Sports
The Rise And Fall Of Sports Institute, Isaka
The quest to
develop sports at the grassroots level in Nigeria necessitated the conversion of Government Sea School, Isaka, in Okrika Local Government, Rivers State to Rivers State Sports Institute.
This institute was officially commissioned on May 31, 1988 by the then Military Governor, Col Anthony Ukpo (rtd).
No doubt, the introduction of the sports institute in the South-South region was embraced by many, most especially upcoming athletes, coaches and sports administrators, because its vision and objectives were to improve and develop sports in all ramifications.
Athletes, coaches and sports administrators from South-South and South East regions actually took advantage of the institute, which was second to the best in the country after the National Institute of Sports (NIS), Lagos in terms of human capacity development and provision of other infrastructure.
The sports institute Isaka has produced prominent sportsmen and sports administrators, including certified coaches, in line with the primary and fundamental purpose of the conversion. The prestigious Government Sea School, Isaka was established by the first Military Governor of Rivers State, Alfred Diete-Spiff (rtd).
The institute was able to achieve its primary objectives because adequate attention was given to its immediate needs. But today, the school is being described as an “institute of orphans” where nobody cares about what happens there.
It is disheartening to note that students of this great institute now learn on bare floor, dilapidated roofs and reptiles-infested environment.
The poor state of the facilities led to the formation of Coaches and Management Students Association (CAMSA) with the mission to rescue the school from extinction.
According to the President of CAMSA, Yahcob K. O Davied, the primary reason to call for CAMSA Week is to draw the attention of old students to see the deplorable state of the school.
“You are aware that the sports institute was rated as one of the best sports institutes in the country after NIS, Lagos, being the first located in the South South and South East regions.
But today, the school is like an orphan because no attention is given to it. Consequently, students are now learning on bare floor and, poor infrastructure is our lot. It is a shameful sight”, Davied said.
He explained that the institute has suffered from total neglect by successive governments of Rivers State.
In that circumstance, the institute has dropped to zero level, in rating, adding that before now, all the departments were functional, including the Marine section.
The CAMSA President therefore passionately appealled to the Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike to consider the school for renovation.
He further appealled to multi-national companies and well-meaning individuals to come to their aid, saying, government alone cannot do everything when it comes to sports development.
“It is our desire that the institute be moved to a more deserved place and upgraded to award professional certificates,” he stated.
Tonye Orabere
In a bid to have more young talented Nigerians to play professional football abroad, Johnny Ogbah, a sports lawyer and football intermediary, has called on parents to enroll their children in Vector Programme.
He stated that the programme is in conjunction with Conventry Football Club in United Kingdom (UK), saying that the programme includes academics where a child can acquire a degree.
Ogbah, made the call while addressing sports journalists recently in Port Harcourt, as the programme will admit students into Brooke College between the age of 11 and 18 Football Academy.
The major objective of Vector Programme is to give the young ones a career through sports and good education. The programme does not train people on football only but also other things that is related to sporting environment, he said.
According to him, more than 20 Nigerians have benefited from the programme on scholarship and most of them are now playing football in top clubs in Europe.
“Vector programme was poised to create an avenue to give people to play football to the highest level.
Apart from football the child can also have quality education. It will interest you to know that those in Vector programme play friendly games that attracts scouts from different countries and football clubs.
The programme doesn’t train you on only football but also train people on everything that is associated to sports”, Ogbah said.
The former Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) player further disclosed Vector programme pathways provides the practice opportunities that players need if they are to successfully graduate as a professional player.
By: Tonye Orabere
The Head Coach of Khana FC in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, Sam Ledor, has blamed his players as they were unable to convert scoring chances.
According to him, if those chances created in their opening match against Jet Bomber FC at the ongoing Nation wide League One (NLO), in Omoku centre were converted, it would have given them victory.
Ledor, said this on Saturday in a chat with Tidesports shortly after they played goalless draw against Jet Bomber FC in their opening match in 2024 NLO Division in Omoku, Rivers State.
“ We created a lot of scoring chances but could not find the net”, he said.
He explained that playing goalless draw is not a bad result in football but in a competition like this, they need to score goals and win matches.
“ My brother, we missed a lot of scoring chances which is not good. I trainned my players on how to create chances and to convert them.
“ What is important in a competition is winning but as we did not lose the game, we will look forward for our next game.
“We will go back to the drawing board and correct the grey areas in our game and ensure we get better results in our next outing.
“Today’s game is gone, what we need to do is to make sure we win our next game,” he stated.
He pointed out that no game comes easy but the effort you put in will give good result. They tried their best today and the result was good for both teams but we need to win our next game.
“My opponents were also a good side; they tried all what they could but didn’t score also. It was a good game but my team needs to win games,” he added.
By: Kiadum Edookor
A French-American, John Walter Wilkins is confident Rivers Hoopers can make it to the playoff round of the 2024 Basketball Africa League (BAL).
Wilkins, who is the son of former NBA player Jeff Wilkins, linked up with his Hoopers teammates at the team’s training camp in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, ahead of the 2024 BAL Savannah Conference games, which tip off on Saturday, 4th May, 2024, in Dakar, Senegal.
Wilkins is no stranger to African basketball, having played for Moroccan sides AS Salé (2015-2016) and Ittihad Tanger (2017-2019), before leading Stade Malien to a third-place finish at BAL 2023.
Looking ahead to the 2024 BAL, Wilkins says the quality of basketball across Africa has improved, with the BAL requiring a high level of competitiveness, but backed Rivers Hoopers to spring a surprise at the tournament.
“It’s a really high level, a great competition; [it’s] one of the best I’ve played in since I’ve been in Africa. But we don’t need to be scared. We need to just attack the moment, be there, be present, and I think if we are confident in our abilities, we can surprise people,” he said.
Since its inaugural season in 2021, Nigerian teams have appeared twice at the BAL, with Rivers Hoopers playing in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2021 and Kwara Falcons featuring at BAL 2023.
Despite failing to reach the playoffs on both previous occasions, Wilkins is optimistic that with the quality of players in the Hoopers squad as well as the recruitment done ahead of the BAL, Rivers Hoopers will be more competitive in this season’s BAL.
“I’m really optimistic. I know that those past years the teams from Nigeria didn’t do well, but I think with me, Kelvin [Amayo], Will [Perry], and the other guys, I think we can show the way, have some wins, and be more competitive,” he stated.
The Nigerian Champions were drawn in the Savannah Conference alongside former BAL Champions US Monastir (Tunisia), last year’s runners-up AS Douanes (Senegal), and APR (Rwanda).
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