NFF president Ibrahim Gusau has expressed confidence Nigeria will qualify for the 2026 World Cup via the Playoffs, while also backing Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle.
On Tuesday, the Super Eagles kept World Cup hopes alive when they qualified for the continental Playoffs next month in Morocco, where they will battle Gabon, DR Congo and Cameroon for a ticket to next year’s Intercontinental Playoffs in Mexico to produce two more qualifiers for the Mundial.
“We have started preparations (World Cup Playoffs), but the most important thing is the commitment and zeal of the players,” Gusau said while expressing his confidence in Nigeria featuring at next year’s World Cup.
“They have now realised that going to the World Cup is important to their careers, more than even how Nigerians look at it.
“We are getting all the cooperation we need for the government to ensure we are ready for the Playoffs and I know we will move on to the Intercontinental Playoffs.”
He said coach Eric Chelle has justified his appointment as Super Eagles coach by winning four of six World Cup qualifiers.
“Had we had a little resemblance of that record, we would not have been where we are today,” he said. (Nation)
Visitors pressed against the Louvre’s iron gates on Monday, peering through bars locked after thieves pulled off a daylight jewel heist inside the world-famous museum the day before.
Would-be museum-goers queued outside the famed tourist attraction for the scheduled 0900 (0700 GMT) opening, a day after robbers stole precious jewelry and fled on scooters.
But the mood soured when the museum announced it would stay closed for a second day.
“It’s my birthday; it was my gift, and I’ve wanted to come for several years, so I’m a bit upset,” Elisa Valentino, a 31-year-old visiting from Italy, told AFP.
“I studied art… It’s even the only thing I had planned for my stay in Paris, and I’m leaving tomorrow,” she said, wiping away tears.
Lingering outside the closed gates, US tourist Jesslyn Ehlers, 38, and her husband were busy rebooking their tickets.
“We heard about the heist the day before, so we checked online before coming, and we didn’t hear anything,” she told AFP. “We were excited to show up.”
But on arrival, they found a sign saying the museum would stay shut for a second day.
“We’re just kind of disappointed. We’ve been planning this for a very long time,” she said.
Those who had booked same-day visits would be reimbursed, the Louvre said in a statement.
“We’ll be refunded, but that’s not the point,” said Adam Cooke, 65, who had travelled from London with his wife, Rachel.
With their return set for Tuesday, the couple will miss their chance to visit the museum, whose extensive collections include the Mona Lisa.
The Louvre, along with the Eiffel Tower, ranks among the French capital’s must-see attractions, drawing nearly nine million visitors last year—around 80 percent of them from abroad.
Tourists said they were shocked after masked thieves took off with eight priceless items, including an emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon I gave his wife, Empress Marie-Louise.
The burglars dropped and damaged a ninth item — the crown of Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III — as they made their escape.
“It was amazing that the heist happened in broad daylight. I mean, that is obviously very unfortunate… very embarrassing,” said Cooke, the 65-year-old British tourist.
He discovered from news websites how the burglars parked an extendable ladder like those used by movers below the museum’s Apollo Gallery, where they used cutting equipment to get in through a window and open the display cases.
All in just seven minutes.
For Sissi Liu, a 39-year-old visiting from China with her husband and young sons, the theft was “unimaginable”.
“It’s a big shock that someone can get in there and steal something,” she told AFP.
Andreea Dumitras, 17, from Moldova, came to Paris with friends and family and said she was not surprised the museum stayed closed after the brazen theft.
“What’s most frustrating is that the security at the Louvre is so weak,” she said.
With her departure set for Thursday, the 17-year-old said she hopes to make it inside on Wednesday — if the museum reopens in time.
But she was not optimistic.
“Someone from security told me it’s not even certain it will reopen” by then, she said. (Channels)
That’s how long it took Nottingham Forest to fire manager Ange Postecoglou after losing to Chelsea 3-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.
As for Erling Haaland, he did his damage in a devastating five-minute spell in the second half, scoring twice more for Manchester City in its 2-0 win over Everton to move to 11 goals in eight league games.
City jumped to second place and was three points behind Arsenal, a 1-0 winner at Fulham thanks to another set-piece goal.
