Education
NYSC announces November 4 start for 2026 Batch C Stream II camp
NYSC announces November 4 start for 2026 Batch C Stream II camp
Education
Sports
“Infantino must go”, German FA VP declares, gives three reasons
Gianni Infantino must leave the FIFA presidency “no ifs or buts”, according to Hans-Joachim Watzke, A vice-president of the German Football Association (DFB) Hans-Joachim Watzke, has declared that Gianni Infantino must leave the FIFA presidency, “no ifs or buts”. He spoke on Thursday at a festival dedicated to artificial intelligence in Berlin. The DFB was one of the few federations not to sign a letter of support for Infantino’s re-election as FIFA president in six months’ time. “He has to go, no ifs or buts,” declared Hans-Joachim Watzke, who said that three points in particular counted against the Swiss. The first was the FIFA Peace Prize, launched by Infantino and awarded in December 2025 to US president Donald Trump, to whom Infantino is close, during the draw for the 2026 World Cup. Infantino “created this prize himself, and he decided on it himself,” said Watzke. “You can’t just invent something on your own and then announce it, it’s madness,” said Watzke. Watzke also condemned the controversial handling of the Folarin Balogun red card during this year’s World Cup which was hosted in USA, Canada and Mexico. The American forward was sent off in the last 32 but his automatic one-match suspension was lifted after a phone call from Trump to Infantino. “It can’t be that when someone gets sent off, the head of state calls the FIFA president, and, remarkably, the whole thing is immediately overturned. That’s madness,” said Watzke. The third issue was the project, unveiled on July 28 and dropped four days later, to create a commercial company that would have been open to private investors and became a focal point of the rebellion against Infantino. “It’s completely insane,” said Watzke. “Nobody knew about it, his vice- presidents in FIFA knew nothing, the Council knew nothing.” DFB president Bernd Neuendorf said earlier in the week in an interview that it was also time for Infantino to depart. “The relationship of trust with Gianni Infantino, under this FIFA leadership, has of course been completely shattered,” he said. “It’s important that this Infantino system comes to an end.” For now, Infantino is the only candidate for the FIFA presidency in the election scheduled for March 18, 2027, with candidacies open until November 18.
Politics
Abuja FHC Ruling; Oyewumi, Fadipe, Olaoluwa, Salam Other Accord Candidates May Lose Ticket
The political survival of candidates flying the flag of the Accord Party in Osun State, including Senator Lere Oyewunmi, Abdulganiyu Olaoluwa and Ibukun Fadipe, popularly known as Ibk, has been cast into deep uncertainty following a landmark judgment by the High Court in Abuja regarding the party’s leadership and presidential nomination dynamics. While the court’s decision delivered a favorable outcome for the party’s presidential candidate, internal stakeholders warn that the underlying legal and administrative cracks exposed by the case could severely jeopardize the legitimacy of all other candidates on the party’s platform. Reactions have continued to trail the judgment, with prominent party figures voicing strong concern over the systemic chaos and procedural flaws that characterized candidate nominations across various state chapters. Speaking on the implications of the verdict, Yusuf Adegboye, a leading voice within the Accord Liberation Movement, described the judgment as a clear reflection of the deep-seated divisions tearing the party apart. “This ruling is a clear testimony to the cracks within our party and a definitive sign of what is to come in the critical weeks ahead,” Adegboye stated. He emphasized that while the defendants retain the legal right to challenge the judgment on appeal, the undeniable reality remains that the party lacks internal cohesion—a vulnerability that threatens the political fortunes of every candidate running on its ticket. According to Adegboye, the root cause of the crisis stems from the arbitrary manner in which nomination processes were conducted, alongside the sudden influx and takeover of party machinery by political outsiders. The mode of nomination within the party and the reckless invasion by strange elements who hijacked the party structure could cause a major upset for all our candidates,” Adegboye warned. “You don’t just join a political party overnight, hijack all its established structures, and completely ignore the laws, rules, and statutory guidelines governing primary elections.” Painting a grim picture for those currently laying claim to the party’s tickets, he added: “I pity those who assume they currently have valid party tickets. They may wake up to discover that their tickets are no better than movie tickets in the coming weeks.” Adegboye further cautioned that candidate nomination is a crucial, non-negotiable phase of the electoral cycle under the Nigerian Electoral Act, stressing that any procedural lapse, illegal primary, or flawed submission could legally invalidate the tickets of all affected candidates. Drawing parallels to previous electoral disasters in Nigerian political history, Adegboye reminded party faithful of the costly lessons learned by other political platforms in recent years. “We have seen what happened in Zamfara and Plateau states, where political parties suffered total defeats and lost hard-won victories despite winning massively at the polls,” Adegboye warned. “The law is clear: if your nomination is discovered to be legally invalid, your scores will simply not count, regardless of how popular you are on election day.” As anxiety deepens among candidates and supporters across Osun State, political analysts note that unless the leadership of the Accord Party urgently resolves its structural and nomination crises, the party risks being completely disqualified from participating meaningfully in the upcoming polls.
