Team doctors have confirmed that in-form Nigerian striker, Emmanuel Emenike, will miss the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, because of a muscle tear in his right leg.

Officials had expressed optimism that the Lokomotiv Moscow striker, will be fit for the final and the news will come as a blow to the Super Eagles, who will miss his power and pace.

However, Victor Moses, might be available for the clash against Burkina Faso, as he resumed light training yesterday, under the watchful eyes of a physiotherapist.

Both players had picked up knocks in the 4-1 win over Mali in the semi-final.

Moses and Emenike are Nigeria‘s highest scorers with six goals between them – the Chelsea forward has two, while Emenike has found the net four times.

 

Peter Osaze Odemwingie has been fined two weeks wages – £75,000 (more than N16.5million) – by West Brom, for attempting to force a move to Queens Park Rangers, but the Nigerian forward is now available for first team selection.

The 31-year-old drove all the way to Loftus Road onn transfer deadline day without Albion’s permission, but the deal never happened.

“West Brom have taken disciplinary action against striker Peter Odemwingie in respect of his conduct over the past fortnight,” the club confirmed.

“Odemwingie has accepted his punishment. He will now resume full training with his team-mates and is available for first-team selection.”

In reaction to the fine he received, Odemwingie said: “I understand how my actions have been viewed and I want to apologise to the club and our supporters for any distress I have caused.

“I want to reassure everyone at the club and our fans that I will continue to give my all whenever I am selected. We have enjoyed a good season so far and I aim to play my part in keeping the club as high up the table as possible.”

Albion chairman Jeremy Peace added: “This has been an extremely difficult time for the club and it was imperative that we dealt with such a serious matter both fully and correctly.

“We made our position very clear throughout – both privately to Peter and publicly. Peter has apologised for his conduct to me personally and the club and our supporters as a whole.

“He has accepted his punishment and promised to comply with all club regulations moving forward. It was important that we resolved this episode as expediently as possible to enable everyone to focus on the most important issue at this club – competing in the Premier League.”

 

The Confederation of African Football (CAF), has suspended Slim Jedidi, who handled the controversial semi-final match between Ghana and Burkina Faso on Wednesday.

However the body will have to look at the Tunisian’s match report on Friday, when CAF‘s executive committee meets, to determine if Jonathan Pitroipa’s red card can be rescinded.

“There is a meeting tomorrow (Friday) but you have to understand that the referee’s report is final and so if he doesn’t make mention of having made a mistake, it stays that way,” CAF Secretary General Hicham El Amrani, said at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.

“The other referee Bennett (Daniel) mentioned in his report that he made a mistake in issuing out a yellow card to the wrong player, which is why the yellow card was rescinded in that instance.”

Burkina Faso have already filed a complaint with CAF over the midfielder’s sending.

Real Madrid’s goalkeeper, Iker Casillas, has been ruled out for six weeks, after picking up a thumb injury against Valencia, in the 1-1 draw on Wednesday.

The Spanish number one, left the pitch after just 17 minutes of the game at Mestalla and the club have confirmed that he picked up a knock, which will see him miss important fixtures.

A statement on the Madrid website read: “After carrying out initial X-rays at the La Moraleja Sanitas Hospital, it has been confirmed that the footballer Iker Casillas has suffered a fracture at the base of the first metacarpal on his left hand,”

“It will be assessed again by a specialist later today to decide what treatment will be followed.”

Casillas will certainly miss the game at the Bernabeu against United and might be forced to sit out the return leg and the El Clasico game against Barcelona on March 2.

On Thursday, the 2012 Football Money League, which is published yearly by Deloitte, ranked Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, as the richest clubs in the world. Madrid remain on top for the eighth consecutive year and also broke through the €500 million barrier.

“It is an impressive achievement for Real Madrid to have surpassed €500m in revenue in a single year. Real have led the way in the phenomenal rate of revenue growth achieved by the game’s top clubs,” Dan Jones, Partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte said.

