The coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro will have his contract extended by the Nigeria Football Federation in the coming days, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Peseiro signed a one year deal to become the permanent coach of the Nigerian team following the end of the tenure of Austin Eguavoen as interim coach of the team. It ended with Nigeria failing to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.

His contract has a provision to be extended for a further two years and the Africa Cup of Nations initially planned for 2023 will be used to judge his time as coach and also possibly hand him an extension or not.

However following the postponement of the tournament to 2024, the NFF are now exploring means to extend his deal to cover the period of the Africa Cup of Nations and talks will be held in that regards after the international round of games in September.

We exclusively gathered that the proposal will be same terms as he is earning at the moment as only the length of the contract will be tempered with. The coach has had a bright start to his reign as coach in the two competitive games he has handled the team so far.

It started with a 2-1 win over Sierra Leone in Abuja before a thumping 10-0 win over Sao Tome and Principe in Morocco four days after. They will take on Guinea Bissau in back to back AFCON 2023 qualifiers game in September.

With lot of players taking advantage of the ongoing summer transfer window to sort their future at club level, Nigerian players have also been on the move.

The moves might not be as high profile as some of the moves that has stolen from the headline in this transfer window but to many it’s an avenue to either relaunch or taking the next step in their career for rapid development.

One time Super Eagles invitee Joshua Oluwayemi has decided to take the next step of his development to League one side Portsmouth on a year deal from Tottenham Hotspur, where he played for the U23 team in the Premier League 2.

Oluwayemi maiden and only national team call up to the Nigerian team came in July last year, when he was called up as a replacement for Ikechukwu Ezenwa who pulled out of the friendly game against Mexico due to an injury.

He described the call up as a dream come true for him and a proud moment for his family as despite the fact that he was born in London, he has a strong Nigerian background which fuelled his desire to play for Nigeria ahead of England.

Full name Joshua Oluwayemi Oluwaferanmi Chibuzor, he didn’t get to play in the game which Nigeria lost 0-4 and since then hasn’t been called up to the team. His move to Portsmouth puts him on the radar once again especially if he makes his mark in the team.

Italian Serie A champions AC Milan stepped up preparation for their title defence and also a return to the UEFA Champions League by playing their first pre season game on Saturday.

Two goals from Olivier Giroud ensured they claimed a 2-1 win over hard fighting German side Cologne. They will be in action again against Hungarian side Zalaegerszegi, who are famously known for beating Manchester United 1–0 in the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League qualifying stage.

With the big name players now back in training, the team will no doubt begin to shape up for next season on a different level with 17 year old Nigerian teen sensation Victor Eletu Ehuwa prime to stamp his foot in the first team.

Ehuwa has been training with the first team since the start of pre season training and per one of the representative of his Nigerian Academy Allele Celestine in a mail to OwnGoalNigeria.com, he is set to sign professional terms with the team.

“Victor Eletu Ehuwa is on the verge of signing his first professional contract with AC Milan and our negotiations are going on smoothly and 95% done.That’s why Milan showed their trust, and confidence on his talent by drafting him to be training with the first team squad towards the end of the just concluded season and followed it up again by listing him amongst the players going for the new season Pre-season Camp,” the chief scout of Kazeem Eletu Academy revealed in his mail.

The discussion to sign professional terms with AC Milan is a way of repaying the trust they had in developing the left footed midfielder as he could easily have signed elsewhere in Europe. Ehuwa had offers from Villareal, Sevilla, Benfica, Barcelona and Eintracht Frankfurt among others before deciding to pledge his future to the Serie A side.

Contacts with the above mentioned team was made possible after his perfomances in the UEFA Youth League and also other youth tournaments monitored by host of teams in Europe.

He also went further to clarify an error on our part where we wrongly said he was scouted last year at the Viareggio youth tournament. He said Ehuwa has been with the Milan team for four years since he was granted scholarship to join the AC Milan soccer school at the age of 14.

“The true of the matter is that Victor Eletu Ehuwa was moved to Milan under the sponsorship of his Nigerian academy, Prince Kazeem Eletu Royal Academy based in Osapa London, Lekki, Lagos State.