Postecoglou was removed after just 39 days in charge of Forest, which didn’t win any of its eight matches under the Australian after he replaced Nuno Espirito Santo on Sept. 9.
In a terse 39-word statement issued while the City Ground was emptying following the defeat to Chelsea, Forest said Postecoglou was “relieved of his duties as head coach with immediate effect” after “a series of disappointing results and performances.”
British media had already been linking former Burnley and Everton manager Sean Dyche with the beleaguered Postecoglou’s job. On Saturday, The Athletic reported that former Man City and Italy coach Roberto Mancini has been contacted by Forest.
Goals early in the second half by Josh Acheampong and Pedro Neto, and another by Reece James in the 84th minute, earned Chelsea a victory that prompted loud jeers inside the City Ground at fulltime and signaled the end for Postecoglou.
Postecoglou had been in defiant mood in recent weeks, even delivering a five-minute monologue on Friday in which he rejected talk that he was a “failed manager” and promised to win a trophy at Forest — just like he did at Tottenham last season before being fired.
However, Forest lost six and drew the other two of its eight games under Postecoglou. That included four losses from five in the league, scoring just one goal in the process, to leave Forest rooted in the bottom three.
Malo Gusto became the fifth Chelsea player to be sent off this season after collecting a second yellow card in the 87th.
Haaland has 23 goals in 13 games for club and country this season, having just come off a hat trick for Norway against Israel in a World Cup qualifier last week.
The striker has said he is in the best form of his career and it seemed inevitable he would make no mistake when Nico O’Reilly teed up a cross from the left in the 58th. Haaland leapt high and buried his header.
Five minutes later, Haaland peeled away from his marker in the box and met a cut-back from Savinho with a shot that went through the legs of defender James Tarkowski and past the unsighted Jordan Pickford in goal.
“He’s our key man, what can I say?” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “But at the same time, we cannot rely and do good things just with Erling.
“So our wingers, attacking midfielders and our other players have to make a step up.”
Jack Grealish wasn’t able to play for Everton under the terms of his loan move from City.
Make that 37 goals Arsenal has scored from corners since the start of the 2023-24 season.
The league leader’s 58th-minute winner at Fulham came from a familiar source, as Bukayo Saka swung in the corner, Gabriel Magalhaes flicked it on and Leandro Trossard converted at the back post.
It was a sixth win in eight games for Arsenal, which is seeking a first league championship since 2004 after being runner-up in the last three campaigns.
Fresh off his debut for France, Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a hat trick — including an equalizer from the penalty spot in the seventh minute of stoppage time — in a breathless 3-3 draw against Bournemouth.
Nick Woltemade’s latest goal for Newcastle — a deft flick between his legs into the corner — proved to be in vain in a 2-1 loss at Brighton, which had a goal in each half from Danny Welbeck.
Burnley beat Leeds 2-0 and Sunderland won at home to Wolverhampton 2-0. (JapanToday)
The UK’s Prince Andrew Friday renounced his title of Duke of York under pressure from his brother King Charles, amid further revelations about his ties to US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“I will… no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me,” Andrew, 65, said in a bombshell announcement.
He said his decision came after discussions with the head of state, King Charles III.
“I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first,” Andrew said in a statement, sent out by Buckingham Palace.
He again denied all allegations of wrongdoing, but said: “We have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family.”
Andrew, who stepped back from public life in 2019 amid the Epstein scandal, will remain a prince, as he is the second son of the late queen Elizabeth II.
But he will no longer hold the title of Duke of York that she had conferred on him.
UK media reported that he would also give up membership of the prestigious Order of the Garter, the most senior knighthood in the British honours system which dates back to 1348.
Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson will also no longer use the title of Duchess of York, although his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie remain princesses and it is thought that Friday’s move will not affect their status.
The disgraced royal has become a source of deep embarrassment for his brother Charles, following a devastating 2019 TV interview in which Andrew defended his friendship with the late billionaire paedophile Epstein.
In the interview, he vowed he had cut ties in 2010 with Epstein, who was disgraced after an American woman, Virginia Giuffre, accused him of using her as a sex slave.
But in a reported exchange which emerged in UK media this week, Andrew told the convicted sex offender in 2011 that they were “in this together” when a photo of the prince with his arm around Giuffre was published.
