Sports

Champions emerge at 47th CBN Senior Tennis tourney

Published

1 hour ago

June 22, 2026

Fresh champions emerged at the 47th Central Bank of Nigeria Senior Tennis Championship in Abuja at the weekend, with titles claimed across all four events — men’s and women’s singles and men’s and women’s doubles.

The most compelling storyline of the tournament belonged to Etoro Bassey, an 18-year-old making her debut at the senior championship.

Playing in her first-ever CBN Senior Tennis final, Bassey defeated two-time International Tennis Federation Junior champion Ogunjobi Success 2-1 (3-6, 6-0, 6-2) to clinch the women’s singles title in an impressive display of composure for a player fresh out of the junior ranks.

In the men’s singles, Nigeria’s number one player and tournament top seed, Abua Canice, was equally dominant, sweeping past defending champion Michael Akpan Emmanuel 2-0 (6-1, 6-2) to deny the title-holder a successful defence.

The doubles competitions produced further drama. In the men’s event, Canice teamed up with Mohammed Musa to see off the pair of Michael Akpan Emmanuel and Sylvanus Ajano, while in the women’s doubles, the combination of Mohammed Khadijat and Ogunjobi Success proved too strong for Etoro Bassey and James Favour, edging through 6-2, 6-7(2), 10-6 to claim the trophy.

CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso, represented at the event by Hakama Sidi Ali, Acting Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, commended athletes, officials, stakeholders and spectators for their commitment to the championship’s success.

He reaffirmed the apex bank’s dedication to youth development in Nigeria and pledged that the CBN would continue to sponsor the tournament in the interest of the nation.

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Sports

U.S. defends Iran World Cup travel restrictions

Published

14 hours ago

June 21, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

The United States will continue to assess the Iran squad’s travel arrangements at the World Cup, but for now the original plan remains in place despite the team saying they would lodge a complaint with FIFA, Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the tournament, told Reuters on Saturday, June 20

Iran is unhappy at restrictions that mean they can only travel to venues within 24 hours of their fixtures and must depart back to their training base in Tijuana, Mexico directly after each game, with coach Amir Ghalenoei suggesting his side were “the most oppressed team in the whole World Cup”.

Giuliani, however, says the situation is fluid and they will discuss what measures will be in place for Iran’s third game against Egypt in Seattle on Friday, after their meeting with Belgium in Los Angeles on Sunday.

“The situation is dynamic,” Giuliani said in an exclusive interview in Houston. “We have a plan right now. Tomorrow afternoon (after the match against Belgium) they will take the 27-minute flight back to Tijuana. “We will see how it goes for match two, and then there will be discussions the day after in terms of what it looks like for match three in Seattle.”

Giuliani defended the measures in place and said the pre-tournament change in training bases for the side from Tucson to Tijuana had shortened Iran’s travel time.

“The shift from Tucson to Tijuana, I think, was good for everybody involved, certainly it reduces their travel time to Los Angeles too,” he said. “Their flight is an hour shorter than it would be from Tucson. And we’re happy with the way that things went for match one in Los Angeles. “I would just point to the fact that all players have received visas. All the coaches have received visas. There are some team officials that have not received visas, and that’s because we’ve seen some derogatory information on them, and this is the balance that we talk about.”

Giuliani said the goal has always been to protect the interests of the United States and the international visitors at the World Cup.

“We want to make sure we have this incredible soccer tournament, where people are welcome and enjoy the World Cup, while also making sure that we are not just protecting American citizens, but we’re also protecting all those international visitors that are coming here,” he said.

He revealed that no threats to the tournament had been identified, but that officials remain vigilant. “What I can tell you is our intelligence community has tripled down on this since the beginning of this year,” he said.

“We’re in discussions every hour on it. But there have been no credible threats at this moment.”

Giuliani has been pleased with the opening 10 days of the World Cup. “Things are going as planned,” he said. “It’s been fantastic to see the great play on the pitch, that seems to be the majority of the conversation, which has been fantastic.

“I think this is an amazing celebration of America over our 250th birthday, with the World Cup being the incredible highlight.”

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Sports

Ghana equal Nigeria’s World Cup wins record

Published

3 days ago

June 19, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

Ghana have become only the second African nation to record six wins at the FIFA World Cup after edging Panama 1-0 in their opening Group L match on Thursday, equalling Nigeria’s long-standing record, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Caleb Yirenkyi scored a dramatic 95th-minute winner at Toronto Stadium, Canada, to hand the Black Stars all three points and deny Panama their first-ever World Cup point.

