Sports
NRA Presents 7 Point Demand To NFF
The Nigerian Referees Association (NRA) has presented a seven point demand to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
The NRA demands, which were contained in a communique issued to newsmen on Tuesday are Welfare, Indemnities, Sponsorship deal, Membership on NFF board, Training, Discipline and Match appointments.
The NRA frowned at the non-challant posture of the NFF when refrees get injured in the cause of carrying out their duties.
They called for an upward review of indemnities of match officials in line with the economic trends in the country.
“We expect this will lead to peak performance. These indemnities cut across all the leagues,” the communiqué said.
The NRA also felt that as major stakeholders in the football industry, they should be involved in sponsorship deals entered into by the NPL or the NFF to take good care of its members.
“The deal, should include insurance schemes and other packages,” the communiqué said.
The NRA also demanded for the immediate and urgent restoration of their position in the NFF board for effective management of its members.
The communique observed that the elected president of the association as a major stakeholder in the game of football, like the other chairmen or presidents should automatically be admitted as member(s) of the NFF board.
The association regarded training as a very important aspect of members’ development and therefore requested that the NFF or its sponsors to bear the cost of training referees at seminars, workshops, fitness test and conferences.
“This is expected to reduce the financial burden on referees and is equally expected to result in peak performance,” the communiqué added.
The association expressed dismay at the system where NFF communicates directly with individual referees and not through the association, stressing that this smacks off indiscipline in such referees who disregards their council leadership.
The NRA, therefore, requested that all communication with individual referees must henceforth be passed through the national or the state councils to the individual referees.
“This development will act as check on the referees’ attitudes,” it added.
On match appointment, the body requested for equitable sharing to take care of states that sustain the NRA, saying they believed that this would guarantee fairness.
It also urged NFF to use most of the experienced retired referees in the technical aspect of the game as well as the administrative aspects.
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.