Sports
Edo Wins National Men’s Cricket Championship
Team Edo on Wednesday overwhelmed Team Kaduna with 57 runs to emerge champions of the National Men’s Cricket Championship in Benin City.
Peter Aho, the captain of Team Edo, attributed their victory to discipline and huge support from the Edo State Cricket Association.
“We give the glory to God and we thank all our mentors and the leadership of the Edo State Cricket Association, who have sacrificed and encouraged the team to this height.
“We dedicate this victory to them,” the member of the national Under-19 Cricket World Cup team in South Africa in 2020 said.
President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Yahaya Ukwenya, while speaking on the competition said the event had served its purpose.
Ukwenya said the opportunity to have more players drawn into the pool to be camped for the national assignments the country would be involved in later in the year, was very key.
“We set out to, among other things, use this event as a platform for the best players in the country to showcase their skills.
“The national coach, Asanka Gurusinha, watched every match of this encounter with a team of selectors.
“Soon our national camp will open for the assignments ahead with some new players invited based on their performance here,” he said.
Mustapha Yussuff of Team Lagos was named the bowler of the series for bowling 16 wickets in four matches.
Selim Salau and Isaac Okpe from Edo and Kaduna state were adjudged the Fielder and Batsman of the event, respectively.
Sylvester Okpe, the captain of Team Kaduna, was named the Most Valuable Player of the Championship.
Kofi Sagoe, the newly re-appointed Chairman of Lagos State Cricket Association, who was one of the selectors at the event, said the event has put some players under the spotlight.
Sagoe said the development would enrich the base of the national team.
He said:”I think we should commend the work done by the Federation for constantly pushing the boundaries for developmental initiatives.
“We have some learnings and have seen some more promising talents that should be mentored and groomed. This, I think, our national coach is equipped to bring about in them.
“As for Lagos, our team was adjudged third, based on Net Run Rate, since there was no third-place match.
“They are back in Lagos and had began technical analysis of our performance at this event, including some fixes that we hope will help us place better at the upcoming National Sports Festival.”
Tideports source reports that eight states —- Lagos, Edo, Kwara, Anambra, Kaduna, Ebonyi, Rivers and Oyo —-participated in the championship which began on March 22.
In a bid to make the Pillar of Associations Rivers state football tournament to become a permanent annual feature in Rivers state football calendar and a veritable platform for alternative career opportunity for Pillar members and members of Rivers football community, the Chairman of the tournament’s Organising Committee, Comrade Franklin Obute has stated that they were open to welcoming sponsorships from corporate entities and well meaning individuals.
Comrade Obute in an interview with news men on a match day at the ongoing competition at the Rivers State University’s ground said that the Pillar of Associations were ready to partner interested parties, who would be willing to invest in the competition through sponsorship towards elevating the quality and standard of the tournament.
According to him, “The Pillar of Associations tournament, due to the opportunities available, owing to the sheer number of businesses and members obtainable in the Pillar, would be a very attractive opportunity to exploit through sponsorship”.
He stated that there would be a conscious efforts toward sensitising the corporate and private environments to buy into the vision and objectives of the tournament. He explained that due to the open nature of the competition, whereby members of the association are allowed to engage any footballer from across the country, whether a business man or not, any sponsor would be able to enjoy unimaginable mileage.
“Every multinational company, private businesses should aspire to be part of the sponsorship of this tournament because there are so much benefits derivable therein, the coverage is very wide. You know that organising a football tournament of this nature is capital intensive, so, any sponsorship to add more value is welcomed”, he said.
The 2025 edition is currently ongoing and has reached the second round stage where matches are now being played on knockout basis, beginning from Friday.
By: Gabriel Nwanetanya
Some of the best golfers across Africa are expected to converge on the Ikoyi Club 1938 Golf Section for the three-day Ikoyi Ladies Golf Tournament holding from November 11 to 13.
The star-studded amateur open tournament is part of the activities lined up by the leadership of the club to celebrate the ladies’ tournament’s 50th anniversary.
Speaking at a world press conference at the Club’s headquarters in Ikoyi, the Ladies Club Captain, Mrs Peggy Onwu, explained that the tournament will offer opportunity for leading amateur golfers across 11 countries of the world to showcase their skills on the green lawn.
According to her, over 150 golfers have already registered for the open tournament, which will attract mouth-watering prizes, including a trophy, a premium ticket to the United States of America, among others.
The event will be preceded by ‘Twilight evening,’ which will see the participants play the golf game towards dawn, in a relaxed atmosphere with cocktails, networking and good music.
She thanked the various sponsors of tournament, including PWC, Delta Airline, Western Star, First EGP, among others, for identifying and keying into the Club’s goals and aspirations as part of their corporate social responsibilities.
Mrs. Onwu added that the event was not only a celebration of resilience, commitment, dedication and sacrifice, but a rare display of exemplary team spirit by all members of the Ladies Golf Section.
Thrilled by the presence of a Nigerian-born Italy- based golfer and fashion icon, Bali Lawal, as well as other professionals expected to grace the tournament, she promised that the tournament will be a memorable outing aimed at mentoring ladies keen on honing their golfing skills.
Speaking in the same vein, Vice Lady Captain, Annie Eimiakhena, explained that the tournament will entail three days of competitive outing showing skills, professional dexterity.
She added that participants and golfers will use the opportunity of the event to network among themselves, while a Masterclass will be held to educate would-be golfers on the dynamics of the game.
The Technical Manager of Rivers United FC of Port Harcourt, Finidi George has praised his boys (players) as they ran away with a point in the rescheduled match day nine of the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) against Bendel Insurance.
According to him, before the game, he told his boys that they have to put up a good fighting spirit in the game, knowing that it will not be easy at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City.
Finidi said this last Thursday in his post match interview with sports journalists and made available to Tidesports after they secured a goalless draw against Insurance.
He explained that in the first half, the game was 50-50 but in the second half after 15 to 20 minutes, my players pushed them back, looking for goal but they were able to hold them and got the draw.
“ From onset, I knew it was going to be a difficult game. Yes, we have to defend deep and get something. Kudos to my boys, they put up a good fighting spirit.
“ Despite the host creating good number of chances even hitting the crossbar but I must say that the draw is not a bad result.
“ Wasiu Falolu came closer in the second half but his long ranged shot just went over the bar.
“It was not a bad result but we have to move on and see how we can get good results from other matches” Finidi said.
By: Kiadum Edookor