London
Manchester City flight redirected ahead of West Ham clash
Manchester City’s flight to London had to be rerouted after a technical issue on the plane meant that they could not land at their scheduled destination. The first-team squad flew to the capital on Friday ahead of City’s lunchtime Premier League clash with West Ham United. But their flight had to redirected from City Airport to London Stansted more than 30 miles away. Goal reports that there was a problem with the plane’s anti-skid system which meant that it could not land at an airport with a short runway. The team suffered a slight delay ahead of travelling to the hotel before Saturday’s clash. It is understood that there was no fault on the part of the airport but the flight would not have needed to be rerouted had it been scheduled to land at a major airport. In 2016, a City team fligh...
Thiago Silva not at Chelsea to ‘visit tourist sites’
Thiago Silva is eager to point out that he is not at Chelsea to “visit tourist sites” and “go through the motions”, with the Brazilian defender determined “to win” with the Blues. The 36-year-old centre-half has made a habit of doing that throughout his career to date. Stints with AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain delivered Serie A and Ligue 1 titles, while Confederations Cup and Copa America glory has been savoured with his country. Silva is now taking on a new challenge at Stamford Bridge after forming part of a serious squad refresh by Frank Lampard in west London. He is still finding his feet in new surroundings, with a costly error made on his Premier League bow against West Brom, but the intention is to become a commanding presence for the Blues. Silva told Chelsea’s official matchday...
Chelsea agree personal terms with Declan Rice
Chelsea are interested in signing the West Ham midfielder Declan Rice this summer. The Blues need to add some defensive cover to their midfield and the 21-year-old would be the ideal addition for them. The talented defensive midfielder has proven his quality with the Hammers and he is good enough to succeed at a club like Chelsea. According to Fabrizio Romano, the London club will open talks with West Ham in the coming days and the player is pushing to join Chelsea. Furthermore, Nicolo Schira claims that Declan Rice has already agreed on personal terms with the Blues and he will sign a five-year contract with them if Chelsea can agree on a fee with West Ham. Declan Rice is well settled in the Premier League and if Chelsea manage to sign him, he should be able to make an immediate impact at...
British lawmakers write Commonwealth over killings in Nigeria
Thirteen members of the House of Lords, United Kingdom, have expressed concern over the killings by Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East and Fulani herdsmen in the Middle Belt region. The upper house of parliament members said the failure of the Federal Government to protect Nigerians was a breach of the Commonwealth Charter. They requested the Commonwealth to raise the killings with its Ministerial Action Group. This was contained in a letter to the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland, dated September 14, co-signed by Baroness Cox, Baroness Kennedy, Jim Shannon, Fiona Bruce, former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Williams and 14 others. They cited a report by the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, which accused unnamed ...
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits Manchester United are not good enough
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has responded to criticism of the club’s activity, or lack thereof, in the transfer market following the loss to Crystal Palace. The legendary Norwegian watched on helplessly as his players frustratingly fell to a 3-1 defeat at Old Trafford, much to the disgust of the fans. While many expected a difficult fixture, no one truly foresaw a comfortable win for Palace but it’s what transpired. The London club worked hard and took full advantage of the lack of minutes in United’s legs, though that’s no excuse for the performance. Naturally many supporters were calling even stronger for more signings to be made and it was something that was put forward to Solskjaer in the post-match press conference. Solskjaer’s comment is essentially the best way he ca...
Alexandre Lacazette: Mikel Arteta wants Arsenal to be perfect
Arsenal got their Premier League season off to the perfect start with a 3-0 win at Fulham on Saturday – and Alexandre Lacazette says perfection is exactly what Mikel Arteta expects. Lacazette’s record-breaking early finish was added to by goals from Gabriel Magalhaes and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with newcomers Gabriel and Willian particularly impressing. Arteta will want his players to keep their feet on the ground after beating a side freshly promoted from the Championship, but the forward took heart from their performance. “It was the best way to start the season,” Lacazette told Arsenal’s official website. “We wanted to win today and get the clean sheet. Defensively I think we did some good stuff and respected what the coach wanted. At the end, we won so everyone is happy today. “He [...
