Sports
AFN To Open Season With All-Comers Championships
The 2011 Nigerian athletics season will begin with the National All Comers Championships next month, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) announced on Wednesday in Abuja.
The championships, which are in three editions, are the first on the list of major athletics events the federation has planned for the year.
According to AFN’s calendar of activities, the first edition of the All-Comers championships will hold from February 18 to February 19 in Ibadan, after the affiliation and registration of clubs, states and teams this month.
A copy of the calendar made available to Tidesports also shows that a 10km/5km road race is also scheduled for February, on a date and venue yet to be decided, while seven events have been lined up for March.
The second and third editions of the All-Comers Championships are to hold from March 4 to March 5 in Lagos and from March 18 to March 19 in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.
AFN is also planning to send a team to the first African Cross-Country Championships scheduled for March 6 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Two 5km road races are also planned for the month on dates and venues yet to be fixed, while AFN is proposing a team to the 39th IAAF World Cross-Country Championships in Punta Umbria, Spain, on March 20.
According to the calendar, March 25 and March 26 will witness the Pastor D.K. Olukoya Under-16 and Under-18 National Trials at Yaba College of Technology in Lagos.
Four activities have been planned for April, including the Chief of Naval Staff/AFN Golden League scheduled for Abuja from April 15 to April 16, and the CAA Region II Junior Championships.
The junior championships, which are continental events, are to hold from April 27 to April 30 at a venue to be decided later by the AFN.
In May, two of AFN’s four activities include two editions of the AFN Golden League, with the one named after Bishop David Oyedepo will hold from May 6 to May 7 in Kaduna.
The other one named after Pastor Enoch Adeboye will hold in Warri from May 20 to May 21, while the federation will send a team to the African Youth Championships in Gaborone, Botswana, scheduled for May 12 to May 15.
The leagues will culminate in the Final Golden League from June 3 to June 4 at a venue to be picked later, with the annual Mobil championships holding in Calabar.
The event, which has been renamed the Nigeria/Cross River/NNPC/ExxonMobil Track and Field Championships, will hold from June 23 to June 27.
Similarly, the 5th Abuja CAA Grand Prix will hold on July 2, while upcoming Nigerian athletes will take part in the National Sports Festival scheduled for Port Harcourt from June 29 to July 9.
The AFN is, however, looking into the possibility of sending some Nigerian athletes to the 7th IAAF World Youth Championships scheduled for Lille, France, from July 6 to July 10.
Preparations will thereafter commence for the 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics scheduled for Daegu, South Korea, from August 27 to September 4.
According to the calendar, the 10th All-Africa Games will hold from Sept. 3 to Sept. 18 in Maputo, Mozambique, and the Commonwealth Youth Games from Sept. 7 to Sept. 13 at the Isle of Man, a former British colony.
Those preparations, as well as attendance of the World Mountain Running Championships and Congress in Albania from September 8 to September 12, will thus keep the AFN busy later in July and August.
The National Obudu Mountain Race is to hold in Cross River on Oct. 8, ahead of the 7th Obudu International Mountain Race and 3rd African Challenge at the same venue on November 26.
The Lagos Marathon, of which no date has been fixed, will round off the country’s athletics programme for the year in December.
Yellow Greens stalwart Isaac Danladi and Female Yellow Greens’ Kehinde Amusa have been named the best male and female cricket players in Nigeria in the year 2025 by Africa’s premier cricket recognition platform, The Middle Stump, Tidesports source reports.
Danladi was the leading dangerman for Nigeria in the year under review, cementing his status as one of Africa’s most consistent all-rounders.
The 23-year-old left-handed batter and orthodox spinner has amassed 23 T20 International appearances, scoring 348 runs at an average of 19.33 with a strike rate exceeding 105.
His bowling economy of 4.89 across 16 wickets demonstrates control and efficiency in the shorter format. Danladi’s recent performances, including a Player of the Match award for a 64-run, 35-ball contribution, underscore his emergence as a cornerstone player for Nigeria’s competitive ambitions.
For Amusa, the 19-year-old also won the Young Player of the Year award, reflecting her smooth transition from the U-19 team to the senior side.
Amusa featured for Nigeria at the ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia, playing a crucial role in the Junior Female Yellow Greens’ historic upset victory against reigning senior Women’s World Cup champions New Zealand.
The girls finished the tournament in sixth place and qualified for the 2027 edition.
At 19, she has already established herself as a versatile all-rounder for Nigeria’s senior women’s team.
During her debut at the 2025 Kwibuka T20i tournament in Rwanda, she showcased technical maturity with 23 runs off 28 deliveries while capturing two wickets for seven runs against Sierra Leone.
In other award categories, the Junior Female Yellow Greens also earned the award for Best Cricketing Moment of the Year for their victory against New Zealand. In a rain-reduced 13-over contest in Kuching, Malaysia, Nigeria posted 65 for six, which proved decisive when New Zealand managed only 63 for six in response.
