Sports
Volleyball Tourney: Sunshine Spikers, Police Win Division I League
Sunshine Spikers of Ondo has emerged winners of the Division one National Volley Ball Tournament which took place at the Indoor Sports Complex of the University of Ilorin.
The Ondo team outclassed Nigeria Army by three straight sets to win the tournament in the final game played on Saturday.
The team proved to be the worthy winners after winning a total of nine games with a total of 26 points.
The Army finished in the second position with 24 points followed by Niger Brass in third place with 19 points.
Offa Volleyball Club garnered 18 points to finish fourth and are four points better than Kada Kings of Kaduna in fifth position.
Prisons finished in the sixth place with 13 points ahead of ABM of Katsina which has nine points in seventh position.
Dynamics of Anambra State and neighbouring Delta Force occupied the eighth and ninth positions with six points each while Imo State finished at the bottom of the table with zero point.
Earlier in the day, Police Force had beaten Team Imo 3-1 to take the first position in the female division with nine points.
Imo occupied the second position with six points while O.K Babes of Ogun had three points in third position with Zamfara at the bottom of the table without any point.
While speaking at the closing ceremony, President of the Nigeria Volleyball Federation , Engr Musa Nimrod thanked and appreciated the host community as well as the Kwara government for providing an enabling environment for the championship.
Nimrod disclosed that the event was staged, hosted and completed successfully without any hiccups and further revealed that his board will be looking forward to stage subsequent events at the university.
He also charged the competing teams to go back to the drawing board and re-strategize ahead of the next leg of the league.
The president also revealed that the federation is leaving no stone unturned in preparing the national team for international events.
Chairman of the directors of sports forum in Nigeria, Coach Tunde Kazeem thanked the volleyball federation for bringing the tournament to Ilorin.
The director who was particularly impressed with the quality of the female division, stressed the need for the participating states to encourage their athletes.
On his own part, chairman of the Kwara State Volleyball Association, Bashorun Bankole called on private sponsors and individuals to partner with the federation in it’s bid to organise more grassroots events in order to fish out talents.
Meanwhile, information gathered from the league Management Committee of the Nigeria Volleyball, says the next leg of the division one League is expected to hold in Bauchi at a later date.
The Nigeria Football Federation has defended the recent quarter-finals draw for the 2025 President Federation Cup, saying it was conducted in line with best global practices.
A member of the NFF Executive Committee Board, George Aluo, stated that criticism over venues for the quarterfinals was unfortunate.
Going by the fixtures released on Saturday by the football body, Abakaliki FC will take on Nasarawa United in Benin, Wikki Tourists will clash with Ikorodu City in Bwari, Abuja, Akwa United and Kwara United will fight it out in Enugu, just as Area 3, Abuja, will host the encounter between Rangers International and Plateau United. All matches are scheduled for May 3rd for the emergence of semifinalists in a leg affair.
However, there have been criticisms over the Ikorodu United vs Wikki Tourist tie billed for Abuja, with a section of the press saying the venue is skewed in favour of the Bauchi team.
Aluo, also the Chairman of the Nigeria National League (NNL), said: “Some of our media men need better education, and newsmen should not be like the fans out there on the streets. In the English FA Cup, it is always a one-legged pairing that can see a club like Arsenal host Manchester United at home”.
A new contract that will see Act Sports Di Oyibo Limited managing the career of Nigerian teqball specialist, Victor Oyemade, has been signed in Lagos.
The deal gives exclusive rights to Act Sports to manage, and exercise power of attorney over issues relating to the player’s welfare as it concerns his transactions, engagement for professional, promotional, sponsorships, endorsements, and exhibition purposes.
In signing the document, both parties also agreed that proper safeguards would be put in place to protect and promote the player’s interest at all times.
Director of Act Sports, Di Oyibo Limited, Pastor Samuel Robinson Oyibo, excited about the deal, said it would benefit both parties in the area of spreading the message of the sport, as well as laying a firm foundation for his new client’s future.
“Teqball is one of the world’s fastest-growing ball sports, and Victor Oyemade is the face of the sport here in Nigeria and Africa. That is why we are excited about this partnership that gives Act Sports official authorisation to manage his career, just as it will lay the foundation for its rapid growth in our country,” Pastor Oyibo said.
Oyemade was no less excited about the deal, saying it would help his growth in the sport.
Coaches of Nigeria’s U-18 and U-20 women’s handball teams have released their final lists of 14 players ahead of the IHF Women’s Trophy Zonal Phase, which will be held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, that commenced yesterday to end 24th of this month.
The two teams have been training at the Rowe Park Sports Centre, Yaba, Lagos, for close to two weeks and departed for the competition on Thursday.
Coach John Uzor of the national U-18 team has included Omole Joy of Defender Babes and her sister Omole Shola alongside Ojie Princess of Funad Academy alongside right back Faisat Balogun in the mix while Success Duru, Chetachi Ngaodurubie of COAS Babes and Sharon Okonkwo make the cut, amongst other players.
In the U-20 team, Coach Shittu Agboola has largely stuck with the players he has been grooming since their U-18 days. The team is led by Captain Chidera Ogbusimba alongside, her Rima Queens teammates the Samuel Sisters, Amina Mohammed and Joy Peters.
Israel-based Rahima Bello, Kehinde Babatunde of ASPAC HBC of Benin Republic and Esther Mathew, who is also based in Benin Republic, keep their places.
Coach Shittu believes his team will make Nigeria proud just as they did previously at the U-18 level.
“I am really upset that Taiwo Babatunde will not be part of the team for this competition as her school, Yaba College of Technology, insisted that they will not release her for national service because of examinations.
“We did everything humanly possible to secure her release and they didn’t care that it is a national service for the interest of Nigeria and the growth of sports. We have other players who are also students and they got a release from their schools but for no tangible reason, Yabatech refused to release Taiwo despite the fact that we did everything possible to secure her release. It’s sad and I hope the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Sports Commission will work in tandem so that schools will support our goal in making Nigeria proud in sporting events”.