Saturday, June 16, 2018
2018 World Cup: 10 FACTS ABOUT Nigeria's Super Eagles world Cup efforts
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1. First things first, The Super Eagles of
Nigeria officially have the ‘most stylish’ World Cup kit. The Nike-designed
World Cup kit sold out globally on the same day it was released as fans lined
up wrapping around the block outside Nike’s Store in London.
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| 1994 sqaud! |
1 2. Nigeria will be making its 6th appearance
at the FIFA World Cup (Russia 2018) with their first official appearance at the
World Cup in USA 1994
3. Following their first appearance, the Super
Eagles of Nigeria qualified for a consecutive time in France 1998, finishing in
the Round of 16 in both appearances with the 9th and 12th position
respectively. Not skipping a bit, Nigeria qualified for its third World cup which
was hosted by South Korea and Japan in 2002; they finished in the Group stage
with 27th position. While the Super Eagles did not qualify for
Germany 2006, they however made it to the first ever World Cup held on African
soil; South Africa 2010 (Group stage, 27th position). In 2014, the
Eagles of Nigeria made it to the World Cup in Brazil, this time; they finished in
the Round of 16 taking the 16th position. They are currently in
Russia making their 6th appearance in the World Cup, and as we wait
to see how this young team will fare in the tournament, it is evident that they
have already made their mark in history.
4.High rankings: prior to their premier appearance at FIFA’s
World Cup, the Eagles of Nigeria were ranked 5th in the FIFA rankings in 1994
which remains the highest FIFA ranking attained by an African football
team. They are currently ranked at 48 on
the FIFA ranking with an average ranking of 38 since their first World Cup
appearance
5. The Super Eagles of Nigeria, first timers in the
FIFA’s World Cup gave an amazing performance which till date remains their highest
scoring game in the World Cup. It was Nigeria vs. Bulgaria which ended in 3-0 (Nigeria
won.)
6.Nigeria’s Joseph Yobo has the top World Cup appearances
(2002, 2010, and 2014) in 10 matches for the Eagles. He is closely followed by legendary player
Jay-Jay Okocha (1994, 1998, and 2002) in 9 matches.
7. Daniel Amokachi (2 goals), Emmanuel Amunike (2
goals), Kalu Uche (2 goals), and Ahmed Musa (2 goals), are top scorers in
Nigeria’s World Cup effort.
8.Youngsters! The the least average age-players
in the Nigerian team which consists of Arsenal’s
Alex Iwobi, 22, Benfica’s Tyronne Ebuehi 21, Leicester City’s Kelechi
Iheanacho, 21 and goalkeeper Francis Uzoho, 19.
9.In its 6th World Cup apprances,
Nigeira and Argentina have been grouped together for a record 5 times.
10. The eagles of Nigeria are locked in Group D
along with Croatia, Argentina, and Iceland.
Thursday, July 7, 2016
Lionel Messi sentenced for tax fraud.
Barcelona and Argentina
footballer, Lionel Messi has been sentenced to 21-months in jail over tax
fraud. The 29-year-old striker along with his father, Jorge Messi were found
guilty on three counts of tax fraud in Barcelona. Jorge Messi was given a jail
term for defrauding Spain of about $4.1 million between 2007 and 2009. Both father
and son were also fined millions of Euros for their use of tax havens in Belize
and Uruguay to hide earning from endorsements.
However, following Spanish legal
systems which states that prison terms under two years can be served under
probation, neither Lionel, or his dad is expected to serve this hefty sentence.
Source:BBC
Lionel Messi sentenced for tax fraud.
Barcelona and Argentina
footballer, Lionel Messi has been sentenced to 21-months in jail over tax
fraud. The 29-year-old striker along with his father, Jorge Messi were found
guilty on three counts of tax fraud in Barcelona. Jorge Messi was given a jail
term for defrauding Spain of about $4.1 million between 2007 and 2009. Both father
and son were also fined millions of Euros for their use of tax havens in Belize
and Uruguay to hide earning from endorsements.
However, following Spanish legal
systems which states that prison terms under two years can be served under
probation, neither Lionel, or his dad is expected to serve this hefty sentence.
Source:BBC
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Drogba to take legal actions against Daily Mail after the paper made allegations about his Foundation charity
Didier Drogba set to take legal actions against Daily Mail
following allegation made about his Foundation being under investigation. The former Chelsea forward has strongly denied
any wrongdoing at his Foundation charity, telling SSN HQ that newspaper claims
to the contrary are "disrespectful".
According to Daily Mail less than 1% of the money raised by
the Didier Drogba Foundation in the UK - just £14,115 - has gone to help good
causes in Africa.
