Spanish second-division side Eldense said Argentina great Lionel Messi has reached a “preliminary agreement” to become the club’s majority shareholder.

Eldense will become the second Spanish club Messi has invested in, having bought Catalan side Cornella in April.

The 39-year-old former Barcelona forward currently plays for Inter Miami and recently retired from international football after Argentina were beaten 1-0 by Spain in the 2026 World Cup final.

Eldense said: “A preliminary agreement has been reached with Lionel Messi for the acquisition of the shares currently owned by Grupo TH Soluciones, which would make him the club’s majority shareholder.

“The transaction is currently subject to the completion of the remaining legal and contractual procedures, including the due diligence process, as well as the required authorisation from the Spanish National Sports Council (CSD).”

The club, based in Alicante, have two points from four games this season and, sitting 20th in La Liga 2, parted ways with head coach Claudio Barragan earlier this week.

Cornella are in the fifth tier of Spanish football and in April said Messi’s ownership “reinforces his close ties to Barcelona and his commitment to the development of sport and local talent in Catalonia”.

He left Argentina for Spain when he was 13 and made his first-team debut for Barcelona aged 17 in October 2004.

He went on to score a club record 672 goals in 778 games before he left for French club Paris St-Germain in 2021 prior to joining Major League Soccer side Inter Miami in the United States in 2023.

Messi’s former Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr, bought a 25% stake in Spanish side Almeria in February.

By Eze Okechukwu, Abuja

The Python Golf Club in Port Harcourt, Saturday, September 5, 2026, set a record for pre-tournament fundraising, just as golfers from different clubs brace up for what promises to be the best and biggest amateur championship in Nigeria.

In an unprecedented fashion, members opened their wallets and pumped in a staggering eighty two million naira (N82m) at an 18-hole kitty that was organised to unveil the theme and mascot of the 2026 Python Amateur Open championship which holds from November 17 to 21, 2026.

And so, before billboards and banners are hoisted, before approaching the corporate bodies, before the first shot off the tee box, members voluntarily contributed the huge sum.

It was as dramatic as it was awe-inspiring. In less than two hours after the kitty, it was N10m here, N5m there and sundry donations ranging from N3m, N2m, N1m to thousands of dollars amid raucous cheers.

It was all down to Chief Leo Edochie, the chairman of the Organising Committee who, in a rare show of the innovative disruption of the old order, leveraged his celebrity golfer status and internal collaboration built on close-knit relationship with the members to turn a rather routine mascot-unveiling kitty into a money-spinning venture.

Working closely with the equally pragmatic captain of Python Club, Chief Professor Johnbosco Ozigbu and other members of the Organising Committee, Edochie’s novel marketing strategies yielded ample results which require no further authentication that the November 17-21 tournament will be heavily financed.

“I pay tributes to all our members, my colleagues on the Organising Committee, our Board of Trustees and our ebullient captain, Chief Prof. Johnbosco Ozigbu, a man of immense means and principalities,” says Leo Edochie.

“Our goal is to host a tournament like no other, and we need everyone’s support to achieve it. The money we realised today (Saturday) tells you everything. It’s member-funded, member-driven. When the house believes this much before sponsors even come in, then you know this tournament will be special.”

The funds are earmarked for an expanded prize purse, course upgrades, junior golf development, live screaming of matches on massive screens facing the road and within the Club, as well as hospitality tents and community engagement where non golfers will be sponsored to walk the fairways and experience first-hand professional and amateur players in hot competition for the exciting prizes on offer.

Yes, though an amateur event, this year’s Python Open will witness invited professional players from ten clubs battle for the thirty million naira prize money at stake.

According to Edochie, the target was never just to raise money, but to set a standard.

“The member-support which you witnessed was about laying the foundation before asking others to build on it.

 “What we did was to ask our members to believe first. They responded with over N80 Million. That was not a donation; that was a declaration.”

The targeted purse for the championship, according to Edochie, is two hundred million naira (N200M). He is confident that the Organising Committee will seize the momentum to attract national brands and corporate organisations “to partner with us.”

With the involvement of professional players, a bigger field of amateurs, live scoring, enhanced media coverage, and structured participation by businesses, guests and non-golfers, a strategic growth plan to revolutionize golf at the Python Golf Club is in the offing.

Club captain, Prof. Ozigbu emphasizes that the tournament aligns with the club’s military-rooted values of discipline, integrity, and excellence.

“Python Golf Club has always been about more than golf,” he opines. “It’s about brotherhood, service, and raising the bar. With our Celebrity Golfer (Edochie) driving the Organising Committee, and with the huge support we’ve seen, this Python Open will be a tournament of firsts and one that will be remembered for many years to come, thanks to the innovations that people shall experience.”

