The performance of William Troost Ekong and his central defence partner Edo Kayembe has drawn harsh words from coach of Watford Joe Edwards after his team crashed out of the Carabao Cup following a 2-0 loss to League One side MK Dons.

Edwards watched his side deservedly beaten by a Dons team who fielded five 19-year-olds in their starting XI and currently sit 22nd in League One. As expected he didn’t hide his disappointment over the result of the game. He blamed certain individual errors for the defeat particularly in central defence.

Ekong was handed his first start of the season at the heart of the defence alongside Kayembe and both players were culpable for the goal which broke the deadlock during the course of the game.

An error between the duo allowed Will Grigg near the left touchline to latch onto the ball and pass to Louie Barry, continuing his run to slide in his teammate’s low centre at the far post before painfully colliding with the frame of the goal. The goal scorer was able to continue though, after receiving treatment as the Hornets trailed at the break.

That error got punished but it could have been punished a lot earlier when they made another error very early into the game. Their sloppiness twice open the door for MK Dons to score after the goal. Edwards didn’t hide his disappointment at the error after the game.

“There were some individual errors, and errors that we then couldn’t recover from. Sometimes when you make a mistake then you want your mate to be able to help you out. We couldn’t do that and we got punished.

“You don’t expect that kind of basic error. When they happen you hope you can recover from them, but we didn’t.”

The presence of the former vice captain of the senior national team of Nigeria Ogenyi Onazi in the camp of the CHAN Eagles ahead of their qualifiers against Ghana stirred up discussion among Nigerian football followers.

Onazi played in two test games for the team and it led to suggestions that he is in line to be named the captain of the team but that isn’t the case according to the former Lazio midfielder.

“I am actually here to collect my passport to travel and then I heard the team was training here. I like the opportunity to train at this high level and so I grabbed it. It is the best way to stay fit”, he said when quizzed about his presence in the camp.

“I think the coaches have put together a very strong team that is capable of nicking the ticket at the expense of Ghana. I have seen the players are very fit and good enough to make Nigeria proud. I know Coach Salisu Yusuf is well-informed in the domestic league and has assembled the best players in the league, and I can also see that the other members of the technical crew are positioned to help the Head Coach.”

The team will travel to Ghana within the week for the first leg of the qualifiers billed for August 28 in Accra, with the reverse fixture scheduled for the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja on September 3.

Whoever wins the games on aggregate will seal a spot at the 7th edition of the Africa Nations Championship which will be held in Algeria early next year.

The dream of most footballers is to see their children follow in their footsteps for both club and country and probably surpass their achievements.

To that extent children of many footballers struggle to meet expectations and most times end up not even having a fulfilled career but that might not be the case with the son of ex Nigeria international Ikpe Ekong.

His son Emmanuel Ekong has broken into the first team set up at Italian Serie A side Empoli. He has progressed from the youth team to the main team where he has made the bench in their first two games of the season against Spezia and Fiorentina respectively.

Born in Sweden to a Nigerian father and a Swedish father, the 20 year old is seen as one of the brightest prospect in the set up of several youth teams in Italy. He made his mark by scoring frequently for the main team in pre season.

As he awaits his senior debut, a fine season will no doubt trigger a tug of war between Nigeria and Sweden for his senior international future. Already he has played for Sweden at U21 level but he is keen on following in the footsteps of his father who played over 15 games for Nigeria.

” It’s up to him to decide his international career. I know how he feels about playing for Nigeria but I won’t be the one to decide for him. Already he is a youth international for Sweden and as for Nigeria I won’t beg for him to be called up to the senior team. He should focus on his club career for now”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

“For diaspora communities across the globe, sport continues to be an integral connection to their native countries,” says Mori Taheripour in her 2011 posting, “Development, Diaspora and the Universal Language of Sports.”

Ms. Taheripour is senior advisor for Sports for development at the United States Agency for Internal Development (USAID).

