Sports
Nigerian Heroes Of The Winter Olympics
For a few weeks, before and during the 2018 Winter Olympics, Nigeria was a hot subject in the global media.
The reason was the audacious decision of four Nigerian female athletes based in the United States of America to take up an unusual sport, bobsleigh and skeleton, and to become the first set of Africans to participate in the Olympics-on-ice since it started in 1924
The Games were a true feast of super human feats and skills on ice, although Nigeria returned home without a medal of any colour, the country’s participation was one of the most inspiring stories of the games.
Even as the various teams in their national dresses and colours walked onto the tracks of the magnificent Pyeongyang Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony, the thunderous applause that welcomed the all-black and beautiful, green and white clad Nigerian girls that punctuated the monotony of white faces was a spontaneous reaction to an unfolding historical drama.
After the games the girls reminded the world of the real essence of the Olympic Movement through their conduct and spirit. They did not win any medals. They did not even come near winning one. Yet, with sheer grit and exuberant celebrations when they improved their personal best times even without winning, they taught the world how to celebrate the personal victories, and that ‘at the Olympics you do not have to come first to win’.
The Nigerian girls became some of the most celebrated, most publicised and most followed athletes at the Games, without mounting the medal rostrum.
The reception back home is shockingly different since after the games. And the girls are back in Nigeria.
One would have expected that the sports authorities will ride on the back of the momentum generated by the rest of the world during the games, to make further capital at home by welcoming them to Nigeria like the heroes they really are.
This would also help to shore up the confidence and spirit of new athletes preparing to go for a new ‘war’ at the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast in Australia to which Nigeria is preparing to send athletes in April.
Unfortunately, I have not read any reports that the country has shown as much love and appreciation for the girls as the rest of the world did.
I am not certain if anything, even a small reception, is being planned for these heroes.
I hate to think that the girls with their unprecedented and historic participation at the Games, one that brought positive global attention to the country, will now be left to wander into the wilderness of their own narrow interests.
As the country prepares for Australia, the atmosphere is fouled with pungent smell of poorly motivated athletes, poor camping conditions and even ‘disappearing’ athletes.
It is being reported that one of the country’s bright stars and hopes for a medal, the national men’s 400 metres champion, may have ‘decamped’ to another country because of the poor treatment meted to the team during the preparations.
The only sport that may have the athletes to compete and win medals during the Games is wrestling. The influence of a former Olympian, and Olympic Gold medalist himself, the current president of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, has a lot to play in the expected haul of some medals in the sport.
The prospects for more medals in other sports are anchored to prayers and miracles.
Meanwhile, let me take a moment to salute Chief Solomon Ogba for his vision, and Honourable Gbenga Elegbeleye for supporting him for creating the fairy tale of the Winter Olympics.
The Eagles of the future!
I have never done this before. I also feel reluctant to do so now. But when certain things fall into place like a jigsaw puzzle, totally unplanned and unexpectedly, and point you in a direction that may have hidden blessings, you take a chance, as I am doing right now, and do it.
A week ago, I read about Nigeria beginning the campaign for the 2019 World Youth Championship for the under-20s, in short, the next generation of Super Eagles after the 2018 World Cup!
I am very interested to have a ring side opportunity to see some exceptional talents and add my voice to the assembling process.
There is a young man called Tolu Arogundade.
He graduated from SOCA, the Segun Odegbami International College and Sports Academy in 2016.
In the 10 years of running the academy, the school prides itself with assisting graduating students to colleges and universities in America to complete their education. The goal has always been to complete and pocket at least a first degree, whilst playing and enjoying a full academic scholarship. Thereafter, the players can move to Europe and even remain in the USA to pursue their passion, a professional football career when they are still only 21 or 22 years of age.
That would give them a good 12 to 15 years of time to play football full time at the highest levels.
That’s the plan we sell to parents and have always followed, until Tolu came along.
Tolu Arogundade, an extremely academically brilliant student and an exceptional football player, decided he wanted to pursue a football career first and straight from school.
In 2017, he was invited on merit to the national Under-17 team. It was a confirmation of how good he is, apart from reinforcing his confidence and determination that he can make it to the professional ranks in football. This past week he has taken another giant step. He has been snatched by a German first division club, Tolu just signed a contract with SC Freiburg, in the German Bundesliga.
The second player in my radar is also 19. He has also just signed and plays for the time being, in the reserves of Club Atletico Banfield, Buenos Aires, in the Primero national league, in Argentina.
