Former Brazil superstar Ronaldinho has announced a sensational comeback to professional football 11 years after retiring, signing with Italian Serie C side Ravenna with the goal of scoring “a 300th goal.”

The 46-year-old, who won the 2002 World Cup and the 2005 Ballon d’Or, was unveiled on Thursday on a beach in Ravenna, ending a glittering career that last saw him play an official match for Fluminense in September 2015.

“I’m very happy to be here with friends, we have a team that can do something good,” Ronaldinho told reporters.
“Will you see me play? I don’t know, only the coach knows that. Coming back to Italy is wonderful, I’m here to help my teammates win.
“As you can see, I’m in shape, I feel good. If I could score my 300th goal, that would be even more beautiful.”

The comeback was first announced in June on the sidelines of the World Cup in Miami by Ignazio Cipriani, an Italian-American businessman who has owned Ravenna since 2024.

Cipriani said Ronaldinho’s mission is “romantic” and insisted it was not just for publicity.
“His objective is romantic, to try to score his last goal,” Cipriani said on Thursday.
“His involvement is not a token gesture or a marketing stunt to get people talking about us.”

The former Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and AC Milan playmaker will also become a shareholder in the club. He scored 33 goals in 97 appearances for Brazil during his career.

Cipriani confirmed that Ronaldinho will not feature against Reggiana in Monday’s Serie C season opener.
Ravenna finished third in Group B of last season’s third division and are targeting a return to Serie B for the first time since 2008.

For Ronaldinho, the move marks a return to Italian football more than a decade after his stint with AC Milan between 2008 and 2011.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, have launched investigations into the utilisation of the N12 billion Federal Government intervention fund released to the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, for players’ wages and bonuses.

A top source familiar with the matter disclosed to newsmen on Thursday that some officials linked to the fund had been invited by investigators and had made statements.
“They have been under our radar before now. We invited some officials over to our offices, and they gave their statements. Presently, they are on administrative bail. We have not ended our investigation,” the source said.

The development was contained in a letter dated August 18, 2026, signed by Onoja Joshua, Esq., on behalf of the NFF General Secretary. The letter was addressed to Cromwell & Okeke in response to a Freedom of Information request for financial records and utilisation logs of the fund.

The NFF declined to release the documents, saying the matter was already before the two anti-graft agencies.
“It is my instruction to inform you that the subject matter of the request under the Freedom of Information Act is subject of investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission,” the letter stated.
“Therefore, all documents relating to the request are before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.”
A copy of the NFF’s response was published by _SaharaReporters_ on Thursday.

President Bola Tinubu approved the N12bn payment in January 2024, ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, to clear outstanding debts owed to Nigeria’s national teams.
According to a statement from the President’s Media Centre, the fund covered 15 months of unpaid salaries for senior national team coaches, as well as allowances and promises due to the Super Eagles, Super Falcons, and U-20 teams.

The fund was released amid repeated complaints by players over unpaid bonuses and allowances.

The probe comes at a tense time for Nigerian football. In November 2025, the Super Eagles boycotted training in Rabat, Morocco, ahead of a crucial 2026 World Cup play-off against Gabon, citing outstanding allowances dating back to 2019.

Both the Super Eagles and the Super Falcons have also failed to qualify for major tournaments, with the men missing the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico, and the women missing the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

NFF President Ibrahim Gusau, elected in September 2022 in Benin City, is seeking a second term at the federation’s elective congress scheduled for September 27. His administration has faced growing criticism over transparency and results.

Although the NFF board has denied it, there are claims that the National Sports Commission is considering stopping the elections and installing a normalisation committee to oversee Nigerian football.

The Nigerian Wrestling Federation (NWF) has announced plans to establish a training camp in Iowa State University in the U.S., in preparation for the forthcoming 2026 World Wrestling Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.

This is contained in a statement  by the Federation on Sunday in Abuja confirming that the President of the NWF, Bashir Adeniyi, had given the nod to establish the camp in the U.S. ahead of the World Wrestling Championships scheduled for Oct. 24 to Nov. 1.

The camp will bring together Nigerian wrestlers based in different parts of the U.S., providing opportunity for them to train collectively ahead of the Championship.

The statement stated that Some of Nigeria’s top wrestlers currently studying in the U.S. will have the opportunity to undergo effective training at the camp, while several home-based wrestlers with valid US visas will also join the training programme.

The NWF also added that the camp will also be opened to new talents willing to join the national wrestling team.

“Nigerian-born athletes residing in the U.S. who are eligible and willing to represent Nigeria will have the opportunity to participate in the training programme, providing a platform for identifying and integrating talented wrestlers of Nigerian descent into the national team setup,” the statement added.

Reacting to the development, Nigeria’s Women’s Wrestling coach Purity Akuh, thanked the federation for the initiative.

“I sincerely thank the NWF President,  Adeniyi for this initiative,” he said.

“Opportunities such as the Iowa training camp are important for exposing Nigerian wrestlers to world-class facilities, high-level competition, and some of the best athletes and coaches in the sport,” Purity said