Russia 2018: Fresh corn as added delicacy for fans

The ongoing world cup in Russia no doubt has lived up to expectation so far. Though teams that are on the verge of crashing out and those who have already booked their exit, will tell you their expectations were not met. Different strokes for different folks you will say. 

The solution probably will be to go back to the drawing board and begin preparation for the next edition in 2022 in Qatar.

For the fans it is not just about supporting and cheering their fans to victory but also catching fun by visiting places of interest and perhaps having a taste of some local delicacies. 

Talking about local foods it was interesting to see  a picture of a pot full of freshly boiled corn on sale at one of the match venues in Russia .

On a good day a diet of corn with coconut or pear can make a complete meal and has been proved to have the capacity to sustain a hungry fellow. 

The good thing about corn which is one of the stable foods in Nigeria and in Africa some nutritionists have confirmed is that you can never have too much and it can be made readily available as it matures within a short time.  

Corn or maize takes from 60 to 100 days to reach harvest depending upon variety and the amount of heat available to it in the course of growing.  

What this means is that it is possible to plant and harvest corn three times in a year, thus providing it all year round and providing source of income for farmers.

It is relatively cheap and affordable.  For lovers of this stable food, the mere sight of a pot of boiled corn will no doubt trigger off appetite and to realise that corn is also on the menu at the world cup in Russia, could be a major take home for some of the fans currently enjoying all the action a the event that has as usual seized the attention of the world and will retain it till July 15.

According to verywellfit.com, Corn is a good source of fiber. Diets high in fiber can help to lower cholesterol and regulate blood sugar and weight control.

In addition, corn is a good source of vitamin C, magnesium, B vitamins, and carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin. Vitamin C is important in cell repair, boosting immunity and has anti-aging properties, whereas, B vitamins are important in energy metabolism. Magnesium is important for nerve conduction and muscle contraction. Carotenoids, lutein, and zeaxanthin have been shown to have antioxidative properties and are important in eye health. 

I recall during the 2016 edition of the Championship of African Nations (CHAN) hosted by Rwanda, Rubavu was one of the venues and heading to Rubavu from Kigali provided a very interesting sight. Maize farms waiting for harvest could be seen and at the beaches corn was one of the delicacies. 

Though they choose to garnish their roast corn with some form of sauce which makes it extra delicious I must confess, corn is eaten in various ways by those who love it. Seeing the delicacy displayed in Russia is nostalgic don't you agree?

Okocha hails Rohr over effective changes

*says he has a listening ear!

Former Super Eagles coach Austin Okocha has described coach Gernot Rohr as a manager with listening ear ready to take advise and make corrections when necessary

. He made the submission shortly after Eagles rose to the occasion Friday in Russia to defeat Iceland 2-0 and move to the second place in the group behind group leaders Croatia.

Okocha who is one of the Supersports analysts for the Russia 2018, noted that Nigeria had in the past had some coaches who stick to their guns and refuse to accept constructive criticism no matter how good.

"Gernot Rohr has shown that he is a manager that listens and is ready to make amends where necessary. I congratulate him and also the boys for doing a good job.  I was really scared at a point but I am glad that it turned out well" he said

Prior to the tie against Iceland which incidentally turned out to be the first victory for the team in Russia, Rohr had received criticism from far and near for playing some players out of their normal position on one hand and making a few ineffective substitutions on the other.  Even former Chelsea manager and current Manchester united coach had said that Eagles captain John Obi Mikel who proved very effective in Friday’s match should not be playing in the middle

Rohr ‘s decision to start eventual man the match Ahmed Musa proved to be the joker as he combined effectively with Moses to deliver when it mattered most. 

The German tactician will now be left with the headache of seeking the best way to compound the woes of Argentina who suffered a shocking 3-0 defeat to Croatia and who will be hoping to battle Nigeria to the finish in the last group game billed for June 26th in Saint Petersburg Stadium.

Pre- match permutations has given Argentina 64% chance of winning the match while Nigeria has 14% chance of winning with the possibility of ending in a score or goalless draw put at 22%.  

Rohr will be hoping to prove the predictions wrong by either pulling a draw or handing Argentina another defeat that will eventually perfect their exit from Russia.

Dimeji to Nigerians: Accept Eagles results in good fate

Former international Oladimeji  Lawal , has declared that it won’t be a tea party for the Super Eagles when they face Iceland on Friday, even as he advised Nigerians to accept whatever the team is able to achieve in Russia in good fate.

