Sports

Lionel Messi fought back tears Sunday as he began a press conference at which he confirmed he is leaving Barcelona, where he has played his entire career. The 34-year-old Argentinian superstar, six times a Ballon d’Or winner, has been out of contract since the end of June and Barca say they cannot afford to keep him, with Paris Saint-Germain widely expected to try to entice him to the Parc des Princes. “This year, my family and I were convinced we were going to stay here, at home — this is what we wanted more than anything,” said a suited Messi…

One of the most outstanding and consistent players in the Nigerian national female basketball team is Ezinne Kalu. Born on June 26, 1992, in Newark, New Jersey, United States, Kalu showed glimpses of a bright future in basketball at a very young age by becoming the first woman in the basketball history of Science Park High School, Newark, to score over 2,000 points. Her exploits at the school have been highly celebrated as the number 23 jersey she wore while featuring for the academic institution was retired in 2017, also making her the first woman whose jersey has been retired…

The AS Roma Academy, Abuja has appointed former Golden Eaglets and Flying Eagles of Nigeria’s coach, John Obuh as Technical Director. The academy made this known, in a statement on Monday in Ilorin, by its Country Manager, Robinson Adakosa. AS Roma is an Italian professional football club based in Rome. It was founded in 1927 and had since participated in the top-tier Italian football for all of its existence, except for the 1951–52 Season. Roma won Serie A titles in 1941–42, 1982–83 and 2000–01 seasons, as well as nine Coppa Italia titles and two Supercoppa Italiana titles. In European competitions,…

England's hopes of ending a 55-year wait for a major trophy were crushed in heartbreaking fashion as they lost on penalties to Italy in the final of Euro 2020 at Wembley. Despite two saves by Jordan Pickford, missed penalties from Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka proved decisive. In their first men's final since 1966 and playing in front of a vocal crowd of around 60,000, England made the dream start when they scored in just the second minute, Luke Shaw volleying in superbly after a quick counter. But Italy slowly started to gain control of the game and…

FA Cup Winner, Iheanacho visits Senator Orji Kalu The Chief Whip of the Senate and African Pillar of Sports played host to Nigerian Professional Footballer and Premier League's Leicester city Star Kelechi Iheanacho , who paid him a courtesy visit at his Abuja home on Wednesday evening. The Super Eagles striker who won the FA Cup title with Leicester City after beating Chelsea in the final arrived Senator Kalu's home with his long entourage which had the company of his fellow national team mate, Chidozie Collins Awaziem who plays for Portuguese club Boavista FC. Kelechi was warmly received by Senator…

Denmark captain Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch in the first half of his country's opening Euro 2020 game against Finland. The Inter Milan midfielder received chest compressions by medics as players of both sides broke into tears. Shocked Denmark players formed a circle around the 29-year-old as his wife was seen crying on the side of the pitch. Thankfully, according to BeIN Sports, Eriksen has left the stadium awake and breathing. The Denmark v Finland game has been suspended by UEFA.

Abu Abolaji Azeez, a Nigerian beach soccer player, has mourned the death of Synagogue Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) founder, Prophet TB Joshua. Azeez, in a tweet via his Twitter account, narrated how the late Prophet assisted him when he could not travel to Dubai with his teammates because of his passport. He also revealed how TB Joshua helped his coach to secure a car in 2012 after he was told he had none. “I couldn’t join my team mates in Dubai because my passport was seized and about to be destroyed at the Italian embassy. “TB JOSHUA sent his…

Chelsea have defeated Manchester City 1-0 to win the Champions League in Porto on Saturday. This is Chelsea’s second Champions League title after their 2012 triumph, while Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City appeared in the final for the first time. Kai Havertz scored the opening goal of the Champions League final. Details later…

David de Gea failed at the end of a marathon penalty shootout as Villarreal dashed Manchester United's hopes of Europa League glory in Gdansk. This was a disappointing contest lacking in quality and producing only three shots on target across 120 minutes - but drama arrived with the spot-kicks. All 20 outfield players converted their penalties in an increasingly tense stadium, before Villarreal goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli blasted home his effort and then denied De Gea, who was crestfallen at the end. It gave Villarreal a first major trophy in their history and saw former Arsenal boss Unai Emery lift the…