“For record purpose, Victor Eletu Ehuwa has been with Milan soccer school since four years now and when the writer said he spent a year with the club, I was shocked with the report because the writer has given wrong information about my player which is not good for the image of Prince Kazeem Eletu Academy and the founder’,” he further said.

Praises greeted the decision of the appeal committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) when they dismissed the appeal of Kano Pillars against the activation of a three point deduction by the Organising and Disciplinary committee of the NFF.

However a paragraph in the press statement made public by the appeal committee in delivering their judgement made the senior editor of OwnGoalNigeria.com Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman to dig deep as it contents suggest some political undertone and possibly clash of ego.

The paragraph read thus: “On the League  Management Company’s letter dated 14th July, 2022, addressed to the General Secretary, Nigeria Football Federation, having found that the letter is contemptuous, League Management Company (LMC) is hereby barred from sending such to the Nigeria Football Federation.

“League Management Company has been cautioned several times as the letter was trying to sway the decision of the NFF Appeals Committee.”

We later found out that what led to the above statement painting the LMC in bad light is nothing but a simple and standard procedure, but it didn’t sit well with the appeal committee as it is against their quest to subvert justice.

LMC were simply working by the rules/regulations and simply informed the Appeal Commitee as an invited party to the meeting and whose rules/decision is subject of the appeal on what the rules says and basis of the decisions taken by LMC , as LMC is the ones operating the NPFL rules and framework and as such the party statutorily empowered to apply the rules (not any third party) and if a party is not satisfied can proceed to request to be heard by a commission, which is the disciplinary committee and  if not satisfied can  appeal to the appeal body.

And the function of most appeal bodies is to simply Look and determine based on the rules if LMC has applied the rules properly or not but have no power to go and start introducing new issues or making pronouncements on matters not part of the appeal before it, or start making decisions not backed by any rule within the NPFL Framework and Rules. Which is what the appeal committee led by the controversial Eddy Mark ended up doing. More on him later.

Attached is the letter LMC responded to Dakkada when they wrote to demand the match should have been 1-1 not 1-0.

After the response by LMC, Dakkada decided to protest to Disciplinary Committee (DC) that they don’t agree to the LMC position and that match should be 1-1.

Now DC sat and upheld LMC’s position on the match as was 1-0 and even banned the match officials for bringing the game to disrepute with their attempt to change the official match reports.

However surprisingly and out of the blues the DC went beyond the matter before them to now say on account of Dakkada complaints to the DC, that it’s Camera was destroyed during the Pillars match, they are activating the suspended 3 points deduction sentence LMC imposed on Kano Pillars arising from the incidents that happened during their previous match with Katsina Utd .

As expected LMC promptly contented to informed the DC that they have no power to decide for LMC and issue of suspended points deduction is not what is before the committee, and Infact LMC has no records in the match reports between Kano Pillars and Dakkada, that Dakkada‘s camera was destroyed and even if it’s correct how could destruction of a camera amount to similar breach to what happened between Pillars and Katsina United to warrant any activation of points deduction against Pillars.

Pillars appealed the DC decision to the Appeal Committee including providing video evidence to prove that Dakkada’s camera was never broken or damaged anywhere during or after the match, and also contends that issue of damaged camera is never a similar breach as that which happened during the Pillars vs Katsina match to warrant any activation of points deduction.

Pillars submitted video evidence to the Appeal Committee to prove that the Dakkada’s camera was very intact after the game and there was no any fight/attack or breakages.

In the video Dakkada players came and asked their camera man to follow them to the dressing room with his camera well intact and with him as they head into the dressing room together at full time.

The entire decision of the Disciplinary Commitee to warrant deduction of points against Pillars was a need on the claim of Dakkada that their camera was destroyed but the video evidence showed otherwise.

