Sports
Super Eagles Will Fly High Again – Siasia
New Super Eagles’ head coach Samson Siasia has promised to bring about a new Super Eagles team that would satisfy the yearnings of all Nigerians.
Speaking after being unveiled by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) as the coach to take full charge of the team, Siasia said he was going to work hard to weave a new team.
“I promise to do everything humanly possible to make sure the Super Eagles fly. This Super Eagles must fly again,’’ he said.
Siasia was officially presented as the new Eagles head coach at an unveiling ceremony held at the Abuja National Stadium.
The former Eagles’ striker, however, urged Nigerian football stakeholders against undue optimism about the team, saying the team’s success was a collective responsibility.
“It is now no longer a matter of whether we are sure Siasia is the right coach for the team, he has been appointed and he is now the coach. The issue is that we all have to work.
“We have to work for the team and Nigeria to succeed, and if we don’t succeed, it is not going to be Siasia alone, but Nigeria as a whole,’’ he said.
Siasia acknowledged the overwhelming support of Nigerians he received on the way to being appointed, and said he was grateful to all.
“I just want to thank God for all this, and many others, especially all the players along the way, because I won’t have been here without all your support.
“This has taken so long. It has been dragging for too long, but today I am grateful to God for allowing this day to come, and I thank all Nigerians for all their belief, support and prayers,’’ he said.
Speaking earlier on the occasion, Sports Minister/Chairman, National Sports Commission (NSC), Alhaji Isa Bio, had praised the NFF for expediting action on the issue of appointing a head coach for the Super Eagles.
“We at the NSC are very pleased with what the NFF is doing, and the way they have sped up action on appointing a coach for the Eagles, and I see Siasia enjoying a good relationship with the federation,’’ he said.
Bio, who was represented by the NSC Director-General, Dr Patrick Ekeji, remarked that Siasia’s appointment was well deserved based on his pedigree and achievements.
“He deserves it based on what we all know, having brought up good teams that culminated in our outing at the Beijing Olympics in China in 2008, and it is just logical that he should handle same players at the senior team.
“But God’s time is always the best, and it is Providence that has made it this way,’’ he said.
While presenting Siasia, NFF President Aminu Maigari had said the coach’s appointment was a way of delivering on a promise.
“We gave a promise to Nigerians on this a few months ago when we came in, and this explains the speedy manner in getting a coach for the Eagles. It is an indication of our desire to uplift our football,’’ he said.
Maigari said the NFF had found Siasia to be competent and desirous of leading the team to greater heights, and promised him a free hand to operate.
“His duties have been well captured in the contract papers he is signing today, and we won’t be disclosing the details because of the confidentiality clause in it.
“But it is a four-year contract renewable upon satisfactory performances. It is performance-based, and Siasia has the liberty of picking his immediate assistant, while the NFF will pick the other backroom staff,’’ he said.
Maigari, however, told Siasia on the need to “hit the ground running’’ because of the enormity of his assignment.
“You must hit the ground running, as both the NFF and the generality of Nigerians want immediate results. Your choice is good and beautiful, especially as it is the choice of most Nigerians.
“I, however, appeal to all Nigerians to give Siasia all the desired support for him to perform. We have confidence that he can do it, but he still needs the support of all to do that,’’ he said.
Siasia’s appointment took effect from December 1.
Nigeria’s world record holder, Tobi Amusan, continued her impressive 2026 season by winning gold and setting a new meet record in the women’s 100 metres hurdles at the New Taipei Athletics Open in Taiwan on Saturday, Tidesports source reports.
Amusan crossed the line in 12.72 seconds despite running against a slight headwind of -0.3 metres per second, finishing well clear of Chinese Taipei’s Bo Ya Zhang, who took silver in 13.17 seconds.
The performance erased the previous meet record and underlined the 29-year-old’s consistency as one of the dominant forces in women’s hurdling on the international circuit.
The New Taipei victory adds to a string of strong outings this season for the Nigerian. Earlier in the campaign, Amusan claimed her first Diamond League win of the season in Rabat, Morocco, clocking 12.28 seconds to break her own meeting record of 12.45 seconds set in 2025.
That time equalled her season’s best, which she had also posted at the Xiamen Diamond League.
Before Rabat, Amusan had recorded a third-place finish in Shanghai with 12.41 seconds and a runner-up spot in Xiamen with 12.28 seconds, where she was edged by American hurdler Masai Russell.
The season has also included a continental triumph, with Amusan winning gold in the women’s 100 metres hurdles at the African Championships in Accra, helping Nigeria to its first gold medal of the competition.
Her 12.28-second performance remains among the fastest times globally this year and ranks as one of the finest of her distinguished career.
Only her world record of 12.12 seconds, set at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, and the 12.24 seconds she clocked at the Meeting de Paris last year stand above it in her personal all-time list.
A three-time Diamond League champion, Amusan will be looking to reclaim the overall title this season while also preparing for the Diamond League finale and the Commonwealth Games later in the year.
4th
Super Falcons Must Improve- Coach Madugu
Super Falcons head coach Justin Madugu has offered an honest assessment of his side’s performance after Nigeria defeated Senegal 2-1 in an international friendly at the Remo Stars Sports Complex in Ikenne, admitting there is still considerable work ahead of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, Tidesports source reports.
