The former first choice goalkeeper of the senior national team of Nigeria Maduka Okoye made the headines few days ago over an incident involving his girlfriend and son, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

24 year old Okoye who keeps goal for Serie A side Udinese reportedly threw his long term girlfriend Jelicia Westhoff and his daughter out of his hotel in Italy.

According to Italian media outlet Telefruili , on the 28th of November a patrol team spotted a half naked lady outside Ambassador Hotel, the hotel where Okoye stays with her son. She was later identified as the girlfriend of the Nigeria international and the child is his son Emile.

She was outside the hotel with her suitcase. However it appears the issue is a personal disagreement as no criminal charge has been filed by Jelica with his club also stating that the issue isn’t a criminal case.

Okoye only moved to Italy in the summer after a one year nightmare time in England with English Championship side Watford. He has made just one appearance for the team and it came in the Coppa Italia.

Osas Mahawi

Bayer Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes has finally given up on allowing the five African players in the team represent their country at next year Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, OwnGoalNigeria.comreports.

Leverkusen who are leading the German Bundesliga will be without Victor Boniface, Odilon Kossounou, Edmond Tapsoba, Amine Adli and Nathan Tella for at least a month during the tournament.

Their absence for that long could derail the ambition of the club to end a 30 year long wait for a silverware. They have never won the German Bundesliga and now more than ever they are in pole position to challenge for it.

Club CEO Fernando Carro, desperate for a trophy, told German media it was “unacceptable” that the AFCON was taking place in January, suggesting that the club could seek legal redress against releasing the players for the tournament.

However in a remarkable twist, the sporting director is open to the idea of the players representing their country at the tournament,.

“The thing with the African Cup is for sure it is not ideal, but we would love to have the African Cup in [the European] summer, at the summer break between the seasons,” Rolfes told DW.

“I know that the players are proud to play for their country; I know that from my playing time, it was the same. And we are happy and proud that we have so many national team players representing their countries.

“We have to deal with this. We have a really good squad, and I think we can handle this situation, but it is not ideal. But in life, there are some situations where you have to deal with this, and we will do.

He rounded up his take with a warning that unless the tournament is moved back to the summer like it was in 2019 in Egypt teams in Europe won’t be comfortable signing African players.

“You cannot have 15 African players in your squad, and then in January, you do not have any players anymore,” he said.

Ade Emmanuel

Arsenal and Italy international midfielder has given his opinion on Bukayo Saka’s Nigerian roots as reasons behind the winger getting insults from fans of England following his penalty miss in the final of the last Euros.

Saka who is of Nigerian descent was racially insulted when he missed a crucial penalty in the final of the European championship against Italy, which played a part in England losing the clash.

In an interview with The Athletic monitored by OwmGoalNigeria.comconducted by Ayo Akinwolere , a Nigerian who also says he holds a British passport asked Jorginho, who is of Brazilian descent but represents Italy at senior international level how hard is it to take such insults.

Below is the excerpts from the interview, where the issue was discussed.

Akinwolere: I’m a Nigerian guy, who grew up in England. I’ve got a British passport, I’ve got a Nigerian passport. Bukayo Saka — Nigerian heritage but plays for England. You are a Brazilian who plays for Italy.

The abuse Saka got after that miss in 2021 was insane. And you were in that rare position as well where you’re Brazilian and also you play for Italy. Now you’ve received this kind of stuff before. I don’t want to say is it part of the game, but is it hard to say, ‘I’m Italian only so long as I play well for Italy’? Is that hard to take?

Jorginho: It’s not easy. It’s hard. It’s harsh. And, unfortunately, it does affect you because you give everything. You try your best. Sometimes, your best is not enough. And people forget you are just human beings.

The first person that hurts you? It’s you. Because you didn’t want that to happen. When it happens, you are the first one to stab yourself in the back. ‘Why did you do that?’, or, ‘Why didn’t you do another thing?’. It doesn’t feel good.

If a footballer makes a mistake, it feels like it’s the end of the world. Everyone wants to kill you. Let’s say you make a mistake here (at The Athletic). You make a mistake here and that’s it. And maybe your boss will be upset with you. But nothing is going to affect maybe your children, your family. With us, it’s different, because it affects a lot of people, not just us (the player involved). Maybe my mum, my father, my sister, who maybe is at the stadium. My kids, when they go to school and they (other children) say, ‘Oh, your dad, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah’, you know? And that’s without even mentioning social media.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has instituted a new process for the selection of players into the U17 team of Nigeria, effectively barring players born abroad and those playing for foreign teams from the team, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

In the past lot of players born abroad or playing for foreign teams have taken out time to trial out with the youth teams of Nigeria. The last time Nigeria campaigned at the U17 World Cup, the goalkeeper of the team Daniel Jinadu was a player of English Premier League side West Ham.

That will no longer be the base as the NFF has now drawn up a new process for the selection of players into the U17 team of Nigeria, and it favours only players based in Nigeria playing for local academies or youth teams owned by league sides.

President of the NFF Ibrahim Musa Gusau made this known in Abuja while speaking in a FIFA organized seminar for youth team players development.

