NFF Write FIFA, CAF Over Eagles World Cup Qualifiers

The Nigeria Football Federation on Thursday wrote to world football-governing body, FIFA and the African body, CAF over tricky 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying games and the FIFA Confederations Cup, all in the month of June.
FIFA had last week adjusted Nigeria’s matches, meaning the Super Eagles would play Kenya in Nairobi on Wednesday, June 5 and take on Namibia in Windhoek on Wednesday, June 12, before flying to the FIFA
 Confederations Cup tournament in Brazil. Nigeria became Africa’s flagbearer at the tournament following triumph at the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa last month.
“We have fully appraised our priorities and wish that either of the following options be seriously considered: 1) That the matches in our African qualifying Group F (Kenya Vs Nigeria; Malawi Vs Namibia and; Namibia Vs Nigeria; Malawi Vs Kenya) be played on the SAME DATES of Wednesday, 5th June and Wednesday, 12th June, 2013 respectively. 2)That all the matches be reverted to the ORIGINAL DATES of Saturday, 8th June and Saturday, 15th June, 2013 respectively,” the letter, signed by NFF General Secretary, Barrister Musa Amadu, read, inter alia.
It means the Super Eagles would either play Kenya’s Harambee Stars and Namibia’s Brave Warriors at the same time and day as Malawi would host Namibia and Kenya respectively, or the matches would take place at the World Cup qualifying weekends as originally scheduled.
“We make this request in the interest of fairness, as at the moment, Nigeria and Malawi have same number of points (5) and, for Nigeria to play TWO DAYS before Malawi in each of the two important qualifying games in June will give undue advantage to the Malawians,” the letter concluded.
Amadu added: “We see the FIFA Confederations Cup competition as a key tournament, but we also know we have to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals, as priority. It is important to us to go to the FIFA Confederations Cup and then return to Brazil a year later for the FIFA World Cup finals.”

Who will grab the Italian Champion Leaque?

With the final international window before the season's end having been negotiated, Serie A now takes centre stage once more, and there is an almighty tussle set to take place for Italy's Champions League spots.

Juventus are seemingly coasting towards a second successive Scudetto, but behind them lie six clubs who are all still in with a realistic chance of claiming one of the remaining podium positions with nine rounds to play.

Napoli currently sit in second place, but a recent poor run of form has seen Milan close in on the Partenopei. The Rossoneri themselves are only three points ahead of Fiorentina, who have thrilled many observers since the arrival of Vincenzo Montella last summer.

New dates for Harambee Stars v Nigeria return leg match

The World Cup qualifier return leg match between Harambee Stars and Nigeria’s Super Eagles will now be played on Wednesday (June 5) and not Saturday (June 9), at Moi Kasarani.

This new date has been communicated to Football Kenya Federation (FKF) by Fifa World Cup Organising committee after a meeting held in Zurich last week.

The match was originally scheduled to be played on June 9 (Saturday) but has now been rescheduled in order to allow Nigerian team travel to Brazil to represent Africa in the Fifa Confederations Cup starting on June 15.

The new change of date will affect the other teams in the Group Malawi, Namibia as they will now play on June 7, two days later.

Stars then travel away to Malawi on June 14, before ending their campaign at home against Namibia on September 16.

Due to the new set dates, the Nigerian team is scheduled to arrive in Nairobi possibly on April 1 and depart on 6th to Brazil.

However, despite the match being played on a weekday, Kenya FA International Match Organising Committee members will start early preparations for the game which is expected to attract a big crowd buoyed by the impressive draw against the African Champions away in Calabar.

“We are ensuring Kenyans that we shall win our three next fixtures and get the nine points and eventually qualify for the Brazil 2014 World Cup and we urge total support from all fans as we appeal them to turn out in large numbers for the two key matches,” said Kenya FA President am Nyamweya.

Harambee Stars have to beat Nigeria in Nairobi if they are to keep alive their chances of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. Kenya are currently bottom of the table with 2 points and a loss against Nigeria will mean they are out of contention.

Football agent and their new move

Fernando Felicevich, the agent of Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez, is set to fly to Italy for talks with Juventus and Inter, The Chilean enjoyed a successful spell in Serie A with Udinese between 2006 and 2011, but left for Camp Nou for an undisclosed fee two years ago.

However, he has struggled with form and injuries since moving to Catalunya, scoring just twice in his 20 Liga appearances this season.

The Turin giants have been monitoring his situation for several months now as they look to bolster their front line, but could face competition from the Nerazzurri, who have joined the race for his signature in recent weeks.

Felicevich will also discuss the future of another of his clients, Bianconeri midfielder Arturo Vidal, who was confirmed as a €30m-target for Bayern Munich by Goal.com last month.

