The 2025 edition of the Chief Margaret Icheen Benue State Football League kicks off on Sunday in Makurdi.

Icheen, a board member of the Nigerian Football Federation, who performed the ceremonial kick-off at the Benue State University Sports Arena, commended the Benue Football Association (BFA) for naming the league after her.

The former speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly said that she was happy to witness another opening ceremony of the state league.

She said that such tournaments were beyond just playing football, but were meant to discover talents, who can build up the system of football.“Because of the many talents that we have in this state, we need to have more than one team representing the state.

“I want to ask the participants to take this tournament very seriously so that they can achieve something meaningful afterward.

“I urged the referees to ensure that this tournament goes on successfully to the end,” she urged.

The Chairman of the Benue Football Association, Paul Edeh, said the momentum of this year’s league would be far better than the previous years because of the number of teams participating in the league.

Edeh said that more than 40 teams have registered to participate in the league, which shows the BFA’s commitment to growing football at the grassroots level.“We will be sustaining the tournament by increasing the prize money. The winner goes home with half a million naira; the runner-up gets ₦300,000, while third place will be rewarded with N200,000.

“In addition, the eight teams that would qualify for the Super Eight will go home with a brand new set of jerseys and a minimum of five balls.“All the coaches that finished in the first four would get automatic scholarships to study at the National Institute for Sports in Abuja.“Our belief is that when we sustain coaches training, we will be able to discover talents that we need in the state,” he said.

The Permanent Secretary, Benue State Ministry of Sports Development, Philip Nongu, lauded the organisers of the league.Nongu pledged the ministry’s support for the success of the league and other sporting activities in the state.Report says that Unity Football Academy defeated Sulash Football Academy, 6-1, in the opener fixture of the league.

The winners took the lead in the first minute of the encounter, but the opponent equalised halfway into the first 45 minutes.Unity FA, however, restored their lead a few minutes before the end of the first half through a penalty.

The Match Day One winners doubled their lead a few minutes into the second half through another penalty before putting the match beyond the reach of Sulash by scoring three more goals. (NAN)

 by Muhyideen Jimoh

Liverpool clinched the Premier League title in style as they came from behind to thrash Tottenham 5-1 at Anfield.

First-half strikes from Luis Diaz, Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo all but wrapped up a record-equalling 20th top-flight title.

This was before Mohammed Salah’s 28th goal of a prolific campaign and a Destiny Udogie own goal made the scoreline emphatic.

Spurs briefly threatened to spoil a party that began hours before kick-off by taking an early lead through former Liverpool striker Dominic Solanke but the Londoners put up little resistance as the Reds clicked into gear.

The title, secured with four games to spare, is only the Merseysiders’ second in 35 years.

It is also the first in that period they have been permitted to celebrate in front of fans after their 2020 success came during the COVID-19 pandemic

Nigeria’s Under-17 female football team, Flamingos, on Friday played a goalless draw with Algeria to qualify for the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.The 2022 bronze medalist, who were determined to win their last match of the qualifying series, absorbed the pressure of the Algerian girls in the return leg played at Stade Mustapha Tchaker in Blida.

Report says that the Flamingos battled for supremacy to be one of the countries to represent the continent in the World Cup in OctoberIn spite of the wintry conditions in Blida on the outskirts of the Algerian capital, Algiers, the Nigerian girls dug their feet into the ground and achieved a scoreless draw that qualified them for this year’s Women’s World Cup finals. Holding on to a 4-0 first-leg advantage, the 2002 bronze medalists adopted a calm and collected pattern that easily soaked up the pressure from the hosts.They then relied on fast breaks to try and pull the trigger on their opponentsAlthough they created better chances, the Flamingos failed to take advantage of their dominance in possession.They, however, collected the ticket to Morocco on a 4-0 aggregate win.The difference over two legs of the final round was a remarkable display in the opening leg by the Flamingos.The Flamingos will now be one of Africa’s five representatives (including hosts Morocco) at this year’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup finals taking place from Oct.17 to Nov 5.The final competition will feature 24 teams for the very first time.Since the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup competition was launched in New Zealand in 2008, Nigeria failed to make the finals only once.This was at the 2018 tournament hosted by Uruguay.(NAN)