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.
Nigeria has won the bid to host the next edition of the prestigious All Africa Challenge Trophy in 2026.
The AACT is a biennial continental ladies’ golf championship in Africa that had its inaugural edition in May 1992 in Zimbabwe.
Nigeria hosted the AACT in 1996 at the Ikoyi Club 1938, while in 2010, the AACT was played at the IBB International Golf and Country Club, in Abuja.
This would be the third time Nigeria will be hosting the championship.
Interestingly, the West and Central Africa Challenge Trophy (a regional version of the championship) was held for the first time in Nigeria at the Lakowe Lakes Golf Estates and Resort, Lagos, in 2023.
Evelyn Oyome, the President of the Ladies Golf Association of Nigeria, who was the leader of the Nigerian delegation to the championship’s 16th edition in Morocco, said Nigeria emerged winner amongst the 20 countries that took part in the bidding process.
“Nigeria had earlier hosted the West, Central Africa Challenge Trophy in October last year at the Lakowe Lakes Golf Estate and Resort in Lagos, showcasing its outstanding golfing facilities, with no fewer than 10 countries participating.
“So, hosting that championship successfully last year gave us the edge amongst so many other countries that also bidded and winning was a huge victory for Nigeria,” she said.
Oyome revealed that the Federal Capital Territory would be the host city for the AACT 2026 edition, with no fewer than 30 countries expected to participate in the championship.
Super Eagles B co-handler Fidelis Ilechukwu has revealed that Kano Pillars duo Ahmed Musa and Shehu Abdullahi were initially listed in the 30-man squad for the 2024 CHAN qualifiers double header clash against Ghana, but were dropped over their ineligibility.
Musa and Shehu, who made sensational returns to Kano Pillars this season, were conspicuously missing when the Nigeria Football Federation revealed the names of 30 Nigeria Premier Football League stars for the assignment.
The CHAN Eagles are currently camping in Ikenne, Ogun State. They will play the first leg of their encounter in Accra on Sunday, December 22 before returning to Uyo for the return leg on Saturday, December 28.
“I was told he (Musa) didn’t meet up with the conditions of playing in the CHAN tournament or qualifiers,” Ilechukwu told our correspondent.
“Ahmed Musa was on our list, there is no way we wouldn’t have included him in the list with his performances in the league but they told us to replace him due to eligibility.
When asked if the same applied to Shehu, the coach replied in the affirmative.
According to CAF regulations, only footballers playing in their country of birth are eligible.
While the above rule favours both Musa and Shehu, their participation was perhaps made difficult by another CAF regulation which says, “Only players with a permanent contract registered in a local club affiliated to their national association are eligible to participate in the African Nations Championship” – as both players are in the NPFL under the Elite Player Scheme.
According to section 9.91 of the NPFL Framework and Rules, “There shall be an Elite Player Scheme wherein each Club shall be allowed to register a maximum of two players who in the opinion of the NPFL will add value to the league.”
The Federal Capital Territory is set to host the 2024 Annual General Assembly (AGA) of the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
In a statement released yesterday, the Chief Operating Officer, Modupe Shabi, confirmed that all arrangements have been finalised for the AGA, which will take place at Fabino by Toprank Hotels, Abuja.
The AGA meeting promises to be a significant gathering in charting a way forward for the women’s football rising agenda and the women’s football leagues in Nigeria.
Key stakeholders, including board members and representatives of Premiership and Championship clubs, will review the successes and challenges of the outgone 2023/2024 season.
Notably, Edo Queens emerged champions of the NWFL Premiership for the first time, while Honey Badgers and Ibom Angels secured promotion to the Premiership from the NWFL Championship.
The AGM will also focus on sustaining the league’s growing credibility and improving operations while setting the calendar and start date for the 2024/2025 NWFL Premiership and Championship campaigns.
This pivotal meeting aims to further strengthen women’s football in Nigeria and lay the groundwork for the league’s continued growth.
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