Lagos Prepares To Regain Lost Glory At NSF … Set To Kick Off Festival

Published

16 years ago

April 6, 2010

All is now set for the staging of the Lagos State Sports Festival scheduled between April 12 and April 30.

The festival is aimed at reclaiming the state’s lost glory in sports.

Besides, it is also targeted at discovering athletes who will be further prepared for the 2010 National Sports Festival billed for Rivers later in the year.

Babatunde Fatayi-Williams, Chairman, Technical Committee, Lagos State Sports Council told newsmen on Monday that the festival would hold at designated venues.

According to him, the venues are: Mobolaji Johnson Sports Complex, Yaba, Teslim Balogun Stadium and other educational districts in the state.

Fatayi-Williams said that the committee had been mandated to work assiduously to discover the right calibre of athletes who would do the state proud at the national festival.

“ Lagos is the hub of sports. The 7th position we clinched at the 2006 and 2009 National Sports Festivals respectively is worrisome and needs to be corrected.

“We want to start identifying talents who will be camped and grilled in all the technicalities needed for them to perform optimally at the tournament,’’ he said.

Fatayi-Williams also said that the state was making efforts at addressing the welfare of its athletes by giving them some allowances in order to check poaching by neighbouring states.

He said that the junior categories would be from the secondary schools in all the six educational districts in the state.

The technical committee chairman added that the senior categories would cut across the 20 local government areas and the 37 local council developing areas (LCDAs).

Only the 25 sports approved by the National Sports Commission would feature at the festival.

LOC Cleared Facilities For 2026 Para Games In Abuja

Published

7 seconds ago

February 27, 2026

The Tide

The Local Organising Committee for the 3rd National Para Games has completed its inspection of facilities. The Games will take place from March 26 to April 3, 2026, at the MKO Abiola National Stadium Complex

in Abuja.

The exercise covered 15 venues across the Federal Capital Territory, including those designated for Amputee Football, Para Athletics, Para Badminton, Para Canoe, Para Cycling, Para Karate, Para Powerlifting, Para Shooting, Para Soccer, Para Swimming, Para Taekwondo, Para Table Tennis, Sitting Volleyball, Wheelchair Basketball, and Wheelchair Tennis.

According to the inspection report, most facilities are already fit for competition, with only minor technical adjustments required in a few areas.

The Indoor Basketball Hall for Wheelchair Basketball is said to be ready, though improvements to court markings and lighting were advised. The swimming pool also passed inspection, with recommendations for lane rope adjustments, enhanced cleaning of changing rooms, and provision of seating and shade.

Similarly, the Velodrome for Para Karate, the Gymnasium Hall for Para Badminton, and the Tennis Courts for Wheelchair Tennis were all certified ready.

The committee emphasised that all outstanding issues will be resolved promptly to ensure a safe, accessible, and world-class competition environment.

The Games, which highlight the Federal Government’s commitment to inclusivity and para sports development, are expected to showcase resilience, talent, and excellence as athletes and officials gather from across Nigeria.

With facilities largely confirmed and final preparations underway, Abuja is set to deliver another memorable edition of the National Para Games, guided by the enduring spirit of “ability in disability.”

Sports

Enyimba, Rivers Make Top 500 Club World Ranking

Published

6 minutes ago

February 27, 2026

The Tide

Rivers United and Enyimba have been listed among the top 500 clubs in the world in the latest five-year ranking released by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics, Tidesports source reports.

In the IFFHS Men’s Club World Ranking for the period January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2025, Rivers United are placed 278th with 361.75 points, while Enyimba occupy 421st position with 280 points.

Both Nigeria Premier Football League clubs are the only Nigerian sides included in the global top 500.

The ranking reflects performances in domestic and continental competitions over the five-year period under review.

Rivers United have won the NPFL title once in that span, claiming the 2021/22 crown and finishing third in 2022/23.

They have also featured regularly in continental competitions, reaching the CAF Confederation Cup quarter-finals in successive seasons in 2022/23 and 2023/24, and qualifying for the group stage of the 2025/26 CAF Champions League.

Enyimba, nine-time Nigerian champions and two-time CAF Champions League winners, secured the domestic league title in 2023 and finished third on two occasions within the review period.

They have made multiple appearances in CAF competitions, including the CAF Confederation Cup group stage in 2024/25.

However, the Aba-based club are enduring a turbulent domestic campaign and are currently battling relegation, sitting just one point above the drop zone.

Rivers United are presently top of the NPFL table with two games in hand and remain Nigeria’s most consistent side on the continent in recent seasons.

They are ranked 24th in CAF’s five-year club coefficient, with Enyimba placed 35th, making them the only Nigerian teams in that ranking.

Globally, the IFFHS ranking is led by Real Madrid, followed by Manchester City and CR Flamengo, with Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich completing the top five.

The top 10 is dominated by European and South American clubs, reflecting the weight of results in UEFA and CONMEBOL competitions.

The inclusion of Rivers United and Enyimba in the top 500 comes at a time when the NPFL has slipped in the IFFHS league standings, dropping 15 places to 91st in the world with 171.75 points in the 2025 assessment.

The league ranking, which factors in continental and global results, underscores the challenges facing Nigerian club football despite the individual progress of its leading sides.

The IFFHS, founded in 1984 and based in Zurich, compiles its rankings using a points system that evaluates clubs’ performances in domestic leagues, continental tournaments and global competitions

Sports

NDG: ‘Bayelsa Competed Fair and Square’- Director of Sports

Published

1 hour ago

February 27, 2026

The Tide

Director of Sports in the Bayelsa Sports Council, Andrew Aye says the State contingent to the 2nd Niger Delta Games in Benin City excelled despite their young age.

The Director Director in an interview before the closing ceremony said every member of Team Bayelsa at the Festival was within the age bracket of 19 and below as specified in the rules by the organisers.

He said unlike some States, Team Bayelsa focused on presenting younger athletes rather than being desperate to win at all costs.

“Every medal we won here in Benin, we can bring the kids and say, take a look at them if they are not under 19 but some States didn’t do that. To me Bayelsa won this competition technically because our athletes fall within the age range and we made sure we don’t break the rules by the organisers. But, it’s obvious that some other States they just want to get the trophy, just to win at all costs so they had to go extra mile which we can not do. Imagine some persons coming from Niger Republic and other States outside the region to take part in the Niger Delta Games. It should not be desperation, after all it’s Sports, it’s just Games, an opportunity for us to have talent for the future”, Aye stated.

He commended the organisers Dunamis Icon and the NDDC for the Games stating that it would ensure that coaches work with natives of the various States to develop local talent.

“This initiative ensures that coaches work with their own people and with that it will ensure that people will take over from them, and with that sports can’t die, it will rather blossom. It is not a situation whereby you will get coaches from outside to head one Association or be the Secretary. From the way it is, it means you have to build your own team. If you have 85% of athletes from Bayelsa making the Team, then you are really doing right. You are developing the people and the economy. So I want to thank Dunamis Icon and NDDC for this initiative”.

Mr. Aye attributes the success of Team Bayelsa to the support of Governor Douye Diri, the Bayelsa State Government and the resilience of the athletes, coaches and officials, stating that the average Ijaw person is always determined to succeed.

He appealed to the Governor for continued support as the Management of the Sports Council would build on the success in Benin City ahead of the upcoming National Intermediate Sports Festival in Lagos between May and June this year where these same athletes would be representing Team Bayelsa.

Ahead of tonight’s closing ceremony Team Bayelsa current sit in 3rd position in the overall medals table with 23 Gold, 20 Silver and 23 Bronze medals.