Sports

12-Year-Old Boy Wins NAF 10Km Walk

Published

2 years ago

August 13, 2018

A 12-year-old boy, Agbama Daniel, who participated in the Air Force 10 Km Annual Walk/Run/Jog exercise, organised by the Tactical Air Command (TAC), Makurdi, last Saturday in Makurdi, won the fastest Base Boy prize.
Agbama, who lives with his Airforce father at the NAF Base, was declared the fastest out of many other boys that competed in the race.
The boy said he had been running and jogging longer distances.
No official recording of the time within which the exercise was completed was given.
The event was organised for both security personnel and their families living at the NAF Base.
Tidesports source reports that more than 200 personnel drawn from the various security and paramilitary organisations also participated in the exercise in Makurdi.
Tidesports source also reports that the event, which holds annually, seeks to boost inter-agency cooperation among sister security agencies and promote healthy lifestyles of officers and men.
All activities were divided into male and female categories and competed for by both officers and men.
For the female category of Joggers, Flight Lieutenant OC Moses, emerged the only winner with a finish time of 1:11:27 seconds.
The first position of the Female Officers Walk was won by Squadron Leader EE Danjuma, who completed the exercise in 1:22:21 seconds, while the second position was won by Flight Lt. AJ Enemanna, with a time of 1:22:54 seconds. No one came third.
For the Air Women Joggers, Cpl. Awokoya, who finished the exercise in 52’5seconds came first, Air-Craftswoman (ACW) RN Nebo came second with 58.18 secs, while ACW-JC Onyezim was third with 1:40 mins.
Master Warrant Officer Emeghauabe, won the first position in ACW Walkers category, having finished in 1:15:16secs.
His closest rival Flight Sgt. BM Sofekum, finished with a time frame of 1:21:45secs, while another Master Warrant Officer Nwo Onyilo, came third with 1:25:75secs.
For the Officers’ Walkers category, Group Capt. A Idris, won with 1:12mins, Air Cdre BA Sani came second, recording 1:18:20secs, while AVM Idi Lubo, was third with 1:21:51secs.
In the Air Wives Association , two winners emerged, they are Patricia Omaka and Ukindigh Beatrice who finished their walk in 1:3mins and 1:09 minutes respectively.
Olakama, a Youth Corps member, serving at the NAF base was first in the race finishing the 10 Km run in just 43 minutes.
His rival Nwaiwa Andrew came second with 47 minutes, while Onyeogbo Kido was third with 1:52 minutes.
Speaking at the presentation of prizes, the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) TAC, AVM Oladayo Amao, charged soldiers to do regular exercises to maintain healthy lifestyles.
Oladayo said such regular fitness exercises enabled them to achieve mental, physical and emotional balance needed to carry out their duties.
“The exercise is meant to keep personnel physically, mentally and emotionally stable to cope with the demands and challenges of defending the country’s territorial borders,” he said.
He also commended the Chief of Air Staff( CAS), Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar, for providing the logistics for the event and charged soldiers to take advantage of it to ensure regular exercises to maintain healthy bodies.
According to him, the exercise is in line with the CAS vision to reposition the Airforce to be highly professional and disciplined force through capacity building initiatives for effective and timely response to national security imperatives.
He said the exercise also provided a platform for sister security agencies to interact and build mutual relationships healthy for the task of defending the country.
He expressed happiness that there was no casualty during the exercise and commended the officers for their professionalism during the exercise. Rector, Army Institute of Technology, Makurdi,
Also, Maj-Gen Chukwuemeka Okonkwo, said physical fitness was central to military operations and charged security personnel to exercise regularly.
“For us in the military, we must be physically and mentally fit to perform our constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and properties as well as fight and defeat external enemies and overcome threats to territorial integrity,” he said.
He commended those who won laurels and urged them to train hard to keep the record, while also encouraging those who never won prizes to strive hard to win in the next edition.

