Sports
Grenada Promotion Delights Ighalo
Nigerian forward Odion Ighalo is ecstatic after helping his Spanish side Grenada into the Segunda Division with a strike in their 2-1 aggregate victory in the play-off.
The 20-year-old Nigerian youth international had been on loan at the Spanish team from Serie A side Udinese.
Ighalo scored one in the 2-0 first leg victory before Granada sealed an historic promotion place despite a 1-0 loss in the second leg.
Overall he scored 17 goals in 27 games which immensely contributed to Granada’s epic promotion after a tortuous 23-year wait.
“It was brilliant to get a goal in the play-off and even though I dropped two steps down I am so happy for what I have done here, coming here has helped me a lot.
“I couldn’t hold my joy as the people of Granada celebrated emotionally after a twenty-three year wait and that’s a long time.
“Being here has been highly rewarding for me and I must say that it is indeed a mission accomplished for me here.
Already Ighalo has attracted interest from top French, Spanish, Dutch and German clubs but Udinese want their man back.
“I have kept focused though, and my aim was always to get playing time which Granada afforded me so I could fight for my place at Udinese.
“This was very important for me, and I am happy that clubs are talking to my agent and Udinese.
“The underlying factor would be regular football in influenced his desire to play in the Spanish second division.
A morale-boosting performance after a forgettable FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Egypt was vital for the former Julius Berger and Lyn Oslo man ahead of next season.
Ighalo added: “I heard several comments after the World Cup and when I moved to Spain but in life you do not let the past influence your unforeseen future.
“I have grown as a man, going down where no one expected has also taught me a lot about life because the people of Granada celebrated promotion like they have won the Champions League itself.
“Whether I go back to Udinese or another top division side, I will take with me lessons from Egypt and Spain with the hope that I will be a better man.”
Ighalo captained the Nigeria Under-20 side that crashed to Germany in the second round of the 2009 Fifa World Cup in Egypt.
He was also part of the Nigeria squad for their 2008 Olympic qualifiers but failed to make the final 22-man list to the 2008 Beijing Olympics Football event where Dream Team IV won silver.
Sports
Expert Wants Parents To Enroll Children In Vector Programme
In a bid to have more young talented Nigerians to play professional football abroad, Johnny Ogbah, a sports lawyer and football intermediary, has called on parents to enroll their children in Vector Programme.
He stated that the programme is in conjunction with Conventry Football Club in United Kingdom (UK), saying that the programme includes academics where a child can acquire a degree.
Ogbah, made the call while addressing sports journalists recently in Port Harcourt, as the programme will admit students into Brooke College between the age of 11 and 18 Football Academy.
The major objective of Vector Programme is to give the young ones a career through sports and good education. The programme does not train people on football only but also other things that is related to sporting environment, he said.
According to him, more than 20 Nigerians have benefited from the programme on scholarship and most of them are now playing football in top clubs in Europe.
“Vector programme was poised to create an avenue to give people to play football to the highest level.
Apart from football the child can also have quality education. It will interest you to know that those in Vector programme play friendly games that attracts scouts from different countries and football clubs.
The programme doesn’t train you on only football but also train people on everything that is associated to sports”, Ogbah said.
The former Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) player further disclosed Vector programme pathways provides the practice opportunities that players need if they are to successfully graduate as a professional player.
By: Tonye Orabere
Sports
NLO: Khana FC Coach Blames Players For Missing Chances
The Head Coach of Khana FC in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, Sam Ledor, has blamed his players as they were unable to convert scoring chances.
According to him, if those chances created in their opening match against Jet Bomber FC at the ongoing Nation wide League One (NLO), in Omoku centre were converted, it would have given them victory.
Ledor, said this on Saturday in a chat with Tidesports shortly after they played goalless draw against Jet Bomber FC in their opening match in 2024 NLO Division in Omoku, Rivers State.
“ We created a lot of scoring chances but could not find the net”, he said.
He explained that playing goalless draw is not a bad result in football but in a competition like this, they need to score goals and win matches.
“ My brother, we missed a lot of scoring chances which is not good. I trainned my players on how to create chances and to convert them.
“ What is important in a competition is winning but as we did not lose the game, we will look forward for our next game.
“We will go back to the drawing board and correct the grey areas in our game and ensure we get better results in our next outing.
“Today’s game is gone, what we need to do is to make sure we win our next game,” he stated.
He pointed out that no game comes easy but the effort you put in will give good result. They tried their best today and the result was good for both teams but we need to win our next game.
“My opponents were also a good side; they tried all what they could but didn’t score also. It was a good game but my team needs to win games,” he added.
By: Kiadum Edookor
Sports
Wilkins Backs Rivers Hoopers To Spring Surprises At 2024 BAL
A French-American, John Walter Wilkins is confident Rivers Hoopers can make it to the playoff round of the 2024 Basketball Africa League (BAL).
Wilkins, who is the son of former NBA player Jeff Wilkins, linked up with his Hoopers teammates at the team’s training camp in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, ahead of the 2024 BAL Savannah Conference games, which tip off on Saturday, 4th May, 2024, in Dakar, Senegal.
Wilkins is no stranger to African basketball, having played for Moroccan sides AS Salé (2015-2016) and Ittihad Tanger (2017-2019), before leading Stade Malien to a third-place finish at BAL 2023.
Looking ahead to the 2024 BAL, Wilkins says the quality of basketball across Africa has improved, with the BAL requiring a high level of competitiveness, but backed Rivers Hoopers to spring a surprise at the tournament.
“It’s a really high level, a great competition; [it’s] one of the best I’ve played in since I’ve been in Africa. But we don’t need to be scared. We need to just attack the moment, be there, be present, and I think if we are confident in our abilities, we can surprise people,” he said.
Since its inaugural season in 2021, Nigerian teams have appeared twice at the BAL, with Rivers Hoopers playing in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2021 and Kwara Falcons featuring at BAL 2023.
Despite failing to reach the playoffs on both previous occasions, Wilkins is optimistic that with the quality of players in the Hoopers squad as well as the recruitment done ahead of the BAL, Rivers Hoopers will be more competitive in this season’s BAL.
“I’m really optimistic. I know that those past years the teams from Nigeria didn’t do well, but I think with me, Kelvin [Amayo], Will [Perry], and the other guys, I think we can show the way, have some wins, and be more competitive,” he stated.
The Nigerian Champions were drawn in the Savannah Conference alongside former BAL Champions US Monastir (Tunisia), last year’s runners-up AS Douanes (Senegal), and APR (Rwanda).
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