Sports
Rumuolumeni Academy Wins Super Cup
The Rumuolumeni
Academy on Monday emerged winners of the Rumuolumeni Super Cup after beating Team Ghana in the final
The Academy went ahead twice in the game but Team Ghana drew level in the dying minutes to take the game to penalty shoot-out where Manim Abassy saved two kicks to hand victory over to the Rumuolumeni Academy side.
Coach of the Rumuolumeni Academy, Richard Agim spoke with the press shortly after the game.
“After we scored and they equalised I put in more midfielders to hold the game when we went ahead the second time, but unfortunately they again. It’s football,” Agim said.
Captain of Rumuolumeni academy, Temple Okafor spoke about taking his game to the national level.
“It’s a wonderful feeling to win this Cup. In fact I am astonished. It was all about team spirit. Even though we went ahead twice and they equalized we still stayed together until we won the Cup,” Okafor said.
The King of Rumuolumeni, Nye-nwe-Eli, Eze Wobo Olumeni was the special guest of honour at the event and said he was impressed at the organization of the event.
“This is what I expect from the community. Every year we try to do things like these to bring the people together. I am impressed with what the organisers have done here and next year will be better because we will unify the community with events like these,” King Olumeni said.
The Caretaker Committee chairman of Obio/Akpor, Honorable Collins Onunwor was also impressed with the peaceful disposition.
“I thank the organisers and I will support them to do anything that will bring peace in Obio/Akpor and Nigeria.
“My priority as a council chairman is to make sure there is peace so I am happy that the youth are playing football rather than carrying arms for cultism,” Onunwor said.
Engineer, Joseph Duntoye a member of the Goldash All Stars club and major sponsor of the tournament through his company, Aveon Offshore said they will continue to do more for sports in the area.
“As much as football and wrestling brings peace, we can harness talents through football. My company believes this should happen every year and remember that where there is no peace there can be no development. We will continue to strive for this through supporting football,” Duntoye said.
Manim Abassy of the Rumuolumeni Academy was named Best goalkeeper of the tournament, Chucks Okechukwu of the Rumuolumeni Academy was named Best Defender and Michael Essien of Team Ivory Coast was named Best midfielder.
Eze Otaka who scored three goals and got two assists was named the Highest goal scorer.
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.
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.
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.