Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle saw the Nigerian team lost for the first time after a 0-1 defeat to Senegal in the opening game of the ongoing CHAN Championship, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Both teams didn’t look quite convincing in the early exchanges, and with no clear cut chance falling to either of the teams. The first half ended in a stalemate.

Nigeria resumed the second half the better side, but still find it hard to create anything meaningful making it very easy for the Senegalese side to contain them despite their high possession of the ball.

With 15 minutes left to play in the game, a defensive mixup involving Nigerian centre back duo of Junior Nduka and Leonard Ngenge was made worse with goalkeeper Mustapha Lawal came charging out of his line, but got no where near the through ball.

Christian Gomis ran onto the ball and rounded Lawal, before scoring what ended as the sole goal of the game, and also Chelle’s first defeat in six games since taking over as coach.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Spanish LaLiga side Real Betis are locked in talks with Leicester City for the signing of Nigeria international midfielder Wilfred Ndidi as a replacement for Johnny Cardoso, who is on the verge of sealing a summer switch to Besiktas.

Reports yesterday linked Ndidi with a Besiktas switch, but recent report indicate that he is more open to joining either Everton or Real Betis. The Spanish side have however taken the lead.

Leicester are holding out for a fee in excess of 10 million euros, a figure that has Betis hesitating at the negotiating table. Yet, amid the financial tug-of-war, Ndidi remains calm, carefully weighing his options. But he is tempted by the lure of a fresh challenge in La Liga where Betis is calling, and the 28-year-old is in no rush to make his final call.

The talks over his imminent transfer is largely why he wasn’t involved in their 2-0 win over Fiorentina in yesterday’s pre season game, as they step up preparations for the start of life in the English Championship following relegation last season.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

World football governing body FIFA has already informed South Africa that they committed a breach by fielding an ineligible player in a world cup qualifiers game, which is usually punished with a three points deduction.

South Africa fielded Teboho Mokoena in the 2-0 win over Lesotho, a game he was supposed to be suspended for after picking up two yellow cards in previous games of the qualifiers.

His ineligibility to play in the game was flagged by the Nigerian media and FIFA were duly notified despite the fact that no protest was lodged. A three points deduction is now likely to be hammered on them before the resumption of games in September.

Speaking exclusively to OwnGoalNigeria.com, a chieftain of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) say the South Africa Football Association (SAFA) have been served with a breach by FIFA, and they accepted a wrong doing which is usually accompanied with a three points deduction.

” Mowiz FIFA communicated to South Africa already on the fielding of an ineligible player in Mokoena, and they accepted the charge. We (Nigeria) are waiting for the final decision on point deduction which will be delivered before the next round of games”, he said.

Crucially Nigeria will move to within three points of the leaders giving them a glimmer of hope towards picking the sole ticket from the group, with a game away to South Africa shaping up to be the group’s decider.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Chelsea have agreed a deal for Lesley Ugochukwu to complete a permanent transfer to newly promoted English Premier League side Burnley, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Ugochukwu signed a seven year deal with Chelsea two seasons ago when he joined from French Ligue 1 side Rennes. He failed to break into the team leading to his loan lady season.

He spent the entirety of last season at Southampton making 31 appearances in all competitions, but still didn’t do enough to convince Chelsea that he deserve a spot in their team.

The France youth international has been granted permission to travel for medical tests ahead of signing a four-year contract. He played in just 15 games in all competitions for Chelsea and all came in his debut season at the club.

24 year old Ugochukwu is eligible to play for the senior national team of Nigeria, but has made it clear that he wants to pursue an international career with France rather than follow in the footsteps of his uncle Onyekachi Apam, who represented Nigeria at senior level.

Hot on the heels of the transfer of Victor Osimhen to Galatasaray, Nigeria international midfield duo of Wilfried Ndidi and Joe Aribo are closing in on a move away from England to Turkey, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Ndidi has agreed a deal to join Besiktas from relegated Leicester City for a fee in excess of £8 million, while Aribo is closing in on a deal to join Samsunspor from another relegated English side in Southampton.

While the deal for Ndidi is said to be advanced and he will be expected in Turkey in the next 48 hours, Aribo is yet to agree on certain terms on his wages and both clubs are also negotiating his transfer fee.

Southampton are open to the idea of letting the 29 year old leave but only on a permanent deal for a fee in excess of around £5 million. Aribo is also keen on joining the Turkish side who will be playing in the UEFA Europa league next season.

Both players were the starting midfield duo for Nigeria at the 2021 AFCON, where the team crashed out in the round of 16 following a 1-0 loss to Tunisia.

Daniel Martins

From August 2 to 30, football pitches in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda will be on fire. Nineteen of the strongest African teams will compete for the CHAN 2024 trophy. Fans will enjoy a spectacular dress rehearsal before the start of CAN 2025. Add some thrill to watching these matches – follow the link and bet on the key events with the highest odds.

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CHAN 2024 cheat sheet: What to know about tournament

The African Nations Championship is the second most important tournament among the continent’s national teams. Only footballers playing in domestic leagues are eligible to participate. Therefore, fans will not see star foreign players like Mo Salah, Victor Osimhen, or Achraf Hakimi, but young talents will get a chance to showcase their skills.

