SPORTS
NFF Signs German, Bruno Labbadia as 37th Head Coach of Super Eagles

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) announced that it has reached an agreement with German tactician, Bruno Labbadia, to become the Head Coach of Nigeria’s Senior Men National Team, Super Eagles.
A statement by Ademola Olajire, NFF’s Director of Communications, quoted NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, as saying in the early hours of Tuesday that Labbadia’s appointment was with immediate effect.
“The NFF Executive Committee has approved the recommendation of its Technical and Development Sub-Committee to appoint Bruno Labbadia as the Head Coach of the Super Eagles.
“The appointment is with immediate effect,” Sanusi said.
The 58-year-old gaffer was born in Darmstadt, Germany on Feb.
8, 1966.Labbadia won two caps for Die Mannschaft in his playing career that took him through clubs such as home-town team Darmstadt 98, Hamburger SV, and FC Kaiserslautern.
Others include; Bayern Munich, FC Cologne, Werder Bremen, Armenia Bielefeld and Karlsruher SC.
He triumphed in the German Bundesliga with Bayern Munich as a player in 1994.
He coached famous names Hertha Berlin and VfB Stuttgart this decade, and previously, VfL Wolfsburg, Hamburger SV, Bayer Leverkusen, among others, and holds a UEFA Pro License.
He is only the sixth German, after Karl-Heinz Marotzke (who had two stints between 1970 and 1974), Gottlieb Göller (1981), Manfred Höner (1988-1989), Berti Vogts (2007-2008) and Gernot Rohr (2016-2021) to lead the Super Eagles.
Höner led the Eagles to runner-up position at the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations, while Rohr qualified and led Nigeria to the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals in Russia.
Labbadi’s immediate challenge is to take charge of the three-time African champions for two 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Benin Republic (Sept. 7 in Uyo) and Rwanda (Sept. 10 in Kigali).
Four other matches would conclude the qualifying race following in the months of October and November.
LIST OF SUPER EAGLES’ COACHES IN HISTORY
John Finch (England) – 1949
Daniel Anyiam (Nigeria) – 1954-1956; 1964-1965
Les Courtier (England) – 1956-1960
Moshe Beit Halevi (Israel) – 1960-1961
George Vardar (Hungary) – 1961-1963
Joey Blackwell (England) – 1963 – 1964
József Ember (Hungary) – 1965-1968
Sabino Barinaga (Spain) – 1968-1969
Peter ‘Eto’ Amaechina (Nigeria) – 1969-1970
Karl-Heinz Marotzke (Germany) – 1970-1971; 1974
Jorge Penna (Brazil) – 1972-1973
Jelisavčić ‘Father Tiko’ Tihomir (Yugoslavia) – 1974-1978
Otto Glória (Brazil) – 1979-1982
Gottlieb Göller (Germany) – 1981
Adegboye Onigbinde (Nigeria) – 1983-1984; 2002
Chris Udemezue (Nigeria) – 1984-1986
Patrick Ekeji (Nigeria) – 1985
Paul Hamilton (Nigeria) – 1987; 1989
Manfred Höner (Germany) – 1988-1989
Clemens Westerhof (Netherlands) – 1989-1994
Amodu Shaibu (Nigeria) – 1994-1995;1996-1997; 2001-2002; 2008-2010
Johannes Bonfrere (Netherlands) – 1995-1996; 1999-2001
Philippe Troussier (France) – 1997
Monday Sinclair (Nigeria) – 1997-1998
Bora Milutinović (Yugoslavia) – 1998
Thijs Libregts (Netherlands) – 1999
Christian Chukwu (Nigeria) – 2002-2005
Augustine Eguavoen (Nigeria) – 2005-2007; 2010; 2022
Berti Vogts (Germany) – 2007-2008
Lars Lagerbäck (Sweden) – 2010
Samson Siasia (Nigeria) – 2010-2011; 2016
Stephen Keshi (Nigeria) – 2011-2014; 2015
Sunday Oliseh (Nigeria) – 2015-2016
Gernot Rohr (Germany) – 2016-2021
José Peseiro (Portugal) – 2022-2024
Finidi George (Nigeria) – 2024
Bruno Labbadia (Germany) – 2024-?.(NAN)
SPORTS
Finals of Gov. Peter Mbah Secondary Schools Games Begin in Enugu

