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Royal Father Tasks Govt On Sports Dev

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A Sports Philanthropist
and royal father in Rivers State, Eze Sylvanus Adima Ogbueri, has charged the three tiers of government and all stakeholders in the sector to harness the full potentials which abound in Nigeria sports.
Ogbueri who is the Onwa of Omuma and founder of Onwa Essence Football Club, said the world has so much space for Nigerian youth in all spheres of sports events but regretted that the potential young energies were being allowed to spill over to anti-social activities.
The royal father who spoke to The Tidesports in an interview yesterday stressed the need for the 23 local government areas in Rivers State to give sports especially, soccer a priority.
According to him, apart from agriculture, sports remain a lucrative sector to engage the youth.
He said: “it will give the talented youngmen and women opportunity to excel, earn fabulous income as well as foreign exchange for the country”.
While commending the Rivers State Governor, Barr. Nyesom Wike for initiating the amnesty programme, Eze Ogbueri urged the governor to develop a blue print for sports development in the state.
According to him, some of the youth who surrendered arms because of the programme would be immediately engaged in meaningful activities as sports to avoid relapse which is dangerous for their future.
“Each of the 23 local government areas must have soccer clubs to compete in the state and from the tournament, the state would be producing talents to take over so much space in the globe because soccer rules the modern world, he stated.
Ogbueri who presented three trophies at the “All Primary and Secondary Schools Sports competition in Omuma”, held recently, said he would continue to appreciate and support sports development.
“Sports means unity, sports means employment, sports means wealth creation and it also engenders peacefull development in any society, hence I will never stop investing in sports”, he said.
Eze Ogbueri charged youth to take advantage of agriculture and sports to make their marks in life and to shun anti-social activities as cultism, violence, kidnapping, armed robbery.
While lauding Governor Wike for the amnesty initiative, Ogbueri urged the Governor to help find ways of engaging those who surrendered their arms.

 

Chris Oluoh/Obusele Mirian

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New Eagles Squad Excites WizKids

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Nigerian Afrobeats star Ayodeji Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid, has expressed his satisfaction with the Super Eagles’ preparation ahead of their 2026 World Cup qualifier against Rwanda in Kigali.
The team, now under the leadership of newly appointed head coach Eric Chelle, held its first training session on Tuesday afternoon.
Reacting to the new squad, Wizkid took to his X handle on Wednesday, writing, “New Super Eagles team! (I) love the energy,” he wrote.
The crucial qualifier is set to take place at the Amahoro Stadium in Rwanda on Friday, March 21, with kickoff scheduled for 5 pm Nigerian time.
Following the match, Nigeria will return home to face Zimbabwe in Uyo on Tuesday.
The Super Eagles must secure maximum points from both fixtures to strengthen their chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Nigeria’s current squad features several in-form players, including Galatasaray’s Victor Osimhen, Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman, Genk’s Tolu Arokodare and Fulham’s Calvin Bassey.
The match against Rwanda will be Chelle’s first game in charge of the three-time African champions, who are desperate for a positive result to keep their World Cup qualification hopes alive.
The Super Eagles last played at the Amahoro Stadium in September 2024, where they were held to a goalless draw by Rwanda.

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NLO Tasks Clubs To Complete Players’ Facial Registration

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The Nationwide League One (NLO) has mandated the clubs that make up the Division One and U19 Youth League to complete their players’ facial verification process.
The Secretariat of the nation’s third-tier league regulatory body via its media department gave reasons on the essence of exercise as the March 30th players’ registration deadline draws near.
According to the NLO, clubs must complete facial verification for each player during registration to prevent duplicate registrations.
As regards players that have already been registered, the NLO explained that if a player fails verification (already registered with another club), the holding club must release the player. The NLO Admin will confirm the release and allow the verification of such a player for the new club.
The NLO stressed the importance of the release documentation and Registration Window Closure.
Releasing clubs must upload the player’s release document. This document will be reviewed and verified by the NLO Admin.
After the registration window closes, clubs cannot sign new players.
With the introduction of the new facial recognition technology, all clubs must register both their existing and new players.
These updates ensure a fair and transparent registration system. For assistance, clubs should contact NLO support.

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Aruna Up For $275k WTT Chennai

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Nigeria table tennis star, Quadri Aruna, will contest in the maiden WTT Contender Chennai in India after he was picked as a replacement for German star, Dimitrij Ovtcharov.
The WTT Contender Chennai is the fifth WTT event of the year and marks the first staging of the series in the City.
The event which has a prize purse of $270,000 will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai, India from March 25 to 30.
Aruna and nine other players have been confirmed for the men’s singles including his African rival, Egypt’s Omar Assar.3.
Other players confirmed so far include Denmark’s Jonathan Groth (17), Hugo Calderano of Brazil (6) and world number four Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan.
The 36-year-old has played in two WTT events this year.
In January, he made it as far as the semi-finals in the WTT Star Contender in Doha where he lost in straight sets to Japanese sensation Tomokazu Harimoto.
Last Wednesday, the world number 19 crashed out of the WTT Champions Chongqing 2025 after suffering a comprehensive 3-0 defeat to world number two Wang Chuqin of China in their round of 32 clash.
Aruna will hope to put up a more commanding show in India, as he has been tipped to shine by the world body.
“Stay tuned. There’s more to come from Quadri Aruna in India,” WTT captioned Aruna’s video on Monday after announcing his participation.
WTT Executive Director of Events Mounir Bessah also said the competition is a bold step forward as they expect Aruna and other players to deliver a memorable spectacle.
“Chennai’s inclusion in the WTT Series calendar underscores our mission to expand the reach of table tennis globally while honouring the sport’s passionate fanbase in India. With a venue like the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium and the support of Tamil Nadu’s government, we are ready to deliver an unforgettable spectacle for players and fans.”

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