Sports
We Want To Push Nigerian Athletics Forward …Okowa
President of the Athletics Federation Nigeria, Tonobok Okowa, has said that his priority was to push athletics forward, so as to enhance the development of the sport in the country.
Okowa told newsmen on Monday, at the end of the federation’s first board meeting held at the package B of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, that athletes’ welfare was also part of his priority.
“We have to work hard to push Nigerian athletics forward from the grassroots development, to junior and senior championships.
“The athletes’ welfare is part of the things we discussed, what we can do to put in place and to do the right thing, so that the athletes will perform well in their forth coming championships,” he said.
Okowa said the purpose of the first executive meeting of the board was to deliberate on the development of the federation.
“The outcome of the meeting is that we discussed on the areas we need to touch, especially the formation of committees and sub- committees.
“Everybody contributed to what they felt they can do and what we could do, to push the federation forward and also enhance the development of athletics in Nigeria.
“We disagreed to agree on getting the right things done and when people of like minds come together they will achieve and that’s what we are here for,” he said.
”We also discussed what happened in Kenya during the World Athletics Junior Championships and some other areas that we need to make urgent corrections and see how we can do it better.
“We went there (Kenya) we performed well and we made our country proud and we will do better when the committees are in place, then everybody will work and work hard,” he said.
At the U20 World Athletics Championships held in Nairobi, Kenya, Team Nigeria finished third on the final medals table with four gold and three bronze medals.
It would be recalled that in June 2021, the Delta State Sports Commission chairman, Tonobok Okowa, was elected President unopposed, when he polled 43 of 44 votes.
Sports
We’ll use Sports to Promote Peace, create Wealth in Tai…Chairman.
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.
Sports
NBA train youths, coaches in Nigeria
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.
Sports
BFN Hold Clinic to Empower Coaches
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.
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