Sports
NCF Releases Final List For Camping
The Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) has released the names of 25 Players who will go into a 1 Week intensive preparation Camp to be led by newly appointed head coach, Asanka Gurusinha, to further fortify preparation for the Africa Cricket Qualifiers ( ACQ) coming up next year in Kenya.
This camping period follows the Intra-Squad Triangular Series that was played over the course of last week which involved 36 of the best players from around the country.
This was disclosed yesterday by the Head Coach, Rivers State Cricket Association, Tonye Timinadi.
According to him, the players are expected to be put through their paces by Asanka and his assistants and the coach will hopefully get a closer look at the players who he has seen play only a handful of times.
Nigeria U-19s trio of Rasheed Abolarin, Jimoh Adulrahaman and Taiwo Mohammed shone like a million stars with the new ball. Left-arm seamer Taiwo particularly troubled batsmen and ended the series with an economy of 3.75. Amazing figures for a T20 series especially for someone who bowled exclusively during the powerplay overs.
The dynamic Vincent Adewoye led the run-scorers charts followed closely and unsurprisingly by Sesan Adedeji and Skipper Josh Ayannaike.
Daniel Gim, usually considered a more suitable fit for the longer format displayed good intelligence to get amongst the runs at a not too shabby strike rate.
“Missing from the list is Seye Olympio whose time in the National Team seems to be well and truly over and Mustapha Yussuff who was unable to make it to camp due to other commitments. Segun Olayinka who last played for Nigeria about half a decade ago has been brought back into the fold,”
“Despite not making the final cut, the 11 players who have been left out must surely have enjoyed mixing it with the best in the country and will definitely be better for the experience,” coach Timinadi said.
Meanwhile, the Final list of 25 players, includes: Joshua Ayannaike, Runsewe Sulaimon, Daniel Ajekun, Gashon Yusuf, Sesan Adedeji, lsaac Okpe, Sylvester Okpe, Chimezie Onwuzulike, Vincent Adewoye, Chima Akachukwu, Jimoh Abdulrahman, Daniel Gim, Peter Aho, Abolarin Abdulrashed, Ifeanyi Uboh, Taiwo Mohammed, Leke Oyede, Danladi Isaac, Joel Joseph, Elijah Olaleye Nzube Nwokike, Boniface Emmanuel, Akhere Isesele, Olayinka Segun and Odion Isesele.
It would be recalled that 36 players were invited to National camp last Month for screening and selection to prepare for the task ahead.
By: Nancy Briggs
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.