Sports
SWAN Congratulates Team Nigeria
The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) has applauded Team Nigeria for its achievement at the just concluded 15th African Games in Morocco, inspite of the not too perfect preparations prior to the championship.
SWAN notes and commends individual athletes who were able to rise to the occasion by exhibiting the ‘can do’ spirit of the average Nigerian.
SWAN commends the Team for finishing second on the medals table with 46 gold, 33 silver and 47 bronze medals.
The outstanding and befitting outing of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Morrocco, is a thing of pride for all Nigerians . Indeed, such performance has taken some time in coming .
With that said, no one can deny the doggedness of our athletes as well as the level of planning and preparation that went into them as the table reflects a cumulation of both, which is a huge plus for the Ministry of Youth and Sports and most especially, the immediate past Minister, Hon Solomon Dalung, under whom the preparations for the event were undertaken .
It is also a befitting way to welcome the present Minister, Hon Sunday Dare, who will look to replicate and of course surpass this incredible landmark left by Hon Dalung, which is arguably Nigeria’s best outing in any event in decades.
While SWAN also congratulates the federal government and the Ministry of Youth and Sports for providing funds for the contingent, we urge the newly appointed Minister of Sports, Mr Sunday Dare to brace up and ensure that Nigerian athletes are given necessary trainings and funding to enable them soar at international meets.
There is no gainsaying, that the bedrock of every nation’s success in sports is at the grassroots therefore, efforts must be made to ensure that hidden talents are identified, harnessed and nurtured for greatness at the grassroot level.
We particularly, urge Mr Sunday Dare to not only build on the modest successes of his predecessor, Barr Solomon Dalung, but should avoid pitfalls which most of his predecessors could not by ensuring that the National Sports Festival (NSF) holds religiously as at when due.
The Ministry of Sports should equally ensure that Nigeria takes full advantage of sporting events where she has comparative advantage over others so as to remain a powerhouse in those sports, while paying attention to others where we can still excel in future.
It is a well known fact that sports if properly nurtured, has the potential to not only serve to entertain people but equally become a huge industry that can gainfully engage millions of Nigerian youth.
If Nigeria gets her sports sector right, most of the social vices that are ravaging the country, today will be things of the past. The outstanding and befitting outing of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Morrocco, is a thing of pride for all Nigerians . Indeed, such performance has taken some time in coming .
With that said, no one can deny the doggedness of our athletes as well as the level of planning and preparation that went into them as the table reflects a cumulation of both, which is a huge plus for the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
England captain Harry Kane netted a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to an impressive victory against Stuttgart.
Kane’s goals, plus one from Kingsley Coman, helped Bayern end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
They faced a tough task against a Stuttgart side who sat back and limited their chances, leading Vincent Kompany’s side to enter the break frustrated and with the deadlock unbroken.
Bayern eventually found a way past Stuttgart’s steely defence when Kane drilled a low effort into the bottom corner from around 30 yards out after Joshua Kimmich overturned possession.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor