Sports

Coronavirus: NPFL Won’t Shut-Down Season-Dikko

Published

6 years ago

March 18, 2020

The Nigeria Professional Football League will not be suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak across the world, Chairman of the League Management Company, Shehu Dikko, has said.
In a chat with newsmen, Dikko, said the country was still safe for league games to go on due to the number of coronavirus cases recorded.
Leagues in Europe, South Africa and Ghana have been suspended due to the virus but Dikko said the NPFL was still safe to go ahead.
“We don’t have plans of stopping the league, at least for now. Coronavirus is a matter of public health and Nigeria so far has only two cases and one of them is negative now, so, we are not like other countries, where they are dealing with containment,” Dikko said
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, had on Friday, said the second confirmed case of coronavirus in the country no longer had the virus and would be discharged from the treatment centre in Lagos. This left the index case as the only positive coronavirus patient in the country, but on Monday, another positive case was reported in Lagos.
“What we are dealing with here is prevention and the public authorities are doing everything possible and the World Health Organisation is even using Nigeria as a reference point, so, we are having conversations with everyone involved and at the appropriate time, if they advise us on what to do, we will comply.”
On what the NPFL is doing to educate players and fans on the virus, Dikko said, “We are creating awareness, the same awareness that the Ministry of Health has been saying, that you need to keep washing your hands, limit physical contacts like shaking of hands, so, all that awareness is being given to people. So, we are going to increase that tempo to see what happens, while we keep having the conversations with the right authorities and also studying what would happen.
“The moment we see that we have to take a certain line of action, we will not shy away from doing it.
“We are reviewing the pre-match handshake formalities to see if that would help, but so far, we have not done it because we are just dealing with prevention, not containment. Since the virus is not yet endemic in the country for now, we will continue to talk with the right people and get the right advice,” he added.

Sports

Rivers-born Chess Player Clinches Third Position At World Amateur Rapid Chess Championship

Published

1 day ago

August 10, 2026

The Tide

A veteran Rivers State chess player, Apollos Akomaka, has finished in joint 3rd place at the just-concluded World Amateur Rapid Chess Championship held in Abuja.

Akomaka, who is the director of physiotherapy at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, overcame a shaky start to secure a podium finish in the 11-round rapid event that began on August 2.

The tournament featured top chess players from several countries.

After losing his opening game, the defining moment for Akomaka came between Rounds 7 and 11.

He raised his game and began defeating some of the top-ranked players in the event.

The Rivers-born player ended the championship tied for 3rd place in the U2000 category with 6.5 points out of 11, alongside Cameroon’s national champion, Noumbo Vidal.

His final game was against Vidal, with the Nigerian playing the black pieces.

Vidal opened with a queen’s gambit but quickly transposed into an English opening with a double fianchetto attack.

Akomaka responded sharply with a king’s Indian defense and soon launched a kingside attack from a defensive position.

The pressure paid off, resulting in an immediate material gain, a knight for a rook, and leaving Akomaka with a strong attacking advantage.

Vidal fought hard to avoid mate and managed to steer the game into an endgame, where he found some respect. At that point, the Cameroon champion offered a draw, which Akomaka accepted.

Speaking after the event, Akomaka said that he is resilient and determined after the poor start but happy that he finished on the podium.

He expressed optimism that in subsequent competitions he will make Rivers State proud and Nigeria at large.

Akomaka has won both local and national chess championships in recent times.

He is passionate about chess; besides, he has equally sponsored several national chess tournaments in Nigeria.

The World Amateur Rapid Chess Championship concluded with Akomaka of Rivers State,

Nigeria, battling back from an early loss to end among the top three in his category

Tonye Orabere/Kiadum Edookor

Sports

Team Nigeria Secures Women’s 4x100m, 4x400m Finals at World U20 Championships

Published

1 day ago

August 10, 2026

The Tide

Team Nigeria continued its impressive showing at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, securing places in both the women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relay finals after strong performances in the heats.

The Nigerian quartet of Becky Ebiyadi, Jecinta Lawrence, Tejiri Praise Ugoh and Faith Ezechukwu booked their place in the women’s 4x400m final after clocking a season’s best of 3:35.28.

Nigeria finished third in the heat behind Italy and Great Britain, doing enough to advance to the final and remain firmly in contention for a medal.

In the women’s 4x100m, Ugoh joined Lucy Nwankwo, Chigozie Nwankwo and Oluebube Ezechukwu as Nigeria produced another season’s best, clocking 43.65 seconds to secure an automatic ticket to the women’s 4x100m final.

The qualification was sealed by a sensational anchor leg from Ezechukwu. Receiving the baton nearly 20 metres behind the United States, the Nigerian launched a determined charge down the home straight, rapidly closing the gap before edging the Americans at the line to claim the third automatic qualifying position.

Nigeria stopped the clock at 43.65 seconds, just 0.02 seconds ahead of the United States, who finished in 43.67 seconds.

The performances mean Nigeria will now contest both women’s relay finals, further strengthening the country’s medal prospects at the championships.

In Saturday’s evening phase of the event, Success Uyibo will compete in the 200m women’s final while the 4x100m compete in the women’s final.

Sports

Poor welfare forced me to dump Delta for Enugu, says world – Nwachukwu

Published

1 day ago

August 10, 2026

The Tide

World Record holder and Commonwealth Games champion, Goodness Nwachukwu, has revealed why she dumped Delta State for Enugu State.

The sudden departure of Nwachukwu, a multiple gold medallist, from Team Delta to the Coal City, Enugu , sparked controversy within the sports family, with officials of Delta State Sports Commission accusing the president of the Paralympic Committee of Nigeria, Sunday Odebode, of manipulating the system for the athlete to dump the state.

But Nwachukwu, who broke the World Record to win a gold medal for Team Nigeria in the Women’s Discus F42 event at the just-concluded Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, has cleared the air on the circumstances that led to her movement to Enugu State.

Speaking with The Tidesports source report, shortly after winning the gold medal, Nwachukwu said: “It is not true that anybody aided my movement from Delta State to Enugu. Rather, it was Delta State that forced me to leave because of poor remuneration.