Nations Cup 2013: Nigeria will qualifiy – Fmr. NFA Chairman

To further boost the morale of the Super Eagles ahead of their qualification match for the 2013 African Nations Cup in South Africa, the former football association boss; Nigeria Football Association (NFA) Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima has thrown his weight behind the Super Eagles of Nigeria will surely secure a ticket for the South Africa 2013 Nations Cup.
The former NFA boss who is presently on pilgrimage spoke from his pilgrimage base to Ben Alaiya who is the Media Officer for the Super Eagles saying the Super Eagles definitely make to South Africa.
He said it will be a great shock for Nigeria to be absent from African Nations Cup 2013 holding in South Africa as it is the next Africa’s biggest football fiesta.
The Super Eagles will take on Liberia in the second leg of the final round of qualifiers for the championship in Calabar in two weeks’ time, having held their West African counterparts to a 1:1 draw in the first leg.
Going Nigeria’s exit from the Equatorial Guinea-Gabon Nations Cup championship in the last edition due to the lacklustre performance of the squad, the Super Eagles will leave no stone unturned to ensure the Super Eagles get a place on the African Nations Cup final.
Galadima who is presently in Saudi Arabia with his wife said they have both been praying for the success of the national team in the holy land.

PREMIER LEAGUE LIVE: Arsenal v Chelsea - as it happened from the Emirates

Follow Sportsmail's coverage of the Barclays Premier League as Arsenal host London rivals Chelsea at the Emirates to kick off the weekend's action. Both sides have impressed at the start of the season with creative players Santi Cazorla and Eden Hazard getting the juices flowing in particular. Who will come out on top today? Kick-off is at 12.45pm.
Send me your thoughts at rik.sharma@dailymail.co.uk or contact me on Twitter @rbsfeatures.

 

Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea

Arsenal: Mannone; Jenkinson, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Diaby (Oxlade Chamberlain 17) Arteta, Ramsey (Walcott 66); Cazorla, Gervinho, Podolski (Giroud 66).
Subs: Martinez, Djourou, Santos, Mertesacker.
Goal: Gervinho 42
Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, Luiz (Cahill 80) Terry, Cole; Ramires, Mikel; Hazard, Oscar (Moses 72), Mata (Bertrand 84); Torres.
Subs: Turnbull, Azpilicueta, Romeu, Lampard.
Goal: Torres 20, Mata 52
Attendance: 60,101
Ref: Atkinson

So Chelsea stay top of the league after a good display. Arsenal can feel disappointed not to have earned a point as they played well, particularly in the first-half.
That's all from me, I hope you enjoyed the coverage. But stick around, because my colleague Joe Ridge is covering the 3pm kick-offs right HERE.
Full-Time
94mins: Torres slides in and puts in good work to stop Arsenal breaking. He's looked hungry and worked hard today.
93mins: Brilliant play by Bertrand and Hazard wins Chelsea a corner. Time's almost up.
91mins: Sky give their man-of-the-match award to Ramires. Though I can't look past Mata, the Brazilian has worked hard in the middle. He's never taken the game by the scruff of the neck like he can, but his industry has helped Chelsea in the midfield battle. He's been booked for a trip on Cazorla just now too.

No way: Martin Atkinson books David Luiz for a dive

90mins: Massive miss by Giroud! His first chance of the game sees him break into the box. He takes it past Cech to the left but hits the side netting. Trickier than it looked but that was a superb chance!
89mins: Cazorla misses the target again! Gervinho's cutback is smashed not-too-far wide of the left-hand post.
87mins: Every man and their dogs are getting nervous now. Arsenal itching for an equaliser. But good play between Mikel and Moses sees the latter brought down on half-way by Arteta.
84mins: Bertrand comes on for Mata, who has been the clear man-of-the-match today.
82mins: Off the post! Goalmouth scramble as Cech flies out of his goal. The linesman gives offside anyway.
79mins: Mata's free kick is blocked by Cazorla but his head caught Koscielny who is down. Luiz subbed for Gary Cahill. Hobbling off, but it doesn't look too serious.
78mins: Mata brought down on the edge of the box after a one-two with Torres. Right in the middle, this free kick is a great chance. Mata stands over it.

