Sports
LSSC Flags Off School Sports Intervention Programme
Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the six education districts in the state, on Friday , flagged off its School Sports Intervention Programme (LASSIP) at Teslim Balogun Stadium. It is part of the state’s efforts to discover and develop talents from the grassroots.
At the ceremony, which attracted many games masters/mistresses and teachers from different schools, LSSC expressed its desire to make the state Nigeria’s hub for talent discovery.
Speaking at the launch, Lagos State’s Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Olusegun Dawodu, said LASSIP would enable more youths to embrace sports while studying hard to be successful in their academic career.
“The programme has been in existence in the past, leading to the discovery of many talents, who went outside the country to win laurels.
“The state government is delighted to be part of this initiative, as there is a need to start building and discovering talents from the schools.
“Our goal in Lagos State is to be the hub of talent hunt and sports development in Nigeria. The programme will go a long way to redefine sports as an integral part of development in Lagos and across the Federation because exposing children to sports in their early stage of life is vital in its development,” he said.
On his part, executive chairman, Lagos State Sports Commission, Sola Aiyepeku, praised teachers that attended the event for their desire to impact the knowledge of students, adding, however, that programmes would be organised to educate parents on the benefits of allowing their wards to combine education with sports.
“LASSIP is a wide-reaching intervention project to reintegrate sports into Lagos Sports Curriculum.
“Catching them young in schools has been the trade mark of talents discovery from schools in the past.
“We are delighted that the programme, which has been on for the past one year has been launched. Games masters and mistresses in different schools would be given the necessary motivation, exposure and training to impact quality knowledge to the students,” he said
He disclosed that Lagos State is also planning to build more stadiums across the state to afford students the opportunity to train outside school hours.
“Schools, which don’t have sports facilities on their premises, can also take advantage of the external facilities to train their students.
“Students who cannot take sports as a profession can be educated in such areas as sports journalism, sports law, sports administration and sports marketing etc.
“We thank Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for supporting this initiative of taking sports development to school”.
Nigerian Afrobeats star Ayodeji Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid, has expressed his satisfaction with the Super Eagles’ preparation ahead of their 2026 World Cup qualifier against Rwanda in Kigali.
The team, now under the leadership of newly appointed head coach Eric Chelle, held its first training session on Tuesday afternoon.
Reacting to the new squad, Wizkid took to his X handle on Wednesday, writing, “New Super Eagles team! (I) love the energy,” he wrote.
The crucial qualifier is set to take place at the Amahoro Stadium in Rwanda on Friday, March 21, with kickoff scheduled for 5 pm Nigerian time.
Following the match, Nigeria will return home to face Zimbabwe in Uyo on Tuesday.
The Super Eagles must secure maximum points from both fixtures to strengthen their chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Nigeria’s current squad features several in-form players, including Galatasaray’s Victor Osimhen, Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman, Genk’s Tolu Arokodare and Fulham’s Calvin Bassey.
The match against Rwanda will be Chelle’s first game in charge of the three-time African champions, who are desperate for a positive result to keep their World Cup qualification hopes alive.
The Super Eagles last played at the Amahoro Stadium in September 2024, where they were held to a goalless draw by Rwanda.
The Nationwide League One (NLO) has mandated the clubs that make up the Division One and U19 Youth League to complete their players’ facial verification process.
The Secretariat of the nation’s third-tier league regulatory body via its media department gave reasons on the essence of exercise as the March 30th players’ registration deadline draws near.
According to the NLO, clubs must complete facial verification for each player during registration to prevent duplicate registrations.
As regards players that have already been registered, the NLO explained that if a player fails verification (already registered with another club), the holding club must release the player. The NLO Admin will confirm the release and allow the verification of such a player for the new club.
The NLO stressed the importance of the release documentation and Registration Window Closure.
Releasing clubs must upload the player’s release document. This document will be reviewed and verified by the NLO Admin.
After the registration window closes, clubs cannot sign new players.
With the introduction of the new facial recognition technology, all clubs must register both their existing and new players.
These updates ensure a fair and transparent registration system. For assistance, clubs should contact NLO support.
Nigeria table tennis star, Quadri Aruna, will contest in the maiden WTT Contender Chennai in India after he was picked as a replacement for German star, Dimitrij Ovtcharov.
The WTT Contender Chennai is the fifth WTT event of the year and marks the first staging of the series in the City.
The event which has a prize purse of $270,000 will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai, India from March 25 to 30.
Aruna and nine other players have been confirmed for the men’s singles including his African rival, Egypt’s Omar Assar.3.
Other players confirmed so far include Denmark’s Jonathan Groth (17), Hugo Calderano of Brazil (6) and world number four Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan.
The 36-year-old has played in two WTT events this year.
In January, he made it as far as the semi-finals in the WTT Star Contender in Doha where he lost in straight sets to Japanese sensation Tomokazu Harimoto.
Last Wednesday, the world number 19 crashed out of the WTT Champions Chongqing 2025 after suffering a comprehensive 3-0 defeat to world number two Wang Chuqin of China in their round of 32 clash.
Aruna will hope to put up a more commanding show in India, as he has been tipped to shine by the world body.
“Stay tuned. There’s more to come from Quadri Aruna in India,” WTT captioned Aruna’s video on Monday after announcing his participation.
WTT Executive Director of Events Mounir Bessah also said the competition is a bold step forward as they expect Aruna and other players to deliver a memorable spectacle.
“Chennai’s inclusion in the WTT Series calendar underscores our mission to expand the reach of table tennis globally while honouring the sport’s passionate fanbase in India. With a venue like the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium and the support of Tamil Nadu’s government, we are ready to deliver an unforgettable spectacle for players and fans.”