The top 10 includes five English clubs, with Manchester City jumping five places into 7th position.

Overall, the revenue of the top 20 clubs in the list rose 10% to €4.8 billion.

 

Football’s money league 2011-12

1. Real Madrid: Revenue: €512.6m
2. Barcelona: €483m
3. Man Utd: €395.9m
4. Bayern Munich: €368.4m
5. Chelsea: €322.6m
6. Arsenal: €290.3m
7. Man City: €285.6m
8. AC Milan: €256.9m
9. Liverpool: €233.2m
10. Juventus: €195.4m

Coach of the Super Eagles, Stephen Keshi, has revealed that were feisty exchanges in the dressing room, after the 1-1 draw against Burkina Faso on Monday.

Keshi saw his team – who ended the game with 10 men – concede the equaliser, with the last kick of the game and he has now said he didn’t need to scream at them, as they essentially did so themselves.

“They did the job themselves. After the match they shouted, they quarrelled, they told themselves the truth,” he said. “But by the time we got to the hotel, they were friends again, playing tennis, table soccer and teasing each other.

“So that let me know that they are up for it. They know when they make mistakes and what they need to do to rectify it.”

However, looking ahead to Friday’s game against Zambia, Keshi said his team have enough motivation to defeat the defending champions.

he said: “They are angry at themselves for the first result. They know they dropped the ball and they want to make amends.

“We don’t expect it to be an easy game, but the players know what they have to do.”

President of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez, insisted at a press conference on Thursday, that there were no problems between manager Jose Mourinho and members of the squad.

Perez was reacting to a report in Spanish newspaper, Marca, which speculated that goalkeeper Iker Casillas and defender Sergio Ramos, had told the president during a meeting to choose between them and the former Chelsea boss.

“I break my rule not to speak to the press about the club’s day-by-day business due to the seriousness of the allegations published by Marca,” Perez said at the press conference.

“I’m not here to talk about Iker, only to deny the information that has come out this morning. I haven’t spoken to Mourinho, I came here of my own accord. They cannot play with an institution like Real Madrid.

“It is absolutely false that the captains said anything negative about the coach. No ultimatum was issued by Casillas or Ramos. The level of responsibility of the captains is incompatible with this information.

“The information published today [Thursday] is a pure lie and it’s a serious attack against the club. I have a lot of respect for the press and I always listen to criticism, regardless of whether I think it’s fair or not.

“But there are limits that must be respected. This is a serious matter. It is not a typical daily rumour, on who we sign or who we dismiss, It’s about ethics.”

After the press conference, Casillas and Ramos released a joint statement on the club’s website, supporting what Perez said.

“The two captains of Real Madrid want to communicate the following: That the meeting held on Tuesday with the president and CEO of the club never raised any ultimatum from us regarding the character of our coach,” the statement read.

“As captains of the staff and members of an excellent group of people and professionals, we categorically reject the use of our names and the rest of our squad’s in support of information that is entirely false.

“We want to show our support for the character of our coach, Jose Mourinho, to whom we owe the greatest respect.

“Finally, we wish to convey to the members and fans of Real Madrid our unalterable conviction that only through the unity of everyone at Real Madrid will we overcome all the challenges that we face each season.”

 

FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, has called for teams whose fans racially abuse players, to be relegated as punishment.

The issue of racism in football, has come to the frontburner again, since AC Milan’s midfielder, Kevin-Prince Boateng, walked off thee pitch in a friendly against Pro Patria.

Blatter praises Boateng for his decision, but called for points deduction and relegation, as consequences for clubs that cannot controlo the behaviour of their fans.

“I agree with and support the movement of Boateng – as I have said – as it was a strong warning. It is now up to us to take the adequate steps,” he told Fifa.com.

