As the debate for equal pay for both male and female athletes continues to rage on across the world, Nigeria’s minister of Sports, Sunday Dare has said that his administration will work to ensure that females in sports will start earning as their male counterparts.

While speaking, Dare said “when it comes to individual athletes, I’m afraid I don’t have the facts right now, but it is also a function of the platform which you’re competing (FIFA, FIBA, FIVB World Athletics). In the international championships.

“I don’t expect there would be differentials in the remunerations. Back home, we need to know whether they get equal pay. If it is not, I will commit to making sure that when it comes to remunerations, when it comes to payments, considerations and opportunities for training that both the female and males get to be on equal queue.”

Equal pay for male and female footballers have been agreed in countries like Australia, Finland and Norway. Players in England, the U.S.A and other countries have continued to fight for equal pay, with American star Megan Rapinoe lending her voice to the cause.

At the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, the World’s Governing Body awarded a total of 400 million dollars at the men’s tourney while the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France saw FIFA awarding a total prize money of 30 million dollars to the women’s tourney.

For preparation, men’s team got 1.5 million dollars for the 2018 World Cup while the women’s team got a little over $800,000 to prepare for the 2019 World Cup.

Godwin N.

Nigeria international forward Victor Osimhen has rejected the chance to join Serie A side Napoli from French Ligue 1 side Lille.

Napoli reportedly made an offer of around €56 million for the 21 year old and it is believed that Lille accepted the offer and passed it on to the player to decide.

However as reported by Owngoalnigeria.com last week , Osimhen who scored 17 goals last season want to spend another year in Ligue 1 hence he has turned down the deal.

Back in Nigeria following the death of his father, he was asked by a friend close to this portal and he replied by saying he is not interested in a move to the Serie A at this stage of his career.

Unless something drastic happens. He will no doubt remain at Lille for another year before deciding on his next career move. The idea is for him to establish himself in Ligue 1 before heading for another challenge.

Osas Mahawi

Per the terms of the new deal signed by the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr, the coach has been mandated to win the next Africa Cup of Nations or lose his job.

To that extent he has also vowed to be ruthless in players selection by stepping up his rule that only players who play in competitive leagues regularly will be called up to the team..

Presently the duo of Ahmed Musa and Shehu Abdullahi are outside that bracket as they are based in Saudi Arabia and Turkey respectively.

owngoalnigeria.com gathered that Rohr has already spoken with Musa on the need to return to Europe and that inform part of why he is presently seeking for an exit from Saudi Arabia when the transfer window opens.

Following the emergence of Chidera Ejuke and the return to full fitness of Joel Noah Sarenren Bazee the coach who is also a big fan of Emmanuel Dennis Bonaventure believe the aforementioned players are good enough to take the spot of the captain if he stays in Saudi Arabia, where the football level isn’t competitive enough.

In the same vein , Kingsley Ehizibue appears to have pushed Shehu Abdullahi into his preferred defensive midfield position instead of right back but in that role he has the likes of Wilfred Ndidi and others to contest with.

His case is not been helped by the fact that he is playing in the second division in Turkey following the relegation of Bursaspor.

Daniel Martins 

In the midst of speculations that the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria must include a certain number of home base players in his squad per the terms in his new deal , Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal that it isn’t the case.

The idea was mooted by the Technical Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) but it was flatly rejected by the coach and accepted by the football house before yesterday’s official confirmation.

However there’s a clause that says he must scout for players in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) for invitation to the national team if they are good enough to compete with other players in the team.

” The new deal don’t have any provision for quota system for home base players. Rather Rohr will reside in Nigeria, watch the NPFL and invite players he think can compete with the players in the team and periodically he will have training camps for selected home base players”, a chieftain of the NFF said.

” You can’t tell a coach where to pick players from. It’s very akward. Rohr has free hands to pick players from wherever he deems fit in order not to have any excuse against the mandate of lifting AFCON 2021″, he concluded.

Ade Emmanuel 

Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has picked one German-Nigerian player among the numerous he has on his list of players he want to switch allegiance to Nigeria as be believe he will add what the team presently lacks, Owngoalnigeria.com understands.

Rohr has penciled down ‎three players namely Kevin Akpoguma, Jordan Torunarigha and Felix Uduokhai for talks over a switch of allegiance but sources close to the coach reveal that he has reduced it to just one player.

