Belgium midfielder Eden Hazard has signed a new five-and-a-half-year deal with Premier League leaders Chelsea.

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The 2015 African U-17 Championship will be the 16th edition of the competition for players aged 17 and below and organized by the Confederation of African Football.

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Cote d’Ivoire’s football team has been rewarded with millions of dollars in prizes by the country’s government for winning the Africa Cup of Nations.

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Aston Villa have sacked manager Paul Lambert after the club dropped into the Premier League relegation zone, BBC reports.

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President John Mahama of Ghana has announced a US$ 25, 000(N4.3m) for each member of the Black Stars for finishing runners-up at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea, vanguard reports.

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The out-of-contract Super Eagles coach is expected to return to his role in a few days after being offered a new deal on Tuesday, “Goal” reports. The Technical Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation has recommended a renewal of contract for Stephen Keshi as the senior national team head coach. The committee led by Emeka Anyansi-Agwu concluded their meeting and tabled their recommendation to the executive board of NFF in due course. Anyansi, who disclosed this to media at the headquarters of NFF, stated that the delay in the contract renewal was to enable the committee do a thorough job in a bid to get the best option. He also explained that the committee has been in contact with the coach contrary to media reports where Keshi was quoted to have denied any approach by the committee. According to Anyansi, “If anyone is saying that he has not been paid for about two months that he handled the team without contract, that cannot be true. Keshi is my personal friend and we don’t hold anything against him.” Keshi, who has been out of contract since the end of the Super Eagles’ 2014 World Cup campaign,failed to qualify Nigeria for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea two years after he led the team to win the 2013 title. Even though he has come under intense criticism by figures like former coach Amodu Shaibu and ex-player Jonathan Akpoborie among many others, Keshi has been able to get a new contract due to the influence of President Goodluck Jonathan who asked the NFF to keep him on after he was sacked late in 2014.

The League Management Company has fixed March 7, 2015 as the date for the commencement of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) for the 2014/2015 season, goal reports. The LMC recently gave two options of January 21 and March 7 for the start of hostilities and circulars were sent to various clubs for them to choose the more preferred of both dates but the league body has opted for the latter with a fresh date for the start of the 2015 general elections being fingered as the brain behind the new development. Owing to this, the LMC has announced a registration deadline of February 20 for clubs to submit their licensing documents for the new season or risks severe sanctions. The documents expected to be submitted by the 20 clubs in the top flight include proof of no debts carried over, financial guarantee and medical passport of players. The LMC Chief Operating Officer (COO) Salihu Abubakar announced this and said the clubs have been put on the alert that mid-week fixtures will hold to accommodate the socio-political developments in the country. “As part of the registration process for the new season, Clubs are to mandatorily provide a quarterly Financial Performance Guarantee of N50m which is a condition for licensing to participate in the league. Clubs that are in a position to provide a one-off Performance Guarantee of N200m is also encouraged to do so”, Abubakar stated. The league organizer further disclosed that clubs in the elite division must provide their  Financial Performance Guarantee on or before March 5, if they are to be considered among the 20 to vie for points. Kano Pillars are the defending champions of the league and they have emerged victorious since the last three seasons while Enyimba and Warri Wolves came second and third last season.

Tue 10 Feb 2015:

Arsenal 2 – 1 Leicester 

Hull 2 – 0 Aston Villa 

Sunderland 0 – 2 QPR 

Liverpool 3 – 2 Tottenham 

Wed 11 Feb 2015:

Chelsea 1 – 0 Everton 

Man Utd 3 – 1 Burnley 

Southampton 0 – 0 West Ham 

Stoke 1 – 4 Man City 

Crystal Palace 1 – 1 Newcastle 

West Brom 2 – 0 Swansea 

Sky and BT Sport have paid a record £5.136bn for live Premier League TV rights for three seasons from 2016-17, BBC reports. The figure represents a 70% increase on Sky and BT’s current £3bn deal. It is unclear whether the increase will affect ticket prices, although Sky pundits and former England internationals Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville said the matter was an issue. The Premier League said it plans to invest £56m in grassroots projects, including 50 artificial pitches. Under the new contract, 168 games will be shown live, at an average cost of £10.2m per match. Sky paid £4.176bn for 126 matches per season, including the first Friday evening games and both Sunday packages. BT paid £960m for 42 games per season, four more than its present deal.

Germany international Marco Reus has extended his contract with Borussia Dortmund until June 2019. The 25-year-old attacking midfielder has been linked with a move to several clubs, including Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Arsenal. “We never let ourselves be influenced by all the rumours,” said Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke. “We always saw a good chance that this exceptional player could consciously decide in favour of Dortmund.” Reus joined Dortmund from Borussia Monchengladbach in 2012 and had two more years to run on his previous deal. He has signed with Dortmund third-from-bottom of the Bundesliga following a win over Freiburg last Saturday in which he opened the scoring. “I am very happy with my decision for Borussia Dortmund,” said Reus. “Dortmund is my hometown and Borussia is simply my club. “I look forward to a successful future with our team and our fantastic fans behind us. “There is plenty to do and I want to really get stuck in.” Rues missed the 2014 world cup which Germany won due to injury.

FIFA’s electoral committee has approved Sepp Blatter and his three rivals for the world governing body’s presidential elections on 29 May. A FIFA statement said all four had passed “integrity checks” and were eligible to stand for the presidency. Dutch federation president Michael van Praag and Jordanian Prince Ali bin Al Hussein are standing against Blatter and ex-Portugal winger Luis Figo. Blatter, 78, has held the post since 1998 and is seeking a fifth term.

Liverpool will wear a special one-off kit for tonight’s game against Tottenham in support of the Seeing is Believing charity, BBC reports. This will be the fourth consecutive year that the Merseyside club will join forces with their main sponsor by trading their usual logo with that of the charity in order to generate support and funds for Seeing is Believing. Five of the Liverpool jerseys will be signed by players and put onto a week-long eBay auction to help raise money for the charity, with all donations being matched by main sponsor Standard Chartered

Super Eagles and Stoke City forward Victor Moses, has welcomed the arrival of his second child with his girlfriend. They named the new child Nyah. The couple had their first daughter named Bentley in 2012.

Tue 10 Feb 2015:

Arsenal v Leicester 8:45 pm

Hull v Aston Villa 8:45 pm

Sunderland v QPR 8:45 pm

Liverpool v Tottenham 9 pm

Wed 11 Feb 2015:

Chelsea v Everton 8:45 pm

Man Utd v Burnley 8:45 pm

Southampton v West Ham 8:45 pm

Stoke v Man City 8:45 pm

Crystal Palace v Newcastle 9 pm

West Brom v Swansea 9 pm

Goalkeeper Boubacar Barry scored the decisive goal as Ivory Coast ended a 23-year Africa Cup of Nations title drought by winning 9-8 on penalties against Ghana after the final ended 0-0 following extra time, Supersport reports. History repeated itself as the only other Ivorian title came in 1992 when they edged the Ghanaians, also on penalties after a goalless draw. It was a highly tactical and cagey climax to the biennial African football showpiece in the Equatorial Guinea city of Bata. Billed as a ‘dream’ final between the west African neighbours, it became the fourth decider in the last eight to finish goalless and be settled by spot-kicks. Ivory Coast and Ghana made one change each from the teams that started in convincing semifinal victories over the Democratic Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea respectively. Ghana captain and star striker Asamoah Gyan passed a late fitness test on his injured hip and returned in place of semifinal scorer Jordan Ayew, a son of Black Stars legend Abedi ‘Pele’ Ayew. Ivory Coast switched goalkeepers with fit-again veteran Boubacar Barry recalled and Sylvain Gbohouo dropping to the bench after five consecutive appearances. Equatorial Guinea president Teodoro Obiang, Fifa president Sepp Blatter and CAF president Issa Hayatou were introduced to the teams before the national anthems. The pre-kickoff mood was extremely jovial with rival players warmly greeting each other as they went through the traditional shaking of hands. Quicksilver Ivory Coast winger Gervinho appeared particularly relaxed and threatened twice in the early stages as Ivory Coast were quicker out of the blocks. However, Ghana comfortably dealt with both threats and when African Footballer of the Year Yaya Toure had a free-kick opportunity outside the box on 14 minutes, he shot tamely at Razak Braimah. Almost immediately, Ivorian midfield enforcer Serey Die was deservedly yellow-carded by the Gambian referee for a studs-up foul on Mubarak Wakaso. Sloppy Ghanaian passing close to their goalmouth offered Gervinho a chance to present Max-Alain Gradel with a sight of goal, but his powerful shot finished well off target. After soaking up the early pressure, Ghana adopted a more adventurous approach and came tantalisingly close to taking the lead on 25 minutes through Christian Atsu. The pacey winger won possession just outside the box and his swerving shot eluded the diving Barry only to rebound to safety off the post. Ivory Coast were rescued by the woodwork again nine minutes before halftime when Andre Ayew – an elder brother of Jordan – hit the other post from an acute angle. The opening half finished goalless with Ghana enjoying 55 percent possession and feeling positive having come closer to scoring than Ivory Coast. An early second-half run by Atsu offered Gyan a half-chance, but the talismanic figure did not come close to troubling Barry with a disappointing off-target effort. Another Ivorian was yellow carded before the hour with Siaka Tiene joining fellow midfielder Die in the book for pulling back Atsu. As the game reached the three-quarter mark, Ivory Coast made the first change with recent Roma signing Seydou Doumbia coming off the bench to replace the ineffective Gradel. While there were moments of anxiety for both defences, clearcut chances remained elusive and the game predictably drifted into extra-time. Ghana finally made a substitution on 99 minutes with Jordan Ayew, whose penalty goal set up the semifinal romp over Equatorial Guinea, taking the place of Kwesi Appiah. The pattern of half-chances continued in extra-time, but despite the presence of star African strikers like Gyan and Ivorian Wilfried Bony, the scoreboard operator remained unemployed until the shootout.

