Stakeholders at the workshop and seminar organized by the National Association of Nigerian Professional Players Enugu State Chapter (NANPF) held at the Board Room of the Enugu State Football Association recently to enhance participation towards achieving players welfare and well-being ,have given kudos to the National Association of Nigeria Professional Footballers(NANPF) Enugu state chapter for deeming it fit to draw all stakeholders in the football ecosystem together and in a round table discussions on issues around players welfare and wellbeing and with particular reference to circumstances motivating negative behaviours amongst players such as betting/match fixing and other negative coping mechanism which in turn affect their growth in life .

Speaking during the event ,the Enugu state Commissioner for Youth and Sports represented by Coach Ephraim Ochonma the director of Coaching in the ministry applauded the efforts and the move by the Football Union and describing it as a right step from right direction to keep players ,club owners and managers well informed and to ensure a smooth and steady relationship .

The Enugu state Football Association Chairman represented by the Vice Chairman Barrister Monday NNaona applauded the union for thinking towards the direction of getting all stakeholders together and reaching out to players through a robust educational framework and assured that the state football Association will continue to be laying their support to NANPF Enugu state Chapter.

In his remarks,the state chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Comrade Ben Asogwa maintain that National Association of Nigerian Professional Footballers (NANPF) is a baby of Trade union Congress and that the congress will continue to lay all the necessary support and back up in line with established rules towards ensuring that National Association of Nigerian Professional Footballers (NANPF) realizes its noble objectives and achieving its mandate.

Earlier in his remark ,the state chairman of the National Association of Nigeria Professional Footballers Coach Ebere Amaraizu had welcomed all the stakeholders and reminding them that there efforts towards helping to constantly reach out and educate these players to be well guided will not be taken for granted .

We are aware of the Nigeria Premier Football League framework as it concerns betting/Match fixing and other conducts by players ,officials and club members ,our duty is to work in partnership with all the stakeholders including the league management body to deepen the awareness and make players and others to digest it and be guided by it .

The stakeholders workshop with the theme Enhancing stakeholders Participation towards achieving players welfare and wellbeing wereCommit attended by clubs representatives ,Enugu state Chairman of the Nigeria Referee Association ,State Chairman of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria ,State Executives of National Association of Nigeria Professional Footballers (NANPF) and produced the following as Communique :

1.Commitment to players welfare with non-conflict of interest.The Association reaffirmed that its primary function remains the enhancement of players welfare and general well being and on this ,NANPF assured to operate with transparency and neutrality ,avoiding conflict of interest in all its engagements .

2.Continuous Sensitization and Advocacy.On this ,NANPF shall intensify its efforts to sensitize players in partnership with the league management body ,clubs and other stakeholders through regular seminars ,workshops and other engagement .These sensitizations and advocacy will focus on knowledge of the NpFl frameworks and rules ,rights awareness,protection of terms of agreement between player and employer,his welfare and things that will promote their general well being as well as other challenges affecting their productivity within the football ecosystem .

3.There was also the issue of health and insurance and medical support system by clubs to enhance their productivity and wellness as well as development of Sustainable player support programs which will help to promote players productivity and livelihood in terms of physical fitness,,mental and emotional wellbeing for holistic well being .These programs include Mentorship programs for players,Carear Counselling ,financial literacy and management and guidance for retired players with effective monitoring .

Abuja, Nigeria — The National Association of Nigeria Professional Footballers (NANPF) has applauded the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) for its decision to lift the provisional suspension of Plateau United goalkeeper, Adewale Adeyinka, following a fair and transparent hearing process.

In a statement issued to the press, NANPF President, Sunday Abe, expressed appreciation to the NPFL for allowing due process in handling the July suspension of Adeyinka over alleged involvement in betting activities.

“We are pleased that the NPFL granted our member, Adewale Adeyinka, the opportunity for a fair hearing and did not allow unproven allegations to truncate his professional career,” Abe stated. “This is a progressive step and demonstrates the league’s willingness to engage constructively with the players’ union.”

The NPFL, in an official communication signed by its Chief Operating Officer, Davidson Owumi, confirmed that Adeyinka had fully cooperated with the league’s investigation. While the player has now been cleared to register with any club of his choice ahead of the 2025/2026 season, the NPFL emphasized that investigations into related matters are still ongoing.

Abe commended the league’s professional conduct during the inquiry and reiterated the union’s commitment to defending the rights and welfare of Nigerian footballers.

“As a union, we will continue to ensure that no player suffers unjustly and that all disciplinary measures are handled with fairness,” he said. “We appreciate the NPFL for listening to our position and for upholding principles of justice and transparency.”

He also called on all professional footballers to remain disciplined and to cooperate with regulatory bodies when called upon. Abe assured members of NANPF’s continued legal and moral support in any situation requiring union intervention.