Raising such a huge amount internally before sponsorships is virtually unheard of, at least in our climate. And doling out ten million naira of his own, Ozigbu is leading by example.

Chief Dr. Ikenna Okafor, the sole sponsor of Nigeria’s elite golf championship was on hand, alongside his wife, Dr. Esther Okafor as the couple, in separate donations of big sums of money left the crowd cheering and screaming.

The Python Open comes just days after this year’s CIO Pro-Am tournament in which Chief Okafor, the sole sponsor, collaborates with the Safari Tour and which attracts professionals from no less than ten African countries.

“We’ve had big tournaments here before,” said Okafor. “And we will continue to set records. The captain (Ozigbu) and our celebrity golfer (Edochie) are doing a fantastic job and we will continue to support them. “

For Edochie, the message is clear: “Our members have spoken. Now, we must deliver a tournament worthy of that trust.”

At exactly 2:09 PM on Saturday, September 5, 2026, Brig-Gen. Olumide Ojo, Python Club’s vice-captain and representative of the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Everest Okoro, unveiled the tournament Mascot to the delight of the members.

The coast is now clear. Chief Leo Edochie’s priority also shifts to how he can recreate the razzmatazz, the glitz and glamour that he once splashed on the polo field as the president of Port Harcourt Polo Club.

Truly, the countdown begins.

World football governing body FIFA said it is yet to reach a decision on the future of the Nigeria Football Federation following the resignation of its president, Ibrahim Gusau, General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi and other members of the Executive Committee.

In a letter addressed to the deputy general secretary of the NFF, Emmanuel Ikpeme, on Monday, FIFA, alongside the Confederation of African Football, said they are currently assessing the legal, governance, administrative and electoral implications of the developments within the NFF before deciding on the next steps.

Gusau led the mass resignations from the NFF on Thursday, August 27, following mounting scrutiny over the performances of Nigeria’s national and youth teams, particularly the failure of the senior men’s and women’s teams to qualify for their respective World Cups.

The resignations came just days before the planned September 27 NFF election, with the National Sports Commission stepping in to implement President Bola Tinubu’s call for action to address what he described as “repeated failures.”

A Nigerian delegation led by NSC Chairman Shehu Dikko subsequently met with FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, and other key officials at the FIFA House in Zurich, Switzerland, on September 1.

According to the letter on the issue, FIFA said it had not reached a decision despite the various communications it had received from stakeholders in Nigeria.

“We refer to the various communications recently received by FIFA and CAF concerning developments within the Nigeria Football Federation, including the notifications relating to the resignation of the NFF President, members of the Executive Committee and the General Secretary, as well as additional correspondence received from other football stakeholders in Nigeria,” FIFA’s Chief Member Associations Officer Elkhan Mammadov said in the letter.

“We also refer to the meeting held at the Home of FIFA in Zurich on 1 September between FIFA, CAF, the NFF administration and representatives from the Federal Government of Nigeria, during which the current situation of the NFF was discussed. FIFA and CAF are currently assessing the legal, governance, administrative and electoral implications arising from the current circumstances within the NFF.

“This assessment requires a careful review of the relevant facts, the applicable NFF regulatory framework and the positions communicated by the various stakeholders concerned. At this stage, FIFA and CAF have not reached any conclusions regarding the matters under review and no determination has been made with respect to any potential next steps”, the international football body’s statement read.

The development puts the constitution of a normalisation committee on hold, with FIFA and CAF yet to determine the appropriate course of action.

Ikpeme, who was endorsed by the NSC as the acting General Secretary of the NFF, was, however, addressed by FIFA as the Deputy General Secretary in its correspondence and directed him to serve as the primary point of contact between the NFF, FIFA and CAF until further notice.

FIFA also directed the suspension of the planned September 27 elections, stressing that the decision did not validate any of the current circumstances within the NFF but was necessary to allow FIFA and CAF to complete their assessment and engage with the relevant stakeholders.

As part of the process, FIFA and CAF delegations will visit Abuja to meet with the NFF, members of the Congress, the NFF electoral bodies and the National Sports Commission.

“The mission will allow FIFA and CAF to better understand the circumstances surrounding the recent developments within the NFF, the views of the various stakeholders and any issues that may require further consideration under the applicable FIFA, CAF and NFF regulatory framework.

“Following completion of this assessment process, FIFA and CAF will determine whether any recommendations or proposals should be submitted to the competent decision-making bodies within FIFA and CAF in accordance with their respective Statutes and regulations.

“Until such time, the outcome of the assessment remains open, and no assumptions should be made as to any action that FIFA and CAF may or may not take”, FIFA concluded.