The House of Representatives Committee on Sports will Today receive the aggrieved Chris Giwa faction as part of continued efforts to douse the tension in Nigeria football, stirred up by the lingering power tussle, but not without some concerns. 

A member of the Chris Giwa group, Rumson Baribote has expressed reservations over the implications of discussing the issues at stake while there is a pending case in a competent court of law.

The former, Nigeria Premier League (NPL) Chairman though stated that key figures in the case will honor the house summon due for Today.

New FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, has told the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president, Amaju Pinnick, about his intention to visit the country very soon.

Infantino held talks with Pinnick at the ongoing FIFA congress in Mexico on Friday.

The Chairman of the League Management Company (LMC), Mallam Shehu Dikko, disclosed this during a television programme on Friday.

Dikko said the FIFA supremo is happy with the development of soccer in Nigeria and most especially the partnership with La Liga.

“I want to let Nigerians know that the NFF president had a chat with Infantino during the ongoing FIFA Congress in Mexico and he praised the development of football in Nigeria and also commended the federation for attracting the La Liga to partner with our league,” Goal quoted the LMC chairman as saying during the TV programme.

“The FIFA president immediately told the NFF boss that he would like to come to Nigeria so that he can also see areas in which he could be of assistance to Nigerian football. He said he would come very soon.”

The Nigeria U20s continued their preparations for the upcoming Africa U20 Cup of Nations qualifiers against Burundi by beating Nigerian National League side, Katsina United 3-1 in a friendly on Friday morning.

Football College Abuja attacking midfielder Kingsley Michael continued his fine run of form in front of goal, scoring for the third game on the spin after he gave the Flying Eagles the lead in the fifth minute.

At halftime, the scoreboard read 1-0 but it changed early in the second half when skipper Kelechi Nwakali scored directly from a free kick before left-back Udochukwu Anumudu added more gloss to the scoreline with the third goal in the 75th minute.

The Emmanuel Amuneke-led side took their foot off the pedal after going 3-0 up and paid for it, with Ibrahim Sule pulling a goal back for Katsina United eight minutes from time.

The Flying Eagles have won six test games so far, beating Sia-One Academy, Dabo Babes, a Kaduna State –selected side,Supreme Court, FRSC and Katsina United.

Home based players in the Nigeria Professional Football League have a major role to play in the Super Eagles and compete for players with the second string foreign players according to interim Coach, Salisu Yusuf.

Salisu spoke in the long term despite the Nigeria Football Federation announcing it will hire a ” substantive head coach” after the Man/June friendlies.

The coach expressed hope that the new program will help the Men’s national team build a formidable side.

Former Portsmouth, Tottenham and Queens Park Rangers manager, Harry Redknapp is in line to be named the next national team coach of Nigeria’s national team, the Super Eagles.

Redknapp has been approached to take over the national side full time.

A source close to the team revealed also he could be named as the next permanent manager within a few days.

The role is widely seen as the biggest job in African football.

Redknapp is largely untested at international level after narrowly missing out on the England job to Roy Hodgson.

Flying Eagles captain Kelechi Nwakali missed Thursday’s scoreless draw friendly against Nigeria National League (NNL) side Dreams FC due to a minor injury according to a team official, Sahara sport reports.The official was quoted as follows: “Nwakali is nursing a minor injury.” Others like Wolfsburg of Germany’s latest recruit Victor Osimhen and Samuel Chikwueze started and gave a good account of themselves against a very resilient Dreams FC who were also using the match to prepare for their first match of the NNL season against Supreme FC in Abuja.

Osimhen had two shots on goal from long range. Chukwueze fired a weak shot from just outside the area while Kingsley Michael saw his effort go wide from the edge of the box. Dreams FC also had their chances but Flying Eagles goalkeeper Akpan Udoh was always up to the task thwarting all their efforts.

 Nwakali, who was the captain of the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup winning squad, has been influential in the flying Eagles’ big wins against sides like Sia-one Academy, Dabo Babes and so on.

