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Africa Nations Volleyball Championship: Head Coach Reviews Team List
Head Coach of Nigeria’s men’s volleyball team, Usman Abdallah, has reviewed his 12-man list of players for the 2021 African Nations Volleyball Championship, an official said on Saturday in Lagos.
Dare Kuti, the media coordinator of Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF), disclosed in a statement that the coach was hopeful the squad would vie for the championship’s title in Rwanda.
The championship is billed to hold from Sunday to Sept.
20.Kuti disclosed that the coach has now included Nigeria Customs Service’s Morris Dikiyai and Matthew Ejeh, as well as Nigeria Correctional Services’ Dauda Saje.
“Emmanuel Okeke, Izuchukwu Nwachukwu, Bruno Ibeh, Philip Akande and Moses Gana have also been handed their first senior call-ups.
“Their spectacular performances at the first phase of the Nigeria Volleyball Premier League held in Ilorin earned them the call-up.
“Daniel Nathaniel, Samuel Ogwuche, and Afun Idowu are among the regulars included in the squad,” he said.
He quoted Abdallah as saying that the team was a combination of experienced and young active players, selected based on their performances at the Nigeria Volleyball Premier League in Ilorin.
“If you look at the national team, you will see that it is a mixture of experienced players and young players who have been playing excellent volleyball in the last four years both on the African and world scene”.
Kuti added that the Nigerian team would know their opponents during the championship’s draw expected to hold during the technical meeting on arrival day.
Below is the full list of the invited players and their roles:
Setters: Bruno Ibeh (Nigeria Police) and Daniel Nathaniel (Sunshine Spikers)
Opposite Hitters: Morris Dikiyai (Nigerian Navy), Izuchukwu Nwachukwu (NSCDC) and Dauda Saje (Nigeria Correctional Service)
Middle Blockers: Philip Akande (Nigeria Customs), Moses Gana (Kano Pillars) and Army Ferdinand (Nigeria Police)
Outside Hitters: Samuel Ogwuche (NSCDC), Matthew Ejeh (Nigeria Customs) and Emmanuel Okeke (NSCDC)
Libero: Afun Idowu (Sunshine Spikers)
Assistant Coach: Ezechukwu Oguamalam(NAN)
Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that Neymar is fully fit and ready to play a full 90 minutes against Norway in their FIFA World Cup 2026 round of 16 clash.
The Brazil boss has revealed that the Santos ace will appear alongside the Real Madrid star as the South Americans continue their World Cup campaign.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Ancelotti said: “Neymar can play 90 minutes… and he can play with Vinicius Jr.
“I think they WILL play together.”
The South American side have never beaten Norway in four meetings and will be seeking their first win on Sunday night as Ancelotti plans his side to face the likes of Martin Odegaard and Erling Haaland.
The country’s all-time top scorer, Neymar, made his long-awaited World Cup debut in Brazil’s third group-stage match against Scotland in Miami, coming on in the 76th minute.
Neymar made a total of 15 appearances with his Brazilian club across all competitions in the 2025/26 season.
Since 2017, the star has suffered over 45 injuries and missed more than 270 matches, significantly interrupting his career.
In 2018, he played every 90 minutes of all five Brazil matches despite recently recovering from an ankle injury.
But, in Qatar, Neymar missed much of the group stage after receiving a tackle in the opening game against Serbia.
The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has unveiled a 12-man D’Tigers squad for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 African Qualifiers in Luanda, Angola.
The qualifiers, tagged Window Three, will hold from July 2 to July 5, marking the beginning of a new era under Head Coach David Fizdale.
A statement from the NBBF on Monday said Fizdale will make his competitive debut as D’ Tigers coach, bringing decades of NBA coaching experience and expertise in developing elite basketball talent.
“The coach will lead a blend of experienced internationals and emerging players as Nigeria pursues qualification for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
“The squad comprises Uchenna Ireogbu, Ikenna Ireogbu, Caleb Agada, Martins Igbanu, Paul Dibal and Stanley Okoye.
“Others are Daniel Utomi, Chimezie Metu, Wesley Iwundu, Christian Mekowulu, Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu and Michael Eric,” the statement said.
Nigeria will compete in Group C alongside Guinea, Rwanda and Tunisia in the decisive phase of the qualification campaign.
It stated that NBBF President, Ahmadu Musa Kida, expressed confidence in the team and welcomed Fizdale to his first official assignment with Nigeria.
“Kida described Fizdale as an experienced coach with the leadership qualities required to guide D’Tigers to greater success in Africa and globally.
“He congratulated the selected players and urged them to represent Nigeria with passion, pride and professionalism throughout the qualifiers,” it said
It quoted Kida as saying, “the federation remains committed to attracting world-class coaches and sustaining a high-performance environment for the national teams.
“Fizdale’s appointment followed the successful tenure of former coach Mike Brown, who elevated Nigeria’s profile in international basketball,” he said.
Kida expressed confidence that experienced players, emerging talents and quality coaching would strengthen Nigeria’s qualification campaign.
He urged Nigerians at home and in the diaspora to support D’ Tigers as they represent the country in Angola.
Nigeria will face Guinea on July 3 before taking on Rwanda on July 5 in Luanda
The top teams from the African qualifiers will advance towards qualification for the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2027.
United States president Donald Trump will attend the World Cup final and help present the trophy, says Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
Trump, 80, is yet to attend a game at the World Cup, but may still make an appearance before the final on 19 July at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
The World Cup started on 11 June and took place in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
“We will be together with the president enjoying the final and handing the trophy to the winner, of course,” Infantino, now a close friend of Trump, told Fox.
Asked if they would make the presentation together, Infantino added: “Of course, we are together all the time.”
The United States is hosting 78 of the 104 matches at the tournament, which is also being held in Mexico and Canada.
Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House’s World Cup task force, told the Telegraph, external that Trump likes to “leave people watching” and is yet to attend a game because of his busy schedule.
Trump was at the UFC White House event last week, and was recently booed in New York as he became the first US president to attend the NBA Finals, watching game three which the eventual champions the New York Knicks lost 111-115 to the San Antonio Spurs.
Last summer, Trump remained on the winners’ podium at MetLife Stadium after handing the Club World Cup trophy to Chelsea’s Reece James, which caused apparent confusion to some of the players involved.
“They told me that he was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage and I thought that he was going to exit the stage, but he wanted to stay,” said James.
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