“What I feel we should do is give instructions to our national associations and the confederations – specifically to the disciplinary committees – to be very strong. It is not enough to give a fine. Playing a game without spectators is one of the possible sanctions, but the best would be the deduction of points and the relegation of a team, because finally the club is responsible for their spectators.

“It [racism] is a phenomena where football is a victim of our society. Discrimination and racism is everywhere in our society. We in football cannot be made responsible for what happens in our society. But nowhere in the world – regarding all the problems you can have in your private life, in business, in politics – can you solve a problem by running away.”

Captain of the Zambian national team, Christopher Katongo, has stated that although he is disappointed with the draw against Ethiopia on Monday, he is looking forward to the next two games against Nigerian and Burkina Faso.

Adana Gebreyes cancelled out Collins Mbesuma’s first half opener, despite the Ethiopians having one man less, after their goalkeeper Jemal Tassew was sent off.

“[Ethiopia game] was tough but we will qualify to the quarterfinals,” Katongo said. “We have two games so we will make sure we collect maximum points. We will wear a different jacket in the next game.

“We are ready against Nigeria, people should not judge us based on one game; this is not the result we wanted but what we are asking is for the nation’s support.”

Nigeria has won their last two meetings against Zambia at the AFCON. In the 1994 final, two goals from Emmanuel Amuneke clinched the title for the West Africans, while the Super Eagles triumphed on penalties at Angola 2010, at the quarter-final stage.

David Beckham’s first son, Brooklyn, is set to follow in his father’s footsteps, after he underwent a trial at Chelsea FC.

The 14-year-old, whose father is still one of the most iconic figures in British football, played in a low-key academy game on Tuesday at the London’s club training ground in Cobham.

“Brooklyn is like any teenager with an ambition to be a footballer. He has just returned to England and wanted to see how he fared,” an insider told MailOnline.

“Chelsea are one of the strongest academies in the country. The difference is that he is the son of the former England captain and this will draw attention.”

There were initial speculations that the senior Beckham, was set to to join Chelsea, after he posted a picture of him and one of the club’s academy players online.

A spellbinding 10-minute spell in the second half, saw Arsenal thrash West Ham United 5-1 at the Emirates on Wednesday evening.

The visitors took the lead in the 18th minute through Jack Collison, but Lukas Podolski levelled four minutes later with a thunderous effort.

Olivier Giroud scored shortly after the break to give Arsenal the lead, before Santi Cazorla, Theo Walcott and another Giroud effort, completed the rout.

Arsene Wenger’s men have now moved into sixth position in the League.

Swansea will now face Bradford City in the Capital One Cup final, after they drew 0-0 with Chelsea at the Liberty Stadium on Wednesday night. The Welsh side had won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge and Rafa Benitez’s men needed to score twice to stand a chance.

It is their first major cup final in their 100-year history and they will now be slight favourites to lift the trophy at Wembley next month.

However, the talking point of a rather dull game, was Eden Hazard kicking out at a ball boy, ten minutes from time. He was immediately sent off by Chris Foy and is likely to face further sanctions from the FA.

South Wales Police will not investigate Eden Hazard’s assault on a ballboy, during Chelsea’s 0-0 draw with Swansea on Wednesday night.

Chris Foy sent the former Lille midfielder off, after he appeared to try and kick the ball from underneath one of the ballboys at the stadium, with ten minutes of the match left.

“South Wales is aware of the incident involving a ballboy at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea tonight. We are making arrangements for him to be interviewed. South Wales Police takes such matters very seriously,” Chief Superintendent Josh Jones, of South Wales police, said in a statement.

However, the ballboy met with police at the stadium and insisted he would not take further action against the Belgian player.

Rafa Benitez, had also revealed that Hazard met with the boy after the game and they both apologised to each other.

“I didn’t see the incident from the bench, but afterwards the boy came in to talk to Hazard, and both apologised to each other,” Benitez told Sky Sports.

