Sports
Sustain Momentum In Qualifers, NFF Tells Falcons
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has urged the Super Falcons to sustain their winning momentum by beating the She- Amavubis of Rwanda again when they visit on Saturday in Kaduna.
This is contained in a statement by the team’s Media Officer, Gracious Akujobi, quoting NFF’s Director of Technical, Emmanuel Ikpeme, who visited the national senior women football team.
The Falcons are billed to host the Rwandese in a final round second leg match in the 2014 African Women Championship (AWC) qualifiers this weekend.
The match is billed for the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna, with the Nigerian side holding a 4-1 advantage from the first leg game the Rwandese hosted in Gisenyi on May 24.
Ikpeme told the team at their training session at the FIFA Goal Project pitch of the Abuja National Stadium they should confirm their superiority by beating the She- Amavubis again.
“I came to congratulate you girls for defeating Rwanda in their own backyard, but I want you to sustain the tempo and the winning mentality by finishing what you started in Rwanda.
“Although playing in front of your fans can bring pressure on you, you just have to make sure that at the same time, you did not disappoint them,’’ he said.
The Super Falcons need to avoid a heavy loss to the She-Amavubis to qualify for the AWC scheduled to hold in Namibia.
The 2014 AWC, which is the ninth edition, is scheduled for October 11 to Oct. 25
Meanwhile, the ýcountry’s U-20 women national team, Falconets, are set to depart Abuja for Accra, Ghana, for an international friendly against the Black Princess.
The team’s media Officer, Elizabeth Kah, said in a statement that the team would leave for Ghana today.
The statement said the Falconets would play two matches on Friday and Sunday while in Ghana.
It said that the friendly games were part of the team’s preparation for the FIFA U-20 Women World Cup.ý
The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup is billed for August 5 to Aug. 24 in Canada.
Sports
CAA Wants Ghana To Host 2026 Athletics Champions
The Confederation of African Athletics has invited Ghana to bid for the hosting rights of the 2026 African Athletics Championships, following a successful athletics event at the just concluded 2023 African Games.
President of Ghana Athletics, Bawa Fuseini, stated this and expressed confidence in the transformative potential of the Legon Stadium for athletes and Ghana’s bid to host international competitions.
With a capacity of 11,000, the Legon Stadium played a pivotal role in the recent African Games, hosting both the opening and closing ceremonies as well as various sporting events including athletics, football, and rugby.
Fuseini highlighted the success of the athletics events held at the stadium, which contributed to Ghana winning six medals.
“We have already started getting requests from the Confederation of African Athletics to bid for the 2026 African Athletics Championships.
“When they came and saw what we have put in place and the level of organisation, they told me that for the last 20 years, they’ve never seen any organisation like this before. We did three official courses. And the last one, we had 110, all of them passed. We had a lot of officials and equipment.”
Since its establishment in 1979, Ghana has never hosted the African Athletics Championships, with Nigeria being the host country twice, in 1989 and 2018.
This year, Cameroon will take the reins as the host nation, with the event set to be held at the Olembe Stadium.
Sports
‘I’m Not Under Pressure To Coach Eagles’
Finidi George, head coach of the Nigeria Premier Football Leagues side, Enyimba, has stated that he is not losing any sleep over getting the Super Eagles job on a permanent basis.
Early this month, the Nigeria Football Federation declared the position of the Super Eagles’ head coach vacant, following the exit of Portuguese Jose Peseiro, who led the side to a second-place finish at the 2023 Africa Cup Nations in Ivory Coast in February.
In an advertisement on its website calling for applications with a March 13 deadline, the football governing body stated that the prospective Eagles coach “must have proven experience at the elite level of football.”
The former Ajax man, who also applied for the job, was appointed Eagles interim coach for the international window with the former winger picking a win and suffering a defeat.
In an interview with Tidesports source, the 52-year-old tactician said he was not desperate for the job permanently.
“I felt really good when I was told to take charge of the team. I have been with the team for almost two years, I know all the players, their strengths, and their weaknesses but I am only here to serve Nigeria the way I know how to do stuff.
“I will just take these two games and go back to my club. Whatever the decision is taken after, so be it. I’m not under pressure to say I must get the role permanently.”
Sports
‘Reasons Why Eagles Lost To Mali’
The friendly games against Ghana and Mali were to serve as an audition for George Finidi, who was in charge of the team on an interim basis, but the Eagles’ lacklustre display in those friendlies has called for his further evaluation.
Finidi kept faith with ex-coach Jose Peseiro’s defensive formation against Mali on the back of his first win (against Ghana) in charge of the team four days earlier.
But this time, his defence was punished following a combination of defensive errors and poor passes.
The Eagles struggled to play out of defence due to the high pressing of the Malians and it was no surprise that the first goal by Les Aigles was a direct result of their aggression.
Chidozie Awaziem, who started on the right of the back three alongside Kenneth Omeruo and Semi Ajayi, lacked composure and was pressured into making a pass across his box straight at Bilal Toure, who made no mistake in getting the ball past Stanley Nwabali. They missed the calming presence of injured William Troost-Ekong.
Vice captain, Kenneth Omeruo, was also culpable of misplaced passes and was beaten for pace when Kamory Doumbia ran past him to seal Mali’s first win in over four decades, firing his shot past a helpless Nwabali, who stood no chance.
Eagles wing backs, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Jamilu Collins also did not do enough to support the team in attack when they had the chance to.
Lack of creativity
Finidi paired Raphael Onyedika and Wilfred Ndidi in a double pivot in midfield. Both players are naturally anchor men and neither is a box-to-box midfielder.
They both do not possess the offensive capability to drive the team’s attack forward, which left the Eagles once again craving for a natural creative midfielder.
-
News4 days ago
Trafficking: Beware Of Fake $900 Jobs, NAPTIP Warns Nigerians
-
Focus4 days ago
Reminisces On Tributes To Mrs Adeline Ndalu Jaja
-
Nation2 days ago
Ododo Applauds Security Agencies Over Rescue Of 43 Bus Passengers
-
Opinion12 hours ago
Good Friday: Timeless Message Of Sacrifice, Redemption
-
News7 hours ago
Ohanaeze Urges S’East Govs, Security Agencies To End Insecurity In Igboland
-
Sports6 hours ago
Onigbinde Not Sacked – Chairman
-
Oil & Energy4 days ago
NNPCL Lists Transparency, Accountability, Others, As Transformation Drivers
-
News4 days ago
Food Prices Rise In February 2024 -NBS