Sports
Igali Calls For Sustained Funding For Wrestling
Chairman, Caretaker Committee of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF) Hon Daniel Igali Chairman, Caretaker Committee of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF) Hon. Daniel Igali, has called for sustained funding and sponsorship of the sport following the country’s historic performance at the recently-concluded Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Japan.
In Tokyo, Commonwealth champion Blessing Oborududu, 32, won Nigeria’s first-ever medal in wrestling, claiming silver in the 68kg final.
With the likes of 3-time World Championships medallists Odunayo Adekuoroye, 27, and 2-time Commonwealth champion Aminat Adeniyi, 28, unsuccessful in their attempts to win medals in Tokyo, the NWF boss said he has a long-term ‘succession plan’ for the top athletes.
However, the World and Olympic champion Igali stated that the ‘succession plan’ won’t materialise without the support and sponsorship from the private and corporate sectors.
“My goal is to ensure that I have a sustained succession plan for most of these athletes,” the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Youth and Sports said. “Which means, in terms of funding too, we need to have better communication even with the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports.
“Of course you know sports like basketball have funding directly from the Federal House of Representatives – from the budget. And I think wrestling deserves that status as well.
“So, we need to do a bit more in terms of sustained funding, not only from the Federal Government, but we need to look at, especially with the small or little success we had at the (Tokyo 2020) Olympics, for us to have private individuals and/or corporations that will give us that assurance of sponsorship for the next three, the next eight years.
“So, I think those are the foundations I want to lay. And once you’ve done that, you are rest assured that anyone coming after you will be starting on a pretty level playing field. They wouldn’t have to be climbing a very high mountain to maintain the success we’ve had.”
Igali further assured potential sponsors of the NWF’s transparency, while highlighting the importance of their support to wrestling.
“Well, I want to assure every, either, individual or corporation that is prepared to support the Nigeria Wrestling Federation that they have very trustworthy leadership,” he added. “Leadership that is very responsive, and that has over time, judiciously used funds that had been appropriated for any purpose.”
“We feel that to keep up even at the Commonwealth level, we need funding from private investors.
“Look at India for instance now. India and Nigeria were almost at par just four, five years ago. In fact, at the Commonwealth Games, our female team beat both Canada and India. But as we’re talking now, India is almost edging Nigeria because they have funding from Tata Motors to the tune of $3m (over N1.2b) a year.
“They just went to the Cadet World Championships and became overall Team champions. That tells you that in another four, five years, the 17-year-old kids will be 20, 21, and they will be world-beaters.“What the Nigeria Wrestling Federation doesn’t have now is to be able to even expose our young talents to international competitions because we don’t have the funds. And we can only do that when we have private investors partner with us on a long-term basis.” he added.
“Winning a gold medal in Tokyo is the biggest goal,” he told the International Tennis Federation’s magazine.
“Even though I have three medals from past Paralympics, gold in Tokyo would be so special and mean so much to me.”
Ugandan swimmer Kukundakwe could become one of the faces of the Tokyo Paralympics when she competes aged just 14.
Kukundakwe, who was born without her right forearm and also has an impairment to her left hand, is aiming to change attitudes in her home country, where she says people with disabilities are “not considered normal”.
She says swimming has given her confidence, allowing her to ditch the baggy sweaters she used to wear to cover her arms and hands.
Now she’s aiming to make a splash as the youngest athlete at the Games, after qualifying for the women’s 100m breaststroke.
“I don’t really expect much from swimming at the Paralympic Games since it’s my first time,” she said.
Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has said that criticism that he and other players chased money by moving to Saudi Arabia is wide of the mark.
The 33-year-old left Chelsea for Al-Ahli in a £16m ($21.4m) deal in 2023, and in May the Africa Cup of Nations winner helped his Saudi club win the Asian Champions League, making him one of the few players to win both that competition and its European equivalent.
But, like many others, Mendy has been criticised for playing for money rather than prestige in the lucrative Saudi Pro League.
When asked about such criticism, Mendy told a Tidesports source, “Al-Ahli’s project came along and they made me feel I had a big role to play.
“Two years later, we won the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history. So yes, that validates my choice. And I hope the coming years will validate it even more.”
