Sports
2023 AFCON Qualifiers: S’ Eagles Demolish Sao Tome In Historic Victory
The Super Eagles of Nigeria on Monday produced a superlative performance as they recorded their biggest win in history following a 10-0 demolition of Sao Tome and Principe in matchday 2 of the 2023bAfrixa Cup of Nations AFCON, qualifiers, Tidesports source report.
There were so many firsts on the score sheet as Victor Osimhen, Lookman Ademola, Terem Moffi and Dennis Emmanuel all made history.
While Osimhen scored his first a haul (four goals) for the Eagles, Terem Moffi scored his first international goal and he made it a double, Leicester City of England attacker, Lookman Ademola who Jose Peseiro preferred in the starting lineup over Samuel Chukwueze scored his first goal as well as Watford’s striker, Dennis Emmanuel was also on target.
In a dominant fashion with the team not ready for flippancy, Victor Osimhen raised the bar in 9 minutes before Moses Simone doubled the lead in 28th minute.
Terem Moffi made it 3-0 as both teams went into the dressing room for first half.
But more goals were to come as Lookman provided a superb assist for Osimhen to score his second of the day on the dot of 48th minute before Oghenekaro Etebo made it 5-0 7 minutes later
On the dot of 60 minutes, Terem Moffi scored his second goal while Lookman scored his first international goal for Nigeria on 63rd minute to make it 7-0 for the Eagles.
Decimated Sao Tome players refused to give up as they made spirited efforts to reduce the deficit but they were rather punished the more.
Victor Osimhen, hungry and undone, scored his 3rd and 4th goals in the 65th and 84th minutes to hand Nigeria a 9-0 lead
Osimhen had a hand in 6 goals as he scored 4 and assisted 2 as Dennis Emmanuel also scored his first goal in the 94th minute via spot kick to hand the Eagles 10-0 victory.
It is also the first time the team is keeping a clean sheet since their 2-0 win against Guinea Bissau in 2021 AFCON earlier in the year
It is the second time Nigeria is scoring 10+ goals in an International match following their 10–1 win against Dahomey in Lagos on 28 November, 1959.
The victory hands the Jose Peseiro-led lads Group A leadership pending the outcome of Sierra Leone vs Guinea Bissau match.
The Super Eagles will take on Guinea Bissau in a double header in September.
The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON will hold in Cote D’Ivoire next year.
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.