English Championship side Leicester City are through to the next round of the Carabao Cup with a 2-0 win over Burton in the first elimination round of the tournament, OwnGoalnigeria.com reports.

Leicester City started life in the English Championship following relegation from the English Premier League with a 2-1 win over Coventry as they bid to get an instant return to the English Premier League.

They followed the win up with today’s win made possible with goals from the Nigerian duo of Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi. The former opened the gate of goals in the 6th minute, before the latter rounded the win up with a goal in the second minute of time added on after the first 45 minutes.

Iheanacho was voted the man of the match for not just his goal but also providing the assist for the second goal scored by Ndidi. His introduction against Coventry in the league is seen by many as the catalyst for the camp.

Despite the fine start to the season both players are linked with a possible exit from the club with one year left to run on their deal at the club.

Ade Emmanuel

Highly sought after Nigerian striker Gift Orban improved his ratings with a hattrick for Belgium side Gent in their 5-0 win over Polish side Pogoń Szczecin in the Europa Conference League qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Orban caught the attention of top teams in Europe with his performance following his January transfer window move from second division Norwegian side Stabæk to Gent.

From January to when the season ended , he scored an astonishing 20 goals in 22 games and he appeared to have the same momentum going into the season with five goals in his first first three games of the season.

He followed up his goal against MSK Zilina in the same tournament with a hattrick achieved in the 13th, 35th and 65th minute as they ran out 5-0 winners against the hapless Poles. He also netted in the league opener against KV Kortrijk.

Reported as the top choice of English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in the event of a departure of their top striker Harry Kane, who is liked with a move to Bayern Munich, the hattrick will no doubt increase his value.

Presently he is valued at €30m by Gent and aside Spurs, French Ligue 1 side Lille already failed with a bid of €20m with the Belgium side not willing to negotiate on their valuation of the forward.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Napoli forward Victor Osimhen made a failed attempt to lure his senior international teammate to Napoli, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Last season, Osimhen powered Napoli to their first league title in 33 years with 26 league goals, a tally which also made him the top scorer in the Italian top division, the first African to achieve such feat.

Ahead of the start of the new season in ten days time, Osimhen tried to lure new AC Milan signing Samuel Chukwueze to Napoli. A player he knows very well from their team together at the Nigeria U17 team to the senior national team.

According to Chukwueze who had his most productive spell at Villarreal with 13 goals and 11 assists, Osimhen tried to lure him to Napoli when he was about to make the move to AC Milan.

Chukwueze has already started life at Milan by helping them lift the Silvio Berlusconi Trophy yesterday against Monza, a feat which would have been impossible if Osimhen had his way.

”He’s one of my best friends, we’ve known each other since the Nigerian youth team. Every time I asked him about Serie A and when Milan’s interest came he told me I would I did well to come here . Everyone knows the Rossoneri even if Victor would have liked me to go to Napoli”, he said in his first press conference as a Milan player.

Osas Mahawi

In the past few years under the leadership of Amaju Pinnick, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) were very active in luring players of Nigerian descent to pledge allegiance to the senior national team of Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Players such as Alex Iwobi, Ola Aina, Calvin Bassey, Joe Aribo, Ademola Lookman, Maduka Okoye, Kevin Akpoguma and Cyriel Dessers among others made their debut for the senior national team of Nigeria despite their eligibility for other countries.

However it was not plain sailing for the players who made the decision with Ola Aina, who represented England at various youth levels confessing to The Beautiful Game podcast that England tried to stop him from switching to Nigeria.

“It got to a time when I started training a lot with the first team at Chelsea. It got me to be traveling with them but I wasn’t playing, I wasn’t also playing for my age the U21s at that time. So I wasn’t really playing and England looked at that and I thought my track record like the South FA they know man. You know what I mean , I have been doing this from Under-16 to 20s and all that. I feel that was possible all it is but clearly not”, he explained.

He said the year which was his last with England at that level gas him thinking a lot about Nigeria, who were at that time using his father and his agent to put pressure on him.

