Touted as the most glamorous football derby in the South East of Nigeria, the encounter between the Peoples Elephants, Enyimba Football Club of Aba and their rivals Enugu Rangers International saw honours shared on Tuesday.

The re-arranged match day 15 NPFL 2024/2025 fixture between the two sides at Enyimba Stadium ended without a winner, with neither side able to score a goal, thus gifting the reigning Rangers, a vital draw in Aba, the home of Enyimba.

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For the encounter, Coach Fidelis Ilechukwu kept faith with the match day squad the demolished Lobi Stars 3-0 in their last match in Enugu and it was an assured performance from his backline with his last man in defense, Lucky Abdullahi, making brave saves to deny the ‘Aba Elephants’ some decent opportunities.

The home side quickly went on the offensive as they kicked off the encounter before the massive fans that turned up for the fixture but Chinemerem Ugwueze, Ejike Ugochukwu as well as the backline were on top of their game to curtail the forays of Ekene Awazie, Kalu Nweke, Clinton Jephter and Ifeanyi Ihemekwele upfront for the home side.

Godwin Obaje had the brightest chance in the first period but he missed after some neat interchange of passes between Isaac Saviour, Kazeem Ogunleye and Chinemerem Ugwueze set him free but he failed to drill past goalkeeper, Ani Ozoemena as the visiting bench rued a missed opportunity.

On the other end, Lucky Abdullahi was at his imperious best to make a full-length dive to stop Imoh Obot’s goal-bound free kick from the edge of the box as the home fans moaned the the opportunity.

In the second period of the encounter, the home side became hungrier for the opening goal just as the ‘Flying Antelopes’ defended doggedly with eyes for occasional counter-attacks which failed to trouble the backline of the ‘Peoples Elephant’ ably marshaled by Paschal Eze.

Chief-coach of Rangers, Ekeh Ekenedilichukwu, in a post-match chat, described the encounter as a highly entertaining one as both side gave their best on the day but there was no goal to celebrate the fine display, stressing, “It was a good result for our side, Rangers, coming all the way from Enugu to pick a point off Enyimba was not an easy task even when our target was to annex the maximum points at stake in the highly entertaining encounter. Both sides played well but my players were at their best as we sat back to hit our opponent on the counter. The result will surely serve as a motivation for the boys in subsequent games as we continue our unbeaten run.”

With the result, Rangers are now placed 4th on the twenty-team log with 24 points from 16 matches and will next, trade tackles with table-topping, Rivers United F.C inside the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu on Sunday, December 8, 2024.

African footballers delivered standout performances across Europe’s top leagues over the weekend, with Mohamed Salah narrowing the gap in the Premier League Golden Boot race and Omar Marmoush continuing his prolific form in the Bundesliga.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah was instrumental in a crucial 2-0 victory over Manchester City at Anfield, closing the gap on Erling Haaland in the Premier League Golden Boot race.

Salah provided the assist for Cody Gakpo’s opener and sealed the win with a second-half penalty, taking his tally to 11 goals this season—just one behind Haaland.

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The result leaves Liverpool nine points clear of Arsenal and 11 ahead of City in the title race.

Senegal striker Nicolas Jackson opened the scoring with a clinical volley as Chelsea swept past Aston Villa 3-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Meanwhile, DR Congo forward Yoane Wissa found the net in Brentford’s emphatic 4-1 win over Leicester, tapping in a cross before Kevin Schade’s hat-trick sealed the result.

In Germany, Omar Marmoush continued his stellar form for Eintracht Frankfurt, scoring twice in a 4-0 rout of Heidenheim.

The Egyptian forward’s tally now stands at 13 goals in 12 Bundesliga matches, keeping Frankfurt within four points of leaders Bayern Munich.

Rising Stars Shine Across Europe

In Italy, Tunisia international Anas Haj Mohamed, 19, marked his first Serie A start with a stunning goal as Parma defeated Lazio 3-1.

Spain saw Angolan midfielder Randy Nteka open the scoring for Rayo Vallecano in.a narrow 2-1 defeat to Athletic Bilbao.

In France, Strasbourg’s Abdoul Ouattara scored his first professional goal at 19 years old, though his team fell 3-1 to Brest.

Geoffrey Kondogbia of the Central African Republic has flourished in his new role as a centre-back under Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi.

Kondogbia helped Marseille secure a vital 2-1 victory over Monaco in Ligue 1.

FIFA has flagged Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2034 World Cup as a “medium risk” for human rights, citing the significant time and effort required to implement necessary reforms.

The evaluation report, released on November 30, precedes the FIFA Congress vote on December 11, which will determine the hosts for the 2030 and 2034 tournaments.

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The report praised Saudi Arabia’s bid as a “very strong all-round proposition,” awarding it an average score of 4.2 out of 5—higher than the United States, Canada, and Mexico’s combined bid for the 2026 World Cup.

FIFA highlighted the Gulf nation’s proposed infrastructure and commercial potential as major strengths.

However, the governing body emphasized that implementing various human rights measures “could involve significant effort and time,” leading to the elevated risk rating.

Despite these concerns, FIFA suggested that hosting the World Cup could spur positive human rights reforms in Saudi Arabia and the broader region.

“There is good potential that the tournament could serve as a catalyst for some of the ongoing and future reforms,” the report stated, suggesting the event might yield benefits beyond football.

Saudi Arabia has faced widespread criticism for its human rights record, including allegations of torture, restrictions on women’s freedoms, and crackdowns on free expression.

Rights groups have also drawn attention to mass executions and lengthy prison sentences for dissent on social media.

The country has been accused of “sportswashing” by using high-profile sporting events, such as Formula One races and the WTA tennis finals, to divert attention from its rights abuses.

A similar debate surrounded the 2022 World Cup in neighboring Qatar, where human rights issues were a major talking point.

To host the 2034 World Cup, Saudi Arabia must still construct several proposed stadiums.

The tournament may take place in winter, following the precedent set by Qatar, to avoid the country’s extreme summer temperatures.

The 2030 World Cup will feature a joint bid from Morocco, Spain, and Portugal, with Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay hosting matches in honor of the tournament’s centenary.

This contrasts with Saudi Arabia’s solo bid for 2034, which underscores the increasing involvement of Arab and Asian nations in global sporting events.

Notably, Japan and South Korea co-hosted the 2002 World Cup, marking a milestone for the region.