Sports
17th NSF: Lagos Assures Athletes On Equipment, Welfare
Lagos State athletes training for the 17th National Sports Festival scheduled for next month in Port Harcourt have been assured of modern equipment and improved welfare package.
Kally Isaac-Agogo, Head Coach, Lagos State Sports Council, gave the assurance in an interview with newsmen at the Mobolaji Johnson Sports Centre, Yaba.
He said that the council was not losing sleep over the twin issues which, he said, needed urgent attention for the state to perform well at the biennial fiesta.
Isaac-Agogo said the issues were also responsible for poaching of athletes by other states.
He said the council had forwarded a budget for the sports festival to the state government for approval.
He added that the state would take delivery of modern equipment like weight babels, wheelchairs and judo mats before the end of the month for the athletes to train with.
On the issue of welfare, he said: “The sports council has presented a case to the government, I believe the government will look into it.”
“Because if other states are doing it, Lagos will realise it, even if they give half of what other states are giving, I believe athletes running to other states will stay.”
“Government has released money to buy equipment needed, especially wrestling, judo mats, weight babels and wheelchairs,’’ he said.
The chief coach also assured the athletes that they would get their allowances even before they leave Lagos for Port Harcourt.
He said that the open camp, which began on May 9, had suffered a hiccup of a low turnout due to the long distance some athletes had to travel to the venue at Yaba.
He, however, said that athletes’ turnout for training had improved since Monday.
The chief coach said that the coaching department of the council had been charged with equipping the athletes with the necessary skills to enable to do well at the festival.
He stated that the state would not join others to induce athletes with financial gains to cover up its inadequacies.
Isaac-Agogo boasted that the state was grooming its athletes to stardom, saying the exceptionally good ones could only be assisted in their educational or vocational studies.
A 645-man contingent comprising 537 athletes and 108 officials will represent the state at the festival holding from June 27 to July 11.
Sports
CAA Wants Ghana To Host 2026 Athletics Champions
The Confederation of African Athletics has invited Ghana to bid for the hosting rights of the 2026 African Athletics Championships, following a successful athletics event at the just concluded 2023 African Games.
President of Ghana Athletics, Bawa Fuseini, stated this and expressed confidence in the transformative potential of the Legon Stadium for athletes and Ghana’s bid to host international competitions.
With a capacity of 11,000, the Legon Stadium played a pivotal role in the recent African Games, hosting both the opening and closing ceremonies as well as various sporting events including athletics, football, and rugby.
Fuseini highlighted the success of the athletics events held at the stadium, which contributed to Ghana winning six medals.
“We have already started getting requests from the Confederation of African Athletics to bid for the 2026 African Athletics Championships.
“When they came and saw what we have put in place and the level of organisation, they told me that for the last 20 years, they’ve never seen any organisation like this before. We did three official courses. And the last one, we had 110, all of them passed. We had a lot of officials and equipment.”
Since its establishment in 1979, Ghana has never hosted the African Athletics Championships, with Nigeria being the host country twice, in 1989 and 2018.
This year, Cameroon will take the reins as the host nation, with the event set to be held at the Olembe Stadium.
Sports
‘I’m Not Under Pressure To Coach Eagles’
Finidi George, head coach of the Nigeria Premier Football Leagues side, Enyimba, has stated that he is not losing any sleep over getting the Super Eagles job on a permanent basis.
Early this month, the Nigeria Football Federation declared the position of the Super Eagles’ head coach vacant, following the exit of Portuguese Jose Peseiro, who led the side to a second-place finish at the 2023 Africa Cup Nations in Ivory Coast in February.
In an advertisement on its website calling for applications with a March 13 deadline, the football governing body stated that the prospective Eagles coach “must have proven experience at the elite level of football.”
The former Ajax man, who also applied for the job, was appointed Eagles interim coach for the international window with the former winger picking a win and suffering a defeat.
In an interview with Tidesports source, the 52-year-old tactician said he was not desperate for the job permanently.
“I felt really good when I was told to take charge of the team. I have been with the team for almost two years, I know all the players, their strengths, and their weaknesses but I am only here to serve Nigeria the way I know how to do stuff.
“I will just take these two games and go back to my club. Whatever the decision is taken after, so be it. I’m not under pressure to say I must get the role permanently.”
Sports
‘Reasons Why Eagles Lost To Mali’
The friendly games against Ghana and Mali were to serve as an audition for George Finidi, who was in charge of the team on an interim basis, but the Eagles’ lacklustre display in those friendlies has called for his further evaluation.
Finidi kept faith with ex-coach Jose Peseiro’s defensive formation against Mali on the back of his first win (against Ghana) in charge of the team four days earlier.
But this time, his defence was punished following a combination of defensive errors and poor passes.
The Eagles struggled to play out of defence due to the high pressing of the Malians and it was no surprise that the first goal by Les Aigles was a direct result of their aggression.
Chidozie Awaziem, who started on the right of the back three alongside Kenneth Omeruo and Semi Ajayi, lacked composure and was pressured into making a pass across his box straight at Bilal Toure, who made no mistake in getting the ball past Stanley Nwabali. They missed the calming presence of injured William Troost-Ekong.
Vice captain, Kenneth Omeruo, was also culpable of misplaced passes and was beaten for pace when Kamory Doumbia ran past him to seal Mali’s first win in over four decades, firing his shot past a helpless Nwabali, who stood no chance.
Eagles wing backs, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Jamilu Collins also did not do enough to support the team in attack when they had the chance to.
Lack of creativity
Finidi paired Raphael Onyedika and Wilfred Ndidi in a double pivot in midfield. Both players are naturally anchor men and neither is a box-to-box midfielder.
They both do not possess the offensive capability to drive the team’s attack forward, which left the Eagles once again craving for a natural creative midfielder.
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