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NFF appoints Bruno Labbadia as Super Eagles head coach

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The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has appointed Bruno Labbadia as the head coach of the Super Eagles.

The NFF said in a statement on Tuesday morning that it has reached an agreement with the German tactician.

Mohammed Sanusi, NFF general secretary, said: “The NFF Executive Committee has approved the recommendation of its Technical and Development Sub-Committee to appoint Mr Bruno Labbadia as the Head Coach of the Super Eagles. The appointment is with immediate effect.”

Labbadia succeeds Finidi George who stepped down from the role in June — a few days after the NFF announced a plan to appoint a foreign technical adviser for the Super Eagles.

The former Enyimba FC manager, who was appointed in April 2024, managed only two competitive games as the Eagles coach.

Like George, Labbadia is a former player-turned-coach.

In his playing days, he was on the roster of FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, Darmstadt, Hamburger, FC Köln, Werder Bremen, Arminia Bielefeld and Karlsruher SC.

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Labbadia won the German Bundesliga with Bayern Munich in 1994.

Upon retirement, he turned to coaching and would go on to manage Darmstadt, Greuther Fürth, Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburger SV, Hertha BSC, and Wolfsburg.

His last coaching job was as manager of Stuttgart. He was sacked in April 2023 after the team dropped to the last spot on the Bundesliga table.

Labbadia is the sixth German to be appointed the head coach of the Super Eagles.

He follows in the footsteps of compatriots; Karl-Heinz Marotzke, Gottlieb Göller, Manfred Höner, Berti Vogts and Gernot Rohr.

LABBADIA FACES TOUGH TESTS

Labbadi’s immediate challenge is to take charge of the Eagles for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying matches. The qualifiers will kick off with a home game against Benin Republic on September 7 in Uyo before travelling to Rwanda three days later. Four other matches to conclude the qualifying race will be played in October and November.

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Benin Republic are managed by Gernot Rohr, a former Eagles manager. The team had defeated Nigeria 2-1 in the last round of the 2026 World Cup qualification.

The Eagles are in a tight spot to qualify for the next World Cup. They are currently fifth in Group C and winless in four games.

Labbadia will have to do a tough job righting the impending shipwreck and getting Nigeria to the group’s summit for automatic World Cup qualification.

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Arsenal win EPL title after 22 years

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Arsenal are English Premier League (EPL) champions after Manchester City failed to win at Bournemouth.

Pep Guardiola’s Man City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium to hand Arsenal an unassailable four-point lead with just one match remaining to the end of the season.

The Gunners win the EPL title for the first time in 22 years, since the legendary Invincible side won it in the 2003/04 season.

In the club’s 100th season without relegation from the EPL, the club will celebrate its centenary participation with a league title won on the back of a record 28 EPL wins that surpassed the 26 wins recorded by the Invincibles. The defence prevented opponents from registering a shot on target in six matches, equaling a 23-year league record, and also scored a record 17 goals from corner kicks.

Mikel Arteta’s tough side has led the table for most of the season before a late mini-collapse, and Man City’s late surge in form nearly threatened their title ambition for a second season in a row.

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City’s late resurgence, however, was initially stunned by Everton in early May and completely collapsed against Bournemouth.

Guardiola’s side visited the Vitality Stadium aware that any result other than a victory would seal Arsenal’s title. But they lacked the execution for the mission after falling to a wonderful strike from Junior Kroupi in the first half.

City were only kept in the game by Bournemouth’s profligacy in front of goal. When Erling Haaland’s equaliser was squeezed home in the eleventh hour of the game, even the most faithful City supporter knew it was too little, too late.

Arsenal and Arteta secured the league earlier than they would have predicted, giving City a prodigious title run-in.

The league triumph is Arteta’s second major title with the North London club since joining in December 2019, adding to the English FA Cup trophy won within six months of his tenure in May 2020.

The 44-year-old Spaniard wins his fourth title overall and can win his fifth — and third major trophy — with victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final next weekend.

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WrestleMania 42: Nigerian wrestler Oba Femi beats 10-time WWE Champion Brock Lesnar

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Nigerian professional wrestler, Isaac Odugbesan, popularly known as Oba Femi, defeated 10-time WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar, on his WrestleMania debut on Sunday.

The clash, one of the headline matches at WrestleMania 42, ended on a dramatic note as the 27-year-old Nigerian overpowered the veteran.

Lesnar left his wrestling gear in the ring after the match — a gesture widely regarded in professional wrestling as a sign of retirement.

Oba Femi, also known as “The Ruler,” is a former NXT champion and has spent just three months on WWE’s main roster.

The contest began with both wrestlers testing each other’s strength before Lesnar briefly seized control with a series of offensive moves.

However, Femi absorbed the pressure and responded with a dominant display, shifting momentum in his favour.

Lesnar delivered an F5, but Femi quickly recovered, hitting a chokeslam before finishing the contest with his “Fall From Grace” sit-out powerbomb for the pinfall victory.

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The bout quickly became a major talking point on social media, with fans reacting to the upset win.

Femi, a former shot put athlete, is a two-time NXT Champion and a one-time NXT North American Champion.

Born in Lagos, Odugbesan competed in track and field during his school years before signing with WWE in 2021 through its NIL programme.

He went on to win the 2023 NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament and the 2024 Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge.

During the WrestleMania Sunday post-show, Femi sent a message to Roman Reigns, popularly known as the “Original Tribal Chief,” drawing a loud reaction from fans as he hinted at a possible title challenge before the end of the year.

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BREAKING: CAF overturns Afcon final result, declares Morocco winner

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The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has overturned the result of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals and declare MOROCCO the winner of the title.

Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the final on 18 January in a match which was overshadowed when the Senegalese players refused to play after the hosts were awarded a stoppage-time penalty with the match goalless.

Following a delay of around 17 minutes, the players did eventually return and Brahim Diaz’s penalty was saved before Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner.

However, that result has now been overturned by CAF.

A statement by the African Football’s Governing Body said that Senegal are “declared to have forfeited the final match” with the “result of the match being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.

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