MTN Threatens Nigerians Of ‘Consequences’ of #BoycottSA; Says 6000 To Be Made Jobless

MTN Nigeria on Monday warned that should there be attacks on its facilities, it might be forced to close shop and 99 per cent of its over 6,000 workforce in the country, who are Nigerians, would be thrown into the labour market.

 It also said that calls for the boycott of its services were unjustified as such an action would affect its support chain, which could cause another 500,000 Nigerians to lose their means of livelihood. The company stated this in Lagos some hours after two groups protested in its Abuja and Benin offices against the killing of foreigners in its home country, South Africa.
According to the Corporate Service Executive, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Wale Goodluck, featured, there are only 12 expatriates working for the company in the country, compared to a workforce of 6,000 Nigerians.
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Bale, Benzema, Modric All Out For Three Weeks

Real Madrid have confirmed that forward Gareth Bale has suffered a leg injury that is likely to keep him out of action for up to three weeks. The Welshman left the field inside the opening four minutes of Los Blancos’ 3-1 win over Malaga on the weekend, but the full extent of the damage was not fully known. It was feared by some that Bale may miss the remainder of the season, but Madrid have allayed fears by revealing that the injury is not too serious. “Following tests carried out on Gareth Bale at the Sanitas La Moraleja Hospital by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with a muscle injury in his left soleus. His progress will be monitored,” a club statement read. Spanish publication, AS, reports that the world’s most expensive player could be back in action for Madrid’s trip to Sevilla in early May, although he will miss the crucial Champions League quarter-final second-leg tie against city rivals, Atletico Madrid, this week. Fellow midfielder, Luka Modric, also limped off during the straightforward victory at the Bernabeu, althoug some report yet been given on the Croatian’s knee injury.

Pinnick: NFF Not Dribbling Keshi

The President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Melvin Pinnick, has called a lie on insinuations that the Federation is deceiving Stephen Keshi with a new contract that would never be signed. Pinnick said: “I am shocked at these insinuations because the NFF Executive Committee gave the go-ahead for a new contract with Keshi at its meeting in Uyo last month, and Keshi and his lawyers have looked at the contract agreement and are satisfied with every word in the final draft. “As a Federation, we have gone ahead to arrange some refresher programmes for Keshi, at nobody’s prodding, and which are meant to enhance Keshi’s knowledge and improve the man’s capacity as a world-class strategist. We would not be doing that if we are not ready to work with him. No one is forcing Keshi on us. We have sat down with him and he has agreed to all terms that we put down and he is ready to work to lift the Super Eagles back to glorious days.” There have been dark innuendoes from some quarters following the postponement of the signing of the fresh contract, but Pinnick, who is on a private visit to London, said on Sunday that the contract would definitely be signed early this week. He said: “There were a few ends to tighten and Keshi himself understands perfectly and is comfortable with the arrangements to have the contract sealed early this week. We are not dribbling him. He won the Africa Cup of Nations with the team and led Nigeria to the Round of 16 at the World Cup in his first term. It is the belief of the NFF that Keshi can still perform at the highest level.” The NFF supremo called on Nigerian ball fans and Nigerians in general to have faith in the NFF administration that he leads, saying positive results will certainly continue to flow even as the team concentrates on building capacity of various workers in the game and engineering a sustainable football culture in the land. He said: “We are training referees, coaches and administrators, and yet we are winning trophies in-between. In six months, we have won the African Women Championship and the African Youth Championship, and qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup and the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Our men and women teams have also qualified for the 11th All-Africa Games. “One thing I continue to harp on is the need for match reading and analysis to help our Coaches, and the NFF has already bought into PROZONE’s all-inclusive match analysis software that will make match preparation easier for all our National Teams.” The former Chairman of the Delta State Football Association further called on football fans to have patience with the administration. He said: “We are doing a lot at the same time to put so many things right for our football, but we need the understanding of our people that everything might not come together in a few weeks or months. “Funding is one big challenge that we continually face. Presently, we are working assiduously to win more partners in order to achieve a level of financial autonomy. But at the same time, we know that we have to continue with the programme of enhancing the capacity of persons critical to the success of our teams and also ensure work continues on our vision of building sustainable football culture. “A third batch of 20 referees, which will bring the overall number to 50, will depart Nigeria for an educational programme in the United Kingdom this month, thanks to sponsorship by the Niger Delta Development Commission and Arik Airline. We are grateful to them for their support.”

