Nigeria Content Online

Nigerian
striker John Utaka has ended his three-and-a-half-year stay at
Portsmouth after agreeing to a two-and-a-half-year deal with French
Ligue 1 side Montpellier.

“John has signed a
two-and-a-half-year contract and could play against St Etienne on
February 5,” the Ligue 1 club said on their website (www.mhscfoot.com)
over the weekend.

The move sees the
Nigerian international returning to a familiar terrain having
previously spent five years in the French top flight division between
2002 and 2007.

Following his
switch from Qatari club Al-Sadd to French side Lens at the end of the
2002 FIFA World Cup, Utaka went on to make over a hundred appearances
for the 1998 French champions before leaving for Rennes at the start of
the 2005/2006 season.

While at Rennes,
Utaka scored 22 goals in 63 games, prompting the then Portsmouth
manager, Harry Redknapp to bring him to the south coast for £7 million
in the summer of 2007.

But despite scoring
on his Premier League debut against Derby County at Pride Park, Utaka
never lived up to his hefty price tag as he only scored 13 goals in the
115 appearances he made for Pompey with his last coming in last
Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to Burnley in the English lower division.

Montpellier, whose
roll call of famous ex-players include: Current French national team
boss Laurent Blanc, former Colombia star Carlos Valderrama and
legendary Cameroonian forward, Roger Milla, are currently in the
top-half of the Ligue 1 table but have managed only 17 goals in 20
games this season.

Martins’ move uncertain

However, with the
transfer window set to close at midnight Nigerian time today, Obafemi
Martins’ move to Birmingham is in danger of falling through. Martins
was announced as Birmingham’s latest January signing last week after
they came to an agreement with the striker’s parent club Rubin Kazan to
take him on loan.

However, his hopes
of a move are hanging in the balance as the two parties enter
discussions before Martins can undergo a medical and Birmingham can set
about getting a work permit.

With the transfer
window set to close, Birmingham face a race against time to get a deal
done for Martins as Alex McLeish desperately tries to recruit a new
striker after missing out on Robbie Keane who is close to completing a
switch to West Ham United.

Torres to Chelsea?

Another move that
looks set to be completed today is Fernando Torres’ switch from
Liverpool to Chelsea which could cost the Blues as much as £50 million
along with the London side’s French striker Nicolas Anelka, who is
expected to head to Anfield.

Liverpool have asked for Nicolas Anelka to be included in Chelsea’s bid for Torres.

Torres submitted a
written transfer request on last Friday which was rejected by
Liverpool, but that did little to deter Chelsea from making a second
offer for the Spaniard of £40 million in cash plus teenage striker
Daniel Sturridge.

Chelsea had a bid
of £35 million for Torres, who reportedly has a buyout clause of £50
million written into his Liverpool contract, rejected on Thursday.

With the Spaniard
pushing both clubs to negotiate over a move before the transfer window
closes at midnight today (11pm in the UK), Liverpool have asked for
Anelka, and not Sturridge, to be included in the deal to meet their £50
million valuation.

The deal, upon completion, will see Anelka returning to a club he had previously played for as far back as the 2001/2002 season.

If the deal does go
ahead, it will smash the British transfer record, set in 2008 when
Manchester City paid Real Madrid £32.5m for Brazilian forward Robinho,
who is now with Italy’s AC Milan.

Busy market for Liverpool

The exit of Torres
would be a sad end to a Liverpool career which promised so much – he
scored 65 goals in 91 Premier League starts – but delivered nothing in
terms of silverware for the former European champions who over the
weekend snapped up Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez from Dutch side Ajax
in a deal worth £23 million.

Liverpool are also
on the verge of completing a move for French international midfielder
Blaise Matuidi from French side Saint Etienne.

The Times reports
that Director of Football strategy at Anfield, Damien Comolli, is a
known admirer of the player after holding a similar position at the
Ligue 1 club. His connection with the player is thought to hold the key
with regards to a Liverpool bid.

Matuidi started his
senior career at Troyes in 2004, but moved to his current employees at
the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in 2007. His impressive recent form has
also led to international recognition, with Laurent Blanc handing the
player his first Les Bleus cap against Bosnia.

Matuidi would
occupy a similar role to Lucas should he move to Liverpool, with the
defensive midfielder adding some bite for the club in the centre of the
pitch and allowing skipper Steven Gerrard to push forward.