He added: “Some people will quickly jump to conclusions and say the only reason is money. From the start, I always said that when I left Chelsea, I knew I was joining another team where I could win everything , which was no longer the case at Chelsea.”
The Blues have since won the Conference League, Europe’s third-tier club competition, under the ownership of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
But it comes after the regime’s trophyless first two years, a period which has frustrated some supporters after the success enjoyed under Roman Abramovich’s stewardship in the previous 19 years.
Mendy has also been celebrating what he describes as a historical win with Senegal against England at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground, but days earlier he had been in Dakar delivering a different kind of win.
He is the sponsor of Yakaar, a school in Keur Massar, which seeks to improve funding and access to digital learning tools for local children from underprivileged backgrounds.
Famously, as Mendy grew up in France, he was unemployed, aged 22, while struggling to find a club, with members of his family still living on the outskirts of Dakar.
That is why Yakaar, a word meaning “hope”, was chosen, a word Mendy has carried with him in his career.
“Hope is what kept me going. When I was without a club, it was the hope of getting that first professional contract.
“Then the hope of playing for the national team. The hope of making my family proud by doing the job I had always dreamed of.
“Indeed, hope is the best word to describe my career.”
Mendy was also asked whether the responsibility of being an African goalkeeper had weighed heavily on him.
“Of course. When I was in England, there weren’t many African goalkeepers in top clubs,” he admitted.
“Whether nationally or internationally, I had that responsibility. It’s the same for other African goalkeepers like Andre Onana [Manchester United] or Yassine Bounou (Al-Hilal).”
The entire refereeing committee has been fired by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), with structural reforms soon set to follow.
According to sources, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has dismissed the entire refereeing committee in response to mounting pressure from clubs demanding structural reform. A major shake-up aimed at modernising Spanish refereeing from top to bottom has now been set in motion.
Head of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), Luis Medina Cantalejo and Head of VAR, Carlos Clos Gomez, have been removed from their positions. They are joined by several senior officials, including Antonio Rubinos Perez and three vice presidents, who are also stepping down. A new leadership model will be introduced, led by a CEO and a sporting director, aiming to overhaul how refereeing is managed covering assessments, promotions, and daily operations. While the leadership changes are sweeping, the current pool of referees in La Liga and the second tier will remain, ensuring continuity on the field during the transition.
Cristiano Ronaldo has signed a new two-year contract with Al-Nassr that means he will stay with the Saudi Pro League club until beyond his 42nd birthday.
The Portugal captain, 40, joined the Riyadh-based team in December 2022 after leaving Manchester United in acrimonious circumstances, having criticised the club and said he had no respect for manager Erik ten Hag.
Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr deal had been due to expire at the end of June and there was speculation he could leave, but that has now been quashed.
In a post on X, Ronaldo wrote: “A new chapter begins. Same passion, same dream. Let’s make history together.”
Although Al-Nassr have not added to their nine domestic titles during Ronaldo’s time at the club, they have benefited from a flood of goals from the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Ronaldo scored 35 times in 41 matches across all competitions last term and was the league’s top scorer for a second consecutive season.
He has managed 99 goals in appearances overall for Al-Nassr and is well on his way to reaching 1,000 senior goals in his career, with a current tally of 938 for club and country.
Having helped Portugal win the Uefa Nations League a little over two weeks ago, the former Manchester United, Real Madrid, Sporting and Juventus forward will almost certainly now be targeting a sixth World Cup appearance next summer.
Only a month ago, Ronaldo posted on social media to say “the chapter is over”.
That came after the Saudi Pro League wrapped up with Al-Nassr finishing third and trophyless once again.
The comment fuelled rumours that Ronaldo was ready to leave the league where he reportedly became the best-paid player in football history with an annual salary of £177m when he joined.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino raised the prospect of Ronaldo joining a team involved in the Club World Cup after Al-Nassr failed to qualify for the extended tournament which is being held in the United States.
Ronaldo said he had received offers from participating teams but had turned them down.
The decision to stay until at least 2027, which is certain to be highly lucrative, appears to rule out any future prospect of Ronaldo returning to play at the highest level in Europe.