President Bola Tinubu has congratulated players of Nigerian descent who led the Seattle Seahawks to victory in Super Bowl 60 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday.
The Seattle Seahawks routed the New England Patriots 29–13 to claim their second Lombardi Trophy.
Players of Nigerian descent on the team’s lineup who helped achieve this victory include Jalen Oluwaseun Milroe, quarterback; Nick Emmanwori, a defensive standout; Uchenna Nwosu, a veteran linebacker; Boye Maye, a linebacker; and Olu Oluwatimi, an irrepressible offensive lineman.
A statement by the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the President also congratulated Michael Onwenu, who played for the other side, the New England Patriots, and is regarded as one of the most dominant offensive linemen.
President Tinubu commended all the players for the pride and honour that they have brought to their country of descent, especially Emmanwori, Nwosu, and Maye, who raised Nigeria’s flag after winning the Super Bowl with the Seahawks.
The President stated that these players and their accomplishments affirm Nigerians’ global reputation for excellence and talent.
President Tinubu wished them continued success and more victories in their respective careers.
After completing his medicals and other formalities with new club, Atletico Madrid, Super Eagles forward, Ademola Lookman,now dons the club’s colours, ready for action.
He put pen to paper on Monday after his former club, Atalanta and in a contract comprising a €35m fixed fee and €5m in performance-related add-ons.
According to La Repubblica, Lookman has agreed to a four-year contract worth €7m per season, representing a salary increase of over 300 per cent from the £2.13m he earned annually in Italy.
Moments after he completed his transfer formalities from Atalanta to La Liga Club, Atletico Madrid, on Monday, Super Eagles forward, Ademola Lookman, took to his official X handle, @Alookman_, and penned an emotional goodbye to his former club.
Lookman, 28, completed the transfer on Monday after the two clubs reached an agreement. The versatile attacking midfielder signed with the former Spanish champions on a contract that would lapse on 30 June 2030.
Ademola Lookman at the signing ceremony
In his X post, Lookman, who scored a hat-trick when the Italian side beat Bayer Leverkusen to win the Europa League in 2024, expressed profuse gratitude to his teammates, the management and staff of the Club, the Club and the fans “for making Bergamo feel like home and for giving me memories I’ll carry forever.”
“Thank you to my teammates, the staff, the club. To the fans, your passion, your belief, your energy meant everything,” he wrote. “From day one, you stood by me and by this team through every moment. Your passion, your voices, your belief never faded and together we achieved.”
Born on 20 October 1997, in Wandsworth, Greater London, England, to Nigerian parents, prolific Lookman, who is expected to cost Atletico arbout 40 million euros ($47.5 million), has scored three goals in 19 matches across all competitions this season for Atalanta.
He began his career at Charlton Athletic and later joined Everton. After a loan spell at RB Leipzig, he signed for the German side permanently in 2019. However, he was loaned back to Premier League sides, Fulham and Leicester, before moving to Atalanta in 2022.
Below is the full text of Lookman’s emotional goodbye note to his Atalanta soccer family:
To the Atalanta family , after nearly four years, the time has come for me to say goodbye. From the moment I arrived in Bergamo, you welcomed me like one of your own and pushed me to be the best version of myself.
Together we made history. European champions, a night none of us will ever forget. Scoring a hat-trick in a European final and lifting a trophy with this club after a 61 year trophy drought will stay with me. Winning the Africa Player of the year award in 2024 as an Atalanta player will forever stay with me. Those moments, those emotions, those nights under the lights, they’re engraved in my heart.
Thank you to my teammates, the staff, the club. To the fans, your passion, your belief, your energy meant everything. From day one, you stood by me and by this team through every moment. Your passion, your voices, your belief never faded and together we achieved.
Every cheer, every banner, every away trip meant something. Thank you for making Bergamo feel like home and for giving me memories I’ll carry forever.
