Category sport-news

South Africa plans to bid for the 2036 or 2040 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the government said Thursday, aiming to bring one of the world’s biggest sporting events to Africa for the first time.

The country was the first on the continent to host the football World Cup in 2010.

“South Africa initiates its intention to bid for the 2036 and 2040 Olympic Games,” Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said in a press briefing.

She said Pretoria had entered into “continuous dialogue with the International Olympic Committee”, headed since June by Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry.

It is as a “preliminary and exploratory engagement that is critical to advance South Africa’s intention to bid for the hosting rights of the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Ntshavheni said, without specifying the potential host city.

READ ALSO: US Olympic Policy Change Bans Transgender Women In Women’s Events

Cape Town had bid to host the 2004 Games, which ultimately went to Athens in a 1997 vote.

Ntshavheni said South Africa wouldn’t require significant investment to improve its already available infrastructure.

“Even if we are offered the games tomorrow, the cabinet is confident that we should be able to host them with our facilities,” she said.

In a visit to South Africa in October 2024, former IOC president Thomas Bach had said the country had “the stability, the infrastructure and vision to stage an Olympics”.

Senegal’s Dakar will next year be the first city on the continent to host the Youth Olympics, from October 31 to November 14, 2026.

The next Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles in 2028, and the 2032 Games have been awarded to Brisbane, Australia.

In October, Munich voters approved a plan for a bid to host the Summer Olympics in 2036, 2040, or 2044. The German city last hosted the Games in 1972.

South Africa has been putting its weight behind international sporting events, and has bid to host a Formula One Grand Prix at its historic Kyalami track near Johannesburg from 2027.

Africa’s most industrialised economy is also the main organiser of the 2027 men’s Cricket World Cup.

A former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Peterside Idah, believes Nigeria will win Thursday’s 2026 World Cup play-off against Gabon. 

Peterside spoke on Thursday’s edition of Sunrise Daily, saying the Super Eagles have an edge over the Panthers of Gabon despite a bonus row on the eve of the encounter.

“Naturally, we should win. In the last 41 years, we have played games against Gabon and they have only beaten us once. So, we have an advantage, and we are Nigerians,” Peterside, a former goalkeeper who played for Rangers of Enugu, said on the morning show.

“I have always said it, I am so proud to be from this great country. We produce potential. We have everything we need to succeed. It is just the management of it that is the problem. We should beat Gabon, and I do think we should beat Gabon.”

“I want Nigeria to qualify. I have my passport ready to travel to the Americas to go and watch the World Cup,” the former football-now-turned-pastor said.

READ ALSO: [Preview] Nigeria Face Gabon In Crucial 2026 World Cup Play-Off

On Wednesday, the Super Eagles resolved a bonus row with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). The team had boycotted training on Tuesday, citing the federation’s non-payment of a backlog of allowances dating back to 2019.

However, on the eve of the crunch tie against Gabon, captain William Troost-Ekong took to his X handle to confirm that the issue had been resolved and players are now focused on the game.

“Issue RESOLVED. Outstanding financials cleared and on the ground,” the defender wrote, but did not mention details of the payment. 

“Team is UNITED and focused as before on representing NIGERIA with our maximum for the games ahead!” 

Despite the resolution, Peterside faulted the NFF for its inability to settle the bills.

According to him, the development could undermine the team’s momentum going into the match.

“I have also come to the understanding that the NFF, or the people who run our football, have failed to understand that football is about the players. Not about the management, NFF president, or whoever runs our football,” he said.

“It is all about the players themselves, and if these players are not happy or things are not in order, they will not perform. It affects every one of us who supports them.”

Nigeria may have missed out on automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup. Still, Thursday’s semi-final play-off against Gabon offers them a lifeline of reaching the competition billed for North America next year.  

The Super Eagles, one of Africa’s football powerhouses, lost the Group C automatic slot to South Africa, finishing on 17 points, one behind the Bafana Bafana after the last round of qualifiers last month. 

In fact, the 2013 AFCON winners only sneaked into the play-offs courtesy of a better goal difference ahead of the Stallions of Burkina Faso. They needed a 4-0 defeat of their neighbour, the Benin Republic, to take over from their fellow West Africans.

Against the Panthers of Gabon at the Stade Prince Moulay Al Hassan in Rabat, Morocco, Nigeria may hope for a similar outcome to progress in their plans of qualifying for the World Cup in the Americas. 

Pre-Gabon works
Let’s get the job done today, boys!#NGAGAB #SoarSuperEagles #Naija4TheWin pic.twitter.com/fdIULTu2pN

The Super Eagles’ fortunes in the early stage of the World Cup qualifier were terrible; they managed only three points in their first four games. However, they finished on 17 points, which is a sharp contrast to Gabon, which reached the play-offs with 25 points, one behind Group F winners, Côte d’Ivoire. 

