Sports
Ex-International Reaches Out To Grassroots Player
A former Super Eagles
player, Mr. Furo Iyenemi, has donated football kits to the organisers of the Open Match competition at Number Six-Field Mini Stadium in Port Harcourt Township.
Making the presentation on Sunday, Rivers State born ex-international said that the little gesture was in appreciation of that the state had done for him and an attempt to reciprocate that gesture to the up-coming youths, who are interested in the game.
“I think football has helped me a lot, to move from one state to another, from the youth level to national and international levels. So now that I have retired after some achievements, I feel it is time to give back to the youths so that people can follow our footsteps.”
“I want people to follow this noble profession which one can make a living from,” Furo emphasised
The Okrika born footballer, however, stated that one of his reasons of coming back home was as a result of his interest in opening a football academy and how he can pick some grassroot players to Europe for better opportunities.
According to him, the Furo Football Academy was formed in 2008 in Europe (Belgium) for the purpose of recruiting young players from the grassroots and giving them the opportunity of developing into professionals within and outside the country.
He also said that his coming home was to embark on this project here in Rivers State. The academy is scheduled to begin a one week trial/screening at the College of Arts and Science, Rumuola, between 22nd and 28th of this month, and the lucky ones would be taken to Europe for direct trials.
In response to the presentation of football kits, the organiser of the Open Match tourney, Mr. Tamuno-Opubo Amina thanked him for the kind gesure and added that if others could have such a dream the problem of youth restiveness in the society would be drastically reduced.
Gold Monday
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.
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