Sports
“Nigeria’s basketball has suffered 10 months of painful distractions” – Musa Kida
Do you love basketball but are worried just where Nigerian basketball is headed to in the recent past? Well, you aren’t alone.
Musa Kida, the president of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF) expressed a grim state of basketball that Nigeria has gone through. He was expressing his opinions while he hosted the attendees of the NBBF 2018 Stakeholders Meeting at the Savannah Conference. The conference was held in Abuja on Friday at the auditorium of the National Institute Sports.
The fans of the game were just waiting to hear this as they have full support for their team and want to bet on local Nigerian basketball now with Betway online.
He spoke about the crisis regarding the leadership which was plaguing the board and hindering the growth of basketball in the nation. He said the Nigeria’s basketball had to face a painful time for the last 10 months. He said that they would have been able to do more if all the stakeholders in the game were able to express themselves in one voice. But his post and the work have not been to the mark and could have made much more progress if they didn’t have to face the distractions.
He also expressed his regrets on other facts but also said they are going to work harmoniously for the improvement of basketball.
The Other Things to Note
Nigerian basketball has had its periods of glory and fans would want the team to bounce back and perform better.
Kida, for instance, expressed his regret that the policy thrusts that were required to unite all the stakeholders together had eluded him since the time he had become the president of the board. He said the he felt personally responsible as all the stakeholders couldn’t be united under a single umbrella which would have enabled much more improvements.
How Can We Make Nigerian Basbetball Better?
The problem seems to be in the way the sports institution is being run in the country when it comes to basketball. Basketball fans deserve better and while you may think that all is lost, it may not be necessarily so.
Kida did have a few worlds of encouragement, when he said he is going to work with all the stakeholders for the betterment of the game if the sentiments are set aside. He didn’t want to make any separation between them and us- he was all in to join his hands with all the stakeholders and take back Nigeria basketball to the level it deserves.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the meeting in Abuja was attended by the NBBF stakeholders to tackle the northern structural demarcation which was called the Savannah Conference. There was a similar kind of meeting held on May 16 at Lagos which had participants coming from the Atlantic Conference. The president was ready to consider both the meetings as historic as such meetings were never held in both conferences which will now bring a greater participation from everyone.
The Kenya Football Federation (FKF) has launched an investigation into allegations that goalkeeper Patrick Matasi has been involved in match manipulation.
The 37-year-old, who plays for Kenyan Premier League club Kakamega Homeboyz, has won over 30 international caps.
His most recent appearance for the Harambee Stars came in October last year, in a qualifier for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
An undated video posted online appears to show Matasi agreeing a deal to influence the outcome of a league game.
“I have spoken to him. He was also shocked at what he was seeing in the video and he told me he doesn’t know about match-fixing,” Homeboyz owner Cleophas Shimanyula told Tidesports source .
The FKF said it would work with world governing body Fifa, the Confederation of African Football and other “relevant authorities” during its investigation.
“We reaffirm our zero-tolerance policy on match manipulation and are committed to safeguarding the credibility of our competitions,” a statement added.
“This investigation will adhere to FKF’s anti-match manipulation regulations and Fifa guidelines, ensuring a fair, transparent, and thorough process.
“The rights of the player and his club will be respected, and appropriate action will be taken based on the findings.”
Shimanyula backed Matasi, pointing to the fact the veteran has kept three clean sheets in as many games since joining the club a month ago.
“When we watched this video, we found that Matasi has not wronged the club,” he said.
“In a video there can misinterpretations and false narratives and we cannot trust everything.
“He will keep playing for us because there’s no wrongdoing on his part as far as we are concerned – unless there’s evidence or the FKF writes to us to say they are suspecting the player of some wrongdoing.
“He is innocent until proven guilty and then we will act.”
The FKF has called on anyone with credible information to assist its investigation, with any reports to be handled with strict confidentiality.
Shimanyula also challenged the Kenyan footballing community to provide evidence against Matasi.
“Kakamega Homeboyz is against any form of match manipulation,” he said.
Uefa has opened an investigation into allegations of indecent conduct by four Real Madrid players during their Champions League last-16 win against Atletico Madrid.
Antonio Rudiger, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Dani Ceballos allegedly made gestures towards the home fans after Real Madrid beat their city rivals on penalties to book their place in the quarter-finals.
TV pictures showed German defender Rudiger appearing to make a throat-slitting motion, apparently towards the crowd after the shootout victory, while Mbappe was shown seemingly making a crotch-grabbing gesture.
Spanish media said Atletico reported the actions to Uefa last week.
The players could be at risk of suspension but there is no guarantee the case will be heard before their quarter-final with Arsenal. The first leg for that tie is at Emirates Stadium on 8 April and the return leg a week later.
In a statement, Uefa said: “[An] ethics and disciplinary inspector has been appointed to investigate allegations of indecent conduct” made by the four Real Madrid players.
“Further information regarding this matter will be made available in due course.”
The Premier League has announced it will have two transfer windows this summer to allow Manchester City and Chelsea to sign players before the Club World Cup.
The window will open between Sunday, 1 June and Tuesday, 10 June, then close for five days before running again from Monday, 16 June until Monday, 1 September.
This summer features the first expanded Fifa Club World Cup, which involves 32 teams and adopts the format of the regular World Cup of the past few years.
Chelsea and Manchester City are the Premier League teams in the tournament which takes place in the United States from Sunday, 15 June.
But the Premier League can only have 12 weeks of a summer window – hence the five-day break in order to run it until 1 September.
Fifa has allowed new players to be registered for the Club World Cup from 1-10 June, and again from 27 June-3 July for the knockout stage.
This is happening firstly, to bring order to the global registration system, world governing body Fifa only permits the transfer window in any individual country to be open for 16 weeks in any calendar year.
In Europe, precedent dictates four of those weeks are for the winter window, leaving 12 in the summer. In 2024, the Premier League transfer window opened on 14 June and closed on 30 August.