Coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria Gernot Rohr is losing sleep following the release of the timetable for the senior national team of Nigeria fixtures for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

Rohr who safely guided Nigeria to the 2018 World Cup is of the impression that this time around will be a lot tougher as the procedure which now includes a playoff is much different from last time out.

Nigeria will begin their campaign at home against Liberia on the 3rd of September before leaving Lagos for Cape Verde ahead of their second game in the qualifiers four days later.

In October they will play Central Africa Republic in back to back games billed to the 6th and 12th respectively starting the fixture at home before the trip to Central Africa Republic. They will conclude the group series with games against Liberia and Cape Verde respectively in November.

The game against Liberia will be played on the 11th with that of Cape Verde coming five days later precisely on the 16th. If they finish top of their group they will now qualify for the final two legged play offs which starts on the 21 of November.

Rohr says it’s a lot to worry about considering how difficult it is to travel around Africa owing to the coronavirus pandemic which is resurfacing again in almost every country.

“ It’s a lot harder and one has to worry over the traveling around with few days in between owing to the spread of coronavirus. It’s a lot harder this time around and we have to start well to brighten our chances of ending well”, the coach told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has reacted the viral news that the football body will insist on the axing of Leon Balogun from future Super Eagles games after his outburst over unpaid bonuses.

In a podcast interview first broadcasted on this portal Balogun revealed the frustration of the players of the senior national team of Nigeria playing games without getting paid hitting out at the NFF.

“ And you spoke of the unpaid bonuses in the news. It’s not a secret even and then I have read something recently when people in charge they contradict themselves said things have been paid, then they admit they haven’t been paid.

“It’s like everybody is so concern about the look of Nigeria we have to represent Nigeria well and we cannot embarrass Nigeria but make sure you are not embarrassing Nigeria with your own action”, he said during the interview.

Reacting a senior chief of the Federation said the board have no hands on the inclusion or exclusion on players from the Super Eagles and whatever coach Gernot Rohr decides is final.

“ It’s Rohr’s call to make and he has said he will speak with Balogun. We don’t have the power to suspend him from the national team. What he said is public knowledge and we appreciate his openness over it”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

“ Balogun has always been the outspoken type and it has helped the team in games. He spoke out of passion and we have no power not to listen especially in this crucial time when we have the World Cup qualifiers starting soon”, he concluded.

Per reports sourced by OwnGoalNigeria.com Chidozie Awaziem is on the verge of completing a loan deal to Turkish side Besiktas from Boavista, a team he joined permanently from Porto after a successful loan spell.

The idea we gathered was for the 24 year old to be traded to Lille who were then owned by same person who owns Boavista but that won’t be possible as he has sold Lille and bought Bordeaux.

Awaziem won’t be joining Bordeaux due to his salary as the Ligue 1 club is at the edge financially like several others in France. He will now join Besiktas for a loan fee which could rise to €1 million with an option to sign him permanently for €4.5 million.

Also Besiktas will pay the entirety of his loan fee while at the club as Boavista can’t afford to keep him on their wage bill owing to their limited finances which has also made his move away from the team a must.

All parties involved have consented to the deal meaning in the coming days he will arrive Turkey for a routine medical and official unveiling as a player of Besiktas for an initial period of one year.

Emerging German giants RB Leipzig have signify their interest in signing Samuel Chukwueze from Villarreal following doubts over his future with the Europa League winners.

Coach of Villarreal Unai Emery is keen on trading off Chukwueze to fund the signing of his prime target in this window Pablo Sarabia from PSG. A move he can only make if he is able to raise cash from players sale.

Chukwueze has been offered to clubs in England and France by his representatives but so far there have been
no breakthrough in talks with two years left to run on the deal of the 22 year old.

RB Leipzig according to reports gathered from the editorial team of OwnGoalNigeria.com have contacted Villarreal over Chukwueze In hope of securing him on loan with an option to buy at the end of his loan spell.

Villarreal are keen on a permanent deal making the likelihood of any loan deal slim, but talks have been initiated nonetheless as they bid to taste Villarreal’s resolve to hold on to the player who is recuperating from an injury picked up towards the end of last season.

Napoli record signing Victor Osimhen has sacked his agent William D’Avila for failing to honour some agreements according to his brother in law Osita Okolo in an interview with Calcionapoli24.it.

According to Osita, William no longer has the right to speak on behalf of Osimhen at the moment hinting at a financial disagreement from his record move to Napoli.

William became the agent of Osimhen during talks with Napoli over his record move to further swell the number of players he is representing in the senior national team of Nigeria. He has since lost two of his clients in Shehu Abdullahi and Ahmed Musa over same financial disagreement.

“ We ended the relationship with the ex agent, there was some agreements not respected. The mandate has been revoked and William D’Avila no longer has any authorization to speak on behalf of Osimhen”, he said.

He said Osimhen is focused on having a splendid season with Napoli under new coach Luciano Spalleti who has helped him to add some other dimensions to his game and also worked on his weaknesses.

