Sports
SWAN Mourns Complete Sports Founder
The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) has received with huge shock news of the demise of the founder and Executive Chairman of Complete Communications Limited, Publishers of Complete Sports Newspapers, Success Digest and other Online Publications, Dr Emmanuel Sunny Ojeagbase.
Dr Ojeagbase died on Saturday, 26th February, 2022 in Atlanta, United States of America (USA) after a brief illness at the age of 71.
SWAN recalls his tremendous contributions to Sports Development through his various publications which have provided gainful employments for hundreds of Nigerian youths, including many of our members serving across the country.
The Complete Sports has offered a platform, where many SWAN members practised and even excelled in their chosen career.
SWAN takes solace in the fact that late Sunny Ojeagbase lived a very fulfilled life and will be remembered for enduring legacies he has left behind.
The late media icon made his landmark as the pioneer publisher of sports news in Nigeria, when in 1984 he established the Sports Souvenir weekly newspaper.
He began his career in sports journalism as a stringer at the Daily Times Newspapers in the mid-1970s and due to his dedication and hard work, late Ojeagbase grew on the job and was appointed Sports Editor of Sunday Concord Newspapers at inception in 1980 and Sports Editor of The Guardian Newspapers also at inception in 1983.
With a burning desire to become an employer instead of remaining an employee, late Ojeagbase resigned from The Guardian in 1984 and founded the Sports Souvenir.
Between 1984 and 1994, late Ojeagbase added several other sports titles including Complete Football Magazine, Complete Football International (CFI) and International Soccer Review (ISR) into the Nigerian Sports market.
Complete Football titles played very prominent roles in the development of sports in the country, including Nigeria’s first appearance at the FIFA World Cup at USA 1994 as well as the exploits at the Atlanta ’96 Olympic Games, also in the USA, where Nigeria won two gold medals, an achievement that made him to float the Complete Sports as a sports newspaper in 1995.
SWAN therefore commiserates with his family, entire sports family and pray God to console all; and for his soul to rest in peace.
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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