Update

Joint North American bid bags hosting rights after seeing off challenge from Morocco at the FIFA Congress. The US, Canada and Mexico will host football's World Cup 2026 after it saw off a challenge from Morocco at the FIFA Congress. The joint bid won 134 votes (67 percent) out of the 203 entitled to vote with Morocco bagging 65 (33 percent) when voting took place in Moscow on Wednesday, a day before the Russia World Cup 2018. The 2026 World Cup will head to North America for the fourth time and will be the first with 48 teams taking part. For Morocco, it was the fifth time it had bid for the hosting rights to the football World Cup, calling it "the dream of a nation". Meanwhile, the US hosted the World Cup previously in 1994 while Mexico hosted it in 1970 and 1986. Canada has never hosted a men's World Cup but held the women's tournament in 2015. Earlier, US Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro has said his bid would generate $14bn in revenue and make an $...

Super Eagles winger, Moses Simon, has arrived in Spain where ‎he is scheduled to undergo a routine medical test with LaLiga side, Levante, OwnGoalNigeria reports. The Nigeria international is on the verge of completing his move from Belgium side, Gent. Moses’ transfer will cost Levante a fee believed to be around the €5m mark with several add-ons. Gent has also insisted on a sell-on clause which is believed to around 10 per cent. The Belgian side decided to cash in this summer, instead of losing the 23-year-old for free next year.

  Chelsea accept £67m bid from Barcelona for Willian Chelsea have accepted an offer of £67.1million from Barcelona for Willian, according to Sky Italia. Willian will sign a five-year deal with the Nou Camp outfit worth €40million. Barca have been desperate to land the Brazilian midfielder all summer and have seen three offers rejected by the Blues. The La Liga giants’ first bid of £50m was followed up with another of around £53m. They had a bid of £55m pushed back, before returning with a final offer that has reportedly now been accepted.

2018 World Cup: Argentina defender, Mascherano says Super Eagles are ‘disorganized ’ Argentina defender, Javier Mascherano, has said that Nigeria are capable of destabilizing them, when they meet at the 2018 World Cup. Mascherano stated this in an interview with the UK Guardian, while assessing their Group D opponents. Argentina are in Group D with Nigeria, Croatia and Iceland. This will be the third time Mascherano will be facing the Super Eagles at the World Cup. The defender-cum-midfielder was in the Argentina squad that beat the Super Eagles at South Africa 2010 (1-0) and Brazil 2014 (3-2) World Cups. “Iceland are a new team in the sense that they maybe don’t have a long football tradition but they’re a generation of players that have made history recently, with spectacular success at Euro 16, and qualifying ahead of Croatia. “Croatia are a first-class side with top players, especially in the midfield, such as Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic, Rakitic … Perisic; a team to wa...

' We will shutdown Aso Rock If Obasanjo Is harmed' - African Democratic Congress The African Democratic Congress has warned the Federal Government that it will shut down the Presidential Villa if Obasanjo is harmed. Chairman of the ADC, Chief Okey Nwosu spoke on Friday saying having failed to deliver on its campaign promises, the Buhari-led government has resorted to hounding opposition members into submission. He said when Obasanjo was supporting Buhari during the run-up to the 2015 general elections; he was described as an advocate of change by Buhari and his supporters, but the same man was now being treated as a criminal because he was speaking against the government. “What we are witnessing is the desperation of a failed government. When you have mediocre persons that are not focused on handling state power, they often go to dictatorial levels to try to achieve their aim but this time, the people of Nigeria and God are on our side and we will do what our country ne...

Chelsea hold meeting with Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic Chelsea have spoken to Slavisa Jokanovic about taking over from Antonio Conte as manager, according to reports in Italy. Maurizio Sarri was the favourite to succeed Conte at Stamford Bridge but negotiations have broken down with Napoli due to concerns around his past behaviour. It’s understood Luis Enrique is now in pole position for the role, with some reports suggesting that Chelsea are poised to unveil the former Barcelona man in the coming days However, according to Gianluca Di Marzio, Fulham boss Jokanovic has emerged as a possible managerial target for the Blues. Jokanovic, who steered Fulham to the Premier League with a playoff final victory over Aston Villa, held a meeting with Chelsea officials on Friday. The 49-year-old will hold further discussions with Chelsea on Saturday evening but his relative inexperience makes him an outsider for the job. Roman Abramovich knows Jokanovic well from the Serbian’s ...

