Gather around folks for another post on the benefits of soccer. The latest study took place in Denmark.

Scientists have concluded that Adults who regularly kick around a soccer ball with friends have better heart and bone health.

The life of a soccer mom is hardly glamorous and usually involves carpooling kids to games and supervising them. But here’s some good news for all the soccer mums around the world.

Hot of the press, women who join in the fun and kick around a soccer ball can dramatically improve their bone and heart health.

The study involved 70 women of different ages (20-47) who had never played the game of soccer before. The women were split into 3 groups, a running group, a soccer group and a control group or placebo for all you wanna be scientists.

The case study lasted for 14 weeks and involved an hour a day for just 2 days a week.

The results clearly showed that the active groups of running and soccer improved their health, balance and muscle groups in comparison to the control group. What surprised the Danish researches was that the soccer group outperformed the running groups in all health indicators.

Most would argue that running is a great aerobic workout. The running group showed a cardiovascular improvement of 10% against the control group. Not bad for 14 weeks don’t you think? Even more surprising was the soccer group that increased their health indicators by a whopping 18%.

Playing soccer also improved balance and muscle strength but had a significant effect on the woman’s bone mineral density by an average of 2-3%. According to the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, (I know, I have too much time on my hands) women after the age of 40 lose bone mass at the rate of about 0.5 to 1% per year. Simply kicking a soccer ball around is the equivalent to reversing 3-6 years of bone aging.

Don’t just take my word for it, Peter Krustrup, associate professor of exercise physiology at the University of Copenhagen said,

“We analyzed the activity patterns during soccer, and we observed multiple sprints, turns, tackles, headers and shots on goals. Soccer gave women a more diverse workout than running. The varied activity patterns were more stimulating to the bones than simply jogging or running at a steady pace.”

I know what you’re thinking. What about injuries and broken bones?

“When you play soccer in the park or among friends, the injury risk is much much lower than if you play competitive games with local rivals from another club.” Dr Krustnup said.

So next time you want to exercise, forget about jogging or the gym and grab yourself a soccer ball. The value of recreational soccer is enormous, so what are you waiting for?

“May the winds of destiny blow you to the stars.”

If you listen to the rumours and the bloggers from Nigeria, don’t worry; I do not need your banking details to put millions in your bank account for a small fee, giggle, believe something fishy is happening to Nigerian Soccer.

If you had the pleasure of watching some of the African Cup, you couldn’t help but notice that Nigeria, the once power house of African Football looked slow, timid and to be honest, they looked old.

So what could be the problem?

Nigeria was labelled the sleeping giant and the next powerhouse of Soccer. Strong showings in the Olympics and the youth World Cups suggested that the Nigerians were ready for world dominations with big scalps, which included both Brazil and Argentina.

Soccer great Pele declared that Nigeria would easily win the World Cup before the turn of the century after electrifying performances in the U-17 and U-20 age groups.

So what are the whispers that have escaped Angola?

Nigerians have a bad reputation in the Internet world and are the proud owners of some of the biggest scams. But here’s something new. The whispers that have grown to international angst claim that the Nigerian players have falsified their age with fraudulent passports.

Don’t believe me?

The President of a leading Nigerian club was quoted,

“What happened in Angola is a confirmation of what has been happening in the past where most of our players falsified their age during competition. Most of the players are beyond the age they professed and this made it impossible for them to withstand the pace of teams like Zambia and Benin.”

A former national doctor Ken Anugweje said,

“Our boys are old, we are paying the price for age cheating.”

This is hilarious and very amusing. This could be the second biggest scam in the sporting world. I know what you’re thinking, second? The cake definitely has to go to the Spanish basketball team that won Gold at the Paralympics. The only problem was that the players were neither physically or mentally handicapped.

This scam was around 20 years ago when Nigeria got banned from internationals for a period of 2 years. FIFA banned Nigeria back in the 1988 Olympics for presenting falsified passports. Makes sense looking back at some of the results at youth level. Even Brazil looked second rate compared to the Nigerians.

The plot thickens even further. With the World Cup just months away, the Nigerian Federation has decided to sack their coach and discard 15 players from the squad. Mmm, a little suspicious don’t you think?

The immigration department of Nigeria can change your name, place of birth, and date of birth for around 7,000-10,000 naira. Naira is Nigerian currency and is the equivalent to $46.53 US or the hefty price of $51.79 AU.

So for $50, you can have a new passport and they will throw in a new identity and if you’re a footballer, they will dip you in the fountain of youth.

An American journalist quizzed a Nigerian player and nearly fell off his sit by the reply. The Nigerian said his real age was 34 but his Football age was 21.

If you follow the Premier league chances are you remember Jay Jay Okocha who finished his career with Bolton. How old do you think Jay Jay was when he retired? Speculation has him at the age of 42. What about Obafemi Martins who was picked up by Inter Milan as a 14 year old and played his first senior game when he was 16. His passport declares that today he is 25, but Newcastle believe its 34.

For all you American soccer fans think about this for a moment. Does the name Fredua Koranteng “Freddy” ring a bell? He was the youngest player to sign a professional contract for DC United in the 2004 Draft at the age of 14. Sorry but I don’t believe it.

Nike proudly sponsored Freddy and America fell in love with him.

Where is he now?

Freddy now plays for Aris Thessaloniki in the Greek Super League and I use the words Super League loosely. After cracking the MLS at the tender age of 14, he now plays with all the other pensioners in the Greek Divisions. Players go to Greece to prolong their careers, as they can no longer get a game in the big leagues. Freddy at the old age of 20 is playing in Greece and will inevitably fit right in, if you know what I mean.

“May the winds of destiny blow you to the stars.”