Sports

Fans Urge AFN To Monitor Athletes’ Dev

Published

11 years ago

March 16, 2015

Female basketballers in contests during a past national compoetition

Some athletics fans have
urged the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to monitor the development of the athletes who won the 12th African Junior Athletics Championships recently.
The championships held from March 4 to March 8 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
For Nigeria to retain its title as champions of the continent which it secured in 2014, the athletes topped the medals table with 12 gold, eight silver and seven bronze medals.
South Africa was second with nine gold, seven silver and seven bronze medals, while hosts, Ethiopia came third with six gold, 12 silver and10 bronze medals.
Egypt was fourth with five gold, five silver and three bronze medals.
The fans told newsmen that the country’s 34 athletes were worthy of commendation, saying that Nigeria was blessed with talents.
Deji Aliu, a 100m gold medalist at the 1994 World Junior Championships in Portugal, said he was impressed with the athletes’ performance, saying there should be a follow-up on the athletes.
“I am impressed with the performance of the athletes, the fact remains that they did well. But it usually ends there, that is the problem we have in this country.
“There should be follow-up these athletes, I hope that when the athletes return to their base, it won’t end there. They should be monitored, tutored to see how they have improved.
“There are abundant talents, there is no doubt we were going to win in Africa but how do we continue to groom them to become world class,’’ he said.
Christian Aiyegbeni, who took part in relays at the African Junior Athletics Championships in 1997, said the athletes were worthy to be praised, urging that they should be groomed to international level.
Aiyegbeni said the athletes if properly managed they would be ranked top at international events, stressing that the nation was blessed with a lot of talents.
“These young athletes have really done the country proud, they deserve all the praise they are given.
“With their performance and retaining title as Africa’s champions, proper grooming will push them to international standards,’’ he said.
AFN’s Technical Director, Commodore Omatseye Nesiama, expressed joy at the athletes’ performance, noting that they surpassed their past record of nine gold, seven silver and three bronze medals.
“I am happy with their performance, they have represented the country with so much hope, focus and determination and it worked for them,’’ he said.
Nesiama also said that the AFN would take fresh steps to improve on the men’s pole vault and heptathlon.
“We are making fresh moves into events like the heptathlon as well as the men’s pole vault to see how we can improve and win medals in the future,’’ he said.

Sports

New W.W. Whyte Tournament Focuses On Talent Discovery – Engr. Alabere

Published

2 days ago

November 19, 2025

The Tide

The Chairman of Grassroots Initiative, Engr. Promise Alabere has reiterated that the New W.W. Whyte Secondary Football Tournament was to discover hidden players from the grassroots and groom them to stardom.

He stated that the his organisation is partnering with the Niger Delta Development Commission ( NDDC) for the football tournament, adding that in the first edition 32 players were discovered and NDDC, and his organisation are to fixing them into various clubs.

Engr. Alabere said this while briefing sports journalists last Tuesday, in Port Harcourt, and expressed optimism that the second edition which have 22 secondary schools participating would be exciting and impressive.

” The essence of this tournament is to catch them young because in the 1980s and 1990s most of the players that played for NNPC, Sharks and other big clubs in the country were discovered through this competition.

” Even me I was a product of the W.W. Whyte tournament, as I started playing for the Nigerian Police football club when I was in class four. But this competition stopped about 20 years when two schools resort to bloody clash during one of their games.

According to him the second edition expanded to schools in six Local Government Areas, saying that it will be better than the previous in terms of organisation and others.

“We want to make this edition more exciting and beneficial to all participating schools because the first edition was on experiment but this edition is no longer an experiment” he stated.

The Chairman of Grassroots Initiative,used the forum to advice all participating schools to conduct themselves in a good manner and adhere to rules of the competition.

He equally thanked NDDC for being its major sponsor of the tournament.

Tonye Orabere

Sports

Hoopers Ready For NPBL Title Defence – Captain

Published

2 days ago

November 18, 2025

The Tide

Rivers Hoopers captain Victor Anthony Koko has said that his team is mentally ready for the challenge of retaining their Nigeria Premier Basketball League title when the 2025 season Final Four phase holds from November 21 – 23 in Port Harcourt, Tidesports source reports.
The Kings Men, who won back-to-back NPBL titles in 2023 and 2024 unbeaten, are chasing their seventh title.
They will be up against Lagos Legends, Gboko City Chiefs, and Nigeria Customs, as they hope to retain the title they won last year and also pick the ticket to next year’s Basketball Africa League.
Following the conclusion of the Final Eight earlier this month, the KingsMen have had time to fine-tune preparations ahead of their title defence at the Final Four, with the skipper stating that he and his teammates are fully prepared to retain the championship.
“This time around, everyone is ready; everyone is mentally ready. We understand what is at stake, so we need to go all out. And right now, with the level of energy I’ve seen from my team during practice, I don’t think we’re going to be a team that just wants to have fun [on the court]. We’re a championship-winning team, and we want to retain that championship,” he stressed.
Koko has won the league seven times in his career, and he is looking to help the Port Harcourt club reach its height.
“I want us to win the 2025 NPBL title. It’s on my mind, day and night: Hoopers Champions. And I’m assuring our fans that we’re not going to let them down. It’s happening here in Port Harcourt, and we’re going to make them proud.”

Sports

Barau Beat Rangers To Move Out Of Relegation Zone

Published

2 days ago

November 18, 2025

The Tide

Nigeria Premier Football League newcomers, Barau FC have zoomed out of the drop zone after they defeated Rangers International FC 2-0 on Sunday in a rescheduled tie played in Kano.
The Maliya Boys got their goals through Muhammed Umar and Joseph Kemin in the 26th and 76th minutes to record their third win of the season
They have moved to the 16th spot with 13 points from 12 games but the loss by the Flying Antelopes see them slid to the seventh spot with 19 points from 13 games.
The home win is no doubt a relief to Barau FC head coach, Ladan Bosso who has seen his job brought under scrutiny following the Maliya Boys impressive start to the season.