Sports

NDG: RIVERS ATHLETES EXCITED AT GAMES’ PROSPECTS, Commends NDDC

Published

8 months ago

January 28, 2026

Rivers State athletes, especially , the basketball players training for the forthcoming second edition of Niger Delta Games ( NDG) billed to hold in Edo State next month are excited over the opportunity of being at the Games once again and the prospect of defending the gold medal won in the event at the maiden edition of the NDG in Uyo Akwa Ibom State last year. In fact, the basketballers have vowed to leave no stone unturned in a bid to retain the medal in Benin City, Edo State.

Some of the players who spoke during one of their training sessions on Monday, at the Basketball Court, Niger/ Bende Streets in Port Harcourt township, said they have been training hard to ensure that they defend their title.

One of the players , Dalhati Wealth, expressed confidence that his team will emerge victorious as they are learning new techniques and tactics to ensure victory.

“As you can see every player is putting in good effort to be mentally and physically fit, including learning new tactics to be ready and maintain the level that saw the team of last year go all the way at the Games.

” We started our preparation early because we want to achieve success at the end of the day, you know that if you don’t train and do not prepare early, you can’t perform when the chips are down “, Wealth said.

He used the opportunity to commend the Niger Delta Development Commission ( NDDC) for initiating the sports programme with the vision to develop, empower and provide and enduring platform for youths in the region.

” This competition will no doubt discover talents in the region, and it will equally expose us to both local and foreign scouts because you can never tell.

“You know we only have one Youth Games every year but this has added to the calendar towards sports development and the engagement of young people, especially, at the grassroots level” he stated.

Also speaking, another athlete, Hector Tobogu

also commended NDDC for the initiative, saying that the tournament has discovered hidden talents in the area.

“This competition has helped many youths develop interest in different sporting activities and is another way to showcase talents. As an athlete if you don’t compete in tournaments or competitions, you will not know your strength and improvement would be very difficult”, Tobogu said.

The basketball player also expressed optimism that they would make Rivers State proud at the Games in Edo.

By: Tonye Orabere

Sports

Veteran Sportsman Calls For Civic Center Reconstruction

Published

2 days ago

September 21, 2026

The Tide

The president of the Life Youth Sports Development Initiative (LYSDI) in Nigeria,

Odikibo Solomon Odikibo has called on the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, through the Ministry of Sports to reconstruct the Alfred Diete Spiff Sports Complex (Civic Center) with the view to providing track and field facilities.

He stated the state has abundant talents in track and field events but limited facilities to train with to improve themselves.

Odikibo, who won several medals in long jump and high jump for the state, made this call in an exclusive interview with Tidesports shortly after conducting a training session with young athletes under his tutelage, at the weekend in Port Harcourt.

According to him, with what is going on with track and field events in the state, the disciplines could soon go extinct, especially,as track and field athletes are currently growing old without adequate replacement in sight to replace themand it appears that relevant authorities do not care to discover and groom athletes.

” I am passionately appealing to the state government to reconstruct the Civic Center to accommodate track and field facilities as it was before.

“Young athletes are eager to do sports but have no facilities to train with. We all know that without training facilities, no athlete will improve, so there’s a need to bring the Civic Center back to her original state, Odikibo said.

He explained that the organization is a grassroots sports initiative designed to discover young athletes from secondary schools, and that it was established out of passion to discover hidden talents from secondary schools. “It is self-sponsored with the intention to catch them young.

“In my days of active sports, there were lots of secondary school sports competitions and tournaments; it was there they used to discover athletes. It was from school sports that I was also discovered. I did high jump, long jump, and hurdle” he stated.

Tonye Orabere

Sports

Shooting stars edge CS Sfaxien 1-0 in CAF confederation cup

Published

2 weeks ago

September 7, 2026

The Tide

Shooting Stars of Ibadan secured a 1-0 victory over Tunisian side CS Sfaxien in their CAF Confederation Cup encounter at the MKO Abiola Sports Arena, Abeokuta, on Saturday.

Lucky Emmanuel scored the decisive goal in the 25th minute to give the Nigerian side a deserved lead before the break.

CS Sfaxien came out strongly in the second half, piling pressure on Shooting Stars in search of an equaliser, but the goal keeper was too good to let in any goal.

The Shooting Stars defence remained resolute, frustrating the Tunisian side and preventing them from finding a way through.

Shooting Stars had opportunities to extend their lead towards the end of the match but failed to convert the chances.

The victory gave Shooting Stars an important advantage ahead of the second leg of their CAF Confederation Cup campaign this weekend.

Sports

African V’Ball: Amaka Paul Emerges 4th Best Scorer

Published

2 weeks ago

September 7, 2026

The Tide

Nigeria volleyball player Christiana Amaka Paul has finished as the fourth-best scorer at the just concluded 2026 African Senior Women’s Volleyball Nations Championship in Kenya on Friday.

Amaka scored 94 points, including 76 successful attacks, to rank fourth among the tournament’s top scorers as Nigeria finished in ninth place at the tournament.

The Nigerian Opposite Hitter expressed her appreciation to the coaching crew led by Head coach Elishama Elam and her teammates for their support throughout the competition.

She said the encouragement and guidance from the coaching staff and her teammates played an important role in her performance at the championship.

Amaka said: “I want to sincerely thank our coach, Elishama Elam, and the entire coaching crew for their support, guidance and belief in us throughout the tournament.

“I also appreciate my teammates and everyone who supported us. Their encouragement gave me the confidence to keep fighting and giving my best for Nigeria. I will not forget to appreciate the Kenyans for their love and support too.

“This statistics will encourage me to give my best and improve in my performance when we return to Nigeria for the second phase of the 2026 CGC Volleyball Premier League.”

Nigeria captain Ijeoma Ukpabi also finished among the tournament’s top scorers, ranking eighth with 86 points and 75 successful attacks.

Meanwhile, Maryam Ibrahim completed Nigeria’s representation in the top 10, finishing as the 10th-best scorer with 74 points, including 68 successful attacks.