As fans decked in green and white dance in the streets, we must heed a cautionary tale. While the highs of victory are electrifying, they can also mask the dangers of extreme emotion. Tragically, two lives were lost in the heat of the match, serving as a stark reminder that football isn’t just a game—it’s a matter of life and death.

Dr. Ojougboh, a seasoned politician and former Executive Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, was not only a prominent figure in Nigerian politics but also someone who, given his medical background, might have been expected to understand his own state of health and take necessary precautions. However, his sudden demise due to a massive heart attack while watching the match in Abuja serves as a stark reminder that health conditions can often catch even the most vigilant individuals off guard.

Despite his medical knowledge and presumably understanding his susceptibility to heart-related issues, Dr. Ojougboh found himself overtaken by the tension and excitement of the football match, leading to a tragic outcome. This serves as a poignant lesson that even those with expertise in healthcare can sometimes underestimate their own vulnerability to health crises, especially in moments of intense emotion and stress.

Likewise, a young NYSC member, Samuel from Kaduna State, collapsed during the tense penalty shootout, never to rise again.

The highs and lows of football are nothing new, but these incidents hit close to home, highlighting the need for caution amidst the euphoria. Football isn’t just a game; it’s a rollercoaster of emotions that can take a toll on even the strongest of hearts.

As we gear up for the finals, it’s time for Super Eagles fans to check themselves before they wreck themselves. Sure, the adrenaline rush of watching your team dominate on the pitch is unbeatable, but is it worth risking your health or even your life?

Take it from personal experience—I made the conscious choice to skip the semi-finals, opting instead for a leisurely stroll. Why? Because I knew the tension of the game could have dire consequences for my health. And I’m not alone. Many of us, young and old, find ourselves teetering on the edge of emotional overload when the stakes are high.

So, as we await the final, let’s celebrate responsibly. Let’s revel in the glory of the Super Eagles’ triumph, but let’s also remember to prioritize our health and well-being above all else. Whether you’re watching from the stands or the comfort of your living room, know your limits, and don’t be afraid to step back if the tensions become too much. If you know you’re prone to heart palpitations or anxiety attacks during nail-biting matches, it’s okay to sit this one out. Trust me, your health is way more important than any game.

As we countdown to the finals, let’s pledge to celebrate smartly, support our Super Eagles with all our hearts, and above all, take care of ourselves and each other. Victory tastes so much sweeter when it’s accompanied by good health and happiness.

Here’s to cheering on our Super Eagles to victory, but let’s make sure we’re still standing tall when the final whistle blows. It’s game on, Nigeria—let’s make this one count!

The president made the pledge while receiving the 10-year Football Development Masterplan presented to him by the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare at the state house.

He directed the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to

commence implementation of the two volume report in phases, within the relevant sections of the Nigerian laws on sports development and the statutes of the world soccer governing body, FIFA.

The president further expressed concern over the (stunted) development of football in the past years, owing to the neglect of the core orientation of football administration, urging the NFF to salvage the domestic league at all levels.

Meanwhile, President Buhari has applauded Nigerian student, Noel Ifeanyi Alumona, who won the 2022 AFS Award for Young Global Citizens, and became the first African to win the prize since its inception in 1914.

The award was presented to the Nigerian student during the International Youth Day organized by the United Nations Global Communications Department, the AFS Intercultural Programs and The Youth Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

President Buhari in a statement by his special media aide, Femi Adesina, noted that the responsiveness, kindness and sacrificial spirit of the Nigerian student, who is studying Special Education in Vanderbilt University, United States, and has already established foundations to cater for the needs of physically challenged, vulnerable and less privileged.

The president extoled Alumona for his outstanding character and dedication to helping others, particularly for

attracting global spotlight to Nigeria, in recognition of his vigorous campaign to end violence against women and girls through proper orientation of boys on responsible behaviour.

Buhari affirmed that the student, who is an Obama Foundation Fellow, United States Institute of Peace Fellow, and United Nations Youth Assembly Delegate, is on the right side of history, channelling his energy to encouraging and supporting others, and creating a framework for charity.

The president prayed that the Almighty God will continue to lead, guide and grant Alumona wisdom to serve his country and humanity.

This mandate is one of the decisions the Committee took at its first formal meeting since Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup billed for Qatar.

The meeting held on Tuesday in Abuja and attended both physically and virtually by 14 members asked the Technical and Development Sub-Committee to make the recommendations.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that this sub-committee “is responsible for the selection of coaches through its recommendations to the Executive Committee”.

Aside the expected recommendations on the Super Eagles coaching crew, the sub-committee is also to recommend new coaching crews for three other national teams within this same period of five days.

These are the CHAN (African Nations Championship) team, also known as the Home-based Super Eagles, the under-20 male team (Flying Eagles) and the under-17 male team (Golden Eaglets).

“This is to ensure that preparations for their next qualifying tournaments and championships commence in earnest,” the NFF stated in the communique.

NAN reports that the Technical and Development Sub-Committee works with members of the NFF Technical Department.

The department is presently headed by the immediate-past Super Eagles Technical Adviser, Augustine Eguavoen, who is the federation’s Technical Director.

The First Lady also urged Nigerian girls to embrace football as a career path.

She gave this urge while receiving the President of FIFA, Gianni Infantino at the State House, Abuja on Thursday.

The Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the First Lady, Aliyu Abdullahi, disclosed this in a statement titled, ‘Aisha Buhari charges girls to embrace football’. 

According to her, the benefits of football spreads across the coaches, officials, and administrators on the one side, and to family members and the society on the other. 