But he added that the two would “play together soon”.
Andrew was stripped of his military titles in 2022 and shuffled off into retirement after Giuffre accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17.
New allegations emerged this week in Giuffre’s posthumous memoir in which she wrote that Andrew had behaved as if having sex with her was his “birthright”. (Vanguard)
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen continued his late-season charge with a victory Sunday at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, while McLaren’s Lando Norris took a huge chunk out of teammate Oscar Piastri’s championship lead by finishing second.
Piastri was a distant fifth, which allowed Norris to pull within 14 points with five grand prix and two sprint races to go.
Verstappen, who got his third victory in four races, is also closing fast and now trails Piastri by 40 points in third.
Piastri and Norris are chasing their first career drivers championship. Verstappen is hunting his fifth in a row, and his dominant form of late has given him a real chance to get it. He also won Saturday’s sprint race after the two McLarens ran into each other on the first turn and crashed out.
Norris’ late pass of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for second earned him a crucial position as he chases Piastri and hopes to hold off Verstappen over the final stretch of the season.
Verstappen started on the pole Sunday and was never challenged for the lead. He built a 10-second lead by the halfway point as Norris and Leclerc drove a furious battle for second.
Piastri’s day never got going. He started sixth and quickly made up a spot in the first few corners but was stuck there for the rest of the race.
Piastri’s lead is rapidly shrinking under pressure. He hasn’t won since the Dutch Grand Prix on Aug 31 and hasn’t finished on the podium the last three races. Piastri started the race with a 22-point lead over Norris and 55 points over Verstappen.
The series next heads to Mexico City, where Verstappen has five career victories at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. (JapanToday)
After nine painful years, and at the 11th time of asking, Manchester United ended its Anfield hoodoo with a 2-1 win against Premier League defending champion Liverpool on Sunday.
Harry Maguire’s header in the 84th minute sealed one of United’s most significant wins under coach Ruben Amorim and consigned Liverpool to a fourth straight defeat in all competitions.
The frustration of so many miserable experiences on Merseyside appeared to pour out of Maguire as the defender celebrated in front of United’s traveling fans.
“It means everything. They’ve had the better of us over the last few years and we know that and it hasn’t been good enough for our club,” Maguire said. “The old cliche is that it is only three points, but it definitely isn’t. It means a lot more than that for the club, the boys and the fans.”
Maguire’s goal came late in another frenetic and thrilling match involving Liverpool in a season of dramatic finales for Arne Slot’s team.
That’s three league games in a row in which Liverpool has been beaten by a goal scored in the last 10 minutes of regulation time or beyond. Before that, it had scraped to late wins of its own in six of the first seven games.
So while Maguire’s headed goal maintained the losing trend, perhaps the biggest surprise was that there wasn’t another twist in the tale.
There might have been when Cody Gakpo headed wide with an open goal to aim at and the fourth official indicated there would be eight minutes of added time.
The Dutch forward had already got Liverpool back on level terms in the 78th – poking in from close range after Bryan Mbeumo had fired United ahead inside two minutes.
United’s last win at Anfield came back in 2016 when Wayne Rooney scored the only goal of the match. Since then there have been some humiliating defeats, notably the 7-0 rout in 2023 and a 4-0 loss a year earlier.
Not only has Amorim ended that bitter run, but he also collected back-to-back wins in the league for the first time since taking over at United last November.
The Portuguese coach has been under increasing pressure, with speculation mounting over his position after a troubled start to his first full season in charge. While United is ninth in the standings, it is only two points off the top four and such a morale-boosting performance could finally prove a turning point for Amorim.
Defeat for Liverpool raises more doubts about its wobbling title defense, leaving it fourth and four points behind leader Arsenal.
That is not an insurmountable gap but the run of four straight defeats extends what was already Slot’s worst run as Liverpool coach and further highlights weaknesses in his team.
Liverpool has only kept two clean sheets in 12 games in all competitions this season and a creaking defense continues to be breached late on in games.
In attack, Mohamed Salah’s only goal in his last seven league games was a penalty against Burnley, while British record signing Alexander Isak has only scored one goal in seven appearances since joining from Newcastle.
