Sports
Kwara To Build Golf, Table Tennis Academies
The Kwara State Government is to establish Golf and Table Tennis Academies to train youth to become top players and champions in national and international competitions.
The State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed disclosed this in Ilorin, while speaking with newsmen shortly after he performed the ceremonial tee off at the Kwara at 50 Open Golf Championship, holding at Ilorin Golf Course.
Governor Ahmed said the idea of establishing the two Academies in the state is still on course and promised that the idea would be taken to fruition level to support Kwara Football Academy.
He noted that the government is poised to making the Ilorin Golf Course a centre of attraction and destination for Golfers across the country.
The Governor maintained that the Course would continue to stand top among the comity of courses in Nigeria and West Africa sub-region.
Governor Ahmed encouraged Nigerians to develop interest in the game of Golf, saying that Golf is not an elitist game as being insinuated in some quarters.
Also speaking, the State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Alhaji Bolakale Ayo said the government would not relent in encouraging sports development in the state, particularly at grassroots level.
Earlier in his remarks, the Captain of Ilorin Golf Course, Layi Maliki had disclosed that the Championship and the Ibadan Open Championship would serve as qualifiers for an international championship billed for Equatorial Guinea. Maliki posited that the competition is to be managed by Sluqfort Nigeria Ltd, Nigeria’s premier promoters,organisers and consultants on golf tournaments. Maliki disclosed that the competition is sponsored by Bua Nigeria Ltd, a business outfit involved in farm produce such as Rice and Sugar Cane plantation in Lafiagi, Kwara.
Kunle Oyinloye, MD, Bank of Infrastructure, Sterling Bank Plc, Lanre Shittu Motors, Yolas Consultants, Chelfom Ltd, Pyramid Ltd, Harmony Holdings, Kwara Internal Revenue Service ICMA Professional Services and Duravil Engineering Ltd are some of the Co- sponsors of the event.
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.