Super Eagles remained in an unchanged 44th spot in the world and fifth position in Africa in December and will end the year in that spot following the information released by the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) yesterday.

Super Eagles experienced a significant setback in the last FIFA rankings released in November, suffering the biggest drop of any national team.

This decline follows a disappointing performance in the November Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, where they managed only a draw against Benin and suffered a surprising home loss to Rwanda.

The Super Eagles suffered a significant drop in the latest FIFA World Rankings, released last month. They fell to 44th position, an eight-place decline from their previous ranking of 36th in the month of October, the largest drop globally for this period.

The Super Eagles, however, end the year 16 places worse off, having reached as high as 28th in the first ranking of the year, which was released after they reached the Africa Cup of Nations final in Cote d’Ivoire.

The top 10 teams in Africa remained unchanged from the previous rankings, with Morocco (14th ), Senegal (17th ), Egypt (33rd ), Algeria (37th ), and Nigeria making up the top five on the continent.

Côte d’Ivoire (46th ), Cameroon (49th ), Mali (51st ), Tunisia (52nd ), and South Africa (57th) complete the top 10.

Globally, the top 10 teams in the FIFA rankings are Argentina, France, Spain, England, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Germany.

Chelsea forward Mykhailo Mudryk has been provisionally suspended from football after he was informed of a positive drugs test by the English Football Association, as the club open an investigation into the incident.

The Ukrainian has been unavailable for Chelsea’s last five matches across all competitions. Daily Mail reported that the player’s absence was due to a suspected adverse analytical finding of the banned substance meldonium.

As per the FA rules, Mudryk has been notified of the test result and can subsequently be provisionally suspended. He is then provided a chance to respond with an explanation before a decision is made on a potential charge.

According to Daily Mail, Chelsea have launched an investigation into the matter as there is a belief that the contamination may have occurred outside the United Kingdom because the substance involved is unavailable in the country.

“Chelsea Football Club can confirm the Football Association recently contacted our player Mykhailo Mudryk concerning an adverse finding in a routine urine test,” Chelsea said in a statement. “Both the Club and Mykhailo fully support The FA’s testing programme and all our players, including Mykhailo, are regularly tested. Mykhailo has confirmed categorically that he has never knowingly used any banned substances.”

Meanwhile, the player is still waiting for the test result of sample ‘B’ to know whether or not it confirms the findings of his ‘A’ sample.

“I know that I have not done anything wrong and remain hopeful that I will be back on the pitch soon. I cannot say any more now due to the confidentiality of the process, but I will as soon as I can,” Mudryk said in a statement.

Spain’s football federation elected Rafael Louzan as its new president on Monday as it tries to move on from more than a year of turmoil sparked by former boss Luis Rubiales’s forced kiss on star player Jenni Hermoso.

Louzan, 57, head of the Galicia football federation since 2014, beat his counterpart in the Valencia region Salvador Gomar by 90 votes to 43 and will lead the RFEF to 2028.

But his term could be short-lived as he faces a possible ban from holding public office following a conviction for abuse of office in a previous role.

Spain’s Supreme Court is assessing an appeal by Louzan, who could become the fourth RFEF president to be forced out of the job in less than eight years after Angel Maria Villar, in 2017, Rubiales and then Pedro Rocha.

The succession of scandals to rock the RFEF began in August 2023 when Rubiales forcibly kissed Hermoso on the lips after Spain won the Women’s World Cup in Australia.

Rubiales, who denies any wrongdoing, relinquished his post in disgrace later that year amid a huge public outcry.

He will stand trial in February 2025 with public prosecution requesting a sentence of two-and-a-half years in prison for sexual assault and coercion.

Spain’s top sports court suspended his replacement Rocha in July for making decisions beyond his remit after taking over as interim president.

Both Rocha and Rubiales were part of a separate corruption probe ordered by a Spanish investigating judge in April.

The men’s national team has shrugged off the institutional chaos, winning Euro 2024 and gold at the Paris Olympics. Spain will co-host the 2030 men’s World Cup with Portugal and Morocco.

Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) President Ibrahim Gusau has dedicated the Super Falcons’ Team of the Year award to Nigeria’s First lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu , for her tremendous support for development of women’s football in the country.