Sports

‘I Can Discover Ballon d’Or Winners In Nigeria’

Published

1 month ago

April 24, 2020

The Tide

Ex-Nigeria international Usman Abdallah has declared that he can help the country groom future Ballon d’Or winners if he is handed the U20 job.
Abdallah, who led Enyimba to win the 2019 Nigeria Professional Football League and a Confederation Cup semi-final finish, is favourite to replace Paul Aigbogun for the Flying Eagles’ head coach role.
His outstanding CV features a Uefa A license, a degree in football coaching and team management (France) and a Strength and Conditioning level 1 coaching certificate in Australia.
According to reports, the Nigeria Football Federation will announce the Franco-Nigerian in the coming days, a claim the tactician is unsure of when quizzed by newsmen.
“Just like every other person, I applied for the job but I’m yet to get confirmation if I was picked or not.
“Nigeria is my country and it will be nice if I eventually get this role because it will be a big chance to serve. Also, I have what it takes to discover future Ballon d’Or winners for the country.
“Without sounding immodest, I strongly believe that I will excel in this position not only because of my wealth of experience but because of my closeness to grassroots football.
“As I have always said, this level deserves a lot of serious work because players picked at this level form a pivot of future Super Eagles,”he told newsmen.
After a failed expedition at the 2019 Fifa U20 World Cup in Poland, Nigeria will be hoping to qualify for Indonesia 2021 through the Africa U20 Cup of Nations scheduled for Mauritania.

Sports

Champions, Europa Leagues Finals Likely For August

Published

1 month ago

April 24, 2020

The Tide

The Champions League and Europa League look increasingly likely to be played exclusively in August after more talks about the remainder of the 2019-20 season on Wednesday.
Uefa told the 55 associations on Tuesday there was still the possibility of the competitions being played throughout June, July and August.
But Tidesports source understands that the latest discussions revolved almost exclusively around a plan to complete the domestic leagues by 31 July, with European competition following after that.
Nothing definitive has been agreed but Uefa is keen to leave all options on the table for as long as possible given the general uncertainty across Europe and in the knowledge there is no guarantee the season will be finished.
However, there is a view that travel restrictions are more likely to have eased in August, which would be necessary for a cross-border competition.
The scenario envisaged would be for the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the respective European competitions to be played as two-legged ties between 11 and 22 August, although these could yet become one-off games.
In the plans now being discussed, there would be some flexibility for domestic fixtures to be played in August, should a July conclusion prove impossible.
The Premier League has nine rounds of fixtures remaining but in Spain and Italy, two countries that have been badly affected, there are still 11 and 12 rounds left respectively – although both have fewer cup games to fit into their schedules.
Uefa hopes the situation will become clearer in the next fortnight but completing the season in this way would cause the least disruption to its qualification competition for the 2020-21 season, which was supposed to start at the end of June but has been delayed indefinitely.

Sports

S’Eagles’ll Miss Mikel, Ighalo -Etebo

Published

1 month ago

April 24, 2020

The Tide

John Obi Mikel and Odion Ighalo would remain a big miss for Nigeria, concedes Oghenekaro Etebo, with the Super Eagles still coming to terms with their retirement.
After the Super Eagles clinched third-place at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, the duo drew the curtains on their international careers.
Mikel, 32, was the first to bow out before Egypt 2019 top scorer Ighalo followed the path of the former Chelsea star.
Coach Gernot Rohr is prepared to put faith in the likes of Joe Aribo, Alex Iwobi and Victor Osimhen as replacements for the duo.
The Getafe man said it was clear that the three-time African kings would miss Mikel and Ighalo for their leadership attributes, but believes Osimhen can fill the vacuum left by the Manchester United striker.
“They are leaders who we are going to be missed in the dressing room,” he stated.
“Mikel was a leader; I recall how he helped us during the Olympics when we had issues during our preparations for the Games. Not because I played with him but for the impact he had on me as a player.
“They helped the team make vital decisions during tough times and I guess it was just time for them to move on.
“Ighalo on his part is a goal poacher that we also miss but thank God that we have another goal poacher in [Victor] Osimhen, but we have to be patient with him to settle in well into that role.”
After the coronavirus pandemic, Rohr is expected to begin life without the retired players as Nigeria would be hoping to qualify for the 2021 Afcon billed for Cameroon.