Executive Chairman of the Edo State Sports Commission, Hon. Amadin Desmond Enabulele, on Tuesday, July 25, 2025, visited Coach Kadiri Ikhana and promised the state government’s support in his current state.

Enabulele, visited the ailing coach at the Irrua Specialist Hospital, Irrua, described Coach Ikhana as a dedicated and committed football legend, as he prayed for his swift and full recovery.

A statement by Enabulele’s Media Officer, Edoko Wilson Edoko, said the Edo sports boss was represented by Frank Ilaboya, the Commission’s Executive Director, Edo North.

Enabulele, who noted in the statement that Coach Ikhana is recuperating well, reassured the public of Governor Monday Okpebholo’s unwavering support for the ailing coach.

READ ALSO: Enabulele Hails Edo-born Athletes’ International Feats

“So many of our football legends have passed on due to neglect, but Coach Kadiri Ikhana, one of Nigeria’s most successful domestic football coaches, is in high spirits,” he said, adding that the Edo State Government will continue to stand by Coach Ikhana throughout his recovery.

Responding, Coach Ikhana, who was a member of Nigeria’s victorious 1980 African Cup of Nations team, and a former player and coach of Bendel Insurance FC, expressed his gratitude for the visit.

He thanked the Edo State Sports Commission for the gesture, noting that the show of care and concern would greatly aid his recovery.

United States president Donald Trump has claimed that the Club World Cup trophy lifted by Chelsea after their recent victory was actually a replica because the original is now a permanent fixture in the Oval Office.

Trump, who attended the final alongside members of his cabinet and FIFA president Gianni Infantino, played a central role in the post-match ceremony.

He and Infantino jointly handed over the trophy to Chelsea captain Reece James, though Trump’s presence caused visible confusion among the Chelsea players and prompted quiet pleas from Infantino to step aside.

READ ALSO:Chelsea Thrash PSG 3-0 To Win FIFA Club World Cup

The trophy, according to Trump, never made it back to Chelsea in London.

“I said, When are you going to pick up the trophy? [They said] ‘We’re never going to pick it up. You can have it forever in the Oval Office. We’re making a new one,’” Trump revealed in an interview with official Club World Cup broadcaster DAZN. “And they actually made a new one. So that was quite exciting, but it is in the Oval [Office] right now.”

The claim suggests that Chelsea, fresh off their hard-fought win in the tournament’s final, were handed a newly minted replica while the original remained in Washington D.C.

Trump’s involvement in FIFA-related events has become more frequent since the beginning of his second term in office.

READ ALSO:Full List: UEFA Fine Chelsea, Barcelona, Three Others For Breaking Financial Rules

In March, Infantino presented the Club World Cup trophy at an event in the Oval Office, and it has remained there ever since.

In the same DAZN interview, Trump mused about issuing an executive order to rename soccer as “football” in the U.S., and claimed world leaders have praised America as “the hottest country in the world,” referring to its economic and political status.

Speaking about FIFA’s ongoing partnerships with the U.S. and upcoming international tournaments, Trump said: “It’s about unity. It’s about everybody getting together and a lot of love between countries. I guess this is probably the most international sport, so it can really bring the world together.”

United States President Donald Trump has weighed in on the debate over the greatest football player of all time.

Trump was in attendance at the Club World Final on Sunday at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, as Chelsea overwhelmed Paris Saint-Germain in the first half and beat the European champions 3-0 on Sunday in the final of the first expanded Club World Cup.

Asked after the game during a DAZN broadcast to name his all-time favourite footballer, Trump named Pelé as the greatest of all time.

READ ALSO:Chelsea Thrash PSG 3-0 To Win FIFA Club World Cup

Trump also reminisced about Pelé’s time in the United States, especially his stint with the New York Cosmos in the now-defunct NASL, where the Brazilian legend played from 1975 until his retirement in 1977.

He said, “Many years ago, when I was young, they brought a player named Pele to play, and he played for a team called the Cosmos.

“He was the inspiration we had, and this place was packed. It was an earlier version of this stadium, but right here in the Meadowlands, and it was Pele.

READ ALSO:Chelsea Sign Brazilian Joao Pedro From Brighton

“I don’t want to date myself, but that was a long time ago. I was a young guy, and I came to watch Pele, and he was fantastic. And I would, I’d say, probably go old-fashioned. That’s like saying Babe Ruth, but I would say Pele was so great.”

Trump has openly expressed his intention to use this year’s Club World Cup and the management lp, will align with the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence.