Newly signed Crystal Palace midfielder Michael Olise will not take up the option of playing for Algeria at senior international level as he has narrowed his options to just Nigeria and France.

Olise is eligible for all three countries but despite Nigeria placing him on standby in their squad for the final round of AFCON qualifiers he is yet to decide on his international future.

The 19 year old who earned a move to Crystal Palace on the strength of his near faultless performance for Reading last season in the English Championship isn’t in a hurry to make a decision yet.

Although he has represented France at U18 level, the interest from Nigeria has turned his head and he is now seriously contemplating playing for Nigeria at senior level.

His representatives led by his agent were not so happy with the decision of the Nigerian coach Gernot Rohr to list him in his squad as a decision hasn’t been reached by all involved.

However the idea of representing Algeria who were also keen on him after discovering that he qualifies to play for them via his mother has been shelved for now.

23 year old Nigerian forward Stephen Odey has been told he is surplus to requirements at Belgium side Genk upon his return from a loan spell in France.

He was tipped to be among the forwards who might be given a look in with fellow Nigerian Paul Onuachu expected to depart this season, but they have moved swiftly for another Nigerian in Ike Ugbo.

Ugbo is expected to seal his move in the coming days from Chelsea after impressing for Cercle Brugge last season and he will compete with Cyriel Dessers for a role in attack with Odey told he can leave.

Odey was sent on loan to French Ligue 2 side Amiens but his return of six goals in 28 games wasn’t considered good enough by Genk to hand him a spot in their pre season squad.

He has been relegated to the B team alongside the duo of Sebastien Dewaest and Ivan Fiolic as the club step up preparations for the start of next season.

The new coach of Napoli Luciano Spalleti says Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen has all the qualities of a complete striker after his four goals in their 12-0 win over Anaunia in a pre season game.

Osimhen proved his worth to the new coach by hitting four goals on a stretch after Eljif Elmas has given them the lead. Further goals from Kostas Manolas and and Stanislav Lobotka helped Napoli to a 7-0 half time lead.

Spalleti changes the entire outfield players for the second half but they still managed to hit five more goals to take scores to 12-0. Osimhen did enough to earn the praise of the manager.

“We want to stay in the opposing half of the pitch. Above all with someone like Osimhen in attack. I am having the same positive feelings as when I arrived. I saw the qualities that I already assumed the Napoli players had. Now we wait for the others”, Spalleti said.

“Osimhen it will be a point of reference and strength. He is a complete player. He has the qualities of the Champion. He knows how to score and how to make the team play, despite this he has things to improve with work. The important thing is that it gives the availability it is giving “

Al Ahly have been crowned the champions of the CAF Champions League after a comprehensive 3-0 win over ten man Kaizer Chiefs in the final of the prestigious Africa club competition to lift the trophy for the tenth time.

Nigeria international goalkeeper was the hero for Chiefs in the semi final second leg clash but he was helpless as Al Ahly struck three well taken goals to claim the African trophy once again.

Happy Mashiane was went off just before the half time break after a VAR review of his tackle which he was handed a yellow card initially before it was changed to red.

Mohammed Sheriff took advantage of the numerical superiority to put the Egyptians ahead in the 53rd minute, nine minutes later Mohammed Madgy Afsha made it 2-0 before Amir El Solia.

Nigeria international defender Leon Balogun scored his first goals for Scottish side Rangers as they were forced to a 2-2 draw against Arsenal in a high profile pre season game.

Balogun rose higher to flick home a corner kick from James Tavernier in the 14th minute to hand his side a shock lead as his header left Super Eagles goalkeeper target Arthur Okonkwo rooted at one spot.

Arsenal leveled through new signing Nuno Tavares but just when they thought Pierre Emerick Aubameyang has given them the lead Calvin Bassey produced an astonishing goal line clearance.

The Nigerian defender who had an excellent game all through restricting Arsenal’s dangerman Nicolas Pepe to few chances while also venturing upfront with with confidence.

Fifteen minutes to the end of the game Cedric Itten profited from another slack defending from Arsenal to head home another corner kick to take scores to 2-1.

Seven minutes to the end Eddie Nketiah drew Arsenal level again with a neat turn and shot in the box. A scoreline which stayed same at full time.

The U23 of Germany walked out of a friendly game against their counterparts from Honduras after Jordan Torunarigha was allegedly racially insulted.

Both teams are using the game to prepare for the football event of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and scores was tied at 1-1 when the German team walked out of the game.

Per a statement by the official Twitter handle of the German national team they walked out of the game which was played in three quarters of 30 minutes each behind close door following the racial insult targeted at Torunarigha.

“Game ended in the 87th [minute] due to abandonment because of a German player alleging a racist insult from a Honduras team member. Regarding this matter, the Honduras Football Federation states that the situation was a misunderstanding on the pitch”, a statement on the German team twitter handle reads.

Via same platform, the Honduras FA confirmed the incident but said it was a case of miscommunication involving a member of their technical crew and Torunarigha.

“The game has ended 5 minutes early with the score at 1-1. The Germany players left the pitch after Jordan Torunarigha was racially abused.”

In the game Douglas Martinez scored for Honduras while another German-Nigerian defender Felix Uduokhai leveled for Germany in the 87th minute. The game was abandoned with five minutes left to play.

Both players have confirmed that they have been approached by coach of the Nigerian team Gernot Rohr to switch allegiance to Nigeria after representing Germany at various youth levels.

Hertha Berlin defender Torunarigha has played for Germany from U16 to U21 before the elevation to the U23s. Augsburg Uduokhai played for the U21 and got called up to the senior team before dropping to the U23s.