” So I hadn’t play for the England team for maybe two years and the last year was maybe my last year in the England U21s. I started getting the sniff. So I remember at the end of that season Nigeria were knocking from my Dad and the agent and even the federation”, he stated.

At that same time, his teammates at Chelsea Mikel and Moses were fully established internationals with Nigeria and even his childhood friend Iwobi. He said they kept on pushing him hard to make the switch which he did by honoring an invitation to their camp in England.

“Alex Iwobi has been playing for them a year or two I think and Alex is my boy. I mean we grew up together and he seems right he keeps telling me it’s fun. I’m in the Chelsea team with Obi Mikel and he was telling me come, Victor Moses is telling me like if you want to come , then come. Their manager is telling me the same thing”, the former Torino defender revealed.

Aina said that session made him make up his mind on switching to Nigeria but it wasn’t that smooth as England tried to make him have a change of mind by having someone speak with him.

“So I said yeah, I will go into it. I remember they had a camp in England to play couple of games against teams like Poland and I think at Barnet, they called me to train and it is was like bro I had the time of my life. It was such a different energy by the end of that camp. I was like I am on it. I got my passport, sent my letter to the FA. They tried to fight back though, I give it to England, the FA tried to fight back like do you really want to do this. They sent someone to the training ground at Chelsea.

“I can’t remember his name now he tried to convince me but I said to him with all due respect decision is made and my mind is made up in it and he took it well , wished me well and that was it”, he rounded up saying.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Coach of AC Milan Stefano Pioli has praised the contribution of Nigeria international winger Samuel Chukwueze for his role in their 6-5 penalty shoot out win over Monza in the first edition of the Trofeo Silvio Berlusconi,  OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Signed from Villarreal around eight days ago, the  24 year old was introduced as a substitute with ten minutes left to play in the pre season game, which is dedicated to the memory of former president of AC Milan Silvio Berlusconi.

The game was tied at 1-1 after regulation time leading to the penalty kicks to decide the winner and despite not taking any of the spot kicks, coach Pioli praised the acquisition and the edge the signing of Chukwueze will give the team when the season begins in ten days time.

Pioli is warming up to the idea of having the Nigerian link up with fellow summer recruits in Christian Pulisic and Noah Okafor. ” We can play in several ways. Chukwueze has arrived and can give us one on one on the outside. Pulisic can play as an attacking midfielder, Okafor can play as a centre forward or the second striker. I have flexible players”, he boasted after the win over Monza.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Nigeria international defender Ola Aina has revealed how the trio of former captain John Obi Mikel, Victor Moses and Alex Iwobi made him to pledge his allegiance to Nigeria at senior level after representing England at various youth levels, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Speaking on The Beautiful Game podcast, the newly signed Nottingham Forest defender went down memory lane with his time with the England youth set up from the U16s to the U21s. He however said the calls stop coming when he made the step up to the main team of Chelsea from the U21s and wasn’t getting games.

“It got to a time when I started training a lot with the first team at Chelsea. It got me to be traveling with them but I wasn’t playing, I wasn’t also playing for my age the U21s at that time. So I wasn’t really playing and England looked at that and I thought my track record like the South FA they know man. You know what I mean , I have been doing this from Under-16 to 20s and all that. I feel that was possible all it is but clearly not”, he explained.

He said the year which was his last with England at that level gas him thinking a lot about Nigeria, who were at that time using his father and his agent to put pressure on him.

” So I hadn’t play for the England team for maybe two years and the last year was maybe my last year in the England U21s. I started getting the sniff. So I remember at the end of that season Nigeria were knocking from my Dad and the agent and even the federation”, he stated.

At that same time, his teammates at Chelsea Mikel and Moses were fully established internationals with Nigeria and even his childhood friend Iwobi. He said they kept on pushing him hard to make the switch which he did by honoring an invitation to their camp in England.

