Sports
International Marathon: Kits Distribution Starts, Wednesday
Running kits and number bibs distribution for the 2023 ECOWAS Abuja International Marathon will begin on Wednesday, at the Food Court behind Eagles Square, Federal Secretariat, Abuja.
The distribution will run until Friday, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 pm each day.
Registered and intending participants are encouraged to come to Eagles Square to collect their running kits, number bibs, and goodie bags.
Those who have not yet registered can do so on-site and receive their kits immediately.
Gabriel Okon, the Race Director, reminds runners who have registered online or filled out forms to come and collect their kits even if they even if they didn’t receive a notification.
The marathon will begin at 7:00 AM on Saturday, December 16th.
The half marathon will start in front of the ECOWAS Secretariat, while the 5km fun race will start at Bannex Plaza.
Roads on the marathon route will be closed from 6 am on race day.
Okon appeals to Abuja residents to cooperate with officials from the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
Part of the route, passing through Asokoro and other parts of Abuja, including Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway up to Bannex Plaza and Eagles Square, will be closed to vehicle movement during the race.
He said: “While most roads will be completely closed, Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway will have limited traffic flow”
Okon urges residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to cooperate with security operatives.
He also reminds runners to arrive at the starting point of their race before 6:00 AM on December 16th, as security personnel will begin complete road closures in the area from that time.
As announced by the organisers, the winner of the half marathon will go home with $10,000; the second-placed runner will go home with $5,000 and the third-place runner $4,000.
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.