Ruthless Super Falcons dispatch Cape Verde 5-0 in women’s AFCON qualifier – Newstrends
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Ruthless Super Falcons dispatch Cape Verde 5-0 in women’s AFCON qualifier

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Ruthless Super Falcons dispatch Cape Verde 5-0 in women’s AFCON qualifier

Nigeria began their quest for a place in next year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in style with a 5-0 thumping of Cape Verde at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja on Thursday.

Uchenna Kanu and Esther Okoronkwo scored a brace each while Monday Gift got a goal as the Super Falcons recorded an emphatic win over the minnows.

Despite missing star striker Asisat Oshoala, the record WAFCON holders outclassed their foes. They started the game on a sound note and did not take time before Kanu opened the score sheet for them. She tapped in from close range just seven minutes into the game.

Although Cape Verde rallied to balance the score, goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie made a stunning 16th-minute save to deny them.

Nine minutes later, the Nigerian girls were the beneficiary of a goalmouth scramble with Gift bundling the ball home to double the Super Falcons’ lead. Rasheedat Ajibade then shot inches wide in the 33rd minute.

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But Kanu was not done yet. She converted a Toni Payne cross just at the 45th-minute mark to make it three for the home side.

Nigeria continued to press the Cape Verdean ladies upon resumption of the second half. But it took a 66th-minute effort from substitute Esther Okoronkwo – who came in for Gift – for the Super Falcons to get their fourth goal of the day off Esther Akudo Ogbonna’s cross.

Okoronkwo bagged her brace for the evening eleven minutes later to give Nigeria a fifth goal – a strike that cemented the Falcons’ superiority over their opponents.

With the job done, interim coach Madugu Justine brought in Tochukwu Oluehi for Nnadozie in goal while Chiamaka Okwuchukwu made her debut when she came on for Esther Akudo.

The second leg of the game will be played on Tuesday in the coastal city of Praia, the Cape Verdean capital. The winner of both fixtures will feature at the 2024 WAFCON in Morrocco.

Thursday’s game was Madugu’s third for the Super Falcons in the continued absence of Head Coach Randy Waldrum.

Ruthless Super Falcons dispatch Cape Verde 5-0 in women’s AFCON qualifier

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BREAKING: Super Eagles qualify for AFCON 2025

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Super Eagles players

BREAKING: Super Eagles qualify for AFCON 2025

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have secured their qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco, following Libya’s 1-0 victory over Rwanda in Kigali.

This result leaves Rwanda with five points from five matches, rendering them unable to surpass Nigeria in the standings, even if they win their upcoming match against the Super Eagles in Uyo.

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Currently, Nigeria leads Group D with 10 points, followed by Benin with six points, Rwanda with five, and Libya at the bottom with four points.

Benin remains in contention for the second qualification spot and will face Nigeria in a crucial match tonight.

Libya is set to host Benin in the final Group D game on Monday.

 

BREAKING: Super Eagles qualify for AFCON 2025

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Mike Tyson back in ring to face Youtuber Paul

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Mike Tyson and Jake Paul

Mike Tyson back in ring to face Youtuber Paul

Nearly 40 years after making his professional debut, and 19 years after being battered into retirement, a 58-year-old Mike Tyson will climb back into the ring on Friday for a Netflix-backed bout that has drawn widespread condemnation across the boxing world.

Tyson, who terrorised the heavyweight division during an imperious reign in the late 1980s, is lacing up the gloves once more to take on Youtuber Jake Paul, 27, in an officially sanctioned fight at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, Texas.

The fight, which will be comprised of eight two-minute rounds, was initially due to take place in July but was postponed in May after Tyson required medical treatment on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles after vomiting blood due to a bleeding ulcer.

That gory mid-air emergency has provided another piece of ammunition for the numerous critics who have condemned Friday’s contest as a macabre circus act that poses an unacceptable level of risk for Tyson, who last graced a professional ring in 2005, when he was beaten via a technical knockout after quitting on his stool against Irish journeyman Kevin McBride.

– ‘It shouldn’t be happening’ –

“Twenty years ago, Mike Tyson retired from boxing, and was shot to pieces, right? I mean, completely shot,” the prominent British fight promoter Eddie Hearn said this week.

“If anyone thinks that Mike Tyson should be in a ring at this age, you either have absolutely no emotional feelings toward the man, or you’re an idiot. It shouldn’t be happening.”

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Hearn’s rival promoter Frank Warren echoed those sentiments.

“Mike Tyson is 58 years of age and he shouldn’t be fighting,” Warren said after the bout was announced. “It’s as simple as that.

“Anyone with an ounce of brains knows that it is ridiculous. You can be on a motorway stuck in a traffic jam and you get to the end of it and all it is is people who have stopped to look at a crash — and that’s what this is.”

Tyson, who US reports say is being paid around $20 million for Friday’s contest, has brushed off the concerns for his wellbeing, insisting when critics from the boxing world are motivated by jealousy.

“I’m beautiful, that’s all I can say,” he said earlier this year. “The people who said that wish they were up here. No-one else can do this.”

Mike Tyson back in ring to face Youtuber Paul

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Alleged fraud: South Africa FA President, Danny Jordaan, arrested

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South African Football Association (SAFA) President Danny Jordaan

Alleged fraud: South Africa FA President, Danny Jordaan, arrested

South African Football Association (SAFA) President Danny Jordaan was arrested on Wednesday amid allegations that he misused the organization’s funds for personal purposes, as reported by local media.

Jordaan, renowned for his pivotal role in securing South Africa as the host for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, sought to block his arrest on Tuesday by filing an urgent application.

However, the Johannesburg High Court is scheduled to hear his case only on Thursday, leaving him vulnerable to arrest.

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The arrest stems from a raid by police on the SAFA offices in March, after which police spokesperson Katlego Mogale said the allegations are that “between 2014 and 2018, the president of SAFA used the organisation’s resources for his personal gain, including hiring a private security company for his personal protection and a public relations company, without authorisation from the SAFA board.”

Jordaan, 73, and his reported co-accused, SAFA chief financial officer Gronie Hluyo and businessman Trevor Neethling, are due to appear in court later on Wednesday.

Neither Jordaan nor SAFA responded to a request for comment from Reuters, but in his affidavit to court seeking to block his arrest, he denies any wrongdoing.

Alleged fraud: South Africa FA President, Danny Jordaan, arrested

(Reuters)

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