Sports
Gadzama Golf Tournament To Become National Championship
The annual J.K. Gadzama and Partners Golf Tournament will soon become a national championship, its sponsor said at the weekend in Abuja.
Joe Gadzama, an Abuja-based lawyer and golf enthusiast, said at the tee-off of the tournament’s fifth edition that the expansion would help him in further achieving the tournament’s objectives.
Tidesports reports that the tournament is sponsored annually at the IBB Golf and Country Club in Abuja by Gadzama, a former captain of the club.
“Our starting point was five years ago, and like a joke we are now here where the tournament has metamorphosed into a full-blown tournament.
“We are hopeful that this will continue, and even go on in the not-too-distant future into a national championship which will be better organised and with more attraction.
“We hope to have more invited players from all over the country and not just Abuja and its environs. Then we will also have bigger prizes and other gifts and souvenirs to go with it.’’
He noted that the tournament had over the past few years grown tremendously to fulfil the objectives earlier set out for it.
“As a former club captain, somebody who has served in different capacities at this club (IBB Golf and Country Club), I had seen it as imperative of me to sponsor this competition.
“It is not only as a way of making people have an avenue to play a little after some work, or bring people closer to each other, but also as our own way of giving back to the golfing community.
“However, the more important aspect is in fulfilling the ambition and desire to breed young golfers who will take over after we have left the scene in the game.
“So, through this tournament, we are spreading the gospel of catching them young, and preparing those to take the baton from us in the game.’’
The former IBB Golf and Country Club captain expressed delight in the attraction the tournament had been over the years at the club.
“I am quite elated at what we have. It is like when you cook a meal and there are many people to join you in savouring it.
“This is evident in the number of participants in the tournament, in spite of its being a one-day affair.
“ For example, over 200 indicated interest in this year’s edition when we had prepared to have only 160. It is indeed something to make me happy.’’
Tidesports reports that participants in the tournament included Kogi Governor Idris Wada, former Senate President Iyorchia Ayu and the former President of the Lady Golfers Association, Mrs Ngozi Osuhor.
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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