Sports
Ex-Internationals Hail Gokana Unity Cup
Former Super Eagles play
ers, Henry Nwosu, Victor Ukpoba and Mutiu Adepoju have hailed the annual Gokana Unity Cup competition, a football competition among communities in Gokana Local Government Area, Rives State, as a good model for grassroots development.
Speaking at the grand finale of the 2012 edition of the competition in Bera town early in the week, Nwosu, who with Ikpeba, Adepoju and Jossy Dombraye were the stars of yester-years that graced the occasion commended the organisers of the competition for their vision and commitment.
He said that it is competitions like the Gokana Unity Cup that breed young talents that feed professional club sides and the national youth teams.
Nwosu promised to put words in the right quarters for promising players of the competition.
Ukpeba on his part noted that Gokana LGA has been consistent in organising the competition and commended the chairman of the council, Hon Demua Leedum Demua for continuing with the visions of his predecessors and giving opportunities to the youth to explore and express their talents.
The final match of the 2012 edition was between defending champion, Team I. S. Kogbara and Team Justice P. B. Akere, both from Bodo City in the area.
At the end of the match, a new champion emerged as Team Justice P. B. Akere pipped I. S. Kogbara with a first half lone goal.
It was a keenly contested encounter that saw both teams battle hard but had few opportunities for goals.
Two other matches were also played as part of activities of the day.
The first was a novelty between women of the area that ended goalless while the second pitched the team of Gokana politicians and Gokana All Stars. Despite the presence of Nwosu, Ukpeba, Adepoju and Dombraye in the All Stars Side, the politicians, courtesy of a lone goal scored by the local government chairman, Demua, carried the day.
Meanwhile, the council chairman, Demua was recognised and honoured with merit awards by the League of Character Club, Rivers State and the Rivers State Football Association, RSFA, for his commitment and achievement in sports and football development.
This was further given credence when former chairman and now Commissioner for Works, Hon Victor Giadom acknowledged that Hon Demua has recorded more achievements than his own administration.
Among dignitaries at the grand finale was the Senator representing Rivers East Senatorial District, Senator Magnus Abe, member of National of Assembly, Hon Maurice Pronen, Bishop of Anglican Diocese of Ogoni, Bishop Gberegbara and others.
Nigeria’s world record holder, Tobi Amusan, continued her impressive 2026 season by winning gold and setting a new meet record in the women’s 100 metres hurdles at the New Taipei Athletics Open in Taiwan on Saturday, Tidesports source reports.
Amusan crossed the line in 12.72 seconds despite running against a slight headwind of -0.3 metres per second, finishing well clear of Chinese Taipei’s Bo Ya Zhang, who took silver in 13.17 seconds.
The performance erased the previous meet record and underlined the 29-year-old’s consistency as one of the dominant forces in women’s hurdling on the international circuit.
The New Taipei victory adds to a string of strong outings this season for the Nigerian. Earlier in the campaign, Amusan claimed her first Diamond League win of the season in Rabat, Morocco, clocking 12.28 seconds to break her own meeting record of 12.45 seconds set in 2025.
That time equalled her season’s best, which she had also posted at the Xiamen Diamond League.
Before Rabat, Amusan had recorded a third-place finish in Shanghai with 12.41 seconds and a runner-up spot in Xiamen with 12.28 seconds, where she was edged by American hurdler Masai Russell.
The season has also included a continental triumph, with Amusan winning gold in the women’s 100 metres hurdles at the African Championships in Accra, helping Nigeria to its first gold medal of the competition.
Her 12.28-second performance remains among the fastest times globally this year and ranks as one of the finest of her distinguished career.
Only her world record of 12.12 seconds, set at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, and the 12.24 seconds she clocked at the Meeting de Paris last year stand above it in her personal all-time list.
A three-time Diamond League champion, Amusan will be looking to reclaim the overall title this season while also preparing for the Diamond League finale and the Commonwealth Games later in the year.
4th
Super Falcons Must Improve- Coach Madugu
Super Falcons head coach Justin Madugu has offered an honest assessment of his side’s performance after Nigeria defeated Senegal 2-1 in an international friendly at the Remo Stars Sports Complex in Ikenne, admitting there is still considerable work ahead of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, Tidesports source reports.
Goals from Asisat Oshoala, who converted a first-half penalty, and Toni Payne gave Nigeria a commanding lead before Sokhna Nogaye’s long-range effort in the 86th minute reduced the deficit and set up a tense finish.
While the nine-time African champions secured the result and met their primary objective of assessing squad depth, Madugu acknowledged the performance was not without its shortcomings.
