Bold Sports Weekly | Edition 007

Hello,

Last week, Nigerian football was consumed by resignations, suspended elections and questions about what happens next.

Those questions remain. But this week, the athletes take the attention back.

D’Tigress begin the Women’s Basketball World Cup today, eight years after their last appearance. On Monday, the Falconets face Spain in their own World Cup opener.

Edo Queens are one victory away from the CAF Women’s Champions League, while Shooting Stars return to continental football after 27 years. Rivers United, Rangers and El-Kanemi Warriors also begin their African campaigns this weekend.

Administration matters. Sponsorship agreements matter. The people responsible for running Nigerian sport must be held accountable.

But the purpose of all that work is what we are about to see: Nigerian athletes stepping onto the court or field to compete against the world.

This edition is about them

Welcome to Edition 007.

Let’s get into it.

Eight years ago in Tenerife, D’Tigress beat Greece 57-56 and became the first African team to reach the quarter-finals of the Women’s Basketball World Cup.

Nigeria have not returned to the competition since then.

The team arriving in Berlin are different from the one that made history in 2018. They are five-time defending African champions and reached the quarter-finals of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

They are no longer appearing at a major tournament simply hoping to surprise stronger opposition.

Nigeria begin against Korea today before facing Hungary on Saturday and France on Monday. The first two matches could decide whether the team’s World Cup return extends beyond the group stage.

Preparation has not been perfect. Several heavy warm-up defeats contributed to Nigeria dropping to 10th in FIBA’s final pre-tournament power ranking, even though they remain eighth in the official world ranking.

However, Ezinne Kalu believes those results have not revealed the complete team. “Nobody has really seen our full team yet,” she told FIBA. “We are going to surprise a lot of teams.”

In 2018, reaching the quarter-finals changed what African basketball believed was possible. In Berlin, D’Tigress have an opportunity to show that the breakthrough was the beginning of something larger.

Nigeria ended the latest World Cup qualifying window with a 100-84 victory over Cape Verde.

D’Tigers had lost to Cameroon and South Sudan before the win. Qualification for Qatar 2027 remains uncertain, but the victory improved Nigeria’s record to 5-4 and kept the campaign alive.

The NFF says FIFA has accepted the resignations of Ibrahim Gusau, Mohammed Sanusi and the federation’s Executive Committee.

According to the federation, FIFA has also agreed to continue discussions with the National Sports Commission, CAF and the NFF administration on a roadmap for reform. The structure and timetable of that process have not yet been made public.

Made In Africa Sport has launched an artificial intelligence-powered model designed to analyse and predict all 380 matches of the 2026/27 NPFL season.

Built with data from more than 8,000 historical league matches, the system runs 100,000 simulations for each fixture. That produces 38 million season simulations covering results, expected goals, title chances, continental qualification and relegation.

The predictions will be updated after every matchday as new results change the strength and form of each club.

The significance goes beyond trying to predict the champions. The project provides a new data layer for a league where analysis has often depended on limited statistics, opinion and the eye test.

Edo Queens defeated hosts USFA 5-1 to reach the final of the WAFU-B Women’s Champions League qualifiers.

Victory in Saturday’s final would secure Nigeria’s place at the CAF Women’s Champions League.

The first full matchday of the new NPFL season produced 27 goals across 10 matches.

Barau and Ikorodu City both won 3-1, while Rivers United and Doma United began with 2-0 victories. Champions Rangers were held, and Enyimba lost away to Niger Tornadoes.

Nigeria’s Junior Female YellowGreens have opened the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier Division One with consecutive victories.

After beating Uganda, Nigeria defeated Malawi by 94 runs to strengthen their push for the tournament’s only World Cup ticket.

Kelechi Iheanacho scored for a fourth successive match and also provided an assist for Bursaspor.

The run represents an encouraging start to life in Turkey for a forward who needed regular football and a fresh opportunity.

Ademola Lookman scored his first goal of the season for Atlético Madrid.

The goal should help the Nigerian settle after a summer of uncertainty and increased competition for places.

Mary Mamudu scored in both of the Falconets’ warm-up matches ahead of the U20 Women’s World Cup.