He explained that henceforth players selection will be done though a youth tournament across the zones in Nigeria and any player who wish to be a part of the team must take part in the tournament, effectively ruling out players born abroad or those playing for foreign clubs from the process.

“Before NFF will invite any child to the National U-17 camp, we must know the ability of the child, whether he is capable or not,” Gusau was quoted as saying by www.totorinews.com.

“This can only happen through the various U-17 tournaments that will be organised from the states to zonal and the national.

“We are going to select U-17 players from these developmental tournaments across Nigeria.

“Also the youth tournaments from NLO and the NPFL. The NPFL will organise youth tournaments for their U- 17 teams and that is how the NFF will select talented young Nigerian footballers to play for the National U- 17 teams.

“If you hear that the NFF will be organizing U-17 developmental tournaments in your states and you have talented young footballers, make sure they participate because that is the only place we will identify them.

“NFF will not admit any kid on invitation to come to Abuja without participating and getting recommendations from these tournaments,” he concluded.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has drawn up the provisional list of players that will represent Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations next year, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

The coach will submit the list to CAF on or before the 14th of December, which is a month to the tournament where the Super Eagles have been handed a mandate of getting to the final at least for the coach to earn an extension of his deal.

Peseiro will trim the provisional list to 27 players before the start of the tournament and he is expected to include some players who are yet to taste action with the team since he took over as coach over a year ago.

One of the players who have been handed a first time opportunity to be in the squad is Montpellier forward Jerome Akor Adams. He is in the list of forwards submitted by the coach to the NFF for vetting by the technical department and also the technical committee.

Akor who has seven goals in 14 Ligue 1 games is however facing serious competition to make the final list of players with the team loaded with options like Terem Moffi, Sadiq Umar, Victor Osimhen, Victor Boniface and Kelechi Iheanacho.

The situation is the same with two other players whom we exclusively gathered are also in the provisional list in Gift Orban and Chuba Akpom.

Akpom in particular stands a very good chance of making the list as he suits the manager’s style of a two man attack as he loves to play in the role behind the main striker. He has also found his feet at Dutch giants Ajax.

In his last four games, he has found the back of the net five times. A remarkable turnaround after an initial period of struggle following his move from English Championship side Middlesbrough in the summer.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Football and football-themed games are a hit in Nigeria. Nigerians absolutely love football to the point of believing in a God of Football.

According to Statista, the sports market in Nigeria brought in $1.03 million USD in 2021. This number is expected to grow to $2.12 million USD by 2027.

The term ‘sports market’ can include many things. It can refer to the sports themselves but also to the activities, products and goods derived from these sports.

In other words, the revenue generated by the sports market tends to include sports activities, tickets to matches, and sports-related products and games.

So, what are some of the most popular football themed games in Nigeria? Why are they so successful?

This article will list the top games in the country as well as the reasons behind their growing popularity and success.

Top football themed games in Nigeria

Here are two of the most beloved games in Nigeria, a country known for its football passion.

Casino gaming is a popular hobby and interest in Nigeria.

Nigeria’s online casino market is expected to grow annually by 9.39%. This means that, in Nigeria alone, it will likely reach a market volume of $312.90 million USD by 2027.

Football Star is a great online slot game. It combines casino gaming with football.

This makes it a perfect game for both slots and football fans.

Sports fans will love the game’s sound design and visuals. Set in a football stadium, players will hear the crowd cheer as they spin the slot machine’s reels.

They will also discover some on-theme symbols and fun hidden bonus features including free spins and wilds.

This slot game has an incredible amount of paylines. With its 243 paylines, it offers more winning combinations than the majority of other slot games.

These winning combinations can be obtained over the game’s 5×3 reel. Its 96.5% RTP further increases players’ chances of winning.

There are many reasons behind Football Star’s success. In summary, here are the key points that make it one of the most popular football-themed games on the market:

Most online casinos offer a demo version of this game. Players can use a demo version to try out a game for free before starting to play with real money.

Those who have never tried out slot gaming but would like to play this game should quickly learn how slot machines work. This will help them make the most out of their gaming experience.

If a new player starts a slot game without understanding how slot machines work, they will most likely lose money and lose the game.

Knowing about different slot machines’ mechanisms will help them choose the right game for them.

The FIFA series is arguably the most famous football game series in the world.

It has been a global commercial and critical success for the gaming company Electronic Arts (also known as EA) which developed, designed and released the games.

FIFA 22 is a football simulation video game with incredible visuals, graphics and sound design. The game’s developers used the latest available technology to make the game as realistic and immersive as possible.

This game was released in late 2021 but has grown in popularity over the past two years.

Those interested in playing FIFA 22 can purchase it and play it on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 or 5, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One or Series X/S. They can also try out the latest FIFA 23 if they have already played FIFA 22.

There are several reasons why players absolutely love FIFA games:

This football game has been very well received by gamers and critics alike. It has been nominated at the 2021 Game Awardsfor ‘Best Sports/Racing Game’.

It won an award at the 2022 Guild of Music Supervisors Awards for ‘Best Music Supervision for a Video Game’. It also received excellent ratings and was a top-selling game in 17 European nations, beating Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

In other words, fans of football must give this game, and the whole FIFA series, a try.

