Sports
Siasia Made Me Better Player – Super Eagles Invitee
Kano Pillars midfielder, Solomon Okpako credits his progress from Under-20 reject to Super Eagles invitee to Samson Siasia, who axed him from the Flying Eagles team.
At the time, Okpako was acknowledged as one of the best holding midfielders in the domestic league, but was as shocked as league watchers when Siasia told him he was not good enough to make the squad to Egypt.
“I was surprised, but I was not disappointed because football has its ups and downs for every player and I felt that maybe it was not my time,” Okpako said in an interview.
“But when the coach dropped me, he told me the things I was doing wrong. Some of the things he said was that I was not going forward enough and I was not joining up quick enough with the rest of the team when we were attacking.
“So I went back to Kano Pillars and I told them what the coach said and what he asked me to do.”
Okpako, who will turn 20 in May, said the change was almost instant.
“The coaches there helped me to work on it and I started seeing the improvements.
“Before, I could only play as a defensive midfielder, but now, I can play as an attacking midfielder like I did in some games at the WAFU Cup, and I can also play as a support striker.
“Also, I never used to score goals, but I scored three goals at the WAFU Cup, and it is all because of what Siasia told me. I believe I am a better player because of him.”
That was not the first time Okpako would suffer rejection. Starting his league career with Bendel United in 2005, Okpako left them when the club were relegated that year. But he was turned away by city rivals Insurance when he attempted to join them for the following season.
With nowhere else to go, the midfielder spent a full season at home before packing his bags and heading up north to join Kano Pillars at the end of the 2006 season.
“I just didn’t know what to do or where to go after Insurance rejected me. But I always believed that God would make a way for me.”
Okpako was one of six players from the domestic league named by Lars Lagerback in his 44-man provisional World Cup squad, and he says it did not come to him as a surprise, after consistent performances with Pillars.
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.
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