The entire crux of activating the suspended 3 points deduction against Pillars is the claim of destruction of Dakkada’s camera, which was never the subject of the matter before the NFF DC for determination and the stated as follows:

5.         The Committee having found that Kano Pillars FC officials destroyed camera (Sony HD Full HD 1920×1080) belonging to Dakkada Int’l FC and lost valuables belonging to Uchenna Iyioke hereby activates the three (3) points suspended sentence contained in the summary jurisdiction of the League Management Company between Kano Pillars FC and Katsina United FC in matchday 23 fixtures dated the 17th day of April, 2022. Particularly paragraph 5(k) to wit: “In the event of any further similar breach of the League Rules, Kano Pillars FC shall forfeit three (3) points from the points accruing to the club in addition to any other sanctions that may be deemed appropriate”.

So from above the NFF DC assumed responsibility of and turns itself to LMC by activating a suspended 3 points deduction previously imposed on Kano Pillars by the LMC under a different circumstances and which would be activated by LMC if certain SIMILAR Breach happens as determine by the LMC.

So Under which powers does NFF DC come to activate a decision on behalf of LMC ?

The NFF DC schedule is simply to have an independent review if LMC has taken the decision and someone felt not satisfied and therefore  requested for a review by an independent commission  and the DC is invited to look at it.

But in this case the DC went beyond its remit and took a decision on behalf of LMC which is totally wrong and outside their jurisdiction. Now Pillars duly appealed this particular decision of the NFF DC to the Appeal commitee.

PIllars also issued a public statement to state their appeal and on what basis they are appealing, so everything is in the public domain.

*Kano Pillars FC Position on Decision of the NFF Disciplinary Committee meeting of 8th July 2022*

Kano Pillars FC have noted the decision of the Nigeria Football Federation  DC meeting of   8th July 2022 and wishes to comment as follows:

a) Kano Pillars welcome and accept the Decision of the Nigeria football Federation DC in uphelding  the results and final outcomes of the matches played between Kano Pillars Fc  vs Katsina Utd Fc and Kano Pillars Fc vs Dakkada int’l Fc of Uyo which were the ONLY subject matters of the appeals concerning Pillars FC before the Committee. This decisions  of the Committee are clearly in accordance to the NPFL  Rules and Framework and other international football rules and regulations (IFAB Laws of the game).

b) However, Kano Pillars absolutely REJECT the decision of the Committee  to impose/activate a suspended 3 point deduction on our club over an issue/matter (alleged/purported destruction of Dakkada int’l FC Camera) which was never the Subject of the Appeal before the NFF DC and has no correlation/similarity to the suspended 3 point deduction imposed on Kano Pillars FC after the Katsina Utd  FC match unfortunate incidents at Sani Abacha Stadium Kofar in Kano on April 16th 2022. Therefore, Kano Pillars FC have APPEALED this particular decision to the Nigeria Football Federation Appeal  Committee.

c) The Kano Pillars basis of appealing this decision of 3 points deduction includes:

1. Kano Pillars FC vs Dakkada int’l Fc Match was played strictly under closed doors with no fan with only the two teams, FA officials and some media present and there was no any break of law and order or fans disruption in the stadium, barring the isolated incident involving the Former Kano Pillars FC  Chairman Alhaji Surajo Shaaibu Yahaya Jambul and AR1.

2. Kano Pillars are not aware of any damage of Camera from Dakkada Int’l FC and there was no any report to the Match Officials or LMC during or after the match that Pillars FC have been put on notice for regarding  any damaged camera of Dakkada int’l  FC.

3. Indeed the summary jurisdiction dated June 25, 2022 issued by the LMC after the Pillars match with Dakkada and in consideration of the reports of the League Management Company situation room and official match reports submitted by the Match Officials had no mention of any damage of Camera from Dakkada FC and Pillars FC were never charged with any such breach.

5. Indeed it was this summary jurisdiction of June 25, 2022 and specifically the upholding of the match result at 1-0 in accordance to the official match reports and relevant football regulations that was the subject of the appeal before the NFF DC. Therefore, the Nigeria Football Federation Disciplinary Committee having resolved  this appeal it is clearly Ultra-vires for the  Committee to now introduce a fresh matter (the alleged/purported  destruction of Dakkada camera) which issue was never ever reported, and was never in the official match reports nor any Proof anywhere to show that Dakkada Camara was ever destroyed during the match in Kano and went ahead to make a decision and sanction Pillars FC.