The Didier Drogba Foundation was set up in 2007 with the aim
of providing healthcare and education throughout Africa. over time, the Foundation has
raised over £2m from celebrity fundraising events in London.
Drogba, who now plays for Major League Soccer club Montreal
Impact, told Sky Sports News HQ: "(The claims) are very disrespectful and
very bad for the foundation and these allegations are not right.
"The money hasn't been spent, yes, but what's wrong
with that? The most important thing is that these are long-term projects.
"I'm not doing all this work just for one year or for
two years. We have a lot of projects, we have a mobile clinic and we have done
a lot of work in orphanages.
"They have already caused an untold amount of damage by
contacting all of my sponsors... and putting doubts in their mind about whether
to continue to support us in the future.
"Their attempts to destroy the work of the Foundation
will not stop me continuing the work we have begun."
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Fans pay high prices to watch Kobe Bryant’s last game
Bryant, 37, announced in November that he would retire from
professional basketball at the end of this basketball season. The five-time NBA
champion is the first guard to play 20 seasons, according to ESPN.
Fans of the 5-time NBA Champions have coughed out as high as
$27,500 for court-side seats which usually costs about $1000-$2000, while the lowest listed ticket price cost $729 on StubHub.com for an ‘upper corner seat.
The Los Angeles Lakers will host the Utah Jazz at 7:30 p.m PT,
Bryant’s final game before he retires.
CONNECTING GREATNESS, LIONEL MESSI JOINS THE HUAWEI FAMILY OF GLOBAL BRAND AMBASSADORS
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| Kevin Ho, President, Handset Business, Huawei Consumer BG presenting Mate 8 to Lionel Messi. |
LAGOS,
NIGERIA March 17, 2016 - Huawei
Announced Lionel Messi’s Appointment As The Latest Global Brand Ambassador
For It’s
Consumer Business Group. The Affiliation Shows The Commitment Of The Brand To
Aligning With People That Demonstrate And Strive Towards Its Shared Value Of
Connecting Greatness.
Challenges Test Our Desire To Achieve What We Want
And Love. To Connect With Greatness, We Have To Value The Growth, Learning,
Experiences And Struggles As Part Of Our Story That Brought Us Where We Are
Now. Those Who Understand That WE Are Always Pursuing Not Success But
Challenges To Be Better. That Is What Makes Huawei And Lionel Messi A Perfect
Fit.
According To The Country Manager, Huawei Consumer
Business Group Nigeria, Mr. Leo Jiang, “Football
Is A Passionate Sport With Lots Of Passionate Fans, Especially Here In Nigeria.
We Are Of Course Absolutely Excited To Be Associated With The World’s Top
Football Legend, Lionel Messi. This Will Help Our Brand Encourage People To
Focus, Persevere, And Make Breakthroughs To Connect With Greatness”.
Huawei
Has Gone Further To Introduce Its Flagship Smartphone The Huawei Mate 8 And Its
Mid-Range Phone The G-Power Into The Nigerian Market To Suit The Various
Lifestyles Of Its Consumers. G Power Gives Its Customers A Premium Feel At An
Affordable Price Point With A Reverse Charging Feature That Enables The Huawei
G.Power Charge Other Smartphones. Messi Is
Immediately Fronting A Campaign For Current Flagship Phone,
The Huawei Mate 8.
 |
| Tyrone Liu, CEO Consumer Business Group for Huawei Latin America displaying Huawei watch as a gift to Lionel Messi. |
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| Huawei's Executive team during Lionel Messi's announcement as Global Brand Ambassador for Huawei |
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| Huawei Executive team taking a selfie with Messi using the Huawei Mate 8 |
 |
Lionel Messi talking about his affinity with Huawei
|
For More Information, Visit Huawei Consumer
Business Group Online: Consumer.Huawei.Com/Ng
Monday, September 7, 2015
Labels:
AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS
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super eagles
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Nigeria’s coach, Sunday Oliseh content with Super Eagles draw against Tanzania.
In an interview with SuperSport’s Collins Okinyo, Super Eagle’s coach
Sunday Oliseh says he is satisfied with the 0-0 draw against Tanzania in
African Nations Cup qualifier given that it was his debut appearance as coach
for the team. Former Super Eagles player
turned coach is hopeful that he can learn lessons from the game to take the
side forward.
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| Goal.com |
"I can describe the match as a game of two halves,
because we struggled in the first half but came back strongly in the second
half containing the Tanzanians who also played very well," he told
SuperSport.
