A majority of the general assembly of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has rejected the impeachment of the Aminu Maigari as president of the federation. A total of 26 state FA chairmen, who make up more than 50% of the 44-member congress and comply with requirements of Article 24 of NFF statutes, at a pre-general assembly resolved in a seven-page document made available to reporters that Maigari remains president of the NFF and he should immediately return to office. Elections to the executive committee of the NFF are to be conducted on August 26. …………. Meanwhile Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has revealed it is close to agreeing a new contract for Stephen Keshi to return as national coach. The 52-year-old led Nigeria to their third African title in 2013 and the last 16 at the World Cup in Brazil but his deal was allowed to expire. ……….. The Seychelles Football Federation has informed CAF of its withdrawal from the Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2015 on Thursday. Seychelles were to host Sierra Leone in Victoria on Saturday in the return leg of their second round clash of the competition’s qualifiers. The first leg was won 2-0 by the Leone Stars in Freetown on July 19. Therefore, Sierra Leone has booked their ticket for the final qualifying round in Group D, where they will battle Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon and DR Congo. …………. Frenchman Herve Renard has been appointed coach of Ivory Coast national team. Renard replaces Sabri Lamouchi, who left after the World Cup, and returns to international coaching after nine months with French club Sochaux. The 45-year-old had two spells as Zambia coach and led them to the Africa Cup of Nations title in 2012. His success on the continent helped him to get the Elephants job ahead of compatriot Frederic Antonetti and Portuguese coach Manuel Jose. The first task for Renard, who has been given a two-year contract, will be to qualify Ivory Coast for next years Nations Cup in Morocco. He stepped down as boss of Chipolopolo in 2013, but his move into club management was unsuccessful as he was unable to prevent Sochaux from being relegated to Ligue 2 in May. ……….. International sport …………. Former France and Juventus 36-year-old striker David Trezeguet has followed compatriot Robert Pires by becoming the latest overseas recruit for Indias new franchise-based soccer league on a one-year deal with Pune City. Pires, Joan Capdevila and Freddie Ljungberg have already confirmed their participation in the eight-team Indian Super League (ISL), scheduled from October to December. Capdevilas fellow-Spaniard Luis Garcia will represent the Kolkata franchise, co-owned by Spanish champions Atletico Madrid, while former Liverpool and England goalkeeper David James has also committed to playing in the league. …………. Uefa has confirmed they will investigate crowd trouble at a Champions League qualifier between Copenhagen and Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. The second half of Wednesdays Champions League third qualifying round first leg at Kievs Olympic Stadium was delayed for over 15 minutes after visiting Danish fans were forced onto the pitch to escape an attack from another group, who were reportedly Dnipro supporters. The two teams had returned to the pitch to begin the second half but were ushered back to their changing rooms as stadium security attempted to turn back the Ukrainians, who had invaded the away supporters section of the ground. After order was restored, the match resumed and finished scoreless. ………… Manchester Uniteds world record £750m kits deal with Adidas will be cut by 30% if they fail to qualify for the Champions League in consecutive seasons from 2015-16. The German sportswear giant could also cancel the contract if the club gets relegated from the Premier League. United failed to qualify for any of the European competitions after finishing seventh in 2013-14. Details of the deal with Adidas, which was announced earlier this month, emerged after United offered more of their shares on the New York Stock Exchange. Van Gaal was appointed Red Devils boss as successor to David Moyes earlier this summer and want a big improvement under him. ………….. Manchester Uniteds Dutch manager Louis van Gaal, 62, has had HD cameras installed at the clubs Carrington complex so he can analyse every detail of training. United defender Jonny Evans, 26, says the cameras are already being used on the clubs tour of the United States: The manager is saying: You should be five yards to the right. We went through a video last night and I was 10 yards out. ………… Patrice Evra has revealed that Louis van Gaal wanted him to be Manchester United captain had he stayed at the club. ………. Manuel Pellegrini has admitted that some of Manchester Citys World Cup stars could miss the start of the new season. Vincent Kompany, Fernandinho, Sergio Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta and Martin Demichelis have all yet to return to training this summer after reaching the latter stages of the showpiece event in Brazil earlier this month. …………. West Ham midfielder Ravel Morrison has been remanded in custody after appearing in court accused of punching and slapping his ex-girlfriend and her mother. Morrison, charged with two counts of common assault, closed his eyes and puffed his cheeks out after being refused bail at Manchester Magistrates Court on Thursday. The 21-year-old, who spoke only to confirm his name and age, is alleged to have assaulted ex-girlfriend Reah Mansoor, 19, and her mother Parveen Mansoor, 39, in the early hours of Sunday morning. He was arrested on Wednesday and appeared in court on Thursday. District Judge James Prowse refused a bail application made by Morrisons solicitor Ros Emsley Smith. The defendant, who did not enter a plea, was remanded into custody until Aug. 7. ………. Hull City made history on Thursday as Steve Bruces side played their first ever game in Europe, drawing with AS Trencin in Slovakia in the first leg of the Europa League third qualifying round. But the Tigers will be disappointed not to have won, with Tom Huddlestone missing a penalty and then hitting the crossbar with the rebound. The second leg will be played at Hulls KC Stadium on Thursday, 7 August. ……….. Iago Aspas has advised reported Liverpool target and teammate Alberto Moreno against a switch to Anfield this summer. The Premier League outfit is believed to have turned their attentions back to Moreno after missing out on defender Ryan Bertrand, who sealed a move to Southampton. However, Aspas, who is at Sevilla on a season-long loan from the Reds, says that the 22-year-old should think twice before electing to join Liverpool. Yes, it is true that his teammates have had some banter with him on the topic, but if its a question about quality of life, I would say that Sevilla is better than