Unhealthy Nigeria Meals,Heart At Risk Dr Kunle Iyanda, a cardiologist at Wuse General Hospital, Abuja, has described Nigerian diets as unhealthy. Iyanda told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja that the contents of high carbohydrates and fats in Nigerian traditional foods and diets are extremely bad for the heart and general health. He explained that Nigerian traditional foods contain high levels of cholesterol and risked diabetes. “Our native soups are based on high levels of palm oil and groundnut oil that put us at risk for high cholesterol levels, stroke and heart attacks. “There is also the high consumption of rice, yams and cassava which are high in starch and carbohydrates that easily lead to obesity and diabetes. “We know that the oil in our dishes makes the taste of our soups a lot better but we have to choose between good health and a tasty meal,” he said. Iyanda added that he was not alarmed by the vast number of food options in Nigeria, but ho...

Jonathan blasts Aregbesola for blaming him for failed government Former president, Goodluck Jonathan, has lashed out at Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun state saying he should not blame him for the failure of his administration. The Nation reports that Jonathan was reacting to a news item where Aregbesola was quoted to have blamed his underperformance in office on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration under the former president. In a statement by his media spokesperson, , Ikechukwu Eze, Jonathan highlighted some of the actions of Aregbesola that affected his administration. Read the statement below: “My attention has been drawn to a news item in which Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, was quoted to have blamed his underperformance in office on the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. ‘In the story published in some newspapers last Sunday, Aregbesola was said to have blamed his failure as a Governor merely on the fact that ...

Barca, Madrid in Super Club World Cup There is a possibility of another El Clasico clashes outside the Spanish La Liga as Barcelona and Real Madrid will be among the 12 European representatives to contest the new Super Club World Cup by FIFA. The first edition of FIFA’s proposal is due to take place in 2021 and consists of a 24-team competition held every four years, during the second half of June. As a result, the competition is expected to take away the existing tournaments: the Club World Cup and the Confederations Cup. The rest of the European clubs are: Bayern Munich, Ajax, Milan, Liverpool, Manchester United, Inter Milan, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, who are sure to participate, while the other two teams will come from a group formed by Manchester City, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Porto Benfica and Borussia Dortmund. Besides the 12 teams from Europe, South America would be the most represented continent with four or five clubs, while Asia, Africa and North America wo...

Michael Carrick will become Manchester United assistant manager, Jose Mourinho confirms JOSE MOURINHO says Michael Carrick WILL become his assistant manager at Manchester United. The Special One’s long-time assistant, Rui Faria, is leaving United — ending a 17-year partnership with the United boss. Mourinho will not replace him, but instead wait for Carrick to be ready after the ex-England midfielder finished his playing career to join Mourinho’s backroom staff. Carrick — captain for the day — signed off at Old Trafford by setting up Marcus Rashford’s 34th-minute winner against Watford. And boss Mourinho said: “I will organise my coaching staff in a way where the assistant manager figure doesn’t exist. I am going to have assistant coaches, fitness coaches and a structure where we have specialists in different areas connected to performance. “The particular reason is I think it will be Michael Carrick in the future — when he has his badges. “Then he can make the bridge bet...

See What Salah Is Saying On Comparison With Messi & Ronaldo Liverpool ace, Mohamed Salah has admitted that he does not feel comfortable to be compared with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo. The Egyptian international, however, said he needs to maintain his current level of form for a number of years to be compared with Messi and Ronaldo. “I don’t want to say I am happy with this kind of comparison,”Salah told Egyptian TV station ONE. “Each of them has been at the top level for 10 or 11 years. Their performance level is stable. “I need to maintain my performance levels high for many seasons. I hope I can do that. “They are great players and hopefully I become happy with these comparisons.” Meanwhile, Salah was crowned the Reds’ Player of the Season at a glittering awards ceremony on Thursday evening. The 25-year-old also picked up both the First Team Players’ Player of the Season and the Standard Chartered Player of the Season award. The...

Neymar says goodbye to PSG teammates? Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar has told his teammates that he will not be returning to the club after the World Cup, according to a report. The Brazil international scored 28 times in 30 appearances for the French giants since his summer move from Barcelona before sustaining a broken metatarsal in February. However, Neymar has long been rumoured to pine for a move away from PSG at the end of the season, with Real Madrid believed to be frontrunners for his signature. According to the Daily Mail, the 25-year-old has said his goodbyes to his PSG colleagues as he seeks to play football elsewhere. Last week, a report in AS claimed that Real held 'secret talks' with Neymar over a potential return to Spain ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.

Leo Messi has chosen his successor at Barcelona Lionel Messi has made it very clear he sees Barcelona starlet Dembele as his successor at the club – and has been working with the player and the Barcelona coaches for months to make it happen. He’s also been seen giving the player instructions during the game and also at the end of games, and Messi thinks he can emulate the success of the best Barcelona players in the past. Messi is reportedly most concerned with Demebele’s off the ball movement and it seems that he thinks more can be done to improve the player, who was struck down by injury early on in his Barcelona career and is now improving week on week in the side – despite links with a loan move away and interest from Premier League side Liverpool. BARCELONA, SPAIN – MARCH 14: Ousmane Dembele of Barcelona celebrates with Lionel Messi as he scores their second goal as Thibaut Courtois and N’Golo Kante of Chelsea look dejected during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 ...

Pep Guardiola reveals Manchester City’s transfer plans for next season Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola has disclosed the club’s transfer plans for next season. Guardiola, who has already spent £600million to sign Bernardo Silva, Kyle Walker, Aymeric Laporte and Ederson in less than two years, said he intends to sign a maximum of two new players this summer. The 47-year-old stated this at a press conference on Friday. Asked how many signings he intends to make, Gaurdiola told reporters: “Not too many. “We made a good, high investment last season, because it was an old team – 10 or 11 players more than 30-years-old. “So we made changes last season, now we’re going to change some details. One, maybe two.” City are currently on 97 points on the Premier League table and could reach 100 points this season if they beat Southampton in Sunday’s last Premier League fixture.

Okorocha speaks on Oshiomhole’s declaration, blasts APC for playing “PDP politics” Imo State Governor and chairman of the All Progressives Congress Governor’s Forum, Rochas Okorocha, has said the party now involves itself with “Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) kind of politics”. Okorocha stated this on Thursday in Abuja, at the declaration of former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomole, to run for office of the National Chairman of the party. Hide quoted text “Another thing I think Oshiomole will address is that our party has begun to play the same kind of politics like PDP. All of a sudden we have started derailing and playing the PDP kind of politics. “This started by some of those people who found themselves in political office especially appointment, who did not win their booths and wards,” the Governor stated. Okorocha added: “Today, our party is going through some challenges and I must commend those who helped fight for this party even before this time, they have don...

Salah speaks on leaving Liverpool for Real Madrid Liverpool winger, Mohammed Salah, has insisted he is going nowhere this summer. Salah was crowned the Reds’ Player of the Season at a glittering awards ceremony on Thursday evening. Speaking after the event, he said he was desperate to be part of a new era of Anfield glory. The Egypt international has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid, but he has now assured the club’s supporters he is staying. “I’m very happy here and everything is fine. “I have got ambitions for the future, with ­Liverpool. “We had a great season and now we are in the Champions League final, and everyone is excited. It is just the start. This is my first year here and it is the same for some other players. “We have had an unbelievable year. It is just the beginning,” he said. Salah pickd up both the First Team Players’ Player of the Season and the Standard Chartered Player of the Season award.

Why I ignored Senate invitation – IGP Idris Why I ignored Senate invitation – IGP Idris The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, on Wednesday described Nigerian senators as people who are trying to blackmail him into perverting the course of justice. Mr Idris, who refused to honour two previous summons by the Senate, said he failed to appear for a third time Wednesday because he found no reason to do so, having learnt that the invitation was “a deliberate blackmail, witch-hunting, unfortunate and mischievous” on the part of senators. An enraged Senate on Wednesday afternoon proclaimed Mr Idris an “enemy of democracy” who is “unfit to hold any public office within and outside Nigeria.” Mr Idris had failed to appear before the Senate on two previous occasions after lawmakers asked him to come and brief them on the killings that have taken unprecedented dimensions under his watch as top security chief. The lawmakers also planned to ask the police chief questions around the...

Arsène Wenger says ‘hurtful’ supporters damaged Arsenal’s image •  Frenchman says ‘fans did not give the image of unity I wanted’ •  Wenger refuses to rule out continuing in management The Guardian app Instant alerts. Offline reading. Tailored to you. FREE  – in Google Play VIEW Close Skip to main content The Guardian - Back to home Support The Guardian News Opinion Sport Culture Lifestyle News Opinion Sport Culture Lifestyle What term do you want to search? Search with google Make a contribution Subscribe Sign in/up International edition Jobs Dating Holidays The Guardian app Video Podcasts Pictures Newsletters Today's paper The Observer Digital archive Crosswords Facebook Twitter Football   Live scores Tables Fixtures Results Competitions Clubs More Arsène Wenger says ‘hurtful’ supporters damaged Arsenal’s image •  Frenchman says ‘fans d...