The finals of Gov. Peter Mbah Secondary Schools Games, on Thursday began in Enugu with the arrival and accreditation of athletes at Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium Enugu.
Dan Onwuegbuna, Director, Information, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Enugu State, said in a statement on Thursday that the games would be held between Aug.
7 and Aug. 10 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium and the Enugu State Sports Council.“The games is designed to help the state discover talents to represent the state at the forthcoming U15 National Youth Games scheduled to take place in Asaba, Delta, from Aug. 26 to Sept. 6,” he stated.
Onwuegbuna said that apart from representing the state at the Youth Games in Asaba, talented athletes discovered would represent the state in other competitions.
He quoted the Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Lloyd Ekweremadu as thanking Gov. Peter Mbah for approving the games.
Onwuegbuna said that the games was made possible following the collaboration between the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the state Post Primary Schools Management Board (PPSMB).
The games finals followed the outcome of the inter- Secondary Schools competitions held at the local government areas in the six Educational Zones in the State – Enugu, Agbani, Awgu, Udi, Nsukka and Udenu.
“The games will feature athletics, boxing, chess, basketball, volleyball, football, tennis and scrabble,” Onwuegbuna stated.
SPORTS
Super Falcons’ Nnadozie Nominated for Ballon d’Or Best Goalkeeper Award

Super Falcons goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie has been nominated for the 2025 Women’s Yachine Trophy, the Ballon d’Or award for the best female goalkeeper.
The 24-year-old recently joined Brighton Women FC from Paris FC after helping the French side win their first major title in nearly two decades.
Nnadozie delivered a heroic performance in the final of the 2025 Coupe de France Féminine, where Paris FC edged Paris Saint-Germain 5-4 on penalties following a goalless draw at Stade de l’Épopée in Calais.She was also instrumental in Nigeria’s success at the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), where the Super Falcons secured a record-extending 10th continental crown against host nation, Morocco.
Her standout displays earned her the Best Goalkeeper award and a place in the Team of the Tournament.
Other nominees for the Yachine Trophy include Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham FC), Cata Coll (Barcelona Femeni), Hannah Hampton (Chelsea Women) and Daphne van Domselaar (Arsenal Women).
SPORTS
Super Falcons Maintain 36th Position in Latest FIFA Women’s World Ranking

Nigeria’s Super Falcons maintained 36th position in the latest FIFA women’s world ranking.
The latest ranking was released on FIFA’s official website yesterday.
While the Super Falcons remain the number one team in Africa, WAFCON 2024 runners-up Morocco are third on the continent and dropped to 64th spot in the world.
Former WAFCON champions Banyana Banyana of South Africa maintained 54th place in the world and second in Africa.
Ghana’s Black Queens who claimed third place at the WAFCON dropped to 67th position in the global ranking.
The Super Falcons recently won their 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) after coming from 2-0 down to beat hosts Morocco 3-2 in the final.
Second half goals from Esther Okoronkwo, Folashade Ijamilusi and substitute Jennifer Echegini completed the turnaround.
Okoronkwo, scored a goal and provided two assists against the Moroccans was Named Player of the Match.
Chiamaka Nnadozie was named Goalkeeper of the Tournament while Captain Rasheedat Ajibade won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
Meanwhile, World champions Spain (1st, up 1) had an impressive run to the final of the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 with five back-to-back wins, which was enough to see them reclaim top spot in the ranking, a position they previously held from December 2023 to June 2024.
The USA (2nd, down 1) have therefore been knocked off their perch, which they had occupied since August 2024.
However, three convincing home wins in friendlies during this period have kept the USA in contention, and they are now sitting less than two points behind Spain.
The top 10 has been shaken up completely since the June edition of the ranking, with France (6th, up 4) performing best among them.
France completed a flawless group stage at the European Championship before falling to Germany in the quarter-finals.
The next edition of the Women’s World Ranking will be published on 11 December 2025.