Sports
Debutants Win Milo Basketball Championship
Debutants St. Joseph’s Secondary School, Nyiman, Makurdi, Benue, have won the 12th Nestle Milo Secondary School Basketball Championship.
Their coach, Spencer Chile, said after the final game that ended 76-63 on Saturday, that he felt fulfilled having defeated two-time champions, Ahmadiyya College, Kano.
“We came with the aim of winning the competition, because this is our first appearance.
“I feel very happy and fulfilled winning this competition because for over 16 years of my career as a coach, I have never won any national championship”.
Chile extolled Nestle Plc for sustaining the sponsorship of the only major secondary school championships in the country.
“Nestle Milo may not understand the kind of thing they are doing to better the lives of the Nigerian youth,” he said.
Bakki Gilbert, St. Joseph’s Secondary School captain, also told Tidesports source that he felt happy seeing his team winning the competition in their first appearance.
“I pray I make a good career out of basketball as I am nurturing the ambition of playing for the NBA in the US,” he said.
Coach Shuiabu Maitama of Ahmadiyya College, Kano told newsmen that he was happy that his team placed second.
He said “I thank God for every thing because it is not easy placing second moreso when my boys could not match the Benue boys physically”.
He, however, said that the match officials were unfair but that he has had a good experience with this year’s tournament.
International School UNILAG, Lagos, placed third in the boys’ category after defeating St. Augustine’s Seminary Ezzamgbo, Ebonyi 39-29.
In the girls’ category, defending champions Asaba Girls’ Grammar School (Senior), Delta, retained their title by defeating Dalex Royal International School, Ilorin, Kwara, 38-9.
They did not lose any match to any school from the preliminaries to the final.
The third place in the girls’ category was won by Queen Amina College, Kaduna which beat Government Girls’ Secondary School, Yola, Adamawa, 30-19.
Queen Amina has now recorded its fourth victory in their four appearances in the competition.
The winner, second and third placed schools in both categories received cash prizes of N150,000, N120,000 and N100,000 respectively with a trophy each.
The most valuable player in the girls’ category was won by Ndidi Nwakanma from Asaba Girls’ Grammar School, while Ogwuche John won it in the boys’ category.
The Kenya Football Federation (FKF) has launched an investigation into allegations that goalkeeper Patrick Matasi has been involved in match manipulation.
The 37-year-old, who plays for Kenyan Premier League club Kakamega Homeboyz, has won over 30 international caps.
His most recent appearance for the Harambee Stars came in October last year, in a qualifier for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
An undated video posted online appears to show Matasi agreeing a deal to influence the outcome of a league game.
“I have spoken to him. He was also shocked at what he was seeing in the video and he told me he doesn’t know about match-fixing,” Homeboyz owner Cleophas Shimanyula told Tidesports source .
The FKF said it would work with world governing body Fifa, the Confederation of African Football and other “relevant authorities” during its investigation.
“We reaffirm our zero-tolerance policy on match manipulation and are committed to safeguarding the credibility of our competitions,” a statement added.
“This investigation will adhere to FKF’s anti-match manipulation regulations and Fifa guidelines, ensuring a fair, transparent, and thorough process.
“The rights of the player and his club will be respected, and appropriate action will be taken based on the findings.”
Shimanyula backed Matasi, pointing to the fact the veteran has kept three clean sheets in as many games since joining the club a month ago.
“When we watched this video, we found that Matasi has not wronged the club,” he said.
“In a video there can misinterpretations and false narratives and we cannot trust everything.
“He will keep playing for us because there’s no wrongdoing on his part as far as we are concerned – unless there’s evidence or the FKF writes to us to say they are suspecting the player of some wrongdoing.
“He is innocent until proven guilty and then we will act.”
The FKF has called on anyone with credible information to assist its investigation, with any reports to be handled with strict confidentiality.
Shimanyula also challenged the Kenyan footballing community to provide evidence against Matasi.
“Kakamega Homeboyz is against any form of match manipulation,” he said.
Uefa has opened an investigation into allegations of indecent conduct by four Real Madrid players during their Champions League last-16 win against Atletico Madrid.
Antonio Rudiger, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Dani Ceballos allegedly made gestures towards the home fans after Real Madrid beat their city rivals on penalties to book their place in the quarter-finals.
TV pictures showed German defender Rudiger appearing to make a throat-slitting motion, apparently towards the crowd after the shootout victory, while Mbappe was shown seemingly making a crotch-grabbing gesture.
Spanish media said Atletico reported the actions to Uefa last week.
The players could be at risk of suspension but there is no guarantee the case will be heard before their quarter-final with Arsenal. The first leg for that tie is at Emirates Stadium on 8 April and the return leg a week later.
In a statement, Uefa said: “[An] ethics and disciplinary inspector has been appointed to investigate allegations of indecent conduct” made by the four Real Madrid players.
“Further information regarding this matter will be made available in due course.”
The Premier League has announced it will have two transfer windows this summer to allow Manchester City and Chelsea to sign players before the Club World Cup.
The window will open between Sunday, 1 June and Tuesday, 10 June, then close for five days before running again from Monday, 16 June until Monday, 1 September.
This summer features the first expanded Fifa Club World Cup, which involves 32 teams and adopts the format of the regular World Cup of the past few years.
Chelsea and Manchester City are the Premier League teams in the tournament which takes place in the United States from Sunday, 15 June.
But the Premier League can only have 12 weeks of a summer window – hence the five-day break in order to run it until 1 September.
Fifa has allowed new players to be registered for the Club World Cup from 1-10 June, and again from 27 June-3 July for the knockout stage.
This is happening firstly, to bring order to the global registration system, world governing body Fifa only permits the transfer window in any individual country to be open for 16 weeks in any calendar year.
In Europe, precedent dictates four of those weeks are for the winter window, leaving 12 in the summer. In 2024, the Premier League transfer window opened on 14 June and closed on 30 August.