Nigeria was warned by a top FIFA official on Saturday that the country could be stripped of the 2009 world under-17 championship, due to take place here in October.

If Nigeria doesn t get its act together, Nigeria won t host it, warned FIFA vice-president Jack Warner, leading an inspection team.

Technically speaking, only Abuja (the federal capital city) and (south west Ogun State) Ijebu-Ode stadiums are ready.

Warner s team has completed a 10-day inspection of facilities across the country.

Nine stadiums in as many cities were inspected by the officials.

Nigeria first staged a FIFA event in 1999, but Warner said that the standards expected of host countries now are a lot higher than they were 10 years ago.

According to the FIFA chief,…

World football s governing body FIFA on Friday defied the World Anti-Doping Agency s key demands for out-of-competition drugs testing by insisting on special treatment for footballers.

FIFA maintained after an executive committee meeting that it wanted exceptions for football and other team sports, including exemptions from testing for one day per week and during holiday periods.

It also advocated limits on the whereabouts rule that allows anti-doping authorities to locate athletes daily for testing, insisting in a statement that only the location of a team, and not of individual players, should be provided.

WADA director general David Howman and president John Fahey last month ruled out immediate changes to out-of-competition drugs testing for athletes, underli…

Gareth Barry was on target in his 600th Premier League appearance to help Everton to a 3-1 win over Middlesbrough at Goodison Park on Saturday.

The 35-year-old has made an appearance in every Premier League season since making his debut in 1997-98 and it was his equaliser midway through the first half that led Everton to victory.

Barry s strike came three minutes after Boro had gone a goal up in curious fashion when Everton goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg dropped the ball into his own net after colliding with Alvaro Negredo.

After Barry s rapid response, goals from Seamus Coleman and Romelu Lukaku saw the hosts grab a decisive lead
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before the interval as Boro proved unable to threaten going forward, not recording a single shot on target all game.

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Mesut Ozil has voiced his admiration for Arsene Wenger and revealed that the Frenchman s presence played a huge role in his decision to leave Real Madrid for Arsenal back in 2013.

The Germany international has been a key figure at the Emirates Stadium since joining Arsenal and he has stressed that Wenger is the one who has helped him shine in the Premier League.

He knows exactly how I tick and I know exactly what he thinks of me. Sometimes things work better than at other times, that s football, but the manager believes in me and that means a lot to me, Ozil told the official Arsenal website.

He has experience and in past years you’ve seen him develop some top players. I get on really well with him and he gives me his trust. I’m thankful to him for that and…

Marcelo Gallardo has confirmed he will remain as River Plate head coach for another year after considering his future with the club.

Gallardo become one of the most highly touted young coaches in global football after masterminding River s 2015 Copa Libertadores triumph and the former Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain playmaker has been linked with the likes of Atletico Madrid.

Following last week s thrilling 4-3 Copa Argentina final triumph over Rosario Central, which secured a return to the Libertadores next year, the 40-year-old said he would mull over his options.

And Gallardo, who enjoyed three stints with River during his playing days, told a news conference on Wednesday he would leave this lengthy association intact for the time being.

I ll stay anot…

Patrick Vieira is unsure over the futures of Mario Balotelli and Alassane Plea at Nice after the duo were absent for the new coach s first day on the job.

The Nice squad reported back for pre-season training on Monday under the guidance of Vieira, who left New York City FC to take over at the Ligue 1 club.

However, forwards Balotelli and Plea who both reached double figures for league goals in 2017-18   failed to show up.

The pair have been the subject of transfer speculation since the end of the campaign; domestic rivals Marseille are reportedly keen on Balotelli, while Plea is attracting interest from a number of Premier League sides. 

I have no information regarding them as it was not planned,  Vieira who was placed in charge after Lucien Favr…

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Coming back to the venue where their hopes for a Premier League title were shattered in the previous season, Arsenal will face Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Tuesday night.

Last weekend, the Gunners regained their winning form and goal-scoring prowess by defeating Crystal Palace 5-0. In contrast, Nuno Espirito Santo s team had to settle for a 0-0 draw against Bristol City in Friday s FA Cup match.

Nottingham Forest

Taiwo Awoniyi s goal crushed Arsenal s hopes of achieving Premier League stardom once and for all last season. Simultaneously, it secured Nottingham Forest a spot in the top flight for the second consecutive year. However, a third straight season of top-flight football is far from guaranteed at this point.…

In the next week and a half crucial World Cup qualifiers will take place all around the globe. World Champions Italy will qualify for next years competition held in South Africa with a victory over the Republic of Ireland at Croke Park.

They are currently four points ahead of Ireland with just two games remaining. Italy have been lucky that they were in a relatively weak group. The World Champions will face a much tougher challenge in South Africa next year.

Looking stale and old

The World Champions have looked less than impressive in recent months. Their performance in the Confederations Cup was embarrassing. They looked stale and out of ideas. The team has lots of experience but at the moment what they really lack is creativity and vision.

They do not …

Manchester City winger Jesus Navas is delighted by Sevilla s progress ahead of Wednesday s Champions League reunion with his former club.

Navas swapped the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan for the Etihad Stadium ahead of the 2013-14 season, having twice won the Europa League under its former guise of the UEFA Cup.

Sevilla followed those triumphs with two more in 2014 and 2015 – last season s glory lifting them into the Champions League this time around.

I am very happy, seeing them grow year on year, keep doing well and now enjoying the Champions League – where they ll get to know themselves better, Navas told Omnisport.

It pleases me a lot. I watch their matches on television.

Sevilla and City have three points a piece, having beaten Borussia Mo…

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte could reluctantly allow goalkeeper Asmir Begovic to leave the club during the January transfer window.

Begovic has served as a back-up keeper at Stamford Bridge since arriving from Stoke City in 2015, with Thibaut Courtois having established himself as the club s first choice.

Reports on Friday suggested Bournemouth had seen a £10million bid for the Bosnia-Herzegovina international turned down.

But, while Conte concedes he would prefer Begovic to remain at the club, he also says an offer is still under consideration.

I want to say Asmir is an important player on and off the pitch. He knows this, Conte told a news conference ahead of Sunday s Premier League clash with Hull City.

There is this offer. Me and the clu…