FLAMINGOES LAND IN JORDAN

The delegation of Nigeria’s U17 Women National Team, Flamingoes, flew into Jordan on Tuesday morning aboard an Emirates Airline flight from Dubai. The contingent had flown out of Abuja aboard another Emirates Airline flight on Monday night.
The 32 –member delegation comprising of 21 players, 9 Officials, NFF Assistant Technical Director, Abdulrafiu Yusuf and Head of Women Football, Ruth David were on board the same Emirates Airline flight from Dubai with Group C opponents, Korea Democratic People’s Republic. The airplane landed at the Queen Alia International Airport, Amman at 9.25am Jordan time on Tuesday.
The Nigeria delegation was received Head of Chancery, Nigerian Embassy, Abdulhamid Aminu and Ernest Orogun, the Communications Officer, as well as members of the Local Organizing Committee of the 5thFIFA U17 Women’s World Cup. The players and officials later left for Le Royal Hotels and Resorts, Amman where they are lodged.
The Flamingoes will resume training on Wednesday. The three –time quarter finalists will play their opener against Brazil on Nigeria’s Independence Day (1st October) by 4pm Jordan time (2pm Nigeria), before games against England and Korea DPR at the Amman International Stadium. It is worthy of note that only 22 seconds were on the clock atNew Zealand 2008 whenNigeria's Soo Adekwagh scorednot only the fastest goal in thehistory of the FIFA U17 Women's World Cup, but in any FIFA women's competition.

 THE FULL LIST

 GOALKEEPERS:
 Chiamaka Nnadozie (Rivers Angels); Christiana Obia (Martins Whyte Doves); Agatha Thompson (Young Talent FC)

 DEFENDERS:
 Abidemi Ibe (Ibom Angels); Patience Dike (Abia Angels); Catherine Kenneth (Rivers Angels); Ebunoluwa Adeboye (Rivers Angels); Akudo Ogbonna (FC Robo); Joy Michael (Young Talent FC); Opeyemi Sunday (Sunshine Queens), Happiness Titus (Greater Tomorrow Academy)

 MIDFIELDERS:
Christy Ucheibe (Capital City Doves); Peace Efih (Edo Queens); Folashade Ijamilusi (Spring Soca Academy)

 FORWARDS:
Oghenebrume Ikekhua (Delta Queens); Mercy Omokwo (Abia Angels); Rasheedat Ajibade (FC Robo); Arit Itu (Rivers Angels); Chidinma Okeke (FC Robo); Cynthia Aku (Rivers Angels); Mary-Ann Ezenagu (Delta Queens)

MIKEL,MUSA, 20 OTHERS TO FACE ZAMBIA

Nigeria’s Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr, has released a list of 23 players invited for next month’s 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Matchday 1 clash between the Super Eagles and Zambia’s Chipolopolo in Ndola.



The Franco-German retained belief in the squad that pipped Tanzania 1-0 in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match in Uyo on 3rd September, but has added Alanyaspor of Turkey defender Kenneth Omeruo, Belgium –based midfielder Anderson Esiti and English Premiership duo Isaac Success and Alex Iwobi.



Skipper Mikel John Obi, assistant skipper Ahmed Musa, goalkeeper Carl Ikeme, defender Elderson Echiejile, midfielder Ogenyi Onazi and in –form Manchester City of England forward Kelechi Iheanacho are in the 23 –man roster.



Rohr has excused Watford FC forward Odion Ighalo, who will attend his father’s burial in Nigeria on Saturday, 8th October – eve of the big match at the Levy Nwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.



Injured KAA Gent of Belgium striker Moses Simon is listed after assuring Coach Rohr that he has started treatment and would be fully healed well ahead of the encounter.



All invited players are expected to start arriving in Abuja as from Sunday, 2nd October.



