Sports
Amputee Footballers Task Minister On Unpaid Allowances
The Captain, Amputee Football Team, ‘Special Eagles’’, Sarafadeen Olalekan has appealed to the Minister for Youths and Sports, Sunday Dare, to ensure the payment of the team’s allowances.
Olalekan told newsmen, yesterday in Lagos that many of the team members were facing a lot of financial challenges because of unpaid allowances.
“Other federations have received their allowances but for the Special Eagles, we are yet to receive ours before the pandemic lockdown.
“Up till this very moment, there has not been anything and it is already a year plus now that we went to Angola and came second, life has not been easy for most of the amputee footballers.
“Most of the players are out of their homes due to issue of money they owe their landlords and their sources of making a living was disrupted by the pandemic and protest,” he said.
According to Olalekan, one of the team member who had just nationalised as a Nigerian was part of the country’s success story “but he currently sleeps under the bridge.
“We have a Ghanaian who had just nationalised to Nigeria, he played for us till we got to the finals but has been finding life really difficult.
“He was asked to move out of the National Stadium where he resides so he had to start his life under the bridge.
“During the pandemic we did not receive any palliative at all, and most of the players have their own family that they are taking care of. I hope our plea would be attended to and our allowances are paid,” the amputee player said.
Austin Ugwu, the assistant captain, urged the Federal Government to place the amputee team members on monthly allowances.
He added that the allowance would go a long way in helping the players take care of themselves and stay in shape to perform for the country.
“I would appreciate if the government can consider us and place us on monthly allowances.
“Since the last championship we went for, we have not received anything from the government.
“This has affected a lot of the players, we are supposed to be in shape always but with the situation of things we are only working to survive,” he said.
Ugwu further said that some players had not been able to do anything because of the allowances that were yet to be paid.
“I have a tricycle that am running , that is why I can take care of myself a little, but for some others they do not have what they are doing.
“Some of the players feed from hand-to-mouth, they do not have anything doing. We are not like the able bodies.”
The Acting Technical Director, National Amputee Football Federation (NAFF), Pius Asaba said that the federation was yet to receive any funds from the ministry.
He pleaded with the ministry to ensure that the federation gets the funds so that they could pay the players.
“They have been promising us that we will be paid and I am aware that the federation is also doing its best to ensure it gets paid.
“The pandemic and protest has paralyze all our activities, we are supposed to go for a competition in Poland but it has been postpone, so for now we do not know exactly what will happen.
Only Denmark, ranked 21st globally, sits higher among nations that failed to qualify for the tournament, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
England and Chelsea legend John Terry was among those to voice his disappointment, describing Nigeria as a significant loss to a tournament that features 48 nations for the first time.
“Nigeria will be a big miss. This is a World Cup for participants who haven’t had the opportunity to play in the tournament. I would have loved to see a top team like Nigeria there because they’ve got some great individuals. They’re a great nation,” Terry said during a virtual roundtable session organised by SuperSport.
“I think they are a big miss because Nigeria probably would have gone further in the competition, but unfortunately, one side’s loss is another’s gain,” the former England captain added.
Eric Chelle’s side finished second in Group C of the CAF World Cup qualifiers behind South Africa, who secured automatic qualification. Nigeria kept their hopes alive with a playoff semi-final victory over Gabon before falling to the Democratic Republic of Congo on penalties in the decisive playoff final — their second successive absence from the World Cup after also missing the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
The Nigeria Football Federation later challenged DR Congo’s qualification, alleging the use of ineligible players during the campaign, but the appeal was dismissed.
Despite missing the World Cup, the Super Eagles remain Africa’s 3rd highest-ranked team behind Morocco, who sit seventh in the world, and Senegal. Algeria and Egypt complete the continent’s top five.
Defending champions Argentina enter the tournament as the world’s top-ranked side, ahead of Spain, France, England and Portugal. Brazil are sixth, followed by Morocco, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
The next FIFA World Ranking will be released on July 20, a day after the World Cup final.
Chima Akachukwu and Miracle Akhigbe are among the 16 notable stars picked by the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) for the forthcoming Namibia Tour, where the YellowGreens will compete in a T20 and 50-Over Tri-Series, featuring hosts Namibia and Hong Kong China.
Both players make their way back into the YellowGreens fold after periods away from the side and will be eager to contribute their experience and quality as Nigeria pursues success in Namibia.
The NCF said yesterday that the squad, which departs Nigeria today, forms part of the national team’s continued preparations for future international assignments as the YellowGreens seek to build on recent performances and strengthen their standing on the global stage.
Leading the squad is Captain Sulaimon Runsewe, who will spearhead Nigeria’s campaign against two formidable opponents in what promises to be a highly competitive series.
The selected squad combines experienced internationals with emerging talents, providing the technical crew an opportunity to assess player development and team combinations in both the T20 and 50-over formats.
The team will be led on tour by Coaches Leke Oyede and Tamuno John, who will oversee preparations and match operations during the opening phase of the series.
Joining the squad later in Namibia will be the newly appointed Head Coach and High Performance Manager, Stephen Magongo, whose arrival marks another significant step in the Federation’s commitment to strengthening the national team structure and enhancing player development pathways.
Supporting the coaching staff are Team Analyst Jamal Okechukwu, Strength and Conditioning Coach Seye Olympio, and Team Physiotherapist Timothy Adesomowo, forming a well-rounded technical crew focused on maximising player performance and welfare throughout the tour.
The NCF views the Namibia Tri-Series as an important platform for the continued growth of the national team, offering valuable international exposure and competitive match experience against quality opposition. The series will provide the players and technical crew with another opportunity to evaluate progress, fine-tune strategies, and build momentum ahead of future international competitions.
The YellowGreens will face Namibia and Hong Kong China in both T20 and 50-over contests, with the matches expected to test the team’s adaptability, discipline, and resilience in challenging conditions.
Blessing Otu on Monday overcame hard-fighting Kelvin Bebe- Emmanuella in two sets of 6-1, 6-3 to qualify for the second round of the women’s singles of the ongoing 47th Central Bank of Nigeria Senior Tennis Championship, held at the Tennis Courts of the package “B” of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
Speaking after the round of 32 game, Otu, who will be 19 years old in September, said she capitalised on her opponent’s weaknesses to gain victory, having studied her game very well.
“Bebe is a very good and tough player. But I studied her game and did the job well.
“Although she tried to come back in the second set, I punctured all her tricks to win the match and move on. I wish I could continue like this in the rest of my games,” she said.
Another member of the Otu family, John Out, was also victorious as he defeated Mohammed Abdusalam 2-1 (6-2, 6-7, 6-1) in the men’s singles category to advance into the round of 32.
But the third Otu in the game, Thomas, was not that lucky as he lost by 6-0, 7-5 in two straight sets to Danjuma Isaac.
In other matches, Michael Emmanuel defeated Ibrahim Aminu to advance, while Drimiya Mevi outclassed Seyi Ogunsakin by beating him 2-1 (6-7, 6-3, 6-1). Action continues tomorrow when other top players, including the men’s singles top seed, Abua Cannice, join the chase for honours.