Sports
Nigeria Can Raise Six National Teams – Hart
The President of Goldashe United Football Club of Port Harcourt, Mr. Fubara Kingsley Hart has said that prospects exist for Nigeria to raise six formidable national football teams that could compete favourably against the leading soccer nations of the world.
Reacting to last week’s international friendly against Venezuela in which the Eagles ran away with a 3-1 win, the Goldashe administrator praised the boys for beating the South Americans but noted that friendlies and qualifiers differed from what transpired at the finals proper.
He charged Coach Stephen Keshi to seriously work on the weaknesses of the boys while also strategising on the strong points.
On the chances of Eagle making it to the 2016 World Cup in Rio Dejenairo, Brazil, Fubara Kingsley Hart said any debate on the issue was uncalled for.
“I think Nigeria currently parades a team that has the capacity and capability to beat any team any day,” he declared, stating that what was of paramount importance now was to have a good outing in South Africa and possibly winning the Nations Cup.
Mr. Fubara Kingsley Hart said: “The Super Eagles have improved tremendously and with the renewed confidence in some of the players like the Chelsea duo of John Mikel Obi and Victor Moses, I see a team that will do well in South Africa.”
The Goldashe chief also charged the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) not to lose sleep over Super Eagles World Cup qualification tasks but to do thorough research and put their house in order.
He argued that Nigeria’s problem was not the absence of good footballers but the inability to fish out the abundant talents which are scattered all over the world.
“We should take maximum advantage of our huge population and do thorough combing to fish out the abundance of soccer talents within and abroad.
“Rivers State alone is capable of producing a squad for the national team, not to talk of the South-South, South-East and the rest of the six geo-political zones.
“Properly harnessed, each of the zones can raise a formidable national team that can represent Nigeria in the World Cup,” he stated.
Taking a retrospective look at the country’s paralympians which excelled above their ‘able’ counterparts at the last London meet, Mr. Fubara Kingsley Hart described the athletes as ‘heroes’ and carpeted the NSC for paying little or no attention to other sports other than football.
“The feat achieved by these paralympians serve as lesson that Nigeria should not cast all her eggs in one basket. Now that our ‘disable’ athletes has brought us glory by removing the shame inflicted on us by the ‘able’ athletes, let’s go back to the drawing board and overhaul the entire sports sector.
“We have good swimmers and canoe paddlers in the Niger Delta. We have great horse riders among the Fulani in the north. With the right training, equipment and exposure to international competitions, Nigeria can produce athletes that can make impact come Rio 2016,” the amiable Goldashe boss said.
Sports
Football Pundit Lauds Chelle’s Effort In Monitoring Nigeria League Players
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Sports
LGA Boss Pledges To Reintroduce School Sports
Sports
Ezechukwu Eyes Double Gold In African Champs
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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