Sports
Coach Decries Ebonyi’s Govt’s Lack Of Support For Club
George Anazoba, Chief Coach of Mgbo Ambassadors FC of Ohaukwu, Ebonyi, one of the state’s representatives in the Federation Cup, has decried the lack of support from the government.
Anazoba said that as a result of this, the club had not been able to raise the statutory N100,000 processing fee to file a petition before the Nigeria Football Association (NFA).
He told newsmen in Abakaliki that the club could not pay the fee for the petition against Ekabokom FC of Cross River over the inconclusive match played in Makurdi on May 23.
The coach said that the team, owned by a school teacher, tried their best to raise the money but could not as none of those approached came to their rescue.
“We approached several private individuals and the state government, but we could not get any form of assistance and the match was eventually awarded to Ekabokom, who were better prepared.
“The most painful aspect of the issue was that the state government could not assist us and could not even redeem its pledge of N50,000 to the team when we emerged runners-up at the state’s Federation Cup competition,” he said.
Anazoba stated that the players were devastated on hearing that the match had been awarded to Ekabokom, considering the amount of sacrifice they put into the deadlocked match.
“The referee incurred the wrath of spectators when he disallowed two of our goals and awarded a dubious penalty to our opponents with two minutes left in regulation time.
“Our first choice keeper nearly lost his life as a result of a collision with an opposing attacker and had to be rushed to the hospital unconscious, though he was later revived,” he said.
Godwin Eze, the proprietor of the club, lamented that the poor attention given to football had affected the fortunes of amateur clubs in the state.
“We embarked on our trip to Makurdi to prosecute the match with my salary and contributions from members of the team,” he said.
Reacting to the development, Desmond Ome, the Secretary, Ebonyi Football Association, described the situation as regrettable.
“We do not receive any form of subvention from the state government unlike what is obtainable in other states, so no FA member went to Makurdi for the match because of lack of funds,” he said.
Chief Nicodemus Omenka, the immediate past Ebonyi Commissioner for Youths and Sports, said that he did not receive any request for assistance from the club while in office.
Sports
SWAN Rivers Set-up Five Functional Committees
The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria ( SWAN) Rivers State Chapter has set up five standing working committees on Tuesday, in its general congress.
Sports
‘NTF Will Build On Davis Cup Success For Brighter Future’
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.”
Sports
NSC Disburses N200m Training Grants To 26 Athletes
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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