Final thoughts

This article offered an in-depth analysis of two of the top football-themed games in Nigeria. There are many other games to discover and try out that are also very successful in the country.

However, players who have not yet tried Football Star and FIFA 22 should definitely do so.

According to Italian publication Tuttomercatoweb Nigeria international forward Victor Osimhen has agreed to extend his deal at Italian Serie A side Napoli till the summer of 2026, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Osimhen’s renewal has dragged on for months with accusations and counter accusations from the club and his camp on who is responsible for the delay in extending his deal which has two years to run.

Reports have it that a new deal will be announced in the coming days by the president of the Serie A side Aurelio de Laurentiis, with terms that will make him the highest ever earning player in the history of the club.

He will earn up to €10m a year and it has been backdated to July when talks over a new contract started but no headway was found until now. The deal will also carry a buy out clause.

However no fee was pegged as the actual amount but a benchmark was set by all parties agreeing that any offer from a big team in excess of €100m starting from next summer will be enough to clinch his signing.

Although there is no clear cut explanation on how the clause will work, it is believed that it covers any bid from the Arab world not just European teams . Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia failed with a €150m offer for him in the summer.

Daniel Martins

Belgium league champions Antwerp secured a narrow 1-0 win over Oud-Heverlee Leuven in a round of 16 game in the Belgium top division, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Michel-Ange Balikwisha got the goal that decided the game in favour of the home side but the name on the lips of everyone who saw the game is that of out of favour Nigeria international winger Chidera Ejuke.

In his first start since joining the Belgium side on loan from Russian side CSKA Moscow by pausing his contract, the 25 year old who has made ten substitute appearances repaid the faith shown in him by coach Mark Van Bommel.

He was a constant threat to right back Richie Sagrado and almost bagged an assist for Janssen, but the Dutchman narrowly dragged his effort wide. Antwerp constantly launched their attack through him for the duration of the game.

Ejuke completed five dribbles, but more importantly his passing range which has been one area where he has been heavily criticised was on point this time around. He completed 56 of his 59 passes. Overall he had 85 touches on the ball more than any player in his team.

Antwerp’s lone goal started from his flank but he constantly alternated with goal scorer Balikwisha, who didn’t seem entirely comfortable playing on the right just like Ejuke, and it led to questions to the coach on how he will handle the duo, who are two of his best players but love to play in the same role.

“No,” he said after the match. “There was more space on the left because Thorsteinsson was higher than Mendyl on the other side. Balikwisha can play just as well on the right,” he explained.

For Ejuke he is back on the run of form that saw him made a big money move to CSKA Moscow three seasons ago. So far he has one goal which is already better than what he managed last season in Germany, while on loan to relegated German Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin.

Osas Mahawi

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has drawn up the provisional list of players that will represent Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations next year, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

The coach will submit the list to CAF on or before the 14th of December, which is a month to the tournament where the Super Eagles have been handed a mandate of getting to the final at least for the coach to earn an extension of his deal.

Peseiro will trim the provisional list to 27 players before the start of the tournament and he is expected to include some players who are yet to taste action with the team since he took over as coach over a year ago.

One of the players who have been handed a first time opportunity to be in the squad is Montpellier forward Jerome Akor Adams. He is in the list of forwards submitted by the coach to the NFF for vetting by the technical department and also the technical committee.

Akor who has seven goals in 14 Ligue 1 games is however facing serious competition to make the final list of players with the team loaded with options like Terem Moffi, Sadiq Umar, Victor Osimhen, Victor Boniface and Kelechi Iheanacho.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

When PSV played out a 1-1 draw against Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League, not many were aware that a Nigerian made his debut for the Dutch side in the game.

His name doesn’t sound Nigerian and it’s safe to say it’s why not many bothered about digging out more information about the then 17 year old Emmanuel van de Blaak. Now at the age of 18 more information are beginning to come out.

Although he represents the Dutch team at youth level, he is actually born to Nigerian parents in Lagos and still remains eligible for the senior national team of Nigeria but that will depend on his progress with the Dutch side.

The 18 year old who started off his career as a striker rose from JEKA in Breda to the youth team of Willem II and after around five years he moved to PSV starting off from the youth team Jong PSV.

When he made his debut, it was two years into his stay at the club and he is in the list of the  youngest debutant in the history of the club behind the likes of Jetro Williams and Zakaria Bakkali among others following his debut at the age of 17 years and 9 months.

A serious knee injury almost derailed his rise at the club, but they rather showed their faith in him by handing him a new deal that runs till the summer of 2025. A move he said has made it imperative for him to repay the faith the club showed in him.

“I heard a crack and immediately knew that something was wrong. It was a tough period for me personally, but PSV helped me through it well. The contract extension during my injury was great. I felt really good. I now have to pay forward the trust that the club has given me”, van de Blaak said after his debut last year.

His international future will no doubt spark a tug of war if he succeed in stamping his authority in the first team of PSV. He is presently doing extremely well for the U21 of the club and has played in 16 games in all competitions this season.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman