Sports

Tobi Amusan: Nigeria’s Biggest Sports Export

Published

4 years ago

July 31, 2022

Eric

History was made during the week, when Nigerian athlete, Tobi Amusan, stormed to victory at the 100 metres hurdles final at the World Championships held in Eugene, United States, becoming the first athlete from Nigeria to win gold at such an event.

Amusan, 25, whose 12.06-second performance was initially announced as a world record, but was later ruled ineligible as the wind speed exceeded the legal limit. However, Amusan had broken the world record earlier in the day by clocking 12.12 seconds in the semi-final at Hayward Field.

Recovering from a slow start in the final, she put on a pristine performance over the barriers, beating the silver medalist, Britany Anderson of Jamaica with 0.17 seconds.

Amusan was reported to have “got off to a scorching start and was smoothly into her stride after the first hurdle, building a clear lead and then pulling away ahead of Anderson and the fast-closing Camacho-Quinn for the gold.”

According to the golden girl, who was treated to Nigeria’s trending hit song, Buga, on victory, “The goal was to come out and to win this gold.

“I believe in my abilities, but I was not expecting a world record at these championships. You know, the goal is always just to execute well and get the win. So the world record is a bonus.”

Tobi Amusan therefore become the first Nigerian ever to win gold at the World Athletics Championships after the classic performance, doing it in style and breaking two two records on the night as previously set by America’s Kendra Harrison’s at 12.20s.

Among the many firsts recorded by Amusan included becoming the first Nigerian athlete to ever set a World Record in any event. It will also be the first time the Nigerian anthem would be played over the public address system during medal presentation as the winner of an event.

In addition to the euphoria that heralded her feat, Amusan walked away with a whopping $100,000 prize money She is presently participating in the Commonwealth Games, which kicked off on Thursday, July 28 as the defending champion in her event.

Amusan’s victory is a clear lesson for all and sundry that there is no space for giving up on one’s goals and aspirations. It would be recalled that she had a disappointing outing in Tokyo in 2021 where she finished fourth in the final against expectations that she was going to pick one of the medals.

A Diamond League trophy winner, Amusan is also a Commonwealth Games champion and multiple African Champion. She is said to now has an eye on the Olympic Games medal to add to her impressive collection.

Born Oluwatobiloba Ayomide Amusan on April 23, 1997 in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, to school-teacher parents, Mr and Mrs. Amusan. Tobi, as she is fondly called, is the last of three siblings, and had her Secondary School Education at Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School, Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.

Amusan had shown signs of accomplishment as an athlete from a very tender age. She began her climb to glory when she won a silver medal at the 2013 African Youth Championships in Warri. She followed it up with a gold, which she claimed in the 100 metres hurdles at the 2015 African Junior Athletics Championships in Addis Ababa. At the age of 18 in 2015, while making her All-Africa Games debut, she won the gold medal in the 100 metres hurdles.

She was the 2018 Commonwealth Champion in the 100m hurdles. She’s also the reigning African Champion in the event, winning back to back gold medals at the 2018 and 2022 African Championships in Athletics and is also a two-time African Games champion in the event. She won the Diamond League Trophy in Zurich in 2021 in the 100m hurdles becoming the first Nigerian to do so, also breaking the then African Record held by Glory Alozie.

Today, Amusan is the biggest news in Nigeria as well as the country biggest sports export, having achieved feat no Nigerian athlete has ever achieved.

She is just 25, and it’s believed that her focus and steadfastness will propel her to breaking and setting more records for Nigeria. Her feat, without mincing, provided something all Nigerians could agree on for once, and created a happy deviation from the gory insecurity ravaging the nation presently.

We, at the Boss, identify with Tobi’s great feat, and wish her many more years of conquering the world.

Congratulations!

Sports

FIFA Lists Six Females Among 52 Referees for 2026 World Cup

Published

2 weeks ago

April 10, 2026

Eric

FIFA on Thursday unveiled its list of match officials for the June 11-July 19 World Cup, including 52 referees, six of whom are women.

Football’s governing body will also take 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials, who hail from all six confederations and 50 member associations.

“The selected match officials are the very best in the world,” said Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chief refereeing officer.

“They were part of a wider pool of officials that was identified and monitored over the past three years. They have attended seminars and officiated at FIFA tournaments.

“In addition, their performances in domestic and international matches were regularly assessed.”

The World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be the biggest in history, with a 48-team line-up and 104 matches to be played.

There are 41 more match officials than at Qatar four years ago, where 32 teams played 64 matches.

“The fact that six women match officials have been selected continues a trend that was started four years ago in Qatar as we aim to further develop women’s refereeing,” Collina said, with six women having already refereed in 2022.

AFP

Sports

AFCON 2025: CAS Overturns CAF Verdict

Published

4 weeks ago

March 25, 2026

Eric

African football has been plunged into fresh uncertainty after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) provisionally suspended a controversial ruling that stripped Senegal of their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and awarded it to Morocco.

In an interim decision issued on Monday, CAS accepted Senegal’s appeal against the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Appeals Board and ordered a “freeze” on the implementation of its verdict.

The move effectively places the 2025 AFCON title in legal limbo pending a full hearing.

The dispute stems from a chaotic final played in January 2026, where the Teranga Lions of Senegal defeated the hosts, the Atlas Lions of Morocco, 1–0 after extra time. The match took a dramatic turn late on when a contentious penalty was awarded to Morocco.

Although the spot kick was missed, Senegal’s players briefly walked off the pitch in protest, prompting confusion before play eventually resumed, and the match was concluded. Weeks later, Morocco’s federation challenged the outcome, citing provisions within AFCON regulations relating to match forfeiture.

On March 17, CAF’s Appeals Board ruled in Morocco’s favour, declaring that Senegal’s walk-off constituted a breach severe enough to forfeit the match. The result was overturned to a 3–0 victory for Morocco, with Senegal stripped of the title.

Senegal swiftly condemned the decision as unjust and escalated the matter to CAS, arguing that the sanction was disproportionate and undermined the integrity of the on-field result.

CAS has now sided, at least temporarily, with Senegal’s request for urgent intervention.

By granting provisional measures, the tribunal signalled that enforcing CAF’s ruling before a full hearing could cause irreparable harm, particularly in a case involving the revocation of a major continental title.

The immediate consequence is that AFCON 2025 currently has no officially recognised champion. The trophy remains unassigned while legal proceedings continue.

Sports

AFCON 2025: George Weah Urges CAS to Overrule CAF’s Verdict

Published

1 month ago

March 21, 2026

Eric

African football legend George Weah has criticised the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for stripping Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and awarding it to Morocco.

CAF’s Appeal Board overturned Senegal’s 1–0 victory in the Rabat final after ruling that the team’s walk-off during a late penalty incident constituted a forfeit. The result was subsequently recorded as a 3–0 win in favour of Morocco, crowning the hosts as champions.

Reacting to the decision, Weah, a former Ballon d’Or winner and three-time African Player of the Year, argued that match outcomes should be determined on the pitch, not in post-match rulings.

“In football, the referee on the pitch is the final authority. Once a match is completed, the result obtained on the field must stand,” he said.

Weah warned that overturning completed matches sets a dangerous precedent for the sport.

“There is no sporting justification to nullify a match completed under the referee’s authority.

Otherwise, we risk a slippery slope where committee decisions override on-field calls,” he added.

The former AC Milan forward further stated that the ruling undermines the integrity and credibility of African football, raising concerns over fairness and consistency.