Arsenal have cancelled their pre-season trip to Nigeria where they were scheduled to play a friendly with the West African country's national team.

A Spanish public prosecutor has accused Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o of conspiring to evade 3.5 million euros in taxes owed on income from his image rights when he was playing for Barcelona between 2006-2009.

A family friend has told BBC Sport that the kidnappers have issued a ransom demand for nearly US$200,000.

Nigeria, propelled in part by Sunday’s win over Namibia, moved up three places in the latest Fifa Rankings to 60th place in the world, and 11th on the continent.

Last Sunday Zambia won the Nations Cup for the first time in their history, Enroute to winning the trophy they defeated Senegal, Ghana and Ivory Coast all favorite to win the competition.

Three bomb blasts targeting bars where fans watched the Real Madrid-Barcelona football match rocked the Nigerian city of Jos, officials said Sunday, with one death and 10 injuries reported.

Super Eagles’ first choice goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama and Victor Moses have been called up for Nigeria’s international friendly matches against Botswana and Zambia.

Super Falcons coach, Ucharia Uche has settled on the 20 players she believes will be able to deliver the goods this weekend when they square up against Cameroon for the second leg Olympic Games qualifier in Yaounde. The game comes up on Saturday.

Two members of the England coaching staff have been banned from their crucial Rugby World Cup clash with Scotland on Saturday for illegally switching the match ball during a win against Romania.

Monthly Africa football rankings released Wednesday by world governing body FIFA (Africa ranking, world ranking):

Arsene Wenger has apologised to the Arsenal fans for their humiliating defeat at Old Trafford on Sunday.

It was a result that prompted extreme criticism from fans and pundits alike, but Wenger has insisted he will not walk away from what is clearly a massive job to rebuild the confidence of a club who are still to find replacements for Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, and have collected just a single point from their three Premier League games so far.

The Arsenal boss has pledged to try and find some new players ahead of the transfer window closing on Wednesday night. However, for now, the best he can do is say sorry.

''The fans do not want to see their team like that,'' Wenger told Arsenal World. ''We can only apologise and come back in our strength and desire in the next game.

''Big scores are humiliating and difficult to swallow but I don't think they have a special meaning. They are always under special circumstances.''

For Wenger, those special circumstances were a lengthy injury list, which robbed him of the services of Jack Wilshere, Thomas Vermaelen and Bacary Sagna amongst others, plus the suspensions of Alex Song, Gervinho and Alex Frimpong.

The visit of Swansea immediately after the international break offers the perfect opportunity for a morale-boosting victory, although for now, skipper Robin van Persie accepts his team-mates have to face up to some pretty harsh facts.

''It is an honest result if you look at the game,'' said the Gunners captain. ''It sounds crazy maybe but Manchester United were much better than us and they punished us hard.

''We were simply not good enough. We have to deal with that. I don't think we can hide behind injuries or suspensions. It is no excuse. They had injuries too, this is football.''

Ferguson criticises FA treatment of Manchester United

Sir Alex Ferguson has accused the Football Association of treating Manchester United unfairly.

The United manager, hit with a five-match touchline ban last season, made the claims while talking about having up to eight players on England duty.

Ferguson, 69, said: "The FA may realise who has produced more players for their country than any club in the world.

"Maybe they will realise how important we are to England instead of treating us like s***."

In March, Ferguson was given a five-match touchline ban and £30,000 fine by the FA for criticising referee Martin Atkinson. He initially received a three-game ban for the remarks and saw a two-game suspended ban he had previously earned for saying referee Alan Wiley was not "fit enough" to keep up with play activated.

Those bans led to Manchester United chief executive David Gill claiming in June the FA had singled out the club for "harsh" punishments.

"There were some poor-ish decisions that wouldn't have necessarily hit others - the actual punishments were harsh," said FA board member Gill.

"That's not to say I'm condoning Wayne's comments, because I don't think they were correct, or what Sir Alex said, because it wasn't helpful.

"We're possibly being caught up in being one of the biggest clubs and the [FA's] Respect agenda being there.

"What better way to demonstrate the authorities are being tough than by hitting one of the biggest clubs the hardest?"

Ferguson's comments came as he spoke about the number of his players who could be called up by England this weekend.

Manager Fabio Capello is due to name his squad for next month's Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Wales on Sunday evening, and United could have as many as eight representatives.

Ferguson is delighted with that but took the opportunity to criticise the FA over the punishments handed out to the club last season.

"It's not a problem, it's fantastic," he added. "Maybe they will realise how important we are to England.

"I am pleased for the players. They are outstanding."

The FA has declined to comment on Ferguson's accusation.

LONDON  - Ecuadorian winger Antonio Valencia has signed a new four-year contract with English champions Manchester United to keep him at Old Trafford until 2015, the Premier League club said on Monday.

The FIFA U-20 World Cup begins today in Columbia with one of Africa’s representatives, Mali taking on Korea Republic in the opening match of the tournament. But Nigerians will focus their interest on what happens on Sunday, when the national U-20 team, the Flying Eagles face Guatemala in a Group D opener in Armenia.

LONDON  - Aston Villa have completed the signing of Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given from Manchester City on a five-year contract, the Premier League club said on Monday. The 35-year-old Given had slipped behind England's Joe Hart in the pecking order at City and played only a handful of first-team matches last season.

FRANKFURT  - Japan won the women's World Cup for the first time when they upset the United States 3-1 on penalties following a 2-2 draw after extra time on Sunday.

MADRID  - Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor is waiting for Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho to call so he can return to the club where he had a successful loan spell last season and has ruled out moving anywhere else.

LONDON - Arsenal recruited Lille's 24-year-old Ivory Coast forward Gervinho on Monday as they bid to boost their firepower this season and end a trophy drought stretching back to 2005.

MADRID  - Zinedine Zidane will start working as Real Madrid's 'director of football' from next week, the former France great said on Thursday. The 39-year-old, who was voted World Player of the Year on three occasions, has been working at the Spanish club as president Florentino Perez's special adviser.

Edwin van der Sar is convinced his successor at Manchester United, David de Gea, has all the attributes to forge a long career at Old Trafford. • Utd coach talks up Sneijder bid Despite the best efforts of United players, fans and manager - Van der Sar opted to retire on a high having helped the club to league title No. 19.