Like we exclusively reported yesterday, the chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Shehu Dikko has confirmed that FIFA has barred members of the soon to be setup normalisation committee members from contesting in the substantive election.

Dikko made the confirmation in an interview on Channels Television, while speaking on the football reforms the president has ordered following the resignation of the Ibrahim Musa Gusau led board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Top officials of the NSC met with FIFA at their headquarters in Zurich to brief them on the proposed reforms of the NFF, following the resignation of members of the Ibrahim Musa Gusau led board including its General Secretary Dr. Mohammed Sanusi.

FIFA approved the reforms but insisted on certain conditions to be include before the election of substantive members of the NFF. The interim arrangement with the committee is to run for around six months to one year.

The head of the committee and other members will be nominated by the NSC but sent to FIFA for integrity test, and FIFA will be responsible for their welfare for the period they will last.

Furthermore FIFA made it clear that anyone in the committee will not be eligible to contest in the election of substantive board members of the NFF. A situation that has made some persons to withdraw their intentions for the chairmanship position.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The injury cloud hanging over the participation of certain players of the senior national team of Nigeria in the upcoming AFCON qualifiers has eased up, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Super Eagles will begin their campaign to be at the 2027 AFCON with a home tie in Uyo against Madagascar on the 23rd of September before traveling to keep a date with Guinea Bissau four days later.

Head coach of the Nigerian team Chelle made it clear that he wants to start the qualifiers on a high, with his sights on winning the first two games in the series later in the month.

His desire suffered a setback with four senior players struggling to be fit for the game, but key midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru is back and available for selection.

He was named in the Lazio’s travelling squad for Monday’s game against Udinese in the Serie A, marking his return for selection after missing the last two games through injury.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

World football governing body FIFA has given the National Sports Commission (NSC) guidelines and directives on how to go about the soon to be constituted normalisation committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Top officials of the NSC met with FIFA at their headquarters in Zurich to brief them on the proposed reforms of the NFF, following the resignation of members of the Ibrahim Musa Gusau led board including its General Secretary Dr. Mohammed Sanusi.

FIFA approved the reforms but insisted on certain conditions to be include before the election of substantive members of the NFF. The interim arrangement with the committee is to run for around six months to one year.

The head of the committee and other members will be nominated by the NSC but sent to FIFA for integrity test, and FIFA will be responsible for their welfare for the period they will last.

Furthermore FIFA made it clear that anyone in the committee will not be eligible to contest in the election of substantive board members of the NFF. A situation that has made some persons to withdraw their intentions for the chairmanship position.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

David Ozoh who recently left English Premier League side Crystal Palace for Championship side Derby County has his sight on getting into the senior national team of Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Ozoh who has spent majorly all his career with Palace was on loan to Derby last season and did enough to warrant a permanent deal, following his refusal to commit to Palace after pre season.

It will be Ozoh’s third consecutive summer transfer window move to Derby, with his first two stints being season-long loans.

He has featured 47 times across two injury-interrupted stays, and done enough to earn himself a five-year deal with the Championship club.

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle picked the 21 year old in his team for the Unity Cup, but he opted out citing his unresolved club future, something that is now in the past with his present move.

He is now expected to be in contention for a spot in the Super Eagles commitment starting from September, his inclusion in the team for the upcoming games against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau respectivy looks unlikely though.

However his performances will no doubt be monitored by Chelle with his representatives, who has maintained contacts with the scouts of the Nigerian coach on Ozoh’s availability if called up.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

PSV have parted ways with Essiën Bassey. The 19-year-old full-back has joined Norwegian side Viking FK, where he has signed a contract until mid-2030. Bassey made one appearance for PSV’s first team.

On the list of players penciled down for the Nigeria U23 team by head coach Eric Chelle, Bassey flew to Norway on Wednesday to complete the move. PSV will receive at least €1.5 million for him, De Telegraaf reports.

His contract in Eindhoven still had a year to run, but the right-back leaves after just one official match for PSV.

PSV signed Bassey from De Graafschap in 2022. He made his Jong PSV debut two years later and went on to play 34 times for the reserve side. Then came his senior debut in the Johan Cruyff Shield against AZ.

He will come up against PSV this season. Viking FK face the Eindhoven side in the Champions League league phase in January.

Daniel Martins

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle has decided on the players that will represent Nigeria in the upcoming AFCON qualifiers in September, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Super Eagles will begin their campaign to be at the 2027 AFCON with a home tie in Uyo against Madagascar on the 23rd of September before traveling to keep a date with Guinea Bissau four days later

Chelle is keen on a quick start by ensuring that they get maximum points from both games and has called up the team’s best players for the games.

We can exclusively reveal that Femi Azeez who recently joined Brighton in the English Premier League from Championship side Millwall is in line for his competitive debut.

The 25 year old who made his debut for Nigeria in the Unity Cup tournament in the summer, where he was key in their winning the title with two goals and an assist joined Brighton for an initial fee of £12.5 million, with the total package rising to around £15 million including add-ons.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Tosin Adarabiyio who recently moved from Chelsea to fellow English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur has detailed the discussion he had with the coach Xabi Alonso that led to his exit, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Tosin joined Spurs on deadline day bringing an end to his two years association with Chelsea, where he won the Europa Conference League and also the Club World Cup.

However doubts started to emerge about his future at the club after his shirt number 4 was handed to new signing Valentin Barco, and he wasn’t listed for their first two games of the season.

