Author: Opalim Lifted

Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) Champions League defence kicks off this week, but questions remain over whether their battle-weary squad can handle another punishing campaign. The holders host Atalanta on Wednesday in their opening league phase match, three months after a stunning 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in last season’s final. Luis Enrique’s side face a brutal fixture list, with Bayern Munich, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle also in their group, plus away trips to Barcelona, Leverkusen, Bilbao and Sporting Lisbon. PSG stumbled through the early stages last season, losing three of their eight group matches, yet surged to their first-ever European crown…

The Young Christian Fellowships in Nigeria Without Borders (YCFNB) has launched a 14-day prayer and fasting campaign to “shield the Dangote Refinery from its enemies” amid a heated standoff with oil workers. Running from 15 to 29 September, the programme comes in response to strike threats by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), which has accused the refinery of breaching workers’ rights. In a fiery statement, YCFNB slammed the union for “reckless posturing” that could spark fuel scarcity and economic turmoil. It described Aliko Dangote as “a patriot under siege” for resisting “powerful cabals benefiting from…

Nicholas Ukachukwu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Anambra, was recently confronted and harassed by a group of men in Abuja. Clips showed the men blocking Ukachukwu as he made to leave the Transcorp Hilton hotel in Abuja. “You’re running for governor and owing people. You’re owing us N1 billion. Pay us our money,” a man in the crowd yelled repeatedly. “You should be able to talk to us, no matter how big you think you can be. You should honour us,” another man said. “I don’t talk to people I don’t know. I don’t like what’s going…

Former Barcelona centre back Samuel Umtiti, a key figure in France’s triumphant 2018 World Cup campaign, has announced his retirement at the age of 31. A product of Olympique Lyonnais’ academy, Umtiti joined Barcelona in 2016 and made 133 appearances for the club, helping them to two LaLiga titles. Umtiti, whose career was hampered by chronic cartilage problems in his knee, last played for Ligue 1 club Lille. “After an intense career with ups and downs, the time has come to say goodbye … I gave it my ALL with passion and I have NO regrets,” Umtiti posted on social…

Armed bandits have abducted more than 50 people in fresh attacks across Zamfara state, plunging rural communities into fear and uncertainty. At dawn on Monday, gunmen stormed a mosque in Gidan Turbe, Tsafe LGA, and kidnapped about 40 worshippers during morning prayers. According to counter-insurgency platform Zagazola Makama, the attackers surrounded the building around 5:30 a.m. and forced worshippers into the nearby Gohori forest at gunpoint. The incident came barely a day after reports of a “peace deal” involving community leaders and armed groups in Katsina and neighbouring states. A source told Makama that the attack reflects the lack of…

Tobi Amusan has won a silver medal in the women’s 100m hurdles at the ongoing World Athletics Championship in Tokyo. The world record holder could not reclaim her world title in Tokyo on Monday despite running a 12.29-second race. The Nigerian athlete surrendered the gold medal on the finish line to Switzerland’s Ditaj Kambundji, who won the race in 12.24 seconds and set a national record. Grace Stark of the USA won the bronze medal in 12.34 seconds. The Ijebu Ode native becomes the first Nigerian athlete to win a medal at the ongoing world championships. Amusan shook off a…

Tobi Amusan qualified for the 100m hurdles final race after winning her semi-final heat at the Tokyo 2025 World Athletics Championships on Monday. The world record holder in the event crossed the line in 12.36 seconds to win heat 2 ahead of Nadine Visser, the world number two-ranked sprinter, with both athletes taking the automatic qualification slots. Amusan had the third-best start. The Nigerian stormed off the block in 0.172s, caught up with Visser before moving ahead of the Netherlands sprinter and relaxed at the home stretch for the easy win. She had the overall best qualification time in the…

Nigerian sprinter Samuel Ogazi says officials asked him to compete in the 400m race at the World Athletics Championships despite informing them he was injured. The 19-year-old said the injury affected his performance on Sunday in Tokyo, Japan. Ogazi lined up at Japan’s National Stadium in Heat 3 of the 400m race, but finished in fifth place, ending his participation in the championships. Speaking with journalists after the race, the youngster said the Nigerian officials insisted on his participation, adding that he informed them of his hamstring injury. “I told Team Nigeria officials I wasn’t prepared for this race because…

Kanyinsola Ajayi missed out on a medal at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo after finishing sixth in the 100m men’s final on Sunday. The 21-year-old clocked 10.00s, falling well short of a podium finish in a race won by Jamaica’s Oblique Seville in a personal best time of 9.77s. Kishane Thompson completed a Jamaican double with a silver medal in 9.82s, while Noah Lyles settled for bronze with a season’s best 9.89s. Ajayi could not replicate his semi-final exploit, where he grabbed automatic qualification and made history as the first Nigerian athlete in the men’s 100m final in 18…

Kanyinsola Ajayi qualified for the 100m men’s final at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sunday. He becomes the first Nigerian to achieve the feat in 18 years since Olusoji Fasuba in 2007. Ajayi finished in second position in Heat 1 of the semi-final race, clocking 9.93s to claim one of the two automatic qualification spots. He ran a sub-10-second race for the sixth time in his career, qualifying for the final on his birthday. The 21-year-old finished a 100th of a second behind USA’s Noah Lyles, the reigning 100m Olympics champion, who won the heat. Nigeria’s Okon,…