Sports
Drogba Tips Super Eagles For AFCON Title
The Super Eagles of Nigeria, winner of the quarter-final match against Cote d’Ivoire at the ongoing 2013 AFCON in South Africa, have emerged the new favourites for the cup.
Tidesports gathered that their new status as the favourites has also added new pressure on them, as they are no longer considered the Cinderella team of the tournament.
Their foes from the semi-final stage are now expected to face them with additional strength and determination.
In an apparent show of good sportsmanship, Cote d’Ivoire’s skipper, the iconic Didier Drogba, was in the Nigerian dressing room moments after his side was shoved away from the competition by the less-fancied Super Eagles.
According to the Media Officer of the Super Eagles, Ben Alaiya, Drogba is convinced that the Super Eagles will win the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
According to him, Drogba stormed the dressing room of the Eagles after Sunday’s match to felicitate with his former club teammates, John Mikel Obi and Victor Moses, whom he said, are being missed badly by Chelsea of England.
“You guys should go and win the cup because you have shown the character of a champion,” Alaiya quotes Drogba as saying in impeccable English, as he hugged Coach Stephen Keshi, Mikel and Moses.
Players of the national team have also vowed to ensure that President Goodluck Jonathan is present at the final of the tournament at the weekend by winning the semi-final game against Mali.
Team Skipper Joseph Yobo said after the win over Cote d’Ivoire, that the players resolved to fulfill the promise they made to Mr President when he visited the team in training in Abuja last year.
Yobo said he was also delighted to learn that business mogul, Aliko Dangote, was expected to cheer the national team in the final and urged all others to join in supporting the Eagles ahead of the semi-final clash against Mali.
Earlier, the Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, S.S. Yusuf, reiterated the desire of Mr President to be physically present at the final of the competition, if the Eagles qualified for the final on Wednesday.
“The president watched you and was excited that you showed true character of Nigerian and his Private Secretary just called to say you should just fulfill your own part of the bargain and leave the rest to Mr president.
Yusuf also said that his Zambian counterpart in South Africa had tipped the Eagles to be African champions and had offered to plan a good hand-over ceremony to Nigeria.
“With what we have seen of this team, we are sure you will not disappoint Nigerians on Wednesday and even in the final,” he said.
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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