Former Arsenal, Man City and Tottenham Hotspur striker Emmanuel Adebayor has criticised Nigeria international striker Tolu Arokodare over his poor performance against Crystal Palace in yesterday’s English Premier League 0-1 defeat.

A summer signing from Belgium side Genk, the lanky forward had a glorious chance of putting his team in the lead against Palace, but shoot tamely from the spot.

After the game, Adebayor who was an analyst for the Premier League production stated that Tolu should have done better against Palace with his overall contribution.

“He (Tolu Arokodare) doesn’t know what his doing. When you’re in front of the defender, the only thing he can do is either foul you or leave you to finish the ball”, he said at full time.

“Tolu is lacking in confidence, he doesn’t know what he’s doing. That’s a big lack of confidence. You can’t take a penalty like that in this kind of game”.

Meanwhile the penalty miss drew racist abuse the way of the Nigerian after the game on social media, and he posted it sparking a reaction from his club backing him.

“There is no place for racism – in football, online, or anywhere in society. We condemn this abhorrent and unlawful behaviour in the strongest possible terms.

“Tolu has our full and unwavering support. No player should be subjected to such hatred simply for doing their job. We stand firmly alongside him, and alongside all footballers who are forced to endure this abuse from anonymous accounts acting with apparent impunity.

“The club has reported the posts to the relevant platforms and will work with the Premier League and the authorities to help identify those responsible and ensure appropriate action is taken. We will continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of discrimination,” Wolves said in the statement.

Tolu had earlier reacted to the insults. It’s still unbelievable to me that we’re playing in a time where people have so much freedom to communicate such racism without any consequences.

“These individuals should have no place in our game and collectively we have to take action to punish everyone who taints the sport like this, no matter who they are,” Arokodare wrote on his Instagram page.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has refused to be drawn into any war of words with the head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle as talks intensify over a new deal, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Reports went viral last week on the demands made by the coach, who also switched to a new agency and has been linked with the managerial job at Nantes where his new agent has very good rapport with the team’s management.

He is also a target for the senior national team of Angola, but he still has a year to go on his $55,000 a month salary with Nigeria with the NFF accepting to extend it on the words of the National Sports Commission (NSC), despite the fact that Chelle failed to meet the target of reaching the final of the AFCON.

Chelle’s demand which was leaked over the weekend has 19 conditions, which includes a $130,000 a month salary proposal among others but a chieftain of the NFF says they are all basics contained in his existing contract bar two.

” Let me say here that there is nothing wrong with the 19 items I have been seeing in the media. I know that a lot of it are in his present deal and it’s just proposal for negotiations”, he said.

” Bar two items that I think are a bit outlandish. The rest are good things to have in any contract of a senior national team coach.

“The salary as you are aware is negotiable because he is presently earning less than what Jose Peseiro earned in his first year as coach. Chelle is earning the revised salary of Peseiro before he left. So he deserved more if we are serious about extending his deal”, he stated.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Atalanta defender Honest Ahanor has been given the all clear to play for the senior national team of Italy after turning 18 year old on the 23rd of February, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Born to parents of Nigerian descent in Italy, Ahanor who is seen as the brightest young defender in the Italian top division before turning 18 has not played for Italy at any level due to immigration laws , which means he can get an Italian passport until he turns 18.

He was registered as a Nigerian, but after turning 18 he is now expected to be given an Italian passport, and also switch his registration details from Nigeria to Italy.

It also means he is now eligible to play for Italy at senior level, with head coach Gennaro Gattuso revealing last year that his lack of passport was largely why he was omitted from the sqaud. That is no longer the case.

Nigeria through head coach Eric Chelle tried to get in touch with the defender last year, but all his attempts proved abortive as he is focused on living his dream of playing for the senior national team of Italy.

This season he has played in 16 league games and six UEFA Champions League games for the team he joined in the summer from Genoa.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

There is a settled legal principle: Vigilantibus non dormientibus aequitas subvenit – equity aids the vigilant, not those who sleep on their rights.

Nigeria’s 2026 World Cup fate is now before FIFA following a formal petition filed after the Nigeria national football team lost 4–3 on penalties to the DR Congo national football team in the November 2025 African play offs.

