Tottenham captain Son Heung-min said on Saturday that he will leave the club this summer after a decade in north London. The 33-year-old attacker joined the Premier League side from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015 and went on to play more than 450 times for Spurs. In May he lifted the Europa League trophy but he had a poor season overall by his high standards and struggled with a series of leg injuries. “Before we start the press conference I wanted to say I have decided to leave the club this summer,” the South Korean told reporters in Seoul, where Tottenham are on a pre-season tour. “Respectfully the club is helping me with this decision.” Son, who has scored 173 goals for Spurs, did not say where he intends to go next and cut an emotional figure. He has been linked with a move to the MLS in the United States. “It was the most difficult decision I have made in my career. Such amazing memories. It was so hard to make the decision,” Son said, flanked by new Tottenham boss Thomas Frank. “I need a new environment to push myself. I need a little bit of change — 10 years is a long time. I came to north London as a kid, 23 years old, such a young age. “I leave this club as a grown man, a very proud man.” Speaking in Korean, Son said that winning a European trophy — Tottenham’s first European crown in 41 years — played “a big part” in his thinking. “Winning a title in Europe felt like I had achieved everything I possibly could,” he said. “I spent a lot of time reflecting on whether I wanted to experience football in a different environment, and I had those conversations with myself over and over again.” Frank, who joined Spurs from Brentford in June, paid tribute to the South Korean skipper. “For me, personally, I would have loved to have worked with this fantastic person and player,” said the Dane, who took over from the sacked Ange Postecoglou. “He is a true Spurs legend in every aspect, one of the greatest players to play in the Premier League.” Spurs will face Newcastle United on Sunday in Seoul, and Son is guaranteed a rapturous reception in front of his home fans. Spurs have had a fairly quiet summer in the transfer market so far, with attacking midfielder Mohammed Kudus from West Ham their only major acquisition. Morgan Gibbs-White had looked set to follow from Nottingham Forest but a £60 million move broke down. AFP

Rave of the moment in the men’s 100m, Kanyisola Ajayi, women’s 100m rising star Prestina Ochonogor and hammer-throw specialist Sade Olatoye were the standout athletes on day one of the 2025 Athletics Federation of Nigeria National Trials, currently taking place at the Yaba College of Technology in Lagos, PUNCH Sports Extra reports. The trials, which had earlier been scheduled to hold in Abeokuta, Ogun state, prior to the late change in venue, will serve as a qualification event for the World Athletics Championships set to take place in Tokyo, Japan, in September. The opening day of competition at Yabatech saw elite athletes take to the track and field in their respective disciplines, with Ajayi winning heat one in the men’s 10 event in a time of 10.05s, while Israel Okon powered to a new Personal Best time of 10.03s to win heat two. Fakorede Nicholas also clocked a new Personal Best mark of 10.06s to win heat three. Meanwhile, Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games finalist Enoch Adegoke put in a commendable 10.14s to win heat four, Alaba Akintola clocked 10.08s to win heat five, Olaolu Olatunde improved on his lifetime best by running a time of 10.13s to win heat six, Seye Ogunlewe took heat seven in a time of 10.18s, while Temitope Bello and John Caleb both won heats eight and nine, respectively. In the women’s 100m category, Ochonogor continued her preparations for the forthcoming World Championships with victory in a time of 11.48s to win heat one, ahead of Precious Nzeakor and Faith Osamuyi, who ended up in second and third place respectively. The women’s Discus event was evenly matched, but Chioma Onyekwere successfully defended her national title ahead of close friend Obiageri Amaechi, who could only manage a throw of 59.39m. The win saw Onyekwere win her third national title out of the five championships she has participated in. The competition continues on Saturday (today), with more athletes bidding to reach the qualification standard times, which will be sufficient to seal a spot at the World Championships.