She said, “With football, we have an opportunity to influence and increase positive attitude towards gender equality and development. I collaborated with the NFF to promote women football in Nigeria and worldwide through the Aisha Buhari Football Tournament, to build on the gains achieved so far and to create additional opportunities for the girl-child.

“I, therefore, call on FIFA, CAF, and NFF to show more support and encouragement to female players both at local and international levels,” she said.

Dr Willie Stewart of the University of Glasgow says football should now come with a warning regarding the dangers of heading in the sport over the course of a player’s career.

Previous studies had shown that footballers are more at risk of dying with dementia or other neurodegenerative diseases than the general population and Stewart says a new study published in the journal JAMA Neurology provides the “missing link” between the disease and the sport.

According to the study, out of the 7676 former football players in the study, five per cent (386) were diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease, compared to just 1.6% (366) of the 23,028 in the control group.

Defenders are five times more at risk of catching neurodegenerative diseases than the general population, while goalkeepers are the least susceptible.

Dr Willie Stewart “With the current data we’re now at the point to suggest that football should be sold with a health warning saying repeated heading in football may lead to an increased risk of dementia. That’s where we are now, that cannot be ignored, in the previous study we didn’t have sufficient data to be able to look at the important factor: exposure to football. What we could say last time was that being a footballer meant your risk of dying with a degenerative brain disease was higher, but we couldn’t say what in football was doing it. Now, through using our surrogates for exposure to heading and brain injury, which are field position and length of playing the game, we can see that if you’re in a position where you’re exposed to a high level of head impacts or you play the game longer, your risk is higher. The data from this paper is the missing link in trying to understand this connection between sport and dementia. We put that together with what we know about the mortality risk… and there really isn’t anything else. There is no other proposed risk factor and this is one we could really address and eliminate this disease.I think football has to ask the difficult questions: is heading absolutely necessary to the game of football? Is potential exposure to degenerative brain disease absolutely necessary? Or can some other form of the game be considered?”

Erico, nicknamed ‘Jogobonito exponent’, age 72 died on Tuesday morning in Lagos, after a brief illness.

A close family member Tomiwa Aghedo, who confirmed his death said the country’s coaching icon had died after complaining of stomach ache.

“I feel sad informing you that coach Joe Erico passed on this morning [Tuesday],” Aghedo told Goal.

“He complained of stomach ache yesterday and he was subsequently rushed to the hospital, where he was told to present his Covid-19 test result before he would be attended to.

“Coach Erico went for the test as directed and very early this morning he passed away. It’s terrible news at this point in time and everyone of us is devastated.

“We are consoled by the fact that he served Nigeria with all his strength and he lived a good life worthy of emulation.”

Michael Egwuagu, 25, has been accused of killing his 32-year-old sister Jennifer Chima Ebichi on Friday in Pflugerville.

“I killed Jennifer,” the doorbell camera recorded Egwuagu as saying as he left his sister’s home moments after the murder, the Austin American-Statesman reported Sunday, citing the arrest affidavit.

Witnesses told police they heard Egwuagu utter those words when they saw him leaving the house with a smile on his face and a bloody kitchen knife in his hand, KEYE-TV reported.

The witnesses told police they had heard Egwuagu and his sister yelling and screaming, the station reported.

Robert Benoit, the fire chief in Lafayette — where the crash took place — confirmed the deaths, while also reporting that the lone surviving passenger had been taken to the hospital in critical condition. That passenger was identified as Stephen Berzas, 37.

Three other persons, including two U.S. postal employees, who were on the ground at the time of the crash, suffered injuries, Lafayette Fire Department spokesman Alton Trahan said.

Officials released the names of those killed on Saturday afternoon. They were identified as Ian Biggs, 51, who was the pilot; Robert Crisp II, 59; Carley Ann McCord, 30; Gretchen Vincent, 51, and Micahel Vincent, 15.

McCord was a sports reporter for WDSU-TV in New Orleans and the daughter-in-law of LSU offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger, the station reported.

Her husband confirmed to The Associated Press that she was riding in a private plane from Lafayette headed to Atlanta with friends for the LSU-Oklahoma College Football Playoff Semifinal.

Deshaud Williams, a 16-year-old sophomore at Lewisville High School, located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, was in good health before his collapse, according to his family.

On Friday, Deshaud and his twin, Dashaud, were running and playing tag when suddenly Deshaud said he couldn’t breathe.

“He was like, ‘Da, I can’t breathe. I was like, ‘You good? Come on, we’re going to get home,” twin Dashaud told KXAS-TV. “He was like, ‘I can’t breathe. I’m about to pass out.’ And I ran to him and he fell to his knees and fell on his back.”

Dashaud called 911, but his twin brother died. His mother, Razel Sheppard, said his death is “a big mystery” considering he was healthy before he died.

“He’s never been sick. He was a healthy all-around kid. Hopefully, [we’ll] get answers,” she said. “His heart couldn’t take no more and he died in his brother’s hands.”

The Lewisville community is mourning Deshaud’s death. On Sunday, friends and family came together to honor him with a balloon release in his memory.

“Today our hearts are broken,” the school’s football team tweeted. “Please keep the Fighting Farmer community in your prayers as we mourn the loss of a student-athlete.”

Lewisville Football@LHSFball

Today our hearts are broken. Please keep the Fighting Farmer community in your prayers as we mourn the loss of a student athlete

Darren Johnson, a friend of Deshaud’s, described the teen as motivational, telling the news outlet: “When he was tired, we would pick him up. When we were tired, he would pick us up.”

“There was no better friend you could have,” Johnson said. “He’ll always be in our hearts.”