Sports
Premier League Matches Return Sets Lagos Agog
It is no longer news that
Lagos used to be the Mecca of Nigeria football in the past due mainly to the number of clubs that once participated in the nation’s thriving league scene.
At the height of football splendour in Lagos, colourful sides like Stationery Stores FC, NEPA FC, ACB FC, Julius Berger FC and First Bank FC at one time or the order held their football fans spellbound with their magical displays.
But eventually the eminent status that Lagos had in Nigerian football petered out because of challenges culminating in poor performance that saw the high flying Lagos clubs relegated to the lower rung of the Nigerian league.
Fans hostilities during national football team matches and national league matches also aided in dousing the flame of football in the state.
Because of the unruly nature of the football fans, the then Nigeria Football Association (NFA) now known as the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), had to stage matches involving the Super Eagles in Port Harcourt and elsewhere.
The ensuing development gradually turned the National Stadium Surulere into a “Ghost Town’’ of sorts, in addition to the relegation of the once flamboyant clubs like Stationery Stores et al into obscurity.
But the impending campaign of Mountain of Fire and Miracle FC and Ikorodu United FC in the 2015/2016 Nigeria Professional Football League NPFL will no doubt reignite the passion for league football in Lagos.
It will be germane to note that football fans around the country are already re-cultivating the attitude of storming league matches to cheer their teams to victory.
As tge NPFL matches resume this month, opes are currently high among fans as they anticipate the re-emergence of league matches in football-starved Lagos ahead of the kick-off of the upcoming season in 2016.
The Chairman of Lagos State Football Association (LSFA), Seyi Akinwunmi, said that the promotion of the two Lagos sides to the NPFL would once more ignite league followership in the state.
Akinwunmi said that the remarkable development would spur the growth of grassroots football in the state, adding that LSFA would assist in preparing the clubs ahead of the new league season.
“I keep on telling people that if you allow me to jump and roll and scream, I will.
“This is because I have been hounded for the past four years by the press over the absence of Lagos clubs from the Nigeria Professional Football League.
“I told people that when the time comes, it will happen and it has happened in a big way and we’ve been proven right.
“The important thing is that Lagos clubs are prepared.
“When we were talking about that, all we wanted was for them to run the clubs properly.
“And as the season begins, we are going to do a lot in terms of preparing them.
“In terms of teaching the people about what to do and I am sure that football is back home,’’ he said.
In the same vein, a former Super Eagles midfielder, Friday Ekpo, said that the return of Lagos clubs to the Nigeria top league would spice up football in the state.
Ekpo, who plied his trade for the defunct Abiola Babes FC in the late 1980s, noted that it would redeem the image of football in Lagos.
“It is a great development and also good for football growth in Lagos. I vividly remember as a player, how fans usually troop out to watch league matches in the past.
“Football is back to its main arena and I know Lagos fans are happy with the development,’’ he said.
Nduka Ugbade, who played for the defunct Niger Dock FC of Lagos, said that the newly promoted teams should be given the much needed support to thrive in the league.
Ugbade said that the task ahead of the clubs went beyond gaining promotion to the NPFL, adding that the sustenance of the clubs in the league was vital.
“There was a time when we had more clubs from Lagos State in the league before everything went bad for most of the clubs.
“The promoted clubs will only remain in the league if they are adequately prepared and well funded.
“By so doing, more clubs from Lagos will gain promotion to the league and reignite passion for football in the state,’’ he said.
Also, a board member of LSFA Falade Oyekan, said that the clubs’ promotion will boost football momentum in Lagos.
Oyekan said that it would also impact on the grassroots development of soccer, adding that the league had returned to its place of prominence.
“Lagos used to be the home of league football in the past and for a very long time we were starved because of the absence of clubs from Lagos.
“We are happy with this development and we know it will have positive impact on football in Lagos,’’ he said.
On the part of the teeming football fans in Lagos and its environs, expectations are high but the fans must learn to curb their unbridled exuberance and to make the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere a veritable Mecca for NPFL matches.
Ajayi writes for News Agency of Nigeria.
Kemi Ajayi
Sports
Former Champion Seeks Title Defence At Para Table Tennis Tourney
The 2006 Commonwealth Games silver medallist spoke to Tidesports source her desire to defend her para singles title in the women’s category and to also secure a qualification berth for both the regional West Africa para table tennis event in Abeokuta in September and the continental championship billed to hold in Cairo, Egypt in November.
The multiple Paralympian said, “My expectation is to come out great at this wonderful tournament and to qualify for the forthcoming tournament that is coming up in Nigeria and Egypt in September and November. Last tournament, I won the singles. I won three golds at the last ValueJet tournament. And I want to believe and hope that I will maintain my position by coming in first position.”
Ugwueke had featured in the para event at the 56th Molade Okoya-Thomas National Table Tennis Championships, held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in January, where she suffered a stunning defeat to eventual finalist and tournament runner-up Taiye Oyinloye, who in turn was beaten 3-1 (11-3, 7-11, 11-6, 11-9) by Commonwealth Games medallist, Kate Oputa, to become the women’s class 1-5 champion.
The ValueJet Lagos Para table tennis Open, which is in its seventh edition, is an event sanctioned by the governing body ITTF Africa and put together by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation in partnership with Lagos State Sports Commission.
The event will come to a close on July 11, with the competition serving as qualifiers for the country’s players for the regional tournament in Abeokuta.
A total of 98 athletes—57 men and 41 women—from Nigeria, Benin Republic, and Togo are competing in the singles events.
Notable performances have come from Alabi, Agunbiade, Ogunkunle, and Commonwealth Games medallists Kate Oputa and Faith Obazuaye, who have showcased their class against emerging talents across various classifications.
Their presence has intensified the battle for podium finishes, with top seeds asserting dominance in their respective singles events.
Sports
Nigerian Athletes Serving Doping Bans
The AIU announced in the June 2025 sanctions list on July 1 that 21-year-old quarter-miler Uko was found guilty of an anti-doping rule violation committed on June 5 2024. Her infraction falls under whereabouts failures, having missed three tests within a 12-month period.
The AIU confirmed that her period of ineligibility will run until 23 July 2026 and all results recorded from the date of the infraction have been officially disqualified.
Uko rose to fame after clinching three gold medals at the 2021 World U-20 Championships in Nairobi, winning the women’s 400 metres, 4x400m relay, and the mixed 4x400m relay.
Stephen Eloji (June 2028)
Sprinter and hurdler Stephen Eloji tested positive for dehydrochloromethyl-
The 25-year-old was active in the American collegiate circuit, recording strong performances in the 110m hurdles and relay events as recently as April 2024, including at the Pepsi Florida Relays and Music City Challenge.
Ada Princess Bright (September 2027)
Ada Princess Bright is serving a four-year ineligibility period after testing positive for Metenolone during the National Athletics Trials held on July 6 2023 in Benin City.
She had an active season prior to her suspension, competing in national meets in Lagos, Uyo, and Benin, and earning a relay gold at the African U20 Championships in Ndola, Zambia.
Grace Nwokocha (August 2025)
Nwokocha is serving a three-year ban after testing positive for SARMS substances including Ostarine and Ligandrol during the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The fallout was significant, as Nigeria was stripped of its women’s 4x100m relay gold medal at the Games. Prior to her suspension, she had qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, posted a personal best of 11.00s in the 100m, and reached the semi-finals in the 100m and 200m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. She is ineligible to compete until 2 August 2025.
Yinka Ajayi (January 2030)
Ajayi, a 400m specialist and one-time Olympic representative, is currently serving an extended eight-year ban for multiple anti-doping violations.
The first sanction, issued after she tested positive for Metenolone in an out-of-competition test in Iowa, USA, led to a four-year ban starting in December 2021. However, further findings of tampering led to an additional four-year penalty in 2024, extending her suspension until January 25 2030.
Glory Okon (January 2026)
Glory Okon is serving a four-year ban for testing positive for Metenolone following an out-of-competition test conducted on December 2 2021 in Nigeria.
She previously won gold in the 400 metres at the 2019 African U-20 Championships in Abidjan and featured prominently at the 2021 National Sports Festival in Benin City.