Newly promoted Armenian side Sevan FC have signed Plateau United trio of Isah Ndala, Bernard Ovoke and Ibrahim Abubakar Babawo, the club has announced.

The trio have been training with the team the past three weeks and after impressing in pre season games they have been handed a three years deal as the modest side aim to make a splash next season.

Ndala is a midfielder who can play multiple role across the middle while Ovoke is a winger who is adept playing from the right or left side of attack.

Babawo is a winger who have also shown he can play effectively as a right back or wing back from both flanks the past two seasons in the Nigeria Professional League for Plateau United.

We gathered they are the first set of players from famous Jos based Nigerian academy GBS who will be joining a team in Europe before the end of the ongoing summer transfer window.

Countless people are keeping a strict eye on the 2021 Summer Olympics and bettors are pretty excited about wagering on some traditional events, like gymnastics and swimming. 2021 marks the initiation of surfing in this year’s Summer Olympics. When you happen to be a fan of surfing then you will be hugely benefitted from your familiarity with this sport as you will be eligible towager on the action.

Surfing betting at an online website

Many fans of the Summer Olympics might fail to realize that there is present a thing called lawful betting and the sports world has changed through the advancement of legal wagering on some professional sports. As surfing has turned into a vital portion of the 2021 Summer Olympics, lots of sports betting sites have engaged themselves in proposing wagers.

The schedule of the Summer Olympics Surfing 2021

The surfing event of the Summer Olympics will take place at the Tsurigasaki Surfing Beach and people will watch the action for 4 days. However, event organizers can make some postponements in case the water conditions or weather becomes very harsh. However, the action is supposed to start from 25th July to 28th July. Again, there are 4 days of backup too and after that period, events can be held.

The working mechanism of 2021 Summer Olympics betting

When your interest lies in the sport of surfing you can legally bet through one or a couple of methods:

Most people find it tough to locate a physical sportsbook but even when they are within their reach, it becomes a troublesome affair for them to remain physically present for making a bet. This problem becomes graver when they lead a busier lifestyle.

Important tips

For surfing in Summer Olympics, you must follow the tips mentioned below:

A player of the senior national team of Nigeria says Rangers of Scotland defender Leon Balogun has little or no regards for coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr.

Balogun didn’t make his international debut for Nigeria under Rohr but he became a mainstay of the team under the German coach forming a formidable partnership in defence with William Troost Ekong enroute qualification for the last World Cup in Russia.

The partnership famously referred to as the “Oyibo Wall” played a big role on the pitch in helping Nigeria qualify for the World Cup but it has since been broken up by Rohr , no thanks to Balogun’s poor form at his previous club Brighton and Hove Albion.

Speaking on the rekindling of the partnership, a member of the team who spoke with this portal on the condition of anonymity said it’s not possible because Balogun’s relationship with Rohr has hit rock bottom.

“ Rohr has tolerated Balogun a lot. They are always quarreling. That many of us believe made Rohr to pick Ekong ahead of him as captain. From our point he doesn’t seem to have respect for Rohr.

“ Most times when they disagree in training it’s in German so we don’t understand what exactly is the issue but during team meetings or reviews of past games we see how they exchange words.

“ The once quiet Balogun is now the most vocal and difficult to handle. I think that combination with Ekong is dead. However knowing how Rohr treats us as a father he might give him another chance. For now he is a back up defender”.

In April this year during a live chat on Instagram monitored by Owngoalnigeria, Balogun confirmed that he is usually involved in heated arguments with the coach, which according to him surprises most of his teammates.

“I do challenge the coach sometimes, it helps that we both speak German,” he said.

“Sometimes, when the discussions are heated, the other players will say ‘this Balogun is crazy oh’, but it’s all for the good of the team and constructive”.

Attention: This story was first published on the 1st of October 2020.

One of the untold stories of John Mikel Obi last days as captain and player of the senior national team of Nigeria was his clash with coach of the team Gernot Rohr during the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

Mikel was a starter in the first game of the Super Eagles which ended in a 1-0 win over Burundi but he picked up a thigh injury which led to his substitution in the game around the 58th minute mark.

He didn’t play another group game until the final match of the and he lasted about same time before he was subbed off. After that game he didn’t get to play again with Rohr claiming that he wasn’t fully fit.

A year ago Rohr confirmed he indeed dropped Mikel for Alex Iwobi who according to him gave the team more balance in the run which ended in a bronze medal.

An out of favour Super Eagles player who was a part of the squad revealed to OwnGoalNigeria.com that Mikel did have a clash with the manager after the group stages which led to his axing.

“ Mikel wasn’t happy with the way we were approaching games and he told the coach who felt his ideas and authorities was being questioned. Mikel felt we were too boring as a team and wanted us to be more adventurous, Rohr didn’t think we should go that route”, he said.

“ It led to a misunderstanding and most of us believe it’s why he didn’t get to play again in the tournament”, he concluded.