Category: Sports

Moses Simona and Samuel Chukwueze scored in each half as both teams played a 2-2 stalemate to take the match to penalty shootout.

The 2025 Unity Cup, which was held from May 27 to 31 at Brentford Community Stadium in London was a vibrant celebration of cultural heritage and football.

The tournament featured four teams: Nigeria, Ghana, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago. It was organised to foster unity and pride among the African and Caribbean diasporas in London.

This year’s edition was particularly poignant, as it marked the return of the tournament after its last occurrence in 2004, underscoring its importance in promoting cultural understanding and community cohesion.

Victor Osimhen broke the deadlock midway through the second half, finally breaching a resolute Zimbabwe defence but the Super Eagles failed to secure a third win of the campaign.

It was Osimhen’s 26th international goal and seventh in World Cup qualifying, moving him past Yakubu Aiyegbeni’s record of six.

Only Obafemi Martins (10) has now scored more World Cup qualifying goals for Nigeria.

The match, played at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, saw Nigeria dominate possession and create several chances. Tolu Arokodare, who replaced Samuel Chukwueze in the 59th minute, was involved in the opener.

He held up play before passing to Aina, whose precise delivery found Osimhen at the far post.

Nigeria had multiple opportunities to extend their lead.

In the 83rd minute, Wilfred Ndidi missed a clear chance after being played in by Moses Simon, skewing his shot wide. Moments later, Osimhen was substituted due to cramp, with Victor Boniface coming on.

Zimbabwe nearly equalized in the 76th minute when Walter Musona’s effort struck the underside of the crossbar after a mix-up between Nwabali and his defenders.

The visitors eventually found their goal in stoppage time through Chirewa, who capitalized on a defensive lapse to earn Zimbabwe a crucial point.

This leaves Nigeria in third place in Group C, as Lesotho’s late equalizer against Rwanda meant the Super Eagles missed the chance to move up to second.

Nigeria’s next fixture will be a crucial opportunity to regain momentum as they continue their World Cup qualifying campaign. Daily Trust

The Nigerian team was drawn in Group C during the ceremony that was held in Morocco on Monday.

The mouthwatering encounter in the group will see Nigeria battling against the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia.

Champions on home soil in 2004, Tunisia eliminated Nigeria in the semi-final before defeating Morocco in the final. The Tunisian team also knocked out Nigeria in the Round of 16 of AFCON 2021 in Cameroon.

Nigeria defeated Tunisia 4-2 on its way to the AFCON final against Cameroon in Lagos in 2000.

Though Nigeria and Tunisia are the more accomplished teams in Group C, the East African teams of Tanzania and Uganda will likely challenge for the two automatic qualifying spots.

There are no less exciting fixtures in the other groups, with host nation Morocco leading Group A alongside Mali, Zambia, and Comoros.

The Group B is also packed with heavyweights consisting of Egypt, South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe who will have a lot to prove in the group.

In Group D, 2021 champions Senegal will battle it out with DR Congo, Benin, and Botswana, while Group E sees Algeria drawn against Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, and Sudan.

The defending champions, Ivory Coast will be hoping to outwit Cameroon, Gabon and Mozambique to kickstart the defence of the title they won at home last year.

As countdown for the tournament which will hold in December in Morocco begins, Nigerians fans will be hoping that the Super Eagles who narrowly lost in the last final to Ivory Coast will go one step better in Morocco.

Malian tactician, Eric Chelle, who was recently appointed to lead the Super Eagles, was present during Monday’s draw in Morocco.

Chelle will be aiming to join Otto Gloria, Clemens Westerhof and Stephen Keshi, in the league of managers to win the AFCON trophy for Nigeria.

CAF president Patrick Motsepe from South Africa told reporters he believes the first AFCON to span two years will also be the most successful.

“I am extremely excited about the AFCON in Morocco — it is going to be the most successful yet. Ivory Coast raised the bar last year and now we must reach even greater heights.

Originally slated for mid-2025, the tournament had to be delayed because to avoid clashing with the maiden edition of the revamped FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.

“The new dates will not affect the tournament. Africa boasts many exceptionally talented footballers and all of them will be in Morocco,” added Motsepe.

CAF published an updated game fixture on its X handle on Tuesday, however, it does not include the Libya versus Nigeria game.

The game was earlier scheduled to take place in Libya by 8 pm on Tuesday after the first leg took place in Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo on Friday.

The Super Eagles beat the Mediterranean Knights by a lone goal in the dying minute of the game.

However, the return leg has been greeted with controversy after the Super Eagles players and officials narrated their over 14 hours ordeal at the Libya airport leading them to return home.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have threatened to boycott the second leg of Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against the Mediterranean Knights of Libya.

