SPORTAINMENT

World football governing body, FIFA, has picked Nigeria as the 29th best team in the world and third in Africa. According to the latest FIFA ranking made available to media source, Belgium is still the world’s best team in 1773, …

Former European Cup winners Benfica crashed out of the 2020/2021 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round on Tuesday after a shock 2-1 defeat at PAOK Salonika. Serbia winger Andrija Zivkovic scored against his former club Benfica a week after leaving …

Nigeria heavyweight sensation, Efe Ajagba, is eyeing a future title fight against British-Nigerian two-time unified heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua. Ajagba, who is yet to make his Top Rank debut after signing with the renowned boxing promoters in August, says he …

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has arranged two friendly matches for the Super Eagles next month in Austria. NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, said in a tweet yesterday that the matches, against Cote d’Ivoire and Tunisia, would hold on October 9 …

Lionel Messi could be suspended and have a portion of his salary seized by Barcelona if he continues to refuse to attend official club events, writes footballcritic.com. Messi did not show up for Sunday’s coronavirus tests and it seemed clear …

• Exercise to last for eight weeks The ‘restoration’ of the Lagos National Stadium will last for eight weeks, a member of the Ministerial Implementation Committee has revealed.The exercise, which is aimed at returning the stadium to its original design, …

The coronavirus may have caught up with the world’s fastest man, sprint king Usain Bolt, who announced Monday that he is self-quarantining after being tested for COVID-19, as countries around the world again tightened lockdown measures. Bolt, who did not …

Bayern Munich head coach Hansi Flick hailed the “crazy” development of his treble-winning team in the ten months since he took charge after the German giants won Sunday’s Champions League final. Bayern won the European title for the sixth time …

Italian referee Daniele Orsato will take charge of the Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, UEFA announced Thursday. Sunday’s showpiece at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon will be the first European final for the 44-year-old official, …

Former Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o says the Catalan giants will have to change the club’s name should Lionel Messi depart. Messi was part of the squad that crashed out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage in Lisbon after …

Inter Milan are destined for “great things” under Antonio Conte, according to Lautaro Martinez after the Argentine and Romelu Lukaku both scored twice to thrash Shakhtar Donetsk 5-0 in Dusseldorf and reach the Europa League final. Danilo D’Ambrosio was also …

Lionel Messi might never have been faced with a more daunting task at Barcelona than engineering a victory against Bayern Munich in Lisbon on Friday. The only surviving former winners of European club football’s greatest prize — with five titles …

Kylian Mbappe looks set to feature for Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League quarter-final against Atalanta in Lisbon on Wednesday having made a good recovery from an ankle injury, his coach Thomas Tuchel said on the eve of the game. …

Sevilla and Shakhtar Donetsk qualified for the semi-finals of the Europa League on Tuesday after respective wins over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Basel. Five-time competition winners Sevilla face Manchester United on Sunday after snatching a last gasp 1-0 win over Wolves, …

• Martinez threatens to quit if not given more games Mesut Ozil has reportedly been offered an £18 million pay-off from Arsenal to end his Emirates nightmare, thesun.co.uk reports. The £350,000-a-week midfielder is unwanted by Gunners boss Mikel Arteta. The Germany …

Former Green Eagles winger, Adegoke Adelabu, says the five-year deal sealed by Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen, with Italian club Napoli, is a big advertisement for Nigeria. Lille will pocket €70 million in the first year, which could rise to …

Next year’s coronavirus-postponed Olympics could be held in front of a “limited number of spectators” to prevent the spread of infection, Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshiro Muto has said. The Tokyo 2020 games are now scheduled to open on July …

FIFA has ratified a $1m grant to the Nigerian Football Federation “to protect and restart its football,” as was reported  by The Punch. The NFF and other member associations across the globe are all expected to benefit from FIFA’s $1.5bn …

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes Bukayo Saka will be a good addition to the England senior squad and will offer him his advice on where to switch his allegiance if consulted. Saka scored four goals with 11 assists in 38 …

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola took a swipe at Arsenal on Monday by admitting he does not respect them off the pitch. Guardiola’s side were knocked out of the FA Cup at the semi-final stage by Arsenal on Saturday as …