Sports
SWAN Rivers Platform Hosts Jumbo, ’Morrow
The Rivers State chapter of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, SWAN, will host Arthur Jumbo tomorrow on their Platform.
The SWAN Rivers Platform, powered by FOSKOLO Media Productions got a kick of life last month with former Green Eagles Winger, speaking on a wide range of issues from his football career at Sharks, Rangers and the National team as his past football life.
A monthly, interactive, no holds barred session between a sports personality and members of the sports writing fraternity in the state host Jumbo, who was until a month ago Chairman of the Rivers State Hockey Association but stepped aside after issues with his board members and staff of the State Sports Ministry.
He started playing hockey in 1984 and was captain of the Baptist High School team in Port Harcourt a year later.
That same year in 1985, he captained the Rivers State U18 hockey team to the Kwara ’85 championship.
He also captained the Rivers State U16 team to the Bako Cup in Kaduna in 1985/86 winning his first ever medal, a bronze, in that event.
He was part of the Rivers State team to the sports festival in 1988 and got a call up to the National U21 team the same year.
In 1989, he won a Silver medal in the Abacha Cup and won the Gold medal in the 1990 Nigeria University Games Association, NUGA Games in 1990, playing for the Obafemi Awolowo University.
A year later, in 1991, he got a call up to the national team for the All Africa Games and in 1992 won Gold medal at the NUGA Games hosted in Ilorin.
After his youth service in 1996, Arthur Jumbo started his own company and in 1999 he became vice chairman of the Rivers State Hockey Association.
In 2010, he was marketing coordinator of the Nigerian Hockey Federation before becoming a member of the Federation board in 2013.
In 2015, he was elected chairman of the Rivers State Hockey Association and was elected board member of the Hockey Federation in 2017.
Arthur Jumbo is the Chief Executive Officer of Mc-Arc Services Nigeria Ltd and he is married with four children.
The August edition of the SWAN Rivers Platform holds tomorrow, August 24 at the NUJ Press Centre at Moscow Road in Port Harcourt from 11am.
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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