However, there is also interest in the former Bayer Leverkusen man from the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, although the Chile international is determined to stay at Juventus Stadium.

Fiorentina Yean for big top club

Fiorentina striker Luca Toni has called for team-mate Stevan Jovetic to ignore interest from Arsenal and join a bigger club if he is to move to the Premier League over the summer.

The Montenegro international forward admitted he was flattered to be linked with a switch to the north London club on Tuesday but Toni believes Arsene Wenger's side would not be a step up.

Instead, he has claimed the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City or Manchester United would represent a better career move for the 23-year-oldFlorence, as there is an important project here," the Italian told Sky Sports.

"If he has to leave, then make it for a real top club. Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United fit that bill, but Arsenal are not better than Fiorentina."

Jovetic has been in superb form for Fiorentina this season, netting 12 goals in 24 Serie A appearances to fire the Viola into contention for Champions League qualification.

NIGERIAN ABROAD DOING WELL IN THEIR CLUBS

ENGLAND

It was both an FA Cup weekend and a Premiership weekend with Nigerians featuring in both competitions 

Victor Moses started for Chelsea in their FA Cup quarter final clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday while Mikel Obi started on the bench. Moses was replaced in the 52nd minute by Eden Hazard while Mikel came on for Frank Lampard.

Chelsea clawed their way back from two goals down to end the match in a 2-2 draw and earn a replay at Stamford Bridge. Whoever wins the replay will confront Manchester City at Wembley. Moses had 80% pass accuracy from 25 balls and had two attempted shots on target as he also completed one sucessful dribble. In the 38 minutes played by Mikel, he had 89% pass accuracy from 42 touches on the ball and completed one dribble. In the other match on Sunday, Millwall drew 0-0 against Blackburn Rovers. Nigerian defender Danny Shittu captained the Millwall side and could have scored a stunner from 40 yards in the second half but the effort was tipped over the bar.

        Their replay is next Wednesday and the winner has a semi-final date with Wigan who beat Everton 3-0 at Goodison Park on Saturday. Victor Anichebe came on in the second half to replace Philip Neville in the 46th minute but his introduction could not pull the Toffees out of the hole that had been dug in the first half. In the Premiership, Reading fielded Hope Akpan from the start and the young Nigerian midfielder had a hand in Reading’s goal as his flick was diverted into the net in the 32nd minute by Nathan Baker. Akpan was replaced by Garath McCleary. Akpan had a pass accuracy of 70% from 27 touches on the ball and won 100% of his aerial duels. He also had one attempted shot before he was replaced.

            Peter Odemwingie replaced Romelu Lukaku in West Brom's 2-1 win over Swansea on Saturday. The win moved the Baggies to eighth position with 43 points. Odemwingie came on in the 81st minute and attempted a left footed shot on goal in the 86th minute but the effort went wide. Odemwingie has five goals from 21 league appearances.

Ahmed Musa continued his good form as he scored the second goal in CSKA Moscow’s 2-0 win over Krylya Sovetov on Saturday.

Musa who plays centrally for his team scored the second on 72 minutes and it was a true poacher's goal as he collected the ball outside the box, shrugged off his marker and placed a low shot beyond the reach of the goalkeeper.

That is Musa’s ninth league goal and it has helped CSKA to maintain a stranglehold on top spot as they are now five points clear of Anzhi Makhachkala, who lost away to Mordovia Saransk

Obinna Nsofor started the second phase of the Russian league on the bench for Lokomotiv Moscow though he came on in the 79th minute to replace Maicon. Lokomotiv lost 1-0 away to their cross-town rivals, Dinamo Moscow on Saturday. Nsofor has played 18 times in the league with two goals - his last goal coming on November 24, 2012 against Krasnodar at home.

Lokomotiv are in 10th place on the 16-team league table with 31 points from 20 matches.

PSG ARE DANGEROUS OPPONENT

Barcelona's sporting director believes the French outfit will pose a serious threat, particularly as they have some former Blaugrana players in their ranks Barcelona's sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta says Paris Saint-Germain will be tough opponents in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The Liga leaders looked to be staring into the Champions League abyss after a 2-0 first-leg defeat to AC Milan in the last 16, but a stunning 4-0 turnaround at Camp Nou ensured they would be in the draw for the last eight. And the 51-year-old believes playing the second at leg at home in the tie will be an advantage, but concedes the Ligue 1 leaders are a dangerous side. "We have to look on playing the return game in   Barcelona as being positive," he told reporters. "PSG have very good players with a lot of talent. With their experience and knowledge of playing these types of games I am sure they will be challenging right until the end [of the tie]. "They are very competitive and we will be coming up against several players we know quite well." The former Blaugrana goalkeeper also believes every side left in the competition is there on merit but the most important thing for the Catalans is to ensure their name is in the hat for the semi-final draw in a few weeks' time. "The teams that have reached the quarter-finals are there because they have done well [in the tournament so far]," he added. "The draw can be seen as both good and bad, it all depends on whether we are back in Nyon for the semi-final draw in three weeks or not. "We have just experienced something in the round of 16 that demands us to be prudent." The first leg will take place at Parc des Princes on April 2, with the return fixture at Camp Nou on April 10.