She delivered the winner against Poland before scoring again in the 1-1 draw with Korea Republic. Nigeria begin the tournament against Spain on Monday.

Victor Osimhen continued his productive start to the season with another goal and assist for Galatasaray.

The striker will now turn his attention towards a Champions League campaign that includes meetings with Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona.

The NFF says Nigeria will switch to Adidas in 2027 under an agreement valued at $8.5m annually.

The reported package includes $4.5m in cash, approximately $4m in kits and equipment, and a 20 per cent royalty on merchandise sales.

That sounds substantial. The headline figure, however, does not tell us how much money is guaranteed, how the equipment has been valued or what the commercial arrangement could eventually generate.

Does the royalty apply to gross sales or revenue after costs? Who will control retail distribution in Nigeria? Which national teams are covered? Who audits the merchandise figures?

There is also no corresponding announcement from Adidas.

Until the company confirms the agreement and more details become available, it should be described as an NFF-announced deal rather than one whose terms have been independently established.

The real value will not be determined by the size of the announcement. It will depend on the contract behind it.

The next application window for the Cruyff Athlete Fund opens on Wednesday, September 9.

The fund will award 14 full or partial scholarships covering up to 100 per cent of online programmes in sport management, sport marketing and football business.

Applicants must be over 21 and have at least three years of professional sporting experience. Athletes from minority sports and those preparing for life after competition are among the programme’s priorities.

Applications close on May 15, 2027.

Nigeria return to the Women’s Basketball World Cup for the first time since reaching the quarter-finals in 2018.

Tobi Amusan, Ezekiel Nathaniel and Kanyinsola Ajayi are listed to compete at the Diamond League Final.

Amusan faces Masai Russel, a week after the American ran 12.09s to break her world record.

Edo Queens will attempt to secure Nigeria’s place at the CAF Women’s Champions League when they contest the WAFU-B final on Saturday.

The Nigerian champions reached the final by beating hosts USFA 5-1.

Shooting Stars play continental football for the first time in 27 years when they host Tunisian club CS Sfaxien.

Rivers United also begin their CAF Champions League campaign away to FC San Pedro on Saturday.

On Sunday, Rangers International host AS Sobemap in the Champions League, while El-Kanemi Warriors face UDIB in the Confederation Cup.

Nigeria begin their U-20 Women’s World Cup campaign against Spain on Monday.

The Falconets prepared with a victory over Poland and a draw with Korea Republic. China and New Caledonia are the other teams in their group

The NPFL also continues with Matchday Two across the weekend.

Super Falcons goalkeeper Comfort Erhabor has joined Crystal Palace Women on a two-year contract ahead of the 2026/27 Women’s Super League (WSL) season.

Palace confirmed the signing on Thursday, with the 21-year-old arriving from Portsmouth, where she spent the 2025/26 campaign and made six appearances across all competitions.

Mr Eazi has invited NPFL and NNL clubs to join the Locker Room Bonus programme.

Players at participating clubs could receive ₦50,000 each after every verified victory, with payments made directly to them.

Femi Azeez says Brighton’s record of developing players influenced his decision to join the Premier League club.

The Nigerian completed a four-year move from Millwall and described the opportunity as a dream come true.

Asisat Oshoala scored the winner as Al Hilal defeated Al Ittihad to reach the Saudi Women’s Super Cup final.

The Nigerian forward decided the contest with her second-half goal.

Abdoulaye Agbejoye has joined French club Stade de Reims after scoring 19 goals last season.

The move provides the young Nigerian striker with a new stage on which to continue his development.

D’Tigress play their first World Cup match in eight years today.

Three days later, the Falconets begin another World Cup against Spain.

Both teams will receive greater attention if they win their groups, reach the knockout rounds or produce an unexpected result against one of the tournament favourites.

That attention should begin now. The opening game matters. So does the preparation, the team selection and everything that happens before a medal becomes possible.

Nigerian women’s teams should not have to make history before people notice that they are competing.

Pay attention from the beginning.

We will be back next Friday.

Oluwatosin Oluwalowo
Editor-in-Chief
Bold Sports

boldsportsng.com

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