Sports
2015 Glo-CAF Award: Mixed Reactions Trail Nigeria’s Outing
Mixed reactions have
trailed the performance of Nigerian players, national teams, coaches and clubs at the 2015 Glo-CAF award ceremony held last Thursday in Abuja.
Some stakeholders who spoke in interview in Abuja blamed the incessant crises that rocked the football house for the failure of Nigerians to pick major awards at the event.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Sports, Sen. Obinna Ogba, told newsmen that Nigeria must revive its past glory in football because the current development called for a sober reflection.
“It calls for sober reflection; we need to go back to the drawing and find out what is the problem.
“It not just that we didn’t win any award, look at that list of CAF first eleven, Nigerian names are missing there, not even one.
“You only find Nigerian names on the reserve bench; that is if any player is weak or got injury before you talk about the reserve.
“It’s a challenge both to the managers of the game and also to the players.’’
A former Super Eagles’ Captain, Austin Okocha, said that the dwindling performance of the team at international competitions had made it difficult for any Nigerian player to be named the “African Player of the Year”
“We have to call a spade a spade; I don’t think any of our players at this moment deserve to be there.
“We have been struggling recently and I think it should be a challenge to us to make sure that next time we should have one of us there.’’
In his own reaction, the 1st Vice President of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Seyi Akinwunmi, said the football house was not disappointed with the outcome of the award.
“We are not disappointed rather we are hopeful for the best in future; when you set your target and they come too easy then, it means your target are not high enough.
“The new NFF is doing all it can for the future; there will be a time when all the nominees will be Nigerians and that time will come soon.
“This will be achieved because we are improving the league, doing our youth development programmes, capacity building and also educating people what they need to do.
“It’s not all about talent, it’s about mentality as well; so, these things will come together for good for Nigeria, I am sure that things will change sooner than we think.’’
Nigerian players, their national teams as well as clubs failed to win major awards at the 2015 Glo-CAF awards.
During the event, with 15 award categories, only two Nigerian players namely Victor Osimhen and Etebo Oghenekaro bagged the Youth Player of the Year and the Most Promising Talent of the Year awards respectively.
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.