Former Nigeria head coach Samson Siasia has been banned for life from football after FIFA found him guilty of agreeing to take bribes to manipulate matches.

The 51-year-old has also been fined CHF50,000 (£42,000) for breaching FIFA s code of ethics.

Siasia had a 15-year career with the Super Eagles as a player and was head coach between 2010 and 2011 and in 2016.

The former Nantes forward also had spells in charge of Nigeria s Under-20 and U-23 sides.

FIFA did not specify when Siasia s alleged infractions occurred.

World football s governing body said in a statement on Friday:  The adjudicatory chamber of the independent ethics committee has found Mr Samson Siasia, a former official of the Nigeria Football Federation, guilty of having accepted …

Troyes have become the 10th club purchased by the City Football Group (CFG).

CFG owns Manchester City and is backed by the Abu Dhabi United Group, which was formed to buy the Premier League outfit in 2008.

The group also has stakes in New York City, Melbourne City, Yokohama F Marinos, Montevideo City Torque, Girona, Sichuan Jianiu, Mumbai City and Lommel SK.

Its latest acquisition is Troyes, who finished fourth in Ligue 2 last season.

The French outfit have bounced between the top two tiers in recent seasons, most recently suffering relegation in 2018, having played in the UEFA Cup now the Europa League after the turn of the century.

City Football Group has today announced that Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne (ESTAC), in France’s Ligue…

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of football s all-time greats and cannot be blamed for Juventus early Champions League exit, according to international team-mate Bruno Fernandes.

Juve were eliminated from Europe s elite club competition by Porto at the last-16 stage on Tuesday, crashing out 4-4 on away goals after extra time at the Allianz Stadium.

Sergio Oliveira scored the decisive goal late on from a free-kick that went straight through the Juve wall, with Ronaldo sheepishly turning his back on the effort.

Former Bianconeri boss Fabio Capello singled out Ronaldo on the back of the two-legged defeat, in which the five-time Ballon d Or winner failed to find the back of the net.

Ex-president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli went as far to suggest Juve should never have sp…

Juventus head coach Andrea Pirlo questioned the dubious penalty awarded to Napoli and claimed his side are treated differently to other Serie A clubs.

Lorenzo Insigne scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot after Giorgio Chiellini caught Amir Rrahmani in the face with a flailing arm.

That was one of only two shots on target Napoli managed in Saturday s 1-0 win at Estadio Diego Armando Maradona, compared to six for Juve five of those in the second half.

And Pirlo, who saw Juve lose for the second time in five league matches to drop more points in the Scudetto race, felt his side were hard done by.

They barely had a shot on goal and we lost through a dubious decision, he told Sky Sport Italia. We played a good game but did not get the result…

Last season s beaten finalists Paris Saint-Germain are red-hot favourites to advance to the Champions League quarter-finals when Barcelona visit the Parc des Princes for the second leg of their last-16 clash on Wednesday. 

Mauricio Pochettino s side hold a three-goal advantage after Kylian Mbappe s hat-trick helped them seal a stunning 4-1 win over Barca in the first leg last month.

Liverpool are in a strong position to join them in the last eight, with Jurgen Klopp s side taking on RB Leipzig at Anfield after running out 2-0 winners in the reverse fixture. 

The German club, though, might just fancy their chances of causing an upset against the Premier League champions, who have lost six of their last eight matches across all competitions. 

We used …

Prediction: USA to win and under 3.5 goals

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Saints Kitts and Nevis and the United States of America will lock horns with each other in 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group A this week. The match between Austin Huggins’s side and Gregg Berhalter and B. J. Callaghan’s team will be held at CITYPARK in St. Louis, Missouri and is scheduled to kick off at 2:30am UK time on Thursday.

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Kitts and Nevis are the minnows in the Caribbean Football Union of CONCACAF. They do not have any well-known players and do not have a rich history in the game. Saint Kitts and Nevis have never qualified for the World Cup, but this year, they did book their place in the CONCACAF Gold Cup the first time ever they have done so.

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Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing Jordan Pickford from Premier League rivals Everton in the summer of 2023, according to . The report has claimed that England international goalkeeper Pickford is one of the goalkeepers that Tottenham are looking at potentially replacing France international Hugo Lloris with.

Lloris has been on the books of Tottenham since 2012 and has been superb for the North London club over the years. The 35-year-old France international goalkeeper has helped Spurs challenge for the Premier League title, reach the final of the UEFA Champions League, and end up in the top four of the league table during his time at the club.

The former Lyon star’s contract at Tottenham runs until 2024, but it is unlikely that he will be the first-choice go…

Leeds United closed the gap to second place to just two points in the Championship, following a 3-0 victory over out-of-form Coventry City at Elland Road.

Wilfried Gnonto got the game off to a good start for Daniel Farke s side, expertly turning home a cross just inside the box with a first-time finish to open the scoring.

Last season s losing play-off finalists wrapped up a comfortable victory in the second half with goals from Jayden Bogle his first as a Leeds player and Joel Piroe, who has now scored three in four as a substitute.

The victory sees Leeds climb to fourth, significantly taking the opportunity to cut the gap to the automatic promotion places with both West Brom and Sunderland losing.

Coventry, meanwhile, have lost four and drawn one of the…

Unai Emery wants to make Champions League nights a regular fixture at Villa Park in the coming seasons, as Aston Villa prepare to host Bayern Munich in a repeat of the 1982 European Cup final.

Emery led Villa to a fourth-placed Premier League finish in his first full campaign at the helm last term, and they beat Young Boys 3-0 in their first match in the Champions League last month.

On Wednesday, they welcome Bayern, who they beat 1-0 to win the European Cup at De Kuip 42 years ago, to the West Midlands for their second game back among Europe s elite.

Emery is determined to ensure this European adventure is not a one-off, saying: Hopefully we can play more times in the Champions League, but it s the first match after a long time.

It s a new competition…

According to Fabrizio Romano, Tottenham Hotspur and RB Leipzig are in advanced talks over a proposed loan move for Timo Werner. The German attacker has already accepted the idea of moving to North London, being keen to return to the Premier League after spending two years at Chelsea.

The time the 27-year-old spent at Stamford Bridge isn t generally considered very successful, a stance validated by his return to Leipzig in 2022, though he did make 44 goal contributions (23 goals, 21 assists) in 89 matches across all competitions for the Blues, and helped them win their second-ever Champions League trophy in 2021.

However, things haven t exactly gone right for Werner back in Leipzig. This term, he has started only two Bundesliga games, with occasional injuries and form st…