But for Chief Itata Itata, a Nigerian migrant in the USA, he had no idea that his passion and initiative as a sports fan of his country’s national soccer team would earn him recognition decades ahead.

A new book by Mumini Aloa, a Nigerian sports journalist, provides insights into how Chief Itata and other US based Nigeria sports enthusiasts stepped in as a substitute Nigeria Soccer Supporters Club. This scenario played out in 1996 when the arrival of the main club expected from Nigeria was delayed during the 1996 summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

In that fortuitous circumstance, the void has to be filled and Chief Itata rose to the occasion. He stepped in and provided the expected leadership by mobilizing local fans.
That maverick stroke of genius did not pass unnoticed.

Author Alao recalls in his, The Making of Nigeria’s Dream Team, “They were able to make some noise to drive the Dream Team along.” The book was published by De-Atman Press Limited, Lagos, Nigeria.

Chief Itata did not have a hint of the new book or the content. “I got a surprise message a few days ago from my good friend, Dr Alao, General Manager and Editor in Chief of Complete Sports Communications and Complete Football International,” says an ecstatic Chief Itata.

“He informed me he had just launched his book, which chronicled the preparations and journey of Nigeria as we went on to win the Football gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He further indicated that he had included me in the book.”

“True to his word, he indeed recalled my involvement with the team as a leader of the Nigerian Football Supporters Club. It’s a very interesting book and captures our heroes and their path to the historic victory in vivid and entertaining style.”

Chief Itata, Chief Executive Officer of Premier Golden Health Care Services, LLC. Dallas-Worth, Texas, studied law at the University of Calabar and the Nigerian Law School, Lagos, Nigeria. He also studied at the Texas A & M Law School, College Station, Texas.

A philanthropist, Chief Itata promotes sports development and is a member of Prof. Kevin Ita’s Sports, a WhatsApp platform. His company is a key financial supporter of Ubium Development Association in USA (UDA), which performs free short- term medical mission for the less privileged.

As a young legal practitioner in Nigeria, he was appointed the inaugural Legal Adviser of the Nigerian Supporters Club by its famous President, Dr Rafiu Ladipo. In that capacity, he became a member of the NFA Protocol Committee for the 1994 World Cup.

Nurtured by his passion and involvement in sports in his freshman year at the prestigious Hope Waddell Training Institute, Calabar, the birthplace of Nigerian football, Chief Itata became member of the golden University of Calabar football team that won the national Pepsi-Cola football Championship in 1986.

At the national level, Chief Itata was also a known name in Nigeria, going by the numerous national sports-forum to which he held membership, notably the Nigeria Sports Support Forum (NSSF).  Moderated by Dr. Tee Akinbinu, NSSF is an exclusive forum of sports administrators, coaches, top sports journalists and former Internationals, and also serves as an advisory and sounding board for all Nigerian sports.

Chief Itata is also a distinguished member of the Cyber-Eagles forum, the oldest Nigerian online sports Mecca, as well as the 9ja Footie Review, devoted to the development of Nigerian domestic and international football.

According to the publisher, “The making of Nigeria’s Dream Team: Football Gold Medal Winners at Atlanta ’96 Olympic Games is an in-depth account of the formation, preparation, and coronation of the Nigeria under-23 football team that shocked the world to emerge as the first African team to win the Gold medal in the football event of the Olympic Games at the Centennial edition in Atlanta… in 1996.”

The book can be purchased online on Amazon.

Written by E. Samuel Essien.

Outrage greeted viral pictures of the Nigeria women under-20 team sleeping at the floor of the airport in Turkey on their way back from Costa Rica where they took part in the FIFA Women U20 World Cup.

The team were knocked out by the Netherlands 0–2 on Sunday and set out for Nigeria four hours after the game but as at today, four days after their exit they are yet to arrive Nigeria.