6. One wonders how could Dakkada Int’l FC  be able to get the video of the match they submitted to League Management Company and to even issue highlights of the match for the public immediately after the match if their claims of their camera taking away, the memory card destroyed and then returned is correct hence it’s absolutely baffling  for the NFF DC to even admit this claims talkless of passing a judgement.

7. Fundamentally, the Nigeria Football Federation Disciplinary Committee ruling is now activating the suspended 3 points deduction imposed on  Pillars FC after the incident during the Kano Pillars FC vs Katsina United FC match held on April 16th 2022 should Kano Pillars Fc commit any further SIMILAR breach of the Nigeria Professional football league frameworks and regulations. The operative word here based on the NPFL rules is SIMILAR breaches as that which occurred during the Pillars Fc vs Katsina United FC match to which pillars Fc were sanctioned appropriately in the first instance.

8. From the LMC summary jurisdiction on the Pillars FC Vs Katsina United Fc match dated 17th July 2022 the particular breaches Pillars FC were sanctioned from the Katsina match unfortunate incidence which pillars were docked 3 points and also put on another suspended 3 points should any Similar breach occurred during the seasons, are: throwing of objects into the pitch by the fans; pitch encroachment by the fans leading to match abandonment; failure to provide adequate and effective security, failure to restrict unauthorized persons

Having access to restricted areas in the Stadium; some Kano   Pillars FC unpatriotic supporters/fans  vandalizing Katsina United FC bus. Therefore one wonders how and in what form is the alleged/purported destruction of the Dakkada  Int’l FC camera  (Which never happened in the first place) amount to SIMILAR breaches as those from the Kano Pillars Fc vs Katsina United FC  Match as outlined in summary jurisdiction of April 17th 2022 to warrant the Nigeria Football Federation Disciplinary Committee  activating the suspended 3 points deduction on Kano Pillars FC

9. This clearly is an error/oversight by the Committee and a travesty of justice. therefore,  Kano Pillars FC rejects this Decision of activating the 3 points deduction and has appealed to the Nigeria Football Federation Appeal Committee.

10. Meanwhile  the acting Chairman Kano Pillars  Fc,  Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima has called for calm from all supporters of the club and for everyone to remain law abiding as this matter is being pursued  legally to its logical conclusion. He assured that he will continue to do everything to protect the integrity of Kano Pillars FC and indeed the Nigeria Professional football league.

Thanks.

Malikawa
M.O
Kano Pillars FC

Now at the Appeal commitee sitting. Pillars clearly debunked damaging any camera and challenged the authority of the NFF DC to even make the ruling on the first place and most importantly, even Dakkada admitted truly that their camera was never destroyed but the memory card was tempered with. Meaning Pillars have succeeded in their appeal against the NFF DC decision and hoping it will be reversed…

Additionally the LMC submission to the Appeal Committee was vey explicit and straight to the point based on the rule books and it clearly shows that the NFF DC has erred and has no powers to even make the decision in then first placed and the decision still was wrong in itself.

Now the Appeal commitee clearly came with an agenda which is to sink Pillars from all indications. So the first thing the chairman did was to harassed the LMC compliance lawyer and demanded he withdrew the LMC submission.

The LMC lawyer simply declined and told him that it’s NPFL matter arising out of LMC’s decision based on the NPFL Rules and framework that is being decided and LMC as body’s in charge of NPFL was duly invited to submit a position, which it did formally and in time to enable the members go through.

Thus he can’t withdraw it, as it’s LMC statutory responsibility to be part of the appeal to be heard to clarify its position and after heated arguments the Appeal Chairman now ask the LMC lawyer to leave saying he has been discharged.

Reason is to not admit the LMC position or allow it to be discuss as doing this means they can’t do what they wanted as it will be difficult to go against the clear legal position provided by LMC.

So the LMC was actually not heard to explain it’s position and they only discuss with Pilllars and Dakkada reps. But it’s the LMC’s decision that is the subject of the appeal and the basis is the application of the NPFL framework and rules under the powers and management of LMC so how could LMC not be heard nor it’s written submission conveying its position not be considered ?

