Sports
Coaches Hail Body For Safety Training
Some football coaches in
the FCT have in Abuja commended the Search and Groom Youth for Development Centre for organising the public safety integrative training on youth resilience.
Some of the coaches who spoke to the Tidesports in separate interviews in Abuja said the training was timely as it would help in disaster management.
The Chairman of FCT Coaches Association, Godwin Bamigboye, said the training was commendable because it had exposed them to other ways football can be useful outside competition.
“It is a very huge success and the purpose of the gathering is being achieved.
“We need to appreciate the Search and Groom Centre and Mifalot Education and Society Enterprises from Israel for putting the training together,” he said.
Bamigboye said football could be used to create relief in camps for disaster victims by engaging them in football and taking their minds away from problems.
“Coaches are ready to contribute their quota in humanitarian service by enlightening the youths on what they can do during emergency situations.
“We want to specifically contribute our quota in camps for internally displaced persons, especially when we have flood.
“If we are available to give them hope by teaching them the game of football, we will help to mitigate their suffering and they will be happy because we are giving them hope.
“Football can be used as an instrument of peace and development. It can be used as an instrument of unity to bring hope to the people,” he said.
Coach Ngozi Eze of FCT Queens Female FC said her assessment of the programme was high, stating that it was very commendable.
She said the three-day programme made much impact, and more time should be given for the training.
“What I learnt in the last edition has been implemented in my team, and this has helped a lot in managing the players,’’ Eze said.
She said the training should be held yearly and the days for it should be extended for greater result.
Coach Ibrahim Bako of Medical Strikers FC of Gwagwalada said the public safety training through football was a transfer of knowledge on how to manage some players in the club.
He said the training should be done regularly to make the coaches conversant with the programme.
Also, the coach of Bwari Football Academy, David Emmanuel, said the programme was a platform to unite people who have been displaced from crises by putting smiles on their faces.
“For me, organising it annually is not enough. It should be a frequent programme, it should be taking place regularly as a platform to engage the younger ones in football,’’ he said.
Coach Gambo Danlami of AMAC FC said the programme was a good programme for youths to learn about disaster management.
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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