Sports
Nigeria’s Depth Delights Rohr
Nigerian national team coach Gernot Rohr has revealed that the depth in his Super Eagles squad can help them at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
The Super Eagles Manger was speaking after their 1-1 draw against the Desert Warriors of Algeria last Friday in Constantine.
Rohr praised the performance of the fringe players he used as they bagged a point in their final Group B clash before shifting focus to the friendly against Argentina last night.
The performance of the players has convinced Rohr about the depth his team possesses as they head out to the World Cup in Russia next year.
“Everybody worked well; they lost the ball and tried to get it back. They did well which means that the building is starting now and some things are changing. We have the same attitude”, said Rohr to newsmen.
“The game showed us that we have players who can play in different positions. We were searching to find new players and we found good new players but we must wait and the return of some injured players.
“Some of these players have shown that they can come in with the first team. We saw good competition for some players in some positions”.
Meanwhile, the coach has commended the country’s Football Federation (NFF) for their professional approach to the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.
The Super Eagles enjoyed a superb ‘Road to Russia’, going unbeaten through the ‘group of death’ and becoming Africa’s first qualifier for the 2018 finals.
Rohr and his players merit praise for their superb performance, but the German coach has also credited the NFF for their work behind the scenes.
“For sure, we must commend the NFF for the role they played right from that game in Ndola against Zambia to last Friday’s game in Constantine, Algeria”, said Rohr.
“Apart from putting together excellent arrangements for our games at home, they ensured we travelled in comfort to all our away games and the fact that our away travels were always direct on chartered flights made sure we had very good recovery period between games.
“This also helped to manage the few days we usually have because of the congested and very small number of the FIFA international days.
The German added, “from the time the draw was made for the group series of the qualifiers, we knew that in a difficult group like the one we were in, the difference between success and failure could be down to little things that most people would take for granted, but I am happy that the NFF were very professional, passionate and committed to the cause.
“Their great planning and arrangements made the players to focus on the football only, so we got the best out of them.
“Now we cannot rest on our oars because there is a bigger challenge ahead of us. We have to prepare better and focus even more as we get set for the World Cup next year,” Rohr concluded.
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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