The NPFL concluded its statement by affirming its commitment to preserving the integrity of Nigerian football while ensuring all proceedings are conducted fairly, transparently, and in accordance with established guidelines.

Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan has pulled out of the women’s 100m hurdles at the 2025 Wanda Diamond League Final in Zurich, leaving Udodi Onwuzurike and Nathaniel Ezekiel as the country’s remaining representatives, Bold Sports reports.

Amusan, the world record holder and three-time Diamond League champion, was billed to chase a record fourth title on Thursday, but her name has been removed from the start list. She has been replaced by The Bahamas’ Devynne Charlton, the reigning World Indoor 60m hurdles champion.

The withdrawal is a huge blow for Nigerians, but attention now shifts to Ezekiel and Onwuzurike, who will both run on Thursday at Zurich’s iconic Letzigrund Stadium.

At 22, Onwuzurike is the youngest Nigerian in Zurich and goes into a stacked 200m final against Olympic champion Noah Lyles, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, and Dominican star Alexander Ogando. The Nigerian scraped into the Final after finishing third in Brussels (20.29s) and benefitting from late withdrawals.

Ezekiel has been one of Nigeria’s breakthrough stars this year. The Baylor University product, also 22, broke the national 400m hurdles record for the fifth time in 2025 with a 47.31s run in Silesia, a mark that ranked in the world’s top five this season.

He earned his ticket to Zurich after withdrawals from Olympic champion Rai Benjamin and season leader Alison dos Santos, but his consistent performances, including third in Eugene, proved he belongs among the best.

Tobi Amusan withdraws from Diamond League Final

Zurich’s 400m hurdles final will be led by Norwegian world record holder Karsten Warholm, who has the season’s world lead of 46.28s, but Ezekiel says he is ready to challenge. No Nigerian has ever reached the podium in Zurich’s men’s 400m hurdles final.

The stakes are high, each event winner will pocket $50,000, the richest prize in Diamond League history, as athletes also chase momentum ahead of the World Championships in Tokyo.

All Nigerian races come up on Thursday, with Ezekiel set for 8:44 p.m. Nigerian time, before Onwuzurike rounds off the country’s campaign in the 200m at 9:39 p.m.

…match Against Remo Stars Moved to Aba

Kun Khalifat FC has announced that their Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) Week 1 fixture against Remo Stars will now hold on Monday, September 1, at the Enyimba Stadium, Aba, following ongoing renovation works at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri.

The club further disclosed that subsequent home games will be played on either Fridays or Saturdays, depending on league scheduling.

However, beyond matchday adjustments, Kun Khalifat FC has raised the alarm over its financial struggles in competing at the top tier. Chief Executive Officer, Michael Chukwudi Amaefule, admitted that the demands of sustaining an NPFL campaign — estimated at close to ₦1 billion — have become overwhelming.

Amaefule appealed to the Imo State Government, corporate sponsors, football stakeholders, and well-meaning Nigerians to rally behind the club in order to sustain its historic rise from the Nationwide League One (NLO) through the Nigeria National League (NNL) and now to the NPFL.

“This is not cowardice but responsibility. We want Imolites to continue enjoying top-flight football. With your support, we can sustain our NPFL status and soar to greater heights,” Amaefule said.

Zido Sport TV, reacting to the development, noted that football transcends the 90 minutes on the pitch. “It’s about survival, pride, and the community standing together,” the station remarked.

Badagry, Lagos – The Badagry Division Football Association (BDFA) has released its financial statement for the 2024/25 football season, reporting a total income of ₦19.19 million against an expenditure of ₦21.08 million.

According to the breakdown, the RAK League 2025 provided the highest revenue with ₦11.55 million, boosted by a ₦10 million sponsorship from the RAK Foundation. Other inflows came from the Akran Cup 2024 (₦1.85m), Chekas Kids Cup 2025 (₦1.32m), and club/tournament affiliations which yielded ₦1.94 million.

On the spending side, tournaments and administrative costs were the biggest outlays. The RAK League alone consumed more than ₦7.8 million, covering logistics, officiating, media, the closing ceremony, and prize money. Beneficiaries included Emaljus FC (₦500,000), JP Youngstars (₦300,000), and Great Stars Amazon (₦300,000).

The Akran Cup 2024 accounted for ₦1.41 million in logistics, with prize money distributed to New Era FC (₦200,000), Youngstars FC (₦150,000), and Smiler All Champions (₦100,000). Secretariat operations, which included office rent renewal, salaries, welfare, and equipment, cost the association over ₦4 million.

In addition, ₦566,000 was spent on seminars and workshops such as the Rising Stars Seminar and the FCAAN F-Course, both targeted at grassroots football development.

