Fernandinho briefing me ahead of Manchester City switch – Gabriel Jesus

Brazil striker Gabriel Jesus says he has taken advantage of Fernandinho’s recall by quizzing the Manchester City midfielder about the club ahead of his January switch to the Premier League.
19-year-old Palmeiras starlet Gabriel Jesus has agreed to join Pep Guardiola’s side at the end of the current Brazilian league campaign.
But Fernandinho won’t be the only one he will be relying on as he attempts to adapt to a new life in England.
“The more knowledge I have about the club ahead of my arrival the better,” Gabriel Jesus told a press conference.
“It will be a shock to me, but I have talked to him a lot about everything that could help me. I think he will be a big help there. But so will my mother, who will be coming with me.”
The Olympic gold medallist is set to lead the line once again on Tuesday as Brazil travel to Caracas to face Venezuela without the suspended Neymar.

Our players were afraid of Nigeria stars – Zambia captain

Zambia skipper Rainford Kalaba has admitted some of the players were afraid of Nigeria stars who play in the Premier League and this caused their 2-1 loss to the Super Eagles in their World Cup qualifier on Sunday.
Zambia lost for the first time in Ndola with Premier League stars Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho scoring for Nigeria in the first half.
The other Premier League stars in the squad were Chelsea midfielder Mikel Obi and Leicester City’s Ahmed Musa.
Kalaba said, “Playing against experienced players based in Europe, some of the guys were scared

Omeruo, Onazi must improve — Izilein

Godwin Izilein says Kenneth Omeruo and Ogenyi Onazi must take some blame for the Super Eagles’ poor defending in their opening Russia 2018 World Cup Group B qualifier against Zambia’s Chipolopolo at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, Zambia, on Sunday.
Nigeria won the encounter 2-1, with goals from Premier League attacking duo Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho. Veteran striker Collins Mbesuma capitalised on Omeruo’s schoolboy defending to score Zambia’s goal.
Gabon and Equatorial Guinea 2012 Africa Cup of Nations champions Chipolopolo put the Eagles under intense pressure for the majority of the match and went close but some smart goalkeeping from Carl Ikeme helped Nigeria survive the Southern Africans’ onslaught.
Former Super Falcons coach Izilein, who hailed the Eagles for picking up maximum points on the road, urged Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr to keep his players on their toes.

SSANU bemoans ownership crisis of LAUTECH

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has decried the ownership tussle between the indigenes of Oyo and Osun states at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso.
The unions said the struggle is becoming a threat to lives and property of the staff.
The association has therefore called on the governors of the two states and the traditional institutions to wade into the face-off and ensure amicable resolution of the crisis.
Speaking on the tussle, the National President of SSANU, Samson Ugwoke, said the governors would have had the matter sorted out without allowing it to degenerate to the point where the security of workers, students and the environment in which they operate would no longer be conducive.

Move up weight to prove your worth – Mayweather tells Golovkin

Gennady Golovkin of Kazakhstan punches Dominic Wade on way to a second round TKO during his unified middleweight title fight at The Forum on April 23, 2016 in Inglewood, California.(AFP)

Floyd Mayweather has called for Gennady Golovkin to step up in weight.
Gennady Golovkin stopped Kell Brook in five rounds in September
The former five-weight world champion wants to see ‘Triple G’ move out of the middleweight division to prove he is as good as people are saying.
Knockout king Golovkin (36-0, 33KOs) has made 16 defences of his WBA world title at 160lbs and his IBF strap twice, following his fifth-round stoppage of Kell Brook.
Mayweather took another swipe at trainer Dominic Ingle’s decision to stop September’s fight that saw Brook fracture an eye socket because “there should be no quit in no fighter”.
‘Money’ also thinks Golovkin has looked good beating “stationary” opponents and wants to see him step up to improve his current standing and overall legacy.
“What we want to see is this: we’ve seen Sugar Ray Leonard go up in weight, Roberto Duran go up in weight, we’ve had so many legendary fighters go up in weight but my nephew’s favourite

Nigerian Army Sports Festival signals successes in ongoing operations – Buhari

Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Burutai (left), welcoming Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, to the Nigeria Army Games, which began at the National Stadium, Abuja.

President Muhammadu Buhari said yesterday that the rejuvenation of the Nigerian Army Sports Festival (NAFEST) after seven years was a proof of successes being recorded by troops in operations across the country, reports the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Represented by the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, the president made the remark when he declared open the 16th NAFEST at the main bowl of the Abuja National Stadium.
The festival was last held in 2009 in Kaduna.
Buhari also said he was glad that in spite of their operational commitments across the country, the Army still deemed it necessary to organise the event.
He noted that from time “immemorial, the army had contributed immensely to sports development in the country.
“Many personnel, serving and retired have excelled and brought glory to the nation in the various sporting activities,’’ he said.

