Sports
Principal Solicit For Support On Sports Dev
Hon (Mrs) Kpakol Sister Levula (Left) presenting trophy to senior prefect girls and Green House Leader, Holy Rossary College, Nwibari Kobani during 5th edition of Inter-House Sports competition of the college last Friday at the college premises. Pix: Nwiueh Donatus Ken
The principal of Holy Ro
sary College, Port Harcourt, Bar Vero Efika, has solicited for the support of parents, guardians and old Girls of the school, as towards acquiring well as philanthropists in securing the school’s sporting facilities to engage the students meaningfully.
Efika, who made the appeal at the school’s 5th Inter-House Sports competition held at the weekend said, “we need you to partner with us for the proper development of these children, intellectually, physically and morally”.
She stated that the highest function of education is to turn out the best integrated individual who is capable of dealing with life as a whole.
“It is the Holy Rosary College standard that emphasis be given towards meeting the demands of the three domains with emphasis on character formation and discipline. A child with good character and discipline is well equipped to face any intellectual challenges”, said the principal.
The principal urged parents to view sports beyond entertainment and improvement of the physical well being but to also consider the exposure it gives as well as the enormous wealth it helps the individual to generate.
Mrs Levula Kpakol, emphasized on the need for the involvement of private investors in the nation’s sports development noting that Nolly wood and Beauty Peagents have got to the height in Nigeria today because of the wonderful impact of private investors.
Kpakol who was mother of the Day at the evet said the best way to get the champions of tomorrow is embark on vigorous talent hunt in the schools and community, sports competitions where they abound.
She called on the Rivers State Government to consider the presence of Sports facilities in the private schools before they are given approved to operate since the absence of sports would not guarantee the total upbringing of a child.
The mother of the day, lauded parents for their growing interest in allowing their children and wards to participate in sporting and extra curriculum activities stressing that some people have become world heroes today because of their talents in sports.
“If a child is not good here, it does not mean that such a child is totally useless because she can as well be good in other areas,” she stated.
The Admins secretary, Catholic Education Board, Mrs Josephine Ogolo, said that the importance of sports development cannot be over emphasized in scheme of things in Catholic schools, and pointed out that sports is like a tradition which the Catholic schools participate with passion.
Ogolo maintained that apart from school inter-house competitions, the Board also organizes Catholic Children Day and Zonal Sport meets to allow the students express their sports prowess.
At the end of the competition, White House emerged the overall best with 75 points, while Blue House and Green House came second and third with 73 points and 62 points respectively.
Chris Oluoh
Only Denmark, ranked 21st globally, sits higher among nations that failed to qualify for the tournament, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
England and Chelsea legend John Terry was among those to voice his disappointment, describing Nigeria as a significant loss to a tournament that features 48 nations for the first time.
“Nigeria will be a big miss. This is a World Cup for participants who haven’t had the opportunity to play in the tournament. I would have loved to see a top team like Nigeria there because they’ve got some great individuals. They’re a great nation,” Terry said during a virtual roundtable session organised by SuperSport.
“I think they are a big miss because Nigeria probably would have gone further in the competition, but unfortunately, one side’s loss is another’s gain,” the former England captain added.
Eric Chelle’s side finished second in Group C of the CAF World Cup qualifiers behind South Africa, who secured automatic qualification. Nigeria kept their hopes alive with a playoff semi-final victory over Gabon before falling to the Democratic Republic of Congo on penalties in the decisive playoff final — their second successive absence from the World Cup after also missing the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
The Nigeria Football Federation later challenged DR Congo’s qualification, alleging the use of ineligible players during the campaign, but the appeal was dismissed.
Despite missing the World Cup, the Super Eagles remain Africa’s 3rd highest-ranked team behind Morocco, who sit seventh in the world, and Senegal. Algeria and Egypt complete the continent’s top five.
Defending champions Argentina enter the tournament as the world’s top-ranked side, ahead of Spain, France, England and Portugal. Brazil are sixth, followed by Morocco, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
The next FIFA World Ranking will be released on July 20, a day after the World Cup final.
Chima Akachukwu and Miracle Akhigbe are among the 16 notable stars picked by the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) for the forthcoming Namibia Tour, where the YellowGreens will compete in a T20 and 50-Over Tri-Series, featuring hosts Namibia and Hong Kong China.
Both players make their way back into the YellowGreens fold after periods away from the side and will be eager to contribute their experience and quality as Nigeria pursues success in Namibia.
The NCF said yesterday that the squad, which departs Nigeria today, forms part of the national team’s continued preparations for future international assignments as the YellowGreens seek to build on recent performances and strengthen their standing on the global stage.
Leading the squad is Captain Sulaimon Runsewe, who will spearhead Nigeria’s campaign against two formidable opponents in what promises to be a highly competitive series.
The selected squad combines experienced internationals with emerging talents, providing the technical crew an opportunity to assess player development and team combinations in both the T20 and 50-over formats.
The team will be led on tour by Coaches Leke Oyede and Tamuno John, who will oversee preparations and match operations during the opening phase of the series.
Joining the squad later in Namibia will be the newly appointed Head Coach and High Performance Manager, Stephen Magongo, whose arrival marks another significant step in the Federation’s commitment to strengthening the national team structure and enhancing player development pathways.
Supporting the coaching staff are Team Analyst Jamal Okechukwu, Strength and Conditioning Coach Seye Olympio, and Team Physiotherapist Timothy Adesomowo, forming a well-rounded technical crew focused on maximising player performance and welfare throughout the tour.
The NCF views the Namibia Tri-Series as an important platform for the continued growth of the national team, offering valuable international exposure and competitive match experience against quality opposition. The series will provide the players and technical crew with another opportunity to evaluate progress, fine-tune strategies, and build momentum ahead of future international competitions.
The YellowGreens will face Namibia and Hong Kong China in both T20 and 50-over contests, with the matches expected to test the team’s adaptability, discipline, and resilience in challenging conditions.
Blessing Otu on Monday overcame hard-fighting Kelvin Bebe- Emmanuella in two sets of 6-1, 6-3 to qualify for the second round of the women’s singles of the ongoing 47th Central Bank of Nigeria Senior Tennis Championship, held at the Tennis Courts of the package “B” of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
Speaking after the round of 32 game, Otu, who will be 19 years old in September, said she capitalised on her opponent’s weaknesses to gain victory, having studied her game very well.
“Bebe is a very good and tough player. But I studied her game and did the job well.
“Although she tried to come back in the second set, I punctured all her tricks to win the match and move on. I wish I could continue like this in the rest of my games,” she said.
Another member of the Otu family, John Out, was also victorious as he defeated Mohammed Abdusalam 2-1 (6-2, 6-7, 6-1) in the men’s singles category to advance into the round of 32.
But the third Otu in the game, Thomas, was not that lucky as he lost by 6-0, 7-5 in two straight sets to Danjuma Isaac.
In other matches, Michael Emmanuel defeated Ibrahim Aminu to advance, while Drimiya Mevi outclassed Seyi Ogunsakin by beating him 2-1 (6-7, 6-3, 6-1). Action continues tomorrow when other top players, including the men’s singles top seed, Abua Cannice, join the chase for honours.