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Ajayi Wins The 59th Firstbank Lagos Open Golf Championship

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L-R:  Olusegun Alebiosu, Chief Risk Officer of First Bank of Nigeria Limited and representative of the Bank’s CEO; Gabriel Ejembi, First runner up; Ajayi Tajudeen, Tournament winner, and Tochukwu Emuwa, Second runner up, at the prize presentation ceremony of the 59th edition of the FirstBank sponsored Lagos Open Golf tournament, recently held at the Ikoyi Club, Lagos.

Ikoyi Club based category-1 amateur golfer, Ajayi Tajudeen has emerge winner of the 59th edition of the FirstBank sponsored Lagos Open Golf Championship. Ajayi closed with 1-under par 70 for a total of 7-over the course par to win the Championship by two-shots after 56-holes.

Happy at the recently held golf tourney, Ajayi adduced his success to hard work, saying “I practiced a lot”.

“There is no short cut to success which is why I take the sport very seriously. I was well prepared for this tournament because I practiced a lot”, he said in a chat with newsmen shortly after being declared the Champion.

L-R: Mr. Tajudeen Ajayi, winner of the 59th FirstBank sponsored Lagos open golf championship receiving the award from Mr. Olusegun Alebiosu, Chief Risk Officer, FirstBank and representative of the Bank’s CEO at the prize presentation and award night of the 59th edition of the annual FirstBank sponsored golf tourney, recently held at the Ikoyi Club, Lagos.
 

With his victory, Ajayi replaces Peter Eben-Spiff on the FirstBank Open winners list.

Playing 4-shots adrift going to the final round, Ajayi recorded bogey free 18-holes to steal the show ahead of overnight leader, Gabriel Ejembi who carded a closing 76 for 9-over the course par, over 56-holes to beat clubmate Ejembi to the second position.  

Coming in the third position was Tochukwu Emuwa at 14-over. Emuwa opened his game with 76, a second-round score of 75 and a closing 74 to duck in the third position.

Olusegun Emmanuel came fourth while Junior Champion; Osiregbeme Egbakhumeh completed the top five in the R&A and USGA sanctioned championship.

Satisfied with the outcome of the competition, Olusegun Alebiosu, the Chief Risk Officer of FirstBank, who represented the Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, reiterated the banks continuous support for the championship.

The competition was organised in full compliance with the Federal Government Covid-19 protocols.

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Unity Cup 2025: Africa Meets the Caribbean in London on GOtv

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The 2025 edition of the Unity Cup kicks off today in London. The competition returns after 21 years, ready to deliver a week of football, culture, and community. Running from May 27 to 31 at the Gtech Community Stadium in Brentford, the tournament features four national teams: Nigeria, Ghana, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago, each competing in a straight knockout format. It’s football with flair, backed by a deeper mission: celebrating the enduring ties between Africa and the Caribbean.Today’s opener sees Trinidad & Tobago face Jamaica at 7:45 pm, while tomorrow brings a blockbuster clash between long-time West African rivals Nigeria and Ghana at 7 pm. Winners advance to the final on May 31, with a third-place playoff earlier that day.But Unity Cup 2025 is more than a sporting contest. It doubles as a diaspora culture festival, with music, food, and performances that reflect the richness of African and Caribbean heritage, especially among UK-based communities.Launched in 2002 to promote unity through sport, the tournament returns at a time when questions of identity, solidarity, and representation feel more urgent than ever. Its comeback is both timely and symbolic.For participating teams, the stakes go beyond pride. Nigeria, for example, sees the Unity Cup as a valuable warm-up ahead of their FIFA World Cup qualifiers, giving the coaching crew a chance to test combinations and sharpen the team’s rhythm.With top-level football, carnival-like atmosphere, and GOtv bringing it straight to your screen, Unity Cup 2025 is shaping up to be an unforgettable celebration of connection, on and off the pitch. Stay tuned to GOtv for match details and coverage updates.

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Redemption, UCL at Stake: Europa League Final on GOtv

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on Wednesday night in the Europa League final, with both clubs seeking to rescue poor domestic campaigns and qualify for next season’s Champions League. The game is live at 8 PM.

For Manchester United, it has been a season of contrasts. While currently 16th in the league was nothing short of disastrous, their European form has told a different story. Under new manager Ruben Amorim, United have stormed through the knockout rounds, seeing off Real Sociedad, Lyon, and Athletic Bilbao with a combined score of 19-9. The semi-final demolition of Bilbao, 7–1 over two legs, was particularly emphatic as seen on GOtv.

Tottenham’s domestic struggles were not far off. With a club record 21 league defeats, Ange Postecoglou’s side are 17th behind United on the table. Like United, their European form has offered a welcome distraction. Spurs edged out AZ Alkmaar and Eintracht Frankfurt before comfortably dispatching FK Bodø/Glimt in the last four.

For Spurs, this final represents more than a shot at silverware; it is a chance to end a 17-year wait for a major trophy. For United, it is about revival and a return to Europe’s top competition. The Europa League final may yet deliver a fitting finale in a season of chaos. Catch the game live at 8 pm on SS Football (GOtv channel 61).

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NFF appoints Malian Chelle as Eagles coach

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The Nigeria Football Federation appointed Mali coach Éric Chelle as the new head coach of Nigeria’s senior men’s national football team, becoming the third man to be in charge of the Super Eagles since the resignation of Jose Peseiro in March 2024.Chelle’s appointment was confirmed by the NFF on Tuesday, hours after president Ibrahim Gusau in another video had said the appointment would be soon.“The Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation has endorsed the recommendation of its Technical and Development Sub-Committee for the appointment of Mr. Éric Sékou Chelle as Head Coach of Nigeria’s senior men national football team, Super Eagles,” NFF said in a statement.“At its meeting held in Abuja on Thursday, January 2, 2025, the NFF Technical and Development Sub-Committee had recommended the appointment of the former coach of the senior men national team of Mali as the new head coach of the Super Eagles. This recommendation was on Tuesday, 7th January endorsed by the NFF Executive Committee.”

According to the NFF president, Gusau, Chelle’s work will begin immediately with the home-based Super Eagles at the 2024 African Nations Championship in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda where Nigeria will be competing with 17 other countries from February 1-28.

“We are all concerned and we want whoever will take charge of the team must start immediately and that is why we also have the policy that it is the same coach that will manage the CHAN Eagles. So, you cannot have the opportunity to manage a team comprising of home-based players and at the end of the tournament, you come back to tell us that you don’t see one or two that can be injected into the senior national team.”The Super Eagles B are currently in camp at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne under the tutelage of Remo Stars Coach Daniel Ogunmodede and his Rangers International Counterpart Fidelis Ilechukwu as well as goalkeeper trainer Olatunji Baruwa, who led the team through the qualifiers against Ghana.

Chelle, who won five caps for the Aiglons of Mali and coached clubs such as GS Consolat, FC Martigues, Boulogne and MC Oran, has been head Coach of the Aiglons since 2022.At the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations finals, Chelle’s Mali came very close to a place in the semi-finals, losing to hosts and eventual winners Ivory 2-1 after extra time, after leading by a lone goal until the final minute of regulation time.Another work cut out for him would be guiding the Super Eagles to earn a ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals, with the team currently languishing in fifth place in their qualifying group ahead of the next round of matches taking place in March.

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