This latest development will come as a little setback to the national U-20 team, Flying Eagles, head coach Emmanuel Amuneke, as he prepares the team ahead of the crucial U-20 AFCON qualifier against Burundi. The first leg is expected to take place in Bujumbura on May 22 while the return leg is in Nigerua two weeks after.

Nigeria U20s coach Emmanuel Amuneke is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday morning to respond to a breach of contract claim.

Former Enyimba player Dominic Egbukwu and French - based intermediary Oliver Noah of Noga Sports Management have taken Amuneke to court over the transfer of Chidiebere Nwakali to Manchester City in 2014.

The retired Nigeria international and his academy Emmanuel Amuneke Academy had issued a mandate to Egbukwu and his French partner to act on their behalf in negotiating a transfer to Man City as well as Marseille, Inter Milan, Arsenal and Monaco.

It has been claimed that Amuneke and his camp contacted the Citizens to call of negotiations with Noga Sports Management despite the mandate yet to expire.

The claimants are now seeking N112 million financial compensation from Emmanuel Amuneke for breach of contract.

The ex-Zamalek and Barcelona winger is presently in Abuja running the rule over the Nigeria U20s invitees ahead of the Africa U20 Cup of Nations qualifier against Burundi next month.

Arsenal are nearing an agreement with talented young forward, Alex Iwobi, in regards to an improved deal with the club.

The 19-year-old Nigerian has emerged as a viable first-team option in North London over recent months, notching two goals in his first two Premier League starts.

Established first-team stars in the forward department such as Theo Walcott, Joel Campbell and Olivier Giroud have seen their positions come under threat in the last three matches or so.

As a result, the Gunners have reportedly seen it fit to offer the forward improved terms on the initial contract he first penned back in October.

Talks are believed to have been held over the recent international break period, with the teenage sensation expected to see a significant rise to his weekly wages.

It is thought the agreement will afford Iwobi up to £20,000 a week for five years, earning him around £5.2 million (N14 billion) in total.

Meanwhile, Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, is surprised by Iwobi’s sublime performances in recent weeks after he scored again against Watford.

The 19-year-old made his first-team debut in the 3-0 Premier League win over Swansea in October and has developed into an important player in recent weeks.

Iwobi scored his first goal at senior level against Everton before the international break and added a second in Saturday’s 4-0 Premier League win over Watford.

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Chelsea midfielder John Obi  Mikel and Watford marksman Odion Ighalo picked up awards at the third edition of the Nigeria Pitch Awards in Kaduna on Friday.

New Super Eagles skipper, Mikel, picked up the Sam Okwaraji Award for Commitment to Nigerian Football, while Ighalo was named Striker of the Year.

In the players’ category, Ikechukwu Ezenwa of Sunshine Stars FC picked up the Goalkeeper of the Year award,Chinedu Udoji of Enyimba FC (Defender of the Year) and Paul Onobi of Sunshine Stars FC (Midfielder of the Year).

Arsenal striker Asisat Oshoala emerged Queen of the Pitch for the second year running, while the Golden Eaglets and Enyimba FC won the Team of the Year and Club of the Year respectively.

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, Sports Minister Solomon Dalung and NFF President Amaju Pinnick attended the ceremony.

The President of the Brazilian Football Federation, CBF,  has expressed joy that the Nigeria’s U-23 team accepted to travel to Vitoria to play the Brazilian Olympic team, as both teams build up to the Rio Olympics football event.

Speaking while presenting a souvenir to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) during the international friendly between both countries on Thursday, the Brazilian FA boss disclosed that Brazil felt honoured for one of the giants of African football to accept its invitation.

“For us in Brazil and South America, we see the national teams from Nigeria as the best in Africa, and as such playing host to your team who are the champions of Africa is not only an honor but a thing of pride, and so it is a thing of joy that your federation accepted to play us, a statement from the NFF’s Media Officer, Ademola Olajire on Saturday quoted Brazil FA boss to have said.

Responding on behalf of NFF president Amaju Pinnick, the Deputy General Secretary, Dr. Emmanuel Ikpeme, who led the delegation, thanked the Brazilian FA for being great hosts, adding that, the NFF sees it as an honour to be among the select few to be hosted by Brazil.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria delegation to Brazil for the international friendly game, which the Dream Team won 1-0, will return to the country on Sunday.