Despite healthy sponsorship support, the BDFA ended the season with a deficit of almost ₦2 million. The financial report has been forwarded to the Lagos State Football Association, RAK Foundation, Akran Palace, and other stakeholders for review, with discussions expected on ensuring more sustainable funding for grassroots football in the division.

By Ori Martins

The Super Falcons of Nigeria’s accomplishment of the Mission X objective at the last Women’s African Nations Cup Finals in Morocco has been described as s a wonferful feat in spite of its inherent flaws by Chief (Sir) Fan Ndubuoke.

Ndubuoke, a former board member of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) observed that “Mission X is Possible” was the slogan coined by the ever vibrant Nigeria’s sporting press in which the sports journalists reminded the female national team on the need to come back home with the coveted trophy for an unprecedented epic record of 10 times.

Ndubuoke noted that for the Falcons to have staged an unexpected comeback from a 2 – 0 deficit in the first half to beat the host 3 -2 before Morocco’s cheering and boisterous fans on the final day was an excellent achievement . “That feat further proved that Super Falcons of Nigeria are the undisputed African best in women football”, he submitted.

The erstwhile Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) national president, noted that there were issues arising from Morocco which ought to be painstakingly addressed but had been swept under the carpet because of the euphoria ‘of the moment.

According to him, ” My concern is the euphoria that greeted Falcons victory in Morocco, coupled with generous largesse from President Bola Ahmed. It rankles that the AFWCON victory in the North Africa region has beclouded Falcons glaring flaws.

“Falcons’ weaknesses were so noticeable that the Moroccan manager was so confifent that the Falcons would not survive the first half. His boast actually caught the attention of some football buffs who actually understood that the Super Falcons were not a truly – technically packaged side.

“True to the boasts of the Moroccan coach, the Nigerian ladies caved in to two quick succession first half goals. The Moroccan coach was proved right and our fears about the Super Falcons not being a strong side with vitality, cohesion and strong team understanding was confirmed”.

Ndubuoke, who was the general manager of Heartland FC when the Owerri side lifted the Federation Cup back – to – back in 2012, 2012, Falcons’ victory was accidental. He said, “As a matter of fact, the Super Falcons’ victory in the 2025 African Women’s Nations Cup was a success made possible by the usual “Nigeria’s spirit of survival” than being technically inspired”.

He asded, “I say it with every sense of patriotism and a stakeholder in sports business, particularly football, that the Super Falcons were not really fantastic notwithstanding their lifting the WAFCON for the unprecedented even historic 10th time.

“Truth be told, the team lacked general football tenets . The ladies never displayed any tact depicting them as a great side. Individually, the Super Falcons at Morocco were stuffed with great players who ply their trade abroad . Sadly, the coach never succeeded in building those great talents into a team”.

The former Imo State FA chairman argued that taking a cursory look at how the Super Falcons went about their games leading to he final against host Morocco, it was obvious that the defence was always in total disarray, the midfield suffered consistent collapse while the attack, despite its nunerous forays, never flew effectively.

“The coach who must be commended for his efforts, despite limited exposure, needed more time to build technically efficient team . He ought to know that at that level, knowledge of his opponents’ strength and weakness was key.

The then co – publishers of the then high flying first all sports newspaper in Nigeria – The Sports Links – insisted that “Winning the WAFCON 10 times without making any impact globally particularly at the World Cup is absolety meaningless. The last Women’s African Nations Cup where Nigeria paraded players with European and global exposure, offered us one of the biggest opporyunitues to showcase the superiority of our ladies.

“I groaned as I watched our dear Super Falcons struggled to string passes even when advancing from behind. If it were 10, 15 or 20 yesrs ago, it would have been understandable. But we are talking about a team that first represented Aftica in the maiden edition of the Women World Cup Finals in China(1991 )- 34 yesrs ago”!

Ndubuoke revealed that “The team I watched in Morocco never exhibited the true character of a 34 year old side as all the blunders usually associated with our female national team reared their ugly heads.

“Unfortunately, I can tell you that the gains of their overseas exposure were never brought to bear on the 2025 Falcons in Morocco.

“In fact, that Nigeria still struggles against teams like South Africa , Equotoria Guinea and Morocco which started female football many years after her confirms our standard has not improved with time. Instead , the standard is diminishing by the day and something critical and strategic must be done to arrest the situation urgently”.

Ndubuoke, pioneer chairman of Imo State Sports Commission applauded the Federal Government of Nigeria for the generous appreciation of the Super Falcons and the D’Tigress.

“Again, the challenge is with the administrators. What is their development plan for female football in Nigeria? What are the modalities to ensure short and long term plans for Falcons’ successes, especially to play in the last four of the Women World Cup Finals?You can confess that watching England, Spain in the European Women final was worth the time. Can our girls stand any of those team today at the level we are playing?

