Every week we gather the news of Nigerian and African athletes at home and around the world: results, records, transfers and the fixtures coming next. This edition covers 16 to 23 October 2026, with the freshest stories first.
Checked 23 October 2026
The week in brief
A busy week for Nigeria. Ten-man Enugu Rangers beat MC Alger 2-0 in the CAF Champions League, the Flamingos bounced back from defeat by Poland to beat Puerto Rico and now need a point against Korea DPR, and Victor Osimhen scored against his old club Lille. Off the pitch, FIBA recognised Mustapha Abdullahi as the new president of the Nigeria Basketball Federation.
In Europe, Achraf Hakimi set up PSG’s fourth goal against Barcelona and drew level with Mohamed Salah on 19 Champions League assists, and Serhou Guirassy scored twice for Dortmund. Ghana named Kim Lars Bjorkegren as interim Black Stars coach.
Beyond football, Temba Bavuma made 179 as South Africa beat Australia by an innings, and Ethiopia’s Lemi Berhanu and Buze Diriba won the Amsterdam Marathon. Coming up: the Ballon d’Or on 26 October and the Dakar Youth Olympic Games from 31 October.
This week · Checked 23 October 2026
The week in numbers
2-0
Rangers v MC Alger
Won with ten men, the same score as their 1976 meeting
179
Temba Bavuma
His highest Test score, in an innings win over Australia
19
Achraf Hakimi
Champions League assists, level with Salah and one behind Eto’o
Rangers in Abeokuta, the Flamingos in Rabat, Osimhen in Lille and a new leader for Nigerian basketball, plus the Olympic Eagles, Future Eagles and the NPFL.
After a 2-1 defeat by Poland and a 2-0 win over Puerto Rico, Nigeria meet unbeaten Korea DPR in Rabat on 23 October. A win or a draw takes them into the round of 16.
· Source: NAN / Voice of Nigeria / Sports Village Square
Kenneth Igboke (penalty) and James Emo scored late in Abeokuta after goalkeeper Lucky Jimoh was sent off. CAF has allowed MC Alger fans into the return leg in Algiers on 23 October and will rule on Rangers’ complaint later.
Victor Osimhen scored the fourth goal in the 61st minute and made a heart sign to the Lille fans instead of celebrating. It gave Galatasaray their first Champions League points.
The Energy Commission director-general won the 15 October election in Abuja, with Ugo Udezue as vice president. FIBA confirmed the 2026 to 2030 board on 19 October; a court case returns on 3 November.
· Source: The Sun / Blueprint / ThisDay
FootballNigeria
Chelle calls 31 home-based players for Olympic Eagles tie with DR Congo
Eric Chelle invited 31 NPFL players for the U-23 AFCON qualifier. Camp opens in Ijebu-Ode on 25 October; Nigeria play in Lubumbashi on 13 November and host the return in Ikenne on 17 November.
· Source: Sports Village Square
FootballNigeria
Future Eagles land in Baku for the first FIFA U-15 World Cup
A 14-player squad coached by Patrick Bassey arrived in Azerbaijan for the eight-a-side U-15 World Cup and Festival, which runs to 31 October. Nigeria open against South Sudan.
· Source: Sports Village Square
FootballNigeria
Super Eagles must beat Tanzania twice in November
Nigeria are second in AFCON 2027 qualifying Group L, three points behind Guinea-Bissau, with only one ticket on offer because Tanzania qualify as co-hosts. Uyo stays the home venue for now.
· Source: Soccernet NG / Blueprint
BasketballNigeria
Six Nigerian-born players on NBA opening-night rosters, a record
Precious Achiuwa, Josh Okogie, Charles Bassey and Adem Bona are among six Nigerian-born players in the NBA in 2026-27. A record 60 players were born in Africa or have an African-born parent.
· Source: Deseret News / Gulf Today
FootballNigeria
El-Kanemi hold Raja Casablanca 2-2 in Ikenne
El-Kanemi Warriors led early and rescued a draw with an 82nd-minute equaliser in the Confederation Cup first leg. Nigerian-born forward Kehinde Oyewusi scored for Raja.
· Source: Afrik-Foot / Flashscore
FootballNigeria
Dele-Bashiru seals Lazio’s 3-0 win at Juventus
Nigeria midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru scored the third goal in the 89th minute in Turin, lifting Lazio level with Inter at the top of Serie A.
· Source: The Star (Reuters)
FootballNigeria
Golden Eaglets out of the WAFU B U-17 Championship
Abiodun John’s late equaliser earned a 1-1 draw with Cote d’Ivoire in Ouagadougou, but it was not enough to keep Nigeria in the tournament, which doubled as U-17 AFCON qualifying.
· Source: ThisDay
Advertisement
Nigerians making waves
Nigerian stars making waves around the world
The Nigerian and Nigerian-heritage athletes who stood out this week, ranked by impact. Names link to their profiles on SitesNG where we have one.
Achraf Hakimi set up Fabián Ruiz for PSG’s fourth goal in a 4-2 win over Barcelona, a reported 19th Champions League assist, one behind Samuel Eto’o’s African record.
Serhou Guirassy scored in the 10th and 53rd minutes as Dortmund won 2-1 at debutants Sabah. He has 21 Champions League goals for the club since 2024; only Kane and Mbappé have more.
· Source: VAVEL / Borussia Dortmund
FootballGhana
U-17 Women’s World Cup: Black Maidens draw with Brazil
Ghana came from behind to draw 3-3 with Brazil after a 3-0 loss to Norway. Zambia lost 3-2 to Venezuela to a late goal, and Kenya went out after a 6-1 defeat by the United States.
· Source: Flashscore / GBC Ghana / ZamFoot
FootballIvory Coast
Diomande volleys against his old club Leipzig
Yan Diomande came off the bench and volleyed an 87th-minute goal in Real Madrid’s 4-1 win over RB Leipzig, and also set up a goal for Kylian Mbappé.
· Source: Al Jazeera / Real Madrid CF
FootballGhana
Black Queens coach Bjorkegren takes interim charge of the Black Stars
Swedish coach Kim Lars Bjorkegren will lead Ghana in two AFCON 2027 qualifiers against Somalia in November, with Ibrahim Tanko and Godwin Attram assisting. A permanent coach should follow.
· Source: Adomonline / GhanaWeb
FootballMorocco
Morocco open their home U-17 Women’s World Cup with a 4-0 win
The hosts beat New Zealand 4-0 in Sale, then lost 4-2 to Germany, leaving them second in Group A before their final game against Argentina.
· Source: Afrik-Foot / Hespress
FootballEgypt
Salah strikes again as Trabzonspor beat Besiktas
Mohamed Salah’s 71st-minute finish sealed a 2-0 home win. It was his eighth league goal of the season, keeping him top of the Turkish Super Lig scoring chart.
· Source: A News / Flashscore
FootballAlgeria
Maza scores and assists as Leverkusen end Freiburg’s unbeaten run
Algeria’s Ibrahim Maza equalised and then set up Patrik Schick’s winner in a 2-1 Bundesliga win. He is up for the Kopa Trophy at the Ballon d’Or on 26 October.
· Source: Citizen Digital / AFP
FootballSouth Africa
Champions Sundowns held in Angola
Holders Mamelodi Sundowns opened their CAF Champions League defence with a 0-0 draw at Wiliete in Lubango. Teboho Mokoena went off injured before half-time.
· Source: TimesLIVE
FootballCameroon
Mbeumo scores but Manchester United are held at Leeds
Bryan Mbeumo turned in Youri Tielemans’ cross for his fourth Premier League goal of the season, but Leeds drew 1-1.
· Source: Al Jazeera / AFP
FootballTanzania
Yanga hit four as Pirates edge African Stars
Young Africans won 4-0 at CFFA in Madagascar and Orlando Pirates beat Namibia’s African Stars 1-0 in Gaborone. Zamalek and Pyramids also won away and host their return legs in Cairo on 24 October.
· Source: CAF / VAVEL
FootballMorocco
Abde scores against his old club, but Barcelona win 5-2 at Betis
Ez Abde scored for Real Betis against Barcelona at La Cartuja, his fourth goal in five games, but the champions kept their perfect LaLiga record.
· Source: The Star (Reuters)
Super Eagles
Nigeria’s AFCON 2027 qualifying group
AFCON 2027 qualifying, Group L after matchday 2 (our table from the results)
Team
P
W
D
L
Goals
Pts
Guinea-Bissau
2
2
0
0
5-0
6
Nigeria
2
1
0
1
2-4
3
Madagascar
2
0
1
1
2-3
1
Tanzania (co-host)
2
0
1
1
1-3
1
No qualifiers were played in October. Matchdays 3 and 4 are in the November window (9 to 17 November), when Nigeria play Tanzania twice; Uyo remains Nigeria’s home venue for now. Tanzania are already qualified as co-hosts, so only one other team goes through. Read more about the Super Eagles and their AFCON history.
Advertisement
Around Africa
African sport beyond football
Test cricket in Gqeberha, marathons from Amsterdam to Beijing, the NBA’s opening night, rugby and the road to Dakar 2026.