Meanwhile, reports
have it that Manchester City will not allow Shaun Wright-Phillips to
leave the club, despite the player being on the fringes of the squad
and making just two Premier League starts this season.

The winger was signed in the summer of 2008 by the then manager,
Mark Hughes, who is keen on bringing him to Fulham this January, and
the 29-year-old is believed to have handed in a transfer request in
order to find first team football and hasten his exit.

Obinna
Nsofor ensured that beleaguered West Ham fans had something to cheer
when he scored three goals for the Hammers against former European
champions, Nottingham Forest.

The hammers made
the game hard for themselves by going behind twice before the Nigerian
loan player from Inter Milan spared the blushes of his coach, Avram
Grant. It was the 113th meeting between the two sides with the
statistics reading 43 matches won by both sides and 26 drawn. Nsofor
started his goals trail in the fourth minute with a simple tap-in,
which looked marginally offside. The League One side were not over awed
by the Premiership basement side and had 52% of the possession and that
counted for the equaliser which came in the 18th minute when Dele
Adebola scored his first goal of the season with a toe-poke in from
close range.

Nsofor scored his
second of the day when he equalised for the Hammers two minutes after
David McGoldrick had given Forest the lead in the 40th minute and the
goal had shades of David Beckham’s 40 yards goal in 1996 against
Wimbledon.

The Nigerian duly
completed his hat-trick after 52 minutes with a penalty kick and he
almost scored a fourth goal but Forest keeper, Lee Camp made the save
amongst many that he made throughout the tie. Nsofor has shown more
passion for the Cup games but his side will need some of these goals in
the Premiership to stave off relegation.

Arsenal saved by Fabregas

Again, Arsenal had
to rely on the penalty taking expertise of their captain, Cesc Fabregas
to avoid another replay. Fabregas converted the spot kick in the 85th
minute after Nicklas Bendtner had been brought down in the box by
Huddersfield defender, Jamie McCombe. Bendtner had given Arsenal the
lead on 22 minutes but the League One side equalised in the 66th minute
through a powerful Alan Lee header from a corner kick.

Fabregas rose from
the bench with 22 minutes left on the clock and justified the call by
netting the important second goal that effectively killed off
Huddersfield, who had acquitted themselves admirably throughout the
encounter. But there will be concerns about Samir Nasri, who limped off
with a hamstring problem.

In other cup games,
Manchester City were saved some embarrassment against Notts County, as
new man, Edin Dzeko equalised for City in the 80th minute.

With
an ultra-bright smile replacing tears of joy, Belgian Kim Clijsters
celebrated her first Australian Open title by telling a packed
Melbourne crowd: “Now call me Aussie Kim!” But the third seed would not
fully commit to returning to defend her crown next year or a swan song
at the London Olympics, having already said 2011 would be her final
full year on tour.

“Now I feel you
guys can call me ‘Aussie Kim’ because I won the title,” a beaming
Clijsters said after an absorbing 3-6 6-3 6-3 win over Chinese
trailblazer Li Na in Saturday’s final.

Asked if she would
be back next year, Clijsters blushed and said: “Yeah, I hope so. The
Olympics is what I was thinking of when I (came back) but we’ll see.”
Clijsters, the beaten Melbourne finalist in 2004, paid tribute to ninth
seed Li, who gave the tournament favourite a working over in the first
set.

“The first set, I
thought ‘Wow! This is going too fast for me!’ It was tough,” said the
four-time grand slam winner. “She was playing probably the best she
ever played against me.” Clijsters, who has won three majors since
returning to women’s tennis in 2009 following a two-year break, found a
way to win, the emotion getting to her after Li blasted a forehand wide
on match point.

“Grand slam victories are all emotional,” said the 27-year-old working mum.

“What overwhelms me
is that it’s so intense up until the last shot and then all of a sudden
it’s finished. Then it’s just like a big relief.

“That I was able to
turn it around is what makes it all so special,” added Clijsters, who
buried head in her towel sobbing gently after it was all over.

Dental work

Clijsters, hugely
popular Down Under since a previous romance with Australian Lleyton
Hewitt, thanked everyone from the ball boys to a local dentist who
performed an emergency repair job on a cracked tooth before the start
of the tournament.