With the absence of Nigeria’s goalkeeper, Enyeama, the Eagles
had to rely on a fine performance from another debutant Wolves goalkeeper Carl
Ikeme to keep the game goalless. The 29-year-old goalkeeper saved the day with some major saves to keep Nigeria in
the game. Oliseh describes his performance as ‘brilliant’-"I am very happy
with Ikeme's performance he was brilliant and he kept the Tanzanian strikers at
bay," he also added. "It was a very important debut for him and
thankfully for us he was A1."
Nigeria will
take on Niger on Wednesday in a friendly in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Labels:
US Open
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U.S Open: The William sisters will battle it out in the quarterfinals Tuesday!
Serena Williams was all smiles at the Arthur Ashe Stadium
after her win over up-and-coming American Madison Keys on Sunday. Taking the
day off, Williams seemed highly satisfied with her performance in which she
made only six unforced errors ending in a 6-3, 6-3 over Keys in the U.S Open and will meet older sister, Venus Williams in the quarterfinals. Venus Williams
who effortlessly won over Estonia’s Annett Kontaveit 6-2 6-1 on Sunday will be playing
against little sister Serena on Tuesday for the 27th time.
Serena Williams has won 25 out of 25 Grand Slam matches
so far this year, in an interview with ESPN analyst Mary Joe Fernandez she said - “I’m
going to take the rest of the day off”
No hint of sibling rivalry here as Venus was asked on court,
after her victory, what it was like to be part of this great sibling rivalry.
"It's awesome," she said. "I'm proud of her.
She's proud of me."
Serena said, "I'm playing the best player in the
tournament. She knows how to play, how to win. She knows all my
weaknesses."
And later, "We have proven you can be enemies on the
court and friends after."
Stats: William sister’s showdown
-Serena and Venus Williams played against each other for the
first time at the Australian open in 1998.
-Venus won the first encounter; Serena however won the last
at the last Wimbledon.
-Four U.S Open clashes with two win respectively
-First meeting was in 2001, Venus won, but Serena won a year
later.
-Both great players, Serena with 21 major titles and Venus'
seven is impressive.
Not so sure which sister I will be rooting for, but, may the best sister win!
Credit: U.SOpen.org
Friday, September 4, 2015
Top 10 most expensive transfer deals this summer. (2015)
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| Photo Credit: Mirror. UK. |
The transfer window for the summer
in the Premier League is now closed until January, 1, 2016, however, big
spenders Manchester City made top 2 most expensive transfers in the
window.
First up Kevin De Bruyne (Wolfsburg to
Manchester City, £54.5m)- the 24-year-old Belgian footballer led the assist in Europe last season, scored
a total of 20 goals, and with his recent move to Man City, he became the second
most expensive player in the club’s history.
Raheem
Sterling (Liverpool to Manchester City, £49m)- the 20-year-old English
player was finally signed on this summer after a rather controversial deal earlier
in the transfer window which questioned Sterling’s actual value. Sterling,
ready to make a difference joins the likes of David Silva and Sergio Aguero to
reinforce City’s stand this season; the midfielder scored his first goal for the
English side in their 2-0 win over Watford.
Angel
Di Maria (Manchester United to PSG, £44.3m)-the Argentine
midfielder struggled to settle in Old Trafford for almost a year following his
record breaking move from Real Madrid in 2014, however, United decided it was
time to let go of the 27-year-old player. Counting their loses due to weak
Euro, according to Foreign Exchange (FX) specialists Foenix Partners, Manchester
United lost a whopping £22.5 million on
the sale of Angel Di Maria to Paris Saint-Germain. In what can be considered a preview, Di Maria
showcased some of his knacks in PSG’s 3-0 win in Monaco on Sunday.
Anthony
Martial (Monaco to Manchester United, £36m) - the 19-year-old
French forward capped the list as the most expensive teenager transfer of all
time. United contracted the former Lyon player on deadline day. With only 52
league appearances, Martial has played on full season in his career and has
scored 11 goals in all.
Nicolas
Otamendi (Valencia to Manchester City, £33m)-reinforcing the team,
City sought the talent of this 27-year-old Argentine defender after a successful
season in La Liga last season. He is yet to make an appearance for City.
Christian
Benteke (Aston Villa to Liverpool, £32.5m)-24-year-old Belgian player
who had issues with his release clause will be playing in Anfield after Brendan
Rodgers decided to meet the terms of the agreement. After a rough season which
was characterized by their struggles to make goals, the addition of the forward
should bring some changes going forwardJ.
Benteke has quite an impressive record with 42 goals in 88 appearances under
his belt during his time with Aston Villa; starting brightly with the Reds, he made his mark by scoring in their 1-0 win over Bournemouth.
