Nigeria Sports Arena

Former First Bank Football Club of Lagos forward, Alimi Adewale Sikiru relishes his Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Super 4 experience with Warri Wolves. The Warri based side was part of the six teams that participated at the just concluded Super 4 invitational tournament in Abuja with two national teams, the Dream Team VI and the high Flying Eagles. Paul Aigbogun's men didn't put up a fine performance at the tournament, they managed two wins from five matches but there's one player who could not but savour his moment with the team after his team finished 6th from the tourney ahead of Dolphins FC of Port Harcourt who failed to nick a point from the pre-season games. Adewale shared his experience with BFCNews in an exclusive chat on Tuesday recounting the short time he had with the CAF champions league campaigner. "Honestly, I feel very honoured and greatful because it's a great opportunity for anyone to have. "It's a dream come through tho...

The Nigeria Under 20, have won the 2015 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Pre-season tournament tagged Super 4 after six goal thriller against the Under 23 national team in the last match of the round robin football event in Abuja. They held the Dream Team VI to a three all draw yesterday in an explosive encounter as Chidera Eze came in as a super substitute to salvage a point for his teammate after scoring the last goal of the day. The Flying Eagles recorded an incontestable 13 points from five matches. Nigeria Under 23 finished second with nine points, Kano Pillars and Enyimba of Aba  gathered seven points each and claimed the third and fourth spots. Warri Wolves muscled out six  points while Dolphins rocks botom of the log with no point. Taiwo Awoniyi was voted the best player of the tournament, he scored two goals and made a couple of assists.

The Super Six tournament got underway on Saturday with less than one thousand spectators at the 60,000-seater Abuja National Stadium. Kano Pillars, Dolphins, Enyimba International, Warri Wolves, Dream Team VI and the Flying Eagles were all in action in the match day one of the competition. The poor patronage of the tournament is not the influx of the major European leagues, but lack of adequate planning by the organizers of the event. The domestic game in Nigeria is exciting and the reason why some centres don't record huge spectators amazes me at times. I don’t think the increased interest in the English Premier League is the cause of the low patronage of our league, rather some measures need to be put in place by the League Management Company. For every problem there are solutions and antidotes.You will agree with me that hashtag in the modern world is an acceptable means of sending messages. Creation of hashtag for a big tournament like the Super Six should have made fans ...

Stanley Eguma says fatigue and late start to the season were responsible for their 2-0 loss to Kano Pillars on Saturday.   Samuel Tswaya scored in the 6th minute and Christian Obiozor in the 9th minute.   “I knew we would not be at our best at this tournament,” Dolphins coach, Eguma said.   “Fatigue from the journey was one factor, since we arrived just last night. We also fought hard but we missed chances.   “We had little preparations because the boys arrived late to camp but we will use the Super 4 to improve on our fitness,” Eguma said.   Okey Emordi, coach of Pillars insists the team still has some more work to do to be fully ready for their Champions League contest in February.   “It’s not because won… thank God for that. I was unimpressed with the positional game of the players and their recovery after losing the ball. I expected more from my players.   “This competition is a p...

A 10-man Flying Eagles defeated Enyimba 2-0 in a Super 4 match on Saturday in Abuja, but coach Manu Garba insisted his team have to improve on their finishing after they threw away many chances. The Nigeria U20 team took the lead through a penalty converted by captain Musa Muhammed in the 62nd minute after Ifeanyi Anaemena fouled rampaging Taiwo Awoniyi inside the box.   Substitute Musa Yahaya scored the second goal to seal the victory for the Flying Eagles in the 90th minute.   However, the Flying Eagles were reduced to 10 men in the 57th minute after Prince Aggreh was sent off after a second booking.   Sweden-based striker Taiwo Awoniyi could long have killed this game for the Flying Eagles but he missed several chances.   "The game was a good test for my team because we played against a very experienced side in Enyimba," declared Manu Garba after the match. "I have seen some of the lapses especially in goal scoring. We missed a lot of scoring chances an...

Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Champions Kano Pillars began their Super 4 quest with a two nill victory over 2014 Federation Cup finalists Dolphins FC of Port Harcourt this afternoon in Abuja. Samuel Tswanya of Kano Pillars put the Sai Masu Gida in front six minutes into the game with a long range effort, three minutes later, former Enugu Rangers international striker Christian Obiozor got the second goal of the day as he shoot past Sunday Rotimi. The first 45 minutes ended with a two nill advantage for Kano Pillars. Kano Pillars gave good account of themselves in the first half, they stringed passes going forward and they continued with their game plan in the second half although they failed to score the third goal. It was a disappointing moment for Dolphins, their early lost of concentration cost them the defeat. Dolphins Goalkeeper, Sunday Rotimi told newsmen in a pre-match press conference that he was disappointed with the outcome of the game. "I am actually ...

Skipper Musa Muhammed will lead the Flying Eagles against Enyimba in today’s Super 4 opening day clash at the Abuja National Stadium. Kick-off time is 3pm and the match will be televised live on television. Coach Manu Garba has lined up a strong team against the Nigeria league runners-up last season. Mountain of Fire FC of Lagos goalkeeper Joshua Enaholo will start behind a defence of skipper Muhammed, Mustapha Abdullahi, Prince Izu Omego and Zaharadeen Bello. The midfield has Ifeanyi Ifeanyi, Akinjide Idowu, Wasiu Jimoh and Abdullahi Alfa, while the attack will be Taiwo Awoniyi and Prince Aggrey from Sunshine Stars. Overseas professionals Musa Yahaya, Chidera Eze as well as Ifeanyi Matthew, who only rejoined the squad after trials in Europe, will thus start from the bench.   Flying Eagles starting XI vs Enyimba Joshua Enaholo – Musa Muhammed (Captain), Mustapha Abdullahi, Prince Izu Omego, Zaharadeen Bello – Ifeanyi Ifeanyi,Akinjide Idowu, Abdullahi Alfa...

  Day 1: January 24:     Dolphins vs Pillars 1pm Enyimba vs Flying Eagles 3pm    Warri Wolves vs Dream Team 5pm   Day 2: Monday, January 26 Enyimba vs Warri Wolves 1pm Pillars vs Flying Eagles 3pm Dolphins vs Dream Team 5pm   Day 3: Wednesday, January 28 Flying Eagles vs Warri Wolves 1pm Pillars vs Dream Team 3pm Dolphins vs Enyimba 5pm   Day 4: Friday, January 30 Dream Team vs Enyimba 1pm Kano Pillars vs Warri Wolves 3pm Flying Eagles vs Dolphins 5pm   Day 5: Sunday February 1 Warri Wolves vs Dolphins 1pm Pillars vs Enyimba 3pm Dream Team vs Flying Eagles 5pm

Nigeria U20 team, the Flying Eagles, have expressed confidence they will give a good account of themselves at the expanded Super 4 tournament, which kicks off on Saturday at the Abuja National Stadium. The Flying Eagles and the Nigeria U23 team have been handed special invitations to feature in the pre-season competition, which has drawn league champions Kano Pillars, Enyimba, Warri Wolves and Dolphins. The Nigeria U20, who arrived Abuja on Thursday from their training base in Kaduna, will play their first match on Saturday at the Abuja National Stadium against league runners-up Enyimba. Kick-off is 3pm. On Monday, they will take on Pillars, before they battle Warri Wolves on Wednesday and Dolphins on Friday. Their final match in this round-robin competition will be Sunday, February 1, against Dream Team. Match times are 1pm, 3pm and 5pm. Flying Eagles assistant coach Nduka Ugbade said he is confident the team will do well in the Super 4. “We have worked hard in Kaduna an...