Sports
National Sports Festival…From Lagos ’73 To Delta 2022
At the end of the Nigerian Civil War in 1970, the unity of the country was seriously threatened. The then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, initiated the National Sports Festival in 1973 as a platform to bring together youths from all parts of the country to compete, using sports as a tool to achieve national healing after the brutal 30-month civil war.
He saw the sports festival as a rallying point for national unity and cultural integration. It was named the Unity Games.
The maiden edition of the NSF took place in 1973 at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos. For the first time after the civil war, athletes from all nooks and crannies of the country came together to felicitate and compete under a peaceful atmosphere.
The then Midwestern State, under the administration of sports-loving Military Governor, Brigadier Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia, won the inaugural edition, beating the host, Lagos, to emerge overall winner.
The sports festival made a great impact on national integration. The unity, long dreamed about by General Gowon, started manifesting as athletes discovered during the festival formed the bedrock of the country’s national teams. A majority of them represented the country in the third All Africa Games held in Algeria.
The second edition also took place in Lagos in 1975, and was won by the then Midwestern State. The festival was moved to Kaduna in 1977, and Bendel State, which came into being following the creation of States in 1976 by the Murtala Mohammed’s administration, topped the medals table.
The city of Ibadan, Oyo State, hosted the 1979 edition tagged ‘Oluyole ’79, and Bendel State also finished top on the medals table. In 1981, Benin City, the capital of the then Bendel State hosted the NSF for the first time, and Bendel State finished top of the medals table.
After Bendel ’81 edition, the NSF suffered its first postponement in 1983 due to what sports ministry officials described then as “unclear political atmosphere” after a military coup.
The National Sports Festival did not hold in 1983 as scheduled, and there was also no festival in 1984. The city of Ilorin, Kwara State, hosted the 1985 edition.
At Kwara ’85, the junior and intermediate cadres (football) were not allowed to take part in the National Sports Festival after they formed the Golden Eaglets to win the maiden FI FA Kodak U-16 Tournament in China.
The NSF did not hold as scheduled in 1987. Rather, it took place in 1988 in Port Harcourt. Bendel State finished top of the medals table at Rivers ’88.
To bridge the gap, Lagos State offered to host the NSF the following year (1989), and finished top of the medals table. The next edition of the NSF took place in Bauchi in 1991, and was nearly marred by religious violence, which broke out a few days after it commenced. In the end, Zone 2, which comprises of Bendel, Ondo and Rivers State finished top of the medals table.
After Bauchi ’91, the National Sports Festival suffered one of its worst postponements. It did not hold in 1993, 94 and 95. Makurdi, the capital of Benue State, hosted the NSF in 1996. By this time, Bendel State had been divided into Edo and Delta States, following the creation of more states by the General Ibrahim Babangida’s administration in August 1991. Lagos State finished on top of the medals table at Makurdi ’96.
There was stability, as the NSF returned to its biannual arrangement. Owerri, the capital of Imo State hosted the 1998 edition, and was won by Lagos State. Nigeria returned to democratic government in 1999, and a year later, the NSF returned to Bauchi State.
Team Delta, under the Chief James Ibori’s administration finished on top of the medals table at Bauchi 2000 with Chief Solomon Ogba as Commissioner for Sports.
Benin City hosted the NSF for the second time in 2002, with Team Edo finishing top of the medals table. The festival moved to Abuja in 2004, which Team Delta won. Delta successfully defended the NSF title two years later at Gateway 2006, Ogun State.
Thereafter, the festival suffered a one-year postponement solicited for by Kaduna State government to enable it complete its facilities. Instead of hosting the event in 2008, the KADA Games was held in 2009.
Team Delta, under the Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan’s administration topped the medals table. Rivers State hosted the National Sports Festival for the second time in 2011. Tagged The Garden City Games, Team Rivers finished on top of the medals table.
Lagos State played host to the NSF in 2012 (just one year interval) to honour the agreement it entered with the Sports Ministry during the bidding process in Kaduna, and Team Delta finished top of the medals table.
Cross River State won the bid to host the 2014 edition of the NSF. But Nigerian youths waited until 2018 for the festival to hold in Abuja.
‘The Centenary Games,’ which was meant to commemorate Nigeria’s 100 years, could not see the light of the day in Calabar.
