Sports
I Won’t Contest For NFF Presidency
At a time many football-loving Nigerians are calling on ex-players and financiers of private clubs to join the race for the presidency of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the proprietor of Remo Stars, Kunle Soname, has washed his hands off it.
Tidesports source reports that Apart from being the proprietor of Remo Stars, which is one of the clubs playing in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), Soname runs one of Nigeria’s biggest football academies, Beyond Limit Academy, in Ikenne, Ogun State.
Speaking with with Newsmen before the kickoff of the 2022 MTN/NPFL/La Liga U-15 Football Tournament at Ikenne, home of Remo Stars, at the weekend, Soname explained why he would not bother to contest for the NFF Presidency.
“That is not part of my agenda for now. It is only in Nigeria that the NFF continues to get more attention than the leagues in the country. The reverse should be the case,” he said.
Soname said until the league is given the needed attention, the nation’s football will not rise to the expected level.
“I will rather continue my investment in football development at the grassroots level, especially with my Beyond Limit Academy in Ikenne, than go for NFF Presidency.
“What we need to address is the league itself. When the NPFL thrives, every other thing will follow. Until we settle the issue of having structured football in Nigeria, NFF is just a waste of time,” he stated.
Soname said there should be sustainable structure to ensure even development of the game, adding, “this issue of today we succeed, tomorrow we fail has to be taken care off.
“If you want a sustained success, you have to build the foundation for it. The league must be very strong, if not, it won’t work.” he said.
Asked how he felt on Super Eagles’ inability to qualify for Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, Soname said: “It is good for Nigerian football.
As I said, there are a lot of issues we need to address in our football. It is in our national team you will see people who have never been to Nigeria, I don’t want to say they don’t have affiliation with Nigeria, they were just born to Nigerian parents, but have never been here.
“That is why even if they lose matches, it’s not the same as players that live here and know that if they don’t play well, there would be repercussion. We need to change a lot of things for our football to grow,” he summed up.
By: -Kunle Soname
Sports
How Day Six Lifted Rivers At NYG
Team Rivers added six more medals to their total haul on Day 7 of the National Youth Games in Asaba, Delta State. The medals include two gold and four bronze.
In 4×400 metres male, the quartet of Michael Aniche, Benjamin Progress (both 13), Willngton Majesty and Daniel Caleb (both 14) returned a time 3 mins, 26 secs to pick the gold medal.
In 4×400 metres girls, four 14-year-olds Osinachi Miracle Sunny, Queen Nwika, Esther Barasin and Valerie Amapakagbo, came third behind Delta and Anambra to get bronze.
Still in the relays, this time in the 4×100 metres for boys, 14-year-old Itoemugh Kingsley teamed up with Daniel Caleb, Michael Aniche and Gauis Expensive for yet another bronze medal performance.
Gaius Expensive, a 14-year-old SS3 student of Community Secondary School, Ogan-Ama narrowly surrendered second place to his Akwa Ibom counterpart to land his second bronze of the day, in the 200 metres boys, while age-mate Honest Dike of Baptist Vocational College, Ahoada also landed bronze in the 800 metres boys, behind Taraba and Gombe.
The second gold medal of the day for Team Rivers came in the final of baseball for boys. The team found themselves one run down before rallying to beat Kwara by 4 runs to 3.
The game which was almost marred by trouble was disrupted when the crowd, solidly behind the Rivers side perceived some fowl officiating.
However, the team, which according to Coach Fineface Fate and manager, Shaibu Adamson has been together for about a year, came from behind to win, with runs from Abdulkadiri Idowu, Yusuf Sodiq, Abdulfatai Abdullahi and Matthew Ayoola.
The games ended yesterday with the closing ceremony.
Sports
Bakery Worker Secures Gold For Anambra In Asaba
Anambra State Karateka, Goodluck Njoku defeated Joshua Ehiozubue from Lagos State with 7-0 points on Friday to win a gold medal in the 50kg boys karate event at the ongoing National Youth Games in Asaba, Delta State.
The newly crowned 50kg champion revealed that he works in the bakery to support himself and to avoid social vices.
The 13-year-old said that it was while he was on his way to work that he met Sensei Godwin Okoro who introduced him to karate. Making his debut at the 2023 Youth Games,
Njoku promised not to disappoint the state in future national championships, noting that this is just the beginning.
“I want to thank God Almighty for his goodness and mercies in my life. In my category, I was the shortest, and I still won the gold medal. During the holidays, I work in the bakery to support myself and my parents because I do not want to remain idle.
“I attend Okpoko Community Primary School, and after closing hours, I still go to the bakery to make a little money. One day, Sensei Godwin Okoro saw me and decided to introduce me to karate. I do not know what he saw in me, but I thank God he took me in.
“The state has given me the necessary exposure at the National Youth Games, and this is an opportunity to give back to the state via winning medals. I want to assure you that this is just the beginning of the success story,” he said.
Sports
Squash Top Seeds Show Class At Classics
Top seeds, Onaopemipo Adegoke and Rophiat Abudulazeez showed class after winning the maiden edition of the Bolatito Adeyemo Squash Classics held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium at the weekend.
Top 16 players made up of eight men and eight women competed at the two-day tournament.
Adegoke who recently won his first Professional Squash Association (PSA) tournament, defeated Gabriel Olufunmilayo 3-2 to clinch the men’s trophy.
Abudulazeez defeated Jadesola Olatunji 3-0 to reach the finals, while Adegoke defeated Kehinde Samuel by 3-0 to advance into the finals.
Abudulazeez defeated Mistura Durosinlorun 3-1 as she maintained dominance in the women’s category.
For her feat, Abudulazeez went home with N100,000 while Durosinlorun took N60, 000 home while Olatunji and Isaac humbly went home with N30,000 each.
“My trip to Namibia really got me tired but we can’t just ignore this tournament. My game in Namibia also helped but I’m really fagged out,” she said.
Adegoke said that training hard and having played in highly competitive tournaments in recent times have helped to keep him in form.
“Winning my first PSA title in Namibia was a dream come true, there was minus zero support from the audience but with God’s grace and a healthy mental strength I was able to keep it together,” he said.
Prize money for the men’s category is N130,000 while the second position goes home with N80,000 while the third position and fourth position goes home with N40,000 and N20,000 respectively.
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