“The boy knows he was wasting time, Hazard was frustrated because he wanted to get the ball back. They apologised, they made a mistake, and that’s it. We’re disappointed because we lost a player but the best thing is to move forward.”

As the Africa Cup of Nations kicks off this weekend in South Africa, Super Eagles goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, has vowed that if Nigeria wins the tournament, he will go half naked.

Enyeama, who is on loan at Maccabi Tel Aviv from Ligue 1 side Lille, is likely to be in between the posts for Stephen Keshi’s team, after Austine Ejide picked up a thigh injury.

“It will be a dream come true and I am certain I will strip to my shorts. Yes, let everyone hear it that I will strip to my shorts if we are champions,” the former Enyimba goalie said.

Beyond the continental fiesta, Enyeama is looking to keep playing till he is 40 years or more.

“I aim to keep playing until am 40 years old. If possible I wish to play till I am 42. I work hard and I am focused. I know that if I do as little as I did today (he spoke to supersport.com after the Super Eagles’ victory over Dutch side Sparta Rotterdam) in more matches then I can easily play that long.”

The stopper however said he takes each match as it comes, even as Nigeria awaits its first trophy in 19 years.

“Personally, I do not think we are looking at the trophy for now. We want to win the first game, then the next and then the one after that,” he said.

“Nigerians should have faith in us, believe the best of us and pray for us. It is not beyond our abilities to win the competition with God on our side.”

Southampton have parted ways with manager Nigel Adkins, just two days after the gutsy 2-2 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Although the club had started the season badly, they have picked up form of lata and only lost two defeats in their last 12 League games – a run that included draws with Arsenal and Chelsea and victories over Reading and Aston Villa.

The club’s executive chairman, Nicola Cortese, has named Mauricio Pochettino as the new manager of the south coast club.

“This decision has been made with the long-term ambitions of Southampton Football Club in mind,” Cortese explained. “Whilst we acknowledge the contribution Nigel has made during the past two years, for the club to progress and achieve our long-term targets a change was needed.

“Mauricio is a well-respected coach of substantial quality who has gained a reputation as an astute tactician and excellent man manager. I have every confidence that he will inspire our talented squad of players to perform at the highest possible level.

“He also shares my belief that the most successful clubs are built by nurturing young players through a development system that provides a clear path to the first team, thereby creating a culture that keeps them at the club for the long term.
‘This is an approach he has employed with great success in the past and I look forward to him bringing that experience and expertise to Southampton.”

Pochettino, whose first game will be on Monday against Everton said: “This is the kind of opportunity that any coach would relish. Southampton is a club with great heritage, and an even more exciting future. There is a clear vision to take the club to a new era of sustained success in the Premier League, and beyond, which I’m delighted to be part of.”

Theo Walcott has finally committed his future to Arsenal, after he put pen to paper on a new three-and-a-half-year contract with Arsenal, worth £100,000 a week.

“Arsenal Football Club is delighted to announce that Theo Walcott has signed a new long-term contract,” a club statement on the official site read. “The 23-year-old forward has already made 244 first team appearances since joining Arsenal from Southampton in January 2006, during which time he has scored 56 goals.

“Walcott has also established himself as a regular England international during his time with Arsenal. Having signed for the Club at the age of 16 from Southampton, Theo soon won a call-up to England’s 2006 World Cup squad. Later that year, he became the country’s youngest-ever full international at 17 years and 75 days when he faced Hungary. Walcott currently has 30 international caps.

“The lightning-fast forward is enjoying another good season and is currently Arsenal’s leading goalscorer with 14 goals in all competitions. This tally includes two hat tricks – at Reading in the 7-5 Capital One Cup victory and also against Newcastle United in the 7-3 Premier League victory at Emirates Stadium.”

Talks had stalled since last August, after the forward rejected a five-year offer worth £75,000 a week. Arsene Wenger reacted by putting the England international on the bench, but eventually yielded to the 23-year-old’s demands, after his sparkling form – Walcott is Arsenal’s top scorer with 14 goals.