Temba Bavuma made a career-best 179 and Marco Jansen took 5 for 33 as South Africa beat Australia by an innings and 31 runs in Gqeberha. The decider is at Newlands from 27 October.
Lemi Berhanu won in 2:03:33 and Buze Diriba in a course record of 2:16:12, leading an Ethiopian women’s sweep. Eleven men broke 2:06.
· Source: Watch Athletics / Karlobag
Multi-sportNigeria
Team Nigeria’s timetable for the Dakar Youth Olympics
The National Sports Commission set a 21-day camp ending on 29 October, when the team flies out of Abuja. The Games, the first Olympic event in Africa, run from 31 October to 13 November.
· Source: Sports247 / Blueprint
Table TennisNigeria
Kuti and Ojo carry Nigeria’s flag in Youth Olympic table tennis
Matthew Kuti and Favour Ojo are among 15 African players in the 64-strong draw in Dakar, with Ojo the top-ranked African girl. The event runs from 31 October to 5 November.
· Source: ThisDay
AthleticsEthiopia
Tamirat Tola runs the fastest marathon ever seen in China
The Olympic champion won Beijing in 2:03:10, almost four minutes inside the course record.
· Source: Global Times
AthleticsKenya
Langat retains Toronto title as Jeruto wins the women’s race
Leonard Langat won in 2:06:51 and Leah Jeruto in 2:21:19, 15 seconds ahead of Ethiopia’s Nigsti Haftu.
· Source: CP24
AthleticsKenya
Matata breaks the Delhi Half Marathon record
Kenya’s Charles Matata won in 58:52, one second under the course record, and Ethiopia’s Wudinesh Alemu took the women’s title in 1:06:35.
· Source: Daily Pioneer
BasketballCameroon
Embiid helps the 76ers spoil the Knicks’ banner night
Joel Embiid had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists as Philadelphia won 106-100 at the champion Knicks on the NBA’s opening night.
· Source: AP
RugbySouth Africa
Solontsi to captain the Springbok Women against Ireland
Sizophila Solontsi leads the side in two Tests at Athlone Stadium, Cape Town, on 24 and 31 October, the first women’s internationals between the nations in South Africa.
· Source: RugbyPass / Briefly News
RugbySouth Africa
Injury worries for the Springboks before their November tour
Eben Etzebeth has a lower-leg injury and Cheslin Kolbe broke his jaw. The tour opens against Italy in Turin on 7 November.
· Source: Briefly News
African stars
African athletes making waves
The African stars from other nations who made the headlines this week.
1Photo: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Achraf Hakimi
Football · Paris Saint-Germain
Country: Morocco
Set up PSG’s fourth goal against Barcelona, a reported 19th Champions League assist.
2Photo: Guinean Football Federation, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Serhou Guirassy
Football · Borussia Dortmund
Country: Guinea
Two goals in a 2-1 win at Sabah: 21 Champions League goals for Dortmund since 2024.
3
TB
Photo coming soon: we only use free-licence or credited photos
Temba Bavuma
Cricket · South Africa (captain)
Country: South Africa
A career-best 179 to set up an innings win over Australia in Gqeberha.
4
BD
Photo coming soon: we only use free-licence or credited photos
Buze Diriba
Athletics · Marathon
Country: Ethiopia
Won the Amsterdam Marathon in a course record of 2:16:12.
Diary
Coming up for Nigerian and African sport
Key dates, checked 23 October 2026
Date
Event
Sport
23 October
Nigeria v Korea DPR, U-17 Women’s World Cup, Rabat (Flamingos)
Football
23 October
MC Alger v Enugu Rangers, CAF Champions League return leg, Algiers
Football
23 to 25 October
Other CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup return legs, including Raja v El-Kanemi
Football
24 October
Nigeria v South Sudan, FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival, Baku (Future Eagles)
Football
24 and 31 October
Springbok Women v Ireland, Cape Town
Rugby
26 October
Ballon d’Or ceremony (Hakimi, Mané, Banda and Chawinga among the African nominees)
Football
27 to 31 October
South Africa v Australia, third Test, Newlands
Cricket
29 October
Team Nigeria leaves Abuja for the Dakar Youth Olympic Games
Multi-sport
31 October to 13 November
Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games
Multi-sport
1 November
New York City Marathon
Athletics
3 November
Federal High Court hearing on the NBBF election suit, Abuja
Basketball
7 November
U-17 Women’s World Cup final, Rabat
Football
9 to 17 November
AFCON 2027 qualifiers (Nigeria v Tanzania twice; Ghana v Somalia twice)
Football
13 and 17 November
U-23 AFCON qualifier: DR Congo v Nigeria, then Nigeria v DR Congo in Ikenne
