Sports
Commissioner Urges Leaders To Support Youths Through Sports
The Commissioner for Investment in Niger State, has urged Nigerian leaders to support youths through sports development initiatives in order to ensure a brighter and peaceful future for them.
Jibril told newsmen yesterday in Abuja that every leader in Nigeria needs to engage youths in profitable initiatives which would guarantee them a better future.
Tidesports reports that the commissioner gave this advice on the sidelines of the maiden edition of the “Playing for Peace and Empowerment Initiative (Youth Empowerment Sports)”.
The programme was held in Abuja at the weekend.
“Leaders from all sectors, states, organisations and institutions are to look for various means of engaging our youths.
“We have talented youths across the country who we can support in many areas.
“When we engage our youths in profitable programmes, we will reduce the rate of unemployment and criminal acts in the country,” Jibril said.
The commissioner said one of the impacts of such empowerment programmes was that it would attract direct foreign investments in Nigeria.
“We should be looking at how we can extract our players to play outside the country so that we can get foreign direct investment.
“I’m working directly with my state governor, Sani Bello, to see how we can turn sports into a means of investment and to be a foreign income revenue for the country,” he said.
Jibril congratulated the organiser of the event, Stanley Ugochukwu, for the great efforts put together.
“I’m happy with what he is doing and I will support him in my little way,
“We pray for a better Nigeria and that can only be achieved if we engage and support our youths in good works,” he said.
Coach of the national under-15 football team, Usman Ilerika, while also speaking with newsmen in the same vein, urged rich Nigerians, lovers of football, and philanthropists to assist the youths.
He said this was necessary for the youths to achieve their dreams in football so that they can be useful to the nation.
“You will have a good sleep when you meet the needs of youths in your neighbourhood and in the country,” he said.
The coach said he saw the passion in Ugochukwu 22 years ago when he coached him.
“He was one of the Youth Corps members in the Community Development Service (CDS) which I coached during his NYSC scheme.
“Passion is the number one thing required to make impact in the life of people and achieve success.
“I’m always happy to see them have success in football. A lot of youths have benefitted from what we taught them,” he said.
Tidesports also gathered that the event which was held at the Area 3 football pitch was tagged “Seguir Caminando Empowerment Sports and Awards Ceremony”.
It was in commemoration of Tuesday’s United Nations International Day of Sports for Development.
Only Denmark, ranked 21st globally, sits higher among nations that failed to qualify for the tournament, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
England and Chelsea legend John Terry was among those to voice his disappointment, describing Nigeria as a significant loss to a tournament that features 48 nations for the first time.
“Nigeria will be a big miss. This is a World Cup for participants who haven’t had the opportunity to play in the tournament. I would have loved to see a top team like Nigeria there because they’ve got some great individuals. They’re a great nation,” Terry said during a virtual roundtable session organised by SuperSport.
“I think they are a big miss because Nigeria probably would have gone further in the competition, but unfortunately, one side’s loss is another’s gain,” the former England captain added.
Eric Chelle’s side finished second in Group C of the CAF World Cup qualifiers behind South Africa, who secured automatic qualification. Nigeria kept their hopes alive with a playoff semi-final victory over Gabon before falling to the Democratic Republic of Congo on penalties in the decisive playoff final — their second successive absence from the World Cup after also missing the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
The Nigeria Football Federation later challenged DR Congo’s qualification, alleging the use of ineligible players during the campaign, but the appeal was dismissed.
Despite missing the World Cup, the Super Eagles remain Africa’s 3rd highest-ranked team behind Morocco, who sit seventh in the world, and Senegal. Algeria and Egypt complete the continent’s top five.
Defending champions Argentina enter the tournament as the world’s top-ranked side, ahead of Spain, France, England and Portugal. Brazil are sixth, followed by Morocco, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
The next FIFA World Ranking will be released on July 20, a day after the World Cup final.
Chima Akachukwu and Miracle Akhigbe are among the 16 notable stars picked by the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) for the forthcoming Namibia Tour, where the YellowGreens will compete in a T20 and 50-Over Tri-Series, featuring hosts Namibia and Hong Kong China.
Both players make their way back into the YellowGreens fold after periods away from the side and will be eager to contribute their experience and quality as Nigeria pursues success in Namibia.
The NCF said yesterday that the squad, which departs Nigeria today, forms part of the national team’s continued preparations for future international assignments as the YellowGreens seek to build on recent performances and strengthen their standing on the global stage.
Leading the squad is Captain Sulaimon Runsewe, who will spearhead Nigeria’s campaign against two formidable opponents in what promises to be a highly competitive series.
The selected squad combines experienced internationals with emerging talents, providing the technical crew an opportunity to assess player development and team combinations in both the T20 and 50-over formats.
The team will be led on tour by Coaches Leke Oyede and Tamuno John, who will oversee preparations and match operations during the opening phase of the series.
Joining the squad later in Namibia will be the newly appointed Head Coach and High Performance Manager, Stephen Magongo, whose arrival marks another significant step in the Federation’s commitment to strengthening the national team structure and enhancing player development pathways.
Supporting the coaching staff are Team Analyst Jamal Okechukwu, Strength and Conditioning Coach Seye Olympio, and Team Physiotherapist Timothy Adesomowo, forming a well-rounded technical crew focused on maximising player performance and welfare throughout the tour.
The NCF views the Namibia Tri-Series as an important platform for the continued growth of the national team, offering valuable international exposure and competitive match experience against quality opposition. The series will provide the players and technical crew with another opportunity to evaluate progress, fine-tune strategies, and build momentum ahead of future international competitions.
The YellowGreens will face Namibia and Hong Kong China in both T20 and 50-over contests, with the matches expected to test the team’s adaptability, discipline, and resilience in challenging conditions.
Blessing Otu on Monday overcame hard-fighting Kelvin Bebe- Emmanuella in two sets of 6-1, 6-3 to qualify for the second round of the women’s singles of the ongoing 47th Central Bank of Nigeria Senior Tennis Championship, held at the Tennis Courts of the package “B” of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
Speaking after the round of 32 game, Otu, who will be 19 years old in September, said she capitalised on her opponent’s weaknesses to gain victory, having studied her game very well.
“Bebe is a very good and tough player. But I studied her game and did the job well.
“Although she tried to come back in the second set, I punctured all her tricks to win the match and move on. I wish I could continue like this in the rest of my games,” she said.
Another member of the Otu family, John Out, was also victorious as he defeated Mohammed Abdusalam 2-1 (6-2, 6-7, 6-1) in the men’s singles category to advance into the round of 32.
But the third Otu in the game, Thomas, was not that lucky as he lost by 6-0, 7-5 in two straight sets to Danjuma Isaac.
In other matches, Michael Emmanuel defeated Ibrahim Aminu to advance, while Drimiya Mevi outclassed Seyi Ogunsakin by beating him 2-1 (6-7, 6-3, 6-1). Action continues tomorrow when other top players, including the men’s singles top seed, Abua Cannice, join the chase for honours.