Sports
Taekwondo Federation Awaits UNILAG For Space Approval
The Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF) says it is awaiting approval of the management of University of Lagos for a space to erect its High Performance Centre (HPC).
The NTF President, George Ashiru, told Tidesports source at the weekend in Lagos that the body approached the university management with the proposal during the 1st Taekwondo Invitational Tournament in 2016.
Tidesports reports that the centre is a place designed and equipped with modern training equipment like Electronic Scoring System (ESS) and medical personnel including psychologist, doctor and researcher.
It is basically meant for individual taekwondoist, team training activities and comprehensive preparation for international competitions under the supervision of a certified coaching crew.
Ashiru said that the federation reached an agreement with the university management precisely in October 2016, when the Sports Hall of the institution was used for the invitational tournament.
“They actually promised to provide a space within the complex free of charge for us as part of their contribution and support toward improving the standard of taekwondo in Nigeria.
“We are ready to embark on the project as soon as we get a space approved for the centre as promised by the institution,” he said.
Ashiru said that the idea was to create a venue of international standard that befit athlete’ training and preparations for successful outing in major games and world championships.
He said the body would appreciate a prompt response from the university management, adding that fans were eager to see the project in place.
According to him, the centre will enable the athletes to concentrate both physically and psychologically, improve their skills and assist them to attain their desired goals.
Iwobi spoke to Tidesports source ahead of Nigeria’s crunch playoff semi-final against Gabon on Thursday, November 13, in Rabat, Morocco.
The 28-year-old was reacting to Nigeria’s shaky World Cup qualifying campaign that saw the Eagles finish second in Group C behind South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
“We’ve managed to rescue ourselves from the dead,” Iwobi told Tidesports source.
We know we have the players and the abilities to compete against any other country in the world.”
The Fulham star pointed to Nigeria’s star power, highlighting African Footballer of the Year winners Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen as proof of the squad’s quality.
“We have last year’s African best player (Ademola Lookman), the year before that (Victor Osimhen),” he said.
“It’ll be a shame if we don’t make it, but we have a lot of confidence. We just have to prove it to ourselves.”
Nigeria’s path to the United States, Canada and Mexico has been turbulent, with two coaches departing during the early stages of qualifying before Éric Chelle steadied the ship to steer the Super Eagles into November’s CAF playoffs.
Four nations from the continent – Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo and Gabon – will vie for a solitary spot to compete in next March’s inter-confederation playoffs, with a view to joining the already nine qualified African nations at the Finals.
It would mark Iwobi’s second appearance at the World Cup Finals and the Super Eagles’ first since the 2018 edition of the competition.
Back then, Iwobi featured in all three games as Nigeria was knocked out in the group stage.
The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Publisher of the Atlantic Bell Online medium, Mr. Celestine Ogolo has advised sports writers in Nigeria to diversify in sports writing and not to concentrate on football reporting alone.
The Deputy National President of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Mr. Bonny Nyong has expressed commitment to support sports development and move SWAN forward.