Former junior international and the Nigeria Cricket Federation’s Development Officer in Lagos, Friday Udoh, earned Coach of the Year honours for his contribution to Nigeria’s coaching pipeline.
The award for Innovative Approach to Investing in Cricket honoured The Cricket Lab — a modern indoor facility that launched at Tafawa Balewa Cricket Oval on Lagos Island in March 2024. The facility addresses a fundamental constraint limiting Nigerian cricket development: weather dependency and inconsistent training venues.
Enabulele led some members of the commission’s management team on the tour that saw them visiting the tennis courts, swimming pool and indoor sports hall at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, and the basketball and volleyball courts at Wire Road Sports Centre.
The chairman expressed satisfaction with the level of renovation work already completed by the organisers of the Niger Delta Games, Dunamis Icon Ltd.
“The facility upgrade is 90 percent ready and we are very happy with what is on ground. The upgrade counts as one of numerous benefits of the Games being hosted by our state. The tennis court at the Samuel Ogbemudia stadium and the indoor halls are fully ready. Work on the swimming pool is ongoing and at an advanced stage. We are ready,” Enabulele declared.
The Edo State Sports Commission boss also paid a visit to the state contingent for the Games and urged them to return an improved performance to their outing in Uyo. He counselled them to be disciplined and to focus on their training in order to achieve the target set for themselves.
“We are ready for the 2026 Niger Delta Games. Congratulations to you all here. Remember we have a lot of intelligent and brilliant people in our state. So for you to be selected for the task,you are already a winner. From now on you should know you are now state Ambassadors because you are representing Edo state.
“As we are in this camp, discipline must be our watchword. We have set target for ourselves and to achieve the goals,you must be disciplined. Without discipline and commitment it is difficult to achieve much as sports men and women.
“In this particular edition of the Niger Delta Games,we are not just participating or adding to the number of teams, but we are working towards hosting to win. We can do it if we are disciplined as host state.” Enabulele said.
Ajibade returned to first-team action three weeks ago after being sidelined with injury since November.
Since joining the club in the summer, the Super Falcons star has made nine league appearances, providing one assist, but she is yet to open her goal-scoring account.
However, her influence on the pitch is undeniable. She recently led other Super Falcons players in the International Federation of Football History and Statistics Women’s Africa XI.
On Sunday, Super Falcons goalkeeper Nnadozie made four saves from seven shots faced, but it was not enough to prevent Brighton from losing 3-2 to West Ham United in the Women’s Super League.
It marked a second consecutive league defeat for Brighton Women, leaving them with just one win in their last five games. The goalkeeper has kept four clean sheets in 13 games since arriving in England in the summer.
Like Ajibade, Nnadozie was also named in the IFFHS CAF Women’s XI, reflecting her reputation as one of Africa’s leading goalkeepers through her performances for Nigeria, former club Paris FC, and current side Brighton & Hove Albion, where she has combined consistent shot-stopping with leadership responsibilities in 2025.
Defenders Michelle Alozie and Ashleigh Plumptre were also named in the IFFHS Africa XI defence.
Alozie, who recently switched from Houston Dash to Chicago Stars FC, is still warming up for the new season in the United States, as is the star of the 2024 WAFCON, Esther Okoronkwo, who is based in Canada.
Falcons’ build-up tournament
Meanwhile, the Super Falcons will begin their build-up to the 2026 tournament by competing in a four-nation West African tournament scheduled to take place in Abidjan later this month.
The team has confirmed participation in the invitational competition, organised by the West African Football Union (WAFU) B, which will run from February 27 to March 7, 2026, in Ivory Coast.
The tournament will feature four teams that have all qualified for WAFCON 2026, with hosts Ivory Coast joined by Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal.
The mini-tournament is expected to serve as a final competitive test for the teams, ending just 10 days before the start of the WAFCON finals in Morocco.
Although there are still some uncertainties surrounding the tournament — following the hosts’ reported request for postponement — the 2026 WAFCON is scheduled to run from March 17 to April 3, 2026.
Defending champions Nigeria have been drawn in Group C alongside Zambia, Egypt and debutants Malawi.
-
Sports4 days agoArsenal Women End Man City’s Invincibility
-
Sports4 days agoU-20 WWC: Falconets claim qualifier win
-
Sports4 days agoInsurance Deepen Enyimba’s Trouble
-
Sports4 days agoYouth Olympics preparation Gears up
-
Sports4 days agoCologne Youth Team Set Crowd Record
-
Sports4 days agoTornadoes Set For NPFL exit over Stadium Ban
-
Sports4 days agoBarca Pull Out Of Super League Project
-
Sports4 days agoPalmer Stars As Chelsea Compound Wolves Woes