Sports
AFCON: Adamu Lauds Participating Teams’ Increase
Former CAF Executive Committee member, Amos Adamu, last Sunday said increasing the number of participating teams at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) would be beneficial to more countries.
Adamu told newsmen in Lagos that the increase would give room for more countries to have the experience of what the competition was all about.
Tidesports source reports that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) had agreed to a proposal to expand the AFCON from 16 teams to 24 from the 2019 edition in Cameroon.
“It is a very laudable innovation. They (CAF) have given good consideration to other African countries which are just building their national teams.
“By so doing, we will have other African countries being given the opportunity to showcase their players’ talent during this competition.
“Although this decision will increase the number of weeks being used in staging the tournament, but I think the overall effect of it is going to be beneficial at the end of the day,” Adamu said.
CAF had also announced the decision to move the Nations Cup from the January to February period to the June to July period.
The decision has been seen as a result of the clash in timing between the tournament and the peak period many league competitions on the international scene.
The change was one of many made by the CAF executive committee at its meeting in Rabat, Morocco last week.
The meeting had followed a two-day symposium organised by CAF to discuss the state of African football.
On the decision to change the date, Adamu who is a former Director-General of the defunct National Sports Commission (NSC) said the change in date was long overdue.
“We have been at this for a very long time. It is better this way, because we understand that the timing clashes with the leagues in Europe, where most of our players ply their trade abroad.
“Now, since the English Premier League which is the major one with our players is usually May to June, we won’t have any more problem as regards the release of players billed to feature in the tournament.
“Even though it may still take its toll on the players, since it is supposed to be the time for them to rest after the league season, but it is the best we can accommodate for now.
“On this, I say `congratulations’ to the executive committee for taking this firm stand.”
Tidesports source also gathered reports that the shift in date is expected to enhance European clubs’ release of their African players for the tournament since their league seasons end around May.
The first expansion of AFCON was from eight to 12 in 1992 on an experimental basis in January then.
The January/February calendar was adopted at the 1996 tournament in South Africa.
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.