And finally when the appeal commitee realized the issues of Dakkada damaged camera can’t hold water as it has been proven to be false, they instead of upholding the Pillars appeal they abandoned that matter completely and went to say Pillars did not appeal the findings that Pillars chairman assault the referee so appeal fails ??

REALLY ? is that part of the appeal or is that even part of the decision of the NFF DC ? Let’s now focus on the person of the chairman of the appeal committee Eddy Mark.

In June last year, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike approved the appointment of the former General Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Ibrahim Eddy Mark as the  Executive Director of the State Bureau for Public/Private Partnership. That automatically placed him on the payroll of the state.

Yet same Mark sat on the appeal against Rivers state owned Rivers United in their game last season against Jigawa United. He granted them their prayers as expected. Who dare go against his employers? Certainly not Mark as he openly refused to step aside to avoid conflict of interest.  A whole new level of impunity.

Easy to say his reward was a place on the plane for all Rivers United continental games made possible by his decision. As early as last week he was fully dressed in all kits of Rivers United and celebrated wildly when they were crowned champions.

So how is a man so partisan occupying a very sensitive position in Nigeria football? You give me answers.

French Ligue 1 side Nantes are preparing for the French Super Cup game against PSG while also searching for options to boost their striking department following the departure of two senior players at the end of last season.

Malian international Kalifa Coulibaly left following the expiration of his deal at the club same as young French forward Randal Kolo Muani who joined German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt on a free transfer.

Nantes have taken their search to Czech Republic by targeting 26 year old Nigeria international forward Peter Olayinka of Slavia Prague, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively report.

Preliminary talks have taken place between both teams with the Czech Republic side demanding a whopping €10m as transfer fee for Olayinka who scored 11 goals in 40 games in all competitions last seasons.

His price tag is considered excessive by the French side but they are hoping to beat it down with further talks planned later this week. If the move happens he will be reunited with his close friend and also national team teammate in Moses Simon.

Simon was Olayinka’s best man when he got married last year and the pair have a very good relationship which dates back to when they first met in the camp of the U20 team of Nigeria. They were later teammates at Belgium side Gent for two years.

English Premier League side Leicester City have started the process of getting a replacement for Nigeria international midfielder Wilfred Nididi after his injury set back.

Ndidi has not played for City since March, when a 50-50 challenge against Rennes left him needing surgery on his knee. The injury and  recovery time from the operation ruled him out for the final few months of last season, and while he returned for pre season training, he didn’t play against Notts County and also against OH Leuven on Saturday.

Coach Brendan Rodgers said that the Nigerian picked up an ankle injury in training at the club’s pre-season camp in Evian. Following a scan, it is hoped he will be able to return to training later this week.

“We’ve got one or two knocks,” Rodgers told LCFC TV. “Wilf’s twisted his ankle in training a few days ago. We don’t think it’s too serious.

“It’s a high ankle sprain, so he had a scan on it and it’ll hopefully be okay. We’ve just looked after him really, he won’t be involved at the weekend, but of course, hopefully next week at some point he’ll be back training.

The coach is however planning on getting an alternative to the Nigerian who has not had the best of injury record since 2018. When he suffered an injury that almost kept him out of the World Cup. Already he has set the wheel in motion to identify and also sign other players who can play in the position of the Nigerian.

The future of several players is now very much in the open as various teams continue preparations for the new seasons by playing pre season games with players in the plans of the manager.

Players not in the plans of the coaches of several teams ahead of next season have rarely featured in pre season games this so far. The story is same for many Nigerian players and a new player has joined the list.

Ademola Lookman doesn’t seem to be in the plans of coach of RB Leipzig Domenico Tedesco following his return from a season long loan at English Premier League side Leicester City.

Despite glowing reports by the manager about the 24 year old at the start of pre season training, it’s unlikely that he has a future at the club hence the decision not to hand him minutes in the 1-3 friendly loss against Southampton despite the fact that they fielded almost three different teams.

