Sports
Karate Federation Rolls Out 26 Events For 2020
No fewer than 26 programmes have been rolled out by the Karate Federation of Nigeria (KFN) to be carried out in 2020.
The events calendar signed by the Secretary General of the federation, Libata Abdullahi, was made available to newsmen in Lagos, yesterday.
According to the calendar, the Federation will have about 16 events under national programmes which include National Open Technical/Officiating Course for Coaches/Referees at the National Sports Festival in Edo from February 19 to February 21.
Other events are the National Sports Festival in Edo between March 20 and April 3; and KFN National School Junior Karate Championship (Cadet, Junior and U-21 Categories taking place in Lagos on July 7).
Tidesports source reports that, in August, the Federation plans to have Nigeria University Games Association (NUGA) Karate Championship at yet to be mentioned venue, while having the Armed Forces/Paramilitary Inter-Service Karate Championship in Kaduna on October 1 to October 3.
It plans to have the 24th Nigerian Karate Association (NKA) National Black Belt College Workshop/Championship in Asaba, Delta and 7th Hajia Zainab Saleh International Female Championship in November in Lagos.
Menawhile, the 3rd Rivers National Open Karate Championship in Port Harcourt comes up 2 to 5 December, while its last National event would be KFN full Council Meeting (General Congress) in Abuja on December 12.
The calendar also revealed the regional African programmes, which include 1st and 2nd UFAK West African Zonal Karate Championship in Bamako, Mali from January. 7 to January 12, and Lagos May 12 to May 19, respectively.
On the continental programmes, UFAK African Junior/Senior Karate Championships held in Morocco from February 4 to February 10 while Commonwealth Karate Championship in Birmingham UK holds from September 1 to September 7.
According to the calendar, World programme include, Premier League at Rabat, Morocco, March 13 to March 15; Tokyo 2020 Qualification Tournament in Paris May 6 to May 11; and Karate 1, Series A at Istanbul Turkey June 8 to June 21.
It said the World Karate Federation (WKF) would have its Youth Camp/League in Croatia from June 28 to July 5; and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games (Karate Championship) from August 6 to August11.
The Federation added that WKF Senior World Championship will hold in Dubai from November 17 to November 22.
A Board Member of the KFN, Zainab Saleh, said in Lagos that the Federation needed the assistance of individuals and organisations to be able to carry out the events planned for the year.
“We will continue to call on well-meaning Nigerians and corporate organisations to support the Karate Federation of Nigeria.
“The lack of funding to execute our national programmes, to attend continental and world championships is a huge hindrance to our development in karate,” she said.
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.