The coach has long be searching for a left footed centre defender and with the obvious difficult in getting Jordan Torunarigha he has now settled for Felix Uduokhai who has been impressive for Augsburg where he is on loan form Wolfsburg.

Like Torunarigha, he is also left footed and Rohr believes he will add something different to the team as they presently can’t boast of any left footed player in defence.

22 year old Uduokhai further convinced Rohr in the games of the Bundesliga since the return of football. Rohr’s interest in Augsburg is on Joel Noah Sarenren-Bazee but the performance of Uduokhai ‎has gotten to the Franco-German coach.

The idea is to meet with Uduokhai later this year for another round of talks where Rohr will be hoping for a better outcome than last time out when he reportedly shunned a chance to be a part of the squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

Osas Mahawi

Whether you are a footballer or any other sports athlete, embarking on the right workout routine is very crucial. The major goals are to build power, strength, and endurance, which are much needed to become a successful footballer.

Coaches and team managers in this sport insist on weight training as the main focus while cardio training comes later.

This is because American and Australian football, or rugby as it is called by the rest of the world, requires strong players. Actually, if you are a fan of this sport, you will realize that all of the players are usually ripped.

Weight Training

Mainly, the program is split into two with in-season and off-season training. Both take a different approach as guided by trainers and coaches. During the season, the players are tasked with training hard, but they should remain in a position to play their matches without any difficulties. When it is the off-season, the weak muscles have to catch up while the overall body is pushed to the limits to get the most benefits from the program.

In-season weight training – Players focus on Romanian deadlifts, barbell squats, leg squats, presses, and rows. To avoid boredom, they should consider a variety of these options. The main focus is to work out moderately to keep the body active because of the ongoing matches and to avoid physical stress.

Off-season weight training – Although the footballers must train more during this season, it is also the time when they need to rest and rejuvenate. So, as they visit the Steroidsfax website or any other online shop to buy their favorite enhancement gear, they should know the limits. The program should be well planned with enough rest time.

The focus is on hitting the gym for at least four days a week and taking three days to rest in between the active days.

Boot camps and weight training adventures are also encouraged. Better still, footballers should take this time to take a vacation and detox their bodies in preparation for the next season. But as they do this, they should stick to their diets to avoid any challenges that will sabotage their efforts.

Key Considerations in Weight Training
Whether you are training during the in-season or off-season, there are important considerations to make. All of them focus on gaining as much as possible while avoiding stress on the body.

Recovery – This is integrated everywhere during the training. Take a few seconds to rest in between reps and a minute or two in between sets. Resting for a day after a few days of training also promotes recovery. Footballers are encouraged to observe recovery procedures that include appropriate diet, supplements, water, and a massage.

Remain consistent – This is what determines success or failure. One must stick to the program at all times for positive results.

Conclusion

Even when engaging in weight training to increase muscle mass, power, and strength, other training programs must be integrated as well. Cardio training is often neglected, but it is very important for endurance in footballers. Lastly, complementing diet and supplements also play a big role.

Former MLS goal king Fanendo Adi has lend his support to the people of Benue State, Nigeria in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic which has brought about a standstill in economic activities all over the world, Owngoalnigeria.com reports.

The Columbus Crew striker who is a native of the state donated 2000 bags of rice worth ten million naira to be distributed to people of the state ‎through the state government with governor of the state Samuel Ortom receiving the items on behalf of the government.

Speaking on the motivation behind the donation of the food items the Portland Timbers all time top scorer said it is his own way of supporting the masses of the state who are facing untold hard times in this challenging season.

“It’s my absolute pleasure to be able to help these masses of Benue State in this very challenging ‎times. We all know what is happening now is due to no fault of the people and to be in a position to help us very fulfilling. I thank God for the blessing to be able to help and I know this food items will get to the vulnerable “, he said after presenting the items.

‎29 year old Adi went into the record books in 2017 when he became the all time top scorer of MLS side Portland Timbers when he netted from the spot against Philadelphia Union for his 46th goal for the club.

Osas Mahawi

Ikechukwu Ezenwa says he was pained not to have been given a chance to play a single game at the World Cup 2018 in Russia after his role in qualifying the country for the tournament during the qualifiers.

In an interview with a popular radio station in Lagos monitored by Owngoalnigeria.com, Ezenwa who was the first choice for the latter stages of the ‎qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup said he was disappointed that Francis Uzoho was picked ahead of him.

