Sports
National Stadium, Lagos To Be Ready, August – Sports Minister
Minister of Sports and Youths Development, Sunday Dare, yesterday disclosed that the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos will be ready for use in August, after 19 years of abandonment.
The minister who disclosed this yesterday, when he paid a courtesy call on the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, in Abeokuta, said the stadium was rehabilitated through the adopt-a-stadium initiative by his ministry.
He explained that the National Stadium, Lagos, which was built in 1973 fell into state of disrepair almost 20 years ago due to neglect and total abandonment by successive administrations in the country.
The minister, however, said his ministry’s initiative of partnering private individuals in the country to adopt a stadium for rehabilitation, had helped in rebuilding the MKO Abiola International Stadium, Abuja and the National Stadium, Lagos.
According to him, an industrialist, Aliko Dangote had been approached to adopt the Abuja Stadium, disclosing the stadium had been fitted with a new football pitch, world class tartan tracks and latest version of scoreboard.
On the National Stadium, Lagos, Dare disclosed that a business mogul, Kessington Adebutu adopted it, noting rehabilitation work at the stadium had reached 75 percent.
The minister, therefore, called on Governor Abiodun to key into a adopt-an-athlete initiative of his ministry, to nurture, develop and encourage Nigerian athletes wherever they are in the world.
Dare, who informed the governor that he was in the state for the final of the Super Six Female Soccer Tournament in Ijebu Ode, however, urged the governor to adopt an indigene of the state, Tobi Amusan, a 24 year old 100 metre hurdle athlete.
He hinted that the Ijebu Ode born but Texas, USA based hurdle star was one of medal hopeful of the country at the Tokyo Olympics.
“One of the first things I did when I became the Minister was to initiate adopt-a-stadium and adopt-an-athlete to bridge the infrastructural deficit in our major stadia, and to help and nurture Nigerian sports talents. When I approached Alhaji Aliko Dangote with this idea, he agreed and adopted the MKO International Stadium, Abuja. That stadium is being rebuilt and fitted with world standard football pitch, tartan tracks and latest scoreboard.
“As for the Stadium in Surulere, Lagos, another business mogul, Chief Kessington Adebutu, has adopted it. Work is about 75 percent done and that stadium will be opened for use again by August, after 19 solid years”.
“Your Excellency, there is an indigene of your state, Tobi Amusan, who is doing well in 100 metre hurdle. In fact, she is one of our medal hopeful at the forthcoming Tokyo Olympics, not only in hurdle but in relay event as well. Therefore, I want to request that you adopt her in line with our initiative. For a Nigerian based athlete that is adopted, a sum of $10,000 will provided for him or her directly, while $20,000 is provided in a similar manner, to any adopted foreign based athlete. This is to nurture, encourage and develop them to compete and win laurels for the country at global stage”. The minister stated.
He further commended the Ogun state governor for his administration’s youth empowerment programmes, particularly in the areas of ICT and agribusiness.
Responding, Abiodun who said youths empowerment and job creation was one of the five cardinal pillars of his administration, disclosed that the ICT TechHub was deliberately conceptualised to convert youths of the state from ‘Yahoo-Yahoo’ to more profitable ICT ventures.
While commending the Minister for his ministry’s initiative on rehabilitation the country stadia and nurturing sports talents, the governor, announced the immediate adoption of Tobi Amusan.
He also urged the him to help Ogun identify her sports talents, expressing his administration’s readiness to help them nurture their skills in order to make them world champions.
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.