Alexia Putellas wins 2021 Ballon d’Or ahead of Hermoso and Kerr

FC Barcelona midfielder, Alexia Putellas has been named the winner of the 2021 Ballon d’or ahead of Barcelona teammate, Jennifer Hermoso.

Putellas was presented with the award at the 65th Ballon d’or ceremony by French Football Magazine.

She scored 18 league goals in 31 games as FC Barcelona Femeni won the 2020/2021 Spanish Primera Iberdrola.

She also led the Spanish side to win the Cup and the 2020/2021 UEFA Women’s Champions League as Barcelona became the first Spanish side to win the European title.

FC Barcelona defeated Barclays FA Women’s Super League (WSL) side, Chelsea FC to clinch the Champions League last season, and has won all league and Champions League games thus far this season.

Real Madrid sacked David Aznar, appoints Alberto Toril as replacement

Real Madrid CF announces that it has terminated David Aznar’s contract as the head coach of the women’s team with immediate effect on a mutual consent.

Aznar qualified the team for their first ever UEFA Women’s Champions League at the expense of Manchester City. He has contract with the team until 2022 which has now been cut off.

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Real Madrid CF also announces the appointment of Alberto Toril as the new coach of the women’s first team with immediate incorporation for the remainder of the season and the next, until June 30, 2023.

Alberto Toril was a Real Madrid player and Real coach Madrid Castilla, among other teams from our quarry, with which they achieved promotion to the Second Division in the 2011-2012 season.

FIBAWCQ: D’Tigers win group A, advance to round 2

Nigeria outclassed Uganda 95–69 in their third Group A game at the FIBA World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers on Sunday.

Ike Diogu scored 22 of his 27 points in the first-half and D’Tigers of Nigeria record back to back victories, dispatching Uganda 69-95, at the ongoing FIBA World Cup qualifiers in Benguela, Angola.

Unlike the first two games, Nigeria made most of their 3-points attempts, shooting 10/20, 50% from that range.

The 95 points scored by D’Tigers against Uganda is the highest they have scored in a professional game since scoring 108 against South Korea on September 4, 2019.

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17 year old Ugonna Uzodinma become the youngest player to play for the D’Tigers. The teenager showcased his dunking skills, dropping 10 points for the 2015 Afrobasket champion.

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Following the win against Uganda, Nigeria top Group A and would hope to consolidate when the next round of qualifiers come up in June 2022.

Only three teams from each group will progress to the second round of the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.

IFFHS Awards: Chiamaka Nnadozie ranked seventh Women’s World Best Goalkeeper

Nigeria Super falcons Goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie has been ranked in seventh position on the women’s world best goalkeeper chart by IFFHS. After amassing five votes during the award nomination, she was joint seventh alongside Elie Roebuck of England and Ann Katrin Berger of Germany.

Nnadozie joined Paris FC in January 2020 from Nigerian side Rivers Angels following her impressive outing at the Women’s World Cup in France in the summer of 2019.

At 18 years and 186 days, Nnadozie became the youngest ever goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in a Women’s World Cup game.

The 20-year-old has continued to impress in between the sticks for Sandrine Soubeyrand’s side in the French D1 Arkema.

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It was a great run between Endler and Sandra Panos, Barcelona’s winner of the Champions League to determine the winner of this year award. Only 10 points difference (110 for Endler, 100 for Panos) were enough to crown Christiane Endler the World’s Best Goalkeeper, the first in History for South America and Chile.

Also, Stephanie Labbe who won the Olympic Games Tournament with Canada took 3rd place in the ranking.

1. Christiane ENDLER – Chile, Paris SG/Olympique Lyon – 110

2. Sandra PANOS – Spain, FC Barcelona – 100

3. Stephanie LABBE – Canada, FC Rosengard/Paris SG – 45

4. Sari VAN VEENENDAAL – Netherlands, PSV Eindhoven – 25

5. Sarah BOUHADDI – France, Olympique Lyon/OL Reign – 20

6. Alyssa NAEHER – USA, Chicago RS – 10

7. Chiamaka NNADOZIE – Nigeria, Paris FC – 5
Elie ROEBUK – England, Manchester City FC – 5
Ann Katrin BERGER – Germany, Chelsea FC

Vivianne Miedema beat Kerr, Putellas to BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year award

Netherlands and Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema has been named BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year 2021.

Although the Netherlands lost to the USA in the quarter-finals, Miedema’s 10-goal haul broke the record for most goals scored at a single Olympic Games at Tokyo 2020. She smashed Christine Sinclair’s six-goal record at a single Games.

Miedema finished last season with 18 goals and six assists, behind only Sam Kerr of Chelsea. She also made history by breaking the all-time WSL goalscoring record, overtaking Nikita Parris’s tally of 49 goals.

Star striker Vivianne Miedema said it was “unexpected” to be named BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year 2021.

“Something like this always comes as a surprise. It’s a bit unexpected to be honest. It’s pretty cool to win something like this, and with the fans voting it’s extra special.

“The other nominees are all really good players who’ve had their own success at club and international level so I’m really honoured to have been awarded the player of the year and thanks to the fans.”

The other nominees on the five-player shortlist for the BBC World Service award were Australia and Chelsea forward Sam Kerr (2nd), Spain and Barcelona midfielder Alexia Putellas (3rd), Canada and Paris St-Germain defender Ashley Lawrence (4th) and Norway and Barcelona winger Caroline Graham Hansen.

Four of these players, barring Graham Hansen, are nominated for the Ballon d’Or Féminin, which is set to be awarded in Paris this evening.

In addition, Miedema was on the shortlist for the WSL Player of the Season and the Best FIFA Women’s Player award, and she could well add another title to her BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year accolade.

“She is a great finisher and leads by example,” says England’s all-time leading goalscorer and Arsenal legend Kelly Smith.

“She’s such a threat and many teams can’t stop her, and that’s a world-class player. I would have loved to have played with her – she has been outstanding and she’s had a great season. The players she’s been up against are top-quality, world-class players too, but it’s fully deserved in my opinion.” – she added.

BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year winners:


2015: Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria)
2016: Kim Little (Scotland)
2017: Ada Hegerberg (Norway)
2018: Lucy Bronze (England)
2019: Ada Hegerberg (Norway)
2020: Lucy Bronze (England)

🆕 2021: Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands)

NWFL releases 2021/22 Premiership Fixtures

The Nigeria Women Football League with ten days to the kick-off of the 2021/22 NWFL Premiership season has released the comprehensive league fixtures of the matches that will be played in the new season in both the Group A and B, that has been slated to start on Saturday, December 8, 2021 at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba and other two venues in Lagos and Akure. While in Group A, the season opener actions will be in Lokoja, Abuja and Patani.

The Week One matches will see Delta Queens host defending champions, Rivers Angels in Asaba, while FC Robo host Abia Angels at the Legacy Pitch, Lagos and Sunshine Queens host Bayelsa Queens at the Akure Township Stadium in Group B. While in Group A, Confluence Queens FC will tackle Pelican Stars, at the Confluence Stadium, Lokoja, and Premiership league debutant, Naija Ratels FC slug it out with Osun Babes FC at the Old Parade Ground, Area 10, Abuja. In Gombe state, at the Patani stadium, Adamawa Queens will host Edo Queens FC.

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The characteristics of the NWFL Premiership season opener in Group B as designed by the NWFL Secretariat would see, the league defending Champions, Rivers Angels, the 2019/2022 winners, and the second, and third placed clubs at the Super Six in Ijebu Ode all play in the season’s opener.

A total of 42 matches will be played in each of the two groups, in the 14 Weeks Abridged League season. Each of the clubs will play twelve games. And kick off of all matches pegged at 4pm.

The mid-season break and Open Window for Transfer have been fixed to start from February 2, 2022 at the end of Week 7 and season resumes and close of Transfer Window on February 23, 2022 in Week 8.

The NWFL Abridged league season ends on April 6, 2022 to go into the Super Six where the top three clubs in each of the two groups will converge in a designated venue that would be opened to all the clubs to indicate interest to host, to decide the season’s champion and Nigeria’s representative to the WAFU B Qualifiers for the second edition of the CAF Women’s Champions League.

