Author: Timi-Zacchaeus Oluwaferanmi

As the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) prepares to kick off the 2025/26 season on August 22, excitement is growing among football fans, players, and coaches nationwide. Following a historic 2024/25 campaign in which Remo Stars became the first privately owned club to win the league, expectations are high for another competitive and thrilling season. Looking Back at Last Season The previous season marked a significant milestone in Nigerian football. Remo Stars’ league triumph as a private club showcased a new era of professionalism and competitiveness, challenging the dominance of traditional government-backed teams. Meanwhile, Ikorodu City FC impressed many by…

New Manchester City signing Rayan Cherki has sent an early warning to rivals Manchester United, saying he’s ready to “kill them” on the pitch after enduring heartbreak against them with Lyon in the Europa League earlier this year. Cherki, 21, completed a £30.45m move to the Premier League champions last week and already has his sights set on one of the most anticipated fixtures of the 2025–26 campaign. Back in April, the French international experienced a crushing exit from Europe’s second-tier competition as United overturned a 4-2 aggregate deficit with a dramatic late surge at Old Trafford. Lyon conceded three…

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)  laid down an emphatic marker in their FIFA Club World Cup debut, routing Atlético Madrid 4-0 in a historic all-European Group B opener at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The reigning European champions delivered a dominant display under the California sun, outclassing Diego Simeone’s side in both quality and composure. Despite the midday kickoff under punishing 31°C heat and in front of a roaring crowd of 80,619, Luis Enrique’s men looked sharp, focused, and full of purpose. From the outset, PSG were in control. They held 82.6% possession in the opening quarter of an hour, and it…

Bayern Munich delivered a ruthless reminder of European dominance as they dismantled Auckland City 10-0 in their opening FIFA Club World Cup Group C match in Cincinnati — a result that now stands as the biggest win in the tournament’s history. Playing at the TQL Stadium in front of 21,152 spectators, the German champions were relentless from the first whistle, tearing apart their Oceania counterparts with clinical precision. By the 45-minute mark, Bayern had already raced to a 6-0 lead, rendering the second half almost a formality. Kingsley Coman opened the scoring with a powerful header inside six minutes, setting…

Franco Mastantuono’s signature has been secured by Real Madrid from River Plate in a record-breaking €45m (£38.5m) transfer deal. The Spanish giants triggered the 17-year-old’s release clause, setting a new transfer record for River Plate and underlining Mastantuono’s meteoric rise through both club and international football. The attacking midfielder will officially join Madrid on 14 August — the day he turns 18 — and has signed a six-year contract with the La Liga champions. Argentina’s brightest young talent, Mastantuono’s move continues Real Madrid’s recent strategy of investing heavily in youthful South American talent, following the successful acquisitions of players like…

The FIA has suspended veteran steward and former Formula 1 driver Derek Warwick from officiating at this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, following what it described as “unauthorised media comments” made in the wake of the Spanish Grand Prix. Warwick, a well-respected figure in motorsport and a key steward with years of experience, will be replaced by former F1 driver Enrique Bernoldi. The Brazilian will officiate remotely from the FIA’s Geneva operations centre for the remainder of the Montreal event. In a brief statement, the FIA confirmed: “After discussion, Derek acknowledges that his comments were ill-advised in his role as an…

 Paul Pogba, the mercurial midfielder and World Cup winner, is on the verge of sealing a dramatic return to French football with AS Monaco, following the reduction of his doping ban from four years to 18 months. Now 32, Pogba has been without a club since mutually terminating his contract with Juventus in November 2024. The Frenchman was provisionally suspended in August 2023 after testing positive for the banned substance DHEA, a steroid that increases testosterone levels. But following a lengthy appeal process, the Court of Arbitration for Sport concluded in October 2024 that Pogba had inadvertently taken the substance.…

Santi Cazorla, at 40 years old and nearly a decade after being told he might never walk again, delivered a fairytale moment for Real Oviedo on Wednesday night, scoring a stunning free-kick to send his boyhood club into the La Liga play-off final. Trailing 1-0 to Almeria in the second leg of the play-off semi-final—and 2-2 on aggregate—Oviedo needed a hero. Cazorla, once a maestro for Arsenal and the Spanish national team, came off the bench at half-time to provide just that. Within four minutes, he curled a sublime left-footed free-kick—his supposed weaker foot—into the net, putting Oviedo 3-2 ahead…

Trent Alexander-Arnold was officially presented as a Real Madrid player on Thursday, delivering a polished speech in Spanish and declaring his move a “dream come true.” The 26-year-old right-back has signed a six-year deal with the European champions, ending a lifelong association with Liverpool in one of the summer’s biggest transfers. Alexander-Arnold, who would have become a free agent at the end of June, made the switch early after Real Madrid paid Liverpool a fee to release him in time for the Club World Cup, where Real face Al-Hilal on 18 June in Miami. Speaking to fans and media at…

Kevin De Bruyne has completed a sensational free transfer to Napoli, ending a decade-long chapter at Manchester City that established him as one of the Premier League’s greatest ever midfielders. The 33-year-old joins the reigning Serie A champions on a two-year deal, with the option for a third, reuniting with top-flight European football under new head coach Antonio Conte. After ten years in Manchester, De Bruyne leaves behind a decorated legacy that includes 19 major trophies, 108 goals in 422 appearances, and a reputation for being the heartbeat of Pep Guardiola’s most successful teams. His move to Napoli signals not…