A former presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, Nicolas Felix, has dismissed the newly formed opposition coalition under the African Democratic Congress as no threat to President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid. Speaking in Suleja on Thursday during the distribution of thousands of litres of fuel to Nigerians, Felix expressed confidence that Tinubu would win the 2027 presidential election with no less than 15 million votes. On July 1st, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, APC’s 2023 presidential aspirant Rotimi Amaechi, and other opposition figures launched the ADC as a unified opposition platform to challenge President Tinubu in the 2027 election. Reacting, Felix maintained that while there’s nothing wrong with opposition leaders forming a coalition, he believes they will eventually fall apart just as easily as they came together. He said, “In a democracy, you must have opposition. We are not threatened. They are out there campaigning. So far, we have not heard anything they want to do anyway. “So for us as a party, I don’t see any threat here. There is no threat in this coalition. We want them to coalesce. Like I said the other day, they will gather, but they will scatter because they have nothing to offer. Their intention is not pure. Their motive is not pure. “As far as we are concerned and the APC, come 2027, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is going to have nothing less than 15 million votes. We know that is going to happen. So there is no threat from the ADC or whatever coalition. Let them come. When the time comes for campaigns, we are going to roll out the scorecard of Mr President. “Didn’t you watch on TV this morning students on campuses singing, celebrating with joy, who just received the NELFund grant, over N100 billion, with no interest, by the way. I lived in America for 21 years; I had never heard that happen. Over N100 billion given to 600,000 students. So these 600,000 students, they will vote. Their families will vote because they know what it takes to go to school. So we are excited, and we know come 2027, it is going to be a walkover for us.” He stated that his decision to regularly distribute free fuel to Nigerians is his way of supporting the president’s Renewed Hope Agenda. The ex-presidential aspirant stated, “We are giving out free fuel to the community. As you know, this is our Renewed Hope season. We are just doing this to put smiles on the faces of the people. “There is no other motivation, but we just want to give back to the community. We did this in 2023 in Edo State, and we did it here also, and we decided to come back here to make the people happy. As you can see, they are all smiling. We are giving them hope. “This outreach is for everybody, but we know those who need it more. So, I am even more excited seeing the Okada riders because we believe, you know, I would be surprised if I see a G-Waggon here coming to take free fuel. This is more for the Okada and Keke riders. So anybody that comes, we will be able to, you know, just put smiles on their face. We are just giving back. That is what it is all about.” Also speaking, APC Deputy National Women Leader Zainab Ibrahim stated that the party is pushing for sthe wift passage of the Special Seats Bill currently before the National Assembly, calling it a potential game changer for women in Nigeria. She noted that, for the first time, the Ministry of Women Affairs has received over ₦100 billion in budgetary allocation to pursue its key goals and assured that Nigerian women will stand firmly behind the president in 2027.

No fewer than 10 thousand members of the Peoples Democratic Party in the Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency of Ondo State, on Thursday, defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress. Earlier, the member of the House of Representatives from the Federal Constituency, Mr Festus Akingbaso, announced his defection to the ruling party. Receiving the defectors in Idanre town on Thursday, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who was represented by his deputy, Olayide Adelami, lauded the federal lawmaker for leading his supporters and party faithful from PDP to APC. Aiyedatiwa said, “I want to congratulate our people in Idanre and Ifedore LGAs for having a worthy son, who has been representing you well at the National Assembly. Festus Akingbaso has witnessed all that the APC is doing in Ondo State and at the federal level. We are happy to receive him and members of the PDP.” According to the governor, the economic transformations of the President Tinubu-led government are already producing positive results in many areas of the economy. While handing the APC flag to Akingbaso, chairman of the APC in the state, Ade Adetimehin expressed optimism that the Idanre and Ifedore Federal Constituency would henceforth record 100 per cent votes for the APC with the defection of the federal lawmaker. “The Federal constituency used to be divided for APC and PDP, but with the defection of Hon. Akingbaso to our party, Idanre and Ifedore will henceforth record 100 per cent votes for the APC.” Adetimehin called on the people to support President Bola Tinubu in his Renewed Hope Agenda, aimed at bringing succour to the common man, adding that Ondo State was now fully for the APC. Akingbaso, in his remarks at the event, commended Governor Aiyedatiwa for providing purposeful leadership and prioritising the welfare of the people of the state, saying he took the decision to join the APC to support the governor in his quest to bring governance closer to the grassroots. “As a member of the National Assembly for two years, I have witnessed the giant strides of President Tinubu at the top level, and it is important that I bring my supporters to work with the governor in Ondo for the overall success of the party,” Akingbaso stated.