Sports
Lionel Messi scores in tearful 'last tango' for Argentina
lionel Messi marked his 208th and final game for Argentina with his 126th goal as his country bid an emotional farewell to the global icon. Tuesday's friendly against Benin in Buenos Aires had been dubbed "the last tango" as Messi played his final game in international soccer after 21 years, two Copa América titles and a World Cup. The script called for at least one more goal from Messi and the 39-year-old duly delivered. With a wave of his left foot, he emphatically dispatched a penalty into the roof of the net in the 71st minute, cuing up the sold-out crowd at the Estadio Monumental to rejoice with a collective chant of "Messi, Messi." For a time, it appeared as though Messi might exit the stage without giving the crowd what they wanted most, after snatching at some earlier chances. But Messi has always been more than just a goal scorer and he provided two assists for Argentina's other goals in a 3-0 win, delivering a corner for Nicolás Otamendi to head in in the 48th minute and supplying a pass for Nico Paz to curl impressively into the net. The emotion of the occasion was evident before kickoff. Messi was pictured in tears as the Argentina team bus made its was through the throngs of fans lining the route to the Estadio Monumental. And more tears flowed, from both Messi and coach Lionel Scaloni, as the Argentinian anthem sounded for the final time with Messi part of the lineup. Further evidence that the game was secondary on this night, came when the action paused in the 10th minute as the whole stadium applauded Argentina's legendary No. 10, while Benin players took turns shaking Messi's hand. Messi announced his international retirement in the weeks following the World Cup final loss to Spain, saying, "The time has come." The Argentine Football Association tempted him to make one last appearance for "the farewell he deserves." More than 85,000 tickets to Buenos Aires' largest stadium sold out in 90 minutes, later fetching over $2,500 on resale sites. Players from Argentina's 1978, 1986 and 2022 World Cup-winning squads, along with their families, joined the tribute. AFA said the match would "transcend sports" and be "full of emotion." Messi posted on social media pictures of him arriving to join the national team for the last time and his final training sessions. "Special moments I know I will miss," he wrote. Messi just fell short of winning back-to-back World Cups when defending champion Argentina was beaten by Spain 1-0 in the final in July in New Jersey. He achieved his ultimate ambition of leading his country to victory four years earlier in Qatar - emulating fellow Argentine great Diego Maradona. Messi finishes as Argentina's all-time leading scorer and appearance holder. Only Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (146 in 234 games) has more games or goals in men's international history. Messi scored 21 goals in the World Cup, appearing in a record-tying six tournaments along with his great rival Ronaldo. He briefly retired from Argentina duty in 2016 then enjoyed his most successful period with the national team, winning Copa Américas in 2021 and '24, as well as the '22 World Cup. He's continuing at club level with Inter Miami, and recently won the Campeones Cup, his fourth trophy with the MLS team. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Gracias Leo Messi
Sports
Premier League Clubs Demand City Sanctions
City sanctions could extend beyond a points deduction if Manchester City’s appeal against its financial rule breaches is unsuccessful, with several Premier League clubs reportedly seeking both retrospective and future penalties. City was found guilty of all the charges concerning the Premier League’s financial regulations during the 2009-10 season through the 2017-18 season by an independent commission. The club has challenged the ruling and the final decision and any sanctions are yet to be determined. A group of senior Premier League executives has suggested that any sanctions handed down should include a period when the alleged breaches took place, as well as preventing the club from benefiting from any advantages in the future, according to sources cited by BBC Sport. There are at least four club boardrooms that believe that a point being deducted and relegation is a consequence of the findings is not serious enough. But there’s no across-the-board agreement as to what penalty should be decided with. A senior club source said Manchester City should be deprived of the big trophies that the club won over the period of the charges. The source indicated the awards may be filled with nothing more than going back to other clubs. The argument is about what effect it would have on the credibility of the Premier League if City were allowed to keep the eight big trophies it won during the time period in question. But other clubs have shown little excitement about depriving Manchester City of their honours before, reflecting the differing views on how sporting achievements in the past should be treated.
Sports
Norway Escalates FIFA Governance Challenge
Norway’s football federation has launched a FIFA governance challenge, formally filing complaints with two FIFA committees over three controversial issues involving the organisation’s leadership and decision-making processes. A statement of the Norwegian Football Association (NFF) seen by Reuters revealed that it took parallel applications to both the FIFA Ethics Committee and the FIFA Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee (GACC). The transfer marks the NFF’s most serious formal protest against FIFA President Gianni Infantino and probes further into the NFF’s long-standing worries about transparency and institutional accountability. The complaint submitted to the Ethics Committee also calls on investigators to look at the actions of Infantino and anyone else they can identify from the investigation that may have violated FIFA’s Code of Ethics. In isolation, the NFF wanted the GACC to review whether the financial controls, internal governance, and decision-making processes within FIFA have been conducted appropriately. The reasons for the filings have been three different issues that have caused controversy in international football. They encompass the FIFA Peace Prize, the lifting of the suspension that United States striker Folarin Balogun faced in the World Cup and the scrapped FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project. The idea behind the FFE project was to enable investors to hold minority shares in a corporation that would have run FIFA events, including the World Cup. The NFF said their latest move followed a series of questions raised over FIFA’s governance, transparency and separation of powers over the past several years. The federation wants the appropriate bodies to look into the issues, gather relevant evidence and take accountability as per their findings. FIFA stated Infantino had already responded to the concerns raised by member associations in a letter he sent in September, which included his willingness to have an independent examination of the decision-making system of the governing body.
Sports
Ronaldo Likes Controversial Instagram Post Slamming Portugal Teammates
Ronaldo Likes Controversial Instagram Post Slamming Portugal Teammates
Sports
Portugal Coach Should Apologise To Ronaldo — Man United Legend
Portugal Coach Should Apologise To Ronaldo — Man United Legend
Sports
UEFA monitoring Man City case as it considers potential action
UEFA is monitoring developments and will wait until the end of the Premier League's disciplinary process before deciding whether to take any potent...