Apart from Ademola Lookman being crowned as Men’s Player of the Year, Super Falcons’ goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie’s retained the Goalkeeper of the Year award while the Super Falcons again won the Women’s National Team of the Year award as they did last year.

Gusau, who collected the Women’s National Team of the Year award on behalf of the Falcons, dedicated the prize to Senator Tinubu even as he pledged that his administration will continue to support women’s football in all its ramifications.

“ We are very pleased to receive this award as the number one women’s national team in Africa but we are not going to rest on our oars,” he said on the podium in Marrakech.“ I will want to dedicate this award to our First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu who has been supporting women’s football in Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s five-time Olympian and Olympic bronze-medallist Mary Onyali, former Nigeria international striker Obafemi Martins and 1996 Olympic women’s long jump gold winner Chioma Ajunwa-Oparah were among the stars of the night as they presented awards.

Four Super Falcons, namely Michelle Alozie, Osinachi Ohale, Rasheedat Ajibade and Asisat Oshoala made the CAF Best 11 Women for 2024, while last year’s Player of the Year winner Victor Osimhen and new King Lookman made the Best 11 Men roster.

Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman yesterday won the CAF African Player of the Year for the first time ever in the Moroccan city of Marrakech, succeeding his compatriot Victor Osimhen, who was the recipient of the award last year, Nation Sports reports.

Lookman has been consistent for both club and country in the year under review.

The 27-year-old who was the only African nominated for the Ballon D’Or becomes the sixth Nigerian to win the prestigious award after Emmanuel Amuneke, Rashidi Yekini, Nwankwo Kanu (twice), Victor Ikpeba, and Victor Osimhen.

His remarkable journey in 2024 saw him fend off stiff competition from Moroccan full-back Achraf Hakimi, Guinea’s Serhou Guirassy, Ivorian Simon Adingra, and Ronwen Williams from South Africa.

The Atalanta winger was the favourites for the award after his hat trick fired Atalanta to the Europa League title (their first major honour since 1963), defeating Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 to end Bayer Leverkusen’s 51-match unbeaten streak in the process in Dublin last May.

The Super Eagles winger was also Nigeria’s key creative force at the African Cup of Nations Cup in Cote d’Ivoire earlier this year, where he scored three goals and made two assists in the seven games he played, inspiring the three-time African champions to an unexpected final where they lost 2-1 to the hosts.

He was also named in CAF 2024 FIFPro Men’s Best XI alongside his compatriot Victor Osimhen. The duo joins a strong attack that also has Egypt and Liverpool striker Mo Salah.

Also on the night, Super Falcons star, Chiamaka Nnadozie, retained the CAF Goalkeeper of the Year award she first won the prize last year.

Her heroics in goal ensured the Falcons returned to the Olympics after a 16-year absence, and also her French club, Paris FC, featured in the group stage of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

The Super Falcons also won the prestigious Women’s National Team of the Year award.

Kelechi Nwakali is now a lot fitter and sharper after he turned on a Man-of-the-Match performance for Barnsley to record a big win at Exeter City.

Barnsley boss Darrell Clarke praised the Super Eagles midfielder, who drew the team level in the second half with his first goal in England before they went on to edge it 2-1.

It was Nwakali’s first full debut for ‘The Reds’ after he shone in a couple of cameo appearances.

“He played really well,” Clarke remarked. “I am happy with his development. We have put his fitness level up and now he’s fitter and much sharper.

“We already know the talent he has technically.

“He got us kicked off in the second half.”

However, the Barnsley manager was not pleased with his team’s overall performance particularly in the first half.

“It was bitter-sweet,” he said. “We deserved the win, but we performed miles better in the last five, six games than we did.

“But it was a big three points for us.”

Barnsley are now seventh in the English League One standings with 30 points from 20 matches.

Former Super Eagles striker, Brown Ideye, has confirmed his move to Enyimba FC on a short-term contract.

The 36-year-old, who last played in Kuwait, joins the nine-time Nigeria Premier Football League champions as a free agent.

The official announcement of the deal will be made soon.

Ideye, a 2013 Africa Cup of Nations winner, had previously been linked with Rivers United but has now returned to the domestic league.