CHAN 2024 was initially scheduled for January 2025, but the organizers decided to postpone the tournament to August, giving participants more time to prepare. Unfortunately, Tunisia and Egypt will miss this year’s championship, as they have refused to participate, citing the overloaded calendars of their national squads and clubs.

CHAN 2024 will be held in 2 stages. In the first one, all participants are divided into four groups, three consisting of five teams and one of four. The two strongest squads from each group will advance to the playoffs and start the knockout stage from the quarterfinals.

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CHAN 2024 favourites

Senegal is the current champion and can repeat their success. The Lions of Teranga have the perfect mix of experience and youthful enthusiasm. Special mention should be made of midfield leader Moctar Koité, who played a key role in the national team’s triumph at CHAN 2022, and the young talent Baye Assane Ciss.

DR Congo has experience of big victories. The Leopards are one of the most titled squads in the tournament, having won the championship in 2009 and 2016. They have not missed a single CHAN edition and only failed to reach the final stage once. When it comes to DR Congo, you should watch out for the attacking all-rounder, Oscar Kabwit, and the midfield leaders, Sozé Zemanga and Joseph Bakasu.

In recent years, Morocco has become a symbol of developing football infrastructure and high-level training for young players, making this national team one of the main favorites. The Atlas Lions finished 4th at the World Cup in Qatar and earned bronze medals at the Summer Olympics in Paris. Morocco has a strong squad and the potential to compete for the trophy.

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Head coach of Galatasaray Okan Buruk has picked Italian Serie A side Napoli as their dream fixture in the UEFA Champions League after the completion of the signing of Victor Osimhen, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Osimhen’s permanent deal to Galatasaray was made official yesterday after an agreement was found with Napoli for around €75m as transfer fee, including a ten percent further sale, and an agreement not to sell him to another Italian club for the next two years.

Last season, while on loan to Galatasaray he powered them to the league and cup title, earning them a spot in the UEFA Champions League. Napoli on the other hand lifted the Italian Serie A title and also booked a spot in the tournament.

Speaking on the team he will love to face, Buruk picked Napoli that Osimhen powered to the league title two years ago as his preferred opponent, a sentiment he feel is the same for the fans of the team after the long drama of signing him permanently.

“Galatasaray fans are currently thinking about Napoli. Their first request is Napoli”, the coach told the media in Turkey.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Italian Serie A side Udinese have backed Nigeria international goalkeeper Maduka Okoye, who was charged with an allegation of match fixing following an investigation into the yellow card he received against Lazio last season, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Prosecutors alleged that the goalkeeper deliberately got booked late into the game owing to betting patterns from a province of Udine, where he resides on him getting a second yellow card.

He went to the court and according to a statement by Udinese, he was excluded from any sporting fraud, but given a two months ban for another offence totally unrelated to fixing a game. A four year ban would have been the verdict if he was found guilty of sporting fraud.

“The Federal Tribunal of the FIGC has today excluded any involvement of the player Maduka Okoye in sporting fraud, fully accepting the arguments put forward by his lawyers,” read a statement from Udinese.

“In the courts, all the accusations of presumed sporting fraud were dismissed, and the decision to impose a two-month ban was exclusively with regards to violation of the generic principle of fairness (article 4 of the Sporting Judicial Code).

“The club is satisfied that the athlete has been totally cleared of the insulting allegations of match-fixing. The club cannot help but reaffirm the maximum support to Okoye, who is waiting to read the motivation of the sentencing.

“Udinese reaffirm our full faith in the correct behaviour of Maduka.”

The two-month ban will begin from the first official game of the season for Udinese, which is their scheduled Coppa Italia tie against Carrarese on August 18.

That means the goalkeeper will miss six Serie A matches and be back in action from October 18.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

A cross section of football lovers in Malawi have expressed their disappointment with Patricia Jiya Okafor, mother of Chioma Okafor, for allowing her daughter to play for Nigeria instead of Malawi, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

She was born in Malawi to a Malawian mother and a Nigerian father, and started her football career in Malawi and trained with the Malawi national team in 2015 but never featured for the Scorchers.

In February, she shared a video clarifying in Chichewa language that she is Malawian after some fans questioned her nationality because of her name.

According to bolanews.co, the decision of Okafor who won the recently concluded WAFCON to play for Nigeria, after initially showing commitment to represent Nigeria hasn’t gone down well with people in the country.

Her mother who is from Malawi have been largely fingered as the major disappointment in her decision, but she argued in her interview before the WAFCON that it was the sole decision of her daughter.

“It’s not me; it was her choice. Nigeria wrote a letter; I didn’t have any say; it was her choice. I told her to choose so that she would not regret it in the future, so it came from her.”

Okafor didn’t play a single game for Nigeria at the tournament due to injury and tactical issues but she remains upbeat that her chance will definitely come.

“This whole time I knew that I had to stay patient and my time will come. I can’t rush into anything. I have to make sure that I’m going on my time and that everything is going to line up in the way it’s supposed to”, she said upon arrival in Nigeria.

“So I’ll remain patient, my time will come and when it does I’ll make the most out of it.”

Ade Emmanuel