Yesterday pictures of the team sleeping in Turkey where they were supposed to take a connecting flight to Nigeria made it way to social media and went viral, as usual it brought a lot of criticism on the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Reacting to the pictures and accompanying stories, the head of communication of the NFF Ademola Olajire defended the football house saying travel arrangements were made by FIFA. He said the girls were made to sleep at the airport because Turkey, where they stopped on transit has removed Nigeria from the list of countries eligible for transit visa.

Below is his statement.

For reason of setting the records straight, this is what happened. NFF DID NOT book tickets. The World Cup is a FIFA tournament. FIFA booked tickets for the team to travel from Bogota to Panama, but for some reason, the flight to Panama was delayed for 3 hours. There was another 1 hour delay at the airport in Panama.By the time the team got to Istanbul, the flight to Abuja had left.

The NFF officials pleaded that the team be given transit visas at the airport so they could head to a hotel in the town, but this was not possible as Nigeria had been removed from the list of countries granted transit visas at Istanbul Airport.

So, the airline took the team to a sleeping area at the airport and handed them tickets to have meals after every 5 hours. It is is sad but this has nothing to do with NFF, who had made necessary arrangements to receive the team on arrival in Abuja before the flight hitches.

The new Premier League season kicked off last weekend, one week earlier than usual. This is to compensate for the one-month pause which will occur during the 2022 World Cup which will take place in November and December.  While the start of a new season is undeniably a time of great excitement for players and fans alike, it also marks the return of another scintillating season of Fantasy Football. This season is promising to be especially exciting considering the number of new players joining the League alongside seasoned talent. There are also once again a number of Nigerian players that are worthy of a spot on any Fantasy League squad.

Joe Aribo is a Hot Commodity

If you are looking for a reason to create your own virtual soccer team and take a stab at Fantasy Football, Joe Aribo may be it. While playing for Scottish team Rangers last season, Aribo caught the eye of four clubs:  Aston Villa, Southampton, Brentford, and Crystal Palace. He consequently signed a 4-year deal with the Saints which fulfils his life-long dream of playing in the Premier League.  Aribo scored 26 goals during his time with the Rangers which spanned 149 appearances. Upon his signing with the Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl stated: “We believe Joe can bring energy and creativity to our side. Feeling comfortable in so many different positions is very helpful for a manager and shows he has a high level of football intelligence, with the ability to take on new information quickly.”

Malcolm Ebiowei is One to Watch

During the early days of the Premier League, an attacking midfielder often had no place in a formal 4-4-2 formation. Today, powerful attacking midfielders play a pivotal role in PL matches (and Fantasy Football rankings).  Malcolm Ebiowei got a lot of attention from Premier League operators thanks to his incredible performance during the second half of his last season with Derby County.  After beating out some stiff competition, Palace ended up signing the 18-year-old for five years after he made a very big impression on club boss Patrick Viera. After starting off his career at Arsenal, Ebiowei had England, the Netherlands, and Nigeria all enticing him with national prospects by the time he was 15 years old.

Great Things are Expected from Frank Onyeka

Fantasy Football managers can’t go wrong by including Nigerian midfielder Frank Onyeka in their team. Although he only has one Nigerian cap under his belt, the strong box-to-box midfielder is bound to get a lot more time on the pitch while playing for the Bees. Big things are expected of Onyeka, who signed with Brentford last summer after. The newly promoted team may have a lot to prove but manager Thomas Frank is confident that the likes of Onyeka will help them make a lasting impression and assist them in keeping their Premier League status for another year at the absolute least. 

The new Premier League season is off to an exhilarating start. At the same time, new and seasoned Fantasy League managers are hard at work compiling their teams for a heated competition of their own.

The exiled first choice goalkeeper of the senior national team of Nigeria Maduka Okoye had a debut to forget with his team crashing out of the Carabao Cup after a  0-2 loss to MK Dons.

Signed last summer but kept on loan at Dutch side Sparta Rotterdam, he returned to the club this summer but has been reduced to the role of second choice with Austrian goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann.

He was handed his debut when they took on League One side MK Dons and failed to keep a clean sheet with the visitors scoring twice via Michael Dennis and Darragh Burns in the 45th and 53rd minute.

