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EPL: Ayden Heaven urges Man Utd to maintain European faith

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Ayden Heaven believes a return to European football is well within Manchester United’s reach following Monday’s 4-1 win at Wolves.

Victory at Molineux left Ruben Amorim’s men just a point outside of the top four in the Premier League and in the hunt for a place in next season’s Champions League.

United recovered from a disappointing draw with lowly West Ham last week, thanks to Bruno Fernandes’ double and further goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Mason Mount after Jean-Ricner Bellegarde had cancelled out Fernandes’ opener with bottom-of-the-table Wolves’ first goal in the Premier League since October 26.

United ended the 2024/25 season in 15th place — their lowest top-flight finish in 51 years — and missed out on European qualification by losing the Europa League final to English rivals Tottenham.

But a lack of continental football could yet help the fallen giants rebuild under Portuguese manager Amorim, with teenage United defender Heaven saying: “We dropped points in the last game (at home to West Ham) and this was the chance to go and redeem ourselves and get more points. I feel like we did that, especially in the second half.

“We knew it wasn’t good enough that we conceded. He (Amorim) just told us (at half-time) to do what we can do and we did that as you saw.”

United’s surprise 1-0 loss to 10-man Everton at Old Trafford is the lone defeat in their last nine games, with a buoyant Heaven insisting after the Wolves match: “I don’t think anyone can stop us when we play like this.”

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The 19-year-old, asked about the prospect of European football, added: “Hopefully we can be in Europe next season, which I think we’ll do.

“Of course, that’s where Manchester United belong.”

Heaven was speaking after making a second successive start for United after fellow centre-backs Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt were both injured, with Amorim retaining the rising star in his defence following a 1-1 draw against West Ham.

“He’s trusting me a lot,” said Heaven of Amorim. “I feel like I’m working hard every day in training and I’m showing he can trust me in the games that I’m playing.”

United’s next match is at home to Bournemouth on Monday.

AFP

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Finance ministry confirms release of Super Eagles’ bonuses for AFCON

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The Federal Government has said all group-stage bonuses due to Super Eagles players at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations have been released and are expected to reflect in the players’ domiciliary accounts within hours.

The Minister of State for Finance, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, disclosed this on Thursday while responding to reports that the national team was considering boycotting training sessions and could decline to travel to Marrakesh for their quarter-final clash against Algeria.

In a post on her official X handle, Uzoka-Anite said the concerns over unpaid bonuses had been resolved through coordinated action by the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“The Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria have successfully streamlined to ensure faster, more predictable disbursements aligned with international best practice,” she said.

She explained that all bonuses earned by the players during the group stage of the tournament had been fully processed and cleared through the required regulatory procedures.

“All group-stage bonuses were fully released and have now cleared the necessary regulatory stages,” the minister stated.

Uzoka-Anite added that a fast-track process was introduced to meet the players’ preferences for payment in foreign currency. “We have implemented a fast-track conversion process to move funds into foreign currency, honouring the players’ preferences,” she said.

According to her, the final stage of the payment process is already underway, with transfers to the players’ domiciliary accounts currently in progress. “The final transfers to domiciliary accounts are currently in flight. Players can expect these funds to reflect starting today (Thursday) or tomorrow (Friday),” she added.

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The minister stressed that the government remains focused on the welfare and morale of the team as they advance into the knockout phase of the competition. “Our focus remains entirely on supporting the team’s welfare so they can maintain their incredible momentum in the knockout rounds,” she said.

Uzoka-Anite also assured that the administration was committed to ensuring that off-field issues do not distract the players from their performance at the tournament. “We move forward with one goal: Bringing the trophy home!” she said.

The update is expected to ease concerns around the team’s preparations ahead of their quarter-final fixture as the Super Eagles continue their campaign at AFCON 2025.

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Morocco to host draw for 2026 CAF Futsal AFCON Qualifiers

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The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed that the draw for the 2026 CAF Futsal Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers will take place today in Rabat, Morocco.

The qualification process will be played over two home-and-away knockout rounds, with seven teams set to qualify for the 2026 CAF Futsal AFCON final tournament, where they will join host nation Morocco.

A total of 17 countries will compete for places at the continental tournament. They are Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Libya, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The final tournament will also serve as Africa’s qualifying competition for the 2026 FIFA Futsal World Cup.

Morocco have hosted and won the last two editions of the men’s Futsal AFCON. They lifted the trophy in Laayoune in 2020 with a dominant 5–0 victory over Egypt in the final, before successfully defending the title in Rabat in 2024 after a 5–1 win against Angola.

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AFCON 2025: Super Eagles must maintain winning formula against Algeria — Adepoju

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Former Nigerian international, Mutiu Adepoju has urged the Super Eagles to maintain their winning formula as they prepare to face Algeria in Saturday’s quarter-final clash at the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Nigeria, three-time AFCON champions, secured a convincing 4–0 victory over Mozambique in the round of 16, while Algeria needed extra time to edge past DR Congo to book their place in the quarter-finals.

Speaking with Footy Africa, the 1994 AFCON winner praised the Super Eagles’ dominant display against Mozambique but warned that Algeria would present a much tougher challenge.

“It was a very good win and I would say it was a statement victory,” Adepoju said. “They played very well and got the goals, which is what has been expected throughout this tournament.

“We have been improving game by game, and I hope that improvement continues in the quarter-finals. The performance was tremendous, the play was good, and it was total dominance over the Mozambicans. It was a very good win.

“Hopefully, we can replicate the same performance against Algeria, who will be another difficult side.”

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