“Alex Iwobi has been playing for them a year or two I think and Alex is my boy. I mean we grew up together and he seems right he keeps telling me it’s fun. I’m in the Chelsea team with Obi Mikel and he was telling me come, Victor Moses is telling me like if you want to come , then come. Their manager is telling me the same thing”, the former Torino defender revealed.

Aina said that session made him make up his mind on switching to Nigeria but it wasn’t that smooth as England tried to make him have a change of mind by having someone speak with him.

“So I said yeah, I will go into it. I remember they had a camp in England to play couple of games against teams like Poland and I think at Barnet, they called me to train and it is was like bro I had the time of my life. It was such a different energy by the end of that camp. I was like I am on it. I got my passport, sent my letter to the FA. They tried to fight back though, I give it to England, the FA tried to fight back like do you really want to do this. They sent someone to the training ground at Chelsea.

“I can’t remember his name now he tried to convince me but I said to him with all due respect decision is made and my mind is made up in it and he took it well , wished me well and that was it”, he rounded up saying.

The decision of AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori to snub the chance of switching from switching his international allegiance from England to Nigeria hasn’t worked out so far, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

In 2019, Tomori was approached by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over a switch of nationality at senior level after representing England up to the U21 but he turned it down. He eventually got to play for England but that debut which came three years ago is his only cap till date.

Tomori has been constantly snubbed by head coach Gareth Southgate and even when he was given a call up he still didn’t get to play despite the fact that he has blossomed into one of the best defenders in Europe.

Speaking on the predicament of the 25 year old in the England set up , his former teammate at Chelsea and even at youth level with England Ola Aina dismissed suggestions that it was because he is playing out of England.

Aina is back at England with Nottingham Forest on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract with Serie A side Torino. He said the pedigree of the team Tomori is playing for should get him into the national team, particularly stating that at some time he was better than a certain player, who was constantly getting called up ahead of him.

“At first I wanted to say maybe it is because he is playing out of England but then it’s not like he is out of England and he is playing for Torino or somewhere worse than Torino”, he told TBG podcast. “He  is playing for AC Milan you know. That’s no joke, they even won the league and made it to the Champions League final and even if they haven’t done that , the team, the history itself it talks for itself.

“So Fikayo’s own that one was strange to me especially that year they won the scuddetto he was doing a lot better than a certain man back home (England)”, he explained further before revealing how he use to mock Tomori over the snub reminding him about when he tried to convince him to consider Nigeria.

“That England thing,  honestly it’s easy for me to say it to him, sometimes I joke with him like  I told you about the Naija thing , ( Switching to Nigeria). It’s easy for me to say that to him because I wasn’t in the position where I could possibly get an England debut. I am just talking from my own experience”,

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Top striker of the senior national team of Nigeria Victor Osimhen has lent his voice to the call made by world football players union FIFPRO over the unpaid wages of the women team of Nigeria.

In a statement shared by all the players on their social media handle, FIFPRO called out the NFF over the non payment of the allowances of the players of the team, that crashed out of the round of 16 at the Women’s World Cup following a 1-0 loss to England.

Reacting to the post former Super Eagles striker Odion Ighalo lamented why the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is still in the act of non payment of players entitlement. His statement written in pidgins English translates to ” So the NFF is still in the habit of doing this”, he said on Instagram.

His post was immediately backed by the present top striker of the Nigerian team Victor Osimhen. The Napoli ace was more daring with his comments saying ” Pay them @thenff”. A sentiment also echoed by another Super Eagles forward in Victor Anichebe.

Meanwhile, the NFF have officially responded to the post by FIFPRO with an official release via the media department and it read thus.

NFF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT

NFF: FIFPRO’s statement is mere storm in a tea-cup

The Nigeria Football Federation has dismissed as nothing more than a storm in a team cup, a statement issued by the world body of professional footballers, FIFPRO on Tuesday calling on the Federation to pay players of the Super Falcons what they are owed.

The Federation reiterated that it had an earlier agreement with the players on what they would earn at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, but world football-governing body, FIFA came up with a new template that guaranteed more money for the players and which made players of all participating teams happier.