Uzoho was made the first choice goalkeeper of the team for the World Cup after his breakthrough season at Deportivo La Coruna that saw him keep goal in four Laliga games before a change in coach saw him drop to the B team.

The decision to make Uzoho first choice at the World Cup didn’t go down well with Ezenwa but he believe he has overcome the pain and he is now focused on reclaiming the number one spot of the team when international football returns.

He however made his bitterness known while speaking on how he motivated Uzoho not to lose focus after he was relegated to third choice at the 2019 African Cup of Nations.

“This is how life is. You (Uzoho) don’t have to show people you’re angry or anything. Remember you came to the World Cup and you kept. I didn’t show that I was angry, but I felt bad that I qualified and I didn’t play. I left that behind and moved forward in my career. So in any situation, you find yourself Uzoho, this is the lesson. Don’t you show the coaches or anybody that you’re not happy”, where the words he claimed he told Uzoho at the AFCON.

Ade Emmanuel

As rumors over Nigeria’s bid to replace present coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria Gernot Rohr with English man Harry Redknapp, the country’s minister for Youth and Sports Sunday Dare has set out standard that must be met by the coach if he wants to continue in his job.

Rohr has been in charge of the senior national team of Nigeria since 2016 but for the first time, opinions on extending his contract has been largely divided with many suggesting that the team hasn’t truly evolved under his leadership.

However the Nigeria Football Federation ( NFF) have already agreed for the coach to stay for a further two and half year with the Super Eagles with all that is missing just an official announcement of the deal.

That delay resurrected talks of a possible u-turn by the NFF with Redknapp mentioned as the choice of the minister who in an online interview monitored by Owngoalnigeria.com revealed that there are standards that Rohr must meet if he wants to keep his job after the extension.

“For Rohr to have come in the first place he must have been world standard. Except when it comes to world standard coaches too there are various levels with the conditions we have put in. I think it’s only fair if he has accepted to let him continue but then we are going to hold him to a higher standard of responsibility to a greater depth of technicality in our football and to a greater level of success”, Dare said.

“Looking into that contract they are points in which if he does not me the desired standard we can terminate his contract. So we are not really stuck with him, he has an opportunity to prove himself. Even if we bring the best coach in the world. We’ll set the same standard for that coach, we’ll build in points in which if those expectations.

The expected outcome are not met, that best coach in the world will also be shown the way out. So I think we’ll just let this play out. He (Rohr) has also made promises that things will get better and I think we’ll just wait and see what happens eventually”, he concluded.

Reacting to the allegations that the minister is trying to force Redknapp on the NFF, the media aide to Dare ‎Kola Daniel rubbished the reports terming it as a figment of the writer’s imagination as the minister hasn’t made any of such demand.

Daniel warned that such reports could truncate the good relationship the minister has with the football house ‎which is about the best any serving minister has enjoyed with the NFF in a very long time.

Osas Mahawi

Former Arsenal midfielder Alex Iwobi says coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr knows how best to get the best out of him than all of the coaches he has played under at youth level, Owngoalnigeria.com reports.

While speaking with the official Super Eagles handle in an Instagram ‎interview, the Everton man explained that although he has respect for the top coaches that he has played under but Rohr is one man that has found a way of making him be at his best.

At club level, Iwobi has been deployed more to the left and even though he started out on that role for Nigeria he has since moved to the role of the creative midfielder of the team and according to him that switch gives him the freedom to express himself in games.

“I currently play under Carlo Ancelloti whom I have a lot of respect for, I have respect for Unai Emery and Arsene Wenger too. Even Sunday Oliseh gave me the chance to make my national team debut but I actually really enjoy playing under Gernot Rohr,” Iwobi said.

“I feel like he (Rohr) gave me much freedom to express myself. So, I will say Gernot Rohr is the best coach I’ve played under.

“As much as I have been with the likes of Ancelloti, Wenger, and Emery. I actually have the best time with Rohr.”

He went on further to express his joy over the two and half year contract extension signed by the coach to extend his stay beyond June when his current contract will expire.

“For me, it is a blessing to hear the news of Rohr’s contract extension because I personally felt he brought out the best in me football-wise and I enjoyed playing under him.

“And for the team, the results speak for itself. We are blossoming very well as a team and we are getting the results.

“So for him to sign a new deal is good news.”

Ade Emmanuel