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JUST IN: Liverpool star Diogo Jota, brother dies in car crash days after his wedding

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Liverpool star, Diogo Jota has tragically died at the age of 28 following a road traffic accident in Spain.

The Liverpool forward passed away following an accident in Zamora, Spain on Thursday morning.

Pedro Proenca, the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, later confirmed that Jota’s brother, Andre, 26, also died in the accident.

The news comes just under two weeks after the Portugal international got married to his long-term girlfriend Rute Cardoso, with whom he has two children. They tied the knot on 22 June.

Emergency services in the Castilla and Leon region confirmed the crash with a statement which read: “The 1-1-2 Castilla y León operations room received several calls reporting a vehicle accident at Km. 65 of the A-52, in the municipality of Cernadilla, Zamora.

A car was reported to have been involved in an accident and the vehicle was on fire.

“1-1-2 notified the Zamora Traffic Police, the Zamora Provincial Council Fire Brigade, and the Sacyl Emergency Coordination Center (CCU) of this accident.

“From there, a Medical Emergency Unit (UME) and the Primary Care Medical Staff (MAP) from the Mombuey Health Center were sent, who confirmed the death of two people on the scene.”

Proenca paid tribute to Jota in a statement on social media shortly after the news broke.

He said: “The Portuguese Football Federation and all of Portuguese football are completely devastated by the deaths of Diogo Jota and André Silva, this morning, in Spain.

“Much more than an amazing player, with almost 50 internationalizations for the National A Team, Diogo Jota was an extraordinary person, respected by all teammates and opponents, someone with an infectious joy and a reference in the community itself.

“On my behalf, and on behalf of the Portuguese Football Federation, I express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Diogo and André Silva, as well as Liverpool FC and FC Penafiel, the clubs where, respectively, lined up the players.

Diogo Jota recently got married to Rute Cardoso”

The Portuguese Football Federation has already asked UEFA for a minute’s silence, this Thursday, before the match of our national team with Spain, in the women’s European Championship.

“Lost to two champs. The disappearance of Diogo and Andre Silva represent irreparable losses for Portuguese football and we will do everything to, daily, honor their legacy.

“Portugal prime minister Luis Montenegro also paid tribute on social media.

He wrote: “The news of the death of Diogo Jota, an athlete who greatly honoured the name of Portugal, and his brother is unexpected and tragic.

“I leave the family my deepest condolences. It’s a sad day for football and for national and international sport.”

Jota’s previous club, FC Porto, also paid tribute to the forward and his brother.

They wrote: “FC Porto is in mourning. “It is with shock and deep sorrow that we send our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva, who was also our athlete in the youth ranks.

Rest in peace.”Jota joined Liverpool from Wolves in 2020 and scored 65 goals in 182 appearances for the Reds, including six last season as the Reds won the Premier League title.

He also won the FA Cup and League Cup with Liverpool and the Nations League twice with the Portugal national team.

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Nigerian coach sells Osimhen’s boots

The Super Eagles striker last wore the boots when he scored a hat-trick for Nigeria in the last 2026 World Cup qualifying series against the Benin Republic.

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Assistant coach of Solution FC – an Anambra-based Nigeria National League side – Olisa Ezeasor has sold the pair of boots gifted to him by Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen.

He put the boots up for sale at N1m, barely two months after he was gifted them by Osimhen.

The Super Eagles striker last wore the boots when he scored a hat-trick for Nigeria in the last 2026 World Cup qualifying series against the Benin Republic.

The PUNCH reported that Eseasor sold the boots to a football administrator, Fola Olatunji-David, for an undisclosed fee.

According to him, he needed the money for business.

“Officially putting this boot up for sale. Price: One million naira only. Size: 44/45. Money needed to support my personal business,” Eseasor posted on Saturday.

On Sunday, he returned with an update on the sale and also announced a giveaway of N250,000 from the proceeds.

“Update: Boot bold. Purchased by Fola Olatunji-David.

Price: undisclosed.“In order to give back to my mutual community, who have been active under my posts since my small fame in this space, I’ll be doing a giveaway worth N250,000. N10,000 for 25 persons. Follow my account, on my post notification, and comment done with a screenshot of my post notification on. I’ll select winners from the comments. Entries start now.”

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Mikel Obi ready to reset Nigerian football governance

“If you want us going forward, you must make sure things are done properly. Get the right people, people that have the same direction and thought, so when the players come back home to play, there is a good environment for them to play and perform.”

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Image credit : arise.tv

Former Super Eagles captain John Obi Mikel has announced his interest in taking a leadership role within the Nigeria Football Federation, stressing that he would only step into such a position if it operates without corruption

.Mikel’s comments follow Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, a setback he believes highlights deeper structural problems within Nigerian football.

The 37 year old said the issues extend beyond the pitch and require a complete reset driven by integrity and accountability.

Mikel, who has long been vocal about his commitment to national service, said he has always prioritised Nigeria throughout his football career.

“One thing I have always done since my early days is fought for the country. I don’t know how many players have done that like I have, through the U17, U20, the senior national team.”

“Years of sacrifice. I have never for once said no to my country.”

He added that he remains ready to contribute, but only under the right conditions.

“When I know I can give my opinion and help, I will always be ready. But again, I won’t have corruption tied to me. I am never going to do that if I am going to say yes.

“If you want us going forward, you must make sure things are done properly. Get the right people, people that have the same direction and thought, so when the players come back home to play, there is a good environment for them to play and perform.”

Beyond his playing career, Mikel has gained administrative experience. In July 2023, he was appointed Honorary Adviser on Sports in Plateau State by Governor Caleb Mutfwang, where he has contributed to sports development and strategic planning.

His leadership role, combined with his global football profile, has led many observers to view him as a potential reformist figure who could help reset Nigerian football governance.

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Former Falcons coach Waldrum questions NFF on FIFA’s $960,000 “Where’s that money?

Waldrum said that corruption is never questioned in Nigeria, unlike in the US, where people will seek to know how public funds are spent.

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Randy Waldrum, former head coach of the Super Falcons, has questioned the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over $960,000 it allegedly got from FIFA in preparation for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

In a viral video on X, Waldrum said that a FIFA insider informed him that every nation that participated in the competition was given money to prepare their squad.

The NFF is claimed to have received roughly N1.4 billion in Naira in October 2022 to support the team.

The former coach lamented that despite receiving the huge sum of money, the NFF could not even put the team in camp before the World Cup and could not afford business-class tickets for the team.

Waldrum said that corruption is never questioned in Nigeria, unlike in the US, where people will seek to know how public funds are spent.

The coach also said that the NFF could only allow him to work with just seven staff, despite that it was FIFA that paid for the bonuses of the technical staff, adding that he was at the tournament without an analyst and not even a scout.

“I have a real close contact here in the US that is very connected with some of the board at FIFA.

“This person told me that in October, every country was given $960,000 from FIFA to prepare for the World cup, where is that money,” Waldrum said.

” If Nigeria got that money why didn’t we have a camp in November? We went to Japan, we flew in and played the game and went home.

“We wasted the last five days of that window to train.“So, all these questions I have is where is this money?

And the other thing I found out through my FIFA connections is that if countries don’t have the money to buy business class tickets for everybody, FIFA will fund the money and buy those tickets and just deduct it from the monies you get from FIFA after the World Cup.

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