Sports
The Olympics: A Stand Up Call For Nigeria
As the Nigerian contingent to the London 2012 looks to be running out of chances for medals at the Olympics Game, the usual refrain of going back to the drawing board may be in the offing.
The Olympics Game is a major and very popular international world event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympics Games are considered to be the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate. The Games are currently held biennially, with Summer and Winter Olympics Games alternating, meaning they occur every four years within their respective seasonal games. The Olympics games originated from ancient Greece. Some aims of the Olympics Games are to bring about peace, unity, and also gender equality in sports. The Olympics games has served as a major boost for countries hosting it.
Countries are expected to partake in qualification rounds in order to qualify for various events at the games. Qualification is not automatic. Nigeria, a country with over 150 million citizens has been participating in the Olympics games since 1952 when it made its maiden appearance. And since then Nigeria has been participating at all Olympic events except for the 1976 edition of the Olympics held at Montreal in Quebec, Canada. Nigeria boycotted the games and refused to send a team to the games. The 1996 Atlanta Olympics was the best team Nigeria had ever gotten, winning two gold medals at the event. Nigeria became the first African nation to win an Olympic gold medal in football. Since then the performance of team Nigeria has fallen. It is shameful to sy that Nigeria has won a total of two gold medals only, since it started featuring at the Olympic games in 1952.
The 30th Olympic games tagged London 2012 kicked off on the 28th of July 2012. The games have over 29 sport events to be played. Some of the sports event at the ongoing Olympic are: archery, athletics, basketball, beach volleyball, canoeing, diving, equestrian, fencing, gymnastics, handball, hockey, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, water polo, weightlifting.
Team Nigeria is participating at the ongoing Olympic event and much is expected from them, but from the look of things Nigeria may not make impact at the Games. Nigeria has selected 62 participants who will compete in 9 sports including judo, athletics, basketball, and table tennis at the event. So far, Team Nigeria is yet to win any medal. Before team Nigeria left the shores of the country for preparation for the event, the president of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) Engineer Sani Ndanusa had said that the target of Nigeria was to get at least two gold medals at the event. He went further to say that “in the past Olympics, we had been participating but come 2012, we’ll compete with other Nations.”
If what the NOC chairman said and the reality facing us at the Games are anything to go by, I think Nigeria still had a long way to making a name at the Olympics. What will the NOC president call the team Nigeria’s performance at the Atlanta ’96 olympics? Did the athletes go to participate or they went to compete? If the NOC president’s target for Nigeria is two gold medals why would he say that team Nigeria was going to compete? By now Nigeria is supposed to be a force to reckon with at the Olympic games, if not in all games, at least some games like football, judo, boxing, wrestling and athletics where Nigeria has some good talents. We have very talented individuals in Nigeria, but the problem is that there are no right measures in place to find and maintain these talents. It has been over the years that Nigeria has lost wonderful talents to other countries due to some reasons that can be taken care of by the Nigerian government. They were not taken good care of, so countries that saw the talent in them took them away and they are now doing well in their adopted countries. The list of Nigerians or sportsmen bearing Nigerian names competing for other countries has continued to swell in the last few years. At the moment, more than 100 Nigerian-born athletes are reportedly competing for their adopted countries in Europe, the Americas and across Africa. The reasons they opted for greener pastures elsewhere range from insensitivity of the Nigerian national federations, poor incentives to athletes, lack of developmental programmes at home to lack of support from the government and non-release of training grants before major championships.
A perfect case is that of Francis Obiorah Obikwelu, unarguably one of Nigeria and Portugal’s most successful athletes, was Africa’s sprint king in the 100 metres and 200 metres while competing for his native country. He assumed Portuguese citizenship in 2001. Obikwelu brought glory to his adopted country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, where he finished second in the 100 metres and won the first silver medal ever in a sprint event for Portugal at the global games.
In 2006 at the European Championships, he got the gold in the 100 metres and 200 metres and became the first athlete to win both events in the same Euro championships since 1978. Though now retired, Obikwelu was a talent that Nigeria would have tried its best to retain and make the nation proud, but he was neglected.
Another example is Daniel Baraladei Igali, a Canadian freestyle wrestler. Igali was born in Eniwari village, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. He was captain of the Nigerian wrestling team to the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada. After the games, he refused to return with the contingent and remained in the country while seeking refugee status due to political unrest at the time in Nigeria. He acquired Canadian citizenship in 1998. In Canada, Igali won 116 consecutive matches, wrestling at Simon Fraser University from 1997 to 1999.
