Bunmi Blair Sports Blog

By Bunmi Blair. Bought for £25m‎, yet to score or provide an assist in four English Premier League, EPL games. The pressure is already mounting on Nigerian born Leicester City's forward Kelechi Iheanacho to start delivering for the club he joined this summer. ‎A breakdown of matches he has played so far this season shows that he has been used as a substitute in three of his four EPL appearances and played just 105 minutes of a possible 540 minutes in Leicester City’s first six games of the season. KELECHI IHEANACHO He rose to prominence as an offensive midfielder, in his days with Nigeria's national youth teams. Scored six goals and provided seven assists, which earned him the MVP award at the 2013 FIFA U-17 world cup. Kelechi has since been converted into an out-and-out striker by both club and country. ‎At a point in his first full season with Manchester City in 2016, Kelechi scored every 96 minutes, a statistic that showed he had the best goals-to-minutes...

By Bunmi Blair Super Eagles goalkeeper, Dele Aiyenugba, seems to have inspired his 10-year-old son, Daniel Ayenugba to follow in his footsteps. Dele Aiyenugba Dele, has 17 caps for the Super Eagles and helped Enyimba FC of Aba win the CAF champions league in 2003and 2004.  His son, Daniel Ayenugba, over the weekend in Abuja, helped Kwara state win the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, Future Eagles U-13 championship (North Central Zone). Daniel in a chat with bunmiblair.blogspot.com.ng, in Abuja, says his father, who now plays for Hapoel Ashkelon of Israel, is his role model. Daniel Ayenugba “My father is my role model and he has been encouraging me to play football. “He corrects my mistakes and also buys me kits. “I’m happy we won this competition and I’m hoping to be a better goalkeeper so that I can play outside the country,” the Stephen Fountain Primary School, Ilorin, Kwara State, student said. Meanwhile, another goalkeeper, David Lucky, was argua...

By Bunmi Blair Austin Jay-Jay Okocha, a former PSG player who is widely regarded as one of the finest footballers to come out of Africa.  In an interview with BBC sports academy describes his rough and tough background as a young footballer growing up in the streets of Enugu, Enugu State Nigeria. “There were no grass pitches where we lived, so we used to play on the street corner, or wherever else we could find a space. “The pitches were very bad, but I think that helped me to develop a good technique. “Because the surface was so rough, you always had to be conscious of your ball control and how you passed the ball. “When I was 13, I started playing for my school team, the first time I had played under a manager. “I started realizing that I had to keep to my position and play with some discipline. Before then I was just playing for the sake of playing," the former Bolton Wanderers player said. Great footballers do not just appear from nowhere. Th...

By Bunmi Blair The Super Eagles of Nigeria look set to complete a double over the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon and could become the first African side to secure a place at the Russia 2018 World Cup today. A win for Nigeria will take them to 12 points in a group that will also see Algeria host Zambia on Tuesday and with Algeria expected to win or pick at least one point in the game. If these happen, then the Super Eagles would have booked their place at the Russia 2018 FIFA world cup with two games to spare. But a draw or a loss for the Super Eagles means they will have to wait for their next fixture which is at home against Zambia on October 7, 2017, to try and secure a place in Russia. Super Eagles captain Mikel John Obi says why wait till next month when all they need to do is to beat Cameroon in Yaounde? “We are just very keen to finish what we started. We started a job in Uyo and it is time to finish it. If we can pick the World Cup ticket by Monday, why wait an...