Sports
UN Places Eagles As Ambassadors At World Cup
The United Nations (UN)
has picked the Super Eagles as its goodwill ambassadors for the 2014 FIFA World Cup scheduled to take place in Brazil between June 12 and July 13.
Djibril Diallo, Special Advisor to Executive Director, United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja to announce the lunch of its “Protect the Goal Initiative’’.
The “Protect the Goal Initiative’’ seeks to harness the power of sports around the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
It also seeks to promote an AIDS free generation which is expected to be achieved through zero infection, zero discrimination and zero AIDS related death.
Diallo said the Eagles were chosen as the UN ambassadors because of their pedigree in football as well as the political and economic role Nigeria was playing in Africa.
“We as United Nations want to focus on using HIV and AIDS as entry point to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the post 2015 agenda.
“So, we are focusing heavily on using sports as a means to accelerate the MDGs in the developing countries, while having the solidarity and partnership of the industrialised nations,’’ he said.
Diallo also said that the initiative targeted the 32 qualified teams for the 2014 World Cup, adding that Nigeria was the focal point.
“The campaign kicked off on March 5 in South Africa during the friendly game between Brazil and South Africa; we had the signature of President Jacob Zuma on the ball.
“The campaign will go to the five African nations that have qualified for the World Cup.
“After Nigeria, we are going to Cote d’Ivoire where the President and the football team will do the same exercise and from there to Algeria.
“We will also go to Ghana and do the same thing with the Head of State and the national football team,’’ Diallo explained.
He said that the campaign would transverse Mexico and Chile between May 25 and June 5 before leaving for Brazil on June 7 for the World Launch on June 9.
“President Goodluck Jonathan as the special guest will hand over the ball to the president of Brazil on that day,’’ he said.
Prof. John Idoko, who also spoke on the reason behind the UN’s choice of Nigeria, explained that Nigeria was one of the countries with high prevalence rate of HIV and AIDS infection.
According to him, 14 countries in the world are responsible for the 60 per cent of the burden of HIV and out of these 14, 10 are in Africa.
“So, if you are going and really want to protect the goal, you must go to Africa and Nigeria is the place to be,’’ Idoko said.
According to Idoko, the idea is to continue to create awareness on HIV and AIDS using football which arguably attracts the largest followership in sports in Nigeria.
The event is organised in collaboration with United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA).
Only Denmark, ranked 21st globally, sits higher among nations that failed to qualify for the tournament, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
England and Chelsea legend John Terry was among those to voice his disappointment, describing Nigeria as a significant loss to a tournament that features 48 nations for the first time.
“Nigeria will be a big miss. This is a World Cup for participants who haven’t had the opportunity to play in the tournament. I would have loved to see a top team like Nigeria there because they’ve got some great individuals. They’re a great nation,” Terry said during a virtual roundtable session organised by SuperSport.
“I think they are a big miss because Nigeria probably would have gone further in the competition, but unfortunately, one side’s loss is another’s gain,” the former England captain added.
Eric Chelle’s side finished second in Group C of the CAF World Cup qualifiers behind South Africa, who secured automatic qualification. Nigeria kept their hopes alive with a playoff semi-final victory over Gabon before falling to the Democratic Republic of Congo on penalties in the decisive playoff final — their second successive absence from the World Cup after also missing the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
The Nigeria Football Federation later challenged DR Congo’s qualification, alleging the use of ineligible players during the campaign, but the appeal was dismissed.
Despite missing the World Cup, the Super Eagles remain Africa’s 3rd highest-ranked team behind Morocco, who sit seventh in the world, and Senegal. Algeria and Egypt complete the continent’s top five.
Defending champions Argentina enter the tournament as the world’s top-ranked side, ahead of Spain, France, England and Portugal. Brazil are sixth, followed by Morocco, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
The next FIFA World Ranking will be released on July 20, a day after the World Cup final.
Chima Akachukwu and Miracle Akhigbe are among the 16 notable stars picked by the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) for the forthcoming Namibia Tour, where the YellowGreens will compete in a T20 and 50-Over Tri-Series, featuring hosts Namibia and Hong Kong China.
Both players make their way back into the YellowGreens fold after periods away from the side and will be eager to contribute their experience and quality as Nigeria pursues success in Namibia.
The NCF said yesterday that the squad, which departs Nigeria today, forms part of the national team’s continued preparations for future international assignments as the YellowGreens seek to build on recent performances and strengthen their standing on the global stage.
Leading the squad is Captain Sulaimon Runsewe, who will spearhead Nigeria’s campaign against two formidable opponents in what promises to be a highly competitive series.
The selected squad combines experienced internationals with emerging talents, providing the technical crew an opportunity to assess player development and team combinations in both the T20 and 50-over formats.
The team will be led on tour by Coaches Leke Oyede and Tamuno John, who will oversee preparations and match operations during the opening phase of the series.
Joining the squad later in Namibia will be the newly appointed Head Coach and High Performance Manager, Stephen Magongo, whose arrival marks another significant step in the Federation’s commitment to strengthening the national team structure and enhancing player development pathways.
Supporting the coaching staff are Team Analyst Jamal Okechukwu, Strength and Conditioning Coach Seye Olympio, and Team Physiotherapist Timothy Adesomowo, forming a well-rounded technical crew focused on maximising player performance and welfare throughout the tour.
The NCF views the Namibia Tri-Series as an important platform for the continued growth of the national team, offering valuable international exposure and competitive match experience against quality opposition. The series will provide the players and technical crew with another opportunity to evaluate progress, fine-tune strategies, and build momentum ahead of future international competitions.
The YellowGreens will face Namibia and Hong Kong China in both T20 and 50-over contests, with the matches expected to test the team’s adaptability, discipline, and resilience in challenging conditions.
Blessing Otu on Monday overcame hard-fighting Kelvin Bebe- Emmanuella in two sets of 6-1, 6-3 to qualify for the second round of the women’s singles of the ongoing 47th Central Bank of Nigeria Senior Tennis Championship, held at the Tennis Courts of the package “B” of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
Speaking after the round of 32 game, Otu, who will be 19 years old in September, said she capitalised on her opponent’s weaknesses to gain victory, having studied her game very well.
“Bebe is a very good and tough player. But I studied her game and did the job well.
“Although she tried to come back in the second set, I punctured all her tricks to win the match and move on. I wish I could continue like this in the rest of my games,” she said.
Another member of the Otu family, John Out, was also victorious as he defeated Mohammed Abdusalam 2-1 (6-2, 6-7, 6-1) in the men’s singles category to advance into the round of 32.
But the third Otu in the game, Thomas, was not that lucky as he lost by 6-0, 7-5 in two straight sets to Danjuma Isaac.
In other matches, Michael Emmanuel defeated Ibrahim Aminu to advance, while Drimiya Mevi outclassed Seyi Ogunsakin by beating him 2-1 (6-7, 6-3, 6-1). Action continues tomorrow when other top players, including the men’s singles top seed, Abua Cannice, join the chase for honours.
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