Sports
Commissioner Assures Rivers Angels Of Good Welfare Package
The Rivers State Commissioner of Sports, Hon Christopher Green, has assured players of Rivers Angels Football Club of better and improved welfare package under his administration.
Hon Green made this known when he paid a visit to the team at their camp in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
He urged them to ensure that they gave their best in the upcoming Nigeria Women Football League Premiership season as that would spur him to fulfil his promises to the team.
“I am here to assure you all that starting from today, you will see improvements in your welfare, but for this to happen, you have to work harder than you have been doing. The team Rivers Angels is a brand on its own and should always be at the top and not the bottom.
“It is the break of a new dawn and things will be done differently going forward. You failed to win the NWFL title last season but this coming season, you are going to win it and go back to represent the country.
“I also wish to commend my predecessor, Honorable Boma Iyaye, he did well in handling the affairs of the Ministry because it is not an easy job to start with,” said Green.
The Commissioner also tasked the team’s head coach, Edwin Okon, to go into the transfer market and get the best players he can get ahead of the 2022/2023 NWFL Premiership season.
“Get me the best in the country; I have given you everything you need so you have to go out there to get the best that we can have. I do not like to lose so you must give me your all,” he continued.
“If our rivals are paying 10,000 to a player, I will pay 20,000. I want you to get good results this season because I do not like losing. Rivers Angels is not a dumping ground for players that are not good enough. We only go for the best in the country.
“Before now, we were known as the best female team, I want that to continue in my administration. This team will continue to be the best and also produce the best players in Africa.
“My firm promise to you all today is that I will provide all your needs through the Executive Governor of the State. The same budget used for the boys will be applied to the girls. Yours is to get the result,” added Green.
In her reaction, Rivers Angels General Manager, Matilda Otuene-Onyiloha assured the Commissioner that her crew will start work immediately to ensure that the best legs are recruited for the team.
“You can see that smiles are beginning to come back to the faces of the girls, so I want to assure you that as you have given us your mandate, myself and the technical crew will go straight to work immediately and before next week, we will get the best of the legs in camp,” said Matilda
The 2022/2023 Nigeria Women Football League Premiership season is expected to commence on September 14 with Rivers Angels’ first game against reigning champions, Bayelsa Queens, in Yenagoa.
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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