World football governing body FIFA is struggling to charge DR Congo on the allegation of nationality fraud following a protest by the senior national team of Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) protested to FIFA alleging that at least seven players in the senior national team of DR Congo that defeated Nigeria in the final of the world cup qualifiers playoff, were not eligible to play for the country.

NFF in their petition said the affected players didn’t fulfil the constitutional provision to be termed bonafide citizens which frowns at dual nationality, hence can’t be eligible to represent them.

There was also claims that one of the players forged his documents to fast track the process of getting his international passport, that was used to clear him by FIFA to play for them.

OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal that the case of document falsification, which is seen as a strong reason for DR Congo to be sanctioned and kicked out of the intercontinental playoff is proving difficult to establish.

It’s largely why a definite judgement has not been reached by FIFA, and it could also be the reason why the protest by Nigeria will fail.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Nigeria international midfielder Uche Chrisantus is weighing up his next career move after failing to bag a permanent deal at English Premier League side Crystal Palace, where he is on loan from Spanish side Getafe.

Uche joined the team on loan in the summer transfer window after one year in the Spain’s top flight with the hope that he will bag a permanent deal, especially as there was a clause that will turn the deal into a permanent one if he plays certain number of games.

However it didn’t happen and with nine games left till the end of the season in England, and also the decision to drop him from their squad for the Europa Conference League he isn’t going to meet the milestone for a permanent deal.

The decision has already been communicated to Getafe since January, where the 22 year old was a target for some teams in Germany, France and Turkey. He decided to stay on toll the end of the season.

A decision is expected to be taken by the end of the season, but it’s certain that he won’t be returning to Getafe for another stint with the way things are at the moment.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Marcus Abraham scored his fourth goal of the season in Portugal for top division side Estrela Amadora in their 2-2 draw against Gil Vicente yesterday, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Capped twice by Nigeria at senior level by former coach Gernot Rohr, the 26 year old joined the team from the B team of league giants FC Porto after failing to make the breakthrough to the first team.

The move appears to have gotten his career back on track as he now has seven goal contribution (4 goals, 3 assists) in 22 matches this season. A remarkable tally for a player in a modest side.

Scouts working for the head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle have sounded him out, but he is no where near a recall to the team at least for the time being.

He was linked with a move to the Brazilian league in the January transfer window, but the move wasn’t approved by Estrela Amadora who need the winger for the full campaign.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Nigeria international striker Sadiq Umar says playing for the Super Eagles is still a possibility if he is called by the coach, but insist his form with his club Valencia is of more important to him.

He joined Valencia on a permanent deal from fellow LaLiga side Real Sociedad in the January transfer window, and has wasted no time in making his mark like he did during his loan spell in the second half of last season.

So far he has three goals for the team consisting of two in the Cup, one in the league. He has also won two penalties including one which handed them all three points. Yesterday he picked up the assist in their 3-2 win over Alaves.

” I play with a lot more freedom here because I have the trust of the coach and my teammates. We are playing really well at the moment but we have to continue in that same way”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com in an exclusive interview.

On his chances of playing for the Super Eagles after missing out on the team to the AFCON, Sadiq said his immediate focus is on ending the season on a high with Valencia.

” As a Nigerian I can’t say no if I am called up, but it’s not an obsession to be honest because my immediate goal is to continue to do well with Valencia and everything else will fall in place’, he stated.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Levante winger Kareem Tunde is not in the immediate plans of the head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia to a Nigerian father and a Spanish mother he has made 11 appearances in the LaLiga, in what is his first season in the Spanish top flight.

A talk about international football has been mooted for the 20 year old, who is eligible for Nigeria and Spain but hasn’t been capped by any of the above mentioned countries.

Chelle made a check on him, but decided against handing him a call up in the immediate, and rather will allow him to continue to grow in the LaLiga until at least the end of the season.

Tunde is open to the idea of playing for Nigeria and will be hoping Levante stays up to further bolster his chances of getting a look in. They are presently 19th on the 20 team table. Four points away from safety.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Iran won’t be taking part in the Four Four-Nation Invitational Tournament in the capital of Jordan Amman owing to the ongoing war with Israel, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The tournament scheduled to start on the 27th of this month with Nigeria taking on Iran , will no longer go ahead as planned with Iran no longer a part of it.

Organisers are on the lookout for a replacement but if one isn’t gotten on time, then it will be a one game showpiece with Nigeria taking on Jordan but not in the Middle East.

A new venue in Europe is been proposed according to veteran Nigerian journalist Colin Udoh on social media platform X.

He said the president of the NIgeria Football Federation (NFF) told him that they will have a clear picture in three weeks. “We are monitoring the situation for now, we still have three weeks”, he was quoted as saying by Colin.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Top division Argentina side Deportivo Riestra have announced the signing of 24 year old Nigerian winger Johnson Kalu Nsumoh on a free transfer, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

He met his new teammates at Speed Camp after a routine medical upon the completion of a routine medical earlier today. He spent the last year playing for OFK Baník Lehota in the Slovenian second division.

His contract will run till December 2026. He signed his contract and was registered with the Argentine Football Association (AFA) on January 26, before the transfer window closed.

The process to obtain his work visa took more than two months, until Nsumoh was finally able to arrive in the country.

Nsumoh will be the second African player in the club’s history to wear the Malevo jersey, following the time in the youth teams, in 1986, of Juan Carlos Ecomba, who was born in Equatorial Guinea.

At national level he is the third Nigerian player to reach the Argentine First Division, following in the footsteps of Félix Orode at San Lorenzo de Almagro and Okikiola Afolabi at Talleres.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of English Championship side Coventry City Frank Lampard has once again heap praises on Nigeria international midfielder Frank Onyeka shortly before their 2-0 win over Bristol City in the English Championship.

Onyeka who was battling fatigue before the game was introduced with 13 minutes left to play in the bad tempered game, which saw players from both sides receiving their marching orders.

As it has been since his move to the team, they picked up another win which has moved them closer to their dream of gaining automatic promotion to the English Premier League.

The table toppers currently hold a nine points lead over third place Millwall, with top two gaining automatic promotion to the English elite division.

28-year-old Onyeka joined the Sky Blues from Brentford on transfer deadline day in February and has been part of a winning side in all of his appearances so far for the Championship leaders.

“When we recruited him the playing profile was different as we are quite light on Premier League experience,” Lampard told BBC CWR before the game.

“Not many of our players have been exposed to the Premier League, some other Championship teams have lots of exposure to the Premier League.

“So there’s an experience about it, a knowhow in his game but he’s been a big impact on and off the pitch for us. His professionalism is really good and he’s clearly come in and helped our upturn in recent weeks.”

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman