Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann are hoping to be crowned The Best in Monday’s rebranded FIFA awards. On the 25th anniversary of honouring football’s top performers — and having split with France Football magazine — the governing body introduced its The Best FIFA Football Awards. The inaugural edition of the awards will be held in Zurich’s TPC studios on Monday, when Ronaldo will be hoping to add to last month’s Ballon d’Or triumph in recognition of his fine 2016. The attacker helped Real Madrid to Champions League glory and Portugal to the European Championship, seeing him edge out…
Author: David Folami
Former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has paid tribute to current Stamford Bridge boss Antonio Conte, while also admitting he is slightly envious of Arsene Wenger’s longevity at Arsenal and tipping Paul Clement to succeed in management. In an exclusive interview, Bayern Munich manager Ancelotti told ESPN FC’s Gab Marcotti that Conte “is doing a fantastic job” with a team that disappointed in 2015-16. “They’d had a bad season,” Ancelotti said. “The players are motivated. The manager put a new idea of football and good chemistry and they were able to have a really good result. [They have] a lot of…
A typically attritional display from Atletico Madrid saw them avoid a potential banana skin and come away from Eibar with a comfortable 2-0 victory on Saturday. In a turgid encounter on a wet, windy afternoon in the Basque Country, a moment of quality from Saul Niguez and a first La Liga goal in 10 games for Antoine Griezmann were enough to seal the points for Los Rojiblancos, who appear to be reaping the benefits of the winter break. Atleti showed none of the lethargy that had plagued their displays pre-Christmas. Los Colchoneros made light work of going from the sweltering…
Under manager Jurgen Klopp’s instructions, Liverpool have been fielding a strong side in the Under-23 Premier League, as opposed to sending the majority of their promising starlets out to loan. There is a belief in Liverpool’s Kirkby academy that, on occasions, the club’s U-23s would have been able to beat Football League teams this season. The theory was put to the test on Sunday for the encounter with Plymouth, as seven reserves started at Anfield. The verdict? These young professionals have a long way to go. In all, Klopp made 10 changes to field Liverpool’s youngest-ever team, with the likes…
Timaya has opened himself up for some criticism for his alleged insult on journalists following his uncourteous decline of an interview request. His rude boy personality had been intriguing and attractive to the fans until his recent insult of a Punch News reporter. A news report published by Punch on Sunday, January 8, 2016, described the singer as someone with an undesirable attitude, who needs some anger management lessons. The singer’s harsh response to the interview request was so shocking even for one of his aides, who had to tender an apology on his behalf. “Sunday Scoop recently ran into…
Governor Ayo Fayose has been accused of diverting the N8.877b Paris Club refund given to Ekiti state by the Federal Government. President Buhari had earlier advised the Governors to use the funds to settle the outstanding salaries of civil servants. A source in the presidency revealed that Governor Fayose only paid one month out of the seven months owed workers. The source said “The agreement between the Federal Government and the state governors was very clear. “While 50 per cent of the amount released was to be used to offset outstanding salary and pension arrears, the remaining 50 per cent…
Kerosene scarcity has hit Calabar and its environs as the price of the commodity now ranges between N350 and N400 per litre, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. NAN survey on Sunday showed that the product was not available in any filling station in the Cross River capital and its suburbs. However, the product was available only in surface tanks in parts of the city, where dealers sold it at N350 per litre. The survey revealed also that the itinerant retailers sold the commodity between N380 and N400 per litre, depending on the area. Mrs Grace Nja, who resides…
Alhaji Olanrewaju Okanlawon, a factional Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), in Kwara has ascribed the recurring hike in the price of kerosene to the unstable foreign exchange occasioned by the lingering economic recession. Okanlawon told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin on Saturday that the association should not be blamed for the series of complaints emanating from members of the public particularly from the domestic users of the cooking substance. He cleared the association of any deliberate move to inflict hardship on the masses, who he noted, were already facing hardship due to…
The Federal Government has paid two out of four months outstanding stipends owed former Niger Delta militants under the Presidential Amnesty Programme. Mr Ramsey Mukoro, leader of the 3rd phase of the amnesty programme, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday that some former agitators had received two out of four months’ salary backlog. “The Amnesty Office has started paying but my third phase people have yet to get alerts, we are hoping that we in the third phase will benefit as well. “It has really been difficult for us and we spend Christmas and New Year on…
The General Overseer (GO) of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, on Saturday appointed a new General Overseer for the church as he retires, ahead of his 75th birthday on March 2. Adeboye is expected to still act as a ‘national spiritual leader’ for the church. He named Pastor Joshua Obayemi as his successor. Obayemi was appointed the new GO at the Annual Ministers Thanksgiving at Shimawa, in Ogun State. The newly appointed GO was the former Special Assistant to the General Overseer on Finance. Adeboye also appointed Pastor Johnson Odesola, who was the Special Assistant…
According to reports from the Variety, The New Celebrity Apprentice opened with just 4.93 million viewers, which is down more than 43% from the last premiere in 2015. And Donald Trump was less than impressed with this as he called out the veteran actor on Twitter. The Terminator star did not keep quiet and replied to one of his tweets: ‘there is nothing as important as the people’s work.’ The first episode premiered on the first of the year with a changed catch phrase, a new host but with still the same executive producer – Trump. Wow, the ratings are…
Patrice Evra has been left out of Juventus’ squad to face Bologna in Serie A, amid speculation he is wanted by Valencia and several Premier League teams. Evra, 35, has a contract until the end of the season but could move on in January with Manchester United and West Ham United also said to be interested in signing him. However, his agent Federico Pastorello played down the chances of the France international departing the Italian champions midseason. “It’s not certain he will leave Juventus,” Pastorello told Juvenews. “We’ll see what happens over the next few days.” Evra has not been…
Chelsea have decided to recall Nathan Ake from his loan spell at Bournemouth. Ake, 21, was deemed surplus to first-team requirements at Chelsea by Antonio Conte in the summer and sent on a season-long loan to the Vitality Stadium, breaking into Eddie Howe’s starting XI in recent weeks and producing a series of impressive performances. However, Chelsea’s switch to a 3-4-3 formation has underlined the need for another natural left footer in the squad to compete with Marcos Alonso at wing-back as well as provide additional cover in the centre, and so the Blues have opted to take advantage of…
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has claimed that Memphis Depay “will play some games” for the club if he does not leave in the January transfer window. Depay, 22, wants to move after making only one start for United this season — in the EFL Cup against Northampton Town, when he was substituted early in the second half — but Mourinho confirmed on Friday that no acceptable bid has been made for the Dutchman yet. Sources close to Everton said last month that the Merseyside club had held talks with Depay. Mourinho told Fox Sports: “I was informed by the…
The Rivers state Governor, Nyesom Wike has promised to stand by the policemen who were dismissed by the police force. According to the force authorities, the security agents attached to the Governor misused their weapons during the December 10, 2016 rerun elections. Wike said the Rivers state government will pursue the case of the affected policemen through legal means. He said this while welcoming the former All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain and Former Ahoada East Local Government Chairman, Cassidy Ikegbidi, who defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). According to Vanguard, Wike said “They gave me policemen for my protection,…
President Buhari was part of the dignitaries that graced the inauguration ceremony of President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana. The ceremony took at the Black Star Square, Ghana on Saturday, January 7, 2017,amidst fun fare and jubilations. The 72-year-old former human rights lawyer took the oath of office at a ceremony in front of more than 6,000 guests and a roaring crowd. The Ghanaian President also promised to stamp out government corruption and kickstart the private sector. The new president underlined his campaign promise to support entrepreneurs and attract investors to the country, which has suffered from lacklustre growth in recent…
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) says there is no single drop of Kerosene in any of the private depots and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Lagos. Mr Rotimi Benjamin, the National Chairman, Surface Tank Kerosene Peddlers (SUTAKEP) Branch of NUPENG, spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. NAN reports that Kerosene was last brought to the depot on Dec. 27. Benjamin, who is also the Vice-Chairman of NUPENG, Lagos Zonal Council, said that scarcity of Kerosene had made its price to go up, thus making it unaffordable for…
The factional Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ali Modu Sheriff has warned against the re-opening of the party’s secretariat. This is coming after staff working at the PDP secretariat held a rally calling for the re-opening of the secretariat in Abuja. Sheriff also said the re-opening of the PDP secretariat will cause another crisis in the party. The former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) ordered the closure of the secretariat following a clash between factions of the party. The Ahmed Makarfi led faction earlier called on the police authorities to re-open the secretariat so they can do their work.…
The leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Democratic Front (NDPDF), General Playboy has said that the problem of the militants in the Niger Delta is beyond amnesty allowances for ex-militants. According to Punch, the militant leader said the struggle will not stop even if the Federal Government pays the backlog of salaries owed the former war lords. He also called on the government to release the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, adding that there is no Niger Delta without Biafra. General Playboy said “The problem of Niger Delta is not about paying stipends or allowances…
There are insinuations that the Lagos Governor, Akinwumi Ambode will sack some non-performing commissioners in the coming days. According to Punch, Ambode is not happy with the overall performance of the lagging commissioners. Reports also say some of the affected government officials have tendered their resignation before the announcement of their sack. Ambode had earlier axed the following commissioners: Folorunsho Folarin-Coker (Tourism), Dr. Mustapha Akinkunmi (Finance) and Dr. Ekundayo Mobereola (Transport). The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde has however debunked the reports of a cabinet shake-up. Ayorinde said “If anyone resigns, only the person and the governor can…