Sports

*Sanusi, NFF Board Members Throw In Towel Too By Tony Ezimakor, Abuja The leadership crisis that has trailed the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in the aftermath of serial failure of the various national football teams, came to a head on Thursday (today) with the resignation of NFF President, Ibrahim Musa Gusau and the federation's General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi, exactly one month to its scheduled elective Congress in Lafia, Nasarawa State. Their sudden exit had been predicted and followed enhanced scrutiny in the running of football in the country by the Federal Government (FG) despite huge resources and abundant football talents…

European soccer governing body, UEFA, today held the draw for the league phase of the 2026/2027 Champions League. Each team will play two fixtures against teams from Pots 1, 2, 3 and 4, with those pots determined by club co-effecients – relating to their performances in Europe in recent seasons. Fixtures For Teams In Pot 1: PSG: Barcelona (H), Man City (A), Roma (H), Aston Villa (A), Galatasaray (H), Villarreal (A), Slovan Bratislavia (H), Como (A). Bayern Munich: Arsenal (H), Atletico Madrid (A), Real Betis (H), Man Utd (A), Bodo/Glimt (H), Lille (A), Slavia Prague (H), Vikings (A). Real Madrid:…

*Champions League first league phase matches 8-10 Sept This season's (2026/27) Champions League league phase draw will be held on Thursday, 27 August, while the Europa League and Conference League league phase draws take place on Friday, 28 August. The final match to decide the winner of this season's Champions League will be held in Spain at Atletico Madrid's wonderful Estadio Metropolitano on Saturday 5 June, 2027. A news alert from European football governing body, UEFA, sighted by People&Politics, which disclosed these, showed that 36 teams will be involved in each of the draws. While the Champions League draw will…

By Kalu Emetu & Lucky Amuta Their routine is not all about traffic control and the rigidity of discipline associated with effective service delivery, values that define them well. Perhaps unbeknownst to many, officers and men of the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS) (more popularly called VIO) of Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), are great sportsmen and women too. The all-round potentials of the personnel glittered like a million stars during a table tennis tournament organized by the leadership of the Directorate recently. After the exciting flurries, the rising and falling tensions of backspins, smashes, sidespins and topspins, Gwagwalada…

ENGLAND: Premier League Brighton - Aston Villa 4-0Manchester City - Bournemouth 2-1Newcastle - Liverpool 2-2 FRANCE: Ligue 1 Angers - Lille 0-2Le Havre - Monaco 0-1Rennes - PSG 2-2 ITALY: Serie A Frosinone - Juventus 0-1Venezia - Lecce 0-2Atalanta - Sassuolo 2-1Torino - AC Milan 1-2 NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie G.A. Eagles - Den Haag 3-1PSV - Groningen 5-1Cambuur - Feyenoord 2-5 SPAIN: LaLiga Atl. Madrid - Villarreal 2-2Getafe - Racing Santander 1-0Elche - Barcelona 0-5*PHOTO CAPTION: Liverpool players celebrating the away draw against Newcastle... today.

ENGLAND: Premier League Hull - Manchester Utd 2-0Everton - Crystal Palace 2-0Ipswich - Sunderland 2-1Nottingham - Leeds 0-1Brentford - Tottenham 3-0 FRANCE: Ligue 1 Lens - Auxerre 5-2Le Mans - Brest 2-2Nice - Lorient 0-0Toulouse - Lyon 0-2Troyes - Paris FC 0-0 GERMANY: Super Cup Dortmund - Bayern Munich 1-2 ITALY: Serie A Inter - Monza 4-1Udinese - Como 1-1Genoa - Napoli 0-2Parma - Cagliari 0-1 NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie Sittard - AZ Alkmaar 0-2Sparta Rotterdam - Utrecht 3-3PostponedNijmegen - Excelsior -Heerenveen - Zwolle 0-2 SPAIN: LaLiga Ath Bilbao - Sevilla 1-3Valencia - Celta Vigo 0-0Espanyol - Real Madrid 1-2*PHOTO CAPTION: Real…

By Will Unwin, at the MKM Stadium Ever since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement 13 years ago, Manchester United, popularly known as Man U, have been stuck in football’s equivalent of purgatory and a chastening experience in Hull today suggests they could be there a while longer. Coach Michael Carrick’s permanent appointment was supposed to hail a new era at Old Trafford but very little has changed based on today's 2-0 away defeat. United were sluggish from start to finish and rightly punished for failing to defend set pieces with any degree of competence. Centre-backs Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy earned…

*'The Future You Admire In Europe Can Be Built In Nigeria. But It Starts With Your Vote' *'Nigeria Has Produced World-class Footballers Who Have Excelled In Europe Because They Found Systems That Reward Merit, Invest In Infrastructure, Ensure Security, And Are Governed With Competence And Accountability. Great Football Does Not Exist In Isolation. It Grows Where There Is Good Governance' Presidential candidate of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has taken his campaign for the 16 January, 2027 poll to Nigerian youths over the much-loved European football leagues. As European leagues, which have many Nigerians, especially the youth, as fanatical…

*Score 3 Unreplied Goals By Ed Aarons, at The Emirates What a difference a title makes. The last time Arsenal played in front of their own supporters, you could cut the nervous tension with a knife as Mikel Arteta’s side scraped to a 1-0 victory over already relegated Burnley. On Friday (21 August), 95 days on and having ended their long wait to be crowned champions the following night when Manchester City slipped up against Bournemouth, Arsenal gave Coventry a rude awakening in the latter's first Premier League game for 25 years. It’s now 46 matches since Arsenal lost at…

*Post-Guardiola Era In City Begins Shakily *Haaland Walks Off Field Hands Behind Back Manchester City fans are scratching their heads and, though it is still too early in the day, wondering if their club's hiring of sacked Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca was a wise decision, following City's 3-0 loss today to Premiership champions Arsenal, in the Community Shield. For Maresca, a miserable first meaningful game in charge of City that began with Arsenal seizing the lead after 24 seconds ended with Mikel Arteta’s side lifting the Community Shield. Arsenal eviscerated City, Riccardo Calafiori’s smart early opener after Myles Lewis-­Skelly’s brilliant…