He was placed fourth at the 1998 world championships. He finished second at the 1998 World Cup and won a bronze medal at the 1999 Pan-American Games. If Nigeria was interested in this young man the government would have made a move to make sure he stays back in Nigeria and make the country proud, but such was not done. The list goes on.
Even at the present Olympic games in London, names like Margaret Adeoye, Abdul Buhari, James Dasaolu, Ifeoma Dieke, Philips Idowu Christian Ohuruogu (Great Britain and Northern Ireland) Athletics, Eniola Aluko (Great Britain and Northern Ireland) Football, Oluwadamilola Bakare, Eniola Bakare (Great Britain and Northern Ireland) Volley Ball, Temi Fagbenle (Great Britain and Northern Ireland) Basketball, are all participants at the ongoing Olympic games with Nigerian names competing for other countries.
The Federal Government of Nigeria in conjunction with the Nigeria Olympic Committee have to rise to the challenge and take the bull by the horn to make sure talents are sourced for from schools around the country. We have a lot of Obikwelu’s, Finidi’s, Igali’s out there that can be gotten and groomed for national duty tomorrow. After all countries that are making names at the Olympic games today like the United States of America, China, England, Jamaica etc, all started from somewhere, and they are tops today, so why will Nigeria refuse to do the right thing and search amongst the millions of citizens in this country? The Federal government of Nigeria and the Nigerian Olympic Committee must see the Olympic games as a challenge and a wake-up call to work hard and invest for a better Nigeria, especially, in the world of sports.
Echem David Prince is a student of RSUST, Port Harcourt.
Echem David Prince
Liverpool’s season of abject misery worsened as they were beaten with embarrassing ease by a hugely impressive Nottingham Forest at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s Premier League champions were looking to bounce back from a heavy defeat at Manchester City, but instead ran into a Forest side revitalised under new manager Sean Dyche and looking back to their best.
Liverpool head coach Slot gave £125m British record signing Alexander Isak a start, but he was totally anonymous once more and only lasted 67 minutes.
Forest went ahead after 33 minutes when defender Murillo shot powerfully past fit-again Liverpool keeper Alisson to subdue an already anxious Anfield.
Igor Jesus had a second ruled out for handball, but Forest doubled their advantage 39 seconds after the break when former Liverpool defender Neco Williams set up Nicola Savona for a crisp finish in front of The Kop.
Liverpool could barely raise a response in a desperate display, Forest increasing their lead 12 minutes from time when Morgan Gibbs-White scored after Alisson saved from Omari Hutchinson.
It means Liverpool, who lie 11th before Saturday’s late fixture, have now lost six of their past seven Premier League games as Slot’s near £450m summer spending spree comes under further scrutiny.
Forest, meanwhile, are surging away from the relegation zone and are up to 16th.
Michael Olise scored twice and provided a hat-trick of assists as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich came from two goals down to thrash Freiburg.
The visitors stunned the defending champions by taking a 2-0 lead after just 17 minutes when Yuito Suzuki scored from close range and Johan Manzambi rose highest to head home Jan-Niklas Beste’s corner.
Bayern, who had not lost in the league since March, responded superbly and had restored parity by half-time.
Teenager Lennart Karl fired into the bottom corner from Olise’s pass in the 22nd minute and set up the Frenchman for a fierce finish in first-half injury-time, although Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu should have done better.
Bayern took control in the second period as Dayot Upamecano headed home Olise’s corner to put them ahead for the first time.
England captain Harry Kane netted his 14th league goal of the campaign on the hour mark, before Olise made it three assists when he threaded a pass through for Nicolas Jackson to finish at the first time of asking in the 78th minute.
Winger Olise completed a sensational afternoon with his second of the game six minutes later, driving at the Freiburg defence and curling into the far corner.
A 10th victory in the first 11 games left Bayern eight points clear of second-placed Bayer Leverkusen, while Freiburg remain 10th in the standings.
Vincent Kompany’s side visit Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday with both sides having a perfect record of four wins so far in the league phase of the competition.
AS FAR Morocco Win African Women’s Champions League (8)
AS FAR held firm to beat debutants ASEC Mimosas 2-1 in the African Women’s Champions League final and become continental champions for the second time.