“We have to stick together. Not just as players but the fans and everyone,” said Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk. “First and foremost we have to stay humble, and stay working. We need to keep our confidence high and stay very calm.”
Emi Buendia’s curling shot sealed a 2-1 comeback win for Aston Villa against Tottenham.
The victory continued Villa’s resurgence after a desperate start to the season and denied Spurs the chance to provisionally move up to second in the standings.
Buendia shimmied his way across the edge of the box in the 77th minute at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before sweeping a perfect shot low into the bottom corner.
It was Villa’s fifth-straight win in all competitions after failing to pick up a victory in its first six games of the campaign.
It ended Spurs’ seven-game unbeaten run that looked set to continue when Rodrigo Bentancur fired the home team ahead after just five minutes.
Morgan Rogers leveled the game in the 37th before Villa went on to take all three points and consign Tottenham coach Thomas Frank to his second league loss since taking over in the summer. (JapanToday)
Former Kenyan prime minister and revered long-time opposition leader Raila Odinga was buried in the west of the country after a service attended by thousands on Sunday.
“Now finally Baba is home,” his son, Raila Odinga junior, said beside his father’s casket, draped in the Kenyan flag.
The burial concluded days of memorials that at times led to chaos, with at least five mourners dying at other events and dozens injured at a public viewing on Saturday.
Odinga died on Wednesday aged 80 in an Indian hospital.
He became prime minister after the bloody and disputed 2007 election, and was the main opposition leader for many years, losing five presidential campaigns, most recently three years ago.
He retains a devotional following in the west of the country. Former US President Barack Obama, whose Kenyan family hails from the same region, called Odinga a “true champion of democracy”.
Politicians, relatives and throngs of his supporters waved Kenyan flags and held his picture aloft as they gathered at Sunday’s memorial service, which was held at a university in Bondo.
“Even in the grave, he still remains our hero,” one mourner told the AFP news agency.
Military personnel carried Odinga’s coffin to the front, where a choir sang and speakers, including Kenyan President William Ruto, remembered him.
“His courage, his vision, and his unyielding faith in our collective destiny will forever illuminate the path of our nation,” Ruto said in a post on Facebook about the event.
“His return to Bondo was not merely a homecoming; it was the embrace of a grateful Republic bidding farewell to one of its greatest sons, a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of justice, democracy, and the enduring unity of our beloved Kenya.”
Odinga was buried nearby at his late father’s homestead, where there is a family mausoleum.
Multiple memorial events had already taken place, including a state funeral in Nairobi on Friday and a public viewing in a stadium in his home city of Kisumu on Saturday.
At the viewing, tens of thousands filed past his open coffin, many crying out the phrase “we are orphans”.
At least three people were killed when police opened fire to disperse mourners, with dozens more injured in the chaotic scenes that followed. (BBC)
FIFA said on Wednesday it hoped all 16 host cities would be “ready” to stage games at the 2026 World Cup finals after US President Donald Trump suggested matches could be moved for security reasons.
“We hope every one of our 16 host cities will be ready to successfully host and fulfil all requirements,” a FIFA spokesperson said.
“Safety and security are the top priorities at all FIFA events worldwide.”
The spokesperson, however, added that, “Safety and security are obviously the government’s responsibility, and they decide what is in the best interest for public safety.”
Trump said Tuesday that FIFA president Gianni Infantino would support moving World Cup games from US cities if necessary.
In September, Trump raised the possibility of moving matches amid his crackdown on Democratic-run cities.
“If somebody is doing a bad job and if I feel there’s unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni, the head of FIFA, who’s phenomenal, and I would say, let’s move it to another location. And he would do that,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if games could be moved from Boston, one of the host cities.
“Very easily he would do it,” Trump added.
The US president suggested that, if necessary, events for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics could also be moved.
Republican Trump’s administration has deployed national guard troops to Democratic-run US cities this year over the objections of local and state leaders, saying they are needed to counter crime and left-wing activism.
Boston is scheduled to host seven games at next year’s World Cup. San Francisco and Seattle are both hosting six matches each at the tournament while Los Angeles is hosting eight.
The United States is staging the World Cup jointly with Mexico and Canada, but will be hosting the bulk of the games in the tournament, which has been expanded to include 48 teams.