Aruna Quadri crashes out of ITTF World Table Tennis Championship quartefinals with defeat to Swedish teenager

Nigeria and Africa No.1, Quadri Aruna’s run at the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships has come to an end after succumbing to a 4-2 defeat in the hands of Sweden’s Truls Moregard in the quarterfinals, but he’d take solace in reaching unchartered waters whilst inspiring the entire continent.

The 19-year-old Swedish sensation saw off Aruna in a six set thriller as he avenged his countryman Kristian Karlsson’s round of 16 defeat to Aruna.

Despite the elimination, Aruna remain the only African player in the WTT Championships to reach the quaterfinals.

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Moregard won the first two sets 13-11 and 11-8 against the Nigerian ace.

Aruna fought back to claim the third set 11-2 but his Swedish opponent showed his dominance with an emphatic 11-4 win in the fourth set but the Nigerian rally back with 14-12 in the fifth set, before the fantastic teenager took the sixth set 11-7 to win the game.

The Swedish sensation will meet Germany’s Timo Boll in the semi-final later on Sunday.

Aruna Quadri on being the first African to reach the QF: “It will motivate them, when Toriola got to R32 in Olympics, it motivated a lot of us, I was in QF in Rio, Omar was also motivated, he did the same in Tokyo. What I did here [others] can do better.”

WCQ: Van der Gragt at the death salvage point for Netherlands against Czech Republic

The unbeaten Orange Lionesses of Netherlands almost taste their first defeat in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifiers but Stephanie van der Gragt’s 93rd-minute goal salvaged a point in a 2-2 draw against Czech Republic at the Mestsky Stadion v Ostrave-Vitkovicich, Ostrava on Saturday.

Katerina Svitkova broke the deadlock in the eleventh minute as Czech Republic held on for halftime lead.

Jill Roord of Wolfsburg finds Danielle van de Donk for the Netherlands equaliser in the 51st minute, before Slavia Prague forward, Simona Necidova restored Czech’s lead nine minutes later.

When it looked like it’s over and the Oranje on the brink of tasting first defeat and Czech Republic was on the verge of its second win of the qualifiers, Stephanie van der Gragt turned up for Netherlands in the 93rd minute and restored parity.

Netherlands maintained the top spot in Group C with 11 points from five games ahead of Iceland (6 points), Czech Republic (5 points), Belarus (4 points), and Cyprus (1 point).

WCQ: Ellen White’s lone goal earns England victory over Austria

A solitary goal by Ellen White is enough to secure three important World Cup qualifying points for the Lionesses of England.

With her decisive strike against Austria, White now has 45 goals for England which moved her ahead of Kerry Davis, a pioneer for the Lionesses in the 1980s and 1990s, on the all-time charts and into second place outright. Kelly Smith’s record of 46 goals for the Lionesses is being hunted by White.

White also reached the milestone of 100th senior international appearance and become just the 12th women’s player to reach 100 senior games for England and the 22nd overall.

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White made her Lionesses debut against Austria way back in 2010 and showcased her polished poacher’s instinct when she turned Fran Kirby’s pass into the net from close range in the closing stages of the first half.

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England comfortably top Group D with 15 points from five games ahead of Austria and Northern Ireland who are tied on 10 points.

The Lionesses travel to Doncaster on Tuesday for their next qualifier, taking on Latvia, who they thrashed 10-0 last month.

FIBAWCQ: D’Tigers back to winning ways against Mali

The Nigeria men’s senior basketball team, D’Tigers bounced back from their opening game defeat 79-71 to Cape Verde and obtained a first victory this Saturday morning during their second outing in the Africa zonal qualifiers of the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

The D’Tigers avoided a second setback by narrowly winning against Mali. The Eagles who had a good advantage (30-39) were caught in the last minute when they were at +4 (66-70).

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Captain Diogu carried the Nigerian team with 19 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist.

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D’Tigers will face Uganda tomorrow while Mali battle Cape Verde.