Great show: Mata pulled the strings for Chelsea

76mins: Gibbs skies a shot from over 25 yards out. Arsenal have not worked Walcott or Giroud in to the game yet.
73mins: Bringing Moses on is a brave decision by Di Matteo. Oscar put in a real shift and Moses is a different sort of player. He might work hard but it's normally in an attacking sense. Romeu might have been a more appropriate replacement, but then people do say attack is the best form of defence.
72mins: Another good save by Cech as he palms a shot which deflected off Luiz wide of goal. On comes Victor Moses for Oscar, who looks tired after a good display.
69mins: Good tackle by Ivanovic as Arsenal try and counter. The game is very tense but Chelsea are trying to slow it down and keep hold of the ball, helped by Mikel always making himself available to receive it.
67mins: Chelsea play down the right but that's a lazy cross from Torres when he could have done more with it.
66mins: Luiz cuts out Gibbs cross at the near post and is relieved to see it go wide of Cech's goal. Walcott and Giroud replace Ramsey and Podolski. Ramsey had a poor second-half.
65mins: Giroud and Walcott are ready to come on. Both scored against Coventry in the Capital One Cup.
64mins: Chelsea break at speed but good positioning from Arsenal's defence slows it down and Oscar's shot is blocked.

Taken out: Torres was brought down by Vermaelen and Mata scored the resultant free-kick

63mins: As on Wednesday, Mata has been sublime. He looked jaded at the start of the season and was overshadowed by Hazard. But since he was rested for a week he's been at the top of his game.Great to watch.
62mins: Torres ends a Chelsea counter-attack by falling over his own feet on the halfway line. Oops.
61mins: Slack pass by Ramsey brings Arsenal attack to an end... but Arteta wins it back and Jenkinson goes down on the edge of the box and gets a free kick. Cole protests and I think he has a point.
60mins: Hazard delivers a free-kick from the left after Oscar was brought down by Koscielny, but it's headed away. He's no Mata.
58mins: Incredible save by Cech! Podolski's header from six yards flicked away by the keeper.
57mins: That was the perfect free-kick from Mata, so difficult to defend. The goal came against the run of play, can Arsenal recover?
55mins: That was another brilliant cross from Mata. Mannone had no chance because of the whip on the ball. But if Koscielny hadn't touched it, might the keeper have reached it? Maybe. It was the smallest nick, but it was enough.

Goal! Mata! Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea
Vermaelen was booked for bringing down Torres on the break. Juan Mata took the free kick - from a similar position to where he crossed the one for Torres' goal, and it curled into the far corner, via a slight deflection from Koscielny.

Angles: Mata watches his free kick curl into the far corner

Flashback: Gervinho's strike flew past Cech

49mins: Podolski drives into the box after a good ball from Gibbs. Cole cuts out the cross but Cazorla skews the ball wide after a poor connection on the shot.
47mins: Luiz is booked for diving in the Arsenal box. Certainly wasn't a foul. The Brazil defender says to the ref that he wasn't asking for a penalty so how could it be a dive? But I think Atkinson is right. The only reason for him to go down there was to try and win a spot-kick.
46mins: Podolski ghosts into the Chelsea box but Luiz cuts out the danger. The Blues have earned a cheap corner though as Torres was dispossessed.
*Second-half begins*
Having another look at the goals and both of them should have been defended better. Koscielny was easily outmuscled by Torres for the first - and why was Luiz unmarked?
And Luiz and Terry were carved wide open when Gervinho scored. Both backed off him, leaving him in acres of space and under no pressure.
It's been a good match so far and the second half has the potential to be better still.

Decisions: How will Arsene Wenger and Roberto Di Matteo (below) change things in the second half?

*Half-Time*
45+2mins: Torres cuts inside but finds the side netting.

45mins: Just as I say that, Oscar breaks away and fires a shot wide. He wants a corner and the replay shows it clipped Vermaelen. But the referee does not oblige.
44mins: Arsenal have come alive, Chelsea are on the rocks. Three mins of added time, the Blues need to steady the ship as soon as possible.
Goal! Gervinho! Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea
Superb goal by the Ivorian! He collected a low Oxlade-Chamberlain cross from the right around the penalty spot, teed himself up as the Chelsea defence seemed to shrink, then blasted the ball high past the helpless Cech.

