Sports
Real Madrid Academy: Admission Process Will Be Fair, Transparent – SA
The Rivers State Government has assured that the ongoing admission processes into the state-owned Real Madrid Football Academy, Port Harcourt, will not only be fair to all applicants, no matter one’s status but very transparent. This was the declaration of the Special Adviser to Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike on Real Madrid Academy, Barr. Christopher Green, on Monday during the first part of screening exercise (aptitude test) on the candidates for admission at the Government Girls Secondary School, Rumuokwuta, Port Harcourt.
Green, while speaking with news men said that there would be a level playing ground for everybody as far as admission into the academy was concerned. According to him, “It’s going to be as transparent as can be, there’s no favouritism, it is neither for the high nor for the low, it is for everybody as long as you meet our criteria, as long as you do well in academics (Aptitude Test) as well as in the art of football (Practical)’
‘All will be screened under the same environment, atmosphere and it is open for people to come and see. In fact, the result of the screening exercise would be apparent even before official announcement as every parent would have the opportunity to watch his son or ward perform”
“The SA reiterated that Governor Wike had warned and directed that the ground must be level and the process fair to all. There is no partiality, no external influence.” The screening exercise witnessed a huge turn- out of prospective students for the academy, with over 1,200 children thronging the aptitude test venue with their parents. The SA described the turn-out as very impressive and an eloquent testimony that people have bought into what Governor Wike is doing to provide a platform for the development of future leaders and talents of the state and Nigeria.
“What is happening here is very impressive. The Real Madrid Academy is a deliberate plan by the Governor to provide for the youths of Rivers State and Nigeria in general. With this kind of project, he has secured the future of our youths, he is building human capacity, creating jobs and wealth for the empowerment of the young ones who would develop to become stars and leaders tomorrow. The academy is one project that can never go wrong in the sense that if you cannot make it via football, you make it through academics. Facilities at the academy are the best one can find anywhere in Africa and it presents a very big opportunity, perhaps, that’s why we are having this number coming from every state in the country”, he added.
Also speaking earlier, Commissioner for Education in the state, Kaniye Ebeku, whose ministry supervised the aptitude test, agreed that Governor Wike’s vision for the academy has been a huge success considering the extent parents across the country have embraced the opportunity. He described as wonderful the enthusiasm of parents and the sheer number of candidates on ground for the screening exercise.
By: Gabriel Nwanetanya
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