It was a pressure-cooker final that the world will talk about for a long time to come. Drama. Tension. Passion. Walk-out. Topflight football. Sunday’s final of the African Cup of Nations 2025 in Rabat had all these elements; even more. But at the end of the nail-biting game that made even the home crowd sat on edge all through, it was a lone goal that made the difference, separating the Atlas Lions of Morocco and the Teranga Lions of Senegal.
Aside Sadio Mane, who prevailed on his teammates to return to the field after marching to the locker room following a last-minute penalty awarded against Senegal which they considered unfair, was Pape Gueye. Gueye it was who fired the rocket shot that yielded the lone goal that paved the way to glory for his country.
The goal came in the first half of extra time came not too long after Senegal’s goal keeper, Edouard Mendy, saved the controversial penalty casually taken by Brahim Diaz who carried his nation’s fate on his shoulders but failed to deliver when it mattered most.
The penalty miss in the dying seconds of regulation time sent wild jubilations to the Senegalese camp, and lamentations among Moroccans.
Overall, the champions mentality of the Senegalese helped the Teranga Lions to control the time and tempo of the game. The teamed showed composure, resilience and extraordinary strength to withstand the relentless pressure of the Moroccans, before delivering the decisive moment that settled a final worthy of African football’s biggest stage.
Yes, Senegal are the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations champions for the second time. Morocco, who won the title almost 50years ago, will have to wait till 2027 to have another short at continental glory, at the highest level, AFCON.
For Senegal, this triumph confirms a golden era— at the summit of African football and another chapter of history written with discipline, belief and collective strength.
For Senegal, Sunday’s triumph confirms a golden era— at the summit of African football and another chapter of history written with discipline, belief and collective strength.
Morocco pushed until the very end, but Senegal’s defensive resolve and big-game experience proved decisive as the trophy heads to Dakar once more.
Africa has a champion again—and Senegal stand tall at the summit of the continent.
Wednesday, the 14th of January 2026 was semi-finals day in the on-going AFCON ’26 holding in Morocco. Because I am a Nigerian, the thought I had was that after the two semi-final clashes, Africa would be in again for an all-West African final match on Sunday 18th of January just as it did two years ago in Abidjan when Cote d’Ivoire hosted AFCON.
It was not necessarily a match prediction. Rather it was an awareness in me. Where it came from, I did not know. But it was strong in me, so strong that it refused to go nor leave me.
Perhaps it was because my instincts were only looking at current form, consistency, skills and determination and not what the “god of football” could do.
The two semi-final matches that were played on Wednesday were sequel to the results which came out from the quarter-finals matches that were played a few days earlier.
Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, Algeria, Morocco, Cameroon, Egypt and Côte d’Ivoire were the eight teams that paraded themselves at the quarter-finals stage.
Thus from the initial 32 national football teams that assembled in Morocco on the 21st of December 2025 for the biggest football event in Africa, the reality that has now dawned on us all now in spite of our personal biases is that only two teams are still marching on towards the epic final match.
Host country Morocco will now meet Senegal in a two Lions clash that will bring the Atlas Lions of Morocco face to face with the Teranga Lions of Senegal. Since it will come up on Sunday we may not predict the outcome for now but instead, take a look at what happened on Wednesday night when the semi-finals matches were played.
Sadio Mane, the talismanic striker of Senegal, came up in the 78th minute of that great football encounter to power in a thunderbolt which neither El-Masherawi in goal for Egypt nor his defenders could do anything about. It was a classical goal that crowned the efforts of an inspirational player who had had a rather quiet but effective role to play in the on-going nations cup as a superstar.
For players in the mould of Sadio Mane, great strikes like the one he…produced on Wednesday night always do make them stand out as their teams’ playmakers, rather than ordinary team players.
Players like Sadio Mane do always and very single-handedly lift their teams up when it matters most.
Such qualities they have always do bring on to them the legendary status or super stardom they do always rise up to among their peers.
