Sports
Response Of Foreign Athletes Excites Mountain Race Organisers
Organisers of the 7th Obudu International Mountain Race say they have received “significant interest from foreign athletes’’.
Mr Patrick Ugbe, the Cross River Commissioner for Information and Orientation, told The Tidesports in Calabar that they were willing to come and compete.
Ugbe said that no fewer than 30 elite athletes from outside Nigeria had indicated interest to participate, while the list of local athletes would be fine-tuned by the LOC and the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN).
He added that the organisers were expecting between 150 and 200 athletes for this year’s race.
Ugbe, who is also the Media Officer for the race, said the defending men and women champions, Abebe Dinkesa and Meselech Haileyesus respectively, had confirmed their participation in the race.
According to him, the race will hold on Nov. 26 at the Ranch Resort in Obanliku Local Government Area of Cross River.
Dinkesa, an Ethiopian, set the first race record of 41 mins 45 secs in the event in 2008 and became a two-time winner in 2010
“Abebe has confirmed that he will be coming to defend his title when Gov. Liyel Imoke of Cross River flags off the race at the Obudu Ranch Resort.
“Dinkesa’s compatriot, Haileyesus, the defending women champion, has also confirmed that she will be at the Obudu Ranch for this year’s race.’’
He said the race organisers expected that Nigerians would take the star price of 50,000 dollars in the male and the female categories each this year.
“Many Nigerian runners are well prepared to run for the star price. We believe that because this race has been on for seven years now it is about time that Nigerians rise to take the star price.
“And we believe that they have been training, especially from the catchment areas where the mountain is.
“A lot of young people have been training seriously for this year and we believe that they will make an impact.”
The race is organised by the AFN and sponsored by the Cross River Government.
It enjoys support from the African Athletics Confederation (CAA), the World Mountain Running Association, (WMRA) and the International Association of Athletics Federations
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.