ALL THE INVITED PLAYERS



Goalkeepers: Carl Ikeme (Wolverhampton Wanderers, England); Emmanuel Daniel (Enugu Rangers); Ikechukwu Ezenwa (FC IfeanyiUbah)



Defenders: Leon Balogun (FSV Mainz 05, Germany); William Paul Ekong (Haugesund FC, Norway); Kenneth Omeruo (Alanyaspor FC, Turkey); Jamiu Alimi (Kano Pillars); Abdullahi Shehu (Anorthosis Famagusta, Cyprus); Musa Muhammed (Istanbul Basaksehir, Turkey); Elderson Echiejile (Standard Liege, Belgium), Kingsley Madu (SV Zulte Waregem, Belgium)



Midfielders: Mikel John Obi (Chelsea FC, England); Ogenyi Onazi (Trabzonspor, Turkey); Wilfred Ndidi (KRC Genk, Belgium); Nosa Igiebor (Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel); Anderson Esiti (KAA Gent, Belgium)



Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Leicester City, England); Kelechi Iheanacho (Manchester City, England); Moses Simon (KAA Gent, Belgium); Victor Moses (Chelsea FC, England); Isaac Success (Watford FC, England); Brown Ideye (Olympiacos FC, Greece); Alex Iwobi (Arsenal FC, England)

THE LMC HAMMER

LMC Sanctions, Abia Warriors, Sunshine Stars and Enyimba Masseur.


Sunshine Stars and Abia Warriors have been sanctioned by the League Management Company (LMC) for disruptive behaviour of their fans in recent matches just as Enyimba’s Masseur, Mr. Ifeanyi Kalu was handed a one year ban from all activities of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) and his club fined N250,000.
In a related development, the LMC has written to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) requesting the exclusion of 12 Referees from further officiating of NPFL matches pending investigations into their respective performances in recent matches.
A total fine of N2.7m has been imposed on Sunshine Stars for various breaches of the rule including failure to provide adequate security, assault on match officials, throwing of object into the field of play, delaying the start of the second half and throwing of object at an official of Heartland FC.
The breaches were committed in the course of their Match Day 33 fixture against Heartland at the Akure Township Stadium. In addition to the fine, Sunshine Stars will now serve the one match behind closed door which was earlier imposed as a suspended punishment for similar breaches on Match Day 17 fixture against Warri Wolves. The assaulted Assistant Referee and the injured Heartland official will be paid compensations of N250, 000 each from the fine.
Abia Warriors are being sanctioned for the conduct of its fans in the Match Day 34 fixture against FC IfeanyiUbah and has been fined a total of N2.5m in addition to playing two matches behind closed door.
The club was fined N1m for encroachment of fans into the field of play while a fine of N750, 000 is to be paid for the club’s failure to provide adequate security for the match officials immediately after the match. Each of the three match officials are to be paid N250, 000 each as compensation by the club for the assault perpetrated by their fans on the match officials. Abia Warriors are also to replace the FIFA match wrist watch the referee lost during the fracas.
According to the Summary Jurisdiction Notice issued the club, the fan(s) who assaulted the match officials must be apprehended by Abia Warriors and handed over to law enforcement agencies for prosecution. The sanction further ordered that should the club fail to produce the culprit(s) after seven days from the date of the notice, a fine of N250, 000 shall accrue for each day until the order is complied with.
The club has until close of business on Friday, September 16 to respond in writing indicating acceptance of the charges or electing to appear before a commission.
For performances that has been perceived to have raised integrity concerns in recent league matches, the League Management Company (LMC) has written to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) requesting for the immediate exclusion of 12 Referees from officiating in matches pending the review of their performances in the said matches.
The 12 match officials are made up of four center referees and eight assistant referees who officiated in fixtures of Match Day 33, 34 and 35. The matches are Match Day 33 in Makurdi between Nasarawa United and Rangers International, match day 34 fixture in Umuahia between Abia Warriors and FC IfeanyiUbah, match day 35 in Nnewi between FC IfeanyiUbah and Akwa United and that in Lokoja between Niger Tornadoes and Enyimba.
In the letter to the NFF President, the LMC disclosed that it would engage the leadership of the NFF Referees Committee and the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA) to address perceived lapses that are capable of casting the game in disrepute.
It further noted that the LMC in asking for the exclusion of the match officials from further participation in NPFL matches did not intend to pass any form of judgment “until the relevant regulatory bodies have had an opportunity to review material evidence which we would make available at the consultative meeting, we are compelled by the exigency of time”.
The League body also explained that it has become necessary to take the step in response to overwhelming concerns from all NPFL participating clubs and interest from all stakeholders and the need to protect the competition.