Lawal advises Rohr to start preparation against Algeria now

Former International, Garba Lawal, has described the Super Eagles victory over the Chipolopolo of Zambia, as fantastic, saying all that matters are the three points.
Goals from Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho ensured that Nigeria beat Zambia for the first time on home soil at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.
The victory puts the nation on top of Group B with three points after Cameroun and Algeria match ended 1-1.
Speaking yesterday, Lawal said it did not matter how the Eagles played but that amassing the three points from the match is the desired result.
“At this point, you do not think about whether a team played well or not in a match. What matters to us now is how to amass the three points, which is crucial to us. We still have four important matches to play against Algeria and Cameroun.
“What we need now is full concentration, we should not give room for any error. By now, Coach

Williams qualifies for second round in Hong Kong Open

Venus Williams shrugged off a slow start to beat Japan’s Risa Ozaki in straight sets and book her place in the second round of the Hong Kong Open.
The 36-year-old was broken in the opening game of the match against the world number 117 and would lose her serve again before wrapping up the opening set.
Williams had fewer problems in the second set, racing into a 3-0 advantage and holding out comfortably for a 6-4 6-1 win in one hour and 13 minutes.
The second seed will face Alize Cornet in the second round after the French player cruised past

Wayne Rooney deserves more respect from England supporters – John Terry

Former England captain John Terry has called on fans to show more respect for “great player and man” Wayne Rooney when England face Slovenia on Tuesday.
Interim England manager Gareth Southgate has dropped Rooney to the bench for the World Cup qualifier in Ljubljana.
Southgate’s decision came after Rooney was booed by a section of the crowd during the 2-0 win over Malta at Wembley on Saturday, and the 30-year-old Manchester United captain later said he was going through a “difficult period.”
But Chelsea defender Terry wrote on Instagram: “Wayne Rooney — England’s highest record goalscorer in the history of our game. Soon to be the most capped player our great country has ever produced.
“One of the very best players I have seen and had the pleasure playing with in my lifetime, and a man who has given everything for England.
“An absolute LEGEND at Everton, Man Utd, England and world football. We should all show

Zambia’s coach still hopeful despite loss to Nigeria

Zambia’s Coach, Wedson Nyirenda, is still hopeful that the Chipolopolo will qualify for the Russia 2018 World Cup despite their 1-2 home loss to Nigeria at the weekend.
Two first half goals by youngsters, Kelechi Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi, ensured that the Super Eagles left Ndola with the three points to make the task more daunting for Zambia, who are in a group that also contains Cameroun and Algeria.
Zambia will next travel to Cameroun to meet the Indomitable Lions before hosting Algeria in their third game.

FG to host National Sports Festival in Abuja next year – Dalung

Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, has revealed that the Federal Government will host the 19th National Sports Festival in Abuja next year following Cross River State’s inability to host the event.
The 18th edition of the National Sports Festival was held in Lagos in 2012 with Cross River getting the rights to host the 19th edition in 2014. But the competition has suffered several postponements, as Cross River could not muster enough resources to convene the festival.
Dalung told journalists aboard an Arik airline flight from Ndola, Zambia, to Abuja on Sunday night that the Federal Government would host the event next year, as it held a strategic position in the country’s quest to climb out of the doldrums in international sports.
He said, “We were supposed to hold the festival two times before the last Olympics, as it would

Rohr wants one week camping, targets 11 points before last qualifying game

Super Eagles’ Coach, Gernot Rohr, who led Nigeria to a 2-1 victory in their opening game of the last qualifying series of the Russia 2018 World Cup, wants to camp his team for one week before their next game against Algeria.
Nigeria will host Algeria, who played a 1-1 draw with Cameroun at the weekend, on November 7 in Uyo.
Speaking after the Eagles’ victory in Ndola, Rohr said Nigeria must be ready for a tougher challenge from Algeria than they got against Zambia, adding that camping for one week would give the team the time to blend and build on their staying power.
He, however, acknowledged that getting the players for one week before the Algeria game would depend on the attitude of the players and cooperation from their clubs.
On the game in Ndola, he said, “the condition, playing under scorching sun, had a bad effect on

Security operatives disrupt heroic welcome for Super Eagles

What would have been a heroic welcome for the victorious Super Eagles was yesterday morning thwarted by gun-wielding security operatives who opened fire in a failed attempt to arrest Shehu Dikko at Nnamdi Azikwe Airport, Abuja.
Dikko, who is the chairman of the League Management Company (LMC) and a member of the Nigerian delegation, was in the midst of the returning players and officials.
The players had defeated Zambia 2-1 in a first game of the last qualifying series for the Russia 2018 World Cup.
The members of the Super Eagles were forced to hurriedly leave the Abuja airport when security operatives started shooting into the air to scare away football fans who rose to resist the arrest of Dikko.
The men in mufti, who said they were officers from the Jos Police Command, did not present