Sports
African Challengers In Tough World Cup Draws
With six representatives, including South Africa which qualified as host, expectations prior to last Friday’s draws were high regarding the performance of African teams in South Africa 2010.
A heavy dose of reality, however, crashed down upon African hopes of a maiden FIFA World Cup title after the draw pitched the continent’s most-fancied teams in challenging groups.
Before the draws, through the qualifiers for 2010 Mundial, most arguments were centred on Ghana and Ivory Coast leading Africa’s onslaught in South Africa.
For Nigeria given their on impressive and unconvincing run through the qualifiers, despite their unbeaten record little attention was given to the Super Eagles.
Following the grouping, however, the largest black-African country will surely be happy with their Group B opponents Argentina, South Korea and Greece, who they defeated 2-0 when both countries met at USA ’94.
Nigeria had also had the upper hand in their meetings with Asian teams, so they know that the only team they should be bothered about is the Argentines who came off 2-1 victorious in their tie at USA ’94.
The pre-draw feelings seemed to have turned around for the Black Stars of Ghana who landed among Germany, Australia and Serbia in Group D, while the Ivorians will face Brazil, Portugal and North Korea in Group G.
There is thus the possibility that two of Africa’s leading football countries may take exit after the first round of matches.
The Ivorian and Ghanaian misfortune, as it were, means that the need to start looking for another potential African winner is inevitable, and Samuel Eto’o’s Cameroon immediately comes to mind.
The 1990 World Cup quarter finalists will fancy their chances against Denmark, Japan and Netherlands, and should they miraculously top Group E, they stand the chance of having an appealing second round tie with any of New Zealand, Paraguay or Slovakia.
Making up the numbers are Algeria, and of course hosts South Africa.
English eyes will be focusing on Algeria and January’s Nations Cup participation in war-ravaged Angola is going to be the subject of close scrutiny.
In truth, the Fennecs are a limited side, short on quality up front, and with only the lively Karim Ziani, buzzing around with any danger.
Last but by no means least, the second round hopes of hosts South Africa dimmed ever more when drawing two former World Cup winners France and Uruguay – and the experienced Mexicans.
Bafana Bafana, the lowest ranked team in the tournament, have scored once in seven games, won once in 11 games, but must now overcome three sides in Fifa’s top 20.
Yet it’s a fallacy to say the World Cup will be over if Carlos Alberto Parreira’s men crash out early because football fans in the host country have long been salivating at the thought of seeing their favourite players in South African stadiums.
With the draw having shown the planet what South Africa can do, overjoyed locals are finally realising that all talk of Plan B is now truly obsolete.
“The world is watching us and the world is coming,” Capetonians screamed with delight. And if Friday’s festival in the Mother City is anything to go by – street performers, oversized puppets and endless vuvuzelas to the fore – the 2010 World Cup is going to be as colourful as it is memorable.
Hon Dike who spoke with sports journalists shortly after the flag off the 2024 edition of Chairman’s Football Unity Tournament at Botem Tai in Tai LGA, said the tournament is an annual event to promote peace and unity in Tai as well identify budding talents in the area for global competition.
The opening ceremony of the tournament was more like a carnival was witnessed by huge crowd including prominent indigenes of Ogoni Kingdom, sports lovers and people from all works of life.
The LGA boss revealed that special sports committee will be setup in the area to work out modalities to strengthen sports development in Tai.
He advised the participants in the tournament from various wards in the LGA to play the game by the rules and conduct themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner and use the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Hon Dike further disclosed that his administration will also give priority attention to skills development among the youth to enhance their human capacity and promote enterprise development in the area.
Earlier in his address the Chairman of Tai LGA Football Council, Elder Wisdom Gorgor said the annual football competition has been a unifying factor in Tai LGA that need to be sustained to forge more unity and development in the area.
He urged the participants to see the competition as an opportunity to embrace football as a full career and earn sustainable livelihood.
Elder Gorgor who commended the Chairman of Tai LGA, Hon Dike for his visionary leadership and tremendous development achievements recorded in the LGA under his administration, appealled to the Chairman to build a Mini Sports Stadium in the area to promote sporting activities.
The training was held at the Sani Abacha Stadium Indoor Basketball Court in Kano last Saturday.
According to the Vice President and Head of NBA Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu, the event was part of the league’s commitment to growing broader basketball ecosystem in Nigeria and making the game more accessible across the country.
“Our first Jr. NBA clinic in Kano speaks to our commitment to growing the game in Nigeria and creating more opportunities for boys and girls to learn and play the game,” Abudu said.
“Nigeria has a rich basketball history and abundance of talent, which is evident every time you watch an NBA game. We look forward to continuing to engage with basketball stakeholders, business leaders and members of the community to further the game’s reach and impact on young people around the country,” she added.
The 2024 basketball initiative clinics of NBA Nigeria also included the league’s inaugural Jr. NBA elite camp for 150 boys and age-16 girls held at the American International School in Lagos in July.
Others include the NBA’s building of 1,000 courts in Africa over the next decade, Nigeria’s Festival Coins and Salubata named the top two winning businesses at NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator’s inaugural Demo Day in New York City held last September, and the third edition of “NBA Meets Art,” a curated installation celebrating basketball through the lens of Nigerian art and culture as part of West Africa’s premier art fair Art X Lagos, held in November.
Central to this vision is the federation’s investment in capacity building, evident in the just-concluded one-week Level 1 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Coaching Course, which marked a significant milestone for Nigerian badminton.
Held in Abuja, the course brought together 13 young coaches from across Nigeria. The last time such a course was held in the country was in 2017, making this a historic and transformative step.
The training was facilitated by the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) in partnership with the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) and conducted by Dr. Ahmed Radah, the BCA Development Manager.
Radah, impressed by the talent he witnessed, praised Nigeria’s potential.
“Nigeria is blessed with immense talent and a strong badminton tradition. I believe this country has what it takes to dominate on the global stage,” he remarked.