Blessing Okagbare (July 2031)
Once the face of Nigerian athletics, Okagbare is now serving a 10-year ban following multiple anti-doping rule violations. She tested positive for human growth hormone and EPO in an out-of-competition test in June 2021.
Her suspension came while competing at the Tokyo Olympics and was announced in February 2022. It was later extended by an additional year in June 2022 due to further breaches.
Divine Oduduru (February 2029)
Oduduru’s career was derailed by anti-doping violations linked to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. On October 12 2023, a Disciplinary Tribunal of the AIU imposed a six-year ban on Oduduru after he was found guilty of possessing and attempting to use prohibited substances and methods. The case stemmed from the wider investigation into Eric Lira, the first individual convicted under the US Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act, who supplied banned substances to athletes, including Okagbare, ahead of the Tokyo Games.
Oduduru’s ban is effective from February 9, 2023 and will run until February 8, 2029.
Henry Azike (Lifetime ban)
Azike is one of two Nigerian athletes currently serving a lifetime ban after testing positive for Metenolone, an anabolic steroid. His case was classified as a second ADRV, automatically triggering a lifetime suspension from the sport.
Azike last competed in 2011, including at the Doha Amir Cup and Nigerian Championships in Calabar.
Vivian Chukwuemeka (Lifetime ban)
Two-time Olympian and African shot put record holder Vivian Chukwuemeka is serving a lifetime ban for a second doping offence after testing positive for Stanozolol at the 2012 National Championships in Calabar.
The 2002 Commonwealth Games champion and multiple-time African gold medallist had previously served a two-year ban following a 2009 positive test. Her personal best of 18.43m remains the African record in women’s shot put.
Sports
Eagles B Players Admit Pressure For CHAN Qualification

Invited players into the Super Eagles B camp ahead of the rescheduled African Nations Championship tournament are feeling the pressure of selection, three days into their training camp at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne, Ogun State.
The eighth CHAN tournament is taking place in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda between August 2 to 20.
Ahead of the tournament, head coach Eric Chelle had invited an initial 35 players to camp and they began training on Monday with 21 players.
Five more players arrived on Tuesday to take the number to 26 while 28 players trained on Wednesday morning with the rest expected before the end of the week.
Captain of the team through the qualifiers, Junior Nduka, spoke about the intensity of the sessions and the jostle to make the final squad.
“Everybody is under pressure but definitely the coaches want the best among the 35 players,” Nduka said.
River United and former Flying Eagles forward, Aniekeme Okon, also admitted the pressure.
“It puts pressure on us, 35 players being invited, everybody is going to give out their best with an expectation of being selected. So we keep pushing.”
Ikorodu City defender, Leonard Ngenge also said, “Obviously, it puts everyone under pressure even myself. But I just need to do my best to be on the coaches’ radar.”
Nigeria, the 2018 runners-up, are in group D of the 19-team tournament, alongside Cup holders Senegal, Sudan and Congo.
The Super Eagles B will play their first two matches of the competition, against Senegal and Sudan, at the Amman Stadium on the island of Zanzibar, before taking on Congo at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
Nigeria has never won the tournament, having finished third at the 2014 edition in South Africa before losing the final against hosts Morocco four years later.
-
Sports2 days ago
Eagles B Players Admit Pressure For CHAN Qualification
-
Niger Delta2 days ago
NDLEA Intercepts 584.171kg Hard Drugs In Bayelsa … Arrests 559 Suspects
-
Rivers2 days ago
Four Internet Fraudstars Get Different Jail Terms In PH
-
Business2 days ago
Food Security: NDDC Pays Counterpart Fund For LIFE-ND Project
-
Business2 days ago
PH Women Plan Alternative Stew, Shun Tomato High Prices
-
Foods/Drinks2 days ago
What To Know About Your Menu
-
Niger Delta2 days ago
Ex-IYC President Lampoons Atiku’s Presidential Ambition … Declares It Negative Impact On N’Delta
-
News2 days ago
Tinubu Never Stopped 5-year Visa For U S. Citizens – Presidency ?