READ ALSO: Super Eagles Receive Outstanding Bonuses, Turn Focus To Gabon Clash

Nigeria vs Gabon: Form Guide

Although Nigeria faltered in the initial stages of the World Cup qualifiers, the team has now been steadied under Eric Chelle, who took over in January. The Super Eagles have won three of their last four World Cup qualification games, drawing only one game away to rivals South Africa. 

Their opponents posted a similar result, winning three and drawing one (against Côte d’Ivoire) in their last four World Cup qualification matches. 

Osimhen, Aubameyang Headline Stars to Watch in Nigeria Vs Gabon Play-Off

Not surprisingly, both sides boast of an array of attacking talents with a former African Player of the Year, Victor Osimhen, headlining Nigeria’s squad. Gabon can bank on the experience of Olympique Marseille star, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a former African Player of the Year, who has also featured for some of  Europe’s biggest sides, including Arsenal, Barcelona, and Borussia Dortmund. 

The former scored a historic hat-trick against Benin while the latter netted a haul in the last round of World Cup qualifiers. Nigeria will bank on the Galatasaray star’s rich vein of form coming into this game. Osimhen bagged a hat-trick in Match Day 4 of the Champions League against Dutch side Ajax,  putting him in the competition’s top scorers’ chart ahead of the likes of Erling Haaland. 

Apart from the duo, Gabon and Nigeria also have other players who can do the magic on the pitch. Fulham defender Calvin Bassey and his teammate Samuel Chukwueze, Atalanta forward and current African Player of the Year, Ademola Lookman, and FC Paris’ Simon Moses are all expected to play an integral part in Thursday’s match.

The Panthers equally have Denis Bouanga and Noah Lemina to count on and support the 36-year-old Aubameyang.

Aubameyang’s father, Pierre-François Aubameyang, played for the Central Africans against Nigeria. But his country lost 0-3 to the Super Eagles in a group stage match at the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia. 

Aubameyang, who scored all four goals in the dismantling of The Gambia away in the qualifying series, will have regular partners Denis Bouanga and Noah Lemina as co-conspirators against Nigeria. 

Nigeria vs Gabon: A Head-to-Head Record

Before Thursday’s game, the Super Eagles and the Panthers had met on nine occasions, the last being Nigeria’s 2-0 victory over Gabon in 2005. That match was in a 2006 World Cup qualifier, a tournament Nigeria did not qualify for, losing the ticket on head-to-head record to Angola’s Palancas Negras.

But Nigeria have enjoyed the lion’s share of wins against the oil-rich nation, winning five out of the nine games they have played so far. The Panthers’ only victory dates back 36 years ago when they beat the Super Eagles 2-1 in an Italia ‘90 World Cup qualifier.

That defeat was costly for Nigeria, which failed to reach the tournament after failing to get at least the needed one point in Yaounde against Cameroon on the last day of the qualifying series.

Nigeria vs Gabon Match Date, Time, Venue

Matchday in Rabat!

Gabon
5:00pm (NGA)
️ Moulay Hassan Stadium#fifaworldcup2026qualifiers #Naija4TheWin #NGAGAB pic.twitter.com/48ocYr56eX

Competition: 2026 FIFA World Cup Playoffs

Date: Thursday, November 13, 2025

Time: 5:00 p.m. (Nigerian time/WAT) 

Venue: Moulay El Hassan Stadium

Nigeria Vs Gabon: Who Wins? 

As Nigeria take to the field against Gabon on Thursday, it will be a winner-takes-it-all game. For the Super Eagles, nothing short of victory will be acceptable for the teeming fans across the globe.

Barcelona all-time great Lionel Messi returning to the Catalan giants is “unrealistic”, the club’s president Joan Laporta said Wednesday.

The 38-year-old Argentine superstar made a surprise appearance at Barca’s Camp Nou stadium on Sunday night and said he hoped “one day I can return, and not just to say goodbye as a player, as I never got to do”.

Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi, Barca’s record goalscorer and appearance maker, left for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 after two decades there because their precarious financial position meant they could not afford to keep him.

“Out of the utmost respect for Messi, the professionals at the club, Barca, and the Barca club members, I believe that now, for me to make speculation that is unrealistic, nor do I think is fair, well, I believe that is not appropriate,” Laporta told Catalunya Radio.

READ ALSO: Messi Makes Emotional Return To Camp Nou, Hints At Possible Comeback

The president, who was in charge at the time of Messi’s departure, said he did not regret what happened because “Barca is above everything”.

Laporta confirmed he would love to hold a match in homage to Messi’s career at the rebuilt Camp Nou, once it is fully open.

“Things didn’t end the way we would have liked… if, in some way, this tribute can make up for what wasn’t done, I think it would be a good thing,” explained Laporta.

“It would be right that he has the best tribute (match) in the world, and it would be wonderful to have it here, in front of 105,000 fans,” he continued.

