While some have welcomed the proposal as a welcome development, others have said the minister should tread with caution.

Odinga Odinga, captain of Sharks of Port Harcourt, one of the twenty teams that make up the NPFL, said in an exclusive chat with Ventures Africa welcomed the decision. “I think it is good for us here in Nigeria. If this can be done, I think it is better for the players.” However, the Sharks defender insists the problem isn’t just about agreeing to pay, but making it available when neededAccording to him: “The problem we are having is that the money doesn’t come as at when due. I don’t think all of the clubs can pay though. Only few teams can meat up. Some other teams don’t even pay. If the NPFL can abide with the rule, it will help a lot to grow the lead.Speaking on the ministers proposal, General Manager of Heartland FC of Owerri Fan Ndubuoke said the sports minister should be properly briefed because some clubs pay more than the proposed amount. Speaking exclusively to Ventures Africa, the Heartland GM said: “Some clubs don’t pay sign-on fees and some players (there) receive up to 400,000 naira (about $2700) monthly. For those who pay sign-on fees, players get between 180,000-200,000 naira (between $1200-1500).”

Ndubuoke also adds: “in my team, many top players earn up to 6 million naira ($40,000) as sign on fees. So you see, the minister needs to be properly briefed on what really are the issues.”

According to Victor Baribote, a Nigeria Premier League chairman and owner of one of the NPFL teams, Nembe City: ”This is a welcome development. While I think is it a good intention, I also believe the minister is not in charge of running football affairs. He should go through the proper channel,” Baribote told a Port Harcourt Based radio station.

Also reacting to the proposal, Media Officer of Dolphins Football Club, China Acheru said it is “a wrong move by the league.”

“All over the world, clubs have different salary regimes and we know the big paying clubs and the small. That way, clubs are only able to sign players based on what their wage budget says. Forcing clubs to pay a certain amount is not good since clubs didn’t force players to accept the salary”, Acheru added.

Acheru who spoke to Ventures Africa exclusively also said that “what the League should do rather is ensure the negotiated wages no matter how little is paid to the player.”

Meanwhile, NPFL table toppers, Kano Pillars looks set to key into the new minimum wage. Media officer of the club Idris Malikawa says all the outstanding match bonus and debts to the tune of 35 million naira (about $234,000 ) have been cleared.

The post Mixed Reactions Trail Proposed Salary Cap For Nigerian League Players appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

The tournament which is taking place in the capital city of Kigali, is the first edition to be held in Rwanda. The focus of the tournament is centred on discovering and nurturing young football talents across Africa.

Speaking at the launch of the tournament, former Arsenal and Portsmouth full back, Lauren, hailed the initiative and described Africa as a continent full of football talents.

“Take a look at players like Samuel Eto’o, Patrick Mboma, Yaya Toure and Kolo Toure,” he said.

“I’m not saying that we can win a World Cup, all I’m trying to explain is we have players who can compete on that calibre and get something.”

Also at the event was club representative of Arsenal FC, Luke Wilson, and Airtel country manager for Rwanda, Marcellin Paluku.

On his part, Paluku expressed delight at the tournament as it will enable the telecommunications giant to “nurture the talent here and also take part in rewarding our customers.”

The post Samsung, Arsenal FC Partner On Airtel Rising Stars Tournament In Rwanda appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

The club owned by the City of David Parish of The Redeem Christian Church of God, Lagos, announced the appointment on it’s website on Friday.

Though details of the deal were not given in the club’s website, Ventures Africa can authoritatively reveal that Eguavon signed a short term deal.

In an exclusive interview with Ventures Africa, Eguavon said the deal is a short term one but he could not resist the lure of working for God.

“It is not about the money for me. At this point I can even work for free. You know it is owned by a church; the structure of the club is a good one and they have an aim to go higher and play in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL),” Eguavon said.

“Lagos is not my home so that means I would be given accomodation and a car to move around plus a little token. If it’s about the money, then I’d have stayed back at (NPFL side) Sharks of Port Harcourt (where according to Sharks’ media officer Peter Abaje, he earns five hundred thousand naira, about two thousand pounds per month).”

The former Enyimba manager also revealed that he has got a clause in his contract that will see him leave COD if a better package comes his way.

“I actually see this as a great move for me because this is a hugely ambitious club. But I have a clause in my contract that will ensure I leave if a higher offer comes. For now I am going to be in charge of everything football. I may decide to sit on the bench and do technical duties or I may not. But I would also guide the club’s age grade teams.”

