Sports
2013 AFCON: Let The Excitement Begin
The 2013 African Cup of Nations will finally kick off tomorrow in South Africa amidst excitement and expectations.
It is the 29th edition and the first time the African mundial will be held in an odd year, a design by the Confederation of African football, CAF, to avoid the championship being held in the same year as the FIFA World Cup.
After an expected elaborate opening ceremony, hosts, the Bafana Bafana of South Africa and debutants, Cape Verde Islands will take to the pitch for the opening match of the Championship.
Johannesburg will host the opening and final matches while other centres are in Rustenburg. Nelsprint and Port Elizabeth.
Having successfully hosted the 2010 World Cup, South Africa has what it takes to bring back the sparkle to the Nations Cup, which it is hosting after Libya, the initial host was swopped.
Only a year ago the continent and beyond was thrilled by the crème dela crème of African football in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, which threw up Zambia as eventual champions.
Already, pundits are creating their favourites. Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Ghana seem to be high on the lists of predicators of eventual winners.
But with returnees after 31 years of absence, Ethiopia, First timers, Cape Verde, who stopped the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, the hosts and the North African contingents fancying their chances for glory, it may be fool hardy for any one to stick his neck out too much on predictions.
Certainly, which ever country that lifts the trophy will be making history with the coronation of the odd years. And if Zambia fails to mount successful defence of their title, they will make history as the only champions to have reigned for one odd year only.
Indeed, all 16 nations in South Africa have cause to feel the hand of history on their shoulders.
Overall, the AFCON is a festival of friendly rivalries. It is a pan-African funfair, one of the most colourful football tournaments on planet Earth. The fans are expected to make all the difference even when teams falter. They drum, they sing, they dance, they celebrate in flamboyant costumes and drama.
The plurality, diversity and uniformity of African culture finds its fullest and most passionate expression at one and the same time.
For Nigeria’s Super Eagles, the aging golden generation of Cote d’ Ivoire, Black Stars of Ghana and perhaps, the north African teams, it is an opportunity to taste success again.
But the AFCON is a people’s affair, far more than a love for trophies. It touches almost every home through out the continent. And from tomorrow to 10th February will be action time.
Let the excitement begin, let the Vuvuzelas sound and let the talents of Africa shine through from South Africa.
The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria ( SWAN) Rivers State Chapter has set up five standing working committees on Tuesday, in its general congress.
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.”
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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