British Champion, Ajisafe, Set For Wanyonyi Bout

Bob Ajisafe is determined to prove there are two boxers in Leeds capable of winning world titles. The reigning British light-heavyweight champion had been due to fight Kenyan Daniel Wanyonyi for the Commonwealth strap in-front of 10,000 fans in his home city last Saturday night. However, Wanyonyi was refused a visa after recent terrorist attacks in the African country and Ajisafe was forced to settle for an eight-rounder against Georgian George Kandelaki, on the undercard of Josh Warrington’s clash with Dennis Tubieron. Fellow Leeds fighter Warrington is on course to fight for world honours and has built up a huge following of fans – but  Nottingham-born Ajisafe is determined to push his own claims for recognition in the city he now very much calls home. “I was ready to fight for the Commonwealth title in Leeds, my hometown,” Ajisafe (15-2 6KOs) told sportinglife.com. “I was desperate to win the belt and put on a good show, but everything seemed to go wrong in the week leading up the fight. Wanyonyi was unable to get a visa but obviously setbacks happen and that’s just part of the game. “But it was a big disappointment for me to be denied the chance to win the Commonwealth title in Leeds. There would have been nothing better than that so I hope I can come back soon and have that opportunity again. “I’d like to scoop another title in the next couple of months and then take it from there, but I’d like to fight for an interim world title or even a world title before the end of the year. I believe I’m beyond domestic level so I want to keep pushing on now but at the same time I don’t want to look too far ahead – it’s one fight at a time “However, hopefully one of those title fights will happen on another one of these big nights in Leeds. I feel happy here, I’m comfortable here – it’s my hometown and to display my skills in-front of my own fans means such a lot to me. “I’d like to show that there are two fighters in the city capable of winning world titles. I fought at the town hall last year and there was a great turnout so I think I am starting to get recognition in the city. “But I was boxing on Channel Five, not Sky Sports which would have given me greater exposure. Josh has got that great following from Leeds United fans, but I sold a lot of tickets and being on this bill can certainly help me. “I’ve had a lot of positive feedback but I’d like to get involved more with the local media to build the hype even more. I want the city to get behind me like they have done with Josh and to know that I’m one of their own.” Ajisafe only found out five days before the fight that Wanyonyi had pulled out, leaving preparations for a second crack at the Commonwealth strap – after losing to Tony Bellew back in 2010 – in tatters. Manchester prospect Hosea Burton (12-0 5KOs) had offered to take the fight, but Ajisafe quickly turned the “backward step” down. “I found out last Tuesday night that the Wanyonyi was off and I spent Wednesday morning deliberating on how I should proceed,” he said. “The options were that they offered me a local lad from Manchester [Hosea Burton] was willing to step in at the 11th hour. “But I had been in preparation for a championship opponent with a totally different style. I’m not going to jeopardise my own route and standing at such short notice. I believe I’m the best but I’ve got my own plans and I’m going down my own route so that was never a viable option for me. “I’m not really interested in Burton or any other domestic fighters because I believe I’m beyond that level. It was taking a backward step and giving him a payday where I believe people must earn their shot to fight me as I’m British champion and number one with the Commonwealth. “That fight can perhaps be made down the line at some point – but there there was another option for me. I’ve been involved in back-to-back championship fights so I thought to myself well why not have a tune-up fight which I very rarely have and then hopefully have the Commonwealth title fight in a month or so. “It made more sense to me and to be honest I’m not going to be dictated to. I’m the British champion and I don’t duck anyone, but the next fight has always got to be what is best for me and my career.” Ajisafe admits he saw very little footage of 30-year-old Kandelaki (14-13-1 4KOs) before stepping in the ring, but it mattered little as he stopped him inside two rounds after putting the outclassed Georgian down three times. “I had to have a look at him early on but I set him up nicely for the left hand,” said the ‘Lionheart’. “There was limited footage on him, as there was on Wanyonyi tio be fair but my trainer had seen him so we sort of knew what to expect. “I’m not one to study my opponents but obviously it’s wise to at least have a look to know what style you’re going to be up against. That’s the key thing at this level – styles. You need to be able to adapt in the ring.”

UCL: Barca Ease To Away Win Over PSG, As Porto Stun Bayern

Barcelona have opened up a 3-1 lead in their Champions League quarter-final tie with victory against Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes on Wednesday. The hosts could have opened the scoring inside the first 10 minutes when Maxwell and Blaide Matuidi linked up, with the latter providing a cross for Javier Pastore, but the Argentine could not stretch to turn it in. Barcelona soon started to cause problems down the other end as Luis Suarez played the ball to Lionel Messi on the edge of the box, leaving the striker to curl it towards the goal, only to see his finish kept out by the post. The Spanish side were ahead inside the opening 20 minutes though as Messi pounced on a loose ball before finding Neymar, leaving the Brazilian to fire home from close range. PSG’s hopes were dealt a further blow a few minutes later when captain Thiago Silva was forced off injured, leaving David Luiz, who is also carrying an injury, to take his place. Luis Enrique’s side did make it three moments later though as Suarez won the ball again, sprinting past the struggling Luiz before firing into the top corner, scoring his second in just over 10 minutes. PSG did get a goal back before the end of the match as Gregor van der Wiel got forward to try a strike from the edge of the box, which took a deflection off Jeremy Mathieu to leave Ter Stegen stranded. Elsewhere, Porto have stunned Bayern Munich to claim a 3-1 win in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final. The home side had a chance to open the scoring just three minutes into the tie when Manuel Neuer brought down Jackson Martinez in the penalty area after rushing off his line, leaving Porto with a spot kick. Ricardo Quaresma stepped up to take the penalty, sending the keeper the wrong way to coolly slot into the bottom corner. The winger picked up a second inside the opening 10 minutes after Dante failed to close him down, leaving Quaresma to burst into the box unmarked before rifling past Neuer for a second time. The German champions were back in the came before the interval though as Jerome Boateng charged down the right before crossing for Thiago Alcantara to tap in at the far post.