Feast of football for Nigerian fans

Lagos - It promises to be exciting and full of football action and thrills for DStv subscribers this month as the channel began the new English season by broadcasting exclusively the community shield match between league champions Manchester United and FA Cup winners Chelsea. United won on penalties. The battle for football supremacy heats up at the English Premier League. Lovers of football can stay glued to SuperSport for Barclay's English Premier League Championship which kicks off on August 11 2007. Stay tuned as all the big names in English football fight for the title!

Football lovers will have the opportunity to watch Bolton Wanderers' new additions to the team, Gavin McCann from Aston Villa and Gerald Cid from Bordeaux face Newcastle United on August 11 for the kickoff match at 2:45pm. Come August 12, Chelsea at 1:15pm with their new teammate, Florent Malouda from Lyon, tackle Birmingham City with newly acquired player, Olivier Kapo, from Juventus.

The fun gets bigger at 2:45pm, on August 18 as Arsenal do battle with Blackburn Rovers' new addition, Dutch forward, Maceo Rigters, from Breda, fans don't know what to expect with the exit of Thierry Henry from Arsenal, but are hopeful that the entrance of the Brazilian-born ‘Hit-man' Eduardo da Silva, signals big things for the Gunners. Sir Alex Ferguson's red devils', Manchester United, are spurred on for action against Manchester City on August 19 at 1:15pm.

Subscribers are advised to stay on to DStv for more sporting action as Jose Mourinho's Chelsea, return to the field to play Portsmouth at 2:45pm, local time, and don't forget to look out for more live action from Portsmouth on August 25 with Nigeria's own John Utaka. Middlesbrough spoils for the first treasures of battle with Newcastle United at 1:30pm on August 26.

The English premier League boasts of some of the world's greatest players; here's your chance to watch them in action. The matches are all on SS3, run on selected days from August 11 to 26. Start times are 14.15 or 15.45; see your schedule for details.

And from Italy…

DStv subscribers are set for another interesting soccer experience, this time from Italy, as SuperSport has announced its decision to televise the live coverage of the 17th edition of the Trofeo Berlusconi football challenge

The Trofeo Berlusconi match, an all-Italian affair, will showcase a scintillating soccer encounter between the Europe champions AC Milan and former Serie A champions Juventus FC.

According to a recent survey on Italian football, Juventus FC is still the most followed team in Italy - not even the demotion to Serie B football could blemish the club's record. The survey revealed that Juventus supporters have 17.4% of the Italian population on their side and another European survey showed that the club is the third most loved team in Europe. Only Real Madrid and Barcelona have more fans, according to the survey.

AC Milan, on the other hand, is considered one of the most dominant team in Europe and as the defending UEFA champions; the club remains football lovers' delight any day, especially with the likes of Kaka, Filippo Inzagi, Genaro Gatuso, Clarence Seedorf, Alexandro Nester and legendary Paolo Maldini still holding sway in the team.

Tune in to SuperSport's live coverage of the 17th Edition of the Trofeo Berlusconi Match on Friday August 17 at 07:30 pm when the studio opens for analysis. Kickoff time is 07:45 pm