Sports

CT AT 62: Sets Agenda For SWAN

Published

10 years ago

February 10, 2014

Clinton Thompson (CT)
does not need any introduction to most practitioners still circulating in the Mass Media industry in Nigeria, particularly in the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN).
A thorough-bred journalist and communication professional, Clinton Thompson was General Manager of Bayelsa Radio, Yenagoa, until two years ago when he retired from service. He turns 62 on Wednesday.
CT who spent his most active years in service at the Radio Rivers and Rivers SWAN is knowledgeable in all the genres of journalism but made sport writing which gave him national limelight his forte.
He was founding member of Rivers SWAN, Vice Chairman of National SWAN for two terms. He also created the CAIRA (Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Imo, Rivers and Abia) amalgamation of SWAN and was honoured by the government of Col Dauda Musa Komo of Rivers State as the best influence in sports commentary education.
As Rivers SWAN Chairman, Clinton Thompson ensured that sports journalists were regularly trained and updated through seminars, workshops and symposia.
He created a Sports Hall of Fame in Rivers State, the first of its kind in Nigeria and superintended two inductions into the Hall of Fame.
A stalwart at the national SWAN level and a beneficiary of numerous professional travels and education at home and abroad, Clinton Thompson remains till today, an active participant in and resource person to various journalistic bodies.
This has indeed made him a well-known and valuable professional.
In a clime where the challenges of survival-health education, utilities and security had limited life expectancy to an average of 45 years, attaining the age of 62 deserves celebration. The home boy from Amasoma in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State returned to base to mark the epoch.
Speaking to selected sports journalists in Port Harcourt, Saturday as part of his 62nd birthday, CT reflected on the state of sports writing in Rivers State, his achievements, the near-absence of SWAN-sponsored competitions, the lack of synergy between Rivers SWAN and its patrons and supportive corporate bodies and the death of the SWAN Hall of Fame.
His verdict was a return to the drawing board for SWAN leadership in Rivers State.
Speaking on what he called the falling standard of sports writing CT said:”I read bad grammar in reporting. We don’t know who is a reporter or not. The place of training is not seen anymore”.
To compound matters, he said, many sports writers still dress shabbily to assignments, a trend, which he noted demeans the image of SWAN.
“I was at a sports stakeholders’ conference in Abuja recently and a man who called himself a sportswriter came in, dressed in bathroom slippers and T-Shirt. He was prompt walked out”, CT said.
He challenged sportswriters and media practitioners to take advantage of the satellite campuses of the various tertiary institutions to improve themselves. “While not recommending a dress code, sportswriters should also dress decently”, he said.
According to him, sports reporting is now sophisticated with the number of sports rising from 17 to about 40. “It requires practitioners with requisite knowledge and language to write and inform the sporting audience”, he said.
The veteran sports writer and commentator challenged employers and Rivers SWAN leadership to organize workshops that would equip sportswriters with the technical language to report the various sports.
“Sportswriters must shun what has become known now as Entrepreneurial journalism or cheque book journalism as it is called in some developed countries, practice sports writing as a calling and with interest,” CT admonished. On the Agenda-setting role of sports journalists, the former National Vice Chairman of SWAN said the leadership in Rivers SWAN must put on its thinking cap. “We have no business with politics; we must engage government on matters of the moment. For instance, the National Sports Festival is coming up soon in Calabar.
“What is the plan for Team Rivers, what is the budget, what trials have been lined up for the state’s contingent?”, he queried.
He called on the SWAN leadership to be pro-active in playing its agenda-setting role and not consign SWAN to the role of praise-singers.
Clinton Thompson also identified the absence of synergy between Rivers SWAN and its Patrons and friendly corporate organizations as reasons for the current under-performance of the body in Rivers State. “Where are the Patrons who made things happen during my tenure. Where are Chief O.K Isokariari, Chief Lawrence Ayo, Chief Lawrence Omohuyi Izzi, Mrs Gina Yeseibo, Nze Tony Nwanya, Bob Ihekona and Jimmy Coker among others?”, he queried.
According to Thompson, the patrons and such multinational firms as Shell, Elf, Agip and Chevron among others threw their weight behind his leadership “and that was why I did not go cap in hands begging for money”.
He said that Rivers SWAN is lucky to have the headquarters of all the oil firms in Port Harcourt which is now the hub of the nation’s oil and gas sector. “SWAN should explore available opportunities to fund its various programmes”.
The former Radio Bayelsa General Manager also advised Rivers SWAN leadership to explore the possibility of writing the biography of sports stars in Rivers State as a revenue-generation project.
He recalled that during his tenure at the national SWAN, the leadership published a book “Football : Goals for the Future” to raise money for its activities.
Answering a question, the veteran sports writer and administrator expressed sadness over the death of various programmes he initiated in Rivers SWAN during his tenure.
“Where is the Omosule Cup Competition for media men, where is the SWAN Annual Award, Where is the Welfare Package and the Hall of Fame Project?”
He said it was imperative for the leadership to re-unite SWAN as a family in the state.
CT also spoke of the need for the present and future leaders of SWAN in Rivers State to preserve the history of both the national and Rivers SWAN, honour past leaders and carry them along to protect and project SWAN’s rich and noble tradition.
“How many sportswriters can tell the history of Rivers SWAN and its founding fathers which include Fidelis Iyebote, Victor Inengisa Somiarii, Clinton Thompson and Donald Mike-Jaja?” he queried.
These men should be remembered and honoured for their distinguished contributions to the growth of sports and sports writing in the state and nation, he said.
Now a media consultant, CT at 62 said he is retired but not tired. He expressed gratitude to the patrons and multinational firms, whom he said, gave him wonderful support during his period at the helm of affairs in Rivers SWAN. “Rivers State is a sweet place to live and I do not regret my stay here”, he concluded.

