Eyong move to Turkey is off

Former Ajax Cape Town midfield trojan Enoh Eyong faces an uncertain future after his proposed transfer to Antalyaspor in Turkey fell through.

It means he remains stuck, for the meantime, at Ajax Amsterdam in the Netherlands where he has been cast out of the first team squad and is training with the reserves.

“Nothing is confirmed, also nothing with any other clubs,” said Eyong, even after the Turkish club announced he was signing.

“There was a contract offer but nothing concrete. It is logical that I want to get away to play but we’ll now just have to wait and see what happens.”

Eyong has not played for the first team this season since returning from a loan spell at Fulham in the English premier league last year.

He moved from Cape Town to the Dutch club in 2008 and scored three goals in 98 league outings in the top flight in the Netherlands.

But the Cameroon international, who is likely to be included in his country’s squad for the World Cup in Brazil in June, is now considered surplus to requirements by the Dutch champions.

Sserunkuma crowned Footballer of the Year

Dan Sserunkuma is Uganda’s 2013 Footballer of the Year after being voted by the Uganda Sports Press Association (Uspa).

Klinsmann talks up January camp

United States manager Juergen Klinsmann says he expects the January camp to help his side adapt to life in Brazil - six months to kickoff.

Bosso targets Super Four tournament

Bayelsa United coach, Ladan Bosso has described as not a-must-win the annual Super Four tournament due to kick off on January 24 in Abuja.

The football showpiece is meant for the nation’s flag bearers on the continent namely Kano Pillars, Enyimba, Bayelsa United and Warri Wolves.

Mbachu better at 30

Super Falcons coach, Edwin Okon has said he is yet to discover a replacement for veteran pacy right winger, Stella Mbachu.

Mbachu is among the 30 players named for the African Women's Championship (AWC) qualifying match against the Leone Queens of Sierra Leone on February 14 at the Abuja National Stadium.

Okon said the Rivers Angels forward has been consistent despite her age because the younger ones have failed to outshine her in the position.

“I don't have a replacement for Stella Mbachu both at club and national level, I’ve always challenged the younger ones to retire her from the national team with their performances but Mbachu keeps getting better and stronger by the day.

“Though my wish is to get a quick replacement as she can’t play football forever, I’ve few players pencilled down as possible replacement but they’re somehow slow in coming through.

“I’ve the Rivers Angels duo of Mercy Amanze and Aminat Yakubu as well as Sunshine Queens’ Yetunde Aluko, the trio have speed but the ball sense is yet to reach the desired level.

“We believe with time we’ll break the monopoly Mbachu is enjoying at the moment once we get quality players who will rival her in the position.

“We don’t have similar headache in other positions from goalkeeping to defence to midfield. We’ve several players who can quickly fit into any of the positions,” Okon said to supersport.com.

The six-time African champions are expected to resume camp on January 13 to begin preparations for the AWC first leg fixture against Sierra Leone in Abuja on February 14.

The second fixture will hold in a fortnight in Freetown, Sierra Leone as the aggregate winners will inch closer to qualifying for the 2014 AWC in Namibia which doubles as qualifiers for the 2015 Fifa Women’s World Cup in Canada. The finalists at the football showpiece will qualify to represent Africa at the global football fiesta

West Ham sign Johnson on loan

West Ham United have signed defender Roger Johnson on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers for the rest of the season, the Premier League club said on their website on Monday.

Late double from Ronaldo seals Real win

A late double from Cristiano Ronaldo put some gloss on a stuttering performance from Real Madrid as they beat Celta Vigo 3-0 to cut the gap at the top of La Liga to five points.

The pressure was on Real with leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid having won their first matches of the year.

However, with Ronaldo unusually quiet and record signing Gareth Bale only fit enough for the bench Real were frustrated by a Celta side who had several chances to score before Karim Benzema broke the deadlock midway through the second half.

Ronaldo poked in Real's second after 82 minutes and then thumped in his second of the night from substitute Bale's cross for his 400th career goal.

"It was not a good performance and we need to learn how to be tighter at the back," Real coach Carlo Ancelotti told a news conference. "We lacked balance as we had a lot of players going forward and were open to the counter-attack."

"Celta defended deeply and it wasn't easy but we should have been more balanced when we pressed."

Victory kept Real in pursuit of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid who are on 49 points after beating Elche and Malaga respectively.

Real survived an early scare when keeper Diego Lopez was forced into an excellent save from Charles after a long ball from Augusto Fernandez had sent him clear of a napping defence.