As we await the new African Champions to be crowned tonight, let’s look briefly at how it all started and the previous winners. The Africa Cup of Nations, officially CAN (French: Coupe d’Afrique des Nations), also referred to as African Cup of Nations, or AFCON, is the main international association football competition in Africa. It is sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and was first held in 1957. Since 1968, it has been held every two years. The title holders at the time of a FIFA Confederations Cup qualify for that competition. In 1957 there were only three participating nations: Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. South Africa was originally scheduled to compete, but were disqualified due to the apartheid policies of the government then in power. Since then, the tournament has grown greatly, making it necessary to hold a qualifying tournament. The number of participants in the final tournament reached 16 in 1998 (16 teams were to compete in 1996 but Nigeria withdrew, reducing the field to 15), and since then, the format has been unchanged, with the sixteen teams being drawn into four groups of four teams each, with the top two teams of each group advancing to a “knock-out” stage. Egypt is the most successful nation in the cup’s history, winning the tournament a record of seven times (including when Egypt was known as the United Arab Republic between 1958 and 1971). Ghana and Cameroon have won four titles each. Nigeria has won three titles. Three different trophies have been awarded during the tournament’s history, with Ghana and Cameroon winning the first two versions to keep after each of them won a tournament three times. The current trophy was first awarded in 2002 and with Egypt winning it indefinitely after winning their unprecedented third consecutive title in 2010. As of 2013, the tournament was switched to being held in odd-numbered years so as not to clash with the FIFA World Cup. Credit = Wikipedia.

La Liga leaders Real Madrid suffered their heaviest defeat in over four years as reigning champions Atletico Madrid overpowered them in a scintillating derby, BBC reports. Injury-hit Real were forced to name a makeshift defence for the short trip to the Vicente Calderon – and it was easily exposed by Atletico’s ruthless attack. Quick-fire goals from Tiago and Saul Niguez put Atletico in command at the break, before second-half strikes from Antoine Griezmann and Mario Mandzukic sealed Real’s worst loss since a 5-0 mauling by arch-rivals Barcelona in November 2010. Atletico’s players jubilantly celebrated with their supporters at the final whistle after extending their unbeaten run against Real to a sixth game. And, perhaps more importantly, the win also reignited their hopes of retaining La Liga. Los Rojiblancos would have fallen 10 points behind their neighbours with a defeat, but instead moved level with second-placed Barcelona. Real still hold a four-point advantage over the pair, although Barca can cut that gap when they travel to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday. Los Merengues coach Carlo Ancelotti looked furious at the final whistle after a limp performance from the European champions, who only registered one shot on target. The Italian welcomed back Cristiano Ronaldo following a two-match suspension, but the Ballon d’Or winner barely figured as Atletico took advantage of an away defence missing injured centre-backs Sergio Ramos and Pepe, along with suspended left-back Marcelo. Atletico dominated from the first whistle and deservedly led when Portugal midfielder Tiago drilled in a low shot which Real keeper Iker Casillas failed to hold. Substitute Saul, an early replacement for the injured Koke, doubled the lead four minutes later with a spectacular overhead kick. Slack defending allowed France attacker Griezmann to poke in from close range after the break, before Croatia striker Mandzukic’s late diving header sealed a memorable win.

Congo DR beat Equatorial Guinea 4-2 on penalties in the Africa Cup of Nations third-place play-off as the match passed without any crowd trouble. The hosts’ semi-final against Ghana on Thursday was halted after missiles were thrown at players and supporters. Only a small crowd turned out at Malabo stadium, the scene of Thursday’s violence, to see the sides draw 0-0 in normal time. Defender Cedric Mongongu struck the winning penalty for DR Congo. Equatorial Guinea were fined £65,000 for the violence following the semi-final, which saw 36 fans injured. DR Congo defender Gabriel Zakuani had called for his country to pull out of the play-off match following the trouble. Between 3,000 to 4,000 fans attended the 15,200-seater stadium. “The game passed off without any sign of a repeat of the problems that marred Thursday’s semi-final at the same venue,” said Cavell. “Those fans who did come were vociferous in their support of an Equatorial Guinea side who seemed calmer and more composed on the pitch and created more chances. “And even in losing the crowd didn’t show the same anger as on Thursday and instead showed massive appreciation for their heroes who have defied the odds to finish fourth.” DR Congo’s Crystal Palace winger Yannick Bolasie had the best chance of the first-half but he sliced his shot wide. Dieumerci Mbokani, the tournament’s joint top goal scorer on three goals, had a golden opportunity to put DR Congo ahead eights minutes into the second-half. But the striker’s tame shot was straight at Felipe Ovono after a jinking run by Cedric had set him up. Equatorial Guinea’s best chance fell to Emilio Nsue Lopez on 58 minutes, but veteran goalkeeper Kidiaba was quickly out of his area to close down the Middlesbrough striker. Kidiaba, 38, whose ‘bouncing bottom’ celebration became one of the talking points of the tournament, performed a backwards standing somersault in his goalmouth before Javier Balboa took and missed the first penalty. Raul Fabiani missed Equatorial Guinea’s second penalty while DR Congo’s players held their nerve in the shootout as they achieved their country’s best finish in the tournament since 1998.