Abuja 2018 saw Team Delta, under the administration of Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, finishing on top of the medals table with Chief Tonobok Okowa as Chairman of the Sports Commission.
Benin City, Edo State, could have hosted the NSF for the third time in 2020, but the outbreak of the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic forced the Games to be moved to 2021. And to prove that the victory at Abuja 2018 was not a flunk, Team Delta finished top of the medals table.
The stage is set for Delta 2022, and Governor Ifeanyi Okowa says he would host a festival that all athletes and officials will be proud of.
By: Gowon Akpodonor
Hansi Flick has said that Barcelona’s desire to always win trophies is why he is at the cub during his official unveiling as the club’s new head coach.
The former Bayern Munich and Germany coach signed a two-year deal with the LaLiga giants and said: “Before signing my contract I had a dinner with the president and I felt from the first second that I was arriving at an impressive club.”
“The squad has worked very hard from the first day in training. Each player wants to give 100% to show that they can play. The quality of the 16 or 17 year olds from La Masia is incredible.”
Two of the most recent standout products from Barça’s fabled academy are Lamine Yamal and Ansu Fati, two players who find themselves in very different situations.
On his 17-year-old star man, Flick was complimentary but also had words of warning.
“In the last year he has improved a lot. What he did in the Euros was incredible,” he added.
Chelsea manager, Enzo Maresca says his side “are going to concede goals this season playing out from the back” after two defensive errors in a 2-2 draw with Wrexham in his first game in charge.
Midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu scored an 82nd-minute equaliser in Santa Clara, California, cancelling out two second-half strikes by the League One side.
A sharp finish in the penalty box from Christopher Nkunku opened the scoring in the 35th minute of Chelsea’s opening friendly on their pre-season tour of the United States.
But Wrexham took a surprise lead after both teams made wholesale changes at half-time with Luke Bolton and Jack Marriott scoring following mistakes.
The defensive errors were part of a weak second-half performance as Chelsea adapt to Maresca’s possession-based approach.
Wrexham impressed – adding to their 1-1 draw against Bournemouth on Saturday in a half-empty Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers.
It is the Welsh club’s second consecutive US pre-season tour, capitalising on their popularity under co-owners, Hollywood actors, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, with Phil Parkinson’s side preparing for third tier football for the first time since 2005.
Maresca was asked about conceding goals through his playing philosophy, which included more patient build-up from back to front.
The French starting 11 was worth more than $250 million. Their home crowd was stirring, waving flags, chanting “Allez Les Bleus.” Their fearsome front three alone had played more than 300 games in the English Premier League. They entered these 2024 Olympics as the men’s soccer gold medal favourite, and an early candidate to bring the Games to life.
And on Wednesday in Marseille, they did just that, beating the United States 3-0.
For an hour in Marseille, on opening night, a feisty American team stood up to them.
But in the 61st minute of Paris 2024’s first prime-time headliner, Alexandre Lacazette struck, and the Stade Vélodrome erupted. Kids kissed the French Football Federation badges on their shirts. Thousands of blue, white and red flags twirled.
Until that moment, the game had been somewhat dormant. And the Games, more broadly, were still waiting to awake. In Paris, many locals have escaped the craziness of the Olympics. Areas around the River Seine are all but locked down to prepare for today’s opening ceremony. Tuesday and Wednesday, in some ways, felt like normal Parisian nights, sans buzz.
The best cure for all of that was France’s most popular sport, the one that led the media’s front pages on Tuesday in a non-Olympic context, just three days before the official start of the Olympics.
This, of course, was not a full French soccer team. The Games are a mostly under-23 tournament. But it was still a French soccer team. And it was, by Olympic men’s soccer’s JV standards, stacked.
It came from Bayern Munich and Sevilla, RB Leipzig and Crystal Palace, in the German Bundesliga and throughout France’s Ligue 1. There were players valued at 25 million euros stuck on the bench. There were athletes all over the field whom, unlike many Olympians, the French public knows.
And the two biggest stars among them ignited the public. Lacazette, a veteran striker, one of three over-age picks, broke through the United States resistance.
Michael Olise, a 22-year-old creator who recently signed with Bayern, scored the second.
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