Category: Sport News

The African boxing community is mourning the tragic loss of Segun “Success” Olanrewaju, a 40-year-old Nigerian boxer, who collapsed and died during a professional bout in Ghana.

Olanrewaju, a former National and West African light-heavyweight champion, was fighting against Accra-born John Mbanugu, nicknamed “Power,” in an undercard match of Ghana’s Professional Boxing League at the Bukom Boxing Arena on Saturday, March 29, 2025.

Fight Ends in Tragedy

The match, which was scheduled for eight rounds, took a devastating turn in the third round when Olanrewaju suddenly stumbled and collapsed to the canvas with just 15 seconds left in the round.

The referee immediately called for medical assistance, and doctors rushed to the ring in an attempt to revive him. Unfortunately, despite their efforts, Olanrewaju was pronounced dead shortly after. Preliminary reports suggest he may have suffered cardiac arrest.

A Respected Champion Gone Too Soon

Olanrewaju was a well-known figure in Nigerian boxing, having previously held both National and West African light-heavyweight titles.

According to BoxRec, he had a professional record of 23 fights, with 13 wins (12 by knockout). However, in recent years, he had struggled in the ring, losing four consecutive fights before his passing. His last match was on December 24, 2024, when he suffered a defeat to Idowu Raheed at the Campos Mini Stadium in Lagos.

Boxing World in Mourning

A video of the fight circulating on social media shows both fighters fiercely exchanging punches before Olanrewaju collapsed, leaving the audience in shock.

His sudden passing has devastated the Nigerian and Ghanaian boxing communities, with tributes pouring in from fellow boxers, coaches, and fans. Many have called for increased medical screenings and safety measures to prevent such tragedies in the sport.

As investigations continue, the boxing world remembers Segun Olanrewaju as a warrior who dedicated his life to the sport he loved.

Cristiano Ronaldo has boldly claimed that he is “the most complete player to have existed,” emphasizing that statistics back his assertion.

The Portuguese star, who respects fans’ preferences for Lionel Messi, Pelé, or Diego Maradona, believes his all-around ability sets him apart.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner, 39, is the highest men’s goalscorer in football history, with 923 goals, including his latest brace in Al Nassr’s 4-0 victory over Al Wasl in the AFC Champions League on Monday.

“Who’s the best goalscorer in history? It’s about numbers. Full stop,” Ronaldo stated in an interview with El Chiringuito on Monday. “I do everything well in football: with my head, free kicks, left foot. I’m fast, I’m strong. In my opinion, I think it’s me.”

Ronaldo, who has faced constant comparisons with Messi throughout his career, insisted that while personal preferences are valid, his versatility and achievements make him the most complete player.

Addressing his move to the Saudi Pro League, Ronaldo defended the league’s quality, arguing that it is unfairly disrespected compared to Major League Soccer (MLS).

He also spoke about his departure from Real Madrid in 2018, revealing that he felt the club mishandled his contract negotiations. However, he did not rule out a potential return to the Bernabéu in the future.

Praising Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham, Ronaldo compared the England midfielder to club legend Zinedine Zidane, predicting a bright future for the young star.

At 39, Ronaldo remains highly competitive and has no plans to retire, stating that his hunger for success continues to drive him forward.

Aston Villa have completed the loan signing of Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford.

The 27-year-old has joined on a deal until the end of the season, which includes an option to buy for £40m.

United sources said the terms mean a minimum of 75% of Rashford’s wages will be covered. Villa are not paying a loan fee.

Writing on Instagram Rashford said: “I would like to thank Manchester United and Aston Villa for making this loan deal happen.

Arsenal moved to within six points of Premier League leaders Liverpool by thrashing Manchester City at Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners, who knew only a victory would suffice with Liverpool opening a commanding lead at the top of the table after winning at Bournemouth, responded by overpowering the fading champions in emphatic fashion.

Arsenal have played a game more than Liverpool, but this impressive victory at least means they remain within touching distance of Arne Slot’s pace-setters.

City, as they had done against Chelsea eight days previously, gifted their opponents an early lead, this time inside two minutes when defender Manuel Akanji lost possession, Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard then steering in Kai Havertz’s pass.

Arsenal were wondering whether they would regret Havertz’s dreadful first-half miss when Erling Haaland headed City level after 55 minutes, but their lead was restored within two minutes when Thomas Partey’s shot was deflected wide of keeper Stefan Ortega off John Stones

Arsenal blew a two-goal lead after goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz were cancelled out by strikes from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins.

Mikel Merino thought he had won it for Arsenal near the end, but his effort was correctly cancelled out for striking the hand of Kai Havertz on its way past Emi Martinez.

Arsenal now sit six points behind the Premier League leaders Liverpool having played one game more. Villa leapfrog Manchester City to go seventh.

Newcastle United’s winning run has ended emphatically as an astonishing Justin Kluivert hat-trick helps Bournemouth to a shock win away from home in the Premier League.

You can’t say it wasn’t deserved though, the away side were up from it from minute one and took their chances on the counter with ruthless efficiency – 4-1.

Justin Kluivert scored a hat-trick as Bournemouth brought Newcastle United’s nine-match winning streak in all competitions to a halt with a 4-1 victory at St James’ Park.

The Cherries’ midfielder made a matchwinning contribution against the club where his father Patrick played during the 2004/05 season.

Kluivert opened the scoring early on and, although Bruno Guimaraes equalised, Kluivert restored the vistors’ lead in the 44th minute.

Bournemouth put the ball in the back of the net again after an hour but the ball was ruled out in the build-up.

Kluivert hammered in a third with a brilliant long-range strike in stoppage time, while Milos Kerkez added a fourth before the end to extend their unbeaten streak to 10 league games.

The Cherries climb to sixth place and within a point of Eddie Howe’s side, who remain fourth after missing the chance to leapfrog third-place Nottingham Forest.

The Argentina international has been heavily linked with an Old Trafford departure over the past few weeks and Chelsea have now joined the race to sign him, as per L’Equipe and David Ornstein.

Enzo Maresca’s side are actively pursuing a new winger in 2025 and Garnacho has emerged as a potential transfer target for the Blues following news of their interest in Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel and Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi.

L’Equipe report that Chelsea are eager to sign Garnacho this year, although they will face significant competition in the form of Napoli.

The Serie A giants are on the verge of selling Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to Paris Saint-Germain for a transfer fee in excess of €70 million and they have identified Garnacho as the perfect candidate to replace the Georgian superstar.

Serie A side Napoli establish primary contact to sign Manchester United forward Alejandro Garnacho.

According to a report by Vincenzo D’Angelo of La Gazzetta dello Sport, Napoli’s sporting director Giovanni Manna met with Alejandro Garnacho’s agents in Barcelona earlier this week to discuss the possibility of a transfer.

Manchester United are aware of the interest from the Partenopei and have named a sizeable €80 million price tag for their 20-year-old star.

Napoli are searching for a big-name signing as the ‘Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to Paris Saint-Germain’ deal is nearly complete.

While the transfer will bring around €75 million into the Neapolitans’ coffers, they will have to find a suitable replacement, who can be adapted to the Georgian’s playing style.

Former Real Madrid star Roberto Carlos is said to be staying at the club’s training facility, Real Madrid Sports City in Valdebebas, following his divorce from Mariana Luccon.

The couple, who married in 2009, are now embroiled in a legal battle over Carlos’ vast fortune, reportedly valued at £133 million, Goal reports.

While Carlos resides temporarily at the training ground, his ex-wife remains at their primary home, and her parents are staying at another of his properties. The couple share two daughters, Manuela and Mariana.

Carlos, a Brazilian football legend who spent 11 years at Real Madrid, won numerous titles with the club, including three Champions League trophies and four La Liga championships. Known for his colourful personal life, he previously revealed that he has 11 children with seven different women, living across various countries.

As the legal proceedings continue, it’s unclear how long Carlos, who now serves as a club ambassador, will remain at the training ground or what the outcome of the divorce settlement will be.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has confirmed the appointment of  Éric Sékou Chelle as Head Coach of Nigeria’s Super Eagles.

Chelle’s appointment was confirmed by the NFF on Tuesday, hours after President Ibrahim Gusau mentioned in a video that the appointment would be made soon.

“The Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation has endorsed the recommendation of its Technical and Development Sub-Committee for the appointment of Mr. Éric Sékou Chelle as Head Coach of Nigeria’s senior men’s national football team, Super Eagles.

At its meeting held in Abuja on Thursday, January 2, 2025, the NFF Technical and Development Sub-Committee recommended the appointment of the former head coach of Mali’s senior men’s national team as the new head coach of the Super Eagles. This recommendation was endorsed by the NFF Executive Committee on Tuesday, January 7,” the NFF said in a statement.

According to NFF president Gusau, Chelle’s work will begin immediately with the home-based Super Eagles at the 2024 African Nations Championship in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, where Nigeria will compete with 17 other countries from February 1-28.

A second safety meeting was held just before midday to determine whether the clash could be staged at Anfield after an amber weather warning was issued for much of the north of England.

And the go-ahead was given with the situation improving in the city after runways had earlier been closed at both Manchester Airport and Liverpool John Lennon Airport amid widespread travel disruption.

With the fixture on, Arne Slot’s side will be looking to further seize control of the title race. More dropped points for Arsenal yesterday only strengthens Liverpool’s position with a game still in hand on their rivals.

Things are rather less buoyant at Old Trafford at the moment with the arrival of Ruben Amorim not transforming Manchester United’s fortunes.

The visitors have won just two league matches since he took over in November, with recent losses to Wolves and Newcastle illustrating the scale of the job on the Portuguese’s hands.

Napoli are showing an interest in Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford, according to a report.

United would likely have to heavily subsidize want-away Rashford’s wages in order to facilitate a move to Italy.

Napoli could be willing to offer Victor Osimhen to United to help smooth the way for Rashford’s arrival in a stunning possible swap deal.

Meanwhile Napoli’s Serie A rivals Juventus want to sign Rashford’s United teammate Joshua Zikrzee on loan.

Rashford reportedly earns £300,000 per week after signing a contract extension in 2023 following his 30-goal season.

Since revealing in December the want for a ‘new challenge’, he has not played a single minute for Ruben Amorim’s side.

Manchester United attacker Marcus Rashford is set to be included in the matchday squad for tonight’s Premier League clash with Newcastle United at Old Trafford.

The 27-year-old arrived at the stadium shortly before 4.30pm carrying a boot bag and listening to music. Players had started to arrive at Old Trafford at 4pm and he was one of the very last to make his way inside.

Rashford has been left out of the matchday squad for each of United’s last four matches, last featuring in the 2-1 win over Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on December 12.

Fulham delivered a stoppage-time hammer blow to Chelsea’s Premier League title aspirations with Rodrigo Muniz’s last-gasp finish grabbing a 2-1 win and a first victory at Stamford Bridge for the Cottagers since 1979.

Muniz was in acres of space in the box when Sasa Lukic found him with a low cross to deliver a belated Christmas gift to the elated travelling support. The Fulham bench emptied in celebration – Chelsea’s subs, coaching staff and boss Enzo Maresca slumped back into their seats.

Marcus Rashford continues to be frozen out by Ruben Amorim as the Man United head coach again left the striker out of his matchday squad.

Rashford’s omission for the home game against Bournemouth makes it three successive games that he has not even made the substitutes’ bench.

Aston Villa condemned Manchester City to a sixth defeat in eight Premier League games with a 2-1 win over the reigning champions at Villa Park.

Jhon Duran stroked Villa in front early in the game, capitalising on a tentative start by Pep Guardiola’s side before Morgan Rogers deservedly doubled the advantage midway through the second half. The scorers seemed to symbolise the speed and strength City lacked.

Phil Foden pulled one goal back in stoppage time but even that could not mask how poor City were. The victory lifts Unai Emery’s side above them into fifth in the Premier League table, leaving Guardiola’s side down in sixth and still wondering if and when this slump will end.

Chelsea forward Mykhailo Mudryk has been provisionally suspended by the Football Association after failing a drugs test.

Mudryk, who faces a potential ban of up to four years under FA rules, said in a statement this is “a complete shock” and he has “not done anything wrong”.

Chelsea have launched their own investigation and said the 23-year-old insists he “has never knowingly used any banned substances”.

Mudryk, who passed a routine drugs test in August, has not been in the Chelsea squad for the last four games, with head coach Enzo Maresca putting his absence down to illness.

Mudryk says he is in “complete shock” after testing positive for a banned substance.

The club confirmed on Tuesday that they had been contacted by the Football Association (FA) after an “adverse finding in a routine urine test” provided by the Ukraine international.

Mudryk denies ever knowingly using a banned substance and Chelsea say they will work to establish what caused the failed test.

“This has come as a complete shock as I have never knowingly used any banned substances or broken any rules, and am working closely with my team to investigate how this could have happened,” Mudryk wrote on Instagram.

Following a painful loss to Leganés, Barcelona faces another blow with the injury to Lamine Yamal.

The winger underwent medical tests on Monday morning to assess the damage caused by Neyou’s tackle.

The tests confirmed a sprain in his right ankle, ruling him out for potentially up to a month.

Club statement on X (formerly Twitter):

“First team player Lamine Yamal suffered a trauma to his right ankle during yesterday’s match against CD Leganés. Tests conducted this morning have revealed a grade 1 injury to the anterior tibiofibular ligament. He is expected to be out for approximately 3-4 weeks.”

Amad Diallo inspired Manchester United to a 2-1 comeback derby win at the death as Ruben Amorim piled more misery on Pep Guardiola’s malfunctioning Manchester City.

All eyes were on the Etihad Stadium as the Portuguese led the Red Devils across town for the first time to take on a side that he last month stunned in his penultimate match as Sporting Lisbon manager.

Things have gone from bad to worse since then, with Diallo the hero on Sunday as Amorim inflicted City’s eighth defeat in 11 matches as the worst run of Guardiola’s managerial career continued.

Josko Gvardiol’s header had put the champions on course for a much-needed win as United’s corner issues were exposed again, but the visitors dug deep to win like they did at Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League.

Matheus Nunes, who had been playing as a makeshift left-back, gave away the ball and then clumsily brought down Diallo in the box, resulting in Bruno Fernandes levelling from the spot two minutes from time.

There was still more drama to come as the Ivory Coast international raced onto a Lisandro Martinez pass, lifted the ball beyond Ederson and then scored a 90th-minute winner from a tight angle.

Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 men’s football World Cup, while Spain, Portugal, and Morocco have been named joint hosts for the 2030 tournament, Fifa has announced.

To mark the competition’s 100th anniversary, three matches in the 2030 World Cup will also take place in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, the birthplace of the first tournament in 1930.

The decision was confirmed during Fifa’s Extraordinary Congress on Wednesday, where all 211 member nations participated via video link. Two separate votes were held to finalise the hosts.

The first vote selected Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina as centenary hosts, while the second confirmed Spain, Portugal, and Morocco as the primary hosts for 2030. It also awarded Saudi Arabia hosting rights for 2034.

Marcus Rashford is one of several Manchester United players available for transfer as INEOS try to raise funds to reinvest in the squad.

United were understood to be willing to listen to offers for Rashford, 27, in the summer but there were no suitors looking to sign him.

That situation, it is thought, is unlikely to change unless the forward’s form drastically improves under new head coach Ruben Amorim.

United do not have the funds to spend big in January unless they make sales and Rashford, being a homegrown player, is an obvious candidate as his potential transfer would represent pure profit on the club’s books.

Rashford has scored three goals in five games since Amorim’s appointment, operating both as a central striker and as one of the two No 10s in behind.