Sports
Volleyball Tourney: Sunshine Spikers, Police Win Division I League
Sunshine Spikers of Ondo has emerged winners of the Division one National Volley Ball Tournament which took place at the Indoor Sports Complex of the University of Ilorin.
The Ondo team outclassed Nigeria Army by three straight sets to win the tournament in the final game played on Saturday.
The team proved to be the worthy winners after winning a total of nine games with a total of 26 points.
The Army finished in the second position with 24 points followed by Niger Brass in third place with 19 points.
Offa Volleyball Club garnered 18 points to finish fourth and are four points better than Kada Kings of Kaduna in fifth position.
Prisons finished in the sixth place with 13 points ahead of ABM of Katsina which has nine points in seventh position.
Dynamics of Anambra State and neighbouring Delta Force occupied the eighth and ninth positions with six points each while Imo State finished at the bottom of the table with zero point.
Earlier in the day, Police Force had beaten Team Imo 3-1 to take the first position in the female division with nine points.
Imo occupied the second position with six points while O.K Babes of Ogun had three points in third position with Zamfara at the bottom of the table without any point.
While speaking at the closing ceremony, President of the Nigeria Volleyball Federation , Engr Musa Nimrod thanked and appreciated the host community as well as the Kwara government for providing an enabling environment for the championship.
Nimrod disclosed that the event was staged, hosted and completed successfully without any hiccups and further revealed that his board will be looking forward to stage subsequent events at the university.
He also charged the competing teams to go back to the drawing board and re-strategize ahead of the next leg of the league.
The president also revealed that the federation is leaving no stone unturned in preparing the national team for international events.
Chairman of the directors of sports forum in Nigeria, Coach Tunde Kazeem thanked the volleyball federation for bringing the tournament to Ilorin.
The director who was particularly impressed with the quality of the female division, stressed the need for the participating states to encourage their athletes.
On his own part, chairman of the Kwara State Volleyball Association, Bashorun Bankole called on private sponsors and individuals to partner with the federation in it’s bid to organise more grassroots events in order to fish out talents.
Meanwhile, information gathered from the league Management Committee of the Nigeria Volleyball, says the next leg of the division one League is expected to hold in Bauchi at a later date.
The Delta State Sports Commission has come under scrutiny following the state’s disappointing performance at the just-concluded National Youth Games (NYG) in Asaba, where Lagos dethroned Delta to clinch top spot.
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, visibly displeased with both the poor outing of Team Delta and the organizational lapses witnessed during the Games, summoned an emergency meeting with the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) immediately after the closing ceremony.
Delta, which had dominated the NYG by finishing first in the last eight editions, only managed second place this time — a result the governor described as “totally unacceptable,” especially given the state’s significant investment in the event.
According to a reliable source privy to the meeting, Governor Oborevwori expressed deep disappointment, stressing that his administration had provided all necessary support to the Sports Commission and the LOC to ensure Delta retained its traditional top position.
In a decisive move, the governor demoted his Executive Assistant on Sports and former Director-General of the Sports Commission, Festus Owhojero, under whose leadership the Games were organized. Owhojero was reassigned from Executive Assistant (EA) to Senior Special Assistant (SSA) with immediate effect.
The governor’s action, our source revealed, reflects his zero-tolerance stance on incompetence and underperformance within his administration. Mr. Owhojero thus becomes the first high-profile casualty of the governor’s resolve to reposition sports in Delta State.
Furthermore, Oborevwori directed the Sports Commission and LOC officials to submit a detailed report on the Games, outlining what went wrong and providing recommendations for improvement. The governor emphasized the need for urgent reforms to restore Delta’s dominance, especially as the state is set to host the next edition of the Games under an existing memorandum of understanding (MoU).
The Nigeria Football Federation has distanced itself from a post-match statement that criticised some Super Eagles players following the team’s 1-1 draw with South Africa in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
The statement, issued by the NFF’s Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire, singled out forward Cyriel Dessers and captain William Troost-Ekong for criticism.
It accused Dessers of being sluggish and faulted Ekong for the own goal that gave Bafana Bafana the lead.
However, NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, said on Wednesday that the statement did not represent the official position of the Federation.
“I saw the release just like everyone else did. Nobody in the Federation is happy with it,” Sanusi said.
“The NFF did not authorise that statement. We have great respect for all the players. Blaming an individual for a team result is unfair.”
He added that the Federation regards the South Africa match as a collective effort and will not support attempts to scapegoat any player.
“When we win, it’s a team victory. When we lose, it’s also collective. No player should be singled out,” Sanusi said.
He described the targeted criticism of Troost-Ekong as unjustified, noting that the defender had previously been celebrated as the Most Valuable Player at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire.
“It was an unfortunate own goal. His intention was to clear the ball. Anyone who knows football understands that such things happen,” he said..
Sanusi also expressed confidence in the team’s unity, revealing that efforts were ongoing to regroup and refocus ahead of the remaining qualifiers and AFCON.
“Our house is in order. We’re preparing for the rest of the qualifiers and the AFCON in Morocco,” he said.
“There’s no problem with our players or coaching crew. Our relationship remains cordial. The government and the NFF are proud of the players’ efforts.”
The Federation had initially praised Calvin Bassey for his equalising goal and lamented the team’s failure to convert second-half chances.
But Sanusi made it clear that internal disciplinary action would be taken over the unauthorised release.
“I can assure you the NFF will take action on the matter,” he said.
Nigeria currently sit third in Group C of the CAF World Cup qualifiers with 11 points from eight matches. South Africa lead the group with 17 points.
The Super Eagles must now win their remaining games against Lesotho and Benin Republic and hope other results go their way to secure qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Tagged “Boxing Jams Music,” the year-end edition will once again blend elite professional boxing with live musical performances. Fans can look forward to thrilling bouts across weight divisions and electrifying performances by some of Nigeria’s top entertainers.
Flykite Productions’ Chief Operating Officer, Bamidele Johnson, said the forthcoming edition will build on the event’s tradition of combining sport and music in a festival-like atmosphere. He assured fans of an unforgettable Boxing Day experience, with added entertainment elements planned.
“GOtv Boxing Night 34 will once again deliver the best of both worlds of top-class boxing and live music. We are committed to giving fans a truly memorable Boxing Day experience at Tafawa Balewa Square,” he said.
Over the years, Boxing Jams Music has grown into the country’s biggest sport-entertainment spectacle, hosting title bouts sanctioned by continental and global bodies alongside live performances by top acts such as Burna Boy, Teni, Mayorkun, Zlatan and Wande Coal.
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