How Tanzania's Yusuf Sheikh recovered from a nightmare 2016/17 to beat 5.9million Fantasy managers Having picked his final Fantasy Premier League line-up on Sunday, Yusuf Sheikh from Tanzania was eagerly awaiting to hear team news ahead of the last 10 Premier League matches of the season. Lying sixth in the world and 33 points off the lead, Yusuf knew that his fate in the race to be crowned the 2017/18 FPL Champion could be decided before a ball was kicked. And at 14:00 BST when the line-ups came in, Yusuf's heart sank. "I set up my team but then saw four players in my squad, [Ben] Davies, [Marcos] Alonso, [Dele] Alli and [Gabriel] Jesus, all not starting, so I gave up. I was like 'This is it, I'm done'," he exclusively revealed to premierleague.com. With his title dream abandoned, Yusuf decided he couldn't watch the matches with his friends, who gathered to watch the final day unfold without him. "We watch the Premier League every weekend, it...

The seemingly simple task of buying the official jersey of your favorite soccer team is not always so simple and is only becoming more difficult. The latest challenge to buying your officially licensed jersey is in navigating the industry jargon between authentic jersey vs replica jersey. Admittedly this is ONLY a problem with some of the bigger clubs. The brands only bring in both the authentic and replica to the U.S. for their biggest clubs. For most teams the only option you have is with the officially licensed replica jersey. The first difference and the one that will be immediately noticeable is the price. The authentic jersey runs about $50-$100 more than the replica jersey. Let’s take a look and see why they are more expensive to help you make the decision on which jersey to purchase. Replica Jersey (sometimes called fan jersey/stadium jersey/official jersey)  – The replica jersey is the same in style and appearance as the ones the players wear on the field. They are 100% ...

Aston Villa after the club failed to earn promotion to the Premier League. John Terry will leave Aston Villa after just one season after they were unable to gain promotion from the Championship, the club has confirmed.

Skipper Mikel John Obi was joined on the chartered flight from Abuja to London on Wednesday afternoon by deputy skipper Ogenyi Onazi, defender Kenneth Omeruo, pacy winger Ahmed Musa and 21 other players as the Super Eagles headed for the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals. There will be stop-overs in London and Austria. Mikel, Onazi, Omeruo and Musa all represented Nigeria at the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil, and alongside Chelsea FC wingback Victor Moses (who was also in Brazil and who will join the contingent in London) constitute the spine of a young squad inspired to dazzle the world in Russia. The Super Eagles will train at the Wembley Stadium (venue of Saturday’s clash with England’s Three Lions) between 5pm-6pm on Friday, after a pre-match press conference scheduled for the Stadium’s conference room at 4.15pm. Saturday’s encounter, the third official match between two countries with considerable historical affinity, will start at 5.15pm. Meanwhile, the Nigeria team has confirm...

Germany players have been banned from sex during the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Joachim Low, Germany coach has banned his players from having sex, or using social media networks during this year's  World Cup. Joachim Low does not want the players’ partners ruining his preparations in Russia. Players will be forced to ask for special permission to see their other halves and even their children. Social media will also be prohibited for the likes of Leroy Sane, Mesut Ozil, Marco Reus and Thomas Muller, who social media platforms are very active. However, Low will allow the players to drink, to help boost team spirits, with the boss insisting: “The team is more important than the ego.” Germany have started training in South Tyrol in preparation for the world cup, in north-east Italy this week. In other reports, Super Eagles Head coach, Gernot Rohr, has cut down his provisional squad for this summer’s World Cup from 30 to 25 players. Those removed from the previous 30-man...