The game also saw William Troost Ekong play his first competitive game in the year 2022 playing from start to finish. He lost his spot last year and since then hasn’t played a single minute until today.

Another Nigerian in Joseph Hungbo was also on display for the Hornets who will now turn their attention to the English Championship, where they are unbeaten in five games so far. All there Nigerians are not expected to be in action when they take on QPR on Saturday.

The former coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Sunday Oliseh has quit his role as coach of German side SV Straelen after a 2-0 loss to Fortuna Düsseldorf II last weekend.

The defeat was their fifth straight loss in the German Regionalliga this season. Oliseh was appointed in the summer with high hopes that he will help transform their fortunes but that hasn’t been the case since he took over two months ago.

An announcement on the website of the club confirmed that he has left his role with the sporting director of the team Kevin Wolze now in charge of the team in temporary capacity, pending the appointment of a substantive coach for the team.

“Sunday had the feeling that the team could no longer be reached. We have to accept this decision. It doesn’t make sense to try to persuade him to continue,” said Wolfe.

It is his second managerial job since he unceremoniously left his role as coach of the senior national team of Nigeria. His other job was with Dutch second division side Fortuna Sittard and it ended in almost same fashion as his stint with the Super Eagles.

A warning has been sent to Scottish side Rangers following calls to the team to bring back Nigeria international defender Leon Balogun who was allowed to leave the club two months ago.

Since leaving the club, Balogun is yet to be engaged by any club but as a free agent he can sign for any club of his wish even after the transfer window closes. So far he hasn’t been linked to any team.

After seeing Rangers concede twice from set pieces in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers game against Dutch side PSV, club legend Ally McCoist questioned why the 34 year old was allowed to leave the club, subtly dropping a hint that the team should re-sign the defender.

That sentiments isn’t shared by Celtic hero Chris Sutton who backed the move by coach Giovanni Van Bronckhorst to let the Nigerian leave and doesn’t see the need to bring him back.

Speaking on BT Sport, he said: “Is there a concern over Rangers? Yes, but I think they can still go over there and get a result.

“I think Ally spoke about it after the game about maybe bringing Balogun back. I don’t necessarily think that is the answer.

“If Van Bronckhorst didn’t want Balogun you can’t criticise him for not signing him on again. It’s a Champions League qualifier, these games are never going to be easy.”

President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Abuja declared that football remains the number one sport in Nigeria and a national asset, therefore his administration will resist any attempt to undermine its development.

The President made the pledge while receiving the 10-year Football Development Masterplan submitted by the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Chief Sunday Dare.

Describing football as ”our passion and a major tool for unity,” the President affirmed that it is the responsibility of government to safeguard the sport, which has brought Nigeria many laurels, and ”treat it as a national asset.”

”Indeed, just as I expect and demand a higher standard of patriotism, responsibility and commitment from those charged with the administration of our football, I also urge all stakeholders to work together constructively and patriotically.

”We have seen attempts to disrespect and undermine the institutions supervising our sports. We have seen attempts to subjugate national interest for narrow interest or disrespect the laws of Nigeria. Nigeria will not take lightly any attempt to inflict injury on its football fortunes,’’ he said.

President Buhari, who used the occasion to spell out his expectations from the two-volume report, directed the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to commence its implementation in phases, within the fine lines of relevant sections of the Nigerian laws on sports development and the statutes of the world soccer governing body, FIFA.

”This government is interested in developing a football culture that will accommodate global best practices that will also help the nation to lay a solid foundation for her domestic football, put in place professionally and efficiently run leagues, entrench a consistent and stable football calendar and create a value chain which will boost the sports ecosystem.

”Achieving this will guarantee desired progress in continental and international competitions.

”I know that a lot of work went into putting this 10-Year Masterplan  together. I received regular briefings on the work being done and I am happy that our goal has been achieved. I am happy that the Masterplan enjoyed the inputs of a wide range of stakeholders in football.