He noted that the World Cup is not an experimental platform and that no nation gets more than it has invested in the Mundial.

Preparation for the world cup according to him is a cumulative effort over the years devoid of ad hoc approach.

 Dimeji who was baring his mind ahead of Friday's make or break encounter further said  that the nation's expectations are often higher than level of input.

"The world cup is not a platform for experiment.  We put in so little and expect so much" he said

On the 2-0 loss to Croatia in the opener, the former K.V. Kortrijk of Belgium midfielder noted that the strikers lacked cohesion and made no attempts on goal.  He did not however leave the blame on the laps of the players alone but frowned at the idea of drafting the players to play roles different from their traditional roles in their clubs.

"Players are invited to the national team based on their performance and the role they play in their clubs, “You cannot change that overnight and expect instant positive result," he submitted

The former Shooting stars ace nicknamed 'Kabongo' in his days in the national team, noted that lack of developmental plans in a country of over 180million people is a major drawback which affects the discovery and nurture of play makers.  He cautioned against heaping so much blame on the players insisting that they are doing the best under prevailing circumstance.

"The team's performance is just a reflection of the state of affairs in the country and you don't expect magic from a system with so many shortcomings," he added.

Iceland a country with a population of about 330,000 people are making appearance at the world cup for the first time, and ranked 22nd on the FIFA log.

Iceland national team nicknamed Strákarnir okkar (Our Boys) began their campaign in Russia on a bright note holding Argentina to a 1-1 draw and will be hoping to consolidate when they face Eagles on Friday.

2026 W/Cup: Morocco Loses bid to USA,Canada & Morocco

World soccer ruling body FIFA Wednesday in Russia announced that U.S, Canada and Mexico will host 2026 World Cup thus putting paid to Morocco's desire to host the World's most celebrated sports fiesta.

The joint bid pulled 134 votes (67 percent) out of the 203 available votes with Morocco getting 65 (33 percent)

It would be the fifth time Morocco, who hosted the Championship of African Nations early this year, would be bidding for the World cup which they have always described as "the dream of a nation"

USA is will be recalled hosted the World Cup in 1994 while Mexico were hosts of the 1970 and 1986 editions.

USA Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro had prior to the announcement revealed that his bid would generate $14bn in revenue and make an $11bn profit for FIFA. The bid also expects record ticket and hospitality revenue.

Although it would be the first tournament to be hosted by three nations, many of the games will be held in the US.

According to the Executive Director of the United Bid Committee, John Kristick, "We can focus on the game. We are ready made. Our cities are ready to host today."

The 2026 World Cup will head to North America for the fourth time and will be the first with 48 teams taking part.

FIFA president Giovani Ifantino it will be recalled moved the idea of increasing the world cup participants to 48 countries up from the current 32.

United State's President Donald Trump did not hesitate to congratulate the bidding team for according to him doing a good job of the assignment.

"The U.S., together with Mexico and Canada, just got the World Cup. Congratulations - a great deal of hard work!" The US president dished out on twitter few minutes after the announcement was made.  Qatar will be hosting the 2022 world cup from 21 November – 18 December

Fashionable Super Eagles hit Russia in Style!

Super Eagles, the acclaimed most well dressed team to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, left Austria their final training camp for Russia on Monday, 11th June.  It is three days to the kick off of the World cup and five days to Nigeria's first match against Croatia.

The team before heading to the world cup made the headlines after becoming one of the first teams to qualify edging out the likes of Cameroon and Algeria. The Gernot Rohr tutored side also played a couple of friendly matches considered very unimpressive in some quarters especially their outing against England at Wembley and Czech Republic in Austria.

 They lost both matches but the back to back defeat appear to have partly been overshadowed by the country's jersey to the world cup which did not hit the headline with a storm but arrested the interest of not only football fans but even those with soft spot for fashion and even musicians alike.  Nike who produced the jersey even confessed that the jersey was an instant hit with reported three million request already on made even before the outfit was launched. 

As if that was not enough the Eagles again kissed the headlines after stepping out in their traditional attire for the trip to Russia

The outfit reminds you of a well tailored Aso-Ebi for a gorgeous and typical African wedding.  Latest report indicate that many fans heading to the world cup and who have been caught in the bug of the Super Eagles jersey have signified interest in going home with one the outfits to serve as special souvenir from Russia 2018.

Most analysts have submitted that the John Obi-Mikel Captained side has become fan favorites even before the start of the World Cup.

