Sports
Give Referees Free Hands – Bebeto
Football Club Owners and their officials at all levels in Nigeria have been charged to give Referees free hands to officiate in football matches so as to ensure steady sports development in the country. Giving the charge in a lecture on “Law 11” (Offside) he delivered as part of activities marking 2009 SWAN Week, Enugu state chapter, a FIFA and Premier League Badge referee, Mr. Udennaka A . N. C. Bebeto , also urged security operatives to always live up to expectation in ensuring the safety of lives of the players and match officials respectively. Bebeto called on his professional colleagues to be courageous enough during their matches, saying, ”The misinterpretation of this Law by some referees, are cause by threat to their lives by the fans/club officials, wrong positioning during the matches, not being physically fit for the match or having sympathy for one of the teams to stating that this has been responsible for teams to win matches they ought not to have won. He noted the need for referees and their assistants to study the law, and recent rules in football. Continuing, Mr. Bebeto further said : “ This law, which is one of the seventeen laws of the game of football classified under the technical law is regarded by many as the most controversial law of all which has sent many to their graves, hospitals as well as created permanent enemity among football fans.” Bebeto made it clear that referees in Nigeria are always under pressure even from state governors and private football owners who promise them (referees) heaven on in other to secure assistance for their clubs to win matches. He commended the leadership of SWAN Enugu state chapter for organizing the lecture, and urged journalists to report objectively instead of “crucifying the referees when they make human errors.” Other resource persons that presented papers aimed at to updating the knowledge of SWAM/ members on the laws of the game included former sports editor of NTA Enugu, Mr. Okey Anyichie and the national vice chairman of SWAN, South East, Mr. Foster Chime.
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.