Mr Clinton Thompson

Donald Mike-Jaja

Sports

Finidi Lists Three Foreign Assistants For Eagles

Published

3 days ago

May 10, 2024

The Tide

Newly appointed Super Eagles coach, Finidi George, has listed three foreigners in a five-man technical crew that will include former Nigeria International Daniel Amokachi and current goalkeepers trainer, Abideen Baruwa.
George and chieftains of the Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) have been meeting over the last few days to iron out the final details of a contract for the former Ajax Amsterdam winger who was recently announced as the substantive manager of the national team following the departure of Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro after the silver-medal finish at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.
The issue of others that would work with George has dominated discussions in sports circles but sources at the NFF has now hinted that the 52-year-old coach has tabled a proposal of five technical crew with words rife that a German-Nigerian has been listed as first assistant with Amokachi to be a second assistant.
While Baruwa would maintain his status as the goalkeepers trainer, there are places for two more foreign assistants who would serve as physical trainer and match analyst respectively.
Yet, it was gathered that a one-year contact will be signed by George with an extension clause should the Super Eagles reach the semi-final stages of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations(AFCON) to be hosted in Morocco.
Tidesports gathered that the NFF is yet at sea on how funds would be sourced for the foreign assistants with many said to be worried that George is making things rather difficult as regards the listing of three foreign assistants.
But former Nigeria international and a member of the Technical & Development Committee of the NFF Dr. Felix Owolabi insists that George is duty-bound to pick his own assistants in order to enjoy a good working environment.
“He (George) should be allowed to pick his assistants because that is the right thing to do,” Owolabi who won the AFCON with the Green Eagles in 1980 said recently. “ The NFF cannot choose for him; it has to be the prerogative of the coach to determine those who are to work with him.”

