Sports
Nigeria, Gambia To Partner On Sports Dev
The Gambia is desirous of gaining from Nigerian sports in areas of personnel development, infrastructure, technical assistance and grass-roots development, the country’s Youth and Sports Minister Alieu Jammeh has said.
Jammeh, who stated this during a visit to the Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi, yesterday in Abuja, said his country was seeking Nigeria’s assistance to enhance its sports development.
“We have always known that you have so much that we can gain from, and we hope to strengthen our relationship by securing your assistance to develop in various areas of sports, such as football, basketball and volleyball,” he said.
The minister, accompanied by the country’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mrs Angela Iheme, and two other officials, said the Gambia had only minimal success and development in football to boast about.
“Over the years, we have only been able to do something in football to the detriment of other sports. Even then, things have dropped for us in football and we realised that certain things are not going on fine.
“We also realised that we can’t do it by ourselves, as we are a small country of limited resources and our government has other commitments,” he said.
Jammeh listed as critical, the training of coaches and administrators, as well as the grass-roots development of sports through schools to sustain and improve on what is available.
He said sports infrastructure was another area in which the Gambia would be looking for help, saying the country had only one national stadium which was built about 30 years ago.
“Our infrastructure is also a big issue, as we have only one national stadium. I was very much impressed with your Abuja National Stadium when I came in here yesterday.
“We have a problem of even maintaining the one we have in spite of the fact that we have big ideas of hosting big competitions like the African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
“But we do know you can’t do that without infrastructure, and that is why we will be needing technical assistance and structures from you,” the minister said.
He, however, congratulated Nigeria on its AFCON 2013 victory, saying his country’s President, Yahya Jammeh, was very much elated over Nigeria’s success.
The minister also said the victory excited him much more with the fact that it was achieved by a team led by an indigenous coach.
“We in the Gambia, and me especially, were happy that it was achieved through a local coach and it tells much about what Africans can do if given the chance,” he said.
Responding, Abdullahi praised the minister’s commitment and desire, pointing out that it all started during their meeting at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
“This is a demonstration of your commitment to your assignment as minister, as you have indicated interest in this partnership since our meeting in London, and I am therefore not surprised that you are now here,” he said.
Abdullahi, who is also Chairman of the National Sports Commission, gave the assurance that Nigeria would share its experiences and resources with the Gambia.
“Our victory in South Africa was a West African thing as seven of the eight quarter-finalists were from West Africa and four of them were in the semi-finals.
“It does show that West Africa is a powerhouse in African football, but we don’t want it to be about football alone but sports as a whole.
“This must be so because the 2012 London Games was a sad commentary on our sports as no West African country won a gold medal, and to correct that, we must share our experiences and resources to develop,’’ he said.
The minister said West African countries needed to take more interest in the ECOWAS Games, saying the third edition scheduled for Cote D’Ivoire in 2014 should be better than others before it.
“It will be a great opportunity for us to further develop. Only few countries were there in 2012 at the second edition in Ghana, but we should know it provides us a great opportunity to share.
“After the London Games, a lot of questions came up, and for us in Nigeria it was a very difficult moment. It however presented us with an opportunity to reflect and plan for a better future.
“Our President was very much involved in our Presidential Sports Retreat and from there we have put in place a lot of reforms which have been yielding fruits.
“So, we will be happy to share with the Gambia what we have, and we also know that we can learn from you too because we all know there are differences in our contexts,” he said.
The Gambian minister had on his entourage, the country’s Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, retired Brig.-Gen. Ebrima Bah, and the Youth and Sports Ministry’s Deputy Permanent Secretary, Malong Jassy.
Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, in Rivers State, will be at the centre stage on Wednesday as the VC Cup final, both male and female categories will be played at the prestigious Stadium in the school.
The both final matches promises to be exciting, as arrangements have been concluded to watch one of the best VC football Cup finals in the history.
VC Cup tournament is an annual sporting event that involves all students in various facilities.
According to the Chief coach of the University football team, David Egbiri, the female will final will kick off 2pm between faculty of Human Kinetics and Management Sciences, while the male will kick off by 4pm between Social Science and Natural Applied Science
Egbiri, who was former coach of Abiola Babe FC and Concord FC, lauded the Vice Chancellor. Prof. Okechukwu Onuchukwu for releasing funds on sports development, saying that he has never also failed the School in terms of infrastructural development.