The president said Inter Miami forward Messi’s surprise visit to the stadium on Sunday was a “spontaneous” display of his love of the club.

Messi is currently in Spain with the Argentina national team, where they are training before a friendly against Angola.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have confirmed that all outstanding bonuses and allowances owed by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) have been fully settled.

Captain William Troost-Ekong announced the development in a post on his verified X handle on Wednesday, saying the team will now concentrate on Thursday’s crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup CAF qualifier against Gabon.

READ ALSO: World Cup Play-Off: Super Eagles Captain Ekong Confirms Training Boycott

“Issue RESOLVED. Outstanding financials cleared and on ground. Team is UNITED and focused as before on representing NIGERIA with our maximum for the games ahead!” Ekong’s post read.

But he did not specify whether the team had trained on Wednesday ahead of the all-important match on Thursday.

Issue RESOLVED. Outstanding financials cleared and on ground. Team is UNITED and focussed as before on representing NIGERIA with our maximum for the games ahead! @NGSuperEagles

Earlier on Tuesday, Ekong had revealed that the team boycotted training in protest over the unpaid allowances and bonuses.

He said that the players had not made any extra demands beyond the settlement of their entitlements.

The World Cup qualifying match against Gabon is scheduled for Thursday at 4 p.m. in Rabat, Morocco.

The winner will advance to the play-off final to face either Cameroon or the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Coach Eric Chelle invited 24 players for the match, weeks after Nigeria made the play-offs with a 4-0 thumping of neighbours, the Benin Republic.

Players confirmed to be in camp in Morocco include Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi, Samuel Chukwueze, Tolu Arokodare, Olakunle Olusegun, Wilfred Ndidi, Moses Simon, William Troost-Ekong, Benjamin Fredericks, and Chidozie Awaziem.

Tyrese Maxey and hometown hero Justin Edwards sparked the Philadelphia 76ers over Boston 102-100 on Tuesday, while reigning champion Oklahoma City improved its NBA-best record to 11-1.

Maxey, the NBA’s number two scorer this season, netted 21 points, and Edwards came off the bench to score 22.

But it was Kelly Oubre’s putback shot with 8.7 seconds remaining off the only miss of the night by Edwards that produced the winning points.

“Extremely tough. He fought in there,” Maxey said of Oubre’s final basket. “We got Justin the good look, and KO got the rebound and put it back.”

Boston’s Derrick White missed a desperation half-court heave at the finish, and the 76ers (7-4) improved to 2-1 over the Celtics this year, the games decided by a total of four points.

“That’s how it goes,” Maxey said. “We’ve played them 100 times, it feels like since I’ve been in the NBA. They know what we’re going to do, and we know what they’re going to do.”

Maxey said winning tight games comes down to simple things.

“Resilient. We trust each other,” he said. “Just try to make great plays and play great defense in the fourth quarter.”

Edwards, a two-time state high school champion at Philadelphia’s Imhotep High School, went 8-for-8 from the floor and 5-of-5 from three-point range in a sizzling display until his final miss that set up the winning basket.

Sixers reserve Quentin Grimes added 18 points while Boston’s Jaylen Brown had a game-high 24 points.

READ ALSO: Rivers Hoopers Begin NBPL Title Defence With Commanding Win Over Hoops & Read

Philadelphia was without Cameroonian big man Joel Embiid due to a sore right knee.

The Sixers led 23-22 after the lowest-scoring first quarter by each club this season and 51-41 at half-time, but needed a Grimes three-pointer from half-court at the third-quarter buzzer to pull within 77-71, setting the stage for a fourth-quarter fightback.

Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 28 points and 11 assists to lead the reigning champion Oklahoma City in a 126-102 home victory over the Golden State Warriors.

Chet Holmgren added 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Thunder, who boosted their NBA-best record to 11-1 with a third consecutive triumph.

Win Streaks Hit Five

New York’s Jalen Brunson scored 32 points, hitting six of nine three-point attempts, and passed off 10 assists to spark the host Knicks over Memphis 133-120.

The Knicks (7-3), who also got 21 points and 13 rebounds from Karl-Anthony Towns, stretched their win streak to five games and improved to 7-0 at home this season.

Also boosting their win streak to five games were the Denver Nuggets (8-2), who won 122-108 at Sacramento behind Serbian center Nikola Jokic’s 35 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists.

The three-time NBA MVP averages 25.2 points, a league-best 11.9 assists, and an NBA second-best 13.0 rebounds per contest.

Toronto’s Brandon Ingram scored 25 points and Immanuel Quigley added 24 to lift the Raptors over host Brooklyn 119-106.

The Nets sank to 1-10, matching Washington with the NBA’s worst record, and 0-6 at home.

Finland’s Lauri Markkanen scored 35 points to lead the Utah Jazz over Indiana 152-128, the Pacers falling to 0-6 on the road and into the NBA basement at 1-10.