He is among a growing list of former Super Eagles stars, including Ahmed Musa, Godfrey Oboabona, and Shehu Abdullahi, who have made returns to the NPFL after years of playing abroad.

In an interview with The Nation Sports, Ideye confirmed the move, stating, “Yes, I have signed a short-term deal with Enyimba after fruitful meetings with the Chairman of the club, Nwankwo Kanu.”

The experienced striker, who has played in top leagues like the Premier League and Ligue 1, is expected to help Enyimba address their goal-scoring challenges.

However, it remains uncertain how he will be registered for the CAF Confederation Cup, as the registration window has already closed.

Premier League referee David Coote has been sacked by English soccer referees’ body PGMOL, after their investigation found his actions to be in serious breach of his contract.

Coote had been suspended last month after a video circulated on social media showing the official allegedly abusing Liverpool and former manager Jurgen Klopp and after a full investigation, his position has been deemed untenable.

“Following the conclusion of a thorough investigation into David Coote’s conduct, his employment with PGMOL has been terminated today with immediate effect,” the PGMOL statement said yesterday.

The Football Association also launched an investigation after Coote’s initial suspension on Nov. 11, and two days later PGMOL said they were taking fresh allegations very seriously.

The Sun published a video which the newspaper said showed Coote appearing to snort white powder during his time working as a match official at Euro 2024, and UEFA also launched an investigation having suspended the 42-year-old.

On Nov. 27, the FA said they were investigating allegations that Coote had discussed booking a player the day before a game with a friend, which the referee denied.

“Supporting David Coote continues to be important to us and we remain committed to his welfare,” the PGMOL statement added.

Coote has the right to appeal the decision.

Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, has said his team cannot think about winning a fifth consecutive Premier League title, following a 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The champions had to come back twice at Selhurst Park to earn a point.

However, the hopes of taking three points were hit after Rico Lewis was shown a second yellow card.

City remain in fourth place, eight points behind leaders Liverpool.

Arsenal and Chelsea could both go four points clear of Guardiola’s men, if they win at Fulham and Tottenham respectively on Sunday.

“We take a point. We fought incredibly and came back twice.

“It’s a season to suffer. We’ll see what happens in the last months.

“We cannot talk about the title race when we lose four games in a row and draw.

“We’ll try to recover players. We’ll see in the last month,” Guardiola said.

Real Madrid striker, Kylian Mbappe, has taken full responsibility for his side’s 2-1 defeat at Athletic Club on Wednesday night.

Mbappe missed his second penalty in one week as the LaLiga champions suffered a fourth loss in their last seven games in all competitions.

Athletic took the lead thanks to Alex Berenguer’s effort in the 53rd minute.

Mbappe had the chance to level from the spot, but he stroked another weak shot that was saved by Julen Agirrezabala.

Madrid equalized in the 78th minute when Jude Bellingham fired home a rebound.

However, an error by Federico Valverde saw the ball break for Gorka Guruzeta to score the winner one minute later.

Writing on Instagram, Mbappe said: “Bad result. A big mistake in a match where every detail counts.

Junichi Inamoto, the first Japanese player to play in the Premier League, will retire at the end of the season, the 45-year-old announced in a social media post on Wednesday.

The midfielder earned 82 international caps and scored the winner in Japan’s first win in the World Cup in a 1-0 victory over Russia in 2002.

Inamoto played his first match in England’s top-flight league at Fulham the same year, after an underwhelming season at Arsenal. He also played for West Bromwich Albion, Cardiff City, Galatasaray, Stade Rennais and other European clubs before returning to Japan in 2010.

“I have done it all… I have been so happy to be able to continue playing football until I’m satisfied with my life,” Inamoto, who currently plays for Japanese fifth-tier side Nankatsu SC, wrote on Instagram.

Manchester United are unbeaten in their first three games under Ruben Amorim and have climbed into the top half of the Premier League table but the Portuguese faces the first real test of his managerial skills at high-flying Arsenal tomorrow.

United, who are in ninth place 15 points adrift of leaders Liverpool, have struggled to score this season with 13 goals in their first 12 league matches, but the floodgates finally opened on Sunday when they thumped Everton 4-0 at Old Trafford.

