Sports
Nnaji Backs Baribote’s NPL Chairmanship
Former Commissioner for Sports in Enugu State, Barrister Raymond Nnaji, has thrown his full weight behind the recent controversial election of Chief Rumson Victor Baribote, as new Chairman of Nigeria Premier League (NPL) Nnaji, a one time member of the NPL, who made his feeling known in a chart with Sport writers in Enugu reasoned that those complaining about the victory of the Bayelsa United Football Club Executive “are enemies of the nation’s football .
His words: “As far as I am concerned, God has taken control of the problem that has been bedeviling the Nigeria premier league with the emergence of Baribote as the new Chairman of NPL”
The second football administrator , insisted that with the latest development, the game of soccer would never remain the same in the country, adding that Baribote has all it takes to take the round leather game to the next level.
He, however, accused some former leaders and members of the NPL, as those responsible for laying foundation for the lingering crisis that has been rocking the league body in the country, adding that “any body faulting the emergence of Baribote, is not truthful to himself as the election was conducted in line with due process and order of federal High Court”.
Expressing happiness that nemesis has caught up with some member of the NPL, Nnaji further said: “ that is why I am advising cabal members that are hell bent in destroying the nation’s football to better forget whatever they are planning , because it will lead them to nowhere “ he declare.
“They should know that any body that is going to equity must always go with clean hands, so they should stop deceiving themselves by running from pillar to post because the battle is over.” he vowed.
Nigeria women’s U-17 national team, the Flamingos, have been drawn alongside Canada, France, and Samoa in Group D of the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, set to hold in Morocco later this year, TideSports reports.
The draws, which took place at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in the capital city of Rabat on Wednesday, saw the Flamingos pitted against North American side Canada, European powerhouse France and debutants Samoa, ahead of the tournament scheduled to run from October 17 to November 8, with all matches set to be played in Rabat.
Nigeria will be making her eighth appearance at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in history.
The other groups for the tournament will see the hosts Morocco take on Brazil, Italy and Costa Rica in Group A, with defending champions Korea DPR locking horns with Mexico, Cameroon, and the Netherlands in Group B.
Meanwhile, Group C will feature the United States of America, Ecuador, China and Norway, while Group E has Spain, Colombia, Korea Republic and Ivory Coast.
Rounding off the tournament is Group F, which has Japan who are the all-time top scorers in the competition’s history with 125 goals across nine editions, while Oceania’s representatives New Zealand, Zambia and South American upstarts Paraguay are included.
The tournament will be the first in history to feature 24 countries, and it is also the first edition of the global showpiece to be held on the African continent. The revamped tournament will see Morocco host the next five editions of the cadet event, beginning from this year and continuing annually until 2029.
The opening fixture will be contested between the hosts Morocco and Brazil on October 17. As usual with 24-team tournaments, the top two countries from each of the six groups will advance to the round-of-16, as well as the four best third-placed nations.
According to Odaudu, the team’s defensive problems were a major concern after finishing the Kalahari Conference with two losses to Al Ittihad Alexandria.
To address this issue, the team has brought in Ahmed Doumbia, a defensive-minded player from the French League and Chingka Garba a Nigerian who plays in Rwanda.
“We wanted to address that defensive problems, so we wanted to bring someone who will address that issue,” Odaudu said.
“We needed to address the deficiency in defence.
“Of course, Ahmed plays in the French League. He is very defensive-minded and, of course, he is a beast on the offence. We needed someone to assist Kelvin Amayo in defensive duties in the backcourt, so we brought Doumbia here.”
Preparation has been all plain sailing for Odaudu, with Nigeria forward Chingka joining the fold to stack up the quality of the team.
Also, we brought in another player, Odaudu said.
“We were almost playing Peter Olisemeka to the ground. We needed someone who could do that, too that was why we brought in Garba Chingka.”
After closing out their Kalahari Conference campaign with four wins, Odaudu wasn’t satisfied with the team’s performance and had suggested they had work to do before the playoffs in South Africa.
“We need to up the ante to compete in South Africa. I see the amount of work we have to put in for us to be better in South Africa. We have the time to do all that and hopefully, we will come out better,” the coach said in April.
The KingsMen will face US Monastir in the seeding game on Saturday, June 7, a side they had played four times, winning two and losing the other two fixtures.
Rivers Hoopers are making their third appearance at the 2025 Basketball Africa League.
They featured in the inaugural season held in 2021 and last season’s edition, where they finished third to set a Nigerian record.
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