Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun has committed his international future to the USA.
Balogun, on-loan with Reims this season, is an England U21 international but also qualifies for the USA.
And AP reports FIFA has accepted the player’s application and he can therefore turn out for the USA.
Balogun, 21, is scheduled to return to Arsenal at the end of the season.
USA Boxing, representing the most successful country in the sport’s Olympic history, has left the International Boxing Association (IBA) and will join the breakaway federation, World Boxing.
Mike McAtee, chief executive of USA Boxing, wrote in a letter to members on Wednesday that the withdrawal was effective immediately.
“USA Boxing will immediately begin the World Boxing application process and submit the required application on the first day of acceptance, on or about May 1, 2023,” he added.
“USA Boxing is committed to work tirelessly with World Boxing, like-minded national federations and worldwide Olympic-style boxing community to earn the privilege to be part of the Olympic Movement now and in the years to come.”
Swiss-registered World Boxing was set up this month by countries, including the U.S. and Britain, concerned about the troubled sport’s Olympic future.
The IBA, led by Russian Umar Kremlev and suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2019, has denounced World Boxing as a “rogue” organisation.
Formerly known as AIBA, it filed an official complaint to the Boxing Independent Integrity Unit on Wednesday against the individuals and entities involved in the breakaway body.
McAtee said the board of USA Boxing had approved unanimously a resolution to terminate membership.
He added that the board accused the IBA of failing to uphold the principles of its constitution and to respect the Olympic charter and movement.
Boxing’s place in the Olympics after next year’s Paris Games remains uncertain, with the sport not on the initial programme for Los Angeles 2028, pending reforms demanded by the IOC.
USA Boxing is certified by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing in the U.S.
The U.S. has won 117 Olympic boxing medals, including 50 gold, since 1904 but boycotted the recent IBA women’s world championships in New Delhi.
The United States chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, on Thursday condemned the proposed political demonstration that would be held by some Nigerians in front of the White House on Monday.
The condemnation is coming a day after authorities in the United States granted permission to supporters of Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to use its park on April 3 to protest the outcome of the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria.
The permit allows only a hundred protesters to converge at the iconic Lafayette Park in Washington D.C. for just four hours.
There was a clear warning on the permit that the participants must “comply with all of the conditions of this permit and with all reasonable directions of the United States Park Police.”
The demonstration would be led by a group in diaspora under the aegis of Nigerian American Coalition for Justice and Democracy Inc., under the leadership of Franklin Ekechukwu.
Ekechukwu had disclosed in a memo that the demonstration was their own way of protesting INEC refusal to “follow their guidelines and rule of law in accordance to democratic principles.”
It further read, “We in the diaspora are demonstrating to call the attention of the US government and Biden administration to not recognise the projected winner.”
The All Progressives Congress candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was declared as the winner of the contentious February 25 presidential election.
Tinubu polled 8,794,726 votes to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the LP candidate, Obi, who got 6,984,520 and 6,101,533 votes respectively.
But Atiku and Obi rejected the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, with each claiming at separate press conferences that the election was allegedly fraught with violence and massive rigging.
Both politicians have since petitioned the presidential election tribunal to register their displeasure over the outcome of the poll.
Thenewsguru.com (TNG) reports that in a statement issued on Thursday, the Chairman of the United States chapter of the APC, Prof. Tai Balofin, disclosed that many Nigerians in Diaspora were unperturbed by the proposed protest because they knew the presidential poll was free and fair.
He said, “We wish to inform the public that a group of the Nigerian 2023 Presidential election losers are currently protesting at the park in front of the White House. It is important to note that the US government is not involved or in support of the protest, as anybody can get approval for a peaceful protest.
“It is our belief that the Nigerian presidential election was free and fair, and Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu won the election. The majority of Nigerian voters gave him their mandate, and no propaganda, manipulation or tissue of lies can stop his inauguration.
“The APC-USA assures Nigerians not to be perturbed by the actions of the protesters. We want to assure Nigerians that Nigeria will not secede, and it will remain united. We must work together to salvage it.”
While urging Nigerians living in the United States to remain calm and peaceful, Balofin told journalists on Thursday that the opposition who lost will meet the winner at the protest ground on April 3.
Former President of the United States, Donald Trump, has made history in America as the first US president charged with a crime following his indictment over the payment of hush money to an adult movie star in 2016.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that Trump was indicted by a grand jury seated in Manhattan, New York.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has been investigating Trump for his alleged role in a payout and cover up scheme involving porn star, Stormy Daniels.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) gathered that Trump allegedly paid the actress a sum of $130,000 in days leading up to the 2016 presidential election, which he eventually won.
Sources familiar with the matter said a grand jury in Manhattan voted to indict the former President on Thursday. The indictment was however filed under seal and was yet to be officially announced.
In a statement, Trump’s former attorney, Micheal Cohen, who is also involved in the case, confirmed the news and noted that the indictment was the first of its kind in America’s history.
He said: “For the first time in our Country’s history, a President (current or former) of the United States has been indicted.
“I take no pride in issuing this statement and wish to also remind everyone of the presumption of innocence; as provided by the due process clause.
“However, I do take solace in validating the adage that no one is above the law; not even a former President. Today’s indictment is not the end of this chapter; but rather, just the beginning.
“Now that the charges have been filed, it is better for the case to let the indictment speak for itself. The two things I wish to say at this time is that accountability matters and I stand by my testimony and the evidence I have provided to the Manhattan District Attorney.”
Rumours of the possible indictment had broken out last week, leading to Trump calling on his supporters to protest against the indictment on his behalf.
The Oranje boys of Netherlands became the first team to secure qualification into the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarter-final after defeating United States 3-1 on Saturday.
The trio of Memphis Depay, Daley Blind and Denzel Dumfries all score to break American hearts and seal deserved quarter-final spot for the dominant Dutch.
Dumfries, the Inter player, had provided low crosses from theNethe right side for both the first half goals so it was fitting that he should score the decisive one near the end. He had been Holland’s best player throughout.
In the 10th minute, Dumfries on the right, sent a low drive cross to Depay who slotted in the first goal from 14 yards to give Netherlands the opener.
Once again the cross came from then right and again it was from Dumfries to Daley blind who fired home the second goal of the encounter.
Haji Wright pulled one bacl for the Americans as they pushed forward for an equalizer but the tormentor in Chief Depay made the Americans pay for their surge upfront with a beautiful goal to put the game to bed.
It ended 3-1 in favour of Netherlands.
Following his announcement to run for the presidency in 2024, Donald Trump‘s daughter, Ivanka Trump, has stated that she has chosen to prioritize her young children over her father’s ambition.
This comes after a CNN report last week that Trump’s daughter and her husband, Jared Kushner, would not campaign on behalf of Donald Trump.
Ivanka said, “While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside of the political arena,” said Trump, who did not attend Donald Trump’s announcement at Mar-a-Lago Tuesday evening.
“This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family.”
“I am grateful to have had the honor of serving the American people and I will always be proud of many of our Administration’s accomplishments.
Nigeria’s U17 girls say they foresee an interesting encounter when they tackle United States of America in Navi Mumbai in one of the quarter finals matches of this year’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup finals.
The Flamingos lost narrowly, 1-2, to another powerhouse of women’s football, Germany in their first match of the competition but have since overcome stage-fright and were worthy 4-0 and 2-1 winners over New Zealand and Chile respectively.
Navi Mumbai, a planned ultra-modern city that is only 25 kilometres from the Indian capital city of Mumbai, is the venue for this titanic clash set for the Dr. DY Patil Stadium as from 12 noon Nigeria time on Friday.
Nigeria, who would be aiming to break their quarterfinal jinx at this competition, are up against USA for the first time at this level and this encounter is an opportunity for the West Africans to make history.
Having failed to reach the semi-finals in six previous editions, the Nigerians set out to achieve the impossible, ending the country’s 14-year wait for a last-four berth on their fourth quarterfinal appearance.
The Americans will hope to reach the semis for the first time since 2008 when they finished as runners-up at the inaugural edition in New Zealand.
Impossible is nothing, really. On 25th July 2010, in Augsburg, Nigeria’s U20 girls, Falconets came from behind to defeat USA on penalties in one of the quarter-final matches of the 2010 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Germany. The match ended 1-1 and the Falconets went on to win 4-2 after a penalty shootout.
The Vice President of the United States of America, Kamala Harris, has said that Nigeria remains a symbol of democracy in Africa.
She stated this when she played host to her Nigerian counterpart, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who led a delegation to the White House to discuss Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan on Friday.
In a statement released by her office on Saturday, Harris was quoted as saying, “Nigeria has also been an important partner in upholding the international rules-based order, whether it is tackling the democratic backsliding that we’ve been seeing in West Africa or standing up for Ukraine at the United Nations.
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“The United States remains committed to supporting free and fair elections in Nigeria next February — elections which we have confidence will be peaceful and reflect the will of the prople.
“And, of course, we do feel very strongly, as I know you do, that Nigeria is and must remain a bastion of democracy for West Africa.
“More broadly, Africa’s leadership is key to confronting all of the global challenges we face. And to that end, Nigeria is key.”
World champions USA got the better of an under-strength Nigeria in an international friendly at the Children’s Mercy Park, Kansas City, Missouri on Saturday.
The nine-time African champions had in their ranks four members of the U20 girls who reached the quarter finals of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica last month, and missed the services of midfield Trojans Ngozi Okobi-Okoeghene and Halimatu Ayinde. Defender and captain Onome Ebi, who got injured during the Women AFCON finals in Morocco, is still on the sidelines.
Sophia Smith put the home team ahead in the 14th minute, and Lindsay Horan made it two after 25 minutes. With the first half winding down, Smith made it three from a simple tap-in just into time-added-on, with goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie at sea.
Seven minutes into the second period, Alex Morgan made it four for the Americans from the penalty spot.
Both teams will clash again in the second of a two-match tour at the Audi Field in Washington D. C on Tuesday.
When the inaugural World Cup was hosted in Uruguay in 1930, football had become a keenly supported, highly competitive & glamorous sport that generated huge profits for it’s administrators at the time. FIFA, the world governing body for football had recorded some significant success in controlling the affairs of football for several years before deciding to run it’s global tournament & even though in the early days, it was difficult to have countries outside Europe & South America participate in World Cup, the game has since evolved to see more and more countries participate fully in the buildup to the World Cup.
92 years & counting, 21 editions and ongoing, 17 host nations across 5 continents, 79 different national teams have played in the group stages of the Finals, 8 winners in-between all 21 previous editions; the FIFA World Cup is the singular most watched sporting event on earth with almost a billion persons watching the finals in Germany 2006 between France & Italy (Italy won that finals via penalty in a match that saw former 3x FIFA Player of the Year & French captain, Zinedine Zidane, pick up a red card for a cynical yet infamous head-butt foul on Marco Materazzi).
Brazil are the only country to have played in every World Cup since 1930, 21 appearances in total so far; Brazil have also won the most World Cup finals (5 times) with Italy & Germany closely behind them on 4 World Cup trophies each. Uruguay, Argentina & current holders, France are on 2 trophies each with England (1966) & most recently, Spain (2010), on 1 World Cup win each.
In terms of hosting per continent, Europe has hosted the World Cup more times than every other continent in the world combined at 11 editions, while Africa just recently hosted its only tournament with the 2010 edition held in South Africa. Korea/Japan 2002 was Asia’s first World Cup tournament which saw co-hosts, South Korea reaching the Semi-finals & almost breaking a jinx of being the first non-European or South-American nation to reach a World Cup final. Qatar 2022 would be the second edition of the FIFA World Cup hosted on Asian soil.
The number of teams participating in the World Cup has changed over the years from the 13 teams that participated in the 1930 finals in Uruguay to the 16 team tournament in the subsequent 10 editions from 1934 till 1978 (except the 15 teams in France 1938 when Austria merged into Germany & the 13 teams in the Brazil 1950 tournament because India, Turkey & Scotland withdrew from the tournament). From Spain 1982 till USA 1994 there were 24 teams playing in the World Cup group stages & it was upgraded to the current 32 team tournament from France 1998 till date.
In January 2017, FIFA confirmed that by the 2026 World Cup in USA, Canada & Mexico it will increase the number of teams playing in the World Cup to 48 teams to allow for more slots for CAF, AFC, OFC, CONMEBOL & CONCACAF nations to participate in the tournament. Though the slot allocation is yet to be announced, it’s confirmed that there would be 16 groups in the tournament & we can expect to see as many more matches played in the time frame of the tournament in 2026.
Just Fontaine holds the record for the most goals scored in a single World Cup, scoring 13 goals in the 1958 World Cup alone. Miroslav Klose holds the record for the most number of World Cup goals, 16 goals scored across four World Cups (2002 – 2014). Mexico’s Rafael Marquez holds the record for being the only player to have featured in 5 World Cups as a captain. Brazil holds the record of featuring in every World Cup from 1930 till date. Germany & Brazil are tied on the record of most matches played in the World Cup (109 games played each). The Germans have featured in 8 final games, 13 semi-finals & 16 quarter-finals. Brazil have won the most games at the World Cup (73) & scored the most goals (229) in their 21 edition appearances, last reaching the finals in 2002 (vs Germany) & the semi-finals in 2014 on home soil (a humiliating 7-1 loss to Germany enroute to their infamous win in 2014).
No African, North/South American, Oceania or Asian nation has ever placed in the top 3 at the World Cup with South Korea coming closest in 2002 when they lost to Turkey in the Third Place Match and placed 4th overall in the standings at the first ever Asian hosted World Cup. by thedavidadesina