”I am equally happy that the Nigeria Football 10-Year Masterplan (2022-2032) identified Fifteen (15) Key Areas of challenge and provided practical recommendations to address these fundamental problems that have bedeviled football development in the country.

”The implementation of the short term and medium term plans should commence.

”I believe this will signal a positive turning point for our football and a major step forward in our bid to create a conducive environment for its sustainability, viability and profitability.

”The Nigeria Football Federation, the body charged with the development of our football is directed to own and commence the implementation of this master plan under the supervision of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.”

Reviewing the state of the round leather game in the country, President Buhari expressed concern that in the past years, football development has gradually stunted due to the neglect of the core orientation of football administration.

He described the governance structure around Nigeria’s domestic league as weak, adding that standards are conveniently compromised.

He, however, expressed delight that these issues and many more have been addressed in the Document.

The President therefore, urged the NFF to salvage the domestic league at all levels, saying:

”Nigeria’s football development must return to the path of focus on grassroots and youth development and an overall good governance structure around every level of its development. Nigeria now expects results.”

On the forthcoming NFF executive election, President Buhari reiterated his earlier communication to the body on the need for a more equitable and democratic representation in the Congress of the NFF.

According to him, this will ensure that critical stakeholders are not shut out and the most capable and competent men and women are elected to run the affairs of the Federation.

”This government has demonstrated political will. It will match it up with making the right laws and investments and work with critical stakeholders.

”I thank FIFA for its support and commitment to the development of Nigerian football which has been longstanding. I trust it will partner with Nigeria in its effort to improve the fundamentals of its football development.”

In his remarks, the Sports Minister announced that the Buhari administration has disbursed over N15 billion to NFF through budgetary appropriations and Presidential interventions in the last seven years.

Commending the President for the attention to football development in the country and laying a solid foundation for the growth of the game, the Minister described the 10-year Masterplan, which took the Ibrahim Galadima led 16-member Committee six months to prepare, as ”a world class document.”

The Minister said the prescriptions set forth in the Football Masterplan, if followed through with the needed will and determination, would set Nigeria’s football on a very sure footing and position it amongst the best in the world.

He added that the implementation of the Plan will resolve most issues around the status of the domestication of Nigerian laws, NFF Statutes in line with FIFA Statutes and create room for harmonious relationships in the football value chain of this country.

”The Masterplan is envisioned to encapsulate functional strategies that would outlast the current administration and firmly place Nigerian football on the path to sustainable growth and development.

”Mr.  President, with your approval, this document will be presented to the Federal Executive Council for approval and future funding, so that the implementation of the short, medium and long term plans can commence as part of the legacies of this administration.

”Thereafter, this document will be handed over to our football administrators, that is the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, who shall be expected to implement key elements of these reports in stages.”

Dare pledged that the Ministry will monitor the faithful implementation of the Masterplan to ensure that attention is paid to the business opportunities along the value chain, governance structure, standardisation, and prioritisation of the welfare of footballers,  education and awareness.

”Focus will be on building capacity for sustainable, strategic youth development programmes, efficient club administration, positive stakeholder engagement which would include Referees, Players Union, Coaches Associations,  supporters, investors, local and international partnerships and collaborations,” he said.

Dare also told the President that one of the most important aspects of the Committee’s work is the legal regime around football in Nigeria; and the Masterplan made some far reaching recommendations on laws and statutes governing the administration of football.

He added that subject to the final decision of the NFF Congress, the Masterplan made recommendations for the expansion of the constituents for the NFF Elective Congress and Executive Board to 111 and 16 respectively, in order to meet new realities and needs.

Galadima, a former Chairman of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), noted that re-engineering the legal framework will put to rest the legality of NFF.

He said the Masterplan also recommended improving the tactical depth of coaches through utilising the core mandate of National Institute of Sports, pragmatic sports programmes as well as regulating the operations of academies and grassroots based programmes.