In that first semi-final match last Wednesday in Morocco, the two teams; Senegal and Egypt, expectedly played a cautious game that is always expected at that do-or-die stage. Some how, he Egyptian’s past failures against the team from Senegal made them tread even more cautiously. Teranga Lions have once expended the Pharaohs of Egypt and sent them to the cleaners in an AFCON final match.
Again, Senegal prevented the Egyptians from qualifying for the World Cup final in Qatar. Therefore, head-to-head, the Senegalese stood superior between the two. Thus Egypt needed to raise up their game strategy, an octave higher than they had done before. Consequently, they went into the semi-finals as underdogs.
In yesterday’s match, there was also this jinx factor that had over the years enveloped one man in the Egyptian team who is called Mo Salah. He is the team’s captain and also playmaker. He has been a formidable football star for about a decade producing international accolades, acknowledgements and recognitions all over Europe. But inspire of all these, his country has never won the continental AFCON championship under his captaincy, not even when Egypt hosted the event. The jinx has continued to manifest even in this his fourth appearance in Morocco.
Salah was a few years ago team-mate of Sadio Mane at Liverpool FC in the English Premier League. They have known themselves a lot even up to their team’s abilities and also weaknesses. This is and perhaps why Mane’s Senegal had the edge over Egypt last Wednesday.
In the second semi-final match Nigeria squared it up with Morocco. It was one match in which the Moroccans had a slight edge over their opponent. This was in spite of the Eagles dominance of the five earlier matches they had played and which had seen them score 14 goals. Also the fact that they had a compact and very coherent team in defence, mid-field and in attack, was not in doubt. But their opponents, Morocco had a 12th player in that match on the rampage. He was all over the terraces of the Abdallah stadium in Rabat. That “12th player” — the voicefellows crowd had a potency to deflate the confidence of many a great player. If he did not show that ability in 120 minutes of play, he certainly did so during the penalty shoot-out. The two teams (Super Eagles and the Atlas Lions) played their semi-final match with so much respect for each other. Caution was not thrown to the wind for once, but held on to very seriously all through by the two teams. This was why the match went into extra time. While none of the two dominated the game of play, the Moroccans were more aggressive and atempted to score goal more than the Nigerians. Despite their brilliant effort the Nigerian trio of Osimehn, Akor and Lookman could not click as a dominant attacking line on that semi- final night.
Ball supply to them was tactically cut off in style. If we must assess the game very well the Atlas Lions had a 52-48% edge over the Eagles. How many shots or goal attempts were on target throughout the 120 minutes? Only a few.
This is why one finds it difficult to trend along with the thinking of some Nigerians that the centre refree was partial in favour of Morocco. That could not have been so. No instance in the 120 minutes game suggested so? Some talk of the yellow card issued to Calvin Bassey. We ask, did he not commit the offence? Did the yellow card stop Calvin from standing tall and authoritative as he did in the Nigerian defence?
We must learn to accept our fate in circumstances like this and not be wonto apportioning blame.
This brings me to what I spoke of as the “god of football concept or factor”.
The Nation Cup Finals history has it that Morocco’s only victory was in 1976. The country hosted MAROC’ 88 but lost. In 2004 it lost out again in the final match.. Every two years Morocco invade the AFCON to try their best but have always been edged out. For 50 years after its only victory in 1976, Morocco has never touched the trophy. Yet it has continued to support the improvement and development of the game of football. Now should the god of football continue to deny Morocco victory, after 50 years? Would you not appraise the matter if your country fell into such a dilemma? Would you not appeal to that ” “god of football” to be kind to you for once because of all your contributions?
This is the reality that should dawn on us all as l write about a concept called the god of football. For what it is, let us deduce it from the stories and illustrations l make here.