Sports

Bayelsa To Host 2024 NWFL Super Six Tournament

Published

3 days ago

May 10, 2024

The Tide

The Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) has announced Bayelsa State as the hosts of the 2023/2024 NWFL Premiership Super Six.
The highly anticipated NWFL Premiership title championship is scheduled to run from Thursday May 16 to Sunday 26, 2023 in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Bayelsa was confirmed as host by the NWFL last Tuesday following a review of bid interests from various states to stage the playoff competition.
Nkechi Obi, the NWFL chairman, said: “On behalf of the board and management of the NWFL, let me congratulate Bayelsa State for being selected as the hosts for the NWFL Premiership Super Six.”
“We hope this opportunity to host a great Super Six will further boost women’s football in Bayelsa and raise the profile of the sport in Nigeria.”
This will be the first time that the NWFL Premiership playoff tournament will be hosted by Bayelsa State. Yenagoa is also the home ground of Bayelsa Queens, who had a memorable 2022 NWFL Premiership campaign where they famously won the domestic title, WAFU-B playoff and eventually finished third at the 2022 CAF Women’s Champions League held in Morocco.
Shabi said the participating clubs are expected to arrive in Yenagoa on Thursday, May 16 2024, followed by the draw and pre-match meeting to be held on Friday, May 17 from 10 am.
The playoff tournament would begin on Saturday, May 18 with Matchday One and end with the Matchday Five on Sunday, May 26. Three matches will be played on each Match Day, with breaks in between match days.
With holders Delta Queens missing out, six giants will battle for the coveted Nigerian league crown, having qualified as the top three finishers from two groups during the regular season of 14 matches.
The six teams include the host team Bayelsa Queens, Edo Queens, Rivers Angels, Confluence Queens, Nasarawa Amazons and Heartland Queens.
In Group A, Nasarawa Amazons finished as group winners with 27 points from 14 matches, followed by Confluence Queens in second with 25 points and Heartland Queens in third with 24 points.
Sitting top in Group B was Rivers Angels with 27 points, four ahead of Edo Queens in second and Bayelsa Queens in third with 22 points from 14 games.
The title winner of this year’s Super Six tournament will represent the country in the WAFU-B qualifiers to qualify for the 4th CAF Women’s Champions League.

Sports

Legal Threat Hangs On FIFA Over Calendar

Published

3 days ago

May 10, 2024

The Tide

World governing body, FIFA is facing the threat of legal action from world players’ union, FIFPro and the World Leagues Association, which includes the Premier League, if it continues with plans to host a 32-team Club World Cup at the end of next season.
They say the global football calendar is “now beyond saturation, to the point that national leagues are unable to properly organise their competitions” while “players are being pushed beyond their limits, with significant injury risks and impacts on their welfare”.
It was reported in December that the PFA was taking legal advice over the lack of consultation over an increasingly congested calendar and the impact that was likely to have on its members.
PFA chief executive Maheta Molango has been part of a series of high-level discussions over the intervening period, including the European Leagues general assembly last month, when Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said the calendar was at tipping point.
Next season, all three European club competitions will be expanded to 36 teams. The Champions League and Europa League will have eight first phase games compared to the current six. It is possible a club would have to play 17 matches to win either competition.
Manchester City and Chelsea are among the 12 European representatives at the expanded Club World Cup, to be held in the United States in June and July next year.
In a letter addressed to FIFA president Gianni Infantino and general secretary Mattias Grafstrom, seen by Tidesports source, FIFPro and the World Leagues Association say if FIFA extends its own competitions then it should alter others.
It adds that “imposing the burden of adaptation on national leagues and players is inherently abusive” and is “jeopardising national leagues and affecting the health and wellbeing of players”.
However, it is understood that FIFA believes it has taken into account player welfare with their scheduling programme.
It argues that, in a country that has an 18-team league with one cup competition – like Germany – the Club World Cup and Intercontinental Cup would only account for 2.3per cent of matches played at club level over the course of the season.
It also believes the influential European Clubs’ Association backed the Club World Cup plans in a statement in December.
FIFPro and the World Leagues Association believe they have already provided FIFA with ample opportunity to address their concerns.
However, in their letter they state clearly that if FIFA “refuses to formally commit to resolving the issues” at its council meeting in Bangkok on 17 May, members will be advised “on the options available to them”.
“These options included legal action against FIFA,” they said.
The FIFA council meeting in Thailand will see all 211 member associations get together, with a vote on the host nation or nations of the 2027 Women’s World Cup set to take place.
The threat of legal action against FIFA comes against a backdrop of Premier League clubs announcing lucrative post and pre-season tours.
Yesterday, West Ham, Wolves and Crystal Palace announced a three-team pre-season tour of the United States, while Newcastle and Tottenham will play one another in Melbourne, Australia just three days after the end of the Premier League season.
Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Bournemouth will all tour the United States next summer.