Sports
Boxing Champion Calls For More Tournaments
Local wrestlers in a contest
The current West African
Light Welterweight Champion Olaide Fijabi, has called for more boxing championships to improve the sport in the country.
Fijabi spoke to the newsmen during a reception in his honour by the Chairman of Lagos State Sport Commission (LSSC), Deji Tinubu.
He was crowned the West African Champion in the light welterweight category after he defeated, Djamiou Elepo of the Republic of Benin at the GOtv boxing event on March 25.
Prior to the fight, the boxer has won four gold medals at various Sports Festivals in Nigeria and in recognition of his achievements; the Lagos State Sports Commission employed him.
Fijabi told newsmen at the reception that boxing championships in the country were not enough for boxers to assess their skills.
He thanked GOtv for intervening, and urged other stake holders to sponsor more championships to improve boxers.
“I thank GOtv for the initiative to organise boxing championship in Nigeria, but we need more championships to enable us to keep fit and maintain our weight categories.
“When some people see us, they think as champions, we should be rich, but on the contrary, most of us cannot afford to feed ourselves.
“Some of our relatives are looking up to us for survival and they are often embarrassed when we cannot provide for them,’’ he told newsmen lamenting that there were boxers but not enough competitions.
“This has been our story so far, all because we don’t have championships.
“I can even say that the training equipment are not there for us. Boxing is almost gone in Nigeria before GOtv came to the rescue.’’
Fijabi commended the LSSC for supporting boxers from the state, urging other states to emulate the gesture.
“I am grateful to LSSC for giving me this opportunity. Although I have been courted by other states which I promised me some incentives but I am resolute to remain in Lagos.
“Lagos has provided me with training equipment and other incentives, including sponsoring me for the championship because I am on their payroll.
“I equally thank GOtv for bringing such a championship but I pray we have more championships to save the face of boxing in Nigeria.
“It is even sad to know that we don’t have boxing promoters again in the country, we need to do something about this,’’ the boxer said.
Fijabi added that if the country had wanted boxers to perform well at different international championships, it should address the dearth of local championships.
“We have potential boxers in the country, but we don’t have promoters to encourage them, everybody needs to look in this direction because only those professional promoters can do the job.
“Boxing is not a sport for all comers else they will mess up the game,’’ he stressed.
Earlier, Tinubu had said that the state would continue to identify with home grown talents.
“I will do everything within my capacity to sponsor Fijabi and encourage him, which is why he is on the payroll of the state.
“Whatever Lagos State will do to empower him, will be provided. We want to promote sports to the highest level in the country,’’ he said.
Contributing, Head of Public Relation Unit, LSSC, Titi Oshodi, said that the state was passionate about the promotion of sports.
“We are promoting them by employing some of them into the service of the state and also providing training equipment for them.
“The boxing gym is provided to them free and it is located at the Teslim Balogun Stadium. The facilities for other sports abound across the state,’’ she said.
Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has said that criticism that he and other players chased money by moving to Saudi Arabia is wide of the mark.
The 33-year-old left Chelsea for Al-Ahli in a £16m ($21.4m) deal in 2023, and in May the Africa Cup of Nations winner helped his Saudi club win the Asian Champions League, making him one of the few players to win both that competition and its European equivalent.
But, like many others, Mendy has been criticised for playing for money rather than prestige in the lucrative Saudi Pro League.
When asked about such criticism, Mendy told a Tidesports source, “Al-Ahli’s project came along and they made me feel I had a big role to play.
“Two years later, we won the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history. So yes, that validates my choice. And I hope the coming years will validate it even more.”
He added: “Some people will quickly jump to conclusions and say the only reason is money. From the start, I always said that when I left Chelsea, I knew I was joining another team where I could win everything , which was no longer the case at Chelsea.”
The Blues have since won the Conference League, Europe’s third-tier club competition, under the ownership of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
But it comes after the regime’s trophyless first two years, a period which has frustrated some supporters after the success enjoyed under Roman Abramovich’s stewardship in the previous 19 years.
Mendy has also been celebrating what he describes as a historical win with Senegal against England at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground, but days earlier he had been in Dakar delivering a different kind of win.
He is the sponsor of Yakaar, a school in Keur Massar, which seeks to improve funding and access to digital learning tools for local children from underprivileged backgrounds.
Famously, as Mendy grew up in France, he was unemployed, aged 22, while struggling to find a club, with members of his family still living on the outskirts of Dakar.
That is why Yakaar, a word meaning “hope”, was chosen, a word Mendy has carried with him in his career.
“Hope is what kept me going. When I was without a club, it was the hope of getting that first professional contract.
“Then the hope of playing for the national team. The hope of making my family proud by doing the job I had always dreamed of.
“Indeed, hope is the best word to describe my career.”
Mendy was also asked whether the responsibility of being an African goalkeeper had weighed heavily on him.
“Of course. When I was in England, there weren’t many African goalkeepers in top clubs,” he admitted.
“Whether nationally or internationally, I had that responsibility. It’s the same for other African goalkeepers like Andre Onana [Manchester United] or Yassine Bounou (Al-Hilal).”
The entire refereeing committee has been fired by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), with structural reforms soon set to follow.
According to sources, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has dismissed the entire refereeing committee in response to mounting pressure from clubs demanding structural reform. A major shake-up aimed at modernising Spanish refereeing from top to bottom has now been set in motion.
Head of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), Luis Medina Cantalejo and Head of VAR, Carlos Clos Gomez, have been removed from their positions. They are joined by several senior officials, including Antonio Rubinos Perez and three vice presidents, who are also stepping down. A new leadership model will be introduced, led by a CEO and a sporting director, aiming to overhaul how refereeing is managed covering assessments, promotions, and daily operations. While the leadership changes are sweeping, the current pool of referees in La Liga and the second tier will remain, ensuring continuity on the field during the transition.
Cristiano Ronaldo has signed a new two-year contract with Al-Nassr that means he will stay with the Saudi Pro League club until beyond his 42nd birthday.
The Portugal captain, 40, joined the Riyadh-based team in December 2022 after leaving Manchester United in acrimonious circumstances, having criticised the club and said he had no respect for manager Erik ten Hag.
Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr deal had been due to expire at the end of June and there was speculation he could leave, but that has now been quashed.
In a post on X, Ronaldo wrote: “A new chapter begins. Same passion, same dream. Let’s make history together.”
Although Al-Nassr have not added to their nine domestic titles during Ronaldo’s time at the club, they have benefited from a flood of goals from the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Ronaldo scored 35 times in 41 matches across all competitions last term and was the league’s top scorer for a second consecutive season.
He has managed 99 goals in appearances overall for Al-Nassr and is well on his way to reaching 1,000 senior goals in his career, with a current tally of 938 for club and country.
Having helped Portugal win the Uefa Nations League a little over two weeks ago, the former Manchester United, Real Madrid, Sporting and Juventus forward will almost certainly now be targeting a sixth World Cup appearance next summer.
Only a month ago, Ronaldo posted on social media to say “the chapter is over”.
That came after the Saudi Pro League wrapped up with Al-Nassr finishing third and trophyless once again.
The comment fuelled rumours that Ronaldo was ready to leave the league where he reportedly became the best-paid player in football history with an annual salary of £177m when he joined.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino raised the prospect of Ronaldo joining a team involved in the Club World Cup after Al-Nassr failed to qualify for the extended tournament which is being held in the United States.
Ronaldo said he had received offers from participating teams but had turned them down.
The decision to stay until at least 2027, which is certain to be highly lucrative, appears to rule out any future prospect of Ronaldo returning to play at the highest level in Europe.