Sports
AFCON Hosting: CAF President Explains S’Africa’s Rejection
A lack of “any real support” from South Africa’s government ultimately cost the country the chance to host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, according to Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Ahmad Ahmad.
Voting to decide the 2019 hosts was held last Tuesday in a CAF executive committee meeting in Dakar, Senegal, a day earlier than was originally scheduled.
Egypt comfortably won the vote against their only other opponent, South Africa, and have officially replaced Cameroon, who were stripped of their hosting rights late last year.
South African officials have since claimed that the decision was “political” and acting SAFA chief executive Russel Paul told AFP that they were concerned with the “process” of the voting.
“Technically, there is no country in Africa better suited to host the Cup of Nations than South Africa,” said Paul.
“We do not have a fight with Egypt. We have a fight with the way the process unfolded,” he added, referring to the vote being brought forward 24 hours without an explanation.
“A delegation had been prepared for a Wednesday presentation, only to find that the Egyptians had been there for a while, with government representatives, ready to present their case.”
Speaking in Dakar, Ahmad said the two candidates had equally good infrastructure, and the greater political enthusiasm of Egypt was the key factor.
“Our audit firm said the infrastructure was equal, so we assessed the political commitment in the two countries, and Egypt came out on top,” explained the CAF boss.
“Members of the executive committee did not feel any real support from the South African government to carry the project forward.”
It has also been suggested that South Africa’s decision to back the North American bid for the 2026 World Cup ahead of Morocco’s campaign last year infuriated Ahmad and other senior members of CAF.
“South Africa voting for the USA, especially after president Donald Trump had publicly criticised the people of the continent, was seen as anti-African,” AFP quote an unnamed CAF insider.
“The feeling ahead of the vote in Senegal was that Egypt were favourites, but no one expected such a landslide victory,” he said.
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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