Goals from Asisat Oshoala, who converted a first-half penalty, and Toni Payne gave Nigeria a commanding lead before Sokhna Nogaye’s long-range effort in the 86th minute reduced the deficit and set up a tense finish.
While the nine-time African champions secured the result and met their primary objective of assessing squad depth, Madugu acknowledged the performance was not without its shortcomings.
“It’s a good result, and naturally, when you play any game, you always want to win. This is a preparatory game, and the aim is to assess our readiness, test the strategies we want to execute in the competition, and give players the opportunity to showcase what they can do to provide us with more options,” Madugu told official54fx.
“These are the matches we use to identify which players are fully ready for the WAFCON. It was not a bad game for us, but as you know, there is always room for improvement. Yes, we did well, but we know there is still a lot of work to be done.”
The two sides meet again on Monday, June 8, in the second match of their friendly double-header as both nations continue their WAFCON preparations.
As Nigeria buries one of its legendary football heroes this weekend, the spirit of another late football hero of the same generation is being evoked.
As the body of late Henry Onyenmanze Nwosu, MON, is being committed to mother-earth on Saturday, June 6, in Naze, near Owerri, on
Sunday, June 7, 2026, the first in a two-part series of activities in remembrance of late Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, MFR, the one referred to as ‘the Big Boss’ by the football faithful, will take place in Lagos at the 10th Memorial Lecture organised yearly by a Foundation established by his friends and family at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Lagos.
Also, on July 28, 2026, exactly a day to the date (July 29) that Stephen Keshi died 10 years ago in 2016, his contributions as a sports diplomat within Nigeria’s strategic foreign affairs will be showcased and acknowledged. His name will be inscribed in gold letters on ‘the NIIA Sports Diplomacy Wall of Fame’ in everlasting memory of the great Nigerian football hero and patriot.
His name will be an addition to those of 69 other sporting heroes from Nigeria’s history that have already been found deserving of a place on famed Wall.
The ‘NIIA Sports Diplomacy Wall of Fame’ is a national monument established by an agency of the federal government of Nigeria, the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, to immortalize Nigerians that are known to have made major contributions to Nigeria’s international politics and diplomacy objectives through sports.
On July 28th 2026, it will be 3 years since the edifice was erected within the premises of NIIA in Lagos sponsored by Dr.Allen Onyema and his AirPeace Airline. It is an environment of water fountains, a beautiful garden and a Black marbled-wall on which the names of Nigerian sports heroes considered deserving are inscribed.
The existing list will now be extended to include the name of former Nigerian Green Eagles Captain and national team Coach, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, CON. He has been considered worthy, and his contributions identified, justified and approved by the NIIA.
The extension of the space on the wall to accommodate his name, plus the small ceremony to be done in his honour, will be courtesy of Dr. Allen Onyema and AirPeace Airline.
Stephen Keshi played and captained the Nigerian national football team. He also coached and managed the National team of Nigeria to an African Cup victory, qualified and took another African national team, Togo, to the FIFA World Cup, personally opened the way and assisted a whole generation of Nigerian and other African football players in the transition to professional ranks in Europe.
Meanwhile, inside the sports diplomacy department of the NIIA, a few other Nigerians athletes are being considered for a place on the wall in the very near future. They include world record breaker and holder,Tobi Amusan; first and only female Olympic Gold medalist, Chioma Ajunwa, and the Atlanta ‘96 ‘Dream Team’ and Olympic Gold medalists.
The honours list is not based on sports achievements only, but on impact in the international diplomatic and political space in conformity with Nigeria’s foreign affairs agenda and objectives!
I remember the great ‘Stefan’, as I called Keshi, very fondly. He called me ‘Segunda Fero’!
Former national 400m hurdles champion, Olympian Henry Amike, has called for greater investment in athletics, athletes’ welfare, training and competitions to restore Nigeria’s competitiveness in track and field events.
Amike who spoke in Abuja Thursday said the pace of development in Nigerian athletics has fallen short of expectations despite the achievements recorded by previous generations of athletes.
“We expected that after we left the scene, people would take over immediately, but it has taken almost 40 years before things like this are coming up. We are not happy with what we have seen in Nigerian track and field,” he said.
He said that their technical expertise and experience could contribute significantly to policy formulation and institutional reforms within the sector.
Amike, one of Nigeria’s most accomplished track and field athletes, represented the country at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.
He competed in the 400 metres hurdles and 4×400 metres relay events.
The Olympian’s most notable international achievement came at the 1987 World Championships in Rome, where he became the first Nigerian athlete to qualify for the final of the men’s 400m hurdles. His personal best time of 48.50 seconds stood as Nigeria’s national record for 35 years before it was broken in 2022.
Amike also won medals at continental competitions and was widely regarded as one of Africa’s leading hurdlers during the 1980s, contributing to Nigeria’s growing profile in international athletics.
Amike, who served as a legislative assistant to the speaker of the House of Representatives, has confirmed his intention to contest the Lagos West Senatorial District seat in 2027.
According to him, his political agenda will focus on youth empowerment, sports development, education and broader socio-economic issues affecting residents of the senatorial district.
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