being there, thats for sure. I have only been at Sevilla three or four days but, now I belong to Sevilla, I would prefer him to stay here.Aspas endured a disappointing first season in England following a move from Celta Vigo, making just five Premier League starts before sealing a loan switch back to La Liga. ……….. Raul could be set to return to Real Madrid as sporting director, it has been claimed by reports from the capital. Miguel Pardeza is the current sporting director and has been since 2009 but he is due to leave his post this summer. AS say that Raul and Madrid have been in contact over the post and there could be developments over the next few months. Raul would be given more responsibility in the role than Pardeza has enjoyed, AS add, and has been learning English and working in the department for Al-Sadd. ………. Luis Suarezs appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport will be heard on Aug. 8 after the strikers bid to have his four-month suspension for biting an opponent was fast-tracked, according to widespread reports. Suarez is currently banned from all football-related activity by FIFA for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini while representing Uruguay at the World Cup, although that did not preclude him from completing his 75 million-pound move from Liverpool to Barcelona last month. An appeal to world footballs governing body was rejected last month. ……. Republic of Ireland defender Richard Dunne has retired from international duty after winning 80 caps. Dunne, 34, made his debut for the national side against Greece in 2000 and won his final cap in a friendly against Kazakhstan in October. Retiring from international football has been an extremely difficult decision, said QPR centre-back Dunne. Republic manager Martin ONeill hailed Dunne as a remarkable player for both club and country. ………… Done deals …………. Sheffield Wednesday has completed the signing of defender Tom Lees from Leeds for an undisclosed fee. …………. Tottenham defender Danny Rose has signed a new five-year contract. Rose, 24, has made 38 Premier League appearances for Spurs since joining from Leeds in 2007 and was part of the GB squad at the London 2012 Olympics. ……….. Feyenoord have confirmed the signings of Luke Wilkshire and Bilal Basacikoglu from Dinamo Moscow and Heerenveen respectively. ………… Malaga has announced the signing of goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa as a replacement for Willy Caballero. The 29-year-old had been a free agent after his contract with Ajaccio expired at the end of last season and was inundated with offers on the back of his heroics with Mexico at this summers World Cup. Ochoa has now decided to sign for Malaga, who had been looking for a new No.1 following the loss of Caballero to Manchester City. ………… West Ham has signed Arsenal defender Carl Jenkinson on a season-long loan. The 22-year-old had been linked with several Premier League clubs, but opted for the Hammers. ………. Blackpool has signed Jose Miguel Cubero from Herediano. And manager Jose Riga is also lining up moves for Matt Briggs and Andrea Orlandi. ……….. Transfer gossip ………. Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal has reportedly passed a medical with Manchester United ahead of a move to the club. United have been linked with the Chilean midfielder throughout the summer transfer window but the club reportedly wanted to check on Vidals knee and ankle problems before approving a move. ………. Arsenal have been told transfer target Juan Quintero, 21, will only be allowed to leave Porto if the Colombian midfielders £32m release clause is activated. ………. Manchester United are closing in on a £20m move for Germany World Cup winner Mats Hummels, 25, with Borussia Dortmund hoping to replace the defender with Liverpools 21-year-old Tiago Ilori in a loan deal. ………. Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has confirmed the Italian clubs interest in Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini, 26, although he is not the only name on his list. ………. Liverpool is eyeing a double deal for Spanish defenders Alberto Moreno, 22, of Sevilla and Javier Manquillo, 20, of Atletico Madrid. ………. West Ham have held contract talks with unattached former Chelsea striker Samuel Etoo, 33, and are also considering a move for Besiktass 30-year-old forward Hugo Almeida. ………. Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone is ready to bid £14m for Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kagawa, 25, having already enquired about the availability of the Japan international. ………. QPR have turned their attentions to 29-year-old Marseille midfielder Morgan Amalfitano, who ended last season on loan at West Brom. Their bid to sign Iceland striker Kolbeinn Sigthorsson, 24, from Ajax has stalled over personal terms. ………. AC Milan has renewed their interest in QPR’s Adel Taarabt after being priced out of a move for Newcastles Hatem Ben Arfa. ………. Manchester City midfielder James Milner, 28, is keeping the club waiting over signing his new contract as he weighs up his future at the Premier League champions. ………. West Brom is keen to sign Switzerland striker Haris Seferovic, 22, from Real Sociedad. ………. Middlesbrough wants to take Aston Villa full-back Matt Lowton, 25, on loan, while they have agreed a deal with Real Mallorca forward Emilio Nsue, 24. ………. Sunderland manager Gus Poyet says striker Connor Wickham, 21, could be sold if he does not sign a new contract. ………. Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert says he fully trusts Roy Keane and insists his new assistant manager is not a touchline bully. ………. Reflecting on his Everton career ahead of his testimonial on Sunday, midfielder Leon Osman, 33, says it took time for his technical ability to be recognized. ………. Stoke boss Mark Hughes is hoping to get the best out of new signing Bojan Krkic by urging team-mates and fans to throw a caring arm around the 23-year-old forward. ………. Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, 22, who is back at the club after spending three years on loan with Atletico Madrid, says he wants to learn from Petr Cech as the duo begins their battle for the number one spot. ………. Borussia Dortmund’s Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has denied receiving any offer from Chelsea. ………. Manchester United defender Jonny Evans believes this is a key time in his career as he looks to step up as the senior centre-back following the exits of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. ………. Tottenham have agreed to sign Sporting Lisbon defender Eric Dier for £4m, subject to a medical. The England Under-21 international, who was born in Cheltenham but moved to Portugal as a child, has made 30 appearances for the Lisbon club.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 09:02:03 +0000
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