Hanane Ait El Haj put the Moroccan club ahead from the penalty spot in the 13th minute after Safa Banouk had been tripped by Aboa Yapo.
ASEC Mimosas rallied after the break and Ami Priscal Diallo netted a fine header from Sopie Brou’s cross to drag the Ivory Coast club level 10 minutes into the second half.
But AS FAR were handed a second spot-kick in the closing stages when Noura Diarra committed a rash challenge on Sofia Bouftini.
This time it was Zineb Redouani who stepped up to stroke home in the 85th minute and restore her side’s lead.
Asastasie Gbehi came close to forcing extra time but she poked wide of the post in stoppage time, and the centre-back was sent off after the full-time whistle for dissent.
AS FAR move level with South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns as two-time winners of the title, having first lifted the trophy in 2022.
The Rabat-based side will now take on Chinese’s Wuhan Jiangda on 14 December for a place at next year’s Fifa Women’s Champions Cup.
The winner of that match will face European champions Arsenal in the semi-finals of the inaugural competition early next year in London.
Barcelona moved to the top of La Liga on Saturday with an emphatic win over 10-man Athletic Club in their first match at the Spotify Camp Nou since May 2023.
Robert Lewandowski scored their first goal back in their iconic home, which had been closed for extensive renovations, in the fourth minute.
Ferran Torres then netted twice in the second half, each assisted by wonderful skill from Lamine Yamal, who was aged just 15 in his only previous Nou Camp appearance.
Fermin Lopez also struck in the 48th minute, while visiting midfielder Oihan Sancet was sent off for a crude challenge on Lopez just six minutes later.
Large sections of the Nou Camp remained closed for the game, which was played in front of a 45,157 crowd.
The rebuilding work, which was originally scheduled to be finished in November 2024, will eventually increase the stadium’s capacity to 105,000.
Barca moved to 31 points from 13 games and top on goal difference, but Real Madrid had the chance to replace them, if they won at Elche in their game in hand, late last night.
Poland striker Lewandowski got his side off to the perfect start when he drove his low shot in off the arm of Athletic Club goalkeeper Unai Simon for an eighth league goal of the season.
The home side extended their lead in first-half added time as Yamal’s superb pass off the outside of his foot set up Torres for a good finish.
Lopez made it 3-0 three minutes after the restart, drilling a shot past Simon from near the penalty spot.
Sancet’s tackle from behind on Lopez was initially deemed a yellow card, but upgraded to red after the referee consulted with the video assistant referee (VAR).
And just before full-time, Yamal twisted and turned before sending Torres away to claim his second goal, which was originally disallowed for offside but overturned following a VAR check.
It was a dream return to their ground, with the reigning Spanish champions having mostly played at the 55,000 capacity Olympic Stadium on the city’s Montjuic hill since renovations on the Nou Camp began in June 2023.
They were forced to play two matches at the 6,000-capacity Johan Cruyff Stadium, home to their women’s team, this season after failing to get a permit for the Nou Camp through safety reasons.
Pogba Returns To Action In Ligue 1 (6)
Paul Pogba played his first minutes of professional football in more than two years as he came off the bench during Monaco’s 4-1 defeat by Rennes at the weekend.
The 32-year-old was introduced in the 85th minute at Rennes’ Roazhon Park, though his side were already four goals and a player down, following a red card for captain Denis Zakaria.
French World Cup winner Pogba broke down in tears when he joined Ligue 1 club Monaco last summer, after his four-year doping ban was reduced to 19 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).
Pogba’s last competitive appearance was 811 days ago, when he featured for Juventus in a Serie A match against Empoli on 3 September 2023. He left Juventus by mutual consent in November 2024.
Pogba was provisionally banned from football for four years after a positive test for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in February 2024, following a doping test in August 2023.
Pogba maintained it was a mistake and that he was given a supplement without knowing it contained a banned substance.
The former Manchester United midfielder was permitted to return to football in March following the decision to reduce his ban.
Pogba watched from the bench as goals from Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal, Mahdi Camara, Breel Embolo and Ludovic Blas put Rennes out of sight.
Fellow substitute Mika Biereth pulled a goal back for Monaco in the 95th minute, but a second consecutive 4-1 defeat means Sebastien Pocognoli’s side drop to eighth in the table with 20 points after 13 games.
