Nigerian Football
NIGERIA PITCH AWARDS ROLLS OUT 2017 NOMINEES
Usual suspects topped the list as Match Makers Consults and its auditing partners, SIAO rolled out 54 possible winners in 18 categories of the fifth edition of the annual awards.
The unveiling was done on Wednesday by the organisers at a press conference in Ikeja, Lagos. Top on the contenders’ list for the main title is the Super Eagles’ skipper, Mikel Obi who is expected to have stiff challenge from the duo of English Premiership stars – Victor Moses of Chelsea and Wilfred Ndidi of Leicester City.
The three national team players are jostling for the ‘King of the Pitch’ Award. According to Sina Philips, the CEO of Match Makers Consult, the event will hold in Lagos at a date to be announced in June.
Nominated for the Goalkeeper of the Year is Carl Ikeme, the recuperating goaltender for Wolverhampton Wanderers of England. Contending with him are Ikechukwu Ezenwa who was with FC UfeanyiUbah in the season under consideration and Dele Ajiboye of league champions, Plateau United.
The full nominations run thus:
GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
- Carl Ikeme Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Ikechukwu Ezenwa Ifeanyi Ubah FC
- Dele Ajiboye Plateau United FC
DEFENDER OF THE YEAR
- Leon Balogun FSV Mainz 05
- William Troost-Ekong Bursapor FC
- Shehu Abdullahi Anothosis Famagusta FC
MIDFIELDER OF THE YEAR
- John Mikel Obi Tianjin Teda
- Wilfred Ndidi Leicester City FC
- Victor Moses Chelsea FC
STRIKER OF THE YEAR
- Victor Moses Chelsea FC
- Anthony Okpotu Lobi Stars FC
- Odion Ighalo Changchun Yatai
MVP (MEN) IN THE NPFL
- Ikechukwu Ezenwa Ifeanyi Ubah FC
- Stephen Odey MFM FC/FC Zurich
- Anthony Okpotu Lobi Stars FC
MVP (WOMEN) IN THE NWFL
- Charity Rueben Ibom Angels
- Rasheedat Ajibade FC Robo
- Amarachi Okonkwo Nasarawa Amazons
COACH OF THE YEAR
- Fidelis Elechukwu MFM FC
- Gernot Rohr Super Eagles
- Kennedy Boboye Plateau United
CLUB/TEAM OF THE YEAR
- Super Eagles
- Plateau United FC
- MFM FC
REFEREE OF THE YEAR
- Ferdinand Udoh
- Adebimpe Quadri
- Ogabor Joseph
STATE WITH THE BEST GRASSROOTS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
- Lagos State
- Rivers State
- Delta State
FOOTBALL FRIENDLY GOVERNOR OF THE YEAR
- His Excellency Godwin Obaseki Edo State
- His Excellency Emmanuel Udom Akwa Ibom State
- His Excellency Akinwunmi Ambode Lagos State
SAM OKWARAJI AWARD FOR COMMITMENT TO NIGERIAN FOOTBALL
- Shehu Dikko 2nd Vice President, NFF
- Amaju Melvin Pinnick President, NFF
- Chief Ifeanyi Ubah Chairman, Ifeanyi Ubah FC
CORPORATE SPONSOR OF FOOTBALL AWARD
- Aiteo Group
- Nigerian Breweries plc
- Coca Cola plc
FOOTBALL JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR (PRINT)
- Johnny Edwards Complete Sports
- Tana Aiyejina Punch Newspapers
- Olalekan Okusan The Nation Newspapers
FOOTBALL JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR (RADIO)
- Godwin Enakhena Top Radio FM
- Olawale Adigun Top Radio FM
- Tony Bekederemo Brila FM
FOOTBALL JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR (TV)
- Austin Okon-Akpan Channels TV
- Godwin Enakhena LTV/SportsSplash
- Mozez Praiz Supersport
QUEEN OF THE PITCH
- Rasheedat Ajibade FC Robo
- Rueben Charity Ibom Angels
- Asisat Oshoala Dalian Quanjian
KING OF THE PITCH
- Victor Moses Chelsea FC
- Wilfred Ndidi Leicester City FC
- John Mikel Obi Tiajin Teda
Nigerian Football
Remo Stars close to winning their first Nigeria Premier League title
Remo Stars on Friday inch closer to achieving their first ever title in the Nigeria elite division league after beating visiting Niger Tornadoes 3-0 to move second on the log and just a point behind league leaders, Enugu Rangers.
Remo Stars are now with 53 points and still have an outstanding home game to play.