This followed alleged maltreatment of the Nigeria’s contingent for the match by the Libyan government officials who kept and refused to clear the entire team at the Al Abaq Airport, 12 hours after they landed.

A statement by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Monday morning read: “Super Eagles still at Al Abraq Airport 12 hours after landing in Libya!

“The delegation of Nigeria to Tuesday’s 2025 AFCON qualifier against Libya still remained at the Al Abraq Airport 12 hours after landing in Libya.

“The chartered ValueJet aircraft was, strangely and in a dangerous manner, diverted to the small airport away from Benghazi just as the pilot was completing his approach to the Benghazi Airport. We understand the Al Abraq International Airport is only used for hajj operations.

“Fatigued players and officials have remained nonplussed as the host Libyan Football Federation failed to send any reception team or even vehicles to take the delegation members from the airport to their hotel, said to be 3 hours away in Benghazi.

“The NFF made arrangements for separate vehicles for the team but the plan was unhinged by the diversion of the aircraft.

“Players have resolved not to play the match any longer as NFF officials are making plans to fly the team back home.”

Reacting to the situation in a series of tweets early Monday morning, Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong condemned the treatment by the Libyan authorities.

He revealed that the team is being kept in an abandoned airport with no access to food, drink, or phone connections.

The Super Eagles Captain also mentioned the difficulties faced by the Tunisian pilot, who managed the unexpected change in destination but was subsequently refused accommodation for his crew under government orders.

While the pilot could rest at the airport, Nigerian crew members were not allowed to stay, forcing them to sleep on the plane.

“12+ hours in an abandoned airport in Libya after our plane was diverted whilst descending. The Libyan government rescinded our approved landing in Benghazi without reason. They’ve locked the airport gates and left us without a phone connection, food, or drink. All to play mind games.

“I’ve experienced issues before while playing away in Africa, but this is disgraceful behavior.

“Even the Tunisian pilot, who thankfully managed to navigate the last-minute change to an airport not fit for our plane to land, had never seen anything like this before,” he wrote.

“Upon arrival, he tried to find a nearby hotel to rest with his crew but was denied at every hotel, again under government instruction. He could sleep there, but no Nigerian crew members were allowed. They have now returned to sleep on the plane, which is parked up,” Troost-Ekong added.

Pacesetter/Leadership

Nigeria placed its hopes once again in the hands of paralympic athletes as the 2024 Paralympics kicked off in late August, against the backdrop of a disappointing Olympic Games outing.

Since the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics, Nigerian athletes have won medals at all nine editions.

In Nigeria’s earlier sad Olympics, countries like Germany and the United States of America produced medal-winning athletes of Nigerian descent, generating a backlash against the Nigeria Athletics Federation (AFN) and the Nigeria Olympics Committee (NOC)’s apparent talent mismanagement.

Standout controversies included the incident with Favour Ofili, for instance. The athelete had accused the AFN and the NOC of ruining her chances to compete in two separate events due to neglience.

There was also Ese lovina Ukpeseraye, the Nigerian cyclist, who had to participate in the event with a borrowed bicycle. It was against this backdrop of underperformance that Nigeria’s para-atheletes left for France to compete.

One could assume, naturally, that in 2024 the path to glory was tougher than ever. But with seven medals in total, and 40th place on the medals table, the Paralympics brought hope and relief when the Olympic athletes fell short.

FIJ examines the standout athletes in the 2024 competition, the events they won and the circumstances surrounding the wins.

BOSE OMOLAYO: THIRD TIME IS A CHARM

Despite suffering on-pitch and off-pitch challenges, Nigeria’s Bose Omolayo secured another podium finish for the third paralympics in a row, winning a silver medal in Paris.

Omolayo, who had won gold in 2016 and 2020 Paralympics consecutively, had suffered a right hand arm injury during the competition.

With a 149kg record, Omolayo had lifted her way into a silver place ahead of Egypt’s Safaa Hassan who claimed bronze with a 139kg lift. Omolayo came second after China’s Han Miayou set a new world record in the same event, with a 154kg lift, to take gold.

Omolayo had in the past been vocal about the suffering and discrimination against para-athletes in Nigeria.

In a 2021 Punch interview for instance, she had called out Sunday Dare, then Nigerian Minister for Youths and Sports, for failing to fulfil the promises made to her and her colleagues after the success recorded in Tokyo in 2020.

ISAAC OGUNKUNLE: TO PERSEVERE IS TO WIN

Isaac Ogunkunle, the Ogun-born para-athlete, won a bronze medal at the men’s class 4 table tennis event of the Paris 2024 Paralympis game. Beyond the win, there are certain peculiarities to his story.

