Sports
Draw For NPL’s Super 4 Holds, Tomorrow
The draw for the 2010 Nigeria Super 4 holds tomorrow, Mr Tunji Babalola, the Head of NPL’s Competition Department, said the draw would hold in Abuja on Thursday, July 22.
The Globacom Premier League’s top four clubs in the just-concluded 2009/2010 league season.
The clubs are Enyimba International FC of Aba , Kano Pillars FC, Sunshine Stars FC of Akure and Kwara United FC of Ilorin.
The clubs finished first, second, third and fourth respectively in the competition.
“We expect the four clubs’ representatives in Abuja tomorrow for the draw at the NPL secretariat.
“The clubs are expected to send a representative each to the event,” Babalola said.
He disclosed that each club’s representative was expected at the draw with their team’s group photograph, club profile, 22-player list, club chairman’s photograph and a list of technical crew/club management.
The NPL his yet to pick a venue for the Super 4 competition.
Babalola said the NPL had also instructed the 20 Premier League clubs to forward their proposals on the league competition’s rules and regulations.
“We expect the proposals to reach the NPL through our electronic mail on or before Friday, July 30.
“This will help us to amend the existing statutes, rules and regulation in line with FIFA, CAF and NFF standards,’’ he said.
The NPL official said the league board was determined to take a critical look at its competition’s current rules and regulations.
“The contributions from the 20 Premier League clubs will go a long way in changing the fortunes of the Nigerian Premier League competition,’’ he said.
The Nigerian Premier League competition was introduced in 2005 to replace the then Professional League Division One which came into being in 1990.
Last year’s edition of the Super 4 was held from Aug. 18 to Aug. 22 at the Ilorin Township Stadium.
Heartland FC won it with six points from two wins and a loss in three matches, beating Enyimba, 2008/2009 league winners, Bayelsa United and Warri Wolves to the title.
England captain Harry Kane netted a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to an impressive victory against Stuttgart.
Kane’s goals, plus one from Kingsley Coman, helped Bayern end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
They faced a tough task against a Stuttgart side who sat back and limited their chances, leading Vincent Kompany’s side to enter the break frustrated and with the deadlock unbroken.
Bayern eventually found a way past Stuttgart’s steely defence when Kane drilled a low effort into the bottom corner from around 30 yards out after Joshua Kimmich overturned possession.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor