Bayern win Bundesliga with last-gasp goal in season finale Feisty affairs as Federation Cup quarter-final battles hold today
Djokovic says ‘part of me will leave’ when Nadal quits
WAFU U20 Women tourney: Falconets eye another goal fest against Burkina Faso
After the Round of 16 matches were successfully concluded on Thursday, quarter-final matches of this year’s men’s edition of NFF/ TINGO Federation Cup competition will take the centrestage today at four centres.
Therefore, the cities of Awka, Ijebu-Ode, Abuja and Akure will be put on edge with all eight teams, Bendel Insurance, Lobi Stars, Plateau United, Enugu Rangers, Doma United, Sunshine Stars, Kwara United and Warri Wolves eyeing tickets to the semi-finals.
Rangers of Enugu, champions on several occasions, must watch it carefully against giant-killers Doma United of Gombe in what promises to be an entertaining afternoon at the Akure Township Stadium.
In-form Bendel Insurance, who defeated Heartland FC by a lone goal in the Round of 16, will have their hands full against Sunshine Stars of Akure, victors over EFCC FC of Abuja, when both clash at the Awka Township Stadium.
Plateau United from Jos are up against Kwara United of Ilorin, who bumped Nasarawa United
With a harvest of 13 goals from their two matches so far, in which they bagged maximum six points, Nigeria’s Falconets are looking forward to another goalhaul against their counterparts from Burkina Faso in Kumasi on Sunday.
The two-time World Cup in the Round of 16, with both teams set to go for each other’s jugular at the Area 3 playing field in the Federal Capital, Abuja.
Lobi Stars, 3-1 winners over Bendel Insurance Feeders in a match that was played over two days due to heavy downpour on the first day, will next try Warri Wolves, who sent packing Gombe United, for size. Venue is the Otunba Dipo Dina silver-medallists are determined to take the wind off the sails of the Burkina Faso dames when both teams clash at the WAFU B U20 Women Championship inside the Paa Joe Stadium.
Burkina Faso’s U20 girls turned back their counterparts from Niger Republic 8-0, only three days after the Falconets had trashed the same team 7-0.
International Stadium in IjebuOde.
Doma United, Kwara United, Sunshine Stars and Warri Wolves are the clubs in search of a first Federation Cup title.
Both Nigeria and Burkina Faso have reached the tournament’s semi-finals, but the Falconets will insist on drawing the line between themselves and the fellow West African girls when the chips are down.
Both teams commence hostilities at the Paa Joe Stadium at 4pm, with Togo and Niger Republic also doing the same
Novak Djokovic admitted on Saturday that when career-long rival Rafael Nadal retires next year “part of me will be leaving too”.
Djokovic shares the all-time men’s record of 22 Grand Slam titles with Nadal but can break that tie by winning the French Open for a third time.
Nadal, the 14-time champion in Paris, is sitting out Roland Garros with a hip injury. With his 37th birthday fast approaching, the Spaniard has admitted that 2024 will likely be his final year on tour.
“When he announced that he’s going to have his last season of his career, I felt part of me is leaving with him too,” said Djokovic.
“It made me think about my career and how long I’m going to play.
“I’m not going to make any announcement today, but just reflecting on it. I felt also a little bit emotional about what he was saying.”
Djokovic holds a 30-29 career edge over Nadal but the Spanish star has been the superior force at Roland Garros with eight wins in the pair’s 10 meetings.
“I don’t like seeing him in the draw of Roland Garros, to be honest,” added Djokovic.
“I have had not so much success against him in our head-to-head. I have managed to beat him twice, but I had to leave my heart and my guts out on the court to achieve that.” business from the same time at the Baba Yara Stadium.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s U-16 boys, otherwise known as Future Eagles, yesterday departed the country’s shores to participate in this year’s Dream Cup Invitational Tournament.
The team has had two phases of camping in the Federal Capital, Abuja in the past two months, during which it had won seven of its eight friendly matches and lost only one.
Nigeria will confront host nation Japan, The Netherlands and USA in the Dream Cup Invitational Tournament, taking place 31 May – 5 June. The Future Eagles will take on The Netherlands in the opening fixture of the tourney.