Friday’s win which comes on the eve of the proprietor’s birthday has put the team back into contention for the title.
They have progressively become prominent in the Nigerian premier league having placed third two seasons ago and second last season.
Top finish this season will confirm their progression and also a third consecutive continental outing.
Top scorer, Sikiru Alimi launched them of victory path as his 28th minute penalty kick heralded their return to high scoring ways.
It has been a while since they scored high in the league. Barely three minutes later, Sikiru, a contender for the top scorer award increased the tally to two.
Ahmed Akinyele completed the route in the 75th minute.
Nigerian Football
Nigeria face tough defence as Burkina Faso lie in wait at U17 WAFU B AFCON qualifiers
Defending champions Nigeria have been handed a difficult path to the 2025 U17 Africa Cup of Nations finals after being drawn in the same group as Burkina Faso for next month’s WAFU B qualifying tournament in Ghana.
The Golden Eaglets, who won the last edition of the regional championship in 2022, will also face Togo and Niger in Group B of the competition which runs from 15-28 May.
Hosts Ghana find themselves in Group A alongside Cote d’Ivoire and Benin in a tough-looking section of the competition to be played in Accra.
The draw was conducted by 1970s Ivorian football legends Kobenan Kouman and Die Foneye at the Ivorian FA headquarters in Abidjan on Friday.
Nigeria claimed their WAFU B U17 AFCON title by defeating Burkina Faso 2-1 in the regional final in Ghana two years ago.
However, they will need to overcome some familiar foes if they are to defend their crown and with the Burkina Faso finishing third at the last TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations, some exciting matches are expected.
Arch-rivals Nigeria and Ghana are among the two favourites and could meet in the final in Accra on 28 May, should they top their respective groups and make it through the semi-finals.
Ghana also have pedigree at this level, having the World Cup in 1991 and 1995 as they bid to reach the U17 AFCON finals on home soil.
The top two teams from the WAFU B tournament will qualify for next year’s U17 Africa Cup of Nations.
Groups:
Group A: Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin
Group B: Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Togo, Niger.
Nigerian Football
Former Nigeria international, Onye recommends Amuneke-Siasia combo for Super Eagles
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Kingsley Onye, the left sided defender who was a member of the first Flying Eagles side to have a podium finish at the U-20 World Cup has suggested the employment of Emmanuel Amuneke as the coach of the Super Eagles.
He wants him to be assisted by Samson Siasia when the ban on the latter lapses in August. Alternatively, Onye pointed to Sylvanus Okpala as alternative to Siasia.
The Super Eagles are in dare need for a head coach as the clock ticks down to the Match day 4 and 5 of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in which the team is trailing at the third position.
The two matches in early June are crucial for the Super Eagles to bounce back into reckoning as the team can not afford to drop any of the available six points in the duels with South Africa at home and away to Benin.
From this Monday, it is 41 days to the potentially challenging tie with South Africa, but the Nigerian national team has been without a coach since the expiration of the contract of Portugal’s Jose Peseiro shortly after the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.
Without mincing words, Onye remarked: “Emmanuel Amuneke is the right man for the job of the coach of Super Eagles. He has been there before.
“He tasted it and had been fantastic with the Nigeria youth team, the U-17 by assisting Manu Garba to win the U17 World Cup in 2013 and as head coach, led the Golden Eaglets to win the cup again in 2015.”
Onye who played for the Enugu Rangers in Nigeria before venturing to the UK but had his career scuppered by freak injury pointed out that the solution to Super Eagles’ technical deficiency is the appointment of an indigenous coach and that Amuneke is the man.
In buttressing his assertion, he declared: “As a senior team coach, Amuneke qualified a long standing absentee team, Tanzania for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
“His record as a player is also very impressive. He played and won with the Super Eagles, the AFCON 1994. He played at the Olympic Games and was also the first Nigerian to score two goals at the World Cup.
“He has played at the African Games and also for top clubs in the continent as he was a member of the Egyptian giants, Zamalek. In Europe, he played for Sporting Clube de Portugal and then Barcelona before injury ended his playing career.”
Onye also looked at the personality of Amuneke in recommending him for the Super Eagles job.
His record as a player is also very impressive. He played and won with the Super Eagles, the AFCON 1994. He played at the Olympic Games and was also the first Nigerian to score two goals at the World Cup.
He has played at the African Games and also for top clubs in the continent as he was a member of the Egyptian giants, Zamalek. In Europe, he played for Sporting Clube de Portugal and then Barcelona before injury ended his playing career.
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