Sports
NFF Will Not Neglect Grassroot Football Dev – Bewarang
The new Technical Direc
tor of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), yesterday Bitrus Bewarang,in Benin assured that the federation would not neglect developing football from the grassroots.
Bewarang told news Agency of Nigeria (NAN) this was necessary in order for the game to grow appropriately in the country.
He said zonal offices would be re-introduced across the country’s geo-political zones in order to achieve this, saying this was necessary for effective supervision and monitoring of coaches and players.
Bewarang who bemoaned the present state of Nigerian football said grassroots football development was part of the drastic measures needed to turn things around for the better.
“To me, the present state of our football development is not acceptable. You will recall that we were fifth in the world and number one in Africa some years back.
“But now, we have fallen to number 17 in Africa and 70 in the world. That is not good at all.
“But the only way out of this is to develop the game at the grass root level.
“We are all aware of the performance of Clemens Westerhof in the history of Nigerian football. One of the reasons why he succeeded was because he looked in the direction of home-based players.
“It is for this reason that I will be looking at the direction of re-introducing zonal offices, where our coaches as well as the players will be properly supervised and monitored,’’ he said.
The former Super Eagles assistant coach said his predecessor, the late Shaibu Amodu, did his best in his capacity as the National Technical Director, and had made his job easier.
“I only have to look at the files and add one or two things, in addition to what is already there,’’ he said.
Bewarang, who is also the Chairman of Nigeria Coaches Association (NCA), decried the way Nigerian coaches were being treated in the country, in comparison to their foreign counterparts.
He said Nigerian coaches are capable of taking football to greater heights in the country if given time and the free hand to operate.
The NFF Technical Director expressed regrets that in spite of the positive impact made by some Nigerian coaches on the national teams, Nigerian coaches were still been viewed as inferior.
“We have good coaches, but the problem is that they are never given enough time, especially when handling the Super Eagles.
“You don’t judge a coach by one or two matches lost. Westerhof succeeded because he was given a free hand and the time to tinker with the team.
“It is because of this poor condition Nigerian coaches work under that you see that over 70 per cent of us are hypertensive,’’ he said.
Isaako All Stars FC of Opuoko and Khana Khana AllStars Football all in Local Government Area of Rivers State will tomorrow engage in a friendly football match at Opuoko Mini Stadium.
Chatting with Tidesports in a telephone interview yesterday the Chairman of Khana All Stars Saro Tap-le said that the encounter is not going to be an easy game in spite it is an AllStars game.
He express his side readiness for the encounter stating that the opportunity as come for them to showcase their talents.
However, the chairman explained that AllStars game is not about winning but the excitement, love, unity and friendship it creates is more important.
” Tomorrow game is not going to be an easy one despite is a AllStars game. We are going there in a full force to do what we know how to do best and to showcase our talents.
“As Chairman of Khana All Stars I believes we have an edge over the Isaako All Stars be we are training so hard for the encounter” Tap-le said.
Also speaking the Chairman of Isaako All Stars Mina Zaasi Iloori sees the match as an opportunity to build relationships.
” My brother it is an AllStars friendly game I think winning is not important but the paramount thing is the relationship we are going to create among both teams and my community at large
” We are training hard because of the encounter because I will not be in my house and somebody will rob soap in my eyes.
” As I speak with you we are just coming from back training ground to ensure all my players are fit for the match.
” I am using this medium to call on football fans to come en mass to Opuoko Mini Stadium tomorrow and enjoy the best of round leather game.
I promise the game will be an exciting display of football talents and sportsmanship”, Iloori said.
Kiadum Edookor
Thierry Henry has called for the return of the away goals rule in the aftermath of the bombastic Champions League semi-final between Inter Milan and Barcelona.
The visitors at the Estadio Olimpic Lluis Companys came within milimeters of clinching the first leg of the final-four clash after former Arsenal star Henrikh Mkhitaryan netted late in the second-half.
But the linesman was quick to raise his flag, and semi-automated offside ruled out what would have been a thrilling conclusion to the high-octane 3-3 draw.
The hosts came from behind twice to share the spoils, chasing Inter Milan from the first minute of the game after Marcus Thuram stunned the Barcelona faithful into silence with his neatly flicked goal.
Denzel Dumfries doubled Inter’s lead 20 minutes later, but it took just three more for the Blaugrana to finally get on the scoresheet courtesy of a moment of magic from teenage starlet Lamine Yamal.
Ferran Torres drew Barcelona level ahead of the break, but Lamal was forced to play catch-up again in the second-half after Dumfries scored his second.
In light of the impressive effort from Inter, Henry wondered if the team should have got more from the fixture ahead of the second-leg at the San Siro.
‘I know it’s been like that for a very time, and we have to accept it,’ Henry said of the removal of the away goals rule, ‘But off air I was talking to Jamie (Carragher), and I was like, “how can you score three goals away from home and you don’t have an advantage?”
‘Away goals for me were massive, you score three goals away and you still don’t have an advantage 0-0 at home,’ Henry shrugged.
UEFA took the decision to scrap the rule which gave goals scored away from home the ability to act as a tiebreaker in the case of level scorelines ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Current FIFA Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger claimed during his time as Arsenal manager in 2015 that the away goals rule ‘encouraged the team at home not to attack’ and that ‘the weight of the away goal (was) too big today’.
Without the rules, the tie at San Siro will go to extra time and penalties to decide which teams books their spot in the Champions League final.
But based on Wednesday evening’s performance, Henry seemed to give Inter a fighting chance against the newly minted Copa del Rey champions.
The 2025 London Marathon set a new world record for the number of finishers despite hot conditions on Sunday for its 45th edition.
A total of 56,640 runners crossed the finish line at the end of the 26.2-mile route, Guinness World Records has confirmed.
The number surpassed the previous record of 55,646 set by the New York Marathon in November.
Hugh Brasher, chief executive of London Marathon Events, said he hoped the high number of finishers inspired people to apply for the 2026 race ballot.
“The London Marathon was already the most popular in terms of ballot entries, with 840,318 people applying for the 2025 race,” he said.
“It is also the world’s largest annual one-day fundraising event with more than £1.3bn raised for charity since 1981.”
The number of people applying for the ballot to enter this year’s race broke the world record of 578,304 for the 2024 edition.
Of UK applicants 49% were female, while there was a 105% increase in applications from people aged between 20-29.
Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa surged to victory in the elite women’s race in a world record for a women’s only field, while Kenya’s Sebastian Sawe triumphed in the men’s event.