Eleven of the 16 host cities are in the United States for the June 11 to July 19 tournament.
Trump earlier this year appointed himself as chairman of a White House task force for the World Cup. (Punch)
New US tariffs on imported kitchen cabinets, vanities, lumber, timber and certain upholstered furniture have come into effect.
Under a proclamation signed by President Donald Trump last month, a 10% tariff on softwood lumber and timber imports will apply as of Tuesday.
A 25% tariff will also apply to imported kitchen cabinets and vanities – rising to 50% on 1 January – and a 25% tariff on upholstered wooden furniture will increase to 30%, unless new trade agreements are reached.
Trump has cited the need to protect US manufacturers and national security concerns for the move, but some in the industry worry the tariffs could raise housing costs and make customers postpone home renovations.
Tariffs are taxes on imported goods typically charged as a percentage of a good’s value and are paid to the US government by companies bringing in the products.
These firms may pass some or all of the extra cost on to their customers, which in this case means ordinary Americans and other US businesses.
The president’s tariff policies have been a key feature of his second term in the White House.
Trump has previously imposed sector-specific tariffs on steel, copper, aluminium, cars and vehicle components.
The additional global 10% tariffs on softwood lumber means the product from Canada – the second largest producer globally and a major US supplier – is now tariffed at more than 45%.
There is already a combined 35.16% US countervailing and anti-dumping duties placed on most Canadian producers as part of a decades-long dispute over the product between the two countries.
As part of existing trade deals with the US, duties on wood products from the UK will not exceed 10%, while those from the European Union and Japan will not exceed 15%.
The White House says Trump’s tariffs have been implemented “to protect against threats” to the US’s national security and to “strengthen manufacturing”.
But the National Association of Homebuilders said in a statement in late September that the new levies could raise housing costs.
“These new tariffs will create additional headwinds for an already challenged housing market by further raising construction and renovation costs,” said chairman Buddy Hughes.
According to Telsey Advisory Group managing director and senior retail analyst Cristina Fernández, retailers will have no choice but to raise prices on imported goods.
Speaking to the BBC’s US partner CBS News last month, she said retailers would try not to raise prices too much ahead of the holiday season, but “they can’t absorb 30% tariffs on top of other tariffs that are already in place”.
“They’ll have to pass through pricing, probably in the form of a double-digit price increase,” she added.
Last month Swedish furniture giant Ikea said the tariffs on furniture imports make doing business “more difficult”.
“The tariffs are impacting our business similarly to other companies, and we are closely monitoring the evolving situation,” the company said. (BBC)
President Bola Tinubu will attend the 8th edition of the Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit as the Special Guest of Honour.
The event is scheduled to take place from November 11 to 13, 2025, in Abuja.
The announcement was made on Friday during a press briefing in Abuja by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa.
The NDIS is an annual platform organised by NiDCOM aimed at mobilising investment from Nigerians abroad into the country’s economy.
According to NiDCOM, since its inception in 2018, NDIS has grown in size and influence, attracting diaspora investors, government officials, entrepreneurs, and business leaders to explore opportunities in Nigeria’s key sectors such as real estate, healthcare, agriculture, ICT, energy, manufacturing, and creative industries.
Dabiri-Erewa revealed that the 2024 summit generated investment deals valued at ₦673m across various sectors.
“The last edition of the Summit, held in November 2024, showed just how much momentum NDIS has built over the years.
“It welcomed over 1,500 participants, both online and in person, including 236 investors, 1,197 business owners, and 168 government officials,” Dabiri-Erewa stated.
She added that 56 investment pitches were presented during the 2024 edition, covering eight strategic sectors of the economy.
“These ideas were not just pitched but attracted about 168 deals worth about ₦673m. This shows how much momentum the Summit has built over the years,” the CEO explained.
Speaking on the forthcoming event, Dabiri-Erewa confirmed that President Tinubu would once again grace the occasion.
“We are honoured that His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, will once again serve as the Special Guest of Honour.
“We anticipate the participation of distinguished business leaders, diaspora investors, policy champions, and creative icons who continue to inspire confidence in Nigeria’s potential,” Dabiri-Erewa added.
The 2025 edition of the summit will focus on mobilising diaspora investment to boost regional and national development. (Punch)
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