Sports
NFA Considers Change Of Name For Amateur League
The Nigeria Football Association (NFA) has said it was considering changing the National Amateur League’s name to reflect its grassroots and national outlook.
Musa Amadu, NFA Acting Secretary-General, said the association believed a change of name would assist in attracting more sponsors and glamour to the competition.
“We may have to change the league’s name to something that reflects its grassroots nature.
“ The name ‘Amateur League’ makes it sound as if players there are inexperienced and less relevant.
“Already, our Marketing Department is looking into it and we will come up with something as soon as all approvals are received,” he said.
Amadu said the move was imperative because the league, which has 128 clubs in its three divisions, was the most national of all its competitions and would give sponsors more mileage.
He said that the National Amateur League was a very important segment of Nigerian football as most of the players in the country had at one stage or the other played in it.
“From some of the matches I have witnessed in the league, it has the raw talents and you can see the players’ dedication,’’ he said.
Amadu urged clubs in the league to play fair and the referees to make sure their officiating was free and fair so that everyone involved would be satisfied.
“Clubs should abide by the rules and regulations guiding the league and ensure that their fans do not take laws into their hands by encroaching on the pitch or being violent,” he said.
The NFA official also called on clubs to ensure comprehensive medical coverage for their personnel, saying the increasing rate of players suffering sudden deaths was alarming.
“When matches are being played, you must have medical personnel on board and on ground in case of any casualty.
“It is also necessary that clubs conduct periodic check-up on their players and officials to make sure they are medically fit,” he said.
Amadu said the provision of an insurance package for players would also serve as an incentive to the players.
He said the league would become better organised with the election of a National Amateur League board which would oversee its affairs.
Amadu said the fact that the league board chairman would automatically become a member of the NFA Executive Committee was an indication that the league’s interest would be protected.
The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria ( SWAN) Rivers State Chapter has set up five standing working committees on Tuesday, in its general congress.
At the playoff held at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan, the team of Canice Abua, Michael Emmanuel, Daniel Adeleye, and Abubakar Yusuf was majestic as they restored Nigeria’s hope in a sport that once gave the country so much joy.
Speaking after the final game, Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) President, Victor Ochei, said the Davis Cup feat is the stepping stone to better days in the sport, adding that the federation has set up programmes that will help the budding talents across the country play at the same level as their counterparts in other tennis-developed countries.
Ochei said: “The whole aim of having this new board is to lift the sport to the level we used to be. I tell you, tennis is taking a new shape in Nigeria. We are putting everything and anything to make that work happen.”
Ochei said that the NTF has looked at sponsorships and how to get the emerging players compete at the same level with their peers elsewhere, adding that the federation is working on organising local competitions and helping the players to compete in international championships.
“We believe that with what we are doing now, sponsors will come to us to organise new competitions. But beyond that, there’s a strategic growth development plan, a 10-year development plan, which the board is working on.
“The programme will ensure that we catch them young. This is because we believe that to create champions, we must start grooming them early. The champions you are seeing today were those groomed yesterday.”
“The process of building new champions will include building the coaches, the players, the infrastructure and sensitising the parents so that we can start catching them as young as age five to six.
“By the time that we groom them through 10 years of training, at age 15, 16, you will see fantastic professional players.”
To achieve the federation’s plans, Ochei admits that the NTF needs a lot of investment, adding that the board is working at realising the funds quietly and tenaciously.
The NTF president acknowledged the contributions of former international stars like Nduka Odizor and Sadiq Abdullahi to the bid to rejuvenate Nigerian tennis, adding that NTF is open to collaborating with former players who know what it takes to play at the highest level of the sport.
He said, “Nduka Odizor is around as one of our VIP personalities. He has been psyching up the boys in the battle with Uzbekistan. He will not enter the court to play, but his mere presence is enough motivation to the boys, who will want to be like him in the future.
“You see, the type of support the Odizors, the Imonities and the Abdullahis got in their time is no longer there, but we are revamping it with the support of our stakeholders in the Diaspora.
“It will appear to take us some time, but I can tell you that the Diaspora support is massive.”
In its bid to get good results in this year’s Commonwealth Games, the National Sports Commission (NSC) has disbursed N200 million as training grants to 26 athletes.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games will be held in Glasgow, Scotland.
The NSC stated that the grants were disbursed through its Elite and Podium Board, noting that N200 million was allocated to select top-performing athletes.
The beneficiaries are both foreign-based and home-based, the NSC said, adding that it will cater for their training and preparation expenses.
According to the NSC, the recipients span several sports, including athletics, wrestling, weightlifting, and para-sports, in line with the Commission’s mandate to prioritise athletes’ welfare and high-performance development.
The Commission added that the disbursement follows the establishment of the Elite and Podium Board, created to implement a scientific and institutionalised support system aimed at sustaining peak performances by Nigerian athletes at major international competitions.
NSC Director General, Bukola Olopade, said the Commission, under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was established to restore confidence and provide renewed hope for Nigerian sportsmen and women by placing strong emphasis on athlete welfare.
“The training grants disbursed to 26 athletes across different sports followed a careful and professional selection process by the Yusuf Ali-led Elite and Podium Board. This is our way of reassuring our athletes that their welfare remains our utmost priority,” he said.
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