Stunner: Gervinho rifles in the equaliser

39mins: Ox plays in Cazorla who's shot is blocked. Clever pass from the England international because the Chelsea defence were expecting a cross.
38mins: Oscar, who has been pinning down Mikel Arteta all game, is booked for a foul on the Spaniard.
36mins: Ivanovic evades a wild challenge and plays in Hazard who gets to the byline and crosses with a beautiful rabona. It doesn't reach its target though and the ball falls to Mikel on the edge of the box.
Now, if you've seen him shoot before, you know what happens next.
If you haven't, take cover.

Tussle: Ashley Cole chases Aaron Ramsey

35mins: Late challenge by Ramsey on Oscar earns the Welsh youngster a yellow card.
34mins: Good few minutes for Arsenal, a few dangerous crosses sent into the box. Maybe these would work better with Giroud on?
31mins: Captain Vermaelen launches one from 40 yards out but it ends up in the stand. Poor effort, but he has scored from long distance before.
28mins: Lovely play by Oscar and Mata sets in Torres but he's offside.
27mins: Gervinho with a chance at the far post, but his header from a tight angle comes back into the 6 yard box where Terry chests it back to Cech, cool as you like.
26mins: Would the Torres of old have taken that ball to the edge of the box before bending it in to the far corner? Probably.

Celebration: Terry joins Torres

22mins: This is really heating up! Cazorla wanted a penalty after Mikel beat him to the ball to head it away - not really sure what he was complaining about.
Then Torres broke away, in on goal, took it to the side of Mannone but Koscielny came back and as Torres tried to pull the trigger his shin clipped Koscielny's and he ended up pulling off an air shot.
Torres wanted a penalty as well, but even though he was caught, I don't think it warranted one because it happened as Torres pulled his foot back to shoot.
21mins: Arsenal cry for a penalty.... Chelsea break away and Torres is in! But he wastes the chance. Unbelievable.
GOAL! Fernando Torres! Arsenal 0-1 Chelsea
Mata whipped in the free kick, Luiz was left free in the middle but it went past him and Torres cleverly stuck a leg out from behind his marker to strike from close range. A poacher's finish.

Breakthrough: Fernando Torres opened the scoring

19mins: Late tackle from Vermaelen on Hazard. Free kick from the right which Mata will take.
17mins: On comes The Ox. Diaby was injured when he hit that shot after 11 mins.
15mins: It looks like Abou Diaby has picked up a knock and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is on the sidelines and ready to enter the fray.
13mins: Cazorla escapes a couple of niggly challenges and spreads it to the left, but Arsenal lose the ball.
11mins: Diaby skips past two and powers in a low strike that Petr Cech takes into his chest comfortably.
10mins: Ashley Cole is of course picking up a few boos as well. But it seems Terry is public enemy No 1 at the moment.

Captain, leader: Terry organises the defence

9mins: Gervinho cuts it back from the right but Cazorla blasts it into the stands from the edge of the box.

8mins: Predictably Arsenal fans jeer JT and Chelsea fans cheer him. 'You know what you are', sing the Gunners. 'John Terry has won the double' reply the Blues.
7mins: A scrappy start to the game. Neither side has really got hold of the ball and strung a few passes together yet.
4mins: Ramsey fires wayward and wide from distance.
2mins: Luiz takes it and though it bounces before Mannone, he holds on to it.

1min: Hazard is chopped down about 30 yards from goal, free-kick to Chelsea. David Luiz and Juan Mata stand over it.
12.45: Kick-off!
12.42: The teams are coming out onto the pitch. All the Arsenal players shake hands with John Terry. They were set an example earlier by Gunnersaurus (below).
12.35: Arsenal's defence this season has been superb. Even though it features Carl Jenkinson! That's harsh of course, because Jenko, as he is affectionately known, has played very well and deserves his place in the team.
12.33: Of course, this is the first time Arsenal have met Chelsea since Didier Drogba left the club. The impact the Ivorian target-man had on matches between the sides is well documented, but just in case you've missed it, he scored 13 goals in 14 games against the Gunners.

Shake on it: Terry with Arsenal mascot Gunnersaurus

12.32: I wonder how Fernando Torres will play today. At times this season he's been excellent - for example, the Newcastle game. But I saw him against Wolves in midweek and though he scored and provided an excellent assist for Juan Mata, his overall display was very weak. He looked out of ideas and missed an absolute sitter.
12.25: Oscar is quite the talent. It looks like he'll be playing in the hole today - although he'll probably trade places with his colleagues in a fluid Blues attack. But he's also able to play a lot deeper in midfield, which might end up being his role in the future. Just because he's little it doesn't mean he doesn't bite.
12.21: I know saying this will jinx it, but I really believe this is going to be a brilliant match. John Obi Mikel will have to be at his best to stifle the magnificent Cazorla. And Abou Diaby likewise to deal with Oscar, Mata and Hazard.
12.19: I think both sides have got enough firepower to find the net. Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski are a great combination for Arsenal. Will Gervinho produce today? 'Mercurial' is a kind way of describing him.
12.18: Dan from Kenya has emailed me to say that 'Chelsea are one of the best and they are going to prove that when they unload the guns of Wenger to win 2-0.'
12.16: Probably much the same as he always has been, by the Arsenal fans (and any other set of fans other than those in Chelsea shirts).
12.14: John Terry starts for Chelsea in his first game since being found guilty by the FA with regards to the Anton Ferdinand race row. How will he be received?

Shrug it off: John Terry starts for Chelsea despite the guilty verdict from the FA

12.11: Very interesting - Chelsea have picked an attacking side, is Roberto Di Matteo planning on taking on Arsenal at their own game? In the past the Blues have relied on power. Today looks more about precision.
Ryan Bertrand has been picked at left-wing in the past in tricky fixtures, but not today. Frank Lampard has been left on the bench too.
Arsenal, meanwhile, bring back Thomas Vermaelen after he missed last week's match with illness. Their bench contains plenty of options, including Olivier Giroud - who scored his first goal for the club in midweek.
Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are also game changing options for Arsene Wenger.
12.05: The teams are in:
Arsenal: Mannone; Jenkinson, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Diaby Arteta, Ramsey; Cazorla Gervinho, Podolski.
Subs: Martinez, Djourou, Santos, Mertesacker, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott, Giroud
Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole; Ramires, Mikel; Hazard, Oscar, Mata; Torres.
Subs: Turnbull, Cahill, Bertrand, Azpilicueta, Romeu, Lampard, Moses
12pm: Good afternoon (just about) and welcome to Sportsmail's coverage of what promises to be a thrilling encounter. I'll bring you all the team news as soon as I have it.

La London derby: Spaniards Santi Cazorla and Fernando Torres go head-to-head

SuperSport retains right to show English Premier League in Nigeria till 2016

Broadcaster SuperSport has retained the rights to show live English Premier League soccer matches in South Africa, Nigeria and other part of sub-Saharan Africa from 2013-2016, the Premier League said on Thursday.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but the 20-team league is believed to have secured an improvement on the current deal which expires at the end of this season.
“We have worked with SuperSport for a number of years and are extremely pleased to extend our partnership,” Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore said in a statement.
SuperSport, part of the MultiChoice pay TV business, has its headquarters in South Africa but broadcasts across the continent.
The Premier League is in the process of renewing overseas broadcast contracts in territories around the globe. It has already secured a 70 percent increase in the value of domestic TV rights in an agreement worth more than $1.62 billion per year.
English soccer is available in 720 million households around the world and its top clubs have a big global following.
The total value of overseas rights under the current three-year deal was around 1.3 billion pounds – a lot more than other European leagues can generate for their international rights.
Manchester United said earlier this month that it expected a “substantial increase” in the value of international television contracts.

John Terry gets four match ban and fine for racial abuse

John Terry has been banned and fined by the English Football Association over his racial abuse on Anton Ferdinand.

The Chelsea captain was been banned for four international matches and fined £220,000 for racially abusing QPR defender.
The Football Association found Terry guilty, following a four day hearing.

The FA’s decision to press ahead with their own charges led Terry, on the eve of the hearing, to announce he was retiring from international football with immediate effect, saying his position was “untenable”.
A spokesman for Terry said the player was “disappointed” the FA had reached a “different conclusion” to the “not guilty verdict of a court of law”.
“He has asked for the detailed written reasons of the decision and will consider them carefully before deciding whether to lodge an appeal” the statement continued.
Terry will have 14 days from receiving the written reasons to decide whether to lodge an appeal. The ban and fine will not come into effect until after the centre-half has decided what to do.
A statement from his club added: “Chelsea Football Club notes and respects today’s decision by the Football Association regarding John Terry.
“We also recognise that John has the right to appeal that decision. It is therefore inappropriate for us to comment further on the matter at this time.”
The FA charged Terry in July with “using abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour towards Ferdinand and which included a reference to colour and/or race contrary to FA Rule E3[2]“.
Terry admitted using the word “black” and swearing at Ferdinand in the match at Loftus Road on 23 October 2011 but insisted he had only been repeating words he thought the Rangers defender had accused him of saying.
Terry’s legal team argued the governing body’s own rules dictated that his acquittal in court meant the case could not proceed but the FA believed their charge was distinct from the court charge.
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was given an eight-match ban when an FA disciplinary panel found him guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra last season.
The panel stated at that time that simply using racist language was enough to constitute a breach of FA rules.
In July, the ex-England captain, 31, was cleared by Westminster Magistrates’ Court of racially abusing Ferdinand.

U-17 Women’s World Cup: Nigeria wallop Azerbaijan 11- 0

Nigeria’s Flamingoes on Tuesday demolished Azerbaijan 11-0 at the on-going FIFA U-17 Women’s World cup sending the host country out of the tournament.
Striker Chinwendu Ihezuo plundered 5 goals to increase her tally to 6 goals and making her one of the top scorers in the competition.
Halimatu Ayinde and Tessy Biahwo bagged a brace each while Joy Bokiri and Aminat Yakubu scored one each to secure Nigeria’s biggest victory in any FIFA World Cup tournament.
Azerbaijan thus has conceded 14 goals and also recorded the worst performance by host of any FIFA World Cup.

Prepare for final fight, South Africa coach tells John Obuh

Solly Luvhengo has begun mind games ahead of the final clash between Nigeria’s Flying Eagles and the Amajita of South Africa which will take place in Ilorin, Nigeria on October the 7th.
The South African coach told Coach John Obuh the Flying Eagles to roll out his war drums as the final showdown should be prepared for seriously in the second leg qualifier of the African Youth Championships.
Luvhengo conceded that the Flying Eagles squad has lots of good players which has made up for a good team but South Africa will still fight to get by in the return leg in Nigeria even though it will be very difficult.
We just need to score in Nigeria and the pressure will be back on Nigeria. That is our target,” he concluded.
Obuh admitted that the match will not be an easy one, but said that his team was equal to the task.
“It won’t be an easy game in Ilorin (Nigeria) against a good and fast South African team, but we will qualify.
“These days, there isn’t such a thing as home advantage because a good team can play anywhere and win. Football has changed and so we can’t relax to ensure we finish off the job in Ilorin,” he said.
Coach Obuh expressed his desire to defend the title he won 2011 in South Africa. A win for him will see him land in the eight-nation AYC in Algeria in March.

Obinna Nsofor on call for Lokomotiv

Obinna Victor Nsofor one of Nigeria’s Super Eagles favourite players of all time came off the bench to score his second goal of the season for Lokomotiv Moscow away at Terek Grzny on Saturday night.
Nsofor signed in as a substitute in the 57th minute replacing Giushakov and lobbying for a showdown for 33 minutes as he found the back of the net in the 83rd minutes to notch Lokomotiv ahead with a 2-1 lead.
After the game, Nsofor who relished every moment while the ovation lasted said it was a great game for him as he is very excited that he contributed to the victory of his team with a goal.
Though battling to return back to glory days after suffering knee problems for a while reasons why he is not been featuring in national colours, said he is bent on regaining full fitness.
Lokomotiv eventually won the game with 3-0 final score.
Lokomotiv now occupy second spot with 19 points from nine games behind league leaders CSKA Moscow.
The former Enyimba forward is hoping to build on his goal for Lokomotiv and look ahead to scoring more goals.
“We have been doing well and I hope we will continue this way and even get better so that our goals will be achieved.”Nsofor concluded.