The fact that the outfit even have African touch also tickled the fancy many fans.One fan wrote on Twitter: 'Love the fact you guys aren't going in suit. We are Africans. We dress like one to Russia. Goodluck.'

Nike explained after the kit's February release that they wanted to 'tap into the attitude of the nation', with a brief nod to their World Cup debut at the 1994 tournament in the USA.

The demand for the green zig-zagged home shirts was so high, that some were being sold online at a resale price of £300.

They will hope their performance in Russia will match their creative ambition in kit designs, though, and will need to improve upon their efforts in warm-up defeats by England and Czech Republic.

They enter the competition as one of the lowest ranked sides, 48th in the FIFA rankings. When the team files out against Croatia in their opening match on June 16 at the Kalingrade Stadium spectators will first be thrilled by the jersey before settling down to see how the team will attempt to checkmate their opponents.

That tie will be followed by a clash with Iceland Iceland at the Volgograd and finally against Argentina at the St Petersburg.

The prayer among Nigerians is that the Eagles should do well in Russia but should they fail to fly for whatever reason, it will be safe to say they went saw and at least made a fashion statement.

Emotional challenge for Ogu as marriage hits rocks

As players who made Coach Gernot Rohr's 30-man provisional list continue to bask in the euphoria of their selection,

Hapoel Beer Sheva of Israel midfielder John Ogu will be intensifying prayers against emotional distraction capable of denying him a place in the final 23.

Information which emerged on social media Friday revealed that the less than three years marriage of the former Académica ace has run into troubled waters.  The information further revealed that the couple who wedded at the Ikoyi Registrar have not only gone for each other’s jugular but have deleted all they have posted in common and have gone ahead to un-follow themselves on instagram.

Ogu who recently helped his side to clinch the Israeli Premier League title hit celebration mood when he made the 30-man provisional list, and  taking to the social media the 30 year old said shortly after release of the list""I'm very excited, I just won the league last week (Israeli League), and I thank God for making the WC provisional 30-Man list,"

Ogu who recently described the friendly matches lined up ahead of the World cup as big tests, has left no one in doubt that he is looking forward to the ties against Congo in Port Harcourt, the tie against England at the Wembley on June 2nd which will be the last before the final 23-man squad is released on June 4th. Seven players are expected to be dropped by June 4th and the current camping by the 30 chosen players according to analyst demands that every player be at his best to improve his chances of making the cut off mark. The current development implies that Ogu will no doubt have the heart of a lion to remain focused for the friendly matches and by extension for the world cup if eventually picked.

The couple welcomed a baby girl few months after their widely publicised wedding that was attended by crème dela crème of the society.

Ref Attack: LMC fines Heartland N4million

*deducts three points

*orders team to play behind closed doors

Premier league contenders Heartland of Owerri have been handed a fine of N4million by the League management committee (LMC) following the attack on match officials by fans of the club in the tie between Heartland and Plateau United.

A breakdown of the fine indicate that the Nazi Millionaires are to pay N1million for the attack on match officials, pay N1.5million to as compensation to match officials, another N1million for issuing public statement capable of bringing the league to dispute and N500,000 for failure to use and issue match tickets for record and crowd control purposes.

Series of tweets dished out by the league Management Committee on Friday includes;

"Heartland have also been fined N1m for assault on match officials after game vs Plateau Utd. The club will also pay N1.25m as compensation to the match officials

"Heartland have been further fined N1m for issuing public statement capable of bringing the league to disrepute"

Another N500, 000 fine will be paid by Heartland for failure to use & issue matchday tickets for record & crowd control purposes"

The Owerri based club also had three points deducted from them.  But if you think that is the end of the story and the punishment you are indeed very wrong.  Team Manager Mobi Oparaku has been suspended from all NPFL activities for the next matches while the team will play the next three matches behind closed doors. Matchday 18 game at the Dan Anyiam Stadium ended 1-1 and reports afterwards indicate that hell broke loose as Heartland supporters not satisfied with the result accusing the officials of deliberately extending the game unnecessarily thus handing Plateau united the advantage of equalising.

Abiodun Thompson scored in the 21st minute to give Heartland the lead before a very late equaliser by Tosin Omoyele for Plateau in the 94th minute to earn the reigning champions an away point.

Centre Referee Yusuff Garba was reportedly attacked alongside other officials Akaninye Udoette as the first assistant referee, Elisha Owolabi as the second assistant referee, and Felagha Awudola as the fourth official.