FIFA have released the slogans for all the 32 teams that will participate at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. The Super Eagles of Nigeria who will compete in Group D along with two- time world champions Argentina, Croatia and debutants, Iceland have the ‘Wings of African Pride’ as their slogan for the competition. The slogan for Argentina, who will be led by Barcelona forward, Lionel Messi, who will be hoping to win his first major title with the Albiceleste in Russia is ‘Together for a Dream’. For Croatia, it is ‘Small country, big dreams’, while for Iceland, it is ‘Let’s make our dream come true’. Gernot Rohr’s men will take on Croatia in their opening fixture in Russia on June 16 in Kaliningrad. THE SLOGANS Argentina: Together for a dream Australia: BE BRAVE, BE BOLD, SOCCEROOS IN GREEN AND GOLD Belgium: RED DEVILS ON A MISSION Brazil:More than 5 stars, 200 million hearts Colombia: Here goes 1 dream, 3 colors and 50 million hearts Costa Rica: Nothing is impos...

Argentina and Barcelona star Lionel Messi has admitted that playing against the Super Eagles of Nigeria has always been a difficult encounter for the Albiceleste, Complete Sports reports. The Super Eagles and La Albiceleste will cross paths for the fifth time at the World Cup when hostilities kick off in Russia. Argentina have emerged victorious in in their previous four encounters with Nigeria at the World Cup. Their last encounter in a friendly game last year saw the Super Eagles come from 2-0 down to wi 4-2. Messi who has joined up with his teammates as they intensify preparations for the 2018 World Cup, says Argentina are in a tough group. “We have to take it match by match,” Messi said in an interview with Pasión por el Fútbol BELOW!!

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger And Bayern Munich's Joshua Kimmich had to be separated after the two German stars got angry at each other in training. The 2014 World Cup Champions are currently in Italy as they prepare for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and it got off to a bad start for the first time at the training camp. Rudiger, keen to impress and get into the Starting XI performed a bad challenge on Kimmich and the Bayern Star took it offensively. The two players immediately got into a fight according to Bild, hitting heads together and Assistant coach Miroslav Klose had to intervene to stop it from getting any worse. Tensions went down afterwards but there was more drama when Julian Draxler appeared to be Knocked out later in the session. The PSG man laid of the ground after being smashed in the head, though after some treatment from the German medical team he was allowed to continue even with an ice pack to his head. Defender Mats Hummels revealed: 'We're a real uni...

Super Eagles Technical Adviser,  Gernot Rohr has dropped rising star and NPFL top scorer,  Junior Lokosa from Nigeria’s World Cup squad in a move that will raise some controversy. Lokosa made his debut for the Super Eagles against DR Congo on Monday but seems not to have impressed the coaches enough to be able to make the World Cup. Other players dropped are Moses Simon, Dele Ajiboye, Uche Agbo and Stephen Eze. What do you think about this? Let us know by dropping a comment.

Cristiano Ronaldo has beat out competition from his team-mate Gareth Bale to finish top of UEFA's list of the best Champions League goals of the 2017-18 campaign. Ronaldo's overhead kick in Real Madrid's quarter-final first leg win at Juventus has been selected first ahead of Bale's similar effort in Saturday's final against Liverpool. Bale scored with a spectacular acrobatic volley just two minutes after coming off the bench for Madrid, reacting brilliantly to divert Marcelo's cross into Loris Karius' top corner with a flailing left boot. The goal was described by Gary Neville as 'maybe the best he'd ever seen' but Ronaldo's strike at the Allianz Stadium has been deemed better by UEFA's panel. Ronaldo's overhead kick from Dani Carjvaval's cross was a similarly acrobatic strike but with a lower trajectory and more power, that sailed past Juventus No 1 Gianluigi Buffon leaving the legendary goalkeeper no chance. His strike garner...

A report from The Sun suggests that Napoli have asked Chelsea to double their offer of £3.5m for Maurizio Sarri to stand any chance of hiring the Italian tactician. It is believed that Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis is aiming to recoup the release clause of Sarri, which runs into expiration at the end of May. Sarri’s contract at Napoli was supposed to run till 2020 before the club proceeded to appoint Carlo Ancelotti as the new manager for the upcoming season Meanwhile, the London club is yet to announce the departure of current manager Antonio Conte with reports suggesting that the Italian will be off this summer. Conte had delivered 1 Premier League and 1 FA cup in his two-year spell at Stamford Bridge although his side failed to finish in the top 4 in the just-concluded season.

