Sports

Minister Dismisses Report On N4bn Approval For NSF

Published

4 years ago

April 14, 2021

The Sports Ministry, yesterday refuted the report that the Presidency approved N4 billion for the organisation of the ongoing 20th National Sports Festival tagged Edo 2020.
The Sports Festival, which was earlier scheduled for March 2020, suffered series of postponements due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemics. It finally commenced on April 2 and will end this week.
Midway into the Games, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) threatened to discontinue the fiesta, alleging that it did not get a concrete financial commitment from the Federal Government as promised. The body later shelved the idea following a quick intervention by the Presidency.
The Senior Adviser on Media to the Sports Minister, John Joshua Akanji, said in a message to Tidesports source on Monday, that the Presidency didn’t approve N4 billion for the sports festival as reported.
The minister’s aide, Akanji refused to disclose the amount approved by the Federal Government for the festival. But he insisted, “The report of N4 billion approved by the Presidency for Edo 2020 National sports festival is not correct.”
Meanwhile, Youth and Sports Development Minister, Sunday Dare, is confident Nigeria’s 13-year wait for a track and field medal at the Olympics will end this year at the Tokyo Games.
Nigeria last won a track and field medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 when the women’s 4x100m relay team and Blessing Okagbare (long jump) won silver medals. Now, the Sports Minister is confident, track and field will start delivering the medals like it did in 1996 in Atlanta. Track and Field has accounted for 13 of the 25 medals Team Nigeria have won at the Games. The sport has also delivered two of the three gold medals won with a first ever individual gold by Chioma Ajunwa in the women’s long jump.
“Our athletes’ performance so far this year have given us renewed hopes that Nigeria’s track and field athletes can better their performance at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta where they won four medals (three individual and one team medal) at the Tokyo Games this summer,” said the Sports Minister, who believes his adopt-an-athlete initiative has started yielding the desired results.
The fastest girl in Nigeria today, Grace Nwokocha Nzubechi, is one of the athletes on the programme and we can see the progress she has made since she was adopted, running a world class 11.09 seconds to secure qualification for the Olympics right here in Nigeria.
“Others on the programme are also delivering new personal bests and I am sure one or two more can secure the qualification time or mark for the Games at the ongoing 20th National Sports Festival,” he added.

Sports

FEPSGA: Rivers Female Gold medalist Applauded Gov Fubara Over Hosting

Published

3 days ago

December 9, 2024

The Tide

The only female Chess play who won gold medal at just concluded Federation of Public Service Games( FEPSGA) held in Port Harcourt, Veronica Moses has lauded the Rivers State Governor Siminialayi Fubara for hosting the games.

Moses who is a staff of Rivers State Housing and Property Development Authority further expressed joy for winning gold medal for team Rivers in female category in the Chess event.

She said these in an exclusively interview with Tidesports at the weekend in Port Harcourt, adding Chess was one of the games that makes human beings reason positively.

According to her, she started playing Chess in 1990 and since then she has represented the State at different tournaments and competitions, and won gold, silver and bronze for the State.

“I have won bronze in School sports festival 1991, National Sports Festival in 1993 I won silver and Gold in team play and several wins in other tournaments years back.

“I thank God for the gold medal I won for the State this year, no competition is easy but you can only win when you are adequately prepared in all ramifications.

“I thank Governor Siminialayi Fubara for hosting the games which gives me the opportunity to represent my State’, Moses said.

She use the forum to call on private sectors to promote and sponsor Chess tournaments and competitions in Nigeria.

The gold medalist further advice upcoming Chess players to always believe in themselves and appeal to governments to introduce grassroots Chess competitions mostly in primary and secondary Schools.

By: Tonye Orabere

Sports

Subsea Cycling Club Chairman Solicits for Support

Published

3 days ago

December 9, 2024

The Tide

The Chairman of Subsea Cycling Club in Port Harcourt, Emmanuel Tom has appealed to the Rivers State Government and corporate organisations to support the club.

According to him cyclists in the club are currently the best in the country, where most times represent the State and Nigeria, saying that most of the riders were picked from the Streets and groom them to stardom.

Tom said these while fielding questions from sports journalists during their end of year get together party at National Museum complex, Harley Street Old GRA in Port Harcourt.

He explained that the intention of club was to ensure that the youths are useful themselves and build cycling in the State.

“We picked most of boys from the streets and groom them because we want to make sure that the boys are useful to themselves, the State and Nigeria at large.

Besides that we equally want to build cycling in Rivers State. You see some of these cyclists have been sent to Angola, South Africa, Italy and Germany for training. We did all that from our meager salaries.

“As I speak one of our cyclists by name Assi is now a professional cyclist, riding for a club abroad and represent the country when called.

“The most annoying part was that when our cyclists were called to represent the country the authorities concern will still not provide cycles, they use the ones we provided and each of the cycles are more than N5m”, Tom said.

The cycling club boss further revealed that they picked the boys from age five and give them long time training, adding that cyclists are started preparing for the forthcoming National Sports Festival in Ogun State , next year.

By: Tonye Orabere

Sports

Galaxy Win Sixth MLS Title

Published

4 days ago

December 9, 2024

The Tide

LA Galaxy won a record-extending sixth MLS Cup title as they beat New York Red Bulls to delight a home crowd at Dignity Health Sports Park.
The MLS Cup is the showpiece match at the end of the US season, pitching the champions of the Eastern Conference and Western Conference finals together.
This was the first MLS Cup between two sides from the largest cities in the United States, Los Angeles and New York, and it produced a hectic opening with all three goals scored in the first half-hour.
Red Bulls were the lowest seed to ever reach the final after finishing seventh in the Eastern Conference during the regular season, and their underdog status initially showed as Galaxy dominated the 29th MLS Cup early on.
Galaxy led after nine minutes when Joseph Paintsil squeezed his shot under goalkeeper Carlos Coronel, and it was 2-0 soon after as Dejan Joveljic ran through the Red Bulls defence and finished with the outside of his boot.
Both men celebrated by holding up the shirt of team-mate Riqui Puig, the former Barcelona player who ruptured his ACL in the Western Conference Final which Galaxy won to reach this championship game.
Galaxy threatened to overwhelm their opponents as Sean Nealis headed a free-kick against his own crossbar.
But Red Bulls centre-back Nealis pulled his team back into the game after 28 minutes when he chested down and volleyed in from 15 yards when Galaxy players failed to clear a corner.
Both sides hit the woodwork in the second half: Galaxy right-back Miki Yamane struck the outside of the post, before Emil Forsberg curled an effort off the upright for Red Bulls.
But Galaxy, who had home advantage because of their better record in the regular season, held on to win their first MLS Cup since 2014.
Red Bulls remain without an MLS Cup title in their history after losing on what was their second appearance in the championship game.