Roberto
Firmino (Hoffenheim to Liverpool, £29m) - After a very successful stint
in the Bundesliga where he scored 23 goals and 21 assists in 66 appearances, the
23-year-old Brazilian player will look to fill the void left behind with
Sterling’s departure.
Memphis
Depay (PSV to Manchester United, £27.9m) - 21-year-old Dutch
player who is currently being compared to Cristiano Ronaldo made his way to Old
Trafford this season and already made his point clear with two goals against Club
Brugge for his side.
Morgan
Schneiderlin (Southampton to Manchester United, £25m)-United
still dishing out the money this season with the addition of the 25-year-old
French player. United beat the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham for the Central
midfielder who was instrumental in in his former club following their promotion
to the Premier League in 2012.
Pedro
(Barcelona to Chelsea, £21.4m) - the Spanish forward in his debut appearance
for the Blues scored once against West Brom, and had 1 assist in their 3-2 win.
The 28-year-old player, however, did little to prevent their 2-1 defeat to Crystal Place
last Saturday; he does have a ton of potentials, only time shall tell.
Other expensive transfers in the window:
- Bastian Schweinsteiger, Bayern Munich to Man Utd, £15
- Georginio Wijnaldum, PSV to Newcastle, £15m
- Adbul Rahman Baba, Augsburg to Chelsea, £14m
- Aleksandar Mitrovic, Anderlecht to Newcastle, £13m
- Matteo Darmian, Torino to Man Utd, £12.6m
- Nathaniel Clyne, Southampton to Liverpool, £12.4m
- Clinton Njie, Lyon to Tottenham, £12m
- Florian Thauvin, Marseille to Newcastle, £12m
- Salomon Rondon, Zenit St Petersburg to West Brom, £11.9m
- Xherdan Shaqiri, Inter to Stoke, £11.9m
Source: Skysport
Bayern Munich donates $1.2m and set up 'training camps' for refugees in Germany
25-times German League title champions Bayern Munich and 5-times European Champions are looking to setup a ‘training camp’ for refugees coming into Germany and will donate 1m Euros ($1.2 M) to the refugee project. In a bid to help with the increasing number of refugees coming into various countries across Europe due to serious conflicts in countries such as Syria and Eritrea and with many in Hungary wishing to travel to Germany, the Bundesliga club also plans to provide food, German lessons and football equipment for children. Currently, the number of refugees entering Europe has reached a record level in years; Germany will expect to take in as many as 800, 000 migrants this year.
Speaking in a statement Bayern’s CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said- “Bayern sees it as its social
responsibility to help the refugees,” Bayern’s game against Augsburg on Sept.
12 will also see each player walk out “holding the hand of a German child and a
refugee’s child.”
Other clubs working to bring
aid to the migrants includes Bayern’s closest rivals Borussia Dortmund, the
club gave 220 tickets to refugees to watch the side play against Norwegian side
Odd in the Europa League last Thursday. Rivals Mainz gave out 200 free tickets
to their home match against Hannover last weekend. Celtics is also helping out by giving parts
of their proceeds from this weekend’s jock Stien 30th anniversary
events to the refugees. Telegraph U.K
U.S Open 2015: Serena Williams trumps Bertens
Our girl Serena Williams is
at it again, the number ONE woman in Tennis won her first calendar Grand Slam
over Kiki Bertens in the second round of the US Open.
In one of those moments that can only be matched by the 6-times U.S Open
champion, William trailing in as much as 4-0 in the opening
tie-break, came back to win 7-7 (7-5) 6-3 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. In her 16th
appearance playing in the US Open, William looked less perturbed but worked
hard to top 24-year old Bertens who was competing in her third competition.
Certainly, today’s
performance shows strong challenges ahead for the world champion, however, (in
my ultimate fan voice) she can take’em. With opponents like Agnieszka Radwaska,
and her very own blood Venus William that threaten to draw thin, both of whom
are in her section of the draw, Serena will have to bring it.
Serena will be going
head-to-head in her next match in the third round against compatriot, Bethanie
MatteK-Sands. This will be their third meeting-Williams won in their two
previous meetings.
For the men,
Top seed Novak Djokovic won
comfortably over Andreas Haider-Maurer 6-4 6-1 6-2.
But eighth seed Rafael Nadal
was tested during his 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 7-5 victory over Diego Sebastian
Schwartzman
The Spaniard, who trailed 5-3
in the first-set tie-break and fell a break behind in both the second and third
sets, admitted he had to fight for the victory. BBC Sports
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