Sports
NFSC Appoints Monarch Grand Patron
The Nigeria Football Supporters Club (NFSC) says the traditional ruler of Idjerhe Kingdom in Delta State, King Monday Whiskey, has been appointed the Grand Patron of the club.
According to it, Whiskey’s appointment is based on his various unflinching support to the club.
The National Chairman of NFSC, Rev. Samuel Ikpea told newsmen in Lagos on Monday that the traditional ruler is also a revered journalist who is an asset to the nation.
“We went to the town of the traditional ruler, Jesse town, with some delegation with our traditional trademark of drumming, dancing and exhibiting skills reminiscent of what we do during national team’s support.
“The king was commended for his wealth of experience and therewith conferred the title as Grand Patron, with his certificate.
“He was also decorated with NFSC’s paraphernalia after his citation was read.
“The king has been of immense support to us, encouraging and always praying for our success during our assignments,” he said.
Justifying the appointment of the traditional ruler as the Grand Patron of the club, Ikpea said that the group got instant benefit as they were assured of more support.
“His Royal Highness has assured us of improved support home and abroad; he also promised that we should count on his support when the need arises.
“What we need is synergy. We need to synergise to ensure that in every nook and cranny of this country, we preach the gospel of oneness; we preach the gospel of sports.
“He encouraged us to assert our unblemished pedigree and ensure we use it as an instrument to reach those who need help and those who need favour. There’s a difference between help and favour.
“He also promised to heed to our call whenever the needs arises and told us not hesitate to call on him, be it within or outside Nigeria,” he explained to NAN.
Ikpea said that the NFSC had remained a unified group since its establishment and was committed to expanding to all the states of the federation and by extension, making it a global brand.
“We are the members of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club, and this club has been in existence since 1955.
“The club was formed by a Nigerian; in fact, he was a British citizen, Mr Deji Allen and his wife.
“The club has over 22 registered chapters in Nigeria. We have chapters virtually in all over Africa, in Europe and indeed, the whole world.
“It is the only supporters club with this type of culture. Even in Brazil, when they play football, they don’t have this kind of supporters club,’’ he said.
Ikpea said the club had won both the FIFA and CAF “Best Behaved and Entertaining Supporters Club Awards’’ respectively.
“In all our existence, one would not hear that there had been anywhere it members had been to and were bad ambassadors of the country.
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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