I know of only two Nigerians that have ever played in the Brazilian Premier league – Benjamin Ezeakor and Richard Owuobokiri.
To play in the premier division of a South American league can never be easy for an African player, because of the depth and number of exceptionally talented players in that environment. So, when I learnt that a Nigerian youngster had just signed for a premiership Club in Argentina, and is already playing in the reserves at age 19, all my sensors went into alert.
That’s how Feyiseitan Asagidigbi came into my radar.
I learnt had Feyi actually played for Nigeria at under-15 in 2014. He may probably be the first professional player from Nigeria to play in Argentina. Anyone that can achieve such a feat deserves some attention.
Then, there is this third player. He is also 19 and a true journeyman.
He is of Nigerian parentage but may have been born in Canada because the Canadians are dying to have him play for the national team. He was briefly in the under-20 squad last year but ‘ran’ back to Europe to pursue a more lucrative professional career.
Early last year, he played for Crystal Palace FC under-18 team in England. He has now relocated to France where he has signed to play in the national under-19 Championat.
My enquiry revealed his roots.Emmanuel Okorougo is a brilliant and exceptional talent.
As Nigeria starts her preparation for the Under-20 World Youth Championship qualifiers, I am directing the radar of Nigerian scouts to these three players, who could just be what the country needs to kick-start the next generation of Super Eagles after the 2018 World Cup.
Francisco Conceicao and Lois Openda ended their goal droughts as Juventus beat Roma to move within a point of the Serie A top four.
Conceicao finished off a slick move to put Juventus ahead just before half-time, before Openda tapped into an empty net in the 70th minute, but Tommaso Baldanzi halved the deficit to set up a nervy final 15 minutes.
Roma began the day with the best defensive record in Serie A having conceded just eight goals in 15 games, but there was nothing goalkeeper Mile Svilar could do about either Juventus goal.
Conceicao ended his nine-game goalless streak when he ran on to Andrea Cambiaso’s clever flick-on and drilled a low shot into the far corner.
Openda was on hand to convert from Weston McKennie’s selfless ball across the face of goal for his first strike in Serie A since joining Juventus on loan from RB Leipzig in the summer.
Roma finally found their cutting edge in the 76th minute when Baldanzi pounced after Michele di Gregorio had palmed Evan Ferguson’s low strike into danger.
Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz sought an instant response but saw his vicious strike cannon back off the post.
Roma have scored just 17 goals in 16 league games this season, so it came as no surprise that Gian Piero Gasperini’s side could not find a second goal.
Juventus remain fifth in the table but are just a point behind Roma in fourth, and have now won six of their past seven games in all competitions under Luciano Spalletti.
Roma would have gone joint-top of the table with Inter Milan had they won, but remain three points behind the leaders having played one game more.
In Germany, Bayer Leverkusen came from behind to beat RB Leipzig and leapfrog their opponents into third place in the Bundesliga table.
Goals from Martin Terrier and Patrik Schick cancelled out Xaver Schlager’s opener as an entertaining first half ended with three goals in nine minutes, before Montrell Culbreath wrapped up victory in second half injury-time.
The Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) will be held every four years from 2028, Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe has announced.
The tournament has taken place every two years since 1968, with a one-year gap between the 2012 and 2013 editions.
But it will switch to a four-year cycle after the 2027 Afcon in East Africa and a 2028 edition.
Motsepe has instead announced the creation of an African Nations League which will take place annually from 2029.
“We have the most exciting new structure for African football,” Motsepe said.
“I do what is in the interests of Africa. The global calendar has to be significantly more synchronised and harmonised.”
Meanwhile, Caf has increased the prize money for the winners of Afcon from $7m (£5.2m) to $10m (£7.5m).
The surprise announcement about the future of Afcon was made by Motsepe after a meeting of Caf’s executive committee in Morocco before the start of the 2025 finals in Rabat yesterday.
The biennial hosting of Afcon has long caused issues with the football calendar, with the vast majority of recent tournaments held midway through the European club season.
However, Caf remained committed to scheduling the tournament every two years, not least as it needs the revenue raised from the finals to reinvest in the game on the continent.
Caf had made a resolution for Afcon to be held in a June-July slot from 2019 onwards and began its new plan in Egypt that year.
