Sports

Napoli President vows not to buy African players unless they agree not to play AFCON

Published

1 year ago

August 4, 2022

Advocate News Nigeria

Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis has remarkably stated that he will not sign African players for the club unless they agree to not play in the African Cup of Nations.

The 73-year-old says he ‘loves’ Napoli’s African players, but he rues having to pay them so much for the amount of time they are away.

‘I told them lads, don’t talk to me about Africans anymore!’ said De Laurentiis during a streamed event.

‘I love them, but either they sign something confirming they’ll back out of playing the Africa Cup of Nations, or otherwise between that tournament, the World Cup qualifiers in South America, these players are never available!

‘We are the idiots who pay salaries only to send them all over the world playing for others.’

Last season Napoli lost Kalidou Koulibaly to the AFCON and the centre-back went all the way with Senegal and won the tournament. The 31-year-old has now signed for Chelsea.

Former Fulham man Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa represented Cameroon at the tournament while he was on loan at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Ironically, Napoli made his loan a permanent signing back in May, clearly before De Laurentiis formed his stance.

The Serie A side’s star striker is Victor Osimhen, but he did not play for Nigeria at the AFCON earlier this year.

Napoli announced a bout of COVID would keep the prolific forward from representing the Super Eagles, but his withdrawal from selection and the timing of it raised a few eyebrows in Nigeria.

Osimhen scored 18 times in 32 games last season. He played twice more than Zambo Anguissa, but twice less than Koulibaly.

The top appearance maker for Napoli, who finished third in Serie A last season, was midfielder Elif Elmas with 46.

The AFCON only takes place every two years and runs for around a month in January. The 2021 tournament was played this year because COVID prevented it from happening the year prior, so there will be back-to-back tournaments with the 2023 edition coming next January.

De Laurentiis, who has a family history in cinema, is notorious for dramatic and jaw-dropping outbursts.

News

Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium: We’ll beat Governor’s deadline – Ekweremadu Jnr.

Published

1 week ago

September 17, 2023

Advocate News Nigeria

• Enugu State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Barr. Lloyd Ekweremadu Jnr

…Says school sports to return

Enugu State Government is determined to see the state-owned football club, Rangers International, return to the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium for its home matches before the end of November, Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Barr. Lloyd Ekweremadu has reassured.

The commissioner gave the assurances while briefing Government House correspondents at the of the State Executive Council meeting, at the weekend.

He said that although the governor’s November deadline was tight, the Ministry was determined to ensure that the Flying Antelopes returned to the stadium, popularly known as The Cathedral, before November.

“The Executive Council was briefed on the issue of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium and the expected return of our darling Rangers to play at our Cathedral and to generally bring the stadium back to effective use. We deliberated on the targets and steps being taken to meet set targets of the government.

“We are making progress. The turf, which is to be laid on the plain surface, is in Nigeria now. It has passed the very critical stage, which is Customs clearance, but there are a few other steps at the moment.

“Deadlines have been set and those deadlines are quite short and ambitious. But we are very optimistic and we know in fact that we will meet those targets and our goals. So, we are taking very proactive steps to ensure that we beat the target.

“The governor said in his 100 days in office speech that the stadium would be ready for use by November. But we are working round the clock to see that we even beat that time and deliver the stadium back to use in record time. And the Executive Council has resolved to put certain measures in place, which will ensure that we meet such targets.”

He added that creative and innovative steps were being taken, particularly with regards to sponsorship, to bring Rangers to the winning ways of old.

Speaking further, Ekweremadu Jr said measures were being put in place to revive school sports in the state.

He said: “Steps are being taken through collaborations amongst various ministries towards actualising His Excellency’s vision to bring back and revitalize school sports. Our plans include bringing inter-school sports back, to serve as an opportunity for talent discovery, to engage the youth positively and actively as well as keep them away from social vices, crime and the like”, he stated.

Sports

National team footballer killed by gunmen

Published

3 weeks ago

September 4, 2023

Advocate News Nigeria

A player for Panama’s national football team has been shot dead in the city of Colón.

Gunmen opened fire on a group of people, among them 26-year-old Gilberto Hernández, who had gathered in a building in the city.

Hernández died and seven others were injured in the attack.

It is not yet clear if the footballer, who also played for Club Atlético Independiente, was the target of the shooting or what the motive was.

There has been a rise in murders in Colón over the past months as two rival gangs fight for control of lucrative drug smuggling routes.

So far, more than 50 people have been killed in Colón, a city of 40,000 inhabitants, so far this year.

The port city, on the north entrance to the Panama canal, is a transit point for cocaine smuggled from South America through Panama to Europe.

The shooting happened on Sunday afternoon local time.

Two gunmen forced a taxi driver to take them to a building in the city’s Barrio Norte neighbourhood and opened fire on the group gathered there.

The gunmen fled the scene, but a suspect has since been arrested in a flat nearby.

Sports

Tragedy as thunder strike kills referee during friendly match in Suleja

Published

3 months ago

June 14, 2023

Advocate News Nigeria

Tragedy struck on Tuesday after a Nigerian referee identified as Mustafa Coach 02, was killed by a lightening strike on a football pitch in Madalla Town, Suleja LGA of Niger State

Late Mustafa died during a friendly football match which was disrupted by heavy rainfall followed by thunder strikes.

The deceased, who was said to be a member of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), met his tragic death on Tuesday evening during the match played on the community’s school field in Madalla Town.

An eyewitness, Muhammed Musa, told Daily Trust that the match in which Suleja and Madalla youths participated, was on half time break around 5:20 pm when the incident happened.

“It was raining and all the footballers along with their fans were taken refuge inside the school’s classrooms. The referee along with his assistant (line man) rushed back to the field, demanding the players to join them.

“They were only at the centre of the pitch when the thunder struck. Two of them were rushed to a hospital, where Sulaiman was confirmed dead on arrival while his assistant was revived.”

A family member of the deceased, who simply gave his name as Ibrahim, said the the late Mustafa was buried Wednesday morning in Suleja town where he lived.