Nigerian Football
Enyeama, Ikeme Shorlisted for Pitch Award
The usual suspects, Vincent Enyeama, Mikel Obi and Carl Ikeme among others have been shortlisted in their respective categories for the Nigeria Pitch Award which enters its fifth edition.
The awards jointly organized by Matchmakers Consult International and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), is slated to hold in Uyo at the weekend of Nigeria versus South Africa match for the qualification for 2019 Africa Cup of Nation.
The nomination was through voting process and was coordinated by SIAP Partners Limited. According to a press release by SIAO, voting was done by Nigerian sport editors across the 36 states of the federation between the 5th and 23rd April 2017 on Nigeria Pitch Awards website.
The votes were collated and verified by a team of auditors from which the names of top three nominees in each category.
The nominees in no particular order are:
GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
Vincent Enyeama
Carl Ikeme
Ikechukwu Ezenwa
DEFENDER OF THE YEAR
Leon Balogun
Kenneth Omeru.
William Troost-Ekong
MIDFIELDER OF THE YEAR
John Mikel Obi
Etebo Oghenekaro
Wilfred Ndidi
STRIKER OF THE YEAR
Chisom Egbuchulam
Godwin Obaje
Kelechi Iheanacho
MVP (MEN) IN THE NPFL
Godwin Obaje
Stephen Odey
Chisom Eguchulam
MVP (WOMEN) IN THE NWPL
Osinachi Ohale
Rafiat Sule
Chioma Wogu
QUEEN OF THE PITCH
Desire Oparanozie
Onome Ebi
Asisat Oshoala
KING OF THE PITCH
Victor Moses
John Obi Mikel
Kelechi Iheanacho
SAM OKWARAJI AWARD
Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah
Samson Siasia
John Mikel Obi
CLUB/TEAM OF THE YEAR
Super Falcons
Dream Team
Enugu Rangers
COACH OF THE YEAR
Florence Omagbemi
Gernot Rohr
Imama Amapakapabo
REFEREE OF THE YEAR
Adebimpe Quadri
Jelili Ogunmuyiwa
Ferdinard Udoh
STATE WITH THE BEST GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
Delta
Lagos
Akwa Ibom
FOOTBALL FRIENDLY GOVERNOR OF THE YEAR
Nyesom Wike – Rivers State
Udom Emmanuel- Akwa Ibom State
Akinwunmi Ambode – Lagos State
FOOTBALL JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR – RADIO
Bimbo Adeola
Olawale Adigun
Arafat Aliu
FOOTBALL JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR – PRINT
Tobi Emmanuel
Tana Aiyejina
Ade Ojeikere
FOOTBALL JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR – TV
Mozez Praiz
Austin Okon-Apkan
Toyin Ibitioye
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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