Nigerian Football
Wilfred Ndidi set to hit 200th mark for Leicester
Wilfred Ndidi is set for his 200th Leicester appearance in the Europa Conference League against Randers and has some big admirers ahead of the summer transfer window
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers has admitted it will cost more than £50million to lure Wilfred Ndidi out of the club.
But despite several leading Premier League clubs such as Manchester United eyeing the ace, Ndidi insists he is settled at Leicester.
And he certainly wouldn’t be available cheaply after Rodgers responded to claims the ace might cost £50million by replying: “He’s worth much more than that.”
Holding midfielder Ndidi is under contract at Leicester until 2024 after joining in January 2017 from Genk.
He has recently moved into a new house locally, has started a young family and is also considering re-joining De Montfort University in Leicester to complete a business and management degree, which he put on hold in lockdown.
“My business degree was on hold as at the time it was during lockdown and then my daughter came.
“It is on hold but I am looking forward to it maybe next year.”
Ndidi has built up a good rapport in midfield alongside classy Belgian international Youri Tielemans at Leicester.
Ndidi added: “I am enjoying every moment. Youri is a great player and a player I love playing with in the middle.
“With his technique we both compliment each other. I am really happy because he is really doing well.
“For the time I am just enjoying the moment as much as possible. We are working with each other to protect the team.
“It has been really good.”
Rodgers, who has also used Ndidi at centre-back, assessed: “He’s been a really important player in my time here for his role“You see the importance of the role I give him in the team in how he protects the others.
“It’s a very young team as well and his experience and physicality helps those players. He’s been absolutely brilliant, whatever role I’ve asked him to play whether it’s centre-half or midfield.
“He gives us great physicality and there’s still lots of areas of his game he’ll improve on.
“I can’t speak highly enough of him. He’s a great guy who trains virtually every day – comes in with a joy to train and work well and learn.
“In every single game he gives his all – he’s been first class during my time here.
“A player of that quality with that mentality, of course you always want to keep.
“But when you have that player he will always attract that interest.
“But he seems very settled here and I know he’s moved into a new house over this last period and seems very happy.
“He’s a pleasure to work with, a good guy and hopefully he can be around the club for many, many years.”
-Mirror
Nigerian Football
Like what happened to Stores earlier, another Lagos club thrown out of the Nigerian League
Another Lagos club, 1472 FC, has been thrown out of Nigeria’s second-tier league, the Nigeria National League, for failure to honour three matches in the current season.
Crowd-pulling Stationery Stores suffered a similar fate 32 years ago when they were expelled from the Nigeria Professional League.
In a press release on Tuesday, the NFF announced that 1472 FC did not honour three matches during the current season.
The matches were against Abia Comets (Match 9), Dakkada FC (Match 53) and Ijele FC (Match 74).
The NNL relied on the league’s Article 14.11 to expel the club.
In the letter signed by the NNL’s Chief Operating Officer, Danlami Alanana, 1472 FC are also fined the sum of N5 million, with the consequence that the results of all their played matches have been nullified, and those yet to be played are cancelled.
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Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has extolled the commitment and determination of Remo Stars Foot ball Club on its victory over Niger Tornadoes, describing it as unprecedented feat in the annals of Ogun State.
It would be recalled that the local football team won the first-ever Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) title with a 1-0 victory over Niger Tornadoes on Sunday, April 27.
In so doing, they become the first team in the state to win the Nigerian elite division league since the state was created on 3 February 1976.
Before the current feat, no team from the state had won the national league. The famous Abiola Babes, the rave of the 1980s, won the Challenge Cup in 1985 and 1987.
Governor Abiodun, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Strategy, Hon. Kayode Akinmade, said the team has sustained the inherent first capacity Ogun State is known for, adding that their resilience and perseverance have paid off.
Governor Abiodun added that Remo Stars has consistently pushed for the best with enviable patriotic tendencies since its formation.
He said the level of the team’s dexterity and capacity earned it the 2024-2025 Nigerian Premier Football League title as well as it’s promotion to the elite league four years ago.
The Governor, therefore, implored other local clubs in Nigeria to emulate the degree of resilience and doggedness the team displayed to help in promoting Nigeria’s local league to enviable heights.
“It is my utmost delight that the age-long perseverance and consistency of the Remo Stars Football team have eventually paid off at the national level and to the admiration of every Nigerian, including our amiable President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“As the first privately-owned NPFL champions since 1996, which ceremoniously secured a place in the CAF Champions League, we commend the undiluted and unwavering determination of the players, the coaching formation, and the entire management.
“This is indeed a clear reflection of the profound trait of Ogun State as the first in all areas of success and our all-inclusive policy of transformation as enshrined in our ISEYA mantra,” the statement read.
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The historic feat of Remo Stars, who won their maiden Nigerian Premier League title on the birthday occasion of the club owner, has attracted the attention of Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu.
In a statement posted on the State House X handle and signed by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, Tinubu congratulated Remo Stars Football Club.
He remarked that winning the 2024-2025 Nigerian Premier Football League title is a milestone achievement that spotlights Ikenne and Ogun State.
President Tinubu describes the historic victory, four years after the team’s promotion to the elite league, as a testament to the hard work, discipline, and unyielding spirit of the players, the coaching crew and the management.
He admires the team’s resilience and perseverance, noting their courage in pursuing success despite three previous near misses in the race for the league title.
He hopes their example will inspire other Nigerian clubs to pursue their dreams continuously with tenacity and optimism.
He also commends the vision and commitment of the club’s owner and chairman, Kunle Soname.
His investment in grassroots football—exemplified by the construction of the state-of-the-art stadium in Ikenne—has provided a vital foundation for the growth of sports in Nigeria.
As Nigeria’s champions, Remo Stars have become Nigeria’s representatives in the CAF Champions League. President Tinubu urges the team to deploy the same undaunted spirit and focus to win continental honours.
He calls on football fans across Nigeria to rally behind the team as they carry the nation’s hopes onto the African stage.
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