“It’s a good result, and naturally, when you play any game, you always want to win. This is a preparatory game, and the aim is to assess our readiness, test the strategies we want to execute in the competition, and give players the opportunity to showcase what they can do to provide us with more options,” Madugu told official54fx.
“These are the matches we use to identify which players are fully ready for the WAFCON. It was not a bad game for us, but as you know, there is always room for improvement. Yes, we did well, but we know there is still a lot of work to be done.”
The two sides meet again on Monday, June 8, in the second match of their friendly double-header as both nations continue their WAFCON preparations.
As Nigeria buries one of its legendary football heroes this weekend, the spirit of another late football hero of the same generation is being evoked.
As the body of late Henry Onyenmanze Nwosu, MON, is being committed to mother-earth on Saturday, June 6, in Naze, near Owerri, on
Sunday, June 7, 2026, the first in a two-part series of activities in remembrance of late Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, MFR, the one referred to as ‘the Big Boss’ by the football faithful, will take place in Lagos at the 10th Memorial Lecture organised yearly by a Foundation established by his friends and family at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Lagos.
Also, on July 28, 2026, exactly a day to the date (July 29) that Stephen Keshi died 10 years ago in 2016, his contributions as a sports diplomat within Nigeria’s strategic foreign affairs will be showcased and acknowledged. His name will be inscribed in gold letters on ‘the NIIA Sports Diplomacy Wall of Fame’ in everlasting memory of the great Nigerian football hero and patriot.
His name will be an addition to those of 69 other sporting heroes from Nigeria’s history that have already been found deserving of a place on famed Wall.
The ‘NIIA Sports Diplomacy Wall of Fame’ is a national monument established by an agency of the federal government of Nigeria, the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, to immortalize Nigerians that are known to have made major contributions to Nigeria’s international politics and diplomacy objectives through sports.
On July 28th 2026, it will be 3 years since the edifice was erected within the premises of NIIA in Lagos sponsored by Dr.Allen Onyema and his AirPeace Airline. It is an environment of water fountains, a beautiful garden and a Black marbled-wall on which the names of Nigerian sports heroes considered deserving are inscribed.
The existing list will now be extended to include the name of former Nigerian Green Eagles Captain and national team Coach, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, CON. He has been considered worthy, and his contributions identified, justified and approved by the NIIA.
The extension of the space on the wall to accommodate his name, plus the small ceremony to be done in his honour, will be courtesy of Dr. Allen Onyema and AirPeace Airline.
Stephen Keshi played and captained the Nigerian national football team. He also coached and managed the National team of Nigeria to an African Cup victory, qualified and took another African national team, Togo, to the FIFA World Cup, personally opened the way and assisted a whole generation of Nigerian and other African football players in the transition to professional ranks in Europe.
Meanwhile, inside the sports diplomacy department of the NIIA, a few other Nigerians athletes are being considered for a place on the wall in the very near future. They include world record breaker and holder,Tobi Amusan; first and only female Olympic Gold medalist, Chioma Ajunwa, and the Atlanta ‘96 ‘Dream Team’ and Olympic Gold medalists.
The honours list is not based on sports achievements only, but on impact in the international diplomatic and political space in conformity with Nigeria’s foreign affairs agenda and objectives!
I remember the great ‘Stefan’, as I called Keshi, very fondly. He called me ‘Segunda Fero’!
Former national 400m hurdles champion, Olympian Henry Amike, has called for greater investment in athletics, athletes’ welfare, training and competitions to restore Nigeria’s competitiveness in track and field events.
Amike who spoke in Abuja Thursday said the pace of development in Nigerian athletics has fallen short of expectations despite the achievements recorded by previous generations of athletes.
“We expected that after we left the scene, people would take over immediately, but it has taken almost 40 years before things like this are coming up. We are not happy with what we have seen in Nigerian track and field,” he said.
He said that their technical expertise and experience could contribute significantly to policy formulation and institutional reforms within the sector.
Amike, one of Nigeria’s most accomplished track and field athletes, represented the country at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.
He competed in the 400 metres hurdles and 4×400 metres relay events.
The Olympian’s most notable international achievement came at the 1987 World Championships in Rome, where he became the first Nigerian athlete to qualify for the final of the men’s 400m hurdles. His personal best time of 48.50 seconds stood as Nigeria’s national record for 35 years before it was broken in 2022.
Amike also won medals at continental competitions and was widely regarded as one of Africa’s leading hurdlers during the 1980s, contributing to Nigeria’s growing profile in international athletics.
Amike, who served as a legislative assistant to the speaker of the House of Representatives, has confirmed his intention to contest the Lagos West Senatorial District seat in 2027.
According to him, his political agenda will focus on youth empowerment, sports development, education and broader socio-economic issues affecting residents of the senatorial district.
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