The world's biggest football game is set to get a huge update which will be available at the end of May ahead of June's kick-off EA Sports' FIFA 18 World Cup mode was released on May 29 and is now available for those who own this season's title. This summer's World Cup in Russia promises to be one of the biggest and best tournaments yet with some very tasty looking games scheduled for June and July. To tie in with the tournament, EA Sports revealed in April that it would be releasing a new expansion for FIFA 18 rather than a standalone FIFA World Cup 2018 game. Previously, EA Sports has released separate games for the summer competitions, including the qualifiers - beginning with World Cup 98, which followed on from the groundbreaking FIFA: Road to World Cup 98. When was the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia download released? The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia download expansion was released on Wednesday May 29 and lets players pick any of the 32 qualified nations to attempt...

Italy head coach Roberto Mancini thought Mario Balotelli enjoyed a "good enough" return to life with the Azzurri as the striker scored in a 2-1 friendly victory over Saudi Arabia. Balotelli, now 27, had not featured for Italy since the World Cup in Brazil four years ago and was recalled by new boss Mancini, his former manager at Manchester City, following a season in which he scored 26 goals for Nice. He duly scored his first goal for Italy since he hit the winner against England in Manaus in June 2014, and Italy doubled their lead through Andrea Belotti before Yahya Al-Shehri responded for the Saudis. After full-time in St Gallen, Switzerland, Mancini told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "For his first game back, Mario was good enough. I would say it was a positive display, above and beyond the goal." Mancini was happy to record a victory as Italy continue down the road to recovery following their shock failure to qualify for this summer's World Cup. "Getting ba...

Liverpool Goalkeeper, Loris Karius confessed on Sunday to have lost his sleep 24 hours after Liverpool lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League final. The 24-year old took to twitter to apologise to his fellow teammates, his club officials and the entire kop fans for the two ‘unpardonable goals’ he caused during the final of the UEFA elite match. The Reds lost 3-1 at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium as Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale capitalised on a shaky Karius in the Liverpool net. He wrote, “Haven’t really slept until now… the scenes are still running through my head again and again… I’m infinitely sorry to my teammates, for you fans, and for all the staff. I know that I messed it up with the two mistakes and let you all down… “Thank you to our unbelievable fans who came to Kiev and held my back, even after the game. I don’t take that for granted and once again it showed me what a big family we are. Thank you and we will come back stronger. “As I said I’d just like to turn back the time ...

Super Eagles star Shehu Abdullahi was in tears as he bids an emotional farewell to his Cypriot club Anorthosis Famagusta when he played his last games against Ethinikos Achnas on Saturday. Abdullahi who was handed the captain’s hand band in the game as a mark of respect for his exemplary service to the club, converted a penalty in the 59th minute to help them to a 3-1 win. But had to fight back emotional feelings after the match in absolute gratefulness for Anorthosis fans for their support in his short spell with the Cyprus side. Tears flowed as the ex-Kano Pillars player greeted his colleagues and fans not long after the game in the midst of overwhelming standing ovation from the 16, 000 fans at Anorthosis. Shehu enjoyed two seasons at Anorthosis, showing up for the club in 46 league games that once paid the wages of former Super Eagles striker Mike Obiku. Shehu is expected to join his new Turkish side Bursaspor, where he will play alongside fellow countrymen William Troost-Ekong a...

Based at The Cliff training ground and playing in the FA Championship, Manchester United Women will begin competitive action in 2018-19. Manchester United have been awarded a license to establish a professional women's team by the Football Association. A statement on the Premier League giants' official website confirmed Manchester United Women would be placed into the FA Women's Championship - the second tier of the game in England below the Super League. The team will be based at United's historic Cliff training ground in Salford, where the men's side trained until 2000. United's Executive Vice Chairman, Ed Woodward, said: "The board is delighted that the FA has approved the application. The new women's team will have the same philosophy as all Manchester United sides, creating a pathway from academy to first team. "We will be making some exciting announcements in the coming days and weeks. "Starting a professional team from scratch is chall...

