Sports
Netherlands supporters Explore Links With S’Africa
Die Kaap is Weer Oranje” (The Cape is orange again) reads a banner hanging in Green Point stadium on Thursday night as thousands of fans clad in orange cheered on the Dutch national team as they took on Cameroon.
It’s a scene reminiscent of the last few days in Cape Town as thousands of Dutch fans took over the city.
The Western Cape and in particular Cape Town and its surrounds have been inextricably linked with Holland since 1652 when traveller Jan Van Riebeeck landed there and founded the Dutch East India Company.
Many streets in the City like Buitengracht and De Waal and towns such as Stellenbosch were named after Dutch settlers who followed him.
And last week the Cape experienced its second Dutch invasion as fans of Die Oranje took the opportunity to revisit the history of the Cape
Members of the Royal Netherlands Football Association Supporter’s Club, dressed in their traditional orange colours, visited a number of Dutch settlements in the city and their world famous travelling campsite “De Oranjecamping” has even settled in the Boland town of Paarl, about one hour from Cape Town.
Jorg Groll, a member of the Dutch supporters club said, “we travel into the city everyday and have visited historical Dutch settlements like the Castle of Good Hope that was built by Dutch in the 17th century. We have also been to the Waterfront.”
Stephanie Breede, from Cape Town but who has a Dutch grandmother, says, “I’m here to catch up with my Dutch roots. This is so nice. It’s like a little Amsterdam. I like the Dutch music and the food is amazing. I’ve also had some lekker (nice) Dutch beer.”
The city of Cape Town also did its bit to make the travelling Dutch fans feel at home.
Organisers at the FIFA Fan Fest had traditional Dutch music and a Dutch master of ceremony to cater for the large “orange army” at the Fan Fest.
“This was done to cater for the large number of International visitors to the city. We wanted to make them feel welcome and give them something they could relate to. Many of the countries who’ve played in Cape Town has had some link with the City in the past and today it was the turn of the Dutch who have such an interesting history with the city,” said Cape Town 2010 spokesperson, Pieter Cronje.
Hawkers along Cape Town’s Fan Walk also did a roaring trade this weekend.
One trader, Steven Arendse said, “this is my most profitable day of the World Cup. I wish the Dutch would play here more often. I’ve sold about 50 orange vuvuzelas, 50 Dutch scarves and 30 orange wigs. Unlike the French and Italian fans I can understand them because Dutch and Afrikaans (one of South Africa’s 11 official languages) are very similar and that makes my sales pitch easier.”
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.