Two years ago Cote D’Ivoire started off badly as host but won the AFCON. For many years that county remained an under performer in AFCON as it’s records shows. Victory came to the Ivoriens for the first ever time at Senegal ’92. It was after nearly 30 years of trying. Secondly, when their jinxed captain Didier Drogba led a then stars-studded Elephannts for almost a generation, he could not lift the trophy as captain. But his deputy Yahya Toure only came to pick it for Cote D’Ivoire for a second time in 2015. That was after 23 years of constant efforts. Two years ago, after a nine year lull, Cote Divoire hosted and won, despite a very poor early start. As host, they got to the final and won the trophy a third time by beating Nigeria 2-1 that year.
I must say it is that very special god of football which I had failed to acknowledge nor reckon with when I assumed and pronounced earlier that next Sunday’s final match would be an all West African affair. Now the concept of “god of football” has bore its fangs and we have now known that next Sunday is going to be a West Africa vrs North Africa football clash. Certainly it will not be like two years ago when it was Nigeria vrs Cote D’Ivoire in an all black West Africa duel. We wish the two remaining teams in the competition the best. But the concept of god of football makes us believe here that Senegal may have and so produce the talent and skills and competence to deliver as a compact team. But “the god of football” will prevail to support Morocco who has put in so much to develop the game.The North African country has improved its football culture and status consistently in the last 50 years or so. That country has done so much that today it is the best team in Africa, having done so well at the Qatar World Cup Finals where it reached the semi-finals stage, becoming the first African nation to get that far in world football.This is why this Sunday the 18th of January we strongly believe the “god of football” will among other factors like, quality stadia, good football tactics, effective coaching, and generally loud support, move on to win the cup for Morocco.
Football fans, this is our prediction. It is based on the assumption that the “god of football” is never asleep. It is alway a rewarder of nations or football teams that dare to make a statements in the development of the game even in spite of repeated frustrations that may have confronted them over the time. For sure a classical football game awaits us all on Sunday the 18th of January.
Smolette Adetoyese Shittu-Alamu, veteran journalist, writes from Osogbo.
After grueling 120 minutes of play that tested the depth, strength and staying power of both teams, the Atlas Lions of Morocco prevailed against the high-flying Super Eagles of Nigeria, Wednesday night, at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, zooming into the final of the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament 4-2 on penalties.
It was a match that could have gone either way as the two teams matched themselves perfectly in every department of the game, ending the match 0-0 after 120 minutes, making the penalty shoot-out inevitable.
With the victory, hosts Morocco will now slug it out with Senegal on Sunday after the latter overcame Egypt 1-0 earlier on Wednesday.
Sadio Mane, the undisputed hero of the match, scored a back-breaking late goal for Senegal to send the Pharaohs out of the cup’s contention.
Egypt’s power house, Mohamed Salah, was unable to make an impact in a night so much was expected from him.
With the result, the Super Eagles and Egypt will now fight for bronze in the third-place match that would precede the final.
Morocco’s goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou, stood between the Super Eagles and the Atlas Lions as he stopped two spot-kicks.
Yassine Bounou had, in the 13th minute of the cracker, comfortably saved Ademola Lookman’s long-range strike that would have put Nigeria into an early lead.
The Eric Chelle’s side attempted to impose themselves but the Moroccans disrupted Nigeria’s rhythm by mounting relentless pressure.
Nigeria’s King of goals, Victor Osimhen, caused serious problems for Morocco in the 31st minute forcing the Atlas Lions into errors but the Nigerians could not seize the moment.
Two minutes later, Super Eagles’ dependable defender, Calvin Bassey, was booked in the 33rd minute, ruling him out of the third-place match against Egypt. Baasey was outstanding throughout the match, frustrating the Moroccans with intelligent and well-calculated tackles.
Just before the interval, Stanley Nwabali put up one of his best performances in recent times, making serious saves. He frustrated Ismael Saibari’s effort from inside the area, ensuring the sides went into the break with a barren draw.
With neither side able to find the net within regulation and extra time, the semi-final cracker was settled by penalties. And Bounou’s heroics proved decisive, sealing his side into the final against the Teranga Lions of Senegal.
The DeeJay at Farm City was livid with rage. Not the performative rage that sometimes accompanies hype music and crowd control, but a visceral indignation provoked by what had become the talking point of the day: the temerity of Algerian players joking that the Super Eagles of Nigeria would be sent back to Sambisa Forest after their quarter-final encounter at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. It was a jab at his national pride, an insult to his national identity.
Long before kick-off, a large crowd had gathered at the expansive leisure spot along Kashim Ibrahim Way, Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, on Saturday night. The size of the crowd was not unusual for a major match night; what was striking was its composition and disposition. People of all shades, ages and backgrounds converged in different spaces. The early birds secured a spot in the section with the giant LED screen. That section also has a performance stage. They were not there for the usual revelry. They were there to watch Nigeria battle Algeria in faraway Marrakesh.
Naturally, Eagles and Foxes are never best of friends. In the wild, both are predators, locked in a rivalry of survival. Eagles prey on young foxes; foxes raid eagle nests for eggs and chicks. So, the threat to return Nigerian Eagles to Sambisa Forest, Nigeria’s infamous den of terrorists, was not entirely out of place within the metaphor of animal rivalry, though it touched a raw national nerve. The crowd at Farm City was therefore apprehensive but expectant. MTN and Guinness spiced up the night with promotions: buy two bottles of Guinness, get one free; SIM cards and routers registered at no cost. It was a full night of fun and expectation, but the match was the real issue. It was the reason for the eclectic crowd.
A viral video had earlier shown a member of the Algerian national team jokingly warning: “Nigeria, I hope you are ready, because we have no option than to send you back to Sambisa Forest tomorrow.” That video was the fuel. It was the kicker of the frenzy. Yet beyond the banter, the conviviality at Farm City was palpable. Mixed emotions paraded the corridors between tables laden with steaming chop, cold drinks and cups of hot tea. Green was the dominant colour: jerseys, caps, scarves, bracelets. Religion, tribe and political affiliations were conspicuously absent. Only apprehension and patriotic frenzy held sway.
As the referee’s whistle pierced the Marrakesh night and echoed through the Abuja screen, Farm City fell into an initial anxious silence punctuated by nervous commentary and spontaneous chants. Fans watched the first half with trepidation. Every Nigerian touch was cheered. The Super Eagles responded with authority. Deft touches, tailor-made passes and telegraphic shots into the 18-yard box pinned the Desert Foxes deep in their own half. For long stretches of the first 45+ minutes, Algeria barely crossed the halfway line.
In that moment, the small patch of Abuja felt larger than life. The Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja and the National Stadium in Lagos could not have boasted a more pan-Nigerian and enthusiastic crowd than this one small space in Wuse. It was perhaps in hundreds of people, but its pluralistic composition and single-purpose commitment made it profoundly eclectic. The various ethnicities in Nigeria and accents from beyond its boundaries blended seamlessly. Strangers shared tables, drinks and opinions with an ease rarely seen outside moments of national catharsis.
On my left sat Dr Tomi Ojetunde, a man I had never met before that evening. Yet in the spirit that enveloped the arena, familiarity came easily. My colleague, Iyobosa Uwugiaren, was on my right beaming with ecstasy. Intermittently he will remind me that Osimhen is his brother. Leaning towards me amid a wave of pressure from the Algerians that quickly fizzled out, Dr Ojetunde said with quiet certainty, “Nigeria will win.” There was no bravado in his voice, just conviction born of faith in the green-white-green.
Still, there was a goal drought. The first 45 minutes, plus added time, ended goalless. This was despite Nigeria’s dominance, over 70 percent possession, relentless pressing and territorial control. Some fans groaned. Others shifted uneasily in their seats. Dr Ojetunde did not waver. “Goals will come,” he insisted. Not “a goal,” but “goals.” Plural! He then added: Two goals! He repeated it like a prophecy waiting for fulfilment. He was not just optimistic, he was emphatic. But he did it with the calmness of a medical doctor that he is. It came to pass!
