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Dream Team V Arrives Morocco For CAF U-23

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Nigeria’s national under-23 men football side have begun its acclimatisation and final phase of preparation for the inaugural CAF U-23 Championship in Morocco, a team official said.

Team Media Officer, Arafat Aliu, told Tidesports in a telephone interview on arrival in Casablanca, Morocco that the team had settled down.

The Tidesports gathered that the team is scheduled to take part in the eight-team competition which is the final round of African qualifiers for the 2012 Olympic Games’ men football event.

“We arrived in Casablanca, Morocco by 10.30 am local time last Saturday for the acclimatisation part of the team’s preparation for the championship, and I can say we are getting by.

“The team has already got a feel of what the weather will look like during its stay here in the next three weeks in Morocco.

“Upon arrival at the airport here in Casablanca, the maximum temperature was put at 16 degrees Celsius with heavy showers,’’ Aliu said.

He said the team, otherwise called “Dream Team V’’, later had a 25-minute drive from the airport to its Hotel Anfa Port camp where it would stay in the next five days.

Tidesports reports that the team had departed Lagos at 7.25 a.m on Saturday with a 29-man contingent comprising 18 players and 11 officials.

Aliu said only one player from the five-man list of standby players, Atu Irumekhai, travelled with the team while the rest four were asked to stay back.

“They are to remain in Nigeria until it is deemed necessary that they should join the team in Morocco,’’ he said.

The team spokesman however said four foreign-based players from the original 21-man list are being expected to join the team in Morocco.

“These are Obiora Nwankwo, Babatunde Michael, Stephen Worgu and Nosa Igiebor, and they are joining from their respective clubs outside Nigeria,’’ he said.

The Dream Team V would begin its campaign in the championship next Saturday against host nation Morocco.

The Group A match is billed to kick off at 1730 hours GMT, one hour ahead of Nigerian time.

Nigeria will also play against Senegal and Algeria in Group A matches at the championship billed for November 26 to December 10.

The top three teams at the competition will qualify automatically for the London Olympics scheduled for July 27 to August 12, 2012.

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Former Champion Seeks Title Defence At Para Table Tennis Tourney

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Former African champion Faith Ugwueke has expressed her ambitions for the seventh edition of the Valuejet Lagos Para Table Tennis Open which is holding at the Molade Okoya Thomas Sports Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere.

The 2006 Commonwealth Games silver medallist spoke to Tidesports source her desire to defend her para singles title in the women’s category and to also secure a qualification berth for both the regional West Africa para table tennis event in Abeokuta in September and the continental championship billed to hold in Cairo, Egypt in November.

The multiple Paralympian said, “My expectation is to come out great at this wonderful tournament and to qualify for the forthcoming tournament that is coming up in Nigeria and Egypt in September and November. Last tournament, I won the singles. I won three golds at the last ValueJet tournament. And I want to believe and hope that I will maintain my position by coming in first position.”

Ugwueke had featured in the para event at the 56th Molade Okoya-Thomas National Table Tennis Championships, held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in January, where she suffered a stunning defeat to eventual finalist and tournament runner-up Taiye Oyinloye, who in turn was beaten 3-1 (11-3, 7-11, 11-6, 11-9) by Commonwealth Games medallist, Kate Oputa, to become the women’s class 1-5 champion.

The ValueJet Lagos Para table tennis Open, which is in its seventh edition, is an event sanctioned by the governing body ITTF Africa and put together by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation in partnership with Lagos State Sports Commission.

The event will come to a close on July 11, with the competition serving as qualifiers for the country’s players for the regional tournament in Abeokuta.

A total of 98 athletes—57 men and 41 women—from Nigeria, Benin Republic, and Togo are competing in the singles events.

Notable performances have come from Alabi, Agunbiade, Ogunkunle, and Commonwealth Games medallists Kate Oputa and Faith Obazuaye, who have showcased their class against emerging talents across various classifications.

Their presence has intensified the battle for podium finishes, with top seeds asserting dominance in their respective singles events.

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Nigerian Athletes Serving Doping Bans

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The Athletics Integrity Unit continues to take a hard stance against doping violations across the globe, and Nigeria has not been spared. Below are ten Nigerian athletics serving doping ban Imaobong Nse Uko (July 2026)

The AIU announced in the June 2025 sanctions list on July 1 that 21-year-old quarter-miler Uko was found guilty of an anti-doping rule violation committed on June 5 2024. Her infraction falls under whereabouts failures, having missed three tests within a 12-month period.

The AIU confirmed that her period of ineligibility will run until 23 July 2026 and all results recorded from the date of the infraction have been officially disqualified.

Uko rose to fame after clinching three gold medals at the 2021 World U-20 Championships in Nairobi, winning the women’s 400 metres, 4x400m relay, and the mixed 4x400m relay.

Stephen Eloji (June 2028)

Sprinter and hurdler Stephen Eloji tested positive for dehydrochloromethyl-testosterone in an out-of-competition test in Nigeria on May 2, 2024 and has been handed a four-year ban by the AIU.

