Sports
‘LMC, La Liga Partnership Deepens Ties’
A delegation of Spanish
Premier League board, the La Liga led by its President, Javier Tesba arrived Nigeria early hours of Monday to a warm welcome by representatives of the Nigerian and Spanish governments who separately remarked that the technical partnership initiated by La Liga and the League Management Company (LMC) holds a huge prospect of deepening sporting, cultural and commercial ties between the two nations.
Tesba and his team were led by the top hierarchy of Nigeria’s football governing body including President Amaju Pinnick and LMC Chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko to the office of Nigeria’s Youth and Sports Minister, Barrister Solomon Dalung and later to the residence of the Ambassador of Spain to Nigeria, Alfonso Barnuevo Sebastián de Erice.
Dalung in his welcome remarks reaffirmed the commitment of the Nigerian government towards making Nigeria investment- friendly by providing the enabling environment for such partnership between the LMC and the La Liga to succeed.
Barrister Dalung commended the LMC for keying into the policy thrust of government for the development of the elite league which provides jobs for thousands of youths through the 20 clubs and stimulating business activities within the areas matches are played.
“The league in Nigeria is indeed a major tool for social cohesion. Government is committed to putting in place enabling administrative and legal frameworks for international business partnerships”.
According to the Minister, government will work with and support the managers of football in the country for meaningful projects like the international collaboration with Spain.
“It is of significance that the NPFL and La Liga are entering into an understanding that will improve the business aspects of the league in Nigeria. Such areas will boost the earnings of football which will in turn impact positively on the welfare of the players while creating new frontiers for business” Dalung said.
Ambassador Barnuevo while receiving the delegation of LMC and La Liga noted that the partnership will strengthen the already strong cultural and trade ties between his country and Nigeria, stating that “at the moment, Spain is the third biggest buyer of Nigeria’s crude oil”.
On the occasion, the Chairman LMC, Shehu Dikko said discussions that led to the partnership that will be signed on Tuesday was initiated at that inaugural World Leagues Forum meeting in London in 2015.
“Our objective is to be able to move with the times. We need to get our league to conform to international standards and best practices. La Liga is one of the best leagues in the world. They have some of the richest clubs in the world and they have a system which is very attractive to us. The structure and management of their clubs is fantastic as well as the way the government and the clubs relate. They also have legislation by the government to ensure that the league is developed. We need to learn how they’re doing”, Dikko said.
Tebas, the La Liga President expressed delight at the prospects of sharing experiences with the NPFL, noting that while they will be providing technical assistance to the LMC in the administration of the league, they also will in turn learn something from Nigeria.
We are here not only to teach but to share experience and we are sure we can also learn from the Nigerian Professional Football League. This exchange of experience will help us to grow and we’ll ratify this in Nigeria during this visit with a Memorandum of Understanding. Football is not only a commercial issue but also an example of values especially for youths in any country and the La Liga will like to help develop these values for the Nigerian youths. We want to use the names of our stars to transmit the values of the sport. We will also offer our expertise not only to football but to the Nigerian government” Tebas assured.
President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Melvin Pinnick, was at the head of the Nigerian team during the visit to the Minister alongside the LMC Chief Executive Officer, Hon. Nduka Irabor, NFF Executive Board member, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau and Chairman of Club Owners and Managers of the NPFL, Barrister Isaac Danladi.
Accompanying the La Liga President were Melcior Soler, the Director of Audiovisual Affairs, Fernando Sanz, International Projects Director and Antonio Baradas, Manager, African Affairs.
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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