Participating teams have returned to training after the Yuletide festivities in preparation for the start of the new Nigeria Professional Football League season on Sunday.

After an early dispute between the Interim Management Committee of the NPFL and the club owners, the 2022–23 NPFL season is slated to start under a condensed structure.

Clubs like Lobi Stars of Makurdi are eager to shake off the Yuletide spirit with their first training sessions of the year on Monday afternoon, barring any last-minute action by any of the parties. Everything points to the season eventually beginning next Sunday.

"Men at work. This is how the coach and the team do business in 2023. Training for the NPFL opening day trip to Rivers United FC', Lobi tweeted on Monday afternoon, 

Seun Betiku, team manager of Sunshine Stars, also revealed that the club only provided the players with a break on New Year's Day.

"After giving the lads a day off on New Year's Day, we started training again on Monday afternoon. Our focus is on our first match, a journey to take on Gombe United, Betiku remarked.

Enyimba, an eight-time winner, also tweeted footage of the team's first practice of the year with the hashtag "First session in 2023."

Damar Hamlin, a Buffalo Bills football player, allegedly lost consciousness during Monday night's game against the Bengals when his heart stopped beating.

Hamlin was given CPR by the medical team as soon as they arrived on the scene, according to Fox News, before being revived and brought to a Cincinnati hospital in an ambulance. Hamlin is still in serious condition, according to sources.

Fans, pundits, and other players immediately expressed their concern and well wishes in response to the medical emergency, which also served to draw attention to how deadly America's most popular sport is.

Players and spectators at the stadium were seen crying in photos that appeared on social media early on Tuesday morning as medical personnel attempted to resuscitate Hamlin. Later, the game was rescheduled.

According to sources, during the first quarter of Monday night's game, Hamlin was tackled by Bengals player Tee Higgins and suffered a serious chest injury.

After then, he got up and abruptly fell to the ground, prompting medical personnel to rush onto the field.

During the treatment, which according to ESPN included CPR, players from both NFL teams, visibly shocked by what they had seen, crowded around Hamlin. Many of them knelt to pray, and some of them were visibly in tears.

At 1:48am local time the Bills confirmed Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following the hit and his heartbeat was restored on the field. He is currently sedated and remains in a critical condition.

FIFA said Pele was simply “immortal” after the Brazil legend, named by world football’s governing body as the greatest player of the 20th century, died on Thursday aged 82.

“For everyone who loves the beautiful game, this is the day we never wanted to come. The day we lost Pele,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement.

“Today, we all mourn the loss of the physical presence of our dear Pele, but he achieved immortality a long time ago and therefore he will be with us for eternity.”

Pele is the only footballer to have won three FIFA World Cups.

He was just 17 when he won with Brazil in Sweden in 1958. Pele won the World Cup again in Chile in 1962, despite being forced out of much of the tournament due to injury.

He lifted the Jules Rimet Trophy for the third and final time in Mexico in 1970.

“Pele: immortal — forever with us,” FIFA said on its website.

Infantino said Pele was unique, as he sent his condolences to his family, Brazil and all football fans.

“His skill and imagination were incomparable. Pele did things that no other player would even dream of,” Infantino said.

“Most importantly, ‘The King’ rose the throne with a smile on his face. Football could be brutal in those days, and Pele was often on the receiving end of some rough treatment.

“But, while he knew how to stand up for himself, he was always an exemplary sportsman, with genuine respect for his opponents.”

Infantino added: “Pele had a magnetic presence and, when you were with him, the rest of the world stopped. His life is about more than football. He changed perceptions for the better in Brazil, in South America and across the world.”

FIFA noted that he was the youngest-ever world champion — not to mention the youngest scorer, youngest hat-trick scorer, youngest finalist and youngest player to score in a final in World Cup history.

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who led world football’s governing body from 1998 to 2015, called Pele the greatest player ever.

“The world mourns the greatest footballer in history and a wonderful personality. He celebrated the game like no other,” Blatter said on Twitter.

“Dear Pele, I am immensely sad and honour you and your life’s work. My sincere condolences to your family and friends.”

Meanwhile European football’s governing body UEFA praised Pele for his part in football’s popularity.

“He was the first global superstar of the game. Rest in peace, Pele.”

AFP

As he considers his next move in the heavyweight category, Anthony Joshua has acknowledged that he is "out of the championship title race."

When "AJ" last competed in August, he lost by decision to Oleksandr Usyk for the second time in a row and was unable to win back the WBA, WBO, IBF, and IBO championships.

Tyson Fury then offered Joshua a crack at the WBC title, but the Britons were unable to reach a deal over what would have been the most significant heavyweight match in recent memory. Instead, Fury fought Derek Chisora a third time, defeating his countryman by TKO to maintain his perfect record.

Joshua, 33, has in the meanwhile been connected to a possible rematch with Dillian Whyte, who AJ defeated in a 2015 professional bout but lost to as an amateur.

“I like to see my name constantly mentioned among other fighters,” Joshua told The Sun this week.