Signed for €18m from Everton in 2019, he has spent the last two seasons on loan to Fulham and Leicester City respectively after failing to impress two previous RB Leipzig coaches in Julian Nagelsmann as well as his successor Jesse Marsch.

It is believed that at Leicester City where he scored 6 goals in 26 games last season, the idea was to sign him permanently but the fee required to sign him is said to be on the high side. His salary demand is also another issue as he wants to earn as much as he presently earns at RB Leipzig.

Italian Serie A side Salernitana have stepped up their plans to beef up their sqaud for the new season by holding talks with players who can improve their squad after finishing 17th last season.

They achieved their main aim for the season which was to remain in the Serie A following promotion to the top division but the aim for next season is a mid table finish. Hence their drive to get in quality players.

According to Italian media outlet Corriere dello Sport , they have set their sight on Nigeria international forward Terem Moffi but the price tag of the 23 year old is said to be a huge obstruction to the deal.

Moffi is valued at around €20m by Lorient and this was communicated to the sporting director De Sanctis during a meeting with the player’s representative which took place in London. Bologna are also in for the forward who has two senior international goal for Nigeria.

At club level he didn’t match the standard he set in his first season with Lorient as he scored just 8 goals last season, six less than his tally of 14 goals in his debut Ligue 1 season following his move from Belgium side Kortrijk.

English Premier League side Crystal Palace are presently on a training tour of Singapore and Australia but without nine first team players, some due to fitness while others failed to meet entry requirements as at when travel arrangements were made.

Travellers entering Singapore have to be fully vaccinated same as Australia but the restrictions were lifted earlier this month. A little bit too late for Palace to include some of their first team players in their squad.

Coach Patrick Viera ensured that the senior players left behind in London which includes Wilfred Zaha, Eberechi Eze, Christian Benteke, Marc Guehi and new signing Cheick Doucore gets sufficient game time to catch up with their mates on tour.

To that effect they played a game against Ipswich Town with young Nigerian goalkepper Owen Olamidayo Goodman getting his first team piece of action. He was in goal for the first 45 minutes of the 4-2 win.

Goodman has in the past voiced out his preference to play for Nigeria even though he is eligible for England and Canada. The 18 year old was born in Canada to a Nigerian mother and a British father.

He however feels more inclined to playing for Nigeria and even met with Nigeria football legend Kanu Nwankwo when he came to Canada.

“Whoever calls me first, I will honour the invite. I will be glad to play for my country (Nigeria) if I get the opportunity I will grab it”, he said.

“My family has a good relationship with Kanu Nwankwo when he came to Canada. My mum struck up a conversation, introduced me. We talked about Nigeria and our football history. I want to be a part of this in the future”, he concluded.

This will no doubt put him on the radar of the coach of the Nigerian team Jose Peseiro who is keen on growing his pool of options in the goalkepping department of the team.

Nigeria international winger Moses Simon is back in training with French Ligue 1 side Nantes but there is still a huge doubt about his future at the club with two years left on his deal.

Simon finished last season on a high by leading Nantes to the French Cup title, their first in over twenty years, he also impressed for Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations and in the process earned himself a spot in the nomination list for the Africa footballer of the year award.

He missed out on the final ten man shortlist for the award but teams are still keen on having the forward in their sqaud for next season moreso that this absence for a while from Nantes pre season led to talks of the 26 year old pushing a move.

His future has dominated discussions with reported interest from three English Premier League side in Leeds United, Newcastle United and Brighton and Hove Albion. He is however still at Nantes with OGC Nice the only team reported to have put in an official bid for him.

The bid was rejected by Nantes but recent reports had is that he isn’t keen on a move to any team in the English Premier League, and it was out forward to Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman during the course of his radio show on Liberty Radio Kaduna.

Mowiz has a very good relationship with the forward and a listener asked why Simon isn’t keen on a move to the English Premier League preferring to remain in France even if he leaves Nantes.

” There are several issues attached to that move. It’s Simon’s dream to play in the English Premier League like every other football player but there are issues like family that he has to put into consideration hence the preference to remain in France. Maybe he is also waiting for PSG. That’s a joke anyway”, he said.