Sports
Super 4 Exposes Top Clubs’ Failings
The just-ended Super 4
has exposed the many shortcomings of the clubs who will represent Nigeria at this year’s CAF club competitions.
Kano Pillars and Enyimba will feature in the Champions League, while Warri Wolves and Dolphins battle in the Confederation Cup.
The competition, which was expanded to take in the U20 and U23 national teams, lived up to its billing in many aspects as well as highlighted the need for the country’s top clubs to invest more in young players, rather than the usual practice of recycling old and tired legs season after season.
The Super 4 clearly showed Nigerian clubs are not doing enough scouting around the country to fish out young talents and also showcase them.
It was also obvious that the country’s flag bearers are not ready to take on the rest of the continent yet.
Good enough the competition served to alert these teams of their failings so that they could address them before they begin their international campaigns later this month.
Kano Pillars and Enyimba won two games each, lost one and drew one.
Pillars and Wolves showed they have potent attacks after they scored six goals apiece, but a weak defence after letting in six goals each.
Pillars acquisition of Christian Obiozor, who finished as top scorer of the competition with four goals, should now ease the pressure on the team’s top stars like gambo Mohammed and Rabiu Ali.
Wolves won two games and lost three, while Dolphins proved the worst team in the competition when they failed to get a point from five matches and conceded 10 goals.
Enyimba have the best defence after conceding four goals but the worst attack as they scored a mere three goals.
Pillars coach Okey Emordi said, “The tournament served as a prelude for the continental competitions. Without the competition, some of the clubs may not have had any serious pre-season competition.”
Dolphins assistant coach John Apollo said the tournament has opened their eyes to the effects of the departure of some of their players on the team and that it has also enabled them to see the weaknesses of the side.
“Our greatest problem is the midfield which is the engine room of every team. A good midfield provides passes for the forward and covers the defence,” he offered.
“Dolphins would have won if the players had kept a cool head. We have made it clear that we will not entertain indiscipline which also costs us money.”
Wolves coach Godwin Nosike added: “The tournament has brought out the best in our players which ordinary friendly games won’t have.
“I thank the LMC and the NFF for organising this competition, they made it tougher and more competitive with the inclusion of the U23 and U20 teams.”
The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria ( SWAN) Rivers State Chapter has set up five standing working committees on Tuesday, in its general congress.
At the playoff held at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan, the team of Canice Abua, Michael Emmanuel, Daniel Adeleye, and Abubakar Yusuf was majestic as they restored Nigeria’s hope in a sport that once gave the country so much joy.
Speaking after the final game, Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) President, Victor Ochei, said the Davis Cup feat is the stepping stone to better days in the sport, adding that the federation has set up programmes that will help the budding talents across the country play at the same level as their counterparts in other tennis-developed countries.
Ochei said: “The whole aim of having this new board is to lift the sport to the level we used to be. I tell you, tennis is taking a new shape in Nigeria. We are putting everything and anything to make that work happen.”
Ochei said that the NTF has looked at sponsorships and how to get the emerging players compete at the same level with their peers elsewhere, adding that the federation is working on organising local competitions and helping the players to compete in international championships.
“We believe that with what we are doing now, sponsors will come to us to organise new competitions. But beyond that, there’s a strategic growth development plan, a 10-year development plan, which the board is working on.
“The programme will ensure that we catch them young. This is because we believe that to create champions, we must start grooming them early. The champions you are seeing today were those groomed yesterday.”
“The process of building new champions will include building the coaches, the players, the infrastructure and sensitising the parents so that we can start catching them as young as age five to six.
“By the time that we groom them through 10 years of training, at age 15, 16, you will see fantastic professional players.”
To achieve the federation’s plans, Ochei admits that the NTF needs a lot of investment, adding that the board is working at realising the funds quietly and tenaciously.
The NTF president acknowledged the contributions of former international stars like Nduka Odizor and Sadiq Abdullahi to the bid to rejuvenate Nigerian tennis, adding that NTF is open to collaborating with former players who know what it takes to play at the highest level of the sport.
He said, “Nduka Odizor is around as one of our VIP personalities. He has been psyching up the boys in the battle with Uzbekistan. He will not enter the court to play, but his mere presence is enough motivation to the boys, who will want to be like him in the future.
“You see, the type of support the Odizors, the Imonities and the Abdullahis got in their time is no longer there, but we are revamping it with the support of our stakeholders in the Diaspora.
“It will appear to take us some time, but I can tell you that the Diaspora support is massive.”
In its bid to get good results in this year’s Commonwealth Games, the National Sports Commission (NSC) has disbursed N200 million as training grants to 26 athletes.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games will be held in Glasgow, Scotland.
The NSC stated that the grants were disbursed through its Elite and Podium Board, noting that N200 million was allocated to select top-performing athletes.
The beneficiaries are both foreign-based and home-based, the NSC said, adding that it will cater for their training and preparation expenses.
According to the NSC, the recipients span several sports, including athletics, wrestling, weightlifting, and para-sports, in line with the Commission’s mandate to prioritise athletes’ welfare and high-performance development.
The Commission added that the disbursement follows the establishment of the Elite and Podium Board, created to implement a scientific and institutionalised support system aimed at sustaining peak performances by Nigerian athletes at major international competitions.
NSC Director General, Bukola Olopade, said the Commission, under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was established to restore confidence and provide renewed hope for Nigerian sportsmen and women by placing strong emphasis on athlete welfare.
“The training grants disbursed to 26 athletes across different sports followed a careful and professional selection process by the Yusuf Ali-led Elite and Podium Board. This is our way of reassuring our athletes that their welfare remains our utmost priority,” he said.
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