Sports

Nigeria, Gambia To Partner On Sports Dev

Published

11 years ago

March 1, 2013

The Gambia is desirous of gaining from Nigerian sports in areas of personnel development, infrastructure, technical assistance and grass-roots development, the country’s Youth and Sports Minister Alieu Jammeh has said.

Jammeh, who stated this during a visit to the Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi, yesterday in Abuja, said his country was seeking Nigeria’s assistance to enhance its sports development.

“We have always known that you have so much that we can gain from, and we hope to strengthen our relationship by securing your assistance to develop in various areas of sports, such as football, basketball and volleyball,” he said.

The minister, accompanied by the country’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mrs Angela Iheme, and two other officials, said the Gambia had only minimal success and development in football to boast about.

“Over the years, we have only been able to do something in football to the detriment of other sports. Even then, things have dropped for us in football and we realised that certain things are not going on fine.

“We also realised that we can’t do it by ourselves, as we are a small country of limited resources and our government has other commitments,” he said.

Jammeh listed as critical, the training of coaches and administrators, as well as the grass-roots development of sports through schools to sustain and improve on what is available.

He said sports infrastructure was another area in which the Gambia would be looking for help, saying the country had only one national stadium which was built about 30 years ago.

“Our infrastructure is also a big issue, as we have only one national stadium. I was very much impressed with your Abuja National Stadium when I came in here yesterday.

“We have a problem of even maintaining the one we have in spite of the fact that we have big ideas of hosting big competitions like the African Cup of Nations (AFCON).

“But we do know you can’t do that without infrastructure, and that is why we will be needing technical assistance and structures from you,” the minister said.

He, however, congratulated Nigeria on its AFCON 2013 victory, saying his country’s President, Yahya Jammeh, was very much elated over Nigeria’s success.

The minister also said the victory excited him much more with the fact that it was achieved by a team led by an indigenous coach.

“We in the Gambia, and me especially, were happy that it was achieved through a local coach and it tells much about what Africans can do if given the chance,” he said.

Responding, Abdullahi praised the minister’s commitment and desire, pointing out that it all started during their meeting at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

“This is a demonstration of your commitment to your assignment as minister, as you have indicated interest in this partnership since our meeting in London, and I am therefore not surprised that you are now here,” he said.

Abdullahi, who is also Chairman of the National Sports Commission, gave the assurance that Nigeria would share its experiences and resources with the Gambia.

“Our victory in South Africa was a West African thing as seven of the eight quarter-finalists were from West Africa and four of them were in the semi-finals.

“It does show that West Africa is a powerhouse in African football, but we don’t want it to be about football alone but sports as a whole.

“This must be so because the 2012 London Games was a sad commentary on our sports as no West African country won a gold medal, and to correct that, we must share our experiences and resources to develop,’’ he said.

The minister said West African countries needed to take more interest in the ECOWAS Games, saying the third edition scheduled for Cote D’Ivoire in 2014 should be better than others before it.

“It will be a great opportunity for us to further develop. Only few countries were there in 2012 at the second edition in Ghana, but we should know it provides us a great opportunity to share.

“After the London Games, a lot of questions came up, and for us in Nigeria it was a very difficult moment. It however presented us with an opportunity to reflect and plan for a better future.

“Our President was very much involved in our Presidential Sports Retreat and from there we have put in place a lot of reforms which have been yielding fruits.

“So, we will be happy to share with the Gambia what we have, and we also know that we can learn from you too because we all know there are differences in our contexts,” he said.

The Gambian minister had on his entourage, the country’s Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, retired Brig.-Gen. Ebrima Bah, and the Youth and Sports Ministry’s Deputy Permanent Secretary, Malong Jassy.

Sports

Expert Wants Parents To Enroll Children In Vector Programme

Published

1 day ago

April 22, 2024

The Tide

In a bid to have more young talented Nigerians to play professional football abroad, Johnny Ogbah, a sports lawyer and football intermediary, has called on parents to enroll their children in Vector Programme.
He stated that the programme is in conjunction with Conventry Football Club in United Kingdom (UK), saying that the programme includes academics where a child can acquire a degree.
Ogbah, made the call while addressing sports journalists recently in Port Harcourt, as the programme will admit students into Brooke College between the age of 11 and 18 Football Academy.
The major objective of Vector Programme is to give the young ones a career through sports and good education. The programme does not train people on football only but also other things that is related to sporting environment, he said.
According to him, more than 20 Nigerians have benefited from the programme on scholarship and most of them are now playing football in top clubs in Europe.
“Vector programme was poised to create an avenue to give people to play football to the highest level.
Apart from football the child can also have quality education. It will interest you to know that those in Vector programme play friendly games that attracts scouts from different countries and football clubs.
The programme doesn’t train you on only football but also train people on everything that is associated to sports”, Ogbah said.
The former Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) player further disclosed Vector programme pathways provides the practice opportunities that players need if they are to successfully graduate as a professional player.

By: Tonye Orabere

Sports

NLO: Khana FC Coach Blames Players For Missing Chances

Published

1 day ago

April 22, 2024

The Tide

The Head Coach of Khana FC in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, Sam Ledor, has blamed his players as they were unable to convert scoring chances.
According to him, if those chances created in their opening match against Jet Bomber FC at the ongoing Nation wide League One (NLO), in Omoku centre were converted, it would have given them victory.
Ledor, said this on Saturday in a chat with Tidesports shortly after they played goalless draw against Jet Bomber FC in their opening match in 2024 NLO Division in Omoku, Rivers State.
“ We created a lot of scoring chances but could not find the net”, he said.
He explained that playing goalless draw is not a bad result in football but in a competition like this, they need to score goals and win matches.
“ My brother, we missed a lot of scoring chances which is not good. I trainned my players on how to create chances and to convert them.
“ What is important in a competition is winning but as we did not lose the game, we will look forward for our next game.
“We will go back to the drawing board and correct the grey areas in our game and ensure we get better results in our next outing.
“Today’s game is gone, what we need to do is to make sure we win our next game,” he stated.
He pointed out that no game comes easy but the effort you put in will give good result. They tried their best today and the result was good for both teams but we need to win our next game.
“My opponents were also a good side; they tried all what they could but didn’t score also. It was a good game but my team needs to win games,” he added.

By: Kiadum Edookor

Sports

Wilkins Backs Rivers Hoopers To Spring Surprises At 2024 BAL

Published

1 day ago

April 22, 2024

The Tide

A French-American, John Walter Wilkins is confident Rivers Hoopers can make it to the playoff round of the 2024 Basketball Africa League (BAL).
Wilkins, who is the son of former NBA player Jeff Wilkins, linked up with his Hoopers teammates at the team’s training camp in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, ahead of the 2024 BAL Savannah Conference games, which tip off on Saturday, 4th May, 2024, in Dakar, Senegal.
Wilkins is no stranger to African basketball, having played for Moroccan sides AS Salé (2015-2016) and Ittihad Tanger (2017-2019), before leading Stade Malien to a third-place finish at BAL 2023.
Looking ahead to the 2024 BAL, Wilkins says the quality of basketball across Africa has improved, with the BAL requiring a high level of competitiveness, but backed Rivers Hoopers to spring a surprise at the tournament.
“It’s a really high level, a great competition; [it’s] one of the best I’ve played in since I’ve been in Africa. But we don’t need to be scared. We need to just attack the moment, be there, be present, and I think if we are confident in our abilities, we can surprise people,” he said.
Since its inaugural season in 2021, Nigerian teams have appeared twice at the BAL, with Rivers Hoopers playing in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2021 and Kwara Falcons featuring at BAL 2023.
Despite failing to reach the playoffs on both previous occasions, Wilkins is optimistic that with the quality of players in the Hoopers squad as well as the recruitment done ahead of the BAL, Rivers Hoopers will be more competitive in this season’s BAL.
“I’m really optimistic. I know that those past years the teams from Nigeria didn’t do well, but I think with me, Kelvin [Amayo], Will [Perry], and the other guys, I think we can show the way, have some wins, and be more competitive,” he stated.
The Nigerian Champions were drawn in the Savannah Conference alongside former BAL Champions US Monastir (Tunisia), last year’s runners-up AS Douanes (Senegal), and APR (Rwanda).