“My tooth chipped off,” smiled Clijsters. “I was eating a rice cracker actually, nothing hard, just a nice, soft rice cracker.

“I thought there
was a piece of rice that wasn’t cooked or something and I just spat it
out. I felt my tooth not there so I went to a dentist who fixed me up
real quick.” Clijsters, who will rise to two in the world when the new
rankings are published, also revealed her superstitious side.

“My uncle came to
watch me in Doha (at the 2010 year-ending WTA Championships) in the
ugliest green trousers I have ever seen,” laughed Clijsters.

“I won that
tournament. I’m superstitious so I told him if he’s going to come and
watch me he has to wear them and he was like ‘Oh God!’ “But he wore
them here so thanks,” she said pointing to her box.

The
Nigeria Cricket Federation has come out with a communiqué stating the
successes of 2010 and what the federation is planning to do to top
those achievements. The NCF instituted a scheme for members of the
national team to further motivate them during tournaments. Five players
are the initial beneficiaries of this scheme and are: Endurance Ofem,
Kunle Adegbola, Joshua Ogunlola, Saheed Akolade and Jide Bejide.

The Federation held
a series of training camps during 2010, the most notable of which held
in Ibadan, Oyo State in March 2010. The Federation also tried to
upgrade some existing cricket facilities in the country and one of
these was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the
University of Lagos on Perimeter Fencing of the Cricket Oval in the
school. Also women’s cricket was looked into and in June 2010, the
maiden edition of the National Women Cricket Championship was held in
Lagos. Edo, Lagos, Imo and Ogun States were in attendance and Lagos
State emerged as the champions.

An ICC-ACA Cricket
Administrators Programme (CAP) on Financial Management was also in
Lagos in held in June. The one-day course was facilitated by Okon
Ukpong, chairman of the Technical Committee of NCF and assessed by
Patrick Okeke, secretary-general of NCF. The programme was designed by
the International Cricket Council (ICC) to improve the practical skills
of cricket administrators.

The NCF appointed a
general manager/chief operating officer in compliance with the
directive of ICC to all associate countries. George Wiltshire was the
person chosen for the positions.

Wiltshire has drawn up a lot of programmes for 2011 and top of these
is the World Classification League that Nigeria will be involved in.
The COO said: “We have arranged for our training camp in Benoni, South
Africa and we hope to have all that will be needed by the players in
place weeks before they will be going to the camp in South Africa.” The
year 2010 was ended with the U-15 ICC-ACA North-West Africa tournament
was held in Nigeria in December 2010. Sierra Leone emerged the winner
of the tournament. Ghana came second, followed by Nigeria in the third
position.

Third
seed Novak Djokovic pulverized Andy Murray 6-4 6-2 6-3 to win his
second Australian Open Sunday, dashing British hopes of a first men’s
grand slam champion in 75 years.

Eye-balling Murray
with intent across the net, Serbia’s Davis Cup hero completely
dominated the Scot, who came out flat and has now lost all three of his
grand slam finals without winning a set.

“I dedicate this
title to my family, my brothers, my girl Jelena back home, my people
that have been with me for so many years,” an emotional Djokovic said
as he cradled the trophy.

“It has been a
tough period for our people in Serbia,” added Djokovic, who also paid
tribute to the victims of the recent Queensland floods.

“We are trying
every single day to present our country in the best possible way, so
this is for my country Serbia.” Djokovic then saluted hundreds of noisy
fans wrapped in Serbian flags from the balcony of a television studio,
holding the trophy aloft soccer-style as they bounced up and down
singing below.

“This means the world to me,” he said. “Any grand slam title is a huge achievement. I have dedicated my life to the sport.

“I’m still 23 and
hopefully will have more chances to win grand slams. It really gives me
a lot of motivation. It’s a huge confidence boost.” Djokovic, who
lifted his only previous major title in Melbourne three years ago, got
off to a scorching start in energy-sapping heat supposed to favor fifth
seed Murray.

Relentless pressure
forced a forehand error from Murray, giving Djokovic the first set
against last year’s Australian Open runner-up, who played with a tired,
hang-dog look throughout a surprisingly one-sided match.

Murray rattled

Murray, rattled by
noise from Djokovic’s box and berating himself for his ineptitude,
began to unravel in the second set, screaming at his own coaching team:
“Be quiet!” A fired-up Djokovic took a stranglehold on the final by
ripping another big forehand down the line, a dejected Murray slumping
in his chair muttering to himself in despair.

