Sports
Fund Threatens Nigeria’s Participation In Africa Taekwondo Tourney
A board member of the Ni
geria Taekwondo Federation (NTF), Chika Chukwumerije, said that lack of funds might frustrate Nigeria’s participation in the 2014 African Senior Taekwondo Championship.
The championship is scheduled to take place from May 5 to 8 in Tunisia.
Chukwumerije told newsmen in Abuja that it was unfortunate that the private sector was not investing in “what is clearly Africa’s fastest growing Olympic sport“.
“Obviously it’s a highly ranked tournament, so the national team hopefully will be there; we will push for it.
“I think we are good to go; we know what to do. Our only challenge is fund; the private industry is not investing in what is clearly Africa’s fastest growing Olympic sport.
“Any day in time if I call a camp within 10 days, you get between 500 and 700 people coming and that is huge.
“Most schools in Nigeria are adopting taekwondo as a default sporting programme and I think it’s something investors can tie into.’’
Chukwumerije is also one of the eight athletes preparing for the championship in Tunisia.
The coach-athlete urged the National Sports Commission (NSC) to assist the country’s contingent to ensure that Nigeria did not lose the opportunity to win Olympic points it had been hoping for.
“We hope we go. We are going for points. We are registered for it, so the logistics hopefully you have the secretariat take care of it if the NSC supports it.
“In the end it boils down to: is the ticket there? The accommodation has it been paid for, and all that.
“So, we are competing in 42 other sports; we hope that they truly see that we definitely will do well at Rio and they can support this; every country will be there.
“For instance in my weight class, in the top 20 in the world, we have five Africans; so, this African championship is for me more difficult than world championship.“
Our correspondent reports that Jamilu Mohammed, Africa’s gold medalist and Uche Chukwumerije, Africa’s Middleweight champion, are among the athletes preparing for the championship.”, he said
In a statement released by the league, the competition is scheduled to take place from Friday, June 5 to Sunday, June 14, 2026, with six clubs set to battle for the league title at the end of the 2025/26 season.
NWFL Chief Operating Officer, Modupe Shabi, said the choice of Port Harcourt reflects the Rivers State Government’s continued support for women’s football and its successful hosting of the league’s Annual General Assembly last year.
The Super Six tournament will feature the top three teams from Group A and Group B of the regular season competing in a round-robin format, with each club playing five matches over nine days.
Qualified teams for the competition include defending champions Bayelsa Queens, Edo Queens, Rivers Angels, Robo Queens, Nasarawa Amazons, and debutants Abia Angels.
The NWFL Premiership has produced four different winners in the last five editions, with Rivers Angels winning in 2021, Bayelsa Queens claiming the title in 2022 and 2025, Delta Queens triumphing in 2023, and Edo Queens emerging champions in 2024.
The league also urged participating clubs to comply with all competition regulations and directives ahead of the championship. The Super Six will determine Nigeria’s representative for the WAFU-B qualifiers for a place at the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League and ultimately the 2027 FIFA Women’s Champions Cup.
Teams are expected to arrive on Friday, June 5, when the draw ceremony and pre-match meeting will also take place. Matchdays are scheduled for June 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14, with rest days in between before the tournament concludes with the trophy presentation ceremony.
