Bold Sports Weekly | Edition 004

Hello,

Nigeria had played at every Women’s World Cup since the competition began in 1991. The Super Falcons will not be in Brazil in 2027.

The Flying Eagles have also missed the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations after losing the WAFU B final, while Nigeria’s men finished ninth at the U-18 AfroBasket.

There was better news elsewhere. Junior D’Tigress are one victory from the World Cup. The Junior Yellow Greens have earned promotion, and Nigerian fencers made history in Lagos.

It has been a week that showed how quickly sporting fortunes can change.

Welcome to Edition 004.

Let’s get into it.

Nigeria will not play at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time since the inception of the tournament.

South Africa confirmed the end of a 35-year record with a 2-1 victory in Thursday’s play-off, but the Super Falcons’ problems began long before their final match in Morocco.

Nigeria played five matches at the WAFCON, lost three and conceded eight goals. Five of their ten goals came from penalties.

The warning arrived in the opening 3-2 defeat to Malawi. A 1-0 victory over Zambia and six goals against Egypt kept Nigeria alive, but neither performance solved the defensive problems or the lack of control in attack.

Cameroon then took the direct World Cup ticket with a 1-0 quarter-final victory. Against South Africa, Nigeria again found themselves chasing the game after conceding twice. Christy Ucheibe’s late penalty and Folashade Ijamilusi’s stoppage-time effort against the crossbar could not complete the recovery.

The questions extend beyond the matches. Following the postponement of the tournament, Nigeria played three reported warm-up games, beating Senegal 2-1 and 3-0 in June before defeating Tanzania 2-1 five days before their WAFCON opener.

The issue is therefore not an absence of friendlies. It is whether the preparation programme gave the coaching staff enough time with the complete squad and why the problems exposed against Malawi remained unresolved throughout the tournament.

Changing the coach may be the easiest response. It cannot be the only one.

The NFF must explain how the Super Falcons prepared, why the same technical problems continued across five matches and how Africa’s most successful women’s team was allowed to miss the World Cup for the first time.

Nigeria responded to their group-stage defeat to Cameroon with a commanding 75-45 quarter-final victory.

They face hosts Ivory Coast on Friday. Victory will take Nigeria into the U-18 AfroBasket final and secure qualification for the 2027 U-19 Women’s World Cup.

Nigeria scored 461 for six before dismissing Mozambique for 54 at the ICC U-19 Men’s World Cup Africa Division Two qualifier.

The 407-run victory secured promotion to Division One.

Nigeria lost 4-1 to Burkina Faso in the WAFU B U-20 Championship final.

The defeat ended their title defence and cost the Flying Eagles a place at the 2027 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.

Shooting Stars will host newcomers Inter Lagos in the opening match of the 2026/27 Nigeria Premier Football League season. The remaining opening fixtures will be played on 30 August.

The league has also announced a YouTube broadcast agreement with Murphy Ben International.

Katsina United player Chinedu Ozor died after collapsing during a friendly match.

The club later corrected reports that he had regained consciousness.

We extend our condolences to his family, teammates and everyone at Katsina United.

Sixteen-year-old Oghenegaren Esiovwa-Thompson won Nigeria’s first Commonwealth Fencing Championships gold in the men’s U-23 épée.

Nigeria later added six medals. Five were won by wheelchair fencers during the first international wheelchair-fencing competition staged in Africa.

Jessica Oji’s shot put title was Nigeria’s only medal at the World U20 Championships, but the team was not finished after her victory. Success Oyibu placed fifth in the women’s 200m, Precious Opinion finished seventh in the men’s triple jump and the women’s 4x400m quartet came eighth.

The more troubling part of the closing days was the number of results lost to technical errors. Miracle Ezechukwu was disqualified from the 200m semifinals for a lane infringement. The mixed 4x100m team crossed fourth in 41.77s but lost the result over a shoe-rule violation, while a false start ended the women’s 4x100m final before the first exchange.

