An attorney with the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) Raymond Hack says FIFA must deduct three points from South Africa for fielding an ineligible player in Teboho Mokoena in their 2-0 win over Lesotho in the world cup qualifiers in March, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

FIFA usually dock teams three , three goals plus a fine when they field an ineligible player but is yet to take a decision four months after South Africa committed a similar offence.

Speaking on the subject during Soccer Africa, a television show, Hack who was introduced by the host as an expert in cases like this made it clear that the rule must be applied and said the delay by FIFA in punishing South Africa is something that he has never seen before.

He cited example with the recent breach by Grimsby Town in an FA Cup game by Manchester United and the speed at which a decision was reached on the League One side fielding an ineligible player.

When the host of the show tried to say the case might be lacking in substance,.due to the fact that Lesotho didn’t file an appeal and FIFA didn’t notify any of the teams of the players suspended like they usually do. Hack was quick to dismiss it.

Hack said the fact that Lesotho didn’t protest doesn’t mean that South Africa didn’t commit an offence, hence they must be punished for breaching the competition rules. He agreed with ace Nigerian journalist Osasu Obayiuwana who was also a guest on the show that when there is a breach technical grounds doesn’t matter.

The former South Africa Football Association (SAFA) chief went as far as saying that they could be an attempt by FIFA to sweep the case under the carpet, which he said could be partially responsible for the delay in making a decision.

Ahead of the resumption of games in the world cup qualifiers in October, the Warriors of Zimbabwe have decided against playing their home game against South Africa in the country of the group leaders, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Due to the fact that FIFA didn’t approve any of their stadiums to host games in the world cup qualifiers, they have been playing all their home games in South Africa, who are in the same group with them and currently in pole position to make it to the world cup.

South Africa go into the final two games of the qualifiers needing to win both games to maintain their push for the world cup, even if as expected FIFA deduct three points from them for fielding an ineligible player against Lesotho in March.

In order not to give South Africa any advantage which may result from playing their home ganes in South Africa, the Zimbabwe Football Association has decided to move the game to Botswana according to the FA president of Botswana Tariq Oabile Thona Babitseng.

“Yes, it is true we will be hosting Zimbabwe versus South Africa in Botswana at Obed Itani Chilume Stadium in Francistown on 10 October,” Babitseng said. The Zimbabwe Football Association has already contacted us, and we have agreed to host them here in Botswana”.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Former Africa player of the year and Nigeria international striker Victor Ikpeba says the players of the senior national team of Nigeria are to be blamed for the team’s current struggles in the world cup qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nigeria is presently walking a tight rope in their quest to make it to the 2026 World Cup after the draw against group leaders South Africa. The result has led to talks about who is to blame for the plight of the team.

Leading the chorus on who is to blame is the former captain of the team John Obi Mikel, who said the board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) should be forced to step aside, if the team fails to make it to the world cup for the second time in a row.

Responding to Mikel during the television show Monday Night football, Ikpeba fired back at the claims made by the former Chelsea ace saying the players are largely to be blamed for the team’s present woes.

“Why are some people calling for the resignation of the NFF? Do they expect committee members to come and play the game on the pitch.

“Our players should take the lion’s share of the blame for our shoddy performance so far in the World Cup qualifiers,” Ikpeba said during the broadcast.

“They were given everything they needed to deliver qualification without stress, but somehow they have not lived up to expectations. I won’t question their commitment, but with the quality of players we have, Nigeria should not be struggling in our group”.

Ade Emmanuel

The chances of the senior national team of Nigeria making it to the 2026 World Cup has been made more difficult by the recent 1-1 draw against South Africa in the last round of games in the world cup qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

A win would have seen them go into the final two games of the qualifiers with better hope, with a potential three points deduction looming over South Africa for fielding an ineligible player in Teboho Mokoena in their 2-0 win over Lesotho.

FIFA usually punish teams who commit such offences with a three points, three goals deduction and the case of Bafana Bafana is not expected to be an exception despite the delays by FIFA.

However how the team found themselves in this difficult situation has been explained by a top player in the team, who spoke to OwnGoalNigeria.com on the condition of anonymity.

” It’s not a good position to be in, and we have to look at how we got here. The poor start with former coach Jose Peseiro who used the first two games in the qualifiers to settle scores and also prepare for the AFCON. We got two points off the games from a possible six”, he explained.