CAF DROPS PINNICK OUT OF FIFA ELECTIVE SLOTS.

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Amaju Pinnick will not contest for a FIFA council seat later this month after CAF did not endorse his nomination having attempted a failed coup de grace when he hosted FIFA President, Giani Infanitno, shunning the CAF Chiefs as a result.
CAF named its candidates which did not include Mr Pinnick. The elections into the FIFA Council are slated for 29th September. The naed candidates are: Almamy Kabele Camara (Guinea); Suketu Patel (Sychelles); Kwesi Nyantakyi (Ghana); Ahmad (Madagascar); Augustin Senghor (Senegal); Hamidou Djibrilla (Niger) and Chabur Goc Alei (South Sudan).
The seven shortlisted candidates will undergo the FIFA integrity test, before their names are finally ratified for the ballot.
It would be recalled that Pinnick’s invitation of Infantino and 17 other African football federation presidents in July was only a cover-up to seek for support for his bid to contest for one of the FIFA seats and this much has been confirmed by the man himself.
“As big as Nigeria, we don’t have a representative in CAF or in FIFA, so if I am ambitious to go to CAF or FIFA, yes because I am the president of the NFF, not because I’m just a member,” Pinnick told newsmen in Lagos on Tuesday.
“I am praying about it and if God wills it, why not? But the truth is Nigeria needs a presence globally and this is exactly what we are doing.”

AFCON WIN A GOOD START- SHORUNMU

Afcon win a good start - Shorunmu
 
Former Super Eagles goalkeeper coach Ike Shorunmu believes the win against Taifa Stars in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifying match was the perfect start for new manager Gernot Rohr.
Eagles and Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho's match winner in the 78th minute proved enough to hand the three-time African champions the win in the inconsequential match.
Shorunmu said the Afcon victory is a perfect start as the new Eagles manager kick-start his reign.
“The important thing is that we won the Afcon clash against Tanzania, giving the new manager a perfect start to his reign. “We need to start somewhere to repair the Super Eagles.
“I’m certain the victory makes everybody happy and it will boost the side's morale in preparation for the World Cup qualifier next month against Zambia.
“The Afcon win is a good start; the scoreline was also decent and unlikely to put any pressure on the coach.
“If the Eagles had won the Afcon clash with as many as four or five unreplied goals the heat would have been unbearable on the coach in the next match.
“I’m satisfied with the overall performance and I hope they do well in future matches.
“The Eagles' performance prove they can comfortably match their opponents in the World Cup race.
“No country is a push-over any more. As we are bringing in new players to the fray others are doing the same thing.
“I believe the Eagles have started well; it’s now up to the entire country to queue behind the coach to bring out the best performance from the team,” said the former Nigerian shot stopper.

FG DROPS STATE OF EMERGENCY ON SPORTS MINISTRY

Sports reform committee submits report to Dalung miffed by the embarrassing performance of the Team Nigeria athletes in the two successive Olympic Games, the
Federal Government yesterday declared a state of emergency on Nigerian sports.
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, who made the declaration in Abuja yesterday while receiving the reports of the Sports Reform Committee, maintained that certain measures must be introduced to return Nigeria to the community of major sporting nations,through provisions of emergency rule.
His words: “We are indeed in a state of emergency because of lack of performance in the sports sector. We will therefore take far reaching measures to restructure thesector. Our dismal outing at the just concluded Rio olympics is another factor why we must reform our sports.
“Although it is not what we hoped for, yet it offered a glimmer of hope that if we put our acts together, we will achieve greater results in future Olympics. This is part of what this report is about. Having received this report from the Sports Reform Committee, we will begin the implementation by declaring a state of emergency in Nigerian sports”. Dalung declared.
Speaking earlier while submitting the report, the chairman of the National Sports Reforms Committee, Godwin Kienka, recommended for transparency as panacea for the reform.
“The first step to a meaningful and enduring reform is transparency. Sports in the past has been run like a cult. No one knows how much the NOC gets from the IOC by way of
grants.
No one knows what the sports federations get from the IOC and their international federations and from other bodies by way of grants and counterpart funding. The nation and the sports men and women deserve to know,” he noted