Sports
Nigerian Fans Back Watford To Shine
The large presence of Nigerian players at the newly-promoted English club, Watford, has drawn a lot of support from football fans in the country as they root for the club to do well in the English Premier League this season.
The Hornets, as Watford are fondly called, have four Nigerians in their ranks following their promotion to the topflight league.
Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong , Oghenekaro Etebo, Isaac Success and Dennis Emmanuel are all with the English club.
Reacting to the number of Eagles players at Vicarage Road, some fans told newsmen that they are backing the newly promoted side this season.
Wole Popoola, a telecommunication engineer said, “I am a big Chelsea fan but I definitely will be watching more of Watford games this season because of the presence of some Nigerian players there. I think I like the fact that we have so many of them there and I hope they do well.”
Alexander Ebhodaghe added, “There is no doubt that Watford have gotten themselves a large number of fans from Nigeria and probably Africa with the number of our players there. I can’t just but hope they do well because it’s almost like watching our national team.”
“I am a Real Madrid fan, which means I will be supporting Watford this season in the Premer League,” Ganiu Yusuf said.
“I like the fact that they have four Nigerians because it means we will get to see more of our boys in action in the EPL.”
Segun Arigbanla hopes Watford beat every club in England except Arsenal.
”I am a strong Arsenal fan, having our players playing for Watford means I am developing a soft spot for the club and I want them to do well. I will be glad if they can beat every club in the Premier League except Arsenal.”
Watford kick-started their return to the Premier League with a 3-2 over Aston Villa on Saturday with Dennis getting on the score sheet.
Vice president of the Nigeria Olympics Committee (NOC), Chief Solomon Ogba, foremost Sports Marketer and founder of Okpekpe Road Race, Mike Itemuagbor and top Sports Journalist and Media Strategist, Mitchel Obi have lent their voices in support of the Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF).
The personalities with backgrounds in sports administration, marketing and media spoke