Sports
Benin Emerges Copa Cup Zonal Championsa
The Benin U-16 Coca-Cola Football team has
lifted the zone C trophy – the Coco-Cola Copa Cup.
To emerge champions, the Benin team
defeated Enugu, 2-0 in the finals played at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium.
The organisers of the tournament said they
used the FIFA Youth Football competition format of a round robin and knockout,
to select the champions of Zone C.
The zonal finals had four cities in
attendance, Benin, Asaba, Imo and Enugu.
The Benin zonal champions would now compete for medals and cash prizes at the
national finals to be staged at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos on May 27,
which is to coincide with the Children’s Day.
An ex-international, Waidi Akani, one of
the ambassadors of the tournament, advised the Nigeria Football Federation
(NFF) to deploy an ex-international to the region to scout for raw young
talents.
In an interview with newsmen Akani, who was also the celebrity coach for
the Benin Zone, rated the competition high saying that the standard of the
games was impressive.
On how to groom the discovered talents, he
said: “we need to put their details on our database and follow their progress.
“Without this, we can’t achieve the aim for
which such competitions are organised.
“And this is why the NFF needs to send the
ex-internationals to regions and zones to scout for young raw talents because
everybody cannot be at the national level.
“The federation can deploy
ex-internationals to the different zones and through this method create jobs
for them to fish out talents, who will continually fill up the gaps in all the
national age group teams.
“This is what is obtainable elsewhere but
not in Nigeria,’’ he said, stressing regrettably, “it is at the federation
level that everybody wants to be. It should not be so. We should be in the
regions and zones.
“When I came here to Benin, I looked for
ex-internationals like Victor Igbinoba, Baldwin Bazuaye, Emmanuel Okocha and
Monday Eguavoen to help me out with selections.
He noted: “the worst mistake the federation
had made was in doing away with ex-internationals who had done well in the past
for the country.
“The federation needs to emphasise the need
to scout for ex-internationals and get them employed, so that they can operate from regions and zones.
The
project manager Coca-cola Youth Soccer championship Femi Adelusi, said the
essence of the competition was to connect, engage and promote talents of teens
and young adults on a distinctive platform.
The Bayelsa State government, yesterday, announced that the marathon will be held on Saturday, April 4, 2026.
The inaugural race is owned by the Bayelsa State Government and will be organised by Nilayo Sports Management Limited, a sports management company.
Under the theme “The Reveal,” the race represents a bold unveiling of Bayelsa’s immense human and cultural potential to the international community, inviting the world to witness the resilience, grit, and talent rooted in the heart of the Niger Delta.
According to the organisers, the race will be flagged off at 9:30 a.m., at the Opolo Roundabout, guiding participants through a carefully designed 10-kilometre route that highlights the scenic beauty and vibrant atmosphere of Yenagoa.
The course will culminate at Peace Park Square, where athletes will cross the finish line into a grand celebration of endurance, unity, and community spirit.
To elevate the experience for runners and spectators alike, the finish venue will host a high-energy post-race concert featuring performances from top A-list artistes, blending sport and entertainment in a festival-style atmosphere.
The organisers directed all registered participants to collect their race bibs and kits at the designated Peace Park Square between March 30 and April 3, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily.
The race, according to them, is currently on track for World Athletics accreditation, underscoring the commitment of both the Bayelsa State Government and Nilayo Sports Management Limited to delivering an event that meets the highest global standards.
The Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Bukola Olopade, on Friday continued the Commission’s nationwide appreciation tour with a visit to Abeokuta, where outstanding junior athlete, Majekodunmi Afusat Bisola, was presented with a cheque of N3 million.
The presentation forms part of the NSC’s initiative to recognise and reward exceptional junior athletes who distinguished themselves in 2025 and contributed significantly to Nigeria’s medal haul.
Majekodunmi delivered an impressive run of performances on the track. At the last edition of the National Sports Festival, she stormed to gold in the 400m and the 4x400m relay. She replicated the double triumph at the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Junior Championship, in Abeokuta, before emerging as one of the standout stars at the African Youth Games in Luanda, Angola.
Speaking during the presentation, Olopade explained that the Commission deemed it necessary to extend financial appreciation to grassroots athletes after elite performers had earlier received grants running into thousands of dollars.
“A few weeks ago, after paying grants to our elite athletes, we agreed tthere was a need to also appreciate these young, budding talents who made Nigeria proud last year,” he said.
He disclosed that of the 376 medals recorded by Nigerian athletes in 2025, more than 200 were won by grassroots talents, underscoring the importance of sustained investment in youth development.