Championship being staged in Sudan kicks-off this evening when the hosts take on Gabon in their opening encounter in Khartoum. DR Congo will be defending the crown they won in Cote d'Ivoire two years ago, but this time face an extended field after CAF increased the number of participants from eight to 16…
3 February 2011 Inter Milan moved up to third in the Serie A table after labouring to a 3-0 victory at rock bottom Bari on Thursday. Following league leaders AC Milan's 0-0 draw with Lazio on Tuesday, Inter closed the gap to their bitter city rivals to seven points and with a game in hand. Although the final score appeared…
4 February 2011 It will be first against second in a titanic clash of the NPL on Saturday when Dolphin host closest rivals Sunshine Stars in Port Harcourt. Two-time league kings Dolphin have led the standings for several weeks only for their lead to be cut back to a single point after they slipped 2-0 at Ocean Boys, while Sunshine…
3 February 2011 Round 19 of the Absa Premiership sees some interesting fixtures in place this weekend and includes a Soweto derby and a top of the table verse bottom of the log clash, to mention but a few interesting matches. The weekends action kicks-off in Cape Town on Saturday afternoon when Ajax host three time defending PSL champions SuperSport…
2 February 2011 Real Madrid will face arch rivals Barcelona in a mouthwatering Kings Cup final after Jose Mourinho's Madrid side defeated holders Sevilla 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday to reach their first final since 2004. Togo forward Emmanuel Adebayor scored his first Real goal deep in stoppage time to add to an 81st minute strike from German…