Sports
New Super Falcons List Excites Fans
Football fans yesterday commended Super Falcons Coach, Eucharia Uche, for including 26 home-based players in the 32 players she invited for the August 28, 2012 Olympics qualifier against the Lionesses of Cameroon in Abuja.
Tidesports reports that the players, including six foreign-based, began training in Abuja on Monday for the first leg of the national assignment.
The President, Female Football Interest Group (FFIG), Henrietta Ukaigwe, lauded the Super Falcons list, saying it has gien the home-based players opportunity to show their talents.
Ukaigwe urged the coach to start grooming them early for the London 2012 Olympic Games through international friendly matches.
“ The home-based players should be groomed properly through international friendly matches to ensure they blend when they qualify for the Olympics,’’ Ukaigwe said.
She also commended the early camping of the girls and expressed optimism that Nigeria would do well against Cameroon in the qualifier.
Former Super Falcons player, Gift Sowemimo, told newsmen that the team list had young players who had been monitored in the Nigeria Women Premier League (NWPL).
She said the 26 players were talented, adding that it was an opportunity for them to show that women football was still vibrant in Nigeria.
Sowemimo advised the team not to underrate the Lionesses.
“The Super Falcons should draw from the lesson learnt at the All Africa Games qualifiers against Ghana and ensure that the Olympics ticket does not elude Nigeria,’’ she said.
The ex-player said early preparation would help the players to excel and that the matches should be taken seriously to ensure their success at the Olympics.
Rolandson Odeh, President, Amalgamation of Nigerian Female Football Coaches Association, said that the call up gave the home-based players the opportunity to display their skills.
“This is the right step at the right time. With the inclusion of the home-based players, we will have a formidable national team “The foreign-based players’ inclusion has not really been justified because they usually find it difficult to blend with the local ones. “We have been clamouring for the use of local players in prosecuting matches. The list is good,’’ Odeh said.
The list has Perpetua Nkwocha, Emueje Ogbigbevba, Rita Chikwelu, Onome Ebi, Helen Ukaonu, Faith Ikidi, Precious Dede, Tochukwu Oluehi, Ebubeleye White, Osinachi Ohale, Ebere Orji and Stella Mbachu.
Others are Desire Oparanozie, Francesca Ordega, Rebecca Kalu, Esther Sunday, Tawa Ishola, Blessing Edoho, Josephine Chukwunonye, Immense Aighewi, Joy Jegede and Gloria Ofoegbu.
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.