Eleven year old high rising Nigerian football star Hadriel Chukwuziterem Opara who has been attracting the attention of football coaches and scouts has been selected as one of the 12 players across Canada that will represent Elite X1 Canada in the prestigious NIKE powered Norwich City Mna Cup UK taking place from October 10-14, 2024.

According to the letter of invitation from the organisers, the tournament will enable the players engage in top level competition with 16 academy teams from renowned clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Sporting Lisbon and Norwich City.

The invitation letter also noted that the players will be exposed to world class facilities at Norwich City FC’s State-of-the – art Lotus training centre featuring advanced training environments like the exclusive Soccer Bot 360 system.

The organisers while stating that the tournament will enable the players showcase their talents on an international stage, assured that all the matches will be filmed, providing a valuable footage that could open doors to future opportunities.

Meanwhile Hadriel a Pepsi Academy product who has not hidden his intention of playing for the National U-15 team noted that he’s humbled by the invitation expressing hope that the programme will help him further improve his football skill.

WITH 41 gold, 27 silver , and 30 bronze medals totalling 98, Delta State has emerged the winner of the 8th edition of the National Youth Games ( NYG), tagged Asaba 2024.

Latest update of proceedings released on Wednesday night showed that Lagos State has outpaced erstwhile second placed Edo State with a total medals haul of 62, comprising 25 gold, 19 silver and 18 bronze medals respectively .

Edo State is placed third with 17 gold, 12 silver and 24 bronze medals respectively.

Ebonyi and Zamfara States could not land any medal to their credit during the games, according to the medals table update so far.

The NYG is expected to come to a close today (Thursday), with the closing ceremony at the Stephen Keshi international Stadium, Asaba, the Delta, Nigeria.

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard will be out “for a while” with an ankle injury he suffered on international duty with Norway, manager Mikel Arteta said on Wednesday.

Odegaard twisted his ankle in Norway’s Nations League match against Austria earlier this month.

His national team doctor had suggested he would be sidelined for a “minimum of three weeks”.

“After everything was scanned, they showed that there was some damage, especially in one of the ligaments in the ankle so we’re going to miss him,” Arteta told reporters ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League opener against Atalanta on Thursday.

“I don’t want to (put a timeframe on it) because I am not a doctor but it is something quite significant so we’re going to lose him for a while — hopefully not months, but let’s see.”

Arsenal, Premier League runners-up last season, visit reigning champions Manchester City on Sunday.

The Gunners beat local rivals Tottenham 1-0 last weekend to sit second in the early Premier League table, two points behind Man City.