Izuchukwu Okosi
Super Eagles striker Odion Ighalo was in action for 90 minutes on Saturday evening as his Saudi Arabian club Al-Shabab were held to a 1-1 draw by Abha on Matchday 16 of the Saudi Pro League.
Ighalo was expected to be with his international teammates in Cameroon ahead of Nigeria’s opening game of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations against Egypt on Tuesday but with little under 72 hours before the match, it is increasingly doubtful that he will be able to team up with his international teammates.
The Saudi club insists that the invitation letter from the Nigeria Football Federation came later than the expected time and therefore obliged to stop him from representing Nigeria citing FIFA’s rule which states that associations must notify clubs of invited players at least fifteen days before the start of a tournament.
Hassan Al Qayd opened the scoring for Abha after eight minutes on the clock but Al-Shabab equalised through an own goal from Abdulrahman Al Barakah just before the hour mark.
Unless Ighalo strikes a resolution with his employers and jets off to Cameroon, coach Austin Eguavoen will make do with 27 rather than the 28 players approved players at the Nations Cup.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
Follow Us