But the Covid-19 pandemic and weather conditions in host nations in Central and West Africa meant the 2021 and 2023 editions in Cameroon and Ivory Coast respectively were staged in January and February instead.
Fifa’s expanded 32-team Club World Cup was held in June and July this year, forcing Caf to opt for mid-season dates once again.
As a result this year’s Afcon in Morocco is taking place over Christmas and the New Year for the first time, with the final on 18 January.
The dates for the finals in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in 2027 are yet to be announced, and that will be swiftly followed by another Afcon in 2028, with the hosts of that edition yet to be decided.
After that, the continent’s biggest tournament will become a quadrennial tournament taking place in the same year as the European Championships.
Motsepe said the decision had been made in conjunction with Fifa president Gianni Infantino and the world governing body’s general secretary Mattias Grafstrom, and that Caf “have to compromise”.
Motsepe also announced the creation of the African Nations League, which will take place in September, October and November every year from 2029.
The competition will see all 54 member associates split into four zones, with six nations in the Northern zone and 16 nations in the Eastern, Western and Central and Southern zones.
Matches will be played in September and October, with the champions from each region meeting in November to then decide an overall winner.
Motsepe said the new competition will be “the equivalent of an Afcon every year” and will be held in partnership with Fifa in order to attract top-class sponsors.
“Every year in Africa, the best African players who play in Europe will be with us on the continent,” Motsepe added.
“Every year we will have a competition with 54 African nations with all the best players coming here to play.
“We are going to have a world-class competition every year.”
Anthony Joshua did what he was meant to do on Friday night in Miami: he lay waste to Jake Paul’s bravest and most controversial experiment in boxing with a destructive victory that felt less like a sporting result than the restoration of sanity.
In their scheduled eight-round heavyweight bout at the Kaseya Center, streamed globally to Netflix’s roughly 300 million subscribers, the former twice unified heavyweight champion scored four knockdowns before stopping the YouTuber-turned-boxer in the sixth round of a mismatch that had prompted weeks of safety fears and moral hand-wringing. Joshua’s triumph, on a night purpose-built as much for memes as for punches, served as a reminder that boxing still adheres to its elemental laws and that power and pedigree eventually reassert themselves.
From the opening bell, the shape of the fight was unmistakable. Joshua took the centre of the ring uncontested while Paul circled him, moving laterally from left to right and back again. The first round was extremely low volume, punctuated by a smattering of boos from the audience. Paul landed a brief double jab to the body before darting back to safety. Joshua threw an overhand right that appeared to glance off a retreating target making full use of the 22ft ring. It was tentative, but Joshua’s control of space earned him the round.
The second followed a similar pattern. Joshua swung and missed early as Paul continued to run, using lateral movement to frustrate the bigger man. Joshua began to cut off the ring more effectively, but Paul clinched whenever distance closed, drawing louder boos from the near-capacity crowd. A brief clash of heads halted momentum, and though Joshua hinted at body work, he continued to headhunt. It was a round defined by inertia: Joshua doing little, Paul doing less.
By the third, Joshua’s patience began to pay off. Paul briefly stepped into the pocket and attempted an uppercut, catching only leather. Joshua responded by throwing more power shots, narrowly missing but drawing audible gasps from the crowd. Late in the round, a right hand to the ribs appeared to buckle Paul, the first clear sign of damage. Again, Joshua did not land much cleanly, but he was the only fighter attempting to win rather than merely survive.
The fight deteriorated toward farce in the fourth. Paul went into full retreat as Joshua struggled to corner him, wrapping up at every opportunity. The crowd grew increasingly hostile. Matters continued southward when Paul went down claiming a low blow, prompting a prolonged stoppage by the referee Chris Young that gave him valuable recovery time. It did little to help. Paul went down again, then again, clearly exhausted and buying time. Despite the repeated delays, the referee issued no point deduction, drawing sustained jeers from the stands.
By the fifth, the contest had crossed from mismatch into embarrassment. Paul flopped once more before finally being dropped by a clean right hand. He beat the count but looked close to collapsing. A second knockdown followed moments later, again from a right, and Joshua closed the round trapping Paul in the corner and unloading unanswered shots. Somehow Paul survived to the bell, though the proceedings had ceased to resemble a competitive sporting event.
The end came early in the sixth. Paul went down almost immediately, dragged himself upright, then fell again under sustained pressure. This time he could not beat the count. Young waved it off at the 1:31 mark, finally ending a bout that had long outlived its threadbare justification.