The delegation, made up of nine players and six officials will be touching down in Lagos at about 8.10pm. The overseas –based professionals have already departed for their various bases.

The team will immediately proceed on a one–week break to resume camp on the 4 April.

The Nigeria Football Federation has announced that the Super Eagles will leave for Egypt on Monday – 24 hours before the kick off of the second leg of the Afcon 2017 qualifier.

General Secretary of the FA, Mohammed Sanusi disclosed there was an adjustment to the team’s itinerary that necessitated the decision.

The Super Eagles were held 1-1 in Kaduna and need a win in Alexandria to brighten their chances of grabbing the Group G ticket.

Chelsea star Mikel Obi has charged the Super Eagles to give everything when they face Egypt for the second time in four days in Alexandria in their quest to qualify Nigeria for next year’s AFCON in Gabon.

Egypt remain remain top of their qualifying group with seven points, two points more than Nigeria, after a 1-1 draw in Kaduna on Friday in Kaduna.

Nigeria captain Mikel said the Eagles have to fight harder than they have ever done to snatch the three points at the Borg El-Arab Stadium in the Mediterranean coast.

“It’s a massive battle that we are going for, and there should be no illusion about it. We have to face reality, and everyone has to give more than 100 per cent because we just have to qualify for the Cup of Nations,” said Obi, one of Nigeria’s outstanding players when they won the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa three years ago.

The midfield enforcer insisted there was no reason to panic following Friday’s draw, and pointed to the fact that there are still three more matches left in the campaign.

“We have to go to Alexandria and fight with everything we have. There are still matches to play and we have confidence that we will earn the ticket. We also call on Nigerians to believe in the team and continue to support us.”

After the clash with the Pharaohs in Alexandria on Tuesday, the Eagles will travel to Nd’jamena to battle the Le Sao of Chad in the first week of June, before hosting Tanzania in the final round of the series in the first week of September.

NFF top shots have confirmed that the players and officials will now travel to Alexandria on Monday aboard a chartered flight, as against an earlier arrangement to fly the delegation aboard Egypt Air.

The team will fly direct to Alexandria and have the official training at the match venue on Monday evening, before Tuesday’s match.

The Chelsea midfielder told nigeriasoccer.com said he and his team mates  expected the Egyptians to give the ball back to them after it was kicked out to allow one of the players recover from an injury.

He however expressed confidence they will beat their opponent next Tuesday in Alexandria.

"We feel cheated with the way the Egyptians scored their goal," a visibly disappointed Mikel told nigeriasoccernet.com after the game.

"We expected them to give the ball back to us after one of my team mates kicked it out to enable the referee attend to the injured player, but instead they went on with play and scored.

"Even though it hurts a lot, there is a lot to play in the group. We believe we can beat them in Alexandria and that is what we are doing to do.

Super Eagles were forced to 1-1 draw by their Egyptian opponents, the Pharaohs, in Friday's Africa Cup of Nations Afcon ) double-header first-leg clash at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna.

Attacking midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo put Nigeria in front in the 60th minute while Muhammed Salah scored at the death to hand the North Africans a crucial away point.

Chukwu said the Eagles were careless in the dying minutes, allowing the Egyptians the luxury of an equaliser.

"It was a sad result to finish the match at 1-1 against Egypt with few minutes remaining to play in the key Afcon clash.

"I think the defenders suffered a momentary loss of concentration at a time they should have been 100 percent alert.

"The Egyptians were more tactical throughout the duration of the match while we appeared to be under intense pressure to conjure a victory.

"Well let us see what happens in the reverse fixture clash next Tuesday in Alexandria.

"It will not be an easy game, but Egypt will be under pressure to win and that will likely open up the match, which we can use to get the all-important win.

"The game and contest for the group's qualification ticket is still wide open among the contending countries, Egypt, Nigeria and now suddenly Tanzania as well..

"We must strengthen ourselves to go for the broke, throw in everything into the match at Alexandria and chance winning right there at in their backyard.

