Werder confirm Ujah’s loan to Liaoning
German Bundesliga club SV Werder Bremen have reached an agreement with Chinese first division side Liaoning FC to loan out Nigerian striker Anthony Ujah.
The 25-year-old striker will now proceed to China where he is due to undergo a medical in the coming days.
Werder Bremen’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Frank Baumann, ratified the announcement on Tuesday explaining that Ujah pushed for the move despite the club’s reluctance to see him go.
“It was not really our intention to let Tony Ujah go, because he was supposed to play an important role for Werder in the upcoming season.
“However, a few days ago he made known his intentions known to accept the offer from China.
“Eventually we managed to find a mutually satisfactory solution, so we had his request approved,” Baumann said.
Ujah also spoke about the loan move to Liaoning FC, describing the offer from the Chinese club as one he could not refuse.
“The decision to leave Werder was hard because I have gained a lot at the club in the last year. I have fond memories of the city, the club and especially the fans.
“However I got an offer from Liaoning FC which I could not turn down.
“I am happy that I could do my part to help Werder Bremen avoid relegation from the Bundesliga at the end of last season and I wish the club all the best,” he said.
Ujah joined Werder in summer of 2015 from FC Cologne and scored 11 goals in 32 Bundesliga games for the club.
In the DFB Pokal (German Cup), he scored three times in five matches.
Dream Team VI train in Atlanta
Nigeria Olympic team had their first training session in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States of America on Tuesday.
This was after their return from Mexico, where they lost a Rio Olympics warm-up to the home team 1-0.
The players in the US include skipper Azubuike Okechukwu, Usman Mohammed, Saturday Kaego, Ndifreke Effiong, Sincere Seth, Emmanuel Daniel and Taiwo Awoniyi.
Others are Godwin Saviour, Shehu Abdullahi, Abdulrahman Taiwo and Junior Ajayi.
AS Roma striker Sadiq Umar is expected to rejoin the squad after attending the traditional prayers of his late father in Kaduna.
The team are billed to play two other tune-up matches against a local side and Rio-bound Honduras in the US before the final squad of 18 players fly out from Miami to Brazil on July 29.
NFF adopts FIFA TMS Domestic Transfer Matching System
FIFA TMS has announced that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is the first Member Association (MA) in Africa to implement the FIFA TMS Domestic Transfer Matching System (DTMS).
The DTMS online platform, which includes league access, will allow the NFF and the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) to manage its international and domestic transfers via one system.
It is modelled on the International Transfer Matching System (ITMS), which is provided to 211 MAs and 6,500 clubs around the world for the cross-border transfer of players.
The system will provide the NFF and its clubs throughout Nigeria the ability to manage national and international transfers on one platform, generate transfer activity reports and have greater monitoring levels to enhance transparency and governance.
Additional MAs from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) are expected to implement the DTMS later this year.
The NFF’s adhesion to the system was facilitated by the custodians of the NPFL, the League Management Company (LMC).
FIFA TMS developed the DTMS system in response to demand from MAs and clubs for a domestic transfer system based on ITMS.
Wimbledon 2016: Murray battles Tsonga, as Venus joins Serena in semis
Britain’s Andy Murray says he needs to remain focused as he prepares to take on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the men’s quarter-finals at Wimbledon.
Second seed Murray has yet to drop a set at this year’s tournament and the 2013 champion is the highest-seeded player remaining in the men’s draw.
But the 29-year-old described Frenchman Tsonga as “one of the best grass-court players in the world”.
“If he plays well, I’m not on my game, I can lose that match,” said Murray.
Murray, competing in his ninth consecutive Wimbledon quarter-final, has beaten Tsonga in 12 of their 14 encounters – twice at Wimbledon.
The Scot beat the 12th seed in the quarter-finals in 2010 and the semi-finals two years later, both in four sets.
“Both matches were hard,” said the two-time Grand Slam champion.
Meanwhile, five-time champion Venus Williams reached the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time since 2009 with victory over Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova.
Eighth seed Williams – at 36 the oldest Grand Slam semi-finalist for 22 years – beat unseeded Shvedova 7-6 (7-5) 6-3.
An all-Williams final remains possible after top seed Serena beat Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 6-4.
In Thursday’s semis, Serena will play Russia’s Elena Vesnina and Venus will take on Germany’s Angelique Kerber.