Barcelona to face Paris Saint-Germain

The Blaugrana are rewarded for their second-leg triumph against AC Milan with a last-eight tie against the French giants Paris Saint-Germain will take on Barcelona in the standout tie of the Champions League quarter-finals after the draw at Uefa house in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday.

Barcelona, who won the competition in 2011 and overturned a 2-0 deficit to dump out AC Milan this season, will face Ligue 1 outfit Paris Saint-Germain with the first leg taking place in the French capital.

Last season's finalists Bayern Munich face a tough clash with Serie A leaders Juventus in another huge fixture.

Primera Division champions Real Madrid are rewarded for their victory over Manchester United with a tie against Turkish giants Galatasaray, while Malaga, who knocked out Porto, take on German champions Borussia Dortmund.

The four first legs will take place on March, with the second legs scheduled for April 9 and 10. The draw for the semi-finals will be held on April 12, and the tournament concludes at Wembley Stadium on May 25.

THE VICTORIOUS EAGLES WITH PRESIDENT GOODLUCK

President Goodluck Jonathan poses with the victorious Super Eagles and the coveted AFCON trophy during a reception held at the presidential villa on Tuesday, February 12, 2013.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO REOPEN NYSC FARM

The Federal Government said on Thursday that it would reopen National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) farms in each state of the federation. The Minister for youth Development, Dr Inuwa Abdulkadir, said this in an interview in Jos, Plateau. Abdulkadir said that the establishment of the farms would go a long way to complement the existing NYSC Loan Revolving Scheme aimed at engaging the corps members in agriculture “Year in year out, every batch of the NYSC has been participating. But you know, it’s still a pilot programme but we intend to expand and reopen NSYC farms across the country and utilise them. “This is going to be in partnership with the state governments and the Bank of Agriculture and the Small and Medium Scale Development Agency of Nigeria. “The whole idea is to expose them to agro business enterprise so that at the end of the day, they can become self-employed or even employers. ”

           According to him, once the youth are involved in agriculture, it will be of immense benefit to the nation as it will create employment opportunities and boost the economy.

“When they are in multiples the nation stands to benefit, because we will have more people involved in agriculture and that will boost the economy. “The most concrete thing we are thinking of doing and we will start soon, is this partnership with the Development Bank to boost agriculture and to encourage young persons to go into agro-business from production, to processing, to marketing. The minister said he was optimistic that the current drive at making agriculture attractive and lucrative to the youth would reduce the rate of unemployment in the country. (NAN)

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KENYA CAPTAIN DANNIS OLIECH BOOST OF BEATING NIGERIA

Harambee Stars captain Dennis Oliech is confident that his team can cause an upset when they face Africa champions Nigeria in a World Cup qualifier on March 23 in Calabar. Oliech, who arrived in the Kenya on Tuesday, has insisted that Nigeria will be under pressure and with proper preparations, the Stars can dim their opponents away. "The pressure will be on Nigeria especially having won the Africa Cup of Nations trophy. We will go into the match as underdogs. Everybody will be looking at how Nigeria will perform, this being their first competitive match after 2013 Afcon final.” “All we need to do is to prepare well and there is every possibility that we can get a positive result in Nigeria.” "The team is in good shape especially after we beat Libya last month in Tunisia. We just need to maintain the same momentum and spirit,".                                    He said though Nigeria has always beaten Kenya in previous matches, there is a new positive spirit in the Kenyan camp and beating the Super Eagles remains a major possibility. “We are no longer the underdogs we used to be when losing to Nigeria. We have matured with time and grown in confidence,” he observed. Oliech praised the decision to appoint coach Adel Amrouche for Harambee Stars and pointed out that the players are responding positively to him. He regretted the absence of Parma midfielder Macdonald Mariga saying this denies the team great experience. Mariga is currently nursing an injury and it is not clear when he will recover. Oliech at the same said he has settled down at new club AC Ajaccio and is enjoying himself in the French top league. “Ajaccio is a big club in the top league and this gives me a lot of competition something that is certain to raise my game. I have settled well and looking forward to a great time." "I will see how it goes here and probably move in June if there is an opportunity. Otherwise, I would love to settle," he said.