Djokovic went for
the jugular, breaking for 3-1 in the third set with a breath-taking
backhand down the line, the Serbian pumping his fists and roaring with
delight.

Murray immediately
broke back but Djokovic, ice in his veins, blasted a forehand cross
court to go 5-3 up and finished the job with another crunching forehand
the Scot could only dump into the net after two hours 39 minutes.

Djokovic celebrated by throwing his racket, shirt and shoes into the crowd as a packed Rod Laver Arena went wild.

Murray was bidding to become Britain’s first male grand slam winner since Fred Perry in 1936.

He lost the 2008 U.S. Open final and last year’s Melbourne final in straight sets, both times to Roger Federer.

“I’ll try to keep it together this year,” said Murray, who had been reduced to tears by Federer last year.

“I won’t lose sleep over it. I want to try to win a grand slam but if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.”

Participating teams
at the 2011 Rivers State Governor’s Cup being sponsored by Shell
Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria have continued their fine
display at the tourney.

The matches being
played at the pitch of the Liberation stadium, Elekahia, Port Harcourt
has continued to produce exciting play and a avalanche of goals.

New comers,
Obio/Akpor who whitewashed Eleme 7-0 at the opening day of the annual
football fiesta last Thursday defeated Akuku-Toru 3-1 on Tuesday.

Another debutant,
Ahoada East slumped to a 1-0 defeat to last edition’s runners-up,
Khana, who recovered from the shocking 1-0 loss to Phalga in the opener.

Equally new
entrants, Opobo/Nkoro walked over Degema, Degema drew 2-2 with Etche in
the first match, Etche however managed a slim 1-0 win over Omuma and
Phalga maintained their unbeaten run with a walk-over against new
entrants Ogu/Bolo.

In other games,
Eleme lost again 1-0 to Bonny; the victory is the second for Bonny who
had also thumped Oyigbo 3-0 in the first match.

Gokana recorded a walk-over victory against Emohua.

The tournament into the second week and has shown that it will be
more competitive and entertaining. Matches in the tournament are played
two times in a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The Super Eagles will face the Flying Eagles today in a tune-up game billed for the main bowl of the National Stadium in Abuja.

The match is part of preparations for both sides ahead of their upcoming international engagements.

While the Super Eagles are putting
finishing touches to their preparations for the Green Bowl Soccer
Tournament to be held in the U.S. between February 12 and 20, the
Flying Eagles are preparing for the African Youth Championship (AYC)
scheduled to take place in Libya between March 18 and April 1.

The AYC also serves as the qualifying tournament for the FIFA Under 20 World Cup billed for Colombia later in the year.

Both sides met twice in the last two
weeks with the first game ending in a 2-2 draw while the Super Eagles
recorded a 2-1 victory in the second meeting, at the FIFA Technical
Centre, Abuja.

But there is an edge and a different
texture to today’s game as the Nigeria Television Authority will be
using the encounter to test its newly-acquired Outside Broadcast
Equipment.

Super Eagles head coach Samson Siasia will also use the game as an
opportunity to trim his squad to 22, the proposed number to travel for
the Green Bowl Soccer Tournament next weekend.

The
congress of Nigeria Premier League (NPL), which met Wednesday at the
Nicon Luxury Hotel in Abuja has ordered that the bid process of title
sponsorship for the Premier league be re-conducted.

The move follows
series of accusations and counter accusations that have trailed the
former process, which saw Total Promotions which was said to be
representing MTN as the title sponsors.

The congress which
was attended by chairmen and owners of the Premier League clubs faulted
the previous process saying it failed to carry all the parties along.

Decision of congress

“The congress of
the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) upon exhaustively reviewing and
considering the entire Bid process held on 15th and 16th December, 2010
for the selection of a Title Sponsor for the League, it was observed
inter-alia, that though the Board of the NPL did its utmost best to
ensure the selection of a credible Title Sponsor for the League, it
frowned at the third party involvement in the whole exercise,” a
communiqué issued after the meeting, read in part.

“Consequently, Congress resolved as follows:

1. That the bid
exercise held on 15th and 16th December, 2010 for the selection of a
Title Sponsor for the League be invalidated.