Let us hope that from the windfalls for winning the continental diadem, both the team and the technical crew will be exposed to better training and preparations”.

Furthermore, record shows that CAF made a donation of the equivalent of N1. 5b to Super Falcons as winners of last WAFCON. Let us take it for granted that about N500m might have been expanded on the women during the competition. So, what happens the N1b balance? What is it meant for”?

The Rangers international Football Club Foundation (RIFC Foundation ) has concluded plans for the smooth take off of its community driven program  under Rangers intl Fc Foundation in the Community tagged “ITS A GOAL INITIATIVE”‘.

This was disclosed to news men by the Chairman Rangers International Football Club Foundation ,Coach Ebere Amaraizu while giving details and essence of the initiative .

According to him, #ItsAGoalInitiative by Rangers international Football Club Foundation is a well structured community driven program using evidence based approach and techniques towards resolving issues around child development ,child care and general well being by parents ,guardians ,caregivers and other gatekeepers in child development .It is a solution based approach centered around helping in stabilizing parents /Teachers/Guardians relationship with children for greater community in line with international standard and best practices.

Coach Amaraizu also is an Alumnus of United States Government International Visitors Leadership Program(US.IVLP) on Protecting women and children maintained that the #ItsAGoal initiative is structured intentionally to engage and to promote measures that will aid parents /Children relationship  and also to deepen their knowledge and understanding of children mental .psychological and emotional well being  which is vital in child care and development .

Many children passes through traumatic experience and getting healed becomes problematic and this in turn leaves them with emotional scars which usually motivates violence and offending as well as perpetuating same.Its a goal initiative will be focusing on work-place mental health and work/Productivity – life balance and how they affect child care and development and the need for all hands to be on deck.The importance of parents /guardians relationship with children cannot be overemphasized and we shall be engaging to stabilize this relationship for greater community .

By Silvernews

The 2025/26 Nigeria Premier Football League season kicked off at the weekend with a flurry of action across different centres, as fans witnessed thrilling encounters, cagey affairs, and a few early upsets.

Defending champions Remo Stars were held to a 1-1 draw by Rivers United in the curtain raiser, as both sides shared the spoils in a balanced contest. Newly promoted Barau FC marked their NPFL debut with a hard-fought goalless draw against eight-time champions Enyimba International, showing early signs of resilience.

Elsewhere, El-Kanemi Warriors delighted their home supporters with a convincing 2-0 victory over Bendel Insurance, while Bayelsa United stunned Shooting Stars in Ibadan with a narrow 1-0 win. Abia Warriors also made a strong statement, edging past Kano Pillars 1-0 in Umuahia, as Wikki Tourists grabbed a slim 1-0 victory over Plateau United.

Some fixtures failed to produce goals, as Kwara United and Ikorodu City ended 0-0 in Ilorin, while Enugu Rangers and Kun Khalifat also cancelled each other out in a goalless affair. The much-anticipated clash between Niger Tornadoes and Nasarawa United was postponed, while the tie involving Katsina United and Warri Wolves did not produce an official result at press time.

With the opening round completed, El-Kanemi Warriors, Bayelsa United, Abia Warriors, and Wikki Tourists sit at the top of the early standings with three points apiece, while several teams are yet to find their scoring boots. The NPFL action resumes next weekend with Matchday Two promising even more drama.

In a scintillating spectacle, Kun Khalifat FC of Owerri etched their name in Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) history, holding seasoned Enugu Rangers to a goalless stalemate on their debut. The Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium bore witness to a masterclass of defensive resilience, as both teams locked horns in a battle of wits and strength.

Kun Khalifat FC’s maiden voyage into the NPFL was nothing short of remarkable. The match was a closely contested affair, with both teams creating scoring opportunities but ultimately failing to find the back of the net.

With their defense marshaled like an impenetrable fortress, KKFC repelled Rangers’ attackers with grit and poise. The goalkeeper of The Pride of Imo State, Nsikak Akpan-Abong was a titan in the goalpost.

Meanwhile, Enugu Rangers, despite dominating possession, found themselves ensnared in Kun Khalifat’s defensive web. Their attackers, bereft of their usual potency, flailed and faltered, unable to unlock the visitors’ defense.

Kun Khalifat FC, in their first-ever NPFL game, showed great resilience and determination, withstanding the pressure from the home side.

The draw, a fitting outcome to this enthralling encounter, was a testament to the mettle of both teams. Kun Khalifat FC can draw inspiration from their debut performance, while Rangers will rue the dropped points.

Kun Khalifat FC will look to build on this debut performance in their next match against defending champions, Remo Stars in what will be a historic first NPFL home game for the ‘Oba Boys’ at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri.