Sports
NDDC To Introduce Secondary Schools Football League
The Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Dr. Samuel Ogbuku has pledged to introduce Niger Delta Secondary Schools League (NDSSL) to promote and develop football in the region.
He stated that in the next edition of W.W White cup the best player would be sent to any football academy in Europe, instead of scouts to come.
Dr. Ogbuku said these shortly after the finals of the competition sponsored by NDDC, last Friday at the Stella Maris College, between Ennitonia High School and Nyemoni Anglican Grammar School in Port Harcourt,
According to him, the reason of sponsoring the tournament was to bring back Port Harcourt how it used to be, adding that the name was also maintained to immortalise the person who started the competition as a way of giving back to the society.
“We believe that we needed to go back how Port Harcourt used to be, the peaceful Port Harcourt as it used to be that glorified all of us. Besides, for a long time now we have not played inter secondary football competition in the State.
“Next year we will improve on it by sending the best player to any of the football academics in Europe. This competition would go round the nine States that NDDC covers but it will not bare W.W.White. We are going to look for other existing competition there and winners of each State will play Niger Delta Secondary School League”, he said.
The NDDC Managing Director , further revealed that the the commission would introduce football competition for female in the area hence it will not bare W.W. White. We all know that female football in Nigeria’ started from Rivers State.
“ The truth was that we are gender friendly, we will introduce another competition and not W.W. White Cup, if we do that then it will not bare W.W.White cup again”, he stated.
At the end of the game Enitonia High School beat 4-2 Nyemoni Anglican Grammar School on penalty after playing 1-1 at regulation time to emerge champions.
Consequently, Ennitonia High School go home with N1.5m while Nyemoni smile home with N1M.
Tonye Orabere
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.