However, they travel to the Emirates knowing full well the scale of the task at hand, having lost their last three meetings with Arsenal, who are in second spot, six points above United.

“It’s the best team that we have faced by far. But a test is every game. If you saw the last game (against Everton), it was really tough…,” Amorim told reporters .”It’s important to be brave (on Wednesday), when I say it’s brave it’s not pressing all the time higher. It’s not the same. You have to understand the game, the moments of the game. We need to have the ball, that is a key point.

“We want to have the ball, we want to dominate some moments of the game, because you know these matches it’s hard to control all the game. We have to be brave and play the game.”

Amorim said captain Bruno Fernandes, who was taken off in the 66th minute on Sunday, trained with the team and would be fit, adding: “I saw him already (on Monday) morning. He’s fit and he doesn’t need a lot of rest. He’s prepared to play.”

Amorim also praised 19-year-old defender Leny Yoro, who was signed from Lille this year but has yet to play in a competitive fixture for United after picking up a foot injury in pre-season.

“His fitness is better. I think he’s going to be in the squad. The rest I have to see because some players are tired. We have to assess them in tomorrow’s training,” Amorim said.

“I think he (Yoro) is a special talent. We have to be careful in these first moments because we didn’t have too many training (sessions) together. He’s been training, not alone but in a small group of players.

“He’s really fast he’s a modern defender, that is good when you want to press high and you leave a lot of strikers – especially in this league – one v one. I think he can manage that. He’s very good with the ball, I’m really excited.”

Arsenal have gone second in the Premier League table, following a 5-2 win at West Ham in Saturday’s late kick-off.

The Gunners are the only title challengers that played today, with most of the big games scheduled for tomorrow.

And they took full advantage by claiming maximum points at the London Stadium.

Gabriel Magalhaes opened the scoring from a corner-kick, before Leandro Trossard tapped in Bukayo Saka’s low cross.

Arsenal captain, Martin Odegaard, stroked home a penalty, before Kai Havertz ran through to make it 4-0.

The hosts fought back with two goals from Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson Palmeri. But Saka scored again from the spot.

Mikel Arteta’s men now have 25 points, six behind Liverpool who host Manchester City on Sunday.

Super Eagles striker Victor Boniface has come under heavy criticism in Germany for using his mobile phone while driving too fast and recklessly on the highway.

This comes just weeks after he was involved in a car crash in Frankfurt that he escaped with minor injuries.

Photos of him scrolling his phone while driving his Mercedes Benz while hanging out with Nigerian rapper Zoro Swagbag were posted on his social media.

It showed he was driving at 141 kilometres per hour on a highway that allows only 120 kilometres per hour.

The fact that he also liked the post on social media did more damage to his reputation.

Germany’s leading newspaper Bild published the flood of criticisms against the Super Eagles striker’s for going recklessly against the traffic laws.

The player is currently sidelined by a thigh injury he suffered while on Super Eagles duty against Rwanda recently.

LALIGA leaders Barcelona’s 125th anniversary celebrations were spoiled by Las Palmas who claimed a shock 2-1 victory on Saturday after Fábio Silva scored the winner to extend the hosts’ winless league run to three games.

In a game dominated by Barça, who had 70% of possession and peppered the goal with almost 30 shots, it was Las Palmas who made their few chances count to claim a famous triumph.

Barça remain on 34 points and lead second placed Real Madrid by four but their rivals now have two games in hand, while the victory moved Las Palmas up to 14th place on 15 points.

“I think when we don’t score the goals, the team struggles a little bit and this is what we have to change,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said.

“If we don’t score a goal, then maybe it’s possible for us to keep a clean sheet. So we have to defend better as a team, not only the last four or the defensive players, but the whole team and we can do it better.”

Rave-of-the-moment, Ademola Lookman, is yet again in the mix for his recent rich vein of form with Atalanta after the Lega Serie announced the six candidates for November’s Player of the Month.

The 27-year-old Nigeria International has been among the goals for Atalanta in the month under review after netting thrice including a brace in that famous 3-0 win against top of the table side, Napoli.

In the on-going campaign, Lookman has registered an impressive nine goals and five assists in 15 appearances across all competitions with Atalanta.

