Sports
Fans Unite Under Madiba’s Gaze In Johannesburg
Standing majestically at the entrance to the Johannesburg square that now bears his name, is a towering statue of Nelson Mandela.
The colossal bronze monument, six metres high and weighing 2.5 tonnes, is a symbol of South Africa’s new-found optimism and has become the focal point for FIFA World Cup celebrations, and commiserations.
Steps which lead the way to two of the square’s many eateries are a sea of noise and colour as fans congregate ahead of their nations’ latest encounters. It is a ritual that has been followed from Day 1, and while the colours might change on a daily basis, the infectious comradeship never alters. Formally known as Sandton Square, it took the name of the nation’s hero ten years after Madiba led his beloved South Africa into a new democratic era. The great man would surely be proud of what is unfolding at the feet of his metre-long shoes as different cultures happily mix.
“We had the World Cup in Germany four years ago and it was crazy,” enthuses Germany fan Stefan Venus from Munich, who has travelled to South Africa with brother Michael. “The whole world came to Germany and now the whole world is here.”
“Nelson Mandela Square is very well known, it is in all the newspapers and it something you have to go to,” says Werner Lehmann, a fellow German fan based in Alicante, Spain. “That is why I came here. But when you read it in the newspaper you don’t really know what it is like, you have to see it, you have to feel it. It is a great, great place.”
The square’s unique atmosphere is particularly evident just hours before the last-16 clash between Brazil and Chile. Lunchtime it might be, but the Brazilian motto is clearly that it is never too early to get the party started. As a mini-conga breaks out among the South Americans in response to an accordion version of Coca-Cola’s official 2010 FIFA World Cup song by Caroline Delamarque, a Brazilian living in Miami, explains: “This is the point that everyone comes to meet and then we get to meet a lot of people and we make a lot of friends. It is the first World Cup I have been to and the atmosphere is amazing.”
The musician himself, Fabricio Parisoto from Santa Catarina in Brazil, is quick to echo those sentiments once he has put his accordion down, of course. “Everybody is here. It is a nice place, and it is a great atmosphere. The Chilean fans are new to us but there is no problem, it’s a party, this is the nice thing about the World Cup, the people from different countries meeting up with each other. We sing together.”
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.