Sports
Tottenham Emerges As Coutinho’s Only Option
Philippe Coutinho’s situation at Barcelona has reached a critical stage.
Ready to offload the Brazilian midfielder, the Catalan side believes only Premier League clubs will be able to afford him this summer, but time is running out as the transfer window in England closes tomorrow.
A return to Liverpool has been touted in the press as a possibility, but coach Jurgen Klopp has already ruled out any chance of the Reds moving for him.
“I think he’s a fantastic footballer and all that stuff, but it would be a big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big-money signing and it’s not our year for that,” Klopp said in July.
“It’s just not possible. As I said, having him would make each team better, us included, but I really hope that he finds his luck at Barcelona.”
After Coutinho ruled out going back to the North West to join Manchester United and his agent, Kia Joorabchian, admitted it would be “hard” for him to join another team in the Premier League, it would seem the path to England is blocked.
However, there is one road open to the 27-year-old and it leads to London.
Arsenal had considered swooping for Coutinho after it emerged that Barca were open to letting him go, but with Mesut Ozil still in the side and defensive reinforcements their priority in the closing days of the window, they are in no rush to spend big on the former Inter star.
Instead, the more likely destination would be Tottenham, who are looking at Coutinho in case they lose Christian Eriksen.
In the last year of his contract with Spurs, the Denmark international is waiting to decide his long-term future, which could depend on what happens with Paul Pogba.
The French midfielder is “in the process” of negotiating his exit from Manchester United, according to agent Mino Raiola, and it is Real Madrid who have been closely associated with him.
If Pogba stays at Old Trafford, Madrid is expected to turn their attention to Eriksen to strengthen their midfield. On the other hand, United has reportedly contacted Spurs about signing him as Pogba’s replacement.
Either way, selling Eriksen this year would give Tottenham the financial strength to move for Coutinho.
Barca is working against the clock to move Coutinho on. If he ends up leaving, it can only be to the Premier League and would imply that Neymar’s alleged return from Paris Saint-Germain may be closer than ever.
Hon Dike who spoke with sports journalists shortly after the flag off the 2024 edition of Chairman’s Football Unity Tournament at Botem Tai in Tai LGA, said the tournament is an annual event to promote peace and unity in Tai as well identify budding talents in the area for global competition.
The opening ceremony of the tournament was more like a carnival was witnessed by huge crowd including prominent indigenes of Ogoni Kingdom, sports lovers and people from all works of life.
The LGA boss revealed that special sports committee will be setup in the area to work out modalities to strengthen sports development in Tai.
He advised the participants in the tournament from various wards in the LGA to play the game by the rules and conduct themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner and use the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Hon Dike further disclosed that his administration will also give priority attention to skills development among the youth to enhance their human capacity and promote enterprise development in the area.
Earlier in his address the Chairman of Tai LGA Football Council, Elder Wisdom Gorgor said the annual football competition has been a unifying factor in Tai LGA that need to be sustained to forge more unity and development in the area.
He urged the participants to see the competition as an opportunity to embrace football as a full career and earn sustainable livelihood.
Elder Gorgor who commended the Chairman of Tai LGA, Hon Dike for his visionary leadership and tremendous development achievements recorded in the LGA under his administration, appealled to the Chairman to build a Mini Sports Stadium in the area to promote sporting activities.
The training was held at the Sani Abacha Stadium Indoor Basketball Court in Kano last Saturday.
According to the Vice President and Head of NBA Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu, the event was part of the league’s commitment to growing broader basketball ecosystem in Nigeria and making the game more accessible across the country.
“Our first Jr. NBA clinic in Kano speaks to our commitment to growing the game in Nigeria and creating more opportunities for boys and girls to learn and play the game,” Abudu said.
“Nigeria has a rich basketball history and abundance of talent, which is evident every time you watch an NBA game. We look forward to continuing to engage with basketball stakeholders, business leaders and members of the community to further the game’s reach and impact on young people around the country,” she added.
The 2024 basketball initiative clinics of NBA Nigeria also included the league’s inaugural Jr. NBA elite camp for 150 boys and age-16 girls held at the American International School in Lagos in July.
Others include the NBA’s building of 1,000 courts in Africa over the next decade, Nigeria’s Festival Coins and Salubata named the top two winning businesses at NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator’s inaugural Demo Day in New York City held last September, and the third edition of “NBA Meets Art,” a curated installation celebrating basketball through the lens of Nigerian art and culture as part of West Africa’s premier art fair Art X Lagos, held in November.
Central to this vision is the federation’s investment in capacity building, evident in the just-concluded one-week Level 1 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Coaching Course, which marked a significant milestone for Nigerian badminton.
Held in Abuja, the course brought together 13 young coaches from across Nigeria. The last time such a course was held in the country was in 2017, making this a historic and transformative step.
The training was facilitated by the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) in partnership with the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) and conducted by Dr. Ahmed Radah, the BCA Development Manager.
Radah, impressed by the talent he witnessed, praised Nigeria’s potential.
“Nigeria is blessed with immense talent and a strong badminton tradition. I believe this country has what it takes to dominate on the global stage,” he remarked.
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