Sports

FIFA on Wednesday announced that it has extended the ban on its former president Sepp Blatter and former secretary-general Jerome Valcke by six years and eight months, in relation to the receipt of huge bonuses.

Blatter, who is 85, received 23 million Swiss francs ($24.6 million) in “extraordinary bonuses” linked to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil as well as the Confederations Cup tournament in Brazil that preceded it, FIFA’s Ethics Committee said in a statement.

Read Also: Pinnick Gets FG’s Backing In Quest For FIFA Council Seat

Valcke, the 60-year-old Frenchman …

Super Eagles Coach Gernot Rohr, has stated that his players will approach Saturday’s 2021 AFCON qualifier against the Squirrels of Benin Republic with the intention of picking all three points and nothing short.

He said ‘We are keen to restore a winning mentality to the group ahead of very crucial matches that we have ahead.

‘It is important that we earn victories in the upcoming matches so that we get into our paces for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. There will be tough games to come and we need to be rearing to go.’

Meanwhile, the camp of the …

Juventus’s hopes of winning a 10th consecutive Serie A title hit a major rock on Sunday after the current champions fell to a 1-0 defeat against lowly Benevento.

Argentine forward Adolfo Gaich scored the only goal after 69 minutes following a bad backpass from Juventus midfielder Arthur.

Read Also: Victor Osimhen Named Serie A Fastest Player

Andrea Pirlo’s side stays third, 10 points behind leaders Inter Milan whose match against Sassuolo was postponed because of a Covid outbreak among the league leaders.

It was the fourth league defeat for Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus, who have 11 games left to play this …

Saudi Arabia has emerged as the most likely location to host the highly anticipated undisputed showdown between British heavyweight champions Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. 

It is no longer news that both camps have received mouthwatering offers in abundance from the likes of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the USA, and Australia.

But it’s Saudi Arabia that has emerged as the bookies’ favorite to host the mega-fight.

Though initially raising some eyebrows, Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz 2, which was held in Saudi Arabia, went down as an undeniable success.

Leicester City coach Brendan Rodgers has rained praises on Nigerian forward Kelechi Iheanacho after the Nigerian striker scored his first Premier League hat-trick in the Foxes 5-0 demolition of Sheffield United on Sunday.

Iheanacho who is ‘dangerously’ in form at the moment opened proceedings just after six minutes from the end of the first half as he tapped home a sweeping Jamie Vardy cross to score in three successive Premier League games for the first time.

Vardy once again set up Iheanacho for his second of the afternoon in the 69th minute before the Nigerian international completed his hat-trick on …

West African Country, Chad, could be banned from global football after the minister of youth and sports dissolved the country’s football federation in a breach of FIFA Rules.

A document from the ministry says that the powers of the Federation of Chad Football Associations (FTFA) were withdrawn on 10 March.

Read Also: Samson Siasia appeals to CAS over his life ban by FIFA

Despite not playing for 13 months, Roger Federer won his first match on his return from injury to beat British number one Dan Evans at the Qatar Open on Wednesday.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion wasted no time in asserting his abilities by decimating his opponent.

‘Feels good to be back good, to be standing here regardless of whether I won or lost… it’s great fun,‘ he said after winning 7-6 (10/8) 3-6 7-5.

Read Also: Roger Federer Knocked Out Of Tennis By Knee Surgery

Federer hasn’t played a match since a semi-final defeat by Novak Djokovic at the …

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman says he is confident club talisman Lionel Messi can have no doubts over the ‘great future’ the club has after they bowed out of the Champions League with a spirited performance at Paris St-Germain.

However, while the result saw Barca fail to reach the last eight of the competition for the first time in 14 years, Koeman says the manner of …

Brazilian Superstar Neymar who plays for Paris St-Germain has been ruled out of the second leg of their last-16 Champions League tie against Barcelona.

An official statement from PSG on Wednesday said: ‘Neymar returned to partial training with the squad last week and will continue to work back to fitness individually,’

Barcelona on the other hand will be without defenders Gerard Pique and Ronald Araujo for the match in Paris on Wednesday.

Pique sustained a knee injury in the Copa …

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has stated his players should take the credit after masterminding a 10-match unbeaten run since he replaced Frank Lampard as manager earlier in the year.

The blues won 1-0 win against Liverpool on Thursday a win which lifted them to fourth in the Premier League table and put them on course to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

The Stamford Bridge side were languishing down in ninth place when Tuchel took over in late January.

Read Also: Chelsea: Abramovich Ready To Spend Big On Haaland

German boss Tuchel has refused to take credit for that resurgence, …

Nigeria Football Federation president (NFF), Amaju Pinnick’s quest to be a member of the FIFA Council, got a major boost on Thursday as the Federal Government declared its backing for the football executive saying that a victory for him would benefit not just Nigeria but Africa as a continent.

Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Youth and Sports Development at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, the Permanent Secretary, Engineer Nebolisa Anako, said the ministry was ready to support Pinnick in his bid to win a seat on the FIFA Council – the highest decision-making organ in …