The second half began, and almost immediately, destiny arrived. Nigeria advanced to the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals after a convincing 2 – 0 quarter-final victory over Algeria in Marrakech. Victor Osimhen opened the scoring early in the second half, rising highest to head home Bruno Onyemaechi’s cross on his 50th cap for the Super Eagles, his fourth goal of AFCON 2025. Farm City exploded.
Barely had the echoes of celebration died down when Akor Adams doubled the lead, finishing into an empty net after Osimhen’s deliberate square pass, which he connected from a sublime outside-of-the-boot assist from Alex Iwobi. Nigeria dominated proceedings, no doubt, but could not increase the score line. Adams later hit the post, but the message was already clear. A semi-final clash with hosts Morocco was in view.
When the first goal came through Osimhen’s boot about the second minute of the second half, Farm City erupted into a frenzy, buoyed by thunderous jams from the DeeJay’s turntable. The same Deejay who had earlier fumed at Algerian bravado suddenly seemed transported. He thundered, “Anyone who prays that the Algerians see the Nigerian net…” he received a Pentecostal “Holy Ghost Fire!” response from the crowd before he could conclude. Then he started speaking in tongues, shouting half-coherent praise into the microphone. He joked that Akor missed some goal chances because he does not drink Guinness Stout. Strangers embraced without realising they were doing so. Tables rattled. Drinks spilled. The music became a universal elixir, pushing revelers off their seats, possessed by the spirit of football and the madness of victory. Bodies moved in seductive synchrony, a spontaneous choreography that spoke eloquently of national unity. In those minutes, football blurred primordial lines. It dissolved differences and suspended worries.
One thing was obvious in that shared space: football doesn’t create unity, it reveals its latent possibility. For Nigeria, the implications run deep: what stirs us emotionally can fuel social and political cohesion, if deliberately harnessed. This unforced harmony offers real hope, not just illusion. It proves Nigerians are not inherently divided; they are ready for unity. The challenge for leaders, media and social institutions lies in transforming these explosions of collective joy into a lasting national identity.
Perhaps the Algerians are unaware that Nigerian forces recently stormed Sambisa Forest and shattered the myth that once clung to it. The place no longer carries the dreaded weight it once did. And so, in a twist of poetic justice, instead of the Eagles being sent back to Sambisa, it was the Foxes that were sent scampering back to the Sahara Desert, where, for the duration of the tournament, they rightly belong.
James, an Abuja-based communication consultant, is a Fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors and member of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos.
Former world heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, escaped death by the whiskers, Monday morning, when his Lexus jeep crashed into a stationary truck, leaving two people dead.
The 36-year-old former champion, who was on a 10-day holiday, was travelling to his home town, Sagamu, Ogun State, when the accident occurred at about 11.a.m. around the Danco Filling Station, near the Shagamu interchange on the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, said an eye witness.
The accident came 10 days after AJ, as the Britain-born Nigerian boxer is popularly known, pummeled Jake Paul to submission in six rounds in Miami, and was projected to return to the ring in February 2026, ahead of a potential bout with Tyson Fury later in the year.
With AJ now in hospital, though with “minor injuries”, all that now seems to be in the air.
Anthony Joshua after the accident
The BBC has reported Anthony Joshua’s team as saying that it was looking into the incident, just as the Commissioner of the Ogun State Police Command, Mr. Lanre Ogunlowo, confirmed that an investigation has been launched into the crash.
“I can confirm to you that an accident occurred and the victim has been taken to the hospital,” Ogunlowo told the BBC.
Footage of the accident has gone viral on social media showing Anthony Joshua, a passenger in the Lexus in a convoy, appearing dazed and in pain at the scene of the incident, both in and out of the car that reportedly hit a truck.
The Punch newspaper quoted an eye witness who captured the moment the Lexus Jeep carrying the former champion hit the stationary truck with registration number KRD 850 HN.
The first responder said that Joshua sustained minor injuries while two others died on the spot.
“It was a two-vehicle convoy: a Lexus SUV and a Pajero SUV. Joshua was seated behind the driver, with another person beside him,” the eyewitness told the Punch. “A passenger sat beside the driver, making four occupants in the Lexus that crashed. His security detail followed in the vehicle behind.
“Other eyewitnesses and I began the rescue and flagged down oncoming vehicles for help. Minutes after the crash, Federal Road Safety Corps officials arrived. The passenger beside the driver and the person beside Joshua died on the spot.”
Victims of the crash
In a statement, the spokesperson of the Ogun State Police Command said:
“The Ogun State Police Command confirms a road accident today in front of Sinoma, before Danco, along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway. Anthony Joshua and other injured persons have been rushed to the hospital.
A Tunisian football buff, Islam Bouafif, has described Nigeria’s King of goals, Victor Osimhem, as “an absolute monster” with an “insane” jumping ability.
Awed by Osimhen’s dazzling performance in last Saturday’s thriller at Fez Stadium in Morocco, Bouafif, on Sunday, took to his X account, @BouafifNour, to pour out his mind on the Galatasaray striker.
On Saturday, the Super Eagles of Nigeria put up their best performance in recent time, and drubbed the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia 3-2 to book a place in the Round of 16 at the ongoing African Cup of Nations, AFCON.
Bouafif merely stopped short of calling Osimhen a ghost while describing his superlative performance in the match, saying the player’s agility and incredible strength makes it “almost impossible to duel with him”.
Bouafif was not done with his assessment of Osimhen, He rated him as the player with the best box presence in world football, and submitted that the top striker was “just seriously wasting his prime years in Turkey” with Galatasaray.
“He deserves a better team in a top league,” the Tunisian ruled.
Here is Islam Bouafif‘s report on Osimhen verbatim:
“As someone whose team just faced Osimhen, I have to say playing against him is genuinely scary and frustrating. Our centre backs aren’t usually this bad, and we rarely struggle this much when defending crosses. But this guy is an absolute monster.
“Right now, I genuinely think he has the best box presence in world football. His movement is extremely intelligent, he knows exactly when and where to attack the space, and physically he is on another level. His strength makes it almost impossible to duel with him, his jumping ability is insane, and he always seems to be at the end of every single cross.
“With all due respect to Galatasaray, he’s seriously wasting his prime years in Turkey. He deserves a better team in a top league.”
Twenty-four hours to the deadline for naming his squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco scheduled to start eleven days from now, the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, is yet to clear the backlog of salaries owed Super Eagles coach, Eric Chelle.
Tomorrow, Thursday, December 11, 2025, is the deadline for naming final squads for the tournament. The mandatory date for clubs to release players for the competition is Monday, December 15.
In what has become the fashion of the NFF ahead of crucial moments for the national team, the NFF is treating the serious matter with levity amid palpable anxiety that the situation may put Nigeria’s participation in the tournament into serious jeopardy.
Ahead of Thursday’s deadline by the Confederation of African Football, the NFF, last Tuesday, published Chelle’s 54-man provisional list. The coach is owed three months salaries, the Punch newspaper confirmed in a report in its online edition.
The newspaper quoted a journalist, Shina Okeleji, as saying in a post on X, on Tuesday that: “Nigeria’s coach Eric Chelle is owed three months salary and bonuses ahead of the AFCON.
“The Malian, who led the Eagles to 2026 World Cup play-off, has, however, yet to make an official complaint to his employers (the NFF) about the non-payment of his salary.”
However, a top NFF official told The Punch that the coach would be paid soon.
“Eric came to see us, and we explained the processes,” the official confided in the newspaper. “His money will be paid. We have paid him even ahead before, and this time, we are waiting for cash backing from finance. The money on paper has been paid, and the coach is aware.”
He added: “When they paid him two months ahead, all these were not glorified, and we don’t need this now.”
![[Photo News] Ademola Lookman Revealed…in Atletico Madrid Colours](https://thecrestng.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/HALR6UGXkAAjiE3.jpg)
