Sports
NSC To Include Beach Volleball In NSF
The National Sports Commission (NSC) has said that beach volleyball would be included in the events for the 19th National Sport Festival (NSF) in Calabar, Cross Rivers in 2014.
NSC’s Assistant Director of Elite Athlets Development, Igbinosa Emmanuel, disclosed this while speaking with newsmen in Abuja.
Igbinosa said the decision was due to the success of the sport since its inception in the country.
“We discovered that it is an area that Nigeria can do well as we are doing in beach football.
“And I am assuring you that it will be recognized as a scoring event at the next sports festival because it was at the last Games, tagged “Eko 2012” in Lagos.
“But what happened then was that there was a mix up in the zonal eliminations and they came in a little bit late.
“The sport has been doing well locally, nationally and internationally and this will be an encouragement for them to do more,” he said.
Igbinosa noted the sport was also at the last 10th All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique and both the male and female teams came fifth and eight, respectively.
“So, they should be given the necessary support because we want them to do better than they have done,” he said.
Igbinosa quoted the Director –General of NSC, Patrick Ekeji as saying that the commission was committed to promoting the sport both at the grassroots and the national level.
“Due to the success the sport has recorded over time, we are committed to promoting it because of its potential.
“We will be doing this for two purposes because beach volleyball is both a recreational and competitive sport.
“So, we are pledging our support to the Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF) for the growth of the sport,” he said.
The second edition of the Samsung Electronics Male and Female Beach Volleyball Championships held from March 29 to 31 in Abuja.
The three-day championships started off with 12 of the 20 teams expected at the competition with Ondo State and Delta teams winning the male and female categories, respectively.
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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