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AFN Golden League Home-Based Athletes Jostle For Honours

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The Athletics Federation of
Nigeria (AFN) and the Anambra State Athletics Association are set to stage the maiden AFN/ Anambra Golden League, which would feature no fewer than 800 athletes.
The athletes include some 400 students from secondary schools across the state. The event has been scheduled to hold at the Rojenny Stadium, Oba tomorrow  in the athletics-loving state.
Anambra is reputed to have in the past produced top world-class athletics beaters, the likes of Mary Onyali, Innocent Egbunike and Uche Emedolu.
Egbunike still remains the current African record holder in 400 metres. He posted 44.17 seconds at 1987 World Athletics Championship in Rome, which had still been standing 28 years after.
He also won a bronze in the 4X400 at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, hosted by the U.S., in addition to a series of gold medals from the Africa and the Commonwealth Games.
Onyali on the other hand, won multiple gold medals at the Africa Games. She was also a bronze medalist in the 4X100 metres at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Sprinter, Emodolu won a World Cup in athletics at the 2002 World Cup in Madrid, Spain. He also won a bronze in the 4X100 metres, at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, among other medals he won at the Commonwealth and the Africa Games.
The Golden league event has on offer, not less than N1.5 million as jackpot.
The league would also offer opportunity for the home-based to prepare ahead of the AFN/CRS All Nigeria Athletics Championships, which would serve as trials for the Beijing 2015 IAAF World Championships.
The Championships are scheduled to hold from August 27 to August 30 at the Birds Nest in Beijing, China.
The league will also serve as trials for the selection of athletes to the 11th All Africa Games scheduled to run from September 4 to September 19 in Congo Brazzaville.
The question on the lips of many has been, will the home-based be able to withstand their foreign-based counterparts when they troop down to jostle for places in the team for the Africa Games and the World Championships.
According to Kayode Thomas, the spokesman of the AFN, Kayode Thomas  in a statement, the Golden League was designed to help the home-based to raise their performances to be able to give their foreign-based counterparts a run for their money at the trials.
The Technical Director of the AFN, Omatseye Nesiama said athletes must score a minimum of 1,070 points in the track sprints events and 1,050 in other track events to be able to make it to the trials.
He added that in the jumps, athletes must score a minimum of 1,050 points and score a minimum of 900 points in the throws events to be considered for the trials.
In Walk Race event, athletes must score a minimum of 700 and 350 points by the men and women respectively to be at the trials.
Nesiama said not less than 20 events would feature at Golden league competition.

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Super Eagles Ranks 2nd Among W’Cup Absentees

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Nigeria’s Super Eagles are the second-highest-ranked team not participating at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as they remained 26th in the latest FIFA men’s World Ranking.

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.

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NCF picks Squad For Namibia Tour Tri-Series

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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.

 

 

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Otu Top Seeds Into CBN Senior Tennis Championship’s Second Round 

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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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