Premier League set to reject requests to postpone games due to Covid outbreaks
Premier League officials are set to reject requests to postpone games in the event of Covid outbreaks amongst top-flight sides, with clubs required to fulfil fixtures unless they have fewer than 14 players available. The 2020/21 season is set to begin this weekend with the division’s authorities determined to finish the rescheduled and congested campaign on time ahead of next summer’s European Championships, with clubs having been informed that fixtures will need to be fulfilled even in the event of significant coronavirus outbreaks amongst top-flight squads. According to the Mail, Premier League clubs will be required to fulfil fixtures unless they have less than 14 players available for selection, including U21 players, who they will be obliged to play in the event of such circumstances....
NFF to unveil new national team jerseys October
The Super Eagles will launch new jerseys designed by kit-sponsors Nike for national teams in October. This was announced in a statement by the NFF’s Communications Department on Tuesday. Nike Senior Director, Global Communications, Heidi Burgett, had February 5, shared the designs of the new national team’s jerseys on Twitter. “New 2020 kits for Nigeria: Home kit’s hand drawn design fuses the traditional aesthetic of an agbada robe w/ modern football design. Away kit trim is inspired by Onaism. Broader collection of Super Eagles apparel includes a poncho, vest, dress, & more,” Burgett wrote. Burgett’s tweet came after NFF president Amaju Pinnick confirmed to newsmen January 28, that the new national team jerseys would be unveiled in New York, London and Nigeria. Further plans for the u...
Arsenal beat Liverpool on penalties to lift FA Community Shield
Arsenal beat Liverpool 5-4 on penalties on Saturday to lift the Community Shield, the curtain-raiser for the English domestic season, after the two sides played out a 1-1 draw on a chilly afternoon at Wembley. Gunners captain and match goal-scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang blasted home the final penalty of the afternoon to complete the north London side’s second win over the league champions in the space of six weeks following a shortened summer break. “We are improving. There is still work to do but I’m really happy and it’s an exciting time to be an Arsenal player,” Aubameyang told BT Sport after the match. It was the Gunners’ second trophy within a month following the side’s FA Cup final win over Chelsea on Aug. 1. The game was a very even and at times rather slow affair, with Liverpool...
UK education academy confers prestigious senior fellowship on Nigerian born academic
A UK-based Nigerian academic from Osun State and Chairman of TEXEM UK, Dr Alim Abubakre has been awarded UK’s prestigious Senior Fellowship of the Advanced Higher Education Academy (HEA). According to a statement on Tuesday from TEXEM’s website signed by Caroline Lucas, this followed a rigorous review of Abubakre’s impressive record of accomplishment of contributing to advancing Executive Development in the UK, Africa and North America. He was subsequently adjudged worthy and conferred with the UK’s prestigious Senior Fellowship of the HEA which is the UK’s Gold standard in pedagogy. The senior HEA fellowship is also a UK national recognition for leadership, excellence, expertise and commitment to professionalism in teaching and learning. Abubakre has been able to present a thorough unders...
MFM Pastor Olukoya decries link with fraud
General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), Dr. Daniel Kolawole Olukoya, has denied involvement in any fraudulent activities as being portrayed in some sections of the media, which he accused of being bent on churning out malicious stories against him and the church. Defending Dr. Olukoya, in a statement, his media aide, Mr. Collins Edomaruse, said the seven allegations laid against the general Overseer and the MFM were without foundation, but intent to damage his reputation and destroy the global image of the church. Edomaruse also said “It has become pertinent for the purpose of clarity to respond to the false allegations being peddled against the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries and our General Overseer – Dr. D. K. Olukoya in the social media particularly...
Relegated Premier League sides get fixtures as 2020-21 Championship schedule released
Bournemouth will start life back in the Championship at home to Blackburn Rovers, while Watford host Middlesbrough and Norwich City travel to Huddersfield Town. The Cherries were relegated after a five-year stay in the Premier League, while Watford and Norwich were also demoted in a top-flight campaign that was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. That halt means the new Championship season starts on September 12, with beaten play-off finalists Brentford travelling to Birmingham City on the opening day, while south Wales rivals Cardiff City and Swansea City – who also made the top six – host Sheffield Wednesday and visit Preston North End respectively. Wycombe Wanderers – playing in the second tier for the first time – welcome fellow new boys Rotherham United for their first game, while ...