The 25-year-old was active in the American collegiate circuit, recording strong performances in the 110m hurdles and relay events as recently as April 2024, including at the Pepsi Florida Relays and Music City Challenge.

Ada Princess Bright (September 2027)

Ada Princess Bright is serving a four-year ineligibility period after testing positive for Metenolone during the National Athletics Trials held on July 6 2023 in Benin City.

She had an active season prior to her suspension, competing in national meets in Lagos, Uyo, and Benin, and earning a relay gold at the African U20 Championships in Ndola, Zambia.

Grace Nwokocha (August 2025)

Nwokocha is serving a three-year ban after testing positive for SARMS substances including Ostarine and Ligandrol during the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

The fallout was significant, as Nigeria was stripped of its women’s 4x100m relay gold medal at the Games. Prior to her suspension, she had qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, posted a personal best of 11.00s in the 100m, and reached the semi-finals in the 100m and 200m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. She is ineligible to compete until 2 August 2025.

Yinka Ajayi (January 2030)

Ajayi, a 400m specialist and one-time Olympic representative, is currently serving an extended eight-year ban for multiple anti-doping violations.

The first sanction, issued after she tested positive for Metenolone in an out-of-competition test in Iowa, USA, led to a four-year ban starting in December 2021. However, further findings of tampering led to an additional four-year penalty in 2024, extending her suspension until January 25 2030.

Glory Okon (January 2026)

Glory Okon is serving a four-year ban for testing positive for Metenolone following an out-of-competition test conducted on December 2 2021 in Nigeria.

She previously won gold in the 400 metres at the 2019 African U-20 Championships in Abidjan and featured prominently at the 2021 National Sports Festival in Benin City.

Blessing Okagbare (July 2031)

Once the face of Nigerian athletics, Okagbare is now serving a 10-year ban following multiple anti-doping rule violations. She tested positive for human growth hormone and EPO in an out-of-competition test in June 2021.

Her suspension came while competing at the Tokyo Olympics and was announced in February 2022. It was later extended by an additional year in June 2022 due to further breaches.

Divine Oduduru (February 2029)

Oduduru’s  career was derailed by anti-doping violations linked to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. On October 12 2023, a Disciplinary Tribunal of the AIU imposed a six-year ban on Oduduru after he was found guilty of possessing and attempting to use prohibited substances and methods. The case stemmed from the wider investigation into Eric Lira, the first individual convicted under the US Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act, who supplied banned substances to athletes, including Okagbare, ahead of the Tokyo Games.

Oduduru’s ban is effective from February 9, 2023 and will run until February 8, 2029.

Henry Azike (Lifetime ban)

Azike is one of two Nigerian athletes currently serving a lifetime ban after testing positive for Metenolone, an anabolic steroid. His case was classified as a second ADRV, automatically triggering a lifetime suspension from the sport.

Azike last competed in 2011, including at the Doha Amir Cup and Nigerian Championships in Calabar.

Vivian Chukwuemeka (Lifetime ban)

Two-time Olympian and African shot put record holder Vivian Chukwuemeka is serving a lifetime ban for a second doping offence after testing positive for Stanozolol at the 2012 National Championships in Calabar.

The 2002 Commonwealth Games champion and multiple-time African gold medallist had previously served a two-year ban following a 2009 positive test. Her personal best of 18.43m remains the African record in women’s shot put.

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Eagles B Players Admit Pressure For CHAN Qualification 

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EAGLES B PLAYERS
Pix: Super Eagles B players at the training session. 

Invited players into the Super Eagles B camp ahead of the rescheduled African Nations Championship tournament are feeling the pressure of selection, three days into their training camp at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne, Ogun State.

The eighth CHAN tournament is taking place in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda between August 2 to 20.

Ahead of the tournament, head coach Eric Chelle had invited an initial 35 players to camp and they began training on Monday with 21 players.

Five more players arrived on Tuesday to take the number to 26 while 28 players trained on Wednesday morning with the rest expected before the end of the week.

Captain of the team through the qualifiers, Junior Nduka, spoke about the intensity of the sessions and the jostle to make the final squad.

“Everybody is under pressure but definitely the coaches want the best among the 35 players,” Nduka said.

River United and former Flying Eagles forward, Aniekeme Okon, also admitted the pressure.

“It puts pressure on us, 35 players being invited, everybody is going to give out their best with an expectation of being selected. So we keep pushing.”

Ikorodu City defender, Leonard Ngenge also said, “Obviously, it puts everyone under pressure even myself. But I just need to do my best to be on the coaches’ radar.”

Nigeria, the 2018 runners-up, are in group D of the 19-team tournament, alongside Cup holders Senegal, Sudan and Congo.

The Super Eagles B will play their first two matches of the competition, against Senegal and Sudan, at the Amman Stadium on the island of Zanzibar, before taking on Congo at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

Nigeria has never won the tournament, having finished third at the 2014 edition in South Africa before losing the final against hosts Morocco four years later.

 

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