Three Eaglets fail MRI test in Morocco

Eaglets players preparing for training

Three players in the national U17 squad Golden Eaglets have failed the mandatory MRI scan tests at the ongoing CAN U17 Cup in Morocco.

The trio of Onyinye Ndidi, Ibrahim Abdullahi and Emmanuel Asadu and six other players: three from Congo and the same number from Cote d’Ivoire failed the test in results made public on Saturday.

The Eaglets which is in Marrakech will now go through the championship with just 18 players at its disposal, the same as Congo and Cote d’Ivoire.

Meanwhile other members of the team have been talking tough ahead of today’s battle with Ghana’s Black Starlets.

Ahmed Umar says the team is ready for a tough time at the tourney.

“I’m happy to be part of this team and I pray that God crown our efforts. We know at the back of our minds that it is not going to be an easy championship particularly with everybody tipping us as the favourites. But we are not getting carried away.”

Kelechi Iheanacho is also sure the team can shine.

“We are going to play for ourselves as a team. Football is a team game and we believe collective efforts will help us. We don’t see ourselves as favourites because we have not won anything. Our style is different and anybody in this team is capable of scoring goals.”

Jide Idowu assures that the team is in the right frame of mind to produce good results.

”We are not been over confident but we know what we are capable of doing. We just pray that God help us achieve our objective here. We have worked hard and we know it is only God that will crown all the efforts with resounding success.”

Ifeanyi Matthew says: “It will be difficult for me to pick one player that is the star of this team. We all see ourselves as stars and we respect each other because each player brings a particular thing to the team.

“So many good players in this team and we have to thank the coaching crew for helping us attain this level.”

On his part, Bernard Bulbwa promises five-star performance.

“Against Ghana on Saturday, it is going to be maximum concentration from me. It is the first game of the championship for us and we have told ourselves that we must put more than 100 percent to achieve victory. We respect Ghana like any other team; we are not going to underrate them.”

CAF confirms Heartland's Confederation Cup exit

.To sanction club

Confederation of African Football (CAF) has finally confirmed the exit of Heartland FC of Owerri from the ongoing Confederation Cup.

The continental football body ruled expectedly in a press statement on Saturday that the Nazi Millionaires as Heartland is called was at fault after it failed to show up on time for the second-leg tie between it and US Bitam of Gabon on Saturday, April 6 in Bitam.

Travel hitches due to lack of funds kept Heartland’s contingent grounded in the country until just few hours before the match. It eventually arrived in Gabon, only to learn that it had been walked over by the hosts.

But CAF has ruled that the team’s failure to meet up with the kickoff time was a failing on its part and not as a result of Force Majeure or something beyond its control. This, it noted was contrary to Article 16 of the body’s competition regulations and effectively, dumps the team out of the championship.

The football body also noted that Heartland will face further sanctions for its poor planning and breaking of the competition rules.

CAF ruled thus: “In relation to the match initially scheduled on Saturday April 06^th which did not take place between US Bitam (Gabon) and Heartland (Nigeria) in the frame of the 10th edition of the Orange Confederation Cup 2013, the referees and officials registered the absence of Heartland team at the time of kick off.

“The CAF Inter-clubs Committee considered that the absence of the team from Nigeria was mainly the responsibility of the club Heartland, rather than a case of force majeure.

“Consequently, and in conformity with article 16 of the competition regulations:

“‘If for any reason whatsoever, a team withdraws from the competition or does not report for a match-except in case of force majeure accepted by the Organising Committee- or if it refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the permission of the referee, it shall be considered loser and shall be eliminated from the competition. The same shall apply to the teams which were declared disqualified by decision of CAF.’

“And without considering other possible sanctions to be applied during the next meeting of the CAF inter-clubs Committee in May in Cairo, the CAF Inter-cubs Committee considers the team Heartland eliminated from the competition.”

Heartbroken Heartland returns, protests walkover in Gabon

Nigeria’s last CAF Confederations Cup representative, Heartland FC of Owerri is protesting its ouster from the continental club competition after it was walked over by Gabonese side US Bitam on Saturday.

Heartland missed its 5pm kickoff time on Saturday after leaving the shores of Nigeria for the away game in Bitam just a few hours earlier. The club’s predicament was due to lack of funds to hasten up the team’s travel plans.

Heartland, we gathered has filed a protest with CAF that the hosts did not honour the fact that the Nigerian team was in country as at the time the walkover was done and that it had a window of Sunday to play the match at the weekend.

Heartland officials are confident that the Owerri club has a strong enough argument to get CAF to rule in the team’s favour, particularly order that the match be replayed.

Meanwhile, dejected players of the club landed in two batches at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Sunday. The team then proceeded to its homeground in Owerri ahead of its Nigeria Professional Football League tie during the week.

Daily Independent also gathered that the team is also smarting from the manner it was treated by hosts Gabon after the contingent was abandoned at the Gabon Airport for about four hours on arrival.

CAF Champions League: Rangers qualifies for next round

Enugu players and Vital O's mingle before start of game on Sunday

Rangers International of Enugu, one of Nigeria’s representatives in the CAF Champions League has qualified for the next stage of the continental club championship.

Rangers picked the ticket for the next round after beating its Burundian counterpart Vital O’ 2-0 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu on Sunday. With the result, Rangers finished on 2-0 aggregate after the first leg ended in a goalless draw in Bujumbura a fortnight ago.

Rangers came into the game meaning business and was quickly rewarded by a goal from the penalty spot by Uche Oguchi after one of its rampaging attackers was felled by the visiting team.

Efe Yarehe mades it two in the 16^th minute via a well-taken free kick. Vital O’ tried fruitlessly for a comeback but could not. It even got a penalty in the final minutes of the game but Steve Nzigamassado lost the spot kick.

Rangers will now face Recreativo Libolo of Angola in the next stage of the competition. Also, the players have earned themselves a N250,000 prize money promised them by the club’s board chairman, Festus Onu.

Meanwhile, Kano Pillars, NPFL defending champions and Nigeria’s second representative in the championship fell 3-0 to Congolese team AC Leopards in Congo to crash out of the championship.

The team which had been in Congo since Friday lost to the hosts and failed to qualify for the next stage after tying with Leopards 4-4 after its stellar performance in the first leg at the Sani Abacha Stadium in which it triumphed 4-1 over the CAF Confederations Cup defending champions.
But Pillars lost on away goals rule after Leopards picked a goal in Kano and it failed to do likewise in Congo.