Sports
FG Plans Repositioning Of NIS, Sports Dev
Supervising Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi, has said that government plans to re-position the National Institute for Sports (NIS) for Nigeria to enhance its sports development.
The minister who was speaking at the Ministerial Platform said the NIS had been established since 1972 but Nigeria has had no outstanding sports development profile to show for it.
“If we must be taken seriously as a sporting country, we must do something about the NIS. We must re-position it as the centre of excellence for the promotion and development of sports in Nigeria.
“Unless we do that, we will continue to do a patchwork of three months’ preparation ahead of international competitions, hoping that a miracle will happen,’’ he said.
Abdullahi said the situation was what led to his not being sure of the number of medals Nigeria would win at the 2012 Olympic Games.
“Though it is only a competition, but I cannot stand and say this is the number of medals we will win. But I can only speak about the efforts we have made and the efforts we are still making.
“I believe that these efforts should be good enough to ensure that we have a very good outing at the Olympics,’’ he said.
The minister also noted that the NSC was not happy that Nigeria was not featuring in football at the Olympics, but he said it had served as an opportunity to improve other sports.
“Everyone has lamented the fact that Nigerian football is not going to the Olympics in 2012. We at the commission are not happy, but it gives us ample opportunity to focus on other sports.
“Though we don’t need to diminish football to improve the fortunes of other sports, but it’s possible to carry them together and as a ministry we are not going to be jack of all trade.
“As a country we can’t just afford to take all the sports, we don’t have the resources or the capacity.
“We’re going to specialise and support the sports that have the best strategic initiatives,’’ Abdullahi who is also the Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC) said.
The minister also spoke about the achievements of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in the last one year, reeling off a long list of successes.
He noted specifically the restoration of peace in the Nigerian football family, as well as according high premium to athletes’ welfare.
Abdullahi however listed inadequate funding and sponsorship and lack of suitable environment as some of the challenges faced.
He said the NSC was nonetheless looking forward to re-positioning the Nigerian Premier League, saying “Nigerian football will continue to decline if we don’t do this.
“We must do the hard work. We must go back to the drawing board and pursue a systematic development of talents,’’ the minister said.
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.
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