Eguavon managed Nigeria’s Super Eagles at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations where the team won a bronze medal. He has since taken charge of Enyimba Football Club of Aba whom he guided to a third place finish in the 2008/2009 season as well as winning the 2009 Federation Cup. He left Sharks last month due to contractural disagreements after just five months in charge.

The post Eguavoen Signs Deal to Manage City Of David United FC appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

The sponsorship which is set to run from January 2013 to December 2015, is valued at 20 million rand ($2.1 million). Announcing the deal, the group’s Human Resources Director Alison Zweers, pointed to the “close relationship” which the Spar brand has enjoyed with South African netball over the last decade.

“A huge majority of our customers are women, and we believe we have a duty to support them in return. Netball provides us with a great opportunity to demonstrate our support for our customers,” said Zweers. The brand focus in terms of sponsorship goes beyond coverage as they also announced themselves as broadcast sponsors of netball on SuperSport.

According to Zweers, the sponsorship agreement is equally important as it facilitates the “need to expose this beautiful game and our sponsorship not only in South Africa, but throughout Africa and the world.”

Reacting to the news of the sponsorship, Netball South Africa president, Mimi Mthethwa said South African netball was delighted to “renew its strong relationship with Spar.” The president emphasized Spar’s commitment to netball over the years as a key factor in the development of South African netball as the Proteas, as the South African netball national team is fondly called, have improved their world ranking and currently sit at fifth position.

She also expressed her delight that the sponsorship was not limited to the senior national team but also included the Under 21 and Under 19 squads as she believes the younger players “are the stars of the future.”

The post Spar Renews Sponsorship Deal With South African Netball appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

The clubs, Sunshine Stars of Akure, Dolphins of Port Harcourt, Lobi Stars of Markudi, Heartland of Owerri and Enugu Rangers, now have shirt branding contracts with one of Guinness Nigeria’s brand, Harp Premium Lager. However, financial details of the contract were not revealed.

Speaking at the ceremony in Lagos, MD/CEO Guinness Nigeria, Seni Adetu said the criteria for choosing the five clubs was because they are among the best teams in the country.

Adetu said, “The financial terms remain exclusive and at the clubs disposition to disclose. We’ve chosen these clubs because they are among the best and are among the traditional clubs in the country.”

The General Manager of Dolphins FC, Dumbor Awanem, in a chat with Ventures Africa, said the clubs are grateful to be among the five clubs chosen.

“I want to thank Harp for finding it right to identify with the five clubs. We want to assure Harp that we will be a good brand and try to do our best to make sure Harp achieves what they intended to with the deal.”

Speaking specifically about Dolphins, Awanem says, “This is the beginning of a new beginning for Dolphins because most corporate organizations have been sitting on the fence and by Harp leading the way, we will try to get multi-national companies in Port Harcourt to come identify with the club and improve our clubs and local league.”

For Heartland’s GM, Fan Ndubuoke, identifying with the club even when it has not won any continental competition is a good development. According to him, “This is unique because most times corporate bodies only identify with successful teams at the end of international competitions. But Guinness Harp has proven to be different. We are hopeful that after this contract, we will renew it next year.”

For Lobi Stars vice Chairman Dominic Iorfa, attending the signing ceremony feels like being in Europe.

“I’m proud of what Guinness have done. I’m happy that they’ve partnered with us not by popularity. It’s like I’m in Europe with this kind of event,” Iorfa said. However, Enugu Rangers CEO Ozor Paul reckons that “This is the first of its kind since I came back from the USA. This is good for the clubs as the sport cannot be backed by government alone.”

Sunshine Stars coordinator, Mike Idoko used the opportunity to call on other corporate organizations to join hands and partner Nigeria football.

Idoko said: “We are calling on other corporate bodies to join this trend so that it will encourage the talents in the country and it will lead to having more than six players from the league in the national team.

This is the second major shirt sponsorship deal in the country in the space of one year after former African Champions, Enyimba of Aba as well as 3SC of Ibadan signed shirt branding deals with Dubic Lager.

The post Guinness Nigeria Signs Sponsorship Deal With 5 Nigerian Clubs appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

The Minister of Sports, Abdulsalam Guaila announced the impending infrastructural investments as the nation steps up their preparations for the tournament in four years time.

The first stadium will have a capacity of 60,000 seats while the second will have a seating capacity of 23,000 spectators.

Libya’s ability to host the finals has been questioned in recent times following the civil strife that has dominated the nation over the last year. However, Guaila has emphasized the willingness of the Sports Ministry and the Libyan nation to ensure that it is prepared for the tournament in 2017.

