Connect with us

Sports

Ex-boxing Scribe Laments Nigeria’s Poor Outing In India

Published

on

Nigeria’s poor outing in boxing at the ongoing 29th Commonwealth Games in New Delhi is due to poor preparation by the Nigeria Boxing Federation (NBF), a sports administrator said.

In an interview with Tidesports source in Lagos, Trigo Egbegi, a former Secretary of the Nigeria Boxing Board of Control (NBB of C), said the NBF board appeared ignorant about how to develop amateur boxing.

Egbegi noted that the failure of any of the five boxers in the competition to advance to the crucial stages of the tournament in New Delhi confirmed the poor state of the sport in Nigeria.

He said the poor performance of the boxing team reflected the acrimony in the federation, which led to the dropping of the federation’s head coach, Obisia Nwakpa.

Nwakpa was neither involved in the boxers’ preparation nor accompanied the team to the games.

“Our preparation for the games was zero, the boxers we took to the games did not have the requisite experience for a competition of the magnitude of the Commonwealth Games,” Egbegi said.

“There was no activity lined up locally or internationally to fine-tune the boxers; if such had been done, the boxers would have gained the necessary experience and exposure,” he said.

Egbegi said if the boxers had taken part in international competitions prior to the games, they would have tested their abilities against foreign opponents.

He expressed concern over the decline of the sport in the country, noting that Nigeria recorded its best outing in boxing at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.

It would be recalled that Nigeria’s Richard Igbinegbu and David Izonritei won silver medals in the heavyweight and super heavyweight categories respectively at the Barcelona Games.

Duncan Dokiwari won Nigeria’s last Olympics medal at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, where he clinched a bronze medal in the super heavyweight category.

“I wonder what the people at the NBF are doing about the declining state of boxing.

“It is either a case of lack of provision for training tours or somebody is sitting on funds meant for such purpose,” Egbegi added.

Continue Reading

Sports

Kenya Keeper Under Investigation For Match-Fixing

Published

on

The Kenya Football Federation (FKF) has launched an investigation into allegations that goalkeeper Patrick Matasi has been involved in match manipulation.
The 37-year-old, who plays for Kenyan Premier League club Kakamega Homeboyz, has won over 30 international caps.
His most recent appearance for the Harambee Stars came in October last year, in a qualifier for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
An undated video posted online appears to show Matasi agreeing a deal to influence the outcome of a league game.
“I have spoken to him. He was also shocked at what he was seeing in the video and he told me he doesn’t know about match-fixing,” Homeboyz owner Cleophas Shimanyula told Tidesports source .
The FKF said it would work with world governing body Fifa, the Confederation of African Football and other “relevant authorities” during its investigation.
“We reaffirm our zero-tolerance policy on match manipulation and are committed to safeguarding the credibility of our competitions,” a statement added.
“This investigation will adhere to FKF’s anti-match manipulation regulations and Fifa guidelines, ensuring a fair, transparent, and thorough process.
“The rights of the player and his club will be respected, and appropriate action will be taken based on the findings.”
Shimanyula backed Matasi, pointing to the fact the veteran has kept three clean sheets in as many games since joining the club a month ago.
“When we watched this video, we found that Matasi has not wronged the club,” he said.
“In a video there can misinterpretations and false narratives and we cannot trust everything.
“He will keep playing for us because there’s no wrongdoing on his part as far as we are concerned – unless there’s evidence or the FKF writes to us to say they are suspecting the player of some wrongdoing.
“He is innocent until proven guilty and then we will act.”
The FKF has called on anyone with credible information to assist its investigation, with any reports to be handled with strict confidentiality.
Shimanyula also challenged the Kenyan footballing community to provide evidence against Matasi.
“Kakamega Homeboyz is against any form of match manipulation,” he said.

Continue Reading

Sports

UEFA Probes Real Players Over Indecent Conduct

Published

on

Uefa has opened an investigation into allegations of indecent conduct by four Real Madrid players during their Champions League last-16 win against Atletico Madrid.
Antonio Rudiger, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Dani Ceballos allegedly made gestures towards the home fans after Real Madrid beat their city rivals on penalties to book their place in the quarter-finals.
TV pictures showed German defender Rudiger appearing to make a throat-slitting motion, apparently towards the crowd after the shootout victory, while Mbappe was shown seemingly making a crotch-grabbing gesture.
Spanish media said Atletico reported the actions to Uefa last week.
The players could be at risk of suspension but there is no guarantee the case will be heard before their quarter-final with Arsenal. The first leg for that tie is at Emirates Stadium on 8 April and the return leg a week later.
In a statement, Uefa said: “[An] ethics and disciplinary inspector has been appointed to investigate allegations of indecent conduct” made by the four Real Madrid players.
“Further information regarding this matter will be made available in due course.”

Continue Reading

Sports

EPL To Have Two Transfer Windows

Published

on

The Premier League has announced it will have two transfer windows this summer to allow Manchester City and Chelsea to sign players before the Club World Cup.
The window will open between Sunday, 1 June and Tuesday, 10 June, then close for five days before running again from Monday, 16 June until Monday, 1 September.
This summer features the first expanded Fifa Club World Cup, which involves 32 teams and adopts the format of the regular World Cup of the past few years.
Chelsea and Manchester City are the Premier League teams in the tournament which takes place in the United States from Sunday, 15 June.
But the Premier League can only have 12 weeks of a summer window – hence the five-day break in order to run it until 1 September.
Fifa has allowed new players to be registered for the Club World Cup from 1-10 June, and again from 27 June-3 July for the knockout stage.
This is happening firstly, to bring order to the global registration system, world governing body Fifa only permits the transfer window in any individual country to be open for 16 weeks in any calendar year.
In Europe, precedent dictates four of those weeks are for the winter window, leaving 12 in the summer. In 2024, the Premier League transfer window opened on 14 June and closed on 30 August.

Continue Reading

Trending