Sports
Nasarawa Stakeholders Label Eagles Late Bloomers
Some Stakeholders and
football fans in Nigeria have expressed confidence in the Nigerian Super Eagles but label them as ‘late bloomers’ who always leave it late before getting the desired result.
They aired their opinions in separate interviews last week.
Football teams across the continent, including the Nigerian Super Eagles are presently engaged in a series of qualifiers for a slot at the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) competition to be held in Morocco.
The Super Eagles, who are grouped in Group A with South Africa, Congo and Sudan, beat the Sudanese 3 goals to 1 to climb to third position on the log with four points.
Former Commissioner for Youth and Sports, in Nasarawa State Mr Godwin Mbatav, said he was optimistic the Super Eagles would win their remaining matches.
He, however, frowned at the manner in which the national side often achieve its desired results.
“The Super Eagles will make it. You saw what they played in Abuja against Sudan. You know they normally wake up at the last minute.
“That is what we are facing in the country right now. We are always used to blooming late, that is the problem.
“You will notice that, at the beginning, they won’t give the competition the seriousness it deserves until when it gets to a situation when they have to win at all costs, then they wake up.
Special Adviser to Governor Umaru Al-Makura on Youth and Sports Development, Mr Silas Agara also expressed confidence in the Eagles.
Agara, however, blamed the football authorities and management of the team for the current situation the Eagles find themselves.
“If we can beat Congo and South Africa, we will qualify, but honestly, I am not happy with the way we do things in the country.
“At this stage, we should have qualified and be using the remaining games as friendlies for our boys but that is not the case.
“Honestly, I blame those handling the boys for the situation we are in. but I have not written the team off in as much as we are coming up late.
“I have not written the team off yet. But, we need to stop this tradition of having the knife on our neck before performing,” he said.
Public Relations Officer of Nasarawa Amazons Football Club, Alhaji Salisu Adamu, expressed disappointment in the Super Eagles inability to demoralise their opponents with early goals.
Adamu, however, expressed confidence that they would qualify for the AFCON 2015.
“The Super Eagles are supposed to go for early goals so as to demoralise their opponents. Look at what happened in Namibia with our girls.
“Almost three minutes, they scored three goals. If they act like that, no matter how strong their opponents are, they will be demoralised.
“See what happened yesterday, because, after the Sudanese equalised, they began to grow in confidence.
“But if we had scored early goals, they would have lost confidence even before the start of the second half.
Lafia resident, Miss Taiwo Ojetaye, said it would take a miracle for the national team side to qualify for the AFCON tournament, blaming the situation on poor preparation and bad start.
“We started very poorly and now it has affected us seriously. If we don’t win our remaining games, I seriously doubt we will make it.
“Now we are left to be playing with very serious pressure on us. All our remaining matches must be won.” she said.
a football enthusiast in Lafia, Mr Abdul Ahmed, queried the attitude of the team and called for its total reshuffle for optimal results.
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.