Izuchukwu Okosi
Nigerian players will be on parade when the round of 16 matches in the UEFA Europa League and Conference League begin in March, reports Prime Business Africa.
The draws for the round of 16 stage in UEFA’s both competitions were held on Friday afternoon at the headquarters of UEFA in Nyon, Switzerland with exciting matches in prospect.
The first leg of the last-16 ties will be played on Thursday, 7 March, with the return legs scheduled on 14 March.
In the Europa League, Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman is expected to play an influential role in Atalanta’s fixtures against Sporting Lisbon.
After a not-too lofty individual performance at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, Samuel Chukwueze will be back in action for AC Milan as the Rossoneri welcome Slavia Prague with Peter Olayibla in their fold to the San Siro.
The duo of Cyreil Dessers and Leon Balogun may be out of favours in the Super Eagles but they will continue to prove that they deserve to be back on the national team as Rangers have a date with Portuguese side, Benfica.
However Victor Boniface will not be be back to fitness following his injury that stopped him from playing at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.
Boniface is expected back to action in April and is clearly out of action in these fixtures.
In the Conference League, Super Eagles on-field captain William Troost-Ekong is likely to be on duty for Greek side, PAOK as they face Dinamo Zagreb while former Arsenal striker Chuba Akpom could be preferred in attack when Ajax play English Premier League side, Aston Villa.
UEFA Europa League full draw:
Sparta Prague v Liverpool
Marseille v Villarreal
Roma v Brighton
Benfica v Rangers
Freiburg v West Ham
Sporting Lisbon v Atalanta
AC Milan v Slavia Prague
Qarabag v Bayer Leverkusen
Conference League full draw
Servette v Viktoria Plzen
Ajax v Aston Villa
Molde v Club Bruges
Union Saint-Gilloise v Fenerbahce
Dinamo Zagreb v PAOK
Sturm Graz v Lille
Maccabi Haifa v Fiorentina
Olympiakos v Maccabi Tel Aviv
The first leg of the last-16 ties will be played on Thursday, 7 March, with the return legs on 14 March.
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.
