Sports
South Africa Focuses On World Cup Qualification
South Africa coach, Gordon Igesund has said that there will be no room for errors when his side resume their qualification campaign for the 2014 World Cup.
Bafana Bafana face the Central Africa Republic in Cape Town on 23 March knowing only a win will do as they sit third in Group A after draws with Ethiopia and Botswana last year.
And Igesund revealed there will be changes to the team that reached the quarter-finals of last month’s Africa Cup of Nations on home soil.
“There are no other thoughts other than winning because we are all aware that a draw will not help our cause”
“We are not in a good position in the qualifiers,” he admitted. “We have dropped four huge points and are left with four games, so we are basically playing catch-up. We are in a situation where we almost have to win every game.
“Qualifying for the World Cup is huge for us, so we can’t afford to lose, that is the bottom line.
“There will be a couple of changes – the team will be a lot more offensive. There are a few areas that we need to fix.
“There are a few players that are coming back from injury that I need to have a good look at over the next couple of days like Morgan Gould, Ayanda Xulu, Bevan Fransman and Daylon Claasen.”
Ethiopia sit top of the group, with second-placed CAR one point ahead of South Africa and Botswana bottom of the table with one point.
With only the top two teams in the group guaranteed a place in the second round in the quest to qualify for the tournament in Brazil, Igesund knows it is vital that South Africa make up ground on CAR.
“It is very important because at the moment CAR are above us on the standings, and we need to beat them to overtake them,” said the 56-year-old.
“Should we achieve that, then psychologically we have achieved something and then we can get the momentum going.
“That is why I say there are no other thoughts other than winning because we are all aware that a draw will not help our cause. And sometimes when you go out knowing what you have to do, it becomes a little bit easier because the players know we have to win.”
Igesund’s preparations for the game against CAR were disrupted when he was admitted to hospital and had an operation to remove his appendix but he says he is “fully recovered” and ready for the task ahead.
“When I was in hospital, my technical team sent me reports about players and matches and now that I am out of hospital I am also watching the matches again,” he said.
“We have to pick a team that has to perform and hopefully that will see us qualify for the World Cup. Now it is just a matter of picking the team that will play this one particular match and get the three points.”
Akpata emerged unopposed during the federation’s annual general meeting and board elections, which ended in Abuja on Saturday.
The election was decided by 37 delegates, with 12 other board members also emerging, to steer the affairs of the federation for the next four years.
Former Kwara State stalwart, Wale Obalola, emerged as the vice president at the election.
Representative of the South-West on the NCF board, Tayo Atoloye, also returned for another term, while team manager of the Junior Female Yellow Greens, Femi John, was elected as the representative of the South-South on the board.
Other zonal representatives are Chika Okoro (South-East), Ladan Usman (North-West), Dare Aimola (North-Central), and Zainab Adamu (North-East).
Former captain of the men’s national team, Endurance Ofem, secured 30 of the 37 votes to beat another ex-player, Chimezie Onwuzulike, for the players’ representative seat.
Olumide Akinkokun emerged as the technical representative, Prof Mariam Suleiman will represent the National Association of Women in Sports, Chuma Anosike as the sponsors’ representative, while the military and paramilitary will be represented on the board by Major Monica Wabulla.
The president, Akpata, was first elected in 2021 and has driven the growth of Nigerian cricket in the last four years.
Part of his notable achievements include the heavy investment in infrastructure and high-performance, national grassroots development programmes, as well as the introduction of professional contracts for Nigerian players.
Earlier this year, the women’s U-19 team finished sixth at the ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia, after the senior team had won a historic bronze medal at the last edition of the African Games in Ghana in 2024.
Nigeria has also bagged several International Cricket Council awards in recognition of the country’s strides towards growing the game, especially for women.
The 22-year-old ran a scorching 47.11 seconds in Friday’s final, smashing his previous national record of 47.31 seconds set earlier this year and becoming only the second Nigerian since Henry Amike in 1987 to reach the 400m hurdles final at the World Championships.
“I hope this performance will inspire young Nigerian athletes,” Nathaniel said after the dramatic final
“This is a great opportunity to learn from the world’s best athletes.”
The race saw American Rai Benjamin storm to victory in 46.52 seconds to finally clinch his first world championship gold medal after two silvers and a bronze, but not without drama.
Benjamin was initially disqualified for crashing into the final hurdle and affecting other athletes, briefly elevating Nathaniel to bronze position. However, the American’s appeal was quickly upheld and he was restored to the top of the timesheet.
Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos claimed silver in 46.84 seconds, while Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba took bronze in 47.06 seconds, leaving Nathaniel agonisingly close to Nigeria’s second medal of the championships.
Despite the near-miss, Nathaniel remained philosophical about the disqualification reversal.
It’s a fair call,” the Nigerian said.
“He put in a lot of work to get that medal and if they are trying to rip off from that, I don’t think that’s fair. He didn’t deliberately knock over the hurdle, that could happen to anyone.”
The former 800m runner, who competes for Baylor University in Texas, expressed satisfaction with his performance and hinted at greater things to come saying, “I still have a lot of potential. I am pleased because I did my best and I ran a personal record. I have it in me and just need to wait for the right time. For now, I am enjoying the process.”
Nathaniel’s rapid rise in the event has been remarkable. Born in 2003, he broke a decades-old Nigerian record set by Henry Amike when he ran 48.42 seconds at the Big 12 Conference meet in 2022 as a freshman.
His progress accelerated dramatically this year. In June, he won the NCAA Outdoor Championships title in Eugene, Oregon, clocking 47.49 seconds – the third fastest time in NCAA history. He also became the first man in NCAA history to run a sub-48-second time in the 400m hurdles semifinal, recording 47.86 seconds.
The Tokyo performance adds another chapter to what has been an exceptional year for the young hurdler, who has now established himself among the world’s elite quarter-mile hurdlers.
While Nathaniel’s fourth-place finish matches Amike’s result from the 1987 World Championships in Rome, his national record performance signals a bright future for Nigerian athletics in the event.
Nigeria’s campaign in Tokyo concluded with Tobi Amusan as the country’s only medallist, though this still represented an improvement over the Budapest World Championships where Team Nigeria ended empty-handed.
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