Author: Prince Ade ADe

England-born Nigerian young midfielder Ethan Nwaneri has signed his first professional contract with at Arsenal. The Gunners confirmed the signing in a statement on their website on Thursday. “Our England youth international joined us in May 2015 and has developed through our academy, being a vital player in all our age categories ever since. “The 17-year-old midfielder has made 14 appearances in all competitions across our academy this season, scoring 14 goals in the process. “Ethan has also continued his development into first-team football this season, featuring as a substitute in our 6-0 Premier League victory at West Ham United…

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England manager Gareth Southgate says he will name an expanded initial Euro 2024 squad as Uefa says it will consider requests to reinstate 26-man squads. Southgate will name a provisional squad on 21 May, two days after the end of the Premier League season. Unlike the previous two tournaments that had a 26-man limit, Southgate must then reduce his squad to 23 on 7 June. Squad limits were increased from 23 to 26 for the European Championships in 2021 and the World Cup in 2022 because of the coronavirus pandemic and the risk of multiple cases of infection within a…

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Fourth seed Elena Rybakina moved into the Miami final for the second straight year with a gutsy win against Victoria Azarenka in a deciding tie-break. Kazakhstan’s Rybakina, 24, recovered from an awful second set to win 6-4 0-6 7-6 (7-2) against the Belarusian. Rybakina showed resilience in the final stages, having led 5-3 before losing serve at 5-4 as Azarenka levelled. The 2022 Wimbledon champion will face unseeded Danielle Collins or 14th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final. Last year, Rybakina was beaten by Czech Petra Kvitova to the trophy as she aimed to complete the ‘Sunshine Double’ of back-to-back…

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has increased the capital base for commercial banks in Nigeria. This sweeping financial reform, announced on Thursday, March 28, 2024, mandates substantial increases in the minimum capital base for banks, varying by the scope of their operations. The latest policy directive specifies that commercial banks with international authorization are now required to shore up their capital base to 500 naira and national banks to N200 billion. The CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, confirmed the policy shift in Abuja. The CBN did not overlook merchant banks, which are now subject…

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Todd Boehly will be removed as chairman of Chelsea football club in 2027, Daily Mail understands. As part of an extraordinary agreement the club’s American co-owners can pass the chairmanship between themselves every five years. And it can be revealed that the intention is to do just that when the opportunity arises at the end of the 2026-27 season. Under the terms of the group’s takeover, Boehly is thought to have ‘gone first’ despite holding a minority stake. Clearlake Capital, the private equity firm managed by fellow owners Behdad Eghbali and Jose Feliciano, have a 61.5 per cent share in…

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Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association for alleged breaches of betting rules. The 23-year-old is currently serving a 10-month ban issued by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) in October for breaking betting rules in Italy. Tonali joined Newcastle from AC Milan in July for £55m. The FA alleges Tonali broke its rules by placing 50 bets on matches between 12 August and 12 October 2023. Tonali was banned by the FIGC for betting on matches involving his teams Brescia and Milan, and Fifa later granted the Italian federation’s request to have the…

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Detained Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan, has accused the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, and the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of violating his fundamental human rights. In an originating motion, Gambaryan sought a declaration that his detention and seizure of his travel document, contravened Section 35 (1) and (4) of 1999 Constitution (As Amended). He urged the court to order the NSA and EFCC to release him from their custody and return his passport with immediate effect. Gambaryan equally sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents and agents from further detaining him in relation to any investigation…

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The Trade Union Congress (TUC) says it is designing a clause in the framing of a new minimum wage that will sanction state governments who fail to pay the revised minimum wage when approved. TUC President, Festus Osifo, made this known on Wednesday. He said the sanction will require that the Federation Account Allocation Committee directly pay workers in states where governors default on the payment of the new minimum wage when agreed on by labour unions, federal and state governments as well as the organised private sector. Osifo said the current minimum wage of N30,000 can no longer cater…

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World Basketball governing body, FIBA has released the official fixtures for the women’s basketball events for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. According to the released fixtures, Nigeria’s senior women’s team, D’Tigress will play their opening game against Australia on the 29th of July. D’Tigress reached qualified for the Olympics after winning a game in the qualifying tournament in Antwerp, Belgium. The team was handed a tough draw as they will face Australia, Canada and hosts, France in Group B. After Australia, D’Tigress will battle France on the 1st of August by 4:15 pm before takung on Canada 3 days later…

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Kenya risk losing the rights to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations alongside East African neighbours Tanzania and Uganda. BSNSports.com.ng reports that the country could also be barred from hosting the 2024 Africa Nations Championship, CHAN. This comes after world football governing body, FIFA threatened Kenya with a second ban due to third-party interference. FIFA took issues with a verdict on the 16th of March by the Mombasa High Court, which ordered the suspension of the Football Kenya Federation Annual General Meeting. In a letter written by chief member association officer, Kenny Jeane-Marie and sent to Kenya Football Federation…

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