Sports
Nigeria Handball Coach Sure To Win Nations Cup
Head Coach of the na
tional handball team, Fidelis Obi, on Thursday said the players at his disposal were fit and capable of excelling at the upcoming African Nations Cup.
Obi told newsmen in Abuja that he was going to have his final list of 18 male players for the competition by next week after playing two friendly matches.
The Tide source reports that the competition which is scheduled for January 20 to January 31 will hold in Cairo, Egypt.
“I rate my boys very high because at the last African Games, at Brazzaville in Congo, we finished fourth position, and I believe our performance shall improve at this championship.
“But we are looking forward to see if we can have the opportunity of playing at the World Championship in France and the Olympics.
“We initially had 26 players and two coaches, with some other members of the technical crew. But now we have 22 players after screening.
“We are going to pick our final list by next week when we are done with playing two friendly matches.
“Then we will cut it down to 18 players, and those are the ones that will travel for the competition,’’ the coach said.
Obi however pointed out that even though the fitness level of the players was high, they still needed to play foreign friendlies to ensure a better performance.
“We have achieved greatly, because the rate of the fitness level of the players has been improving day by day and we are trying to see how to coordinate this for better performance.
“But for the team to play as a team, we can only achieve that by playing all the friendly matches we can get.
“So, we are also looking forward to playing some friendly matches outside the country, either in Republic of Benin, Ghana or Togo, and maybe before January 18,’’ he said.
Though he expressed his disappointment at their failure to play competitions in 2015, Obi was however optimistic that 2016 would be better.
“2015 was not that good as we had very few championships in the country and the African Games was the only championship we had.
“We were given the opportunity to camp for one month and that was why we performed well by getting into the semi-finals.
“Though it was not an easy task but we were able to, with that performance, get the Confederation of African Handball (CAHB) to give us some spots to play in the Nations Cup and Olympics qualifier,’’ the coach said.
He was optimistic his team was capable of doing well in 2016 if the encouragement was there, especially from the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN). “Because motivation is very important for the team right now. In fact, with little motivation we will go places this year.
“This is the first championship for handball in the African level and we hope to do well.
“If this happens, it will pave way for the other national teams, especially the junior teams in the junior championships coming up in Africa,’’ Obi said.
The Los Angeles Lakers shrugged off their injury worries to make a winning start to the NBA play-offs.
The 18-time champions were without key players Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Maxi Kleber but 41-year-old LeBron James produced another fine display in a 107-98 win over the Houston Rockets.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks were the other winners on day one of the play-offs, while the Phoenix Suns and Orlando Magic won the play-in tournament to book their places.
James controlled the floor while racking up 19 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds against a Houston side who lost key man Kevin Durant to injury just before play started.
“It’s just our play-off mentality,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
“You can’t worry about who’s in or out of the line-up. It’s our gameplan. It’s our standards. It’s how we play, and we’ve built towards that.
“I thought our guys just responded well and met the moment. That’s the biggest thing. You’ve got to meet the moment in every game, and we were able to do that.”
Luke Kennard continued to step up as a starter with a career play-off high 27 points as the Lakers took the opening game in the best-of-seven series.
Durant, 37, has a bruised knee and could return for game two on Tuesday night.
Defending champions Oklahoma City Thunder began their campaign last night against the Suns.
Brentford missed the chance to go sixth in the Premier League with a goalless draw against visitors Fulham, their fifth consecutive stalemate in the top flight.
A win would have helped the Bees overtake Chelsea and boost their chances of qualifying for a debut European campaign but they failed to capitalise in a game of few real chances at Gtech Community Stadium.
Fulham had the majority of possession but it was Brentford who had the best of chances in a lacklustre early kick-off.
Igor Thiago, only one behind 22-goal Erling Haaland in the Golden Boot race, headed wide from close range early on while Keane Lewis-Potter fired just over Bernd Leno’s goal from eight yards in the dying seconds of the first half.
Dango Ouattara, who attempted the only shot on target before the interval, failed to trouble Leno again with an effort from distance in the 58th minute.
An unmarked Mikkel Damsgaard then failed to hit the target with a first-time effort from the edge of the box after Kevin Schade played him through as frustration continued to build for Keith Andrews’ side.
Harry Wilson produced a well-timed run to get on the end of a cross in the 78th minute but dragged his shot wide in a rare opening for Fulham.
The teenager delivered a standout performance in what is regarded as one of Africa’s more competitive road cycling events, further strengthening her growing reputation as one of the sport’s most promising young riders.
The Tour du Faso, organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation, which also runs the Tour de France, has been part of the UCI Africa Tour since 2005 and is classified as a 2.2 event.
First held in 1987, it was reserved for amateurs until 1998. It is widely regarded as Africa’s biggest cycling race, a demanding ten-stage challenge that brings together European amateur riders and African local competitors in a contest often described as a blend of sporting ambition and opportunity.
Osaretin’s latest success in stage five adds to a remarkable journey that has seen her rise from humble beginnings as a wheelbarrow pusher to becoming both a Nigerian and African junior champion.
Her breakthrough on the national stage came at the 2024 National Sports Festival in May 2025, where she shocked everyone by defeating Nigeria’s first cycling Olympian Ese Ukpeseraye to win gold in the women’s 200m sprint final.
She went on to win another gold medal in the women’s road race at the inaugural African School Games in Algeria.
Her stage five victory in Burkina Faso now signals continued upward momentum as she establishes herself on the international cycling circuit and looks to build on her early success.
Kola Daniel, special assistant on media to the director general of the National Sports Commission, confirmed the development in a statement released on April 18, 2026.
4th
Falconets intensify preparations for Malawi clash
Nigeria’s U-20 women’s national team, the Falconets, have stepped up their build-up ahead of their FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup final qualifying first-leg encounter against Malawi, scheduled for May 2, Tidesports source reports.
The team have been in intensive training in Abuja as they fine-tune tactics and sharpen their preparations for the decisive fixture, with coaches focusing on team organisation and match strategy ahead of the encounter.
Head coach Moses Aduku expressed confidence in his squad’s readiness, stressing that preparations had reached an advanced stage and that focus had shifted fully to tactical execution.
Aduku said the team are fully concentrated on the task ahead and believes they are well positioned to secure a positive result in the first leg.
“We have a full squad on ground and everyone is focused on the task at hand. From now, we will concentrate on team planning and tactical work. We are taking this very seriously, and I believe by the end of the match we will come out victorious,” he told NFF media.
The Falconets have maintained a positive atmosphere in camp, with high morale among the players and no reported injury concerns.
The coaching staff have also been working on integrating players from different clubs, with emphasis on building cohesion and balance within a short preparation window.
Aduku also appealed for continued support from fans, drawing parallels with previous qualifying rounds against Rwanda and Senegal, while expressing confidence that the team would secure qualification over the two legs.
“To our supporters, we plead that you pray for us as you did when we played Rwanda and Senegal in the earlier rounds. I believe Nigeria will smile with a ticket to the World Cup after the two legs against Malawi,” he added.
Nigeria reached this stage after overcoming Senegal 3-1 on aggregate in the previous round, following a 1-0 home win and a 2-1 away victory.
They had earlier defeated Rwanda 5-0 on aggregate to advance.
Their opponents, Malawi, arrive in strong form after a commanding 6-2 aggregate win over Guinea Bissau, including a 5-1 victory in Lilongwe following a 1-1 draw in the first leg away from home.
The return leg of the qualifier will be held in Lilongwe on May 9, with both sides competing for a place at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland in 2026.