Ogunkunle had faced and beaten notable para-athletes, including reigning paralympic champion Abdullah Ozturk of Turkey in the Round of 16 and Maxime Thomas, France’s Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist, in the quarterfinals.

Ogunkunle’s story reflects a consistent improvement of skills. The athelete had in the past two encounters lost to France’s Thomas in Tokyo 2020 and at the Italian Open in 2022. He had only managed to reach the the quarterfinals of the singles class 4 event in Tokyo 2020.

Ogunkunle lost in the semifinals to Kim Young-Gun, the silver medalist from Tokyo 2020, in a tough 3-1 match.

ESTHER NWORGU BROKE THE WORLD RECORD

Esther Nworgu stood out among the para-powerlifters at the Paris 2024 paralympics with a world record and a silver medal in the bag. Competing in the women’s 41kg+ Para-Powerlifting category, Nworgu broke two paralympic records, lifting an incredible 112kg and later lifting 118kg.

However, she was narrowly beaten by China’s Zhe Cui, who set a new record of 119kg, leaving Nworgu to claim the silver. Brazil’s Lara de Lima won bronze with a 109kg lift.

FLORA UGWUNWA: 3-TIME JAVELIN THROW MEDALIST

Like Omolayo, Flora Ugwunwa has cemented her place as one of Nigeria’s most celeberated para-athletes. Ugwunwa competed in the F54 category, which included seated para-athletes with spinal cord injuries, where she secured a silver medal.

Ugwunwa’s heroics began in Rio 2016, where she clinched a gold medal with a record-breaking throw. She successfully defended her title at the Tokyo 2020 Games, further cementing her dominance in the event.

At the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, the 40-year-old won a silver medal with a throw of 19.26 metres, narrowly missing out on gold to Uzbekistan’s Nurkhon Kurbanova, who set a new world record with a throw of 21.12 metres.

ENIOLA BOLAJI THE 19-YEAR-OLD HISTORY MAKER

Nigerian para-badminton player Eniola Bolaji made history by becoming the first African to win a medal at an olympics or paralympics badminton event.

Bolaji, a 19-year-old para-athlete with lower limb impairment, defeated Oksana Kozyna, her Ukrainian opponent, in straight sets to clinch Nigeria’s first medal in the competition.

Kozyna had once beaten Bolaji in the group stages match-up. Bolaji had also lost narrowly to China’s Zuxian Xiao in the semi-finals of the event.

Born in Ibadan and raised in Ilorin, she started as a tennis player before transitioning to para-badminton after Bello Oyebanji, her late coach, encouraged her. In her victory speech, Bolaji dedicated the medal to Oyebanji who tragically passed away in an accident.

ONYINYECHI MARK: 23-YEAR-OLD RECORD-SETTING SENSATION

Onyinyechi Mark, the 23-year-old two-time medalist, delivered another gold medal to Nigeria at the Paris 2024 Para-powerlifting event. Mark made history by setting multiple records and securing the country’s first gold medal of the Paralympics.

She lifted 147kg to initially break her own world record, before topping it with an astonishing 150kg lift just 10 minutes after. Her victory was absolute, leaving her competitors, including China’s Cui Jianjin (who lifted 140kg to claim silver), far behind.

In the past, Mark had won a silver medal at the 2021 World Para-Powerlifting championship in Georgia. In 2023, she won gold at the same competition which held in Dubai.

Mark was once disqualified in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, alongside Latifat Tijani in the lightweight category, over ‘non-compliance with technical rules’.

FOLASHADE OLUWAFEMIAYO: CAPTAIN NIGERIA WITH TWO WORLD RECORDS

Captain Nigeria does it again.

Folashade Oluwafemiayo, the captain of Nigeria’s Para-athletes, broke two world records at the Paris 2024 Paralympics powerlifting events on Sunday, with a history-making lift of 167kg.

Chinese and Egyptian rivals trailed the 39-year-old at 155kg and 147kg respectively.

Oluwafemiayo had first gained international recognition by winning a silver medal at the 2012 London Paralympics. Her crowning achievement came at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, where she secured a gold medal in the women’s 86kg+ category, setting a world record with a 151kg lift.

In the 2024 Paris Paralympics, Oluwafemiayo continued to dominate, breaking her own record by lifting an incredible 167kg and securing another gold for Nigeria.

The 39-year-old also secured gold medals at the World Championships in Mexico in 2017, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan in 2019; Tbilisi, Georgia in 2021; Dubai, United Arab Emirates in 2023, and another gold at the Women’s Bench Press Heavyweight event in Birmingham, England (2022).