Sports
OPEIFA Cup: Former Players Plead For Championships For School Leavers
Participants in the previous annual Lagos State Secondary Schools Handball Championships, tagged “OPEIFA CUP’,’ have appealed to Kayode Opeifa to initiate equivalent competitions for school leavers.
Babatunde Taiwo and Babatunde Kehinde, four-time participants and graduates of the annual championships, made the call in an interview with newsmen, Thursday, in Lagos on the ongoing competition.
Tidesports source reports that the OPEIFA CUP is an annual Lagos State Handball Association (LSHA) programme put in place to discover and nurture players from the grassroots.
The championships sponsored by Kayode Opeifa, a patron of LSHA, which was initiated in 2015 for boys and girls have held uninterruptedly and now in its 5th edition.
The Babatunde twins, who recently completed their secondary school education from Wesley Girls Senior High School, Sabo, Yaba, were members of the school team and regular participants in OPEIFA CUP.
Taiwo, a player told newsmen that the call became necessary as players that had graduated from secondary schools were no longer eligible for the tournament.
She said there was need to have a similar championships that would engage players that fell in such category to enable them strengthen their experiences acquired from the competition.
The highest goal scorer and MVP awarded player of the 3rd and 4th editions of OPEIFA CUP, tied her success in handball so far to regular participation in the tournament.
“Handball has become a fast growing sport in Lagos, especially since the OPEIFA CUP started in 2015 and the championships hold every year for public and private secondary schools.
“OPEIFA CUP has helped my twin sister and I to come to limelight and I have won three awards in the tournament but can no longer participate because we have graduated from secondary school.
“It was a wonderful experience passing through OPEIFA CUP and I am very grateful to Daddy Opeifa for all his support which has made my carreer meaningful.
“We are aspiring to go higher and appealing to Daddy Opeifa to introduce another championships for those of us that have left secondary schools to sustain our competition spirit,” she said.
Sports
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Sports
Umuahia Hosts Africa Para- Badminton Championship
The championship will run from today to October 12 at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia. On the ground for the championship are athletes from Brazil, Peru, Egypt, Cameroon, Tunisia, Nigeria, Mauritius and Rwanda. They arrived on Sunday.
Some of the other countries were expected in the Abia State capital yesterday. Speaking on the championship, yesterday, Abia State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Nwobilor Ananaba, said the chief host, Governor Alex Otti, has mobilised facilities and the personnel to ensure a successful event.
Speaking through the Special Assistant to the Governor on Sports, Raymond Chima Ukwa, said: “We have the best mats, playing mats, especially the wheelchair playing mats, which is the first of its kind in West Africa.
“If you go around, you’ll see the hall and the preparation that has been made to ensure that people have an equitable world-class playing field.” Thrilled by Governor Otti’s support for the competition, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) President, Francis Orbih, said that, besides making all the necessary arrangements that will ensure a successful hosting of the events, “we will have a Para-Badminton workshop for coaches and players.
“Nigeria is doing well, Abia is doing well, and we want to do better to improve on where we are, which is why all these have been put together by Governor Otti.”
Sports
FIFA U20: Flying Eagles Narrowly Loss to Norway
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles began their campaign at the 24th FIFA U20 World Cup with a narrow 1–0 loss to Norway on Monday, despite creating several opportunities to level the game.
Norway took the lead in the 9th minute after being awarded a controversial penalty. The Flying Eagles pressed for an equaliser but were denied two penalty claims in the second half.
Kparobo Arierhi came close in the 47th minute when his shot drifted wide with the goalkeeper beaten, while Tahir Maigana struck the upright in the 63rd minute.
Nasiru Salihu’s rising effort in the 71st minute also went narrowly over the bar, drawing gasps from the crowd.
Seven minutes from time, Maigana again tested Norway with a long-range strike that went just wide as Nigeria continued to pile on the pressure.
Despite their dominance, the Flying Eagles could not find the breakthrough and now turn their attention to Thursday’s clash against Saudi Arabia in their second group match.
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