"Egypt are quite beatable in Alexandria but we must be prepared to do what is needed, " said the former Nigerian strongman to supersport.com.

The score draw still leaves Nigeria on five points, two behind Egypt heading into the reverse fixture clash on Tuesday at the Borg El-Arab Stadium in Alexandria, Egypt.

The group's winners are guaranteed an automatic spot at the Afcon final in Gabon.

Arsenal striker Alexander Iwobi has made his international debut for Nigeria, which ends any chance of England convincing him to represent them in the future.

The 19-year-old’s breakthrough has been one of the highlights of Arsenal’s season, and there were reports that England representatives were attempting to convince him to choose them over Nigeria.

Iwobi appears to have confirmed those rumours, posting on Twitter that he would like to thank England ‘for giving me the chance to represent them’.

That came after he came on as a second half substitute in Nigeria’s game with Egypt.

The game finished 1-1 as Egypt scored a late equaliser, but Iwobi was still delighted to have made his international bow.

“Unlucky not to win but happy to have made my competitive debut.

Super Eagles coach Samson Siasia has blamed his defenders for the last-gasp equaliser his team conceded against Egypt in Friday's 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier here in Kaduna.

He also slammed the Egyptian players for not playing to the rules of the game. The Super Eagles ?were three minutes away from earning their first victory under Siasia but were denied by Mohamed Salah who was played onside by Godfrey Oboabona.

Siasia who?se side now face a daunting task in the reverse fixture in Alexandra believes his side can still win. 'You don't leave a dangerous player like Salah alone," a frustrated Siasia told reporters moments after the 1-1 draw.

?"I blame the defenders for their play. You don't lose concentration in the dying seconds of the game. "

Also the Egyptians were guilty of not playing to the rules. "It was fair play and ?felt they should have abided by it."

Super Eagles coach Samson Siasia has blamed his defenders for the last-gasp equaliser his team conceded against Egypt in Friday's 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier here in Kaduna.

He also slammed the Egyptian players for not playing to the rules of the game. The Super Eagles ?were three minutes away from earning their first victory under Siasia but were denied by Mohamed Salah who was played onside by Godfrey Oboabona.

Siasia who?se side now face a daunting task in the reverse fixture in Alexandra believes his side can still win. 'You don't leave a dangerous player like Salah alone," a frustrated Siasia told reporters moments after the 1-1 draw.

?"I blame the defenders for their play. You don't lose concentration in the dying seconds of the game. "

Also the Egyptians were guilty of not playing to the rules. "It was fair play and ?felt they should have abided by it."

CSKA Moscow striker Aaron Samuel is the latest injury worry for Nigeria after he limped out of a tactical training session Thursday evening in Kaduna.

However, it is left to be seen if the big striker could shrug off this knock in time for the match against Egypt Friday evening.

Nigeria have already lost defenders Kenneth Omeruo and Leon Balogun to injuries leading to Friday’s AFCON qualifier against Egypt in Kaduna.

Reports in Germany say Balogun has resumed training for his club Mainz 05, but it still looks very much like he has missed out on both legs of the qualifiers.

Manchester City and Nigeria youngster, Kelechi Iheanacho wants a piece of the action against Egypt in the Afcon qualifiers on Friday in Kaduna.

The 19 year-old told footballlive.ng that he was fit and ready to don the national colors even against such a top opposition as Hector Cuper’s Egypt.

Iheanacho was an unused sub in Nigeria’s 2nd leg World Cup qualifier against Swaziland – though he’d featured in the first.

The Super Eagles training session on Wednesday evening will be partially open to the media and supporters of the national team, according to the Nigeria Football Federation.

Media outlets, journalists and supporters have been given the opportunity to watch the first fifteen minutes of the training session before the team starts training behind closed doors.

There are no injury worries in the Nigeria camp ahead of Friday evening’s tie against the Egyptians, with Arsenal young star Alex Iwobi poised to resume full training.

The former England youth-teamer had an individual session with the physiotherapist on Tuesday evening after picking up traveler’s flu.