With six minutes added on at the end of a tightly contested game, Brandon Thomas-Asante surged down the left flank, beat his marker and squared the ball for Yirenkyi, who tapped home from close range.

The result was harsh on Panama, who matched the four-time African champions for long periods in only their fourth World Cup appearance since making their debut in 2018.

The victory puts Ghana top of Group L alongside England ahead of their second group game next Tuesday. More importantly, it takes the Black Stars level with Nigeria as the African teams with the most wins at the World Cup.

Ghana have now won six of their 16 World Cup matches, matching Nigeria’s tally of six victories from 21 games.

Both countries are followed by Cameroon, who have five wins from 26 matches. However, like Nigeria, the Indomitable Lions failed to qualify for the 2026 tournament.

Morocco sit fourth on the list with five wins from 23 matches and could also surpass Nigeria’s record during the tournament. The Atlas Lions reached the semi-finals in Qatar 2022, setting a new benchmark for African teams at the World Cup.

Senegal, despite losing their opening game against France at the 2026 World Cup, boast one of the best win ratios among African nations, with five victories from just 13 matches. The Teranga Lions made their World Cup debut in Korea/Japan 2002 and famously reached the quarter-finals.

Ghana’s World Cup journey began in Germany 2006, where they reached the round of 16 before losing to Brazil. They improved on that feat in South Africa 2010, reaching the quarter-finals and suffering a heartbreaking penalty-shootout defeat to Uruguay after one of the most dramatic matches in World Cup history.

The Black Stars have qualified for every World Cup since then except the 2018 edition in Russia.

Cameroon, Nigeria and Morocco boast longer World Cup histories. Morocco have featured at seven editions — 1970, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2018, 2022 and 2026.

Cameroon made their debut in 1982 and have since appeared at the 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014 and 2022 tournaments.

Nigeria’s World Cup story began in 1994, followed by appearances in 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014 and 2018. Since their group-stage exit in Russia, the Super Eagles have failed to qualify for two consecutive editions.

With Nigeria absent from the 2026 tournament, Ghana, Morocco and Ivory Coast all have the opportunity to move past the Super Eagles’ record of six World Cup wins before the competition ends.

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Sports

Anthony Joshua joins Mourinho, Lewandowski at CAA Sports

Published

4 days ago

June 18, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

Two-time heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua has signed a commercial representation deal with CAA Sports, joining a star-studded roster that includes José Mourinho and Robert Lewandowski, in an arrangement struck in partnership with the boxer’s 258 Group.

As part of the deal, 258 Group Managing Director Freddie Cunningham joins CAA Sports Talent Group as Head of Client Strategy.

Based in London, Cunningham will oversee Joshua’s commercial activities across endorsements, speaking engagements and publishing, working alongside 258 Group and its family office, while also supporting the agency’s broader athlete business development across its international roster. He will report to Roman Di Somma, CAA Sports’ Head of International Talent.

Joshua joins a CAA Sports client list that also features Son Heung-min, Liam Lawson, Sky Brown, Cole Palmer, Gary Neville, Laura Woods and Kobbie Mainoo, placing him among an elite group of athletes and sporting figures represented by the agency.

The 36-year-old, who turned professional in 2013 and has held heavyweight world titles on two occasions, last fought in December 2025, stopping Jake Paul in the sixth round of a bout streamed on Netflix from Miami.

Later that month, Joshua was involved in a car crash in Nigeria that killed his personal trainer, Latif Ayodele, and strength coach, Sina Ghami, leaving the boxer himself injured. The driver involved in the incident was subsequently charged.

Joshua is set to return to the ring on July 25, when he faces Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia.

Beyond boxing, Joshua and 258 Group have built a portfolio of investments spanning technology, real estate, content production and health and performance, with the fighter having previously held brand partnerships with companies including Under Armour, Audemars Piguet, Hugo Boss, Jaguar Land Rover, DAZN, EA Sports, Meta and Beats by Dre.

Following the agreement with CAA Sports, Joshua’s business interests, family office and in-ring matters will continue to be overseen by 258 Group, with communications remaining with Soapbox, legal affairs with Level, and promotional matters with Matchroom Boxing.

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