Sports
Rivers Athletes Prepare For 19th NSE
Rivers State athletes
have continued in their efforts to superceed the medals won at the Eko 2012″ National Festival, come November, 2015 at the forthcoming 19th National Sports Festival scheduled to hold in Calabar, Corss Rivers State.
This was made known by Eung Ezekiel Ordu yesterday in an interview with Tidesports at the Alfred Diette-Spiff Sports Complex, Moscow Road, Port Harcourt.
According to Ordu who is head of Department coaching, Rivers State Sports Council, there has not been any major sporting events since this year, but the state athletes have not relented in their endeavours to ensure that their individual and team training session are done on daily basis.
He advised them to keep doing what they know best and not minding the circumstances surrounding the 19th NSF and other sporting events at the State and National level, adding that, they would definitely do well when the fiesta gets underway.
Evangelist Ordu also urged them to be focused as they further prepare for the task ahead.
I urged you to do your best and keep up the good work that will eventually earn you the desired success in your career”, he said.
It would be recalled that the 19th National Sports Festival has dragged on since 2015.
Rivers United FC of Port Harcourt contingent, comprising players, technical crew, backroom staff, and officials, depart the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos State on Wednesday, bound for Kinshasa, DR Congo.
The team is set to face FC Les Aigles du Congo in the first-round first-leg match of the CAF Champions League.
This was contained in a press release signed by the media officer of the club, Charles Mayuku and made available to Tidesports on Wednesday.
He said that the highly anticipated match is scheduled to take place at the 80,000-capacity Kinshasa-Complexe Omnisports Stade des Martyrs on morrow with kickoff slated for 3:30pm.
According to the statement the encounter marks the first-ever meeting between both sides in any competition, adding that an air of excitement and unpredictability to the fixture.
“As the Pride of Nigeria embarks on this crucial journey, the team is determined to return with a decent result that will set them up favorably for the second leg on Sunday, 28th September” the statement said.
The new rankings, released via FIFA’s official X handle on Thursday, reflect the team’s continued struggles under Coach Eric Chelle amid a stuttering 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.
This marks a second consecutive decline after the Nigerian side dropped from 43rd to 44th in August on the back of poor outings in recent international matches.
Despite Nigeria’s setback, several African teams made progress. Morocco remains the continent’s highest-ranked side, sitting 11th in the world after winning eight of their last nine matches. Senegal, Egypt, Algeria and Côte d’Ivoire complete Africa’s top five.
Lesotho slipped to 153rd place, while Benin Republic, Nigeria’s upcoming opponent, climbed to 93rd. South Africa’s Bafana Bafana, who held the Super Eagles to a 1-1 draw in June, rose to 55th, strengthening their bid for World Cup qualification.
Zimbabwe had the biggest slide down the ranking table, dropping nine places to 125th position in the world.
The rankings highlight Nigeria’s struggle to regain form on the global stage as key rivals continue to surge ahead.
Similarly, the Super Falcons of Nigeria remain 36th best in the world], while the Spanish female national team replaced the USA at the top of the women’s ranking.
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