Sports
Ambassador Designate, Others, Pledge Support For Grassroots Football
Nigeria’s Ambassador designate to Sierra Leone, Henry Omaku and some politicians in Nasarawa have pledged more support for grassroot football development in the state.
They made the pledge in separate interviews with newsmen in Lafia, on Monday, shortly after the conclusion of the Nasarawa State Football Association (NSFA) 2019/2020 ‘Premier League’ competition, a grassroot initiative for local football teams across the state.
Tidesports source gathred that the 2nd edition of the competition was organised by the NSFA, in partnership with Bet9ja, a betting company, with 42 teams across the state accredited to participate in the tournament, which kicked off on September 26, 2019.
After several fixtures and elimination rounds, Ogene Football Club and Kokona Selected Football Club emerged as finalists, with Kokona Selected FC eventually emerging champions, after defeating Ogene FC 4-2 via a penalty shootout, after playing a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
Omaku, who just got posted as ambassador to Sierra Leone, by President Muhammadu Buhari, said he was impressed with the turnout of youths and supporters and the interest the competition had ignited across the state.
He said despite his deployment, he would continue to support any effort aimed at the development of grassroot football and sports, to give youths in the rural areas a sense of belonging and a platform to develop and showcase their skills.
“The tournament itself is highly fascinating. You can see how it brought people together. You can see how the youths are very cheerful, despite the pandemic. They still came out.
“I want to assure you that organising such tournaments will continue to foster unity among the diverse communities in the state and I will continue to play my part in that regard, because I love sports.
“I eat sports. I drink sports. So definitely, I will not stop supporting this kind of initiative,” he said.
Also speaking, Member representing Keana Constituency in the State Assembly, Mohammed Omadefu said he hoped the competition would be better organised in future editions, to attract more sponsorship for the benefit of the youths.
“For us in the house of assembly, we will do our best to provide the needed legislation to promote sports development in the state,” he said.
Chairman of Doma Local Government Area, Rabo Sani, also expressed delight at the organisation and conclusion of the tournament and appealed to the organisers to ensure its continuity, so as to expose more talents.
Chairman of the NSFA, Mohammed Alkali, who also spoke to the media, said he was happy with the massive support received from across the state, including the media, who he credited with spreading the news about the competition.
“I cannot say anything more than to thank the media for giving us publicity right from the beginning to the finals. The media made sure people from the state heard of it. Even people outside the state and outside the country were aware,” he said.
He explained that the competition would have ended sometime in 2020, but for the outbreak of the COVID-19.
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.