Sports

Fans Express Dismay At Cancellation Of Arsenal Visit

Published

13 years ago

July 11, 2012

Soccer fans in Nigeria have described as unfortunate the decision by Arsenal FC of England to cancel their pre-season tour of Nigeria, citing “complexities linked to the proposed game’’.

The “Gunners’’ as they are fondly called, were to play a match in Abuja on August 5 against the Super Eagles but have now decided against fulfilling the fixture.

Arsenal Marketing Director Angus Kinnear last week in a statement said: “Bringing a top-level club to an international market is always complicated and logistically challenging.

“With the proposed match in Nigeria planned for early August, we could not get comfortable on everything needed to satisfy our requirements, so we have reluctantly taken the decision to postpone the team’s visit’’.

They postponed the game till next summer.

Meanwhile, the fans who spoke blamed the decision on security challenges in the country rather than the reason given by the club’s official.

An Arsenal fan, Sulyman Asekunlowo said he was not happy with the decision.

Asekunlowo, a civil servant, however, said that he would not blame them because their decision must have been hinged on the security threat posed by the Boko Haram sect.

“I’m not surprised with the decision because I have envisaged such a thing. How will a club like Arsenal risk playing in Nigeria in spite of the spate of bombings?

“This is a call on our government to arrest the insecurity in Nigeria. We cannot expect the economy to thrive in this situation.

“If we expect foreign investors to come to Nigeria without guaranteeing their security, it is a mirage,” he said.

For a student and fan of the English Premiership team, Kazeem Aremu, he was delighted with the cancellation.

According to him, it is better that the club cancels the trip than subject the players to the state of insecurity in the country.

He added that he was sure that the club would change their plan if they reconsidered the security situation.

“Everyone knows that the reason is not far-fetched. It is because of the bombings, especially in the northern part of the country and not the logistics reason given by the club.

“We hope our government will address the problem since they have known that people are avoiding the country because of the threat,’’ he said.

Also, Ex-Super Eagles goalkeeper, Joseph Dosu, said that it was unfortunate because the Eagles were expected to resume camp in about two weeks to prepare for the friendly.

“It is a setback on our football, especially at this moment when we are trying to regain our lost glory and bounce back to our winning ways,” he said.

Dosu added that the club should be true to Nigeria and clearly state what the problem is rather than attribute their postponed visit to logistics.

“If something has gone wrong, they should come out clearly and say it rather than create technical excuses because it is sad,” he said.

Sports

New W.W. Whyte Tournament Focuses On Talent Discovery – Engr. Alabere

Published

2 days ago

November 19, 2025

The Tide

The Chairman of Grassroots Initiative, Engr. Promise Alabere has reiterated that the New W.W. Whyte Secondary Football Tournament was to discover hidden players from the grassroots and groom them to stardom.

He stated that the his organisation is partnering with the Niger Delta Development Commission ( NDDC) for the football tournament, adding that in the first edition 32 players were discovered and NDDC, and his organisation are to fixing them into various clubs.

Engr. Alabere said this while briefing sports journalists last Tuesday, in Port Harcourt, and expressed optimism that the second edition which have 22 secondary schools participating would be exciting and impressive.

” The essence of this tournament is to catch them young because in the 1980s and 1990s most of the players that played for NNPC, Sharks and other big clubs in the country were discovered through this competition.

” Even me I was a product of the W.W. Whyte tournament, as I started playing for the Nigerian Police football club when I was in class four. But this competition stopped about 20 years when two schools resort to bloody clash during one of their games.

According to him the second edition expanded to schools in six Local Government Areas, saying that it will be better than the previous in terms of organisation and others.

“We want to make this edition more exciting and beneficial to all participating schools because the first edition was on experiment but this edition is no longer an experiment” he stated.

The Chairman of Grassroots Initiative,used the forum to advice all participating schools to conduct themselves in a good manner and adhere to rules of the competition.

He equally thanked NDDC for being its major sponsor of the tournament.

Tonye Orabere

Sports

Hoopers Ready For NPBL Title Defence – Captain

Published

2 days ago

November 18, 2025

The Tide

Rivers Hoopers captain Victor Anthony Koko has said that his team is mentally ready for the challenge of retaining their Nigeria Premier Basketball League title when the 2025 season Final Four phase holds from November 21 – 23 in Port Harcourt, Tidesports source reports.
The Kings Men, who won back-to-back NPBL titles in 2023 and 2024 unbeaten, are chasing their seventh title.
They will be up against Lagos Legends, Gboko City Chiefs, and Nigeria Customs, as they hope to retain the title they won last year and also pick the ticket to next year’s Basketball Africa League.
Following the conclusion of the Final Eight earlier this month, the KingsMen have had time to fine-tune preparations ahead of their title defence at the Final Four, with the skipper stating that he and his teammates are fully prepared to retain the championship.
“This time around, everyone is ready; everyone is mentally ready. We understand what is at stake, so we need to go all out. And right now, with the level of energy I’ve seen from my team during practice, I don’t think we’re going to be a team that just wants to have fun [on the court]. We’re a championship-winning team, and we want to retain that championship,” he stressed.
Koko has won the league seven times in his career, and he is looking to help the Port Harcourt club reach its height.
“I want us to win the 2025 NPBL title. It’s on my mind, day and night: Hoopers Champions. And I’m assuring our fans that we’re not going to let them down. It’s happening here in Port Harcourt, and we’re going to make them proud.”

Sports

Barau Beat Rangers To Move Out Of Relegation Zone

Published

2 days ago

November 18, 2025

The Tide

Nigeria Premier Football League newcomers, Barau FC have zoomed out of the drop zone after they defeated Rangers International FC 2-0 on Sunday in a rescheduled tie played in Kano.
The Maliya Boys got their goals through Muhammed Umar and Joseph Kemin in the 26th and 76th minutes to record their third win of the season
They have moved to the 16th spot with 13 points from 12 games but the loss by the Flying Antelopes see them slid to the seventh spot with 19 points from 13 games.
The home win is no doubt a relief to Barau FC head coach, Ladan Bosso who has seen his job brought under scrutiny following the Maliya Boys impressive start to the season.