“We are all delighted that Theo has signed a new contract. He joined us as a 16-year-old and since then has developed very well to become an extremely important player for both Arsenal Football Club and England,” Wenger said.

“Theo is a strong player and also a great person, and the combination of his ability and pace always make him such a valuable asset either from the flanks or down the middle. Theo’s contract extension now gives us a strong nucleus of ambitious young players who have committed to the Club and want to be successful with us as a group.”

Walcott himself, who would have been free to leave in the summer, was delighted to pen the much improved deal.

“I am very happy to have signed a new contract here at Arsenal. Thanks to everyone for their continued support, especially the manager, everyone at the club and most importantly the fans. I have made it clear from the start that I wanted to stay at Arsenal so I am pleased we have agreed a deal that everyone is happy with. What’s important now is for the team to realise its potential and win trophies,” he said.

Arsenal’s former vice-chairman, David Dein, has blasted fans of the club, for criticising manager Arsene Wenger and accused them of having “short memories”.

Dein, who was behind Wenger’s appointment in 1996,`says supporters of the team are being ungrateful and have forgotten about what the Frenchman has achieved for the club, despite not winning a trophy since 2005.

“People have got short memories. They seem to forget what Arsene has achieved for the club,” he said. “Arsenal are respected around the world, and much of that is because of Arsene, with the results and the players he has brought in and developed.

“People underestimate him. He has transformed the club. He has done a phenomenal job.

“I always used to call him the miracle-worker. He waved his magic wand, and he delivered. But it’s getting tougher because the competition is getting stronger.”

 

BBC’s African correspondent, Oluwashina Okeleji, has reported a blunder made by President Jacob Zuma, as his country prepares to host Africa.

The President reportedly said on national TV that “I hope the Africa Cup of Nations is won by an African team this time”.

Apparently, his media aides did not prep Zuma well for his Dame Patience moment, as the continental fiesta, is always competed for by African countries and is played on African soil.

The competition kicks off today with Zuma’s nation, South Africa squaring up against Cape Verde.

 

Manchester United striker, Robin Van Persie, has deleted his Twitter account.

It is kind of surprising, as the 29-year-old, had stopped tweeting ever since he completed his 24m move from Arsenal in the summer. Despite that fact, fans of the London club have not stopped tweeting abuse at him, in the same measure the adoring United fans have been singing his praises.

Van Persie has been in sensational form this season, scoring more than 20 times already, for Sir Alex Ferguson’s team.

 

Members of the Abia team to the London 2012 Paralympics and their officials have been rewarded by the Abia state government with a cash sum of N1 million each for winning 3 silver medals during the competition.

Three members of the Abia contingent-Ifeanyi Nnajiofor, Sampson Ulonna and Ikechukwu Obichukwu won silver medals each out of the 5 silver medals won by Nigeria in weight lifting in the London 2012 games.

Handing over the cheques to the team at the government house, Umuahia, the governor, Chief Theodore Orji while receiving the team and their officials thanked them for doing the country and Abia state proud during the games.

Chief Orji said it was gratifying that the paralympians often jettisoned by people won laurels even when Nigeria did not get anything in the real sports during the Olympics.

The governor commended the paralympians for excelling in various competitions they have entered into for the state and described them as real assets to the state.

Speaking at the ceremony, a representative of the paralympic board of Nigeria, Mr. Ojo Emma thanked the governor for producing athletes that have done the country proud despite the lean resources of the state.

He used the forum to confer on the governor the award of sports image maker 2012 for his contributions to sports development in Nigeria.

Earlier, the permanent secretary, Ministry of sports, Mr. Ogbonnaya Ekwenye said the performance of the Abia paralympians in the games is an indication that the state government’s huge investments in sports is yielding fruits and thanked the governor for his support to the sports ministry.