Sports

West Ham announce £23m signing of German striker, Fullkrug

West Ham have announced they have completed the signing of German striker Niclas Fullkrug on a four-year deal.

The 31-year-old underwent a medical over the weekend before transferring to the Premier League in a £23m deal.

‘I’m delighted to be here, and I can’t wait to get out on the pitch with my new team-mates.’ Fullkrug told the club’s website.

‘I think the Premier League is the best league in the world, and for me it is the right time to move over to England and play for a big Club like West Ham.

‘I have been thinking about West Ham for a long time now – I know the Technical Director Tim Steidten very well, because we have history at Werder Bremen together, and I have watched some games and seen how much quality there is in the team.

‘The chance to play under the Head Coach [Lopetegui] is also really exciting.

‘His playing style is important for me, and I am confident that under him I will be able to perform at my best, and score lots of goals.

‘I love being close to supporters, and I’m really looking forward to meeting the West Ham fans.

‘I have a very good feeling at the moment – I’m strong, fit and in shape – and I just want to get out there and start playing for them.’

After joining Dortmund from Hannover last summer, Fullkrug went on to net 12 goals across 29 Bundesliga starts, and scored the winner in their Champions League semi-final first leg victory over PSG.

Sports

Eguavoen denies quitting as interim coach of Super Eagles

JUST IN: Eguavoen steps down as NFF terminates contracts of entire technical crew of Super Eagles

Austin Eguavoen has denied stepping down as the interim coach of the Super Eagles after the two 2025 AFCON qualifiers against the Benin Republic and Rwanda.

Eguavoen was appointed by the NFF to take charge of the two games following the inability of the federation to secure the services of German coach, Bruno Labbadia.

The 59-year-old led Nigeria to a 3-0 win over the Benin Republic in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, last Saturday before being held to a goalless draw in the second game against Rwanda on Tuesday.

After Tuesday’s goalless draw in Kigali, London reports broke out that Eguavoen stepped down as interim coach but the gaffer has denied the reports ahead of next month’s AFCON qualifiers double header against Libya.

“It’s quite unfortunate that people just trigger something that is not correct. And the situation we are in now, we don’t need negative stories,” Eguavoen said on arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja in a media chat.

“I only talked about sitting down with the hierarchy of the federation after these two games and we will see how to go about prosecuting the next games.

“But when I saw that story I was worried. Whatever people are reading out there aren’t correct. I’m still very much in charge. I’m the Technical Director of the NFF, saddled with the responsibility of taking the Super Eagles at this moment,” he said.

News

Murdered Ugandan Olympic athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei to be buried September 14

The funeral for Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who died in Kenya after being set on fire by her ex-boyfriend, will be held on September 14 in her home country.

The 33-year-old, who competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics last month, succumbed to severe burns on Thursday, September 5, four days after being doused with petrol and set alight at her home in western Kenya.

Doctors said she had suffered burns to more than 80 per cent of her body after the attack on Sunday last week.

The attack was carried out by Cheptegei’s Kenyan partner, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, who also suffered serious burns and is being treated in hospital.

“The burial date of Rebecca Cheptegei has been set for September 14, in Kongasis sub-county in Bukwo district (eastern Uganda),” Beatrice Ayikoru, secretary general of the Uganda Olympic Committee and a member of the funeral organising committee, told AFP.

Bukwo is the location of Cheptegei’s family home and lies on the border with Kenya about 380 kilometres (240 miles) northeast of the Ugandan capital Kampala.

Last week Friday, the city of Paris said it would honour Cheptegei, who came 44th in her Olympic marathon debut in August, by naming a sports venue after her.