Libya was originally awarded the rights to host the 2013 edition but following the unrest in the country, it swapped with South Africa, which was to host the 2017 edition.

The post Libya To Construct 2 Stadiums For AFCON 2017 appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

The partnership comes after a healthy history of Nigerian influence at Lillestrom that has seen no less than five Nigerian footballers play for the Norwegian side with current Super Eagles’ international Nosa Igbiebor being the most recent after a successful spell. At the club, Nosa scored 13 goals in 67 appearances from 2009 to 2011.

The partnership will focus on youth development mainly with Plateau United duo Caleb Baba and Daddy Maurice already off to Norway for trials with Lillestrom.

Plateau United have shown potential for developing young players as they have a rich history of producing top footballers who have enjoyed fruitful international and club careers with Mikel Obi, Obinna Nsofor and Christian Obodo being the biggest names.

Asides youth development, specific terms of the deal are yet to be announced but other possible focus points of the deal include first-option purchases of Plateau United’s players for Lillestrom, infrastructural investment and payment of yearly fees, as is usually the case in partnerships involving feeder clubs in Europe.

The post Nigeria’s Plateau United, Lillestrom SK Partner For Football Development appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

The Italian was fired by the Kalusha Bwalya led FAZ two days after he helped the Chipolopolo to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Bonetti had taken the 2012 African Champions to FIFA demanding $1.6 million after he was fired from the job in October 2011. However, in its ruling, FIFA says the FAZ must pay their former manager a quarter of that demand.

Responding to the judgement, the Italian says, “its true justice.”

There is no official statement yet from the FAZ. It might interest you to know that FAZ did appoint Frenchman Herve Renard in place of Bonetti who guided the Chipolopolo to victory at the 2012 AFCON.

The post FIFA Fines Zambia For Sacking Former Coach appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

In an official statement, Airtel disclosed a sponsorship agreement with Manchester United and Arsenal FC, which will see the Premiership sides “grow emerging soccer talents in Africa through their globally recognisable brand assets, and to raise youth related commercial activity.”

The Airtel Rising Stars (ARS) initiative involves over 18,000 teams with more than 400,000 young boys and girls across Africa.
The initiative recorded a growth of about 65 percent in 2012 and is planned to grow even bigger.

The pan African tournament has yielded many success stories.

Priscilla Okyere, the current captain of Ghana’s Under-17 National Girls’ team, was discovered during an ARS tournament.
She led her team to clinch the bronze medal at the 2012 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup in Azerbaijan.

Also, a good number of the ARS alumni have been absorbed into Africa Premier League Clubs, as well as their country’s national team.A novelty has been added to the 2013 edition: Airtel and Samsung are poised to launch a mobile football app contest for Samsung on Android. The month-long competition is to encourage techies to submit their apps where a panel of judges will pick the 2 best apps, for commercialization.

George Ferreira, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Samsung Electronics, Africa said: “Africa is the world’s youngest continent. The proportion of youth in the region is higher than on any other continent.

According to World Bank estimates, 60 percent of Africa’s population of more than 1 billion people are youth. And it keeps growing rapidly. The number of young people in Africa is forecast to double by 2045. Our youth have the potential to be a great impetus for Africa’s development, provided that an appropriate investment in human capital is made.

“Under the multi-million dollar agreement, Samsung will become the official device partner of the ARS tournament,” Airtel said.
Airtel is the 4th largest telecommunications company in the world, with a presence in 17 countries across Africa.

The post Airtel, Samsung Partner English Clubs On African Youth Football Development appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

City says they are delighted at Yaya’s signing as he has been an integral and inspirational part of the team’s recent success winning the FA Cup and the English Premier League.

“The deal to keep the reigning African Player of the Year at the Etihad Stadium until 2017 was signed this afternoon,” Manchester City announced on its website.

An excited Yaya Toure was quoted as saying “This is where I want to be.”

“When I first arrived at City every time I went to sleep I would dream about us winning something; now it is about us being the best team in whatever competition we take part in.

The former Barcelona star said “I will never forget how I have been treated here by the fans, the club and the owners and nothing would give me greater pleasure than to finish my career as a Manchester City player.”

“I want to continue winning titles and trophies and continue to make history. I have enjoyed all of my time here and can’t wait for the next chapter. This is an incredible club to be part of with fans that support a team to the end whatever the circumstances.”

Yaya Toure has won a UEFA Champions League, two La Liga titles, a Barclays Premier League, an FA Cup and a Copa Del Rey (Spanish Cup).

The post Yaya Toure Pens New 4-year Deal With Man City appeared first on Ventures Africa | .