Italian Serie A side Spezia has been handed a record two year transfer ban by FIFA for illegally signing 13 Nigerian players from 2013-2017.

Spezia had their debut season in the Italian top flight last season but prior to that time they had a partnership with Nigerian Academy based in Abuja called Football Academy Abuja.

The partnership involved the grooming of players in Nigeria at the academy before transferring them to the Italian side who were then owned by same group that provides funds for the Nigerian Academy.

It saw a host of players travel to Italy for youth tournaments and those who did well were made to remain in Italy under some special arrangements which is against FIFA’s transfer laws as they were all minors.

For instance the 2015 Nigerian U-17 duo of Orji Okonkwo and Kingsley Michael were playing for amateur side USD Lavagnese with an agreement that will see them move to Spezia when they turned 18.

The players who are now at Bologna made a u-turn on the agreement after excelling with the Nigerian U17 team at the World Cup. Neither Spezia or Lavagnese could file a case as that would land them into trouble as the players were not 18 yet when they were transferred to the Italian side.

Sadiq Umar now of Almeria and his childhood friend Nura Abdullahi had the most success for all those who were involved in the transfer of minors from Nigeria by Spezia.

They blew all away with the performance for the youth team of Spezia and secured a high profile transfer to Roma. Their success led to the influx of more minors in subsequent years all though with less success.

OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal that the players listed below were all part of the agreement that have landed the above mentioned club in hot waters.

Tahir Maigini, David Okereke, Orji Okonkwo, Kingsley Michael, Sadiq Umar, Nura Abdullahi, Suleiman Abdullahi, Theophilus Awua, Rabiu Rilwan, Ani Emmanuel, Chukwuemeka Emmanuel, Haruna Adamu Mohammed,

Former Nigeria U23 invitee Osaze Urhoghide has taken to life at Scottish side like a duck to water with strong performances in pre season.

Signed from English Championship side Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer, the 21 year old has played in all bar one of their pre season games so far.

He was monstrous in his first game against Charlton and that performance saw him keep his spot for the next game which was against Bristol City. He is in line to play later today when they take on Preston in another pre season game.

His main focus will however be on next Tuesday UEFA Champions League qualifiers game against Danish side Midtjylland where he will further stake his claim of pushing for a spot in the senior national team of Nigeria.

Coach of the Nigerian team Gernot Rohr has his sight on him and a strong showing in competitive games will no doubt put him in good stead to be called up when the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup begins.

Nigeria international Victor Osimhen excited fans of Napoli with a strong start in their first day of training as they begin preparations for a new season.

Osimhen was the only player in the group with a tracksuit bar the goalkeepers as he aims to fight off the harsh conditions. His every touch drew applause from the 300 fans who watched the session.

One excited fan screamed at the forward to finish as top scorer next season. A feat that is achievable considering his last season tally of ten goals despite battling with injuries and fitness issues. Not forgetting a failed coronavirus test that saw him miss six weeks.

Their excitement went sky high when the record signing scored with a deft touch during a small practice match organized by new coach Luciano Spalleti. The coach has already anointed Osimhen as his first choice striker for next season.

The Nigerian didn’t complete the session as he picked up a knock during the mini practice game but it wasn’t much of an issue as he was back in training yesterday with the rest of the team.

Italian Serie A side Spezia has been handed a record two year transfer ban by FIFA for illegally signing 13 Nigerian players from 2013-2017.

Spezia had their debut season in the Italian top flight last season but prior to that time they had a partnership with Nigerian Academy based in Abuja called Football Academy Abuja.

The partnership involved the grooming of players in Nigeria at the academy before transferring them to the Italian side who were then owned by same group that provides funds for the Nigerian Academy.

It saw a host of players travel to Italy for youth tournaments and those who did well were made to remain in Italy under some special arrangements which is against FIFA’s transfer laws as they were all minors.

For instance the 2015 Nigerian U-17 duo of Orji Okonkwo and Kingsley Michael were playing for amateur side USD Lavagnese with an agreement that will see them move to Spezia when they turned 18.

The players who are now at Bologna made a u-turn on the agreement after excelling with the Nigerian U17 team at the World Cup. Neither Spezia or Lavagnese could file a case as that would land them into trouble as the players were not 18 yet when they were transferred to the Italian side.

Sadiq Umar now of Almeria and his childhood friend Nura Abdullahi had the most success for all those who were involved in the transfer of minors from Nigeria by Spezia.

They blew all away with the performance for the youth team of Spezia and secured a high profile transfer to Roma. Their success led to the influx of more minors in subsequent years all though with less success.

The club breached “Fifa Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) by bringing several Nigerian minors into Italy using a scheme aimed at circumventing the aforesaid RSTP article as well as national immigration law,” said Fifa. external-link

“The Fifa Disciplinary Committee took into account that Spezia Calcio accepted responsibility for its serious regulatory violations, and imposed a registration ban … for four registration periods and a fine of 500,000 Swiss (US$544,000).”

Two amateur clubs based in the region – USD Lavagnese and Valdivara 5 Terre – were also barred for their role in the illegal movement of the minors from Nigeria to Italy.

Italian police are investigating the case given that national immigration rules were broken during the course of the Nigerian youngsters both entering and staying in the country.

They received a ban of four transfer windows as well, and received a far smaller sanction of $4,300. All three clubs have been notified of the decision.

OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal that the players listed below were all part of the agreement that have landed the above mentioned club in hot waters.

Tahir Maigini, David Okereke, Orji Okonkwo, Kingsley Michael, Sadiq Umar, Nura Abdullahi, Suleiman Abdullahi, Theophilus Awua, Rabiu Rilwan, Ani Emmanuel, Chukwuemeka Emmanuel, Haruna Adamu Mohammed.