Chelsea legend John Terry in an interview revealed the conversation the 28 year old had with the coach that led to his exit.

“I was speaking to Tosin the other day and I was like, “What did the manager say?”

“And he was like, I’m just not in his plans. Listen, fully respect it. I’d love to kind of prove him wrong here, but I’ve been told I’d need to find another club and he’s going, I’m gutted because I’ve only been here a couple of years”.

“So he’s obviously disappointed with that, Tosin, but the manager makes it really clear, so honest with the players, there’s no kind of grey area in there at all.”

Towards the end of last season, Tosin who has constantly maintained that he prefers to play for England ahead of Nigeria made a U-turn, saying he is open to playing for the Super Eagles and wants to have a conversation with head coach Eric Chelle.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle is in contact with newly signed Hull City midfielder Tim Irogbenum on playing for his team, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Irogbenum left Everton for fellow English Premier League side Hull City in this summer transfer window, where he is expected to get regular run of games.

Born in England to parents of Nigerian descent, the 23 year old has represented England at youth levels but still eligible for Nigeria at senior level and Chelle has contacted his agent.

He shares the same agent with the coach making the conversation a lot easier and also the fact that he has crossed the age of playing youth football. Although he will require a switch of nationality process to be approved by FIFA, meaning he won’t be readily available for selection for Nigeria.

Last season he made 29 appearances in the English Premier League with three assists from his role as a deep playing midfielder.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Israeli top division side Maccabi Tel Aviv are leading the race to sign Nigerian winger Odede Elijah from newly promoted French Ligue 1 side Troyes, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The Israeli giants are pushing to close a loan deal for the 19 year old with an option to buy, with talks currently progressing between the parties.

However, Maccabi are not alone in the race. Turkish top flight side Erzurumspor are also pushing strongly to sign the winger and have entered the picture.

At this stage, Maccabi Tel Aviv are leading the race, with the club working to get the deal over the line for the Ikon Allah Academy graduate, who started his sojourn in Europe with Moldovan side Sheriff FC.

Ikon Allah Academy is based in the northern city of Kaduna Nigeria, and they became a household name after the well publicised transfer of Zadok Yohanna to English Premier League side Brighton, after 18 months with Swedish side AIK.

Daniel Martins

The Super Eagles Nigeria will be without another key player when they begin the race to be at the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations in September, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Super Eagles will begin their campaign to be at the 2027 AFCON with a home tie in Uyo against Madagascar on the 23rd of September before traveling to keep a date with Madagascar four days later.

Ahead of the game left back Zaidu Sanusi has been ruled out through injury picked up, while playing for Portuguese side FC Porto last weekend.

There is also doubts over the availability of midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, who is currently sidelined with an injury that has kept him out of action for Lazio.

Out of favour striker Sadiq Umar who was on target for Valencia in the LaLiga over the weekend is also not going to be available due to a knock, and now another player has joined the list.

Tochukwu Nnadi of French side Marseille will undergo additional examination after having an MRI scan earlier in the week. There are fears that he has suffered a serious knee injury, which could possibly ruled him out of the rest of the season.

Whatever be the diagnosis what is certain is that he won’t be available for the start of the Super Eagles AFCON Qualifiers.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

World football governing body FIFA will be heavily involved in the selection process of individuals who will be in the normalisation committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) , OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The mass resignation of the Ibrahim Musa Gusau led board of the NFF created a vacuum that is expected to be filled by a normalisation committee to run the affairs of Nigerian football for a period of time.

While initial reports say the committee will last for around three months, sources say it could be as long as six to one year in the hope that the reform is wholly and thoroughly done by the National Sports Commission (NSC).

FIFA will play a huge role on the members, who will all be made to undergo the mandatory integrity and eligibility test like all executive committee members of FIFA affiliates.

To that extent, the NSC and FIFA are locked in talks with FIFA for the process following yesterday’s successful meeting at the football governing headquarters.

Like we exclusively reported the leading candidate to lead the committee is Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in AbdulHakeem Uthman Mustapha is the choice of majority of power brokers in the presidency.

Our checks on his profile from Nigerian website Sports Village Square, revealed that Mustapha is a member of FIFA’s Anti-Racism and Anti-Discrimination Committee, a position that gives him direct exposure to the global football governing body and its administrative framework.

He also previously served as President of the CAF Appeal Committee, placing him among Nigerians with substantial experience in African football’s legal and judicial structures.

His international football credentials could prove particularly important if the proposed normalisation process is expected to enjoy the confidence of FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

One of the shock move of the recently concluded summer transfer window from the Nigerian angle was the transfer of Nigeria U20 ace Suleiman Sani to Saudi Arabia side Al Qadsiah from RB Leipzig, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Sani only joined the German side six months ago from AS Trencin of Slovakia and was tipped for big things with the club, who were preparing him for the right wing vacated by Yan Diomande who joined Real Madrid.

However just when it seems he has put the fitness issues that delayed his debut upon his signing in January behind, the club sanctioned his permanent exit to the Saudi Arabia side.

We can exclusively reveal that Sani had his medical in Madrid ahead of the big money move. He will now team up with his teammates in Saudi Arabia, where they are currently third on the log.

Before the move to the Saudi outfit we can exclusively reveal that there was a loan offer from English Championship side West Ham United and also LaLiga side Espanyol.

RB Leipzig refused to sanction a temporary exit, insisting on an outright sale immediately the interest of Al Qadsiah was made known to them.

Daniel Martins