Nigeria left Oregon with a world champion and clear promise. It also left with mistakes that should not follow these athletes into senior competition.

Kanyinsola Ajayi has turned professional with adidas Running after three seasons at Auburn University.

He leaves college as the NCAA 60m and 100m champion, Nigeria’s 100m record holder and a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist.

Eniola Bolaji won the women’s SL3 singles title at the Peru Para Badminton International after defeating Brazil’s Kauana Beckenkamp 21-12, 21-12 in the final.

The Paris 2024 bronze medallist went through the competition without dropping a game, adding another international title to her growing record.

D’Tigress forward Amy Okonkwo has joined the Portland Fire for the rest of the WNBA season as an injury replacement.

It is another opportunity for Okonkwo to establish herself in the league after previous spells with the Dallas Wings and Atlanta Dream.

Nigeria’s men’s and women’s flag-football teams qualified for the World Championships in Düsseldorf. Neither team reached Germany.

Both teams withdrew after members of the Nigerian delegation failed to receive visas in time.

The competition was the first direct qualifier for flag football’s Olympic debut at Los Angeles 2028. Nigeria retain another route through the 2027 African Championship and the Olympic Q-Series.

The visa failure still needs explaining. When did the application process begin? What support did the teams receive? Why was the problem unresolved by the start of the competition?

The players earned the right to compete. They never got the opportunity.

Applications for Phase 3 of the Athlete365 Business Accelerator open on Friday.

The free programme is for Olympians, Paralympians and elite athletes aged 18 or over who own a business or are developing a business idea. Priority is given to Olympians.

Nigeria face hosts Ivory Coast in the U-18 AfroBasket semi-finals. Victory will secure a place in Sunday’s final and qualification for the 2027 U-19 Women’s World Cup.

A total of 693 athletes from nine countries will compete at the Dynamic Athletics Meet on Saturday.

The one-day competition takes place at the Yabatech Sports Ground and will feature more than 1,000 entries across track and field events.

Nigeria complete their ICC U-19 Men’s World Cup Africa Division Two campaign against Sierra Leone on Saturday.

The Junior Yellow Greens have already secured promotion to Division One following their 407-run victory over Mozambique.

Nigeria may be out, but a new African champion will be crowned on Sunday.

Junior D’Tigress will also play either the U-18 AfroBasket final or third-place match on Sunday

Victor Osimhen’s name came up during talks between Arsenal and Galatasaray over the Turkish club’s interest in Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri.

It remains unclear whether Arsenal will make a formal move for the Super Eagles striker.

Ademola Lookman will wear the No. 11 shirt for Atletico Madrid this season after switching from No. 22.

The Nigerian scored nine goals and provided four assists in 24 appearances during his first season in Spain..

Cyriel Dessers scored the extra-time winner as Panathinaikos beat CSKA 1948 in the UEFA Conference League qualifiers.

The Super Eagles striker had been out of action for 238 days.

Veritas University defeated the University of Abuja 41-36 to win the first NBA REC University Tournament.

Eight men’s university teams competed during the two-day event at the University of Lagos.

Oghenegaren Esiovwa-Thompson says his Olympic ambition influenced his decision to represent Nigeria after previously fencing for England and Great Britain.

The 16-year-old made his Nigerian debut by winning the country’s first Commonwealth Fencing Championships gold.

Last Friday, we asked whether anybody would notice that Nigeria was hosting a Commonwealth championship.

Since then, Nigerian fencing has produced its first Commonwealth gold, Africa’s first international wheelchair-fencing medals and the first African president of the Commonwealth Fencing Federation.

The championships end in Lagos on Friday. The athletes, coaches and administrators who made the week possible will still need attention after the final medal is awarded.

Bold Sports will keep following them.

That is it for Edition 004.

We will be back next Friday.

Oluwatosin Oluwalowo
Editor-in-Chief
Bold Sports

boldsportsng.com

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