Football

The Supreme Court has set aside the 2016 judgment of the Appeal Court on the leadership tussle of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF).

Chris Giwa and his board had dragged the FIFA-recognised Amaju Pinnick-led board to the Supreme Court, to set aside the verdict of the Appeal Court which set aside the ruling of a Federal High Court in Jos that ordered the continuation of the case.

They had claimed in the originating suit that the mandate given to them by the congress of the NFF in August 2013 was sacrosanct and that the election in Warri that brought in the Pinnick group was held in defiance of a High Court order.

Andres Iniesta has confirmed he will leave Barcelona at the end of the season after 22 years associated with the club. He has made 669 appearances in 16 seasons, winning 31 trophies with the team and three majopr tournaments for Spain. In a press conference attended by members of the first team and the club’s board on Friday, Iniesta said he wanted to finish at Barca “feeling useful, feeling important and still winning titles”.

LaLiga and AJEAST Nigeria, the makers of Big Cola, have announced the signing of an agreement under which the multinational beverage company has become LaLiga’s latest regional partner in Nigeria.

The strategic partnership was announced at a press conference in Lagos, on Thursday. Gregory Bolle, LaLiga’s Head of global partnership sales; Mr. Theo Williams, Country Director of AJEAST Nigeria; and Perpetual Ohiri, Marketing Manager Big Cola Nigeria, took center stage at this event. Philip Diwan, CEO of Legacy Sports, Javier Del Rio, LaLiga’s Delegate in Nigeria, and LaLiga Ambassador Mutiu Adepoju were also among those in attendance.

 Paris Saint-Germain coach, Unai Emery, has formally announced his exit from the club at the end of the current season, after two years in charge of the Parc des Princes club. His tenure has been under threat even since the French side were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid.

Rivers State Commissioner for Sports, Boma Iyaye, officially announced on Thursday that the Adokiye Aimesimaka Stadium will host month’s international friendly game between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and their DR Congo counterparts.  The agreement was struck between the state and NFF for the Eagles to play their farewell game at the place where they started their journey to Russia in November 2015 when the Eagles defeated.

Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi has won a European Union court battle to register his surname as a trademark to sell sports equipment and clothing. The football star may register his name as a trademark for sports equipment and clothing, the EU's second-highest court said, as he was famous enough to overcome phonetic similarities with Spanish bicycle clothing brand Massi.