Sports
Asaba 2022’ll Re-Write History Of NSF-Okowa
Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has said that the 21st National Sports Festival, which the state is hosting next year, will re-write the history of the biannual sports fiesta.
For many followers of the National Sports Festival, Makurdi ’96 and Imo ’98 editions remain two of the best ever in terms of glamour and crowd.
Some feel that Garden City 2011 Games held in Rivers State also fall in that category. But unlike the situation in 2011, where the host, Rivers State, was accused of deploying ‘the host to win’ tactics, Makurdi ’96 and Imo ’98 were adjudged as athletes-friendly Games.
The 21st National Sports Festival will hold between November 2 and 15, 2022, but Okowa has declared that every participant, including athletes, coaches, accompanying officials and journalists will be proud of the state at the end of the Games.
Okowa spoke at the extraordinary meeting of the National Council on Sports at the Unity Hall, Government House, Asaba.
While reacting to a challenge by Sports Minister, Chief Sunday Dare, that Delta must do everything possible to surpass the standard set by Edo State (immediate past host of the festival).
“In Delta, anything we want to do, we do it to the satisfaction of everyone. Asaba is ready, and we are going to set a high standard in terms of infrastructure and other facilities that will be in place in the next few months.” Okowa said.
Okowa, whose tenure as governor has won the National Sports Festival twice, at Abuja 2018 and Edo 2020, identified sports as a powerful medium to weld national unity when appropriately harnessed, funded and utilised.
He called for holistic approach to sports development and management in the country to maximise the contribution of sports to national development.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC), who is also Secretary to Delta State Government, Patrick Ukah, has assured that the 17-member committee won’t disappoint Nigerians.
“A great number of us in the LOC have participated in the National Sports Festival at one time and the other, and we know what the Games mean to Nigerians. We are going to deliver a bigger, better and athletes-friendly sports festival in November 2022,” he said.
Sports
CAA Wants Ghana To Host 2026 Athletics Champions
The Confederation of African Athletics has invited Ghana to bid for the hosting rights of the 2026 African Athletics Championships, following a successful athletics event at the just concluded 2023 African Games.
President of Ghana Athletics, Bawa Fuseini, stated this and expressed confidence in the transformative potential of the Legon Stadium for athletes and Ghana’s bid to host international competitions.
With a capacity of 11,000, the Legon Stadium played a pivotal role in the recent African Games, hosting both the opening and closing ceremonies as well as various sporting events including athletics, football, and rugby.
Fuseini highlighted the success of the athletics events held at the stadium, which contributed to Ghana winning six medals.
“We have already started getting requests from the Confederation of African Athletics to bid for the 2026 African Athletics Championships.
“When they came and saw what we have put in place and the level of organisation, they told me that for the last 20 years, they’ve never seen any organisation like this before. We did three official courses. And the last one, we had 110, all of them passed. We had a lot of officials and equipment.”
Since its establishment in 1979, Ghana has never hosted the African Athletics Championships, with Nigeria being the host country twice, in 1989 and 2018.
This year, Cameroon will take the reins as the host nation, with the event set to be held at the Olembe Stadium.
Sports
‘I’m Not Under Pressure To Coach Eagles’
Finidi George, head coach of the Nigeria Premier Football Leagues side, Enyimba, has stated that he is not losing any sleep over getting the Super Eagles job on a permanent basis.
Early this month, the Nigeria Football Federation declared the position of the Super Eagles’ head coach vacant, following the exit of Portuguese Jose Peseiro, who led the side to a second-place finish at the 2023 Africa Cup Nations in Ivory Coast in February.
In an advertisement on its website calling for applications with a March 13 deadline, the football governing body stated that the prospective Eagles coach “must have proven experience at the elite level of football.”
The former Ajax man, who also applied for the job, was appointed Eagles interim coach for the international window with the former winger picking a win and suffering a defeat.
In an interview with Tidesports source, the 52-year-old tactician said he was not desperate for the job permanently.
“I felt really good when I was told to take charge of the team. I have been with the team for almost two years, I know all the players, their strengths, and their weaknesses but I am only here to serve Nigeria the way I know how to do stuff.
“I will just take these two games and go back to my club. Whatever the decision is taken after, so be it. I’m not under pressure to say I must get the role permanently.”
Sports
‘Reasons Why Eagles Lost To Mali’
The friendly games against Ghana and Mali were to serve as an audition for George Finidi, who was in charge of the team on an interim basis, but the Eagles’ lacklustre display in those friendlies has called for his further evaluation.
Finidi kept faith with ex-coach Jose Peseiro’s defensive formation against Mali on the back of his first win (against Ghana) in charge of the team four days earlier.
But this time, his defence was punished following a combination of defensive errors and poor passes.
The Eagles struggled to play out of defence due to the high pressing of the Malians and it was no surprise that the first goal by Les Aigles was a direct result of their aggression.
Chidozie Awaziem, who started on the right of the back three alongside Kenneth Omeruo and Semi Ajayi, lacked composure and was pressured into making a pass across his box straight at Bilal Toure, who made no mistake in getting the ball past Stanley Nwabali. They missed the calming presence of injured William Troost-Ekong.
Vice captain, Kenneth Omeruo, was also culpable of misplaced passes and was beaten for pace when Kamory Doumbia ran past him to seal Mali’s first win in over four decades, firing his shot past a helpless Nwabali, who stood no chance.
Eagles wing backs, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Jamilu Collins also did not do enough to support the team in attack when they had the chance to.
Lack of creativity
Finidi paired Raphael Onyedika and Wilfred Ndidi in a double pivot in midfield. Both players are naturally anchor men and neither is a box-to-box midfielder.
They both do not possess the offensive capability to drive the team’s attack forward, which left the Eagles once again craving for a natural creative midfielder.
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