In a vote to be decided by fans, Lookman will compete for the coveted Serie A November’s Player of the Month along with five others including Alessandro Buongiorno (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Moise Kean (Fiorentina), Marcus Thuram (Juventus) and Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio).

“The six players has been selected taking into account the advanced analysis of Stats Perform, created from the tracking data recorded with the Hawk-Eye system,” Lega Serie A explained. “The rating system, patented in 2010 with K-Sport and scientifically validated, considers not only statistical data and technical events, but also positional data. This makes it possible to analyse crucial aspects such as movement without the ball and thus optimal movements, game choices, and the contribution to the technical and physical efficiency of the team, which allow for an objective and qualitative evaluation of the performance.

“For the final calculation were considered the matchdays from 11 to 13 of Serie A 2024/2025.”

Marcus Thuram, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Mateo Retegui were named Serie A Player of the Month for August, September, and October, respectively.

The Confederation of African Football has appointed match officials from Togo to take charge of the 8th African Nations Championship qualifying match between the senior B teams of Ghana and Nigeria, scheduled for the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday, 22nd December 2024.

The engagement is the first leg of the qualifying fixture between both teams, with the second and concluding leg to take place at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo on Saturday, 28th December.

Aklesso Gnama will be in the role of referee, with compatriots Jonathan Ahonto Koffi, Wassiou Tchamolla Ourotou and Kossi Fabrice Senyo as assistant 1, assistant 2 and fourth official respectively.

Ivan Gator Brown from Liberia will serve as commissioner while Beninoise official Hugues Alain Adjovi will be in the role of referee assessor.

For the return leg in Uyo, Moroccans Hamza El Fariq, Abdessamad Abertoune, Zakaria Bouchtaoui and Hicham Temsamani will work as referee, assistant 1, assistant 2 and fourth official respectively, with Prince Kai Saquee from Sierra Leone as commissioner and Miboti Moise from the Democratic Republic of Congo as referee assessor.

The game in Accra will commence at 4pm Ghana time (5pm in Nigeria) while the return leg will kick off at 5pm.

The winner on aggregate will qualify for the 8th African Nations Championship finals, to be hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania – which will use the event as dress rehearsal to test-run facilities and equipment for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations finals they have been selected to host. The tournament will hold between 1st and 28th February, 2025.

The 15,000-capacity Pa-Ngele Oruta Township Stadium in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, is expected to erupt with excitement as Abakaliki FC, nicknamed ‘The Rice Boys’, take on Madiba FC of Lagos, also known as ‘The Oshodi Boys’ in the Conference B of the Nigeria National League (NNL) 2024 curtain raiser.

Abakaliki FC, formed in October 2024 by the Ebonyi State government, will face a stiff challenge from Madiba FC, who finished third in the NNL Super 8 tournament in Enugu last season. Madiba FC boasts of an experienced coach in Solomon Bala and retains eighty per-cent of their players from the previous season.

On the other hand, Abakaliki FC is led by experienced coach Ifeanyi Onyedika, who has previously coached defunct Ebonyi Angels, Dolphins, Wikki Tourists of Bauchi, and Briller FC of Enugu. With the full backing of Ebonyi State Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru and the presence of two-time Distinguished Senator Obinna as its Chairman, Abakaliki FC is poised to spring surprises in front of their home fans.

The match is expected to be a closely contested encounter, with both teams having the potential to secure a win. However, pundits predict that the game might end in a draw, given the government backing of Abakaliki FC and Madiba FC’s consistency in the NNL.

Fenerbahce manager, Jose Mourinho, has debunked speculations that he is set to bring Cristiano Ronaldo to the club.

With Ronaldo’s time at Al Nassr coming to an end, it was claimed Mourinho wants to bring his compatriot back to European football.

But Mourinho has joked that the 39-year-old would only visit Turkey for food or to see him.

“News about Cristiano Ronaldo to Fenerbahçe is ridiculous,” Mourinho said.

“Cristiano might come to Istanbul to eat because it’s right in the middle of the road between Saudi and Portugal.

“Or maybe he’ll come see his old friend Jose; we can eat at my hotel!”.