2. That in the
interest of justice, equity and fair play, machinery should be put in
place for the conduct of a fresh bidding process for the selection
within two (2) weeks.

3. The Congress
hereby directs the League Board to reconstitute the Bid Committee and
ensure that all major stakeholders are carried along.

4. The Congress
commended the two (2) bidding companies for the keen interest shown to
sponsor the League in particular and the development of football in the
country generally.”

Mixed reactions

The decision has
generated mixed reactions. Bukola Olopade, the Commissioner of Sports
in Ogun State welcomed the move saying the league governing body should
go ahead and organise a transparent bid noting that Globacom had helped
in the growth of football in Nigeria.

“Globacom came into
the league when critical support was needed to keep Nigeria football
running. The company has borne the burden of funding all aspects of
football and indeed, sports in Nigeria and should not have been
subjected to the treatment meted to it by the NPL Bid committee,”
Olopade said.

“More importantly,
we should consider the strategic importance of keeping our most priced
national football assets in the hands of indigenous companies like
Globacom that has demonstrated a passion for the Nigerian project.”

Former NFA board
member Austin Akosa says it was wrong for the NPL to treat an
indigenous company shabbily while preferring a foreign company.

“It is strange that
a foreign company from a country where Nigerian businessmen were chased
out is now flexing muscles in our country against an indigenous company
that has sustained football from the scratch. It is not acceptable and
I offer my full support to the cancellation,” said

Akosa. “Will they
allow Globacom to sponsor the league in South Africa if they can
prevent Adenuga from setting up a business there?” he asked.

Ahmed Gara-Gombe, a
former member of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) and one time
chairman of Gombe United Football Club, has a different view. According
to him the action of the NPL is cowardly.

“They are cowards.
Every one of them in the NPL are cowards. They have really disappointed
Nigerians. These are people who came out to tell us not so long ago
that the entire process surrounding the sponsorship of the league was
transparent only for them to come out now and make a U-turn.

“The Executive
Board of the NPL acts on behalf of the congress. They carried everyone
along during the entire process and even called on companies to come
and bid for the league. The position was advertised and those who were
interested made their intentions known. At the end of the day, the
company representing MTN had a better package than Glo and the
Executive Board of the NPL did the right thing by picking them ahead of
Glo,” Gara-Gombe said.

Regrettable affair

Joining the
argument, Harrison Jalla, President of the National Association of
Nigerian Footballers (NANF), the body, which took the Nigeria Football
Federation (NFF) to court over elections, says the whole affair is
regrettable.

“For me, it is an
exercise in futility, how can you sign a contract and suddenly make a
U-turn just like that. Currently I hear Total Promotions are in court
and the best thing they could have done is to first see that the matter
is withdrawn from court. It’s a pity that the congress has allowed
themselves to be used for such an exercise. I actually don’t blame them
in the long run because most of the clubs are run by government so they
have no choice than to bow to the demands of their bosses. The painful
thing in all of this is that football will continue to suffer.
Nigeria’s interest should always be the first and not personal
interest, whether Globacom or MTN, due process should always be adhered
to,” Jalla said.

Arm twisting

The latest decision
by the congress of the NPL will not come as a surprise to those who
have followed developments on the matter since the league body awarded
the rights to MTN in December.

Former sponsors,
Globacom, which lost out in the bid to its telecoms rival, MTN had gone
to court to challenge the decision but dramatically withdrew its suit
last week, saying it was going to seek alternative avenues for dispute
resolution.

A few days later,
Tunji Babalola, the Executive Secretary of the NPL announced that the
bid process was going to be conducted all over again. Babalola was
overruled twenty four hours later by the NPL board, which insisted the
title rights belonged to MTN.

NEXTSports learnt
that yesterday’s decision was the result of pressure from the
Presidency, which Globacom Chairman, Mike Adenuga had reportedly turned
to when his organisation lost out in the bid for sponsorship rights.

A source close to
the NPL told NEXTSports that Davidson Owumi, the NPL Chairman had been
under intense pressure to order a new bid for the title sponsorship but
had initially withstood the pressure, but eventually gave-in after
meeting with top officials of the National Sports Commission (NSC)
including Sports Minister, Taoheed Adedoja and Patrick Ekeji, Director
General of the NSC.

“This is very unfortunate. How can we hope to attract sponsors to
the game if we keep making fools of ourselves,” the source said?