The NFF insisted it does need FIFPRO shouting from far off to pay Nigerian players what they had been promised by both FIFA and the NFF, dismissing the body’s statement as a mere relevance-seeking message.

It recalled that its officials sat down and agreed with the players on what to pay them, but FIFA came up with a juicier package and they were all happy about it. If they had beaten England, for instance, and reached the quarter-finals, the NFF disclosed that the players would have been entitled to $90,000, and not the $60,000 each player will be getting now. A place in the semi-finals would have guaranteed at least $165,000 each (for 4th place, and $180,000 each for 3rd place) for the players.

The Federation praised the team for its efforts at reaching the Round of 16 and standing up firmly to world number four England on the turf, as well as its heroics in the group phase. It noted that not losing a single match out of four in regulation time is a remarkable record by an African team.

The nation’s football-governing body stated that it has no issues with the players; it had assured them before the World Cup that they would be paid the couple of friendly matches and qualifying matches for which they were being owed appearance fees and bonuses respectively. It pledged to pay the money once the World Cup money is paid.

The NFF also charged FIFPRO to stop playing the ostrich and stand up to its real responsibilities, calling on the body to address the real issues. The Federation revealed that after all these years, FIFPRO does not have an affiliate body in Nigeria. It challenged the body to come to Nigeria and set up an affiliate body that can always and legitimately speak on behalf of Nigerian players, and made up of individuals who understand the culture and dynamics of the African environment.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Simoiben football academy have agreed the transfer of 18 year old attacking prospect, Lawrence Shimave Ugen, to Latvian side FC Daugavpils, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The youngster came through the ranks at Simoiben football academy, the team he joined after excelling at the inaugural edition of the Moses Simon Unity Cup, which had 150 teams picked from the various local governments in Benue state.

Nantes winger Simon used the tournament which was held in October last year as a way of not just uniting the youths of the states, but also helped players from the state an opportunity to be seen by scouts to aid their career.

In an interview, club CEO Mrs. Ibukun Sarah Moses Simon confirmed the reports saying there were numerous offers for the youngster, but the academy and the boy sat and decided that the move to the Latvian side was best for his career and further development.

She said “we’re proud of Lawrence and how far he has come and we see this next step as an opportunity for him to further develop his career in a new environment. We wish him all the best in this new journey and we’re certain he’ll shine like the star he is”.

Simoiben football Academy has stood out in recent years producing outstanding talents like the Under 20 World Cup star defender Benjamin Fredrick and Under 17 whizkid Emmanuel Michael amongst others.

Upeh Waziri

Jeremy Seethal the head of the recruitment team of Right to Dream Africa , a multi-club group of academies has made a startling revelation about out of favour Super Eagles striker Olarewaju Kayode, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Seethal has a track record, having brought Ajax’s Mohammed Kudus, Kamaldeen Sulemana of Southampton and Brighton’s Simon Adingra to Right to Dream — which is now widely recognised as the pinnacle of African youth football.

While speaking on the difficulties of getting European teams to scout in Africa, Seethal went down memory lane to the 2011 U20 Africa Cup of Nations, when he was trying to make headway as a scout.

While there, he compiled a list of who he considered the top 10 players in the competition. Number one was Nigerian striker Olarenwaju Kayode, who was signed by City in 2017 and is now at Turkey’s Umraniyespor, on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine. Number two was Salah.

He went further to say despite that he recommended Salah to top clubs in Europe, but no feedback was gotten.

“He was on the right wing, running at high speed, shaping to shoot, then cutting in and caressing it in the corner. All the things you see him do now (for Liverpool),” Seethal tells The Athletic.

“He was special, but it’s difficult to distinguish what elite level looks like. The big clubs didn’t know about Salah, so I recommended him to Ajax, PSV and Manchester United. I either never heard back at all or I received an email saying, ‘Thanks, we’ll pass it on’, but there was no feedback ever given.”

Ade Emmanuel