The Super Eagles of Nigeria were forced to 1-1 draw by the Democratic Republic of Congo in a match played at the Adokie Amesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt. William Troost-Ekong scored his ever goal for Nigeria in the first half as he pounced on a defensive error from the Congolese to put the score at 1-0. DR Congo's equalized from a penalty as Ola Aina tugged the shirt of Kazadi in the box. The resulting spot kick was converted as Francis Uzoho was sent the wrong way. The Nigerian side were lackluster on the night as they failed to create chances in the final third. It ended one a-piece as the team will be heading to London to play England in a few days.

Liverpool have agreed to sign Monaco midfielder Fabinho in a deal that could be worth more than £40m. The Champions League finalists will sign the Brazil international, 24, on 1 July for around £39m (45m euros). A further £4m (5m euros) could be added in performance-related bonus payments and Fabinho's arrival will likely be followed by the departure of Emre Can. "This is something that I always wanted - this is a giant of a team," said Fabinho. "I am really excited." Fabinho has spent spells playing as a right-back but has excelled in defensive midfield and is viewed as a replacement for Can, who is out of contract this summer and has repeatedly been linked with Juventus, 'I will try to create history' The Brazilian, whose deal will begin on 1 July, said the club's infrastructure looked "exceptional". "A football club of this size coming after my services, I didn't have to think that much about coming over," added Fabinho. ...

Real Madrid players have dominated the UEFA squad of the season, following their successful defense of the trophy for the third time in a row. Lionel Messi is the only player from Barcelona to make the cut, following the La Liga shocking exit by Roma in the competition. While first runner up, Liverpool were represented by Roberto Firmino, defender Van Dijk an star Mohamed Salah. Meanwhile Kevin De Bruyne is the only Manchester City player to make the list. With Roma goal keeper, Allison and striker Edin Dzeko, alongside Chiellini of Juventus the only from Serie A. Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich were also represented, with Joshua Kimmich and James Rodriguez

fans are getting used to Champions League title parades but the novelty will never rub off as they turned out in their numbers on Sunday to welcome their hero players back from Kiev. The Spanish giants beat Liverpool 3-1 on Saturday night thanks to a freak Karim Benzema goal and a double from substitute Gareth Bale - including a fantastic bicycle kick at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium. The Champions League trophy is proudly displayed at the front of a moving bus on Sunday evening in Madrid. Madrid fans turned up in their numbers as they celebrated their record-breaking Champions League triumph. Madrid supporters proudly hold up balloons which read '13' - the amount of times they have won the European Cup.

 Argentina ex-international, Hernán Jorge Crespo, on Saturday in Lagos said that he was delighted to be in Nigeria for the first time as a guest of the Heineken Group. Crespo along with Nigeria’s ex-internationals — Taribo West, Augustine Eguavon, Mutiu Adepoju and Samson Siasia — were invited by Heineken for an interactive session with journalists in Lagos.  Crespo attributed the success of his over 18 years football career to respect for others which, he said, was one of the fundamental values of life. “As a young player, I love the game of football but one fundamental thing I learnt along the way was respect for the game, my team mates and fans of football.  “As I grew older in football, I also learnt that it was very important to respect my opponents as well; indeed, it has been a worthwhile experience for me. “I am in Nigeria because I want to have the opportunity to meet people, to support my passion and most importantly support Heineken and their visi...

Liverpool and Egypt forward Mohamed Salah says he is "confident" of playing in the World Cup after suffering a shoulder injury in the Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid. Salah, 25, left the pitch in Kiev in tears after a first-half challenge with Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos. "Your love and support will give me the strength I need,"  said Salah. Egypt play their first game of the World Cup in Russia on 15 June against Uruguay in Yekaterinburg. After the game in Kiev, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp described the injury as "really serious" and it did not "look good" on the  Liverpool website. But the  Egyptian FA tweeted  that Salah's X-ray showed he had a "sprain in the shoulder ligaments" and that it was "optimistic" he would be fit for Russia. Salah, who scored 44 goals for his club last season, tried to carry on after the tangle with Ramos in the 26th minute. H...