“The VC who is also a sports personality has not failed to release funds for this tournament, apart from that he has not also disappointed in terms of developing the school in all ramifications.
“I want to say that my major reason for accepting to coach the school football team is to develop the youth through sports”, Coach Egbiri said.
The former Eagle Cement Coach, explained that he was not encouraged the way and manner the young ones are going about sports because there is no discipline and so much quest for quick money.
” Honestly, the way young players are looking money was just too much. Looking for short cuts always to make money that is more reason some of them don’t go far and end up badly
” In our days we first of all think about how to make name and we are passionate about it. I went to school and saw myself in sports, while my initial intention was to read electrical engineering” he stated.
Tonye Orabere
The Delta State Sports Commission has come under scrutiny following the state’s disappointing performance at the just-concluded National Youth Games (NYG) in Asaba, where Lagos dethroned Delta to clinch top spot.
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, visibly displeased with both the poor outing of Team Delta and the organizational lapses witnessed during the Games, summoned an emergency meeting with the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) immediately after the closing ceremony.
Delta, which had dominated the NYG by finishing first in the last eight editions, only managed second place this time — a result the governor described as “totally unacceptable,” especially given the state’s significant investment in the event.
According to a reliable source privy to the meeting, Governor Oborevwori expressed deep disappointment, stressing that his administration had provided all necessary support to the Sports Commission and the LOC to ensure Delta retained its traditional top position.
In a decisive move, the governor demoted his Executive Assistant on Sports and former Director-General of the Sports Commission, Festus Owhojero, under whose leadership the Games were organized. Owhojero was reassigned from Executive Assistant (EA) to Senior Special Assistant (SSA) with immediate effect.
The governor’s action, our source revealed, reflects his zero-tolerance stance on incompetence and underperformance within his administration. Mr. Owhojero thus becomes the first high-profile casualty of the governor’s resolve to reposition sports in Delta State.
Furthermore, Oborevwori directed the Sports Commission and LOC officials to submit a detailed report on the Games, outlining what went wrong and providing recommendations for improvement. The governor emphasized the need for urgent reforms to restore Delta’s dominance, especially as the state is set to host the next edition of the Games under an existing memorandum of understanding (MoU).
The Nigeria Football Federation has distanced itself from a post-match statement that criticised some Super Eagles players following the team’s 1-1 draw with South Africa in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
The statement, issued by the NFF’s Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire, singled out forward Cyriel Dessers and captain William Troost-Ekong for criticism.
It accused Dessers of being sluggish and faulted Ekong for the own goal that gave Bafana Bafana the lead.
However, NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, said on Wednesday that the statement did not represent the official position of the Federation.
“I saw the release just like everyone else did. Nobody in the Federation is happy with it,” Sanusi said.
“The NFF did not authorise that statement. We have great respect for all the players. Blaming an individual for a team result is unfair.”
He added that the Federation regards the South Africa match as a collective effort and will not support attempts to scapegoat any player.
“When we win, it’s a team victory. When we lose, it’s also collective. No player should be singled out,” Sanusi said.
He described the targeted criticism of Troost-Ekong as unjustified, noting that the defender had previously been celebrated as the Most Valuable Player at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire.
“It was an unfortunate own goal. His intention was to clear the ball. Anyone who knows football understands that such things happen,” he said..
Sanusi also expressed confidence in the team’s unity, revealing that efforts were ongoing to regroup and refocus ahead of the remaining qualifiers and AFCON.
“Our house is in order. We’re preparing for the rest of the qualifiers and the AFCON in Morocco,” he said.
“There’s no problem with our players or coaching crew. Our relationship remains cordial. The government and the NFF are proud of the players’ efforts.”
The Federation had initially praised Calvin Bassey for his equalising goal and lamented the team’s failure to convert second-half chances.
But Sanusi made it clear that internal disciplinary action would be taken over the unauthorised release.
“I can assure you the NFF will take action on the matter,” he said.
Nigeria currently sit third in Group C of the CAF World Cup qualifiers with 11 points from eight matches. South Africa lead the group with 17 points.
The Super Eagles must now win their remaining games against Lesotho and Benin Republic and hope other results go their way to secure qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