The Nigeria Football Federation lodged its complaint on December 15, 2025, alleging that several Congolese players were ineligible under nationality regulations. As of February 19, 2026, no ruling has been issued, and FIFA has confirmed the matter remains under review.

Strip away the emotions. This is about procedure and compliance.

Nigeria did not delay. The protest was filed within weeks and through the proper regulatory channel. FIFA statutes impose strict timelines for eligibility complaints. Those timelines protect the integrity and finality of competitions. Nigeria met them. That preserves its right to relief.

The arguments that a ruling in Nigeria’s favour would open floodgates for other nations ignores basic sports law. Federations that failed to protest within prescribed windows cannot revive expired claims. The Court of Arbitration for Sport routinely dismisses late challenges. Equity does not reward silence. Nigeria’s diligence does not create automatic rights for others.

Beyond procedure lies substance. Eligibility rules are not symbolic. They are mandatory. If a player participates while ineligible under FIFA regulations, the statutes provide for sanctions, including forfeiture of the match. In international football, administrative losses have been imposed before when ineligible players were fielded. What happened on the pitch becomes secondary to regulatory compliance.

This is where Nigeria’s case strengthens. The petition was timely. FIFA has jurisdiction. If the evidence establishes that ineligible players took part, the logical regulatory consequence under FIFA’s framework would be sanction. Enforcement would not be favoritism. It would be application of the rule book.

If no breach is proven, the result stands. But if the rules were violated, failure to act would undermine the very integrity FIFA claims to protect.

Until an official decision is released by FIFA or the Confederation of African Football, the case remains pending.

Nigeria asserted its rights on time. Under settled legal doctrine, that alone entitles it to be heard. If the facts support the allegation, the regulations point toward remedy. The verdict from Zurich will determine whether vigilance translates into qualification.

Written by: Barister Street Network (BSN)

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle will submit the list of players who will prosecute the upcoming international friendly tournament, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Three-time African champions Nigeria will feature in a Four-Nation Invitational Tournament in Amman, capital of Jordan, during next month’s FIFA Men’s International Window.

The mini-tournament will kick off with a clash between the Super Eagles and the senior men national team of Iran, at the 17,000-capacity Amman International Stadium, on Friday, 27th March 2026.

On Tuesday, 31st March, hosts Jordan will take on 2025 AFCON bronze-medallists Nigeria at the Amman International Stadium.

Their participation in the tournament is however dependant on their protest against DR Congo, which if successful will see them play in the intercontinental playoff for a spot at the world cup.

Despite ongoing contract extension talks not progressing as expected, Chelle is expected to submit the list of invited players for the game later this week per what we exclusively gathered.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of English Championship side Coventry City Frank Lampard was all smiles as his team pick their first away win since November with a 2-0 win over West Brom in the English Championship, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The win ensured that Lampard’s team kept their position as the league leaders, and favourite to gain automatic promotion to the English Premier League.

Following his debut last week in the win over Middlesbrough, Nigeria international midfielder Frank Onyeka was once again pivotal to the win and picked up the player of the match award.

Onyeka who joined the club on loan from English Premier League side Brentford in the January transfer window, was given a mention by Lampard in his post match presser.

Lampard said: “The first was great, good transition from a great tackle from Frank (Onyeka) and then a great ball from Milan and a run from Ephron, which is stuff we talk about a lot”, he stated.

Nigeria Premier Football League team Kano Pillars have a gem on their hands in Lewis Dandong Jnr who joined the team during the mid season transfer window, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

He joined from fellow top league side Wikki Tourist and has wasted no time in making his mark with his new side, with a spectacular finish in the 79th minute against Kwara United. His fourth goal of the season.

He cleverly manoeuvred his way past his marker from a slightly over hit pass to beat Kwara United goalkeeper Nurudeen Badmus. The goal is no doubt a worthy contender for the goal of the month.

A product of the Jos based GBS Academy, he is well on course to become a cult hero at the club following in his footsteps of Ahmed Musa, Rabiu Ali and Gambo Mohammed.

Popularly known as “Long Dadong,” the 18 year old lanky striker has already caught the attention of teams in Europe who are well aware of the reputation of GBS Academy, where he graduated from.