He
has finally moved. And that is talking about the Togolese-Nigerian,
Emmanuel Adebayor (do not mind the ‘r’ at the end of Adebayo). The
former Monaco and Arsenal striker got his wish to divorce Roberto
Mancini as his move to Spain was approved by Real Madrid and Jose
Mourinho who got a striker clearly needed in light of the performances
of Karim Benzema – the 23-year-old France international has shown that
he needs about 10 chances to score one goal.

Benzema has scored a
measly two goals in 19 appearances. With Gonzalo Higuain ruled out for
the season, Mourinho had repeatedly demanded for a striker, to cover
the obvious loop hole. After the failed bid to lure former player, Ruud
Van Nistelrooy’s back to the Santiago Bernabeu from Hamburg, Madrid had
to go for Adebayor.

Mourinho had been
cross with the young French forward for squandering scoring chances,
“he (Benzema) has to give a little more,” the coach said recently.

Now Mourinho has
Adebayor, who had to agree to a pay cut before the deal could be
finalised. The 26-year-old Togolese international has now joined on a
loan deal with a permanent £13million transfer broached if the union
proves to be successful. Adebayor will be collecting lower than the
estimated £148,000-a-week he was on at Manchester City.

A statement on Real
Madrid’s website read, “‘Real Madrid and Manchester City have reached a
deal that will see Emmanuel Adebayor play on loan. The player will
remain at Real Madrid until the end of the current season, at which
point the club hold a unilateral option to purchase the player.”

Adebayor joined
Arsenal from Monaco for £7m in January 2006 and moved on to City three
years later for around £25m. He is eligible to play for Los Blancos in
the Champions League as City were contending for the Europa League.
Adebayor has a goal ratio of one goal every other game over a career
that has spanned 10 years in Europe.

But still the most
high profile transfer in the January window has been the mega-capture
of Edin Dzeko by Manchester City for £27 million from German club,
Wolfsburg. The Steve McClaren side have gone out and replaced the
Bosnian with Dieumerci Mbokani from Monaco.

Mbokani had signed a four-year deal with Monaco at the beginning of
the 2010/11 season but has failed to justify the £7 million move and
had to move after notching up just one goal in 817 minutes on the
pitch. McClaren will now hope that Germany will be a happier hunting
ground than France for the Congo striker.

Nigeria
Premier League (NPL) newcomers, Bukola Babes, are the dominant side in
the latest instalment of the Nigerian top flight division’s Team of the
Week.

The Ilorin-based
side last Sunday defeated Crown FC in Ilaro 2-0 to record the only away
win of last weekend’s round of Premier League matches.

As a result of that
victory, which pushed them up to fourth on the Premier League standings
with 20 points – seven behind table-topping Dolphins – four players of
the club have been selected in the Team of the week.

The club’s head
coach, Festus Allen, was also picked as the coach of the week. It was
the second week in succession that the Bukola Babes gaffer would be
accorded such an honour by the league body.

Allen isn’t alone
in that regards as two of his wards, Seun Sogbesan and Effiom
Otu-Bassey, were also included in the team of the week for a second
straight week.

The other two
players of the Ilorin side named in the team of the week are Promise
James and Abdul-Rahman Bashir, who grabbed one of his side’s goals
against Crown.

Warri Wolves, who
are now third on the league standings following last weekend’s 3-1
drubbing of Plateau United, produced two players for the team of the
week. They are central defender Thankgod Ike and Amanze Elekwachi both
of whom found the back of the net against the struggling Jos side in
the encounter played in Warri.

Heartland, who
recorded a convincing 3-0 win over Zamfara United in their first game
at the U.J Esuene Stadium, Calabar, following their relocation from the
Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri, also produced two players for the team of
the week.

They are the
versatile Chinedu Efugh, who scored from the spot to cap his fantastic
performance on the day, and Bello Kofarmata, who in his first game for
the club since returning from trials abroad justified his inclusion in
the starting line-up by grabbing a goal and providing two assists.

Others in the team of the week are Sharks goalkeeper, Okiemute Odah,
Enugu Rangers’ Mine Ojo who was one of those that made sure that the
Flying Antelopes left Kaduna with their first away point of the season,
and Fidelis Saviour of Kaduna United who grabbed a last gasp equalizer
for his side against Shooting Stars in Ibadan.