Sports
Rivers FA Cup: Go Round FC Defeats Rivers United
Go Round FC over came the hard fighting Rivers United Academy in a Rivers State FA Cup QUARTER final played on Wednesday at the Sharks FC Stadium.
Playing with ten men, Go Round FC opened scores in the 81st minute, through center back, Odinaka ONYIRHUMBA but were pegged back in the 90th through a solo effort of an equaliser by Omokhodion Zedi.
After the full time whistle sounded, the game went into penalty shoot outs.
In the shoot outs, Go Round Fc missed their first kick and scored the next three while, the Rivers United Academy missed their first two kicks, scored the third and then missed the fourth to lose 3-1.
Go Round’s head coach, Ngozi Elechi described it as a difficult game but blamed his boys for underrating their opponents.
“It was a very difficult game but I blame my boys for underrating them,” Elechi said.
“We beat Rivers United last season to win the Cup and maybe they felt that it would be easier since this was the junior team of United but I told them these things in the bus on our way here.
“I also tried out a few new players because we are playing a league and have other games while I know you would have to test these players so they have playing experience.
“In any case, I am delighted in the way the game went,” a happy Elechi said.
Coach of the Rivers United Academy, Sunny Iseokweima took delight in the fact that his side was not disgraced.
“We played against Go Round FC, a team doing well in their league and honestly in games like these you tell your boys to go out and enjoy themselves.
“We were not under pressure but they were and the important thing is that we were not disgraced because in penalties, anybody can win,” Iseokweima said.
Go Round FC will now take on Nationwide League side, Cynosure FC, unbeaten in all pre-season matches in the Rivers State FA Cup semi final.
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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