” Then there was Finidi George who to me was too eager to change things and the players maybe due to pressure and demands after the AFCON. He tried to instill a style of play with so many new players and it got us just one point.

” Now we have Eric Chelle, who probably would have won all of his games if not for the error by our captain in the draw against Zimbabwe and also his own goal against South Africa. His style of play has also not helped in so many ways but he is still unbeaten with eight points”, he stated.

He also took a swipe at the NFF on their handling of the situation of the team, and also how logistics could have been better. ” We played on Saturday against Rwanda. Travelled on Sunday to South Africa and only did shake up on Monday before the game on Tuesday. Why didn’t we play on Friday in Uyo?”, he queried.

” Then you look at the standard of the pitch in South Africa. The worse I have ever seen in my years in the national team. To think that the NFF didn’t send an advance team to check on the condition of the pitch when it was announced is bewildering. Many people there don’t know what they are doing”, he concluded.

As rumours continue to go round about the future of the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle, the chairman National Sports Commission (NSC) Alhaji Shehu Dikko has given his opinion.

There have been talks about firing the coach after the 1-1 draw against South Africa in the world cup qualifiers, which means the team is now walking a very tight rope on making it to the world cup.

Dikko in an interview with Channel TV, the celebrated sport administrator said the decision to sack Chelle lies with the NFF, but will need the approval of his office before the Malian is axed.

“Eric Chelle is the responsibility of the Nigeria Football Federation to decide. At the end of the day, after they finish, they’ll do the analysis, and then they will recommend to us, and then we look at it, we approve or disapprove, or we engage to do that,” said Dikko.

He however made a case for the coach, citing where the team was before he took over and the amount of points they have picked since his appointment.

“As for the World Cup, we all know where we are. When we came on board, we only had three points out of 12, but now we have been able to, at least with Eric Chelle, the NFF, pull ourselves together. Now, we have eight points in another four games.

“If we had gotten these results before, probably, we could have been preparing to qualify for the World Cup,” he added.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

As the U20 team of Nigeria get set to take part in the U20 World Cup in Chile, OwnGoalNigeria.com picks five players expected to be the star in the Nigerian team.

1. Suleiman Sani ( AS Trencin) – A controversial exclusion from the Nigeria U20 team two years ago. Now ranked among the best teen prospect in world football alongside the likes of the Barcelona duo of Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi. Blessed with an uncanny ability with both feet. Quick, skillful, strong and creative. He is no doubt the top talent in the Nigerian team.

2. Orseer Achihi ( Antwerp) – Signed by the Belgium side in the summer and already tipped for a first team breakthrough this season. He is bless with pace, power and skills that will be needed by the attack of the Nigerian team, which was blunt at the AFCON.

3. Ebenezer Harcourt ( Sporting Lagos) – Already a well known name among football enthusiasts in Nigeria. Has a senior team tournament appearance to his name in the game for the B team against Congo at the CHAN tournament. All eyes on him and he knows.

4. Ocheche Amos Onyejefu ( Reims) – He was very good at the camp in Abuja and immediately warmed his way into the heart of the coaches. The expectation is that he will use the tournament to properly introduce himself not just to Nigerians but the rest of the world.

5. Daniel Daga ( Molde) – Returning to the world stage at this level for the second time will no doubt put him in a strong position to stand out. His development over the past two years at Enyimba and now in Norway will be handy for the Nigerian team at key moments.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Turning his attention to Christantus Uche, Glasner acknowledged the new signing’s meteoric rise, versatility and quick adaptation: “Yeah, he showed it [his enjoyment]. That’s why I said he’s always smiling [earlier in the press conference].

“He said he’s living his dream in the Premier League, and he will give everything so that we are successful – that’s great.

“He’ll get all the support from everyone – the players, the staff – to help him improve, to become the best Christantus Uche he can be. And then he will have a good impact on us.”

On where he fits in, Glasner said: “I think he can play all three attacking positions. I also talked to him, and he feels most comfortable in the number 10 position – and that’s also where we see him.

“With JP and Eddie Nketiah as our number 9s, we were looking for a player who could be a physical presence from the [number] 10. That’s similar to Ismaila – he could play as a [number] nine, but we think he’s better when he has the game in front of him and can attack the space.

“That’s what we see with Uche as well. And like with Ismaila, it will take a little bit of time. He’ll get that time, and then he will show up for us.”

As many as 16 players who were part of the Nigeria U20 team to the U20 AFCON have been dropped from the team that will be campaigning at the world cup in Chile, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Only eight players who helped the team qualify for the world cup by finishing third at the AFCON made the trip for their final round of camping, which will last for 12 days before the start of the tournament.

Seven-time African champions Nigeria will play all their Group F matches at the Estadio Fiscal in Talca, a city 250 kilometres from the Chilean capital, Santiago. They will first confront Norway on Monday, 29th September, before clashes with Saudi Arabia (2nd October) and Colombia (5th October).

A team of 20 players and 11 officials (midfielder Daniel Daga will join the team in Chile from his base in Norway) departed from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Sunday evening, aboard a Turkish Airline flight to Istanbul, where the contingent will connect to Santiago – venue of their final phase camping.

Nigeria were narrowly edged by Korea Republic after extra time in the semi finals at the last championship hosted by Argentina. The country finished as runners-up in 1989 in Saudi Arabia and in 2005 in The Netherlands.

FLYING EAGLES FOR 2025 FIFA U20 WORLD CUP FINALS

Goalkeepers: Ebenezer Harcourt (Sporting Lagos); Clinton Ezekiel (Bayelsa United); Rufa’i Abubakar (Mavlon FC)

Defenders: Ocheche Amos Onyejefu (Stade de Reims, France); Odinaka Okoro (Sporting Lagos); Daniel Bameyi (Bayelsa United); Marvelous Avberosou (Ikorodu City); Alatan Azuka (36 Lions); Akinyele Ahmed Olamide (Remo Stars)

Midfielders: Israel Ayuma (NK Istra, Croatia); Emmanuel Ekowoicho (FC Montana, Bulgaria); Mustapha Kamaldeen (Kwara Football Academy); Daniel Daga (Molde FC, Norway); Auwal Ibrahim (Akwa United); Nasiru Salihu (Qabala FC, Azerbaijan)

Forwards: Achichi Oseer (Royal Antwerp FC, Belgium); Sani Suleman (AS Trencin, Slovakia); Tahir Maigana (Wireless FC); Kparobo Arierhi (Lillestrom SK, Norway); Charles Agaba (NK Istra, Croatia); Abdullahi Shitu Ele (Manchester City FC, England)

World football governing body FIFA says they are not to be blamed for the poor nature of the playing surface that hosted the world cup qualifiers game between South Africa and Nigeria in Bloemfontein, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein is well known for hosting rugby games than that of football, but yet got approval by FIFA to host the world cup qualifiers games as the home ground for Lesotho and also South Africa.

Two players of the Nigerian team in Ola Aina and Wilfred Ndidi picked up injuries in the 1-1 draw against South Africa and will now spend some time on the sidelines. The players were furious with the state of the pitch before, during and after the game.

Reacting to their anger, Nigerian journalist Osasu Obayiuwana spoke with a representative of FIFA who said they approved the pitch after CAF sent a report saying it’s okay to host games. However they would have likely overturn CAF’s decision if there was a protest by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

“We, [as FIFA] have no capacity to check all the stadiums for all the World Cup qualifiers. We rely on the confederations (in this case CAF) to do so, because they organise the World Cup qualifiers within the region. If they didn’t do the job properly, which could happen, in this specific case, then NFF can file a complaint and then we see”, a spokesman for FIFA told Osasu.

Sadly the NFF didn’t send an advanced team to see the state of the stadium, when it was approved for the game, and Aina who is now out of three months lashed out at the president of the NFF Ibrahim Musa Gusua at half time break, accusing him of endangering them by allowing the game to be played on a such a horrible surface.

Ade Emmanuel

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle is looking at handing a call up to 19 year old AC Milan centre back David Odogu, who recently joined the club from German side Wolfsburg.

We can exclusively reported that Chelle was made aware of the emerging centre back by Nigeria football legend Segun Odegbami, but he was initially reluctant until after seeing the exploits of 20 year old defender Benjamin Fredrick.

Fredrick started both world cup qualifiers games for Nigeria against Rwanda and South Africa respectively, putting in a man of the match performance in both games and it has forced Chelle into a rethink.

The coach will now closely monitor the progress of the defender, before making a decision on his potential call up. For now he is yet to play for AC Milan but did play three times for Wolfsburg in the German Bundesliga last season.

Born in Germany to parents of Nigerian descent , he has already represented Germany at different youth levels but it is said that he is open to playing for Nigeria and was proposed to the coach of the Nigeria U20 team.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman