Author: Lanre Akilu

Manchester’s crisis-hit clubs face off in the Premier League when City host United on Sunday while Newcastle boss Eddie Howe badly needs a win against Leicester at St James’ Park. Leaders Liverpool, playing Fulham at Anfield, will expect to stretch their lead at the top of the table a day before second-placed Chelsea take on Brentford. AFP Sport looks at the major talking points ahead of the weekend action. Derby day for struggling Manchester clubs Manchester City’s run of one win in 10 games in all competitions is an unprecedented slump for the English champions during Pep Guardiola’s reign. Guardiola…

Crystal Palace and England defender Marc Guehi could face disciplinary action from the English Football Association (FA) after inscribing “I love Jesus” on his rainbow-colored captain’s armband during Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle United. The armbands, distributed to all 20 Premier League clubs, were part of Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign, aimed at promoting LGBTQ+ inclusion in football. Under the Laws of the Game, “initiative slogans/emblems promoting the game of football, respect and integrity,” such as the Rainbow Laces campaign, are permitted. However, political, religious, or personal slogans, statements, or images are explicitly prohibited. A revision made last summer emphasised that…

Manchester United are unbeaten in their first three games under Ruben Amorim and have climbed into the top half of the Premier League table but the Portuguese faces the first real test of his managerial skills at high-flying Arsenal tomorrow. United, who are in ninth place 15 points adrift of leaders Liverpool, have struggled to score this season with 13 goals in their first 12 league matches, but the floodgates finally opened on Sunday when they thumped Everton 4-0 at Old Trafford. However, they travel to the Emirates knowing full well the scale of the task at hand, having lost…

Real Madrid officially announced the signing of French international and former Paris Saint-Germain player Kylian Mbappé on Monday morning. The club released a public statement across their social media platforms confirming the Frenchman’s transfer to the Galacticos and contract signature until 2029. Madrid, who had reportedly reached an agreement with the Mbappé camp months prior, wanted to wait until the end of the campaign to announce the French striker’s signing and considering Mbappé’s wish to have his next club confirmed before his participation with France in the Euro 2024, the official announcement came almost immediately after their conclusion to the…

Former national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Adebisi Akande on Thursday, May 30, said that there were serious spiritual threats and political maneuvering to stop the inauguration of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as Nigeria’s president ahead of May 29, 2023. Speaking in Kaduna as the chairman of a one-day lecture organised by Arewa Think Tank, to celebrate one year of achievements of the administration of President Tinubu, the elder statesman however said: “The tension and threats generated in the country by the opposition with the view to deny Tinubu the presidential victory in the Presidential election were…

The leadership of Labour Party has appointed the leader of the Obidient Movement, Marcel Ngogbehei, and seven other officials to administer the affairs of its newly created directorate. This was disclosed in a statement issued in Abuja by the LP National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, on Thursday. Among other tasks, the new executives will attend to complaints and oversee the registration of new party members within and outside the country. The appointment comes two weeks after the Julius Abure-led National Working Committee announced the creation of a separate directorate dedicated to affairs of the Obidients movement at a press conference.…

Vincent Kompany says Bayern Munich “already feels like home” after being unveiled as the manager of the German Bundesliga club. Bayern confirmed Kompany, 38, had been handed a three-year deal on Wednesday, replacing Thomas Tuchel. The Belgian suffered relegation from the Premier League with Burnley in 2023-24. “My mentality is that I never haven’t ever worked for a top club in my head,” Kompany said. “A top club is the environment you create. It’s the mentality you have towards your job in good and bad times, that’s what defines working at the top level. “It already feels like home.” Kompany began his…

The candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the last Governorship Election in Kogi state, Murtala Ajaka, has appealed to Nigerians to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to advance economic resuscitation, development and peace in the country. In a congratulatory message to mark President Tinubu’s first year anniversary, Ajaka asked Nigerians to exercise patience with the All Progressives Congress (APC) led government. According to him: “There is no doubting the fact that Mr. President loves this country dearly and is working assiduously to reverse the economic downturn without repeating the errors of previous leaderships in bygone years who risked…

The website of the student loan fund has received over 60,000 visitors since its launch, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, Akintunde Sawyerr, made this known during an ongoing press briefing in Abuja on Thursday. Sawyerr also noted that over 90% of federal institutions have submitted the list of students, noting that only two federal universities and two federal polytechnics are yet to do so. Sawyerr also noted that the scheme will be made available to students of state universities in the next three weeks. On June 12, 2023, President Bola Tinubu signed the Access to Higher…

The long-awaited criminal trial of eight medical professionals accused of negligence in the death of Argentina football legend Diego Maradona, due to start next week, was postponed Wednesday to October. Maradona died in November 2020 aged 60 while recovering from brain surgery for a blood clot, and after decades of battles with cocaine and alcohol addictions. He was found dead in bed two weeks after going under the knife, in a rented house in an exclusive Buenos Aires neighborhood where he was brought after being discharged from hospital. He was found to have died of a heart attack. Last April,…