Exclusives

The Nigeria senior men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, got their Afrobasket 2017 title defence off to a shaky start as they snatched a slim 78-77 victory over Ivory Coast on Friday night in Tunis, Tunisia. The Nigeria took the first quarter 17 -11 even as they slightly edged out the Ivoirians 25-22. However, in the 3rd quarter, D’Tigers did not come to the party as the Ivoirians closed in; winning 11-17.

Oxlade-Chamberlain said his decision to snub Chelsea was because Liverpool have the prospect of offering him the perfect platform to realize his potential, having struggled to establish himself at Emirate. According to Sky Sports, the player said his decision to reject a new deal worth £180,000-a-week at Arsenal and take a significant pay cut to seal a deal with Liverpool was the hardest decision of his life. He however expressed happiness that he took the decision.

The Coach of Les Aigles of Mali, Alain Giresse on Thursday resigned his position following the country's woeful display in the ongoing Russia 2018 qualifying matches. His resignation came after the Malian team was hammered 6-0 by Morocco last week leaving the team with no chance of qualification from the group.  Currently, Mali is on the bottom of the log with two points from three matches and five points behind group leaders Ivory Coast with two group games remaining.

Paris Saint Germain (PSG) new signing, Kylian Mbappe said his decision to snub Real Madrid for League 1 club was because of the prospect for regular starting berth. Mbappe who was recently unveiled by PSG after a season-long loan deal from Monaco told L'Equipe that he also rejected a move to Manchester City although he has huge admiration for Coach Pep Guardiola.

Super Eagles Coach, Gernot Rohr has charged stand-in goal keeper, Ikechukwu Ezenwa to improve on his goalkeeping skills as the team prepares to meet the toughest rival in the group on October 7. The Coach who admitted that the Eagles went into the Cameroon match with goalkeeper crisis hinted that he had no option than to use his fourth choice since the others were not available for selection. He explained that while Vincent Enyeama and Akpeyi were all injured, Carl Ikeme was sick.

Paris Saint Germain (PSG) new wonder kid, Kylian Mbappe said his plan ahead of the current season was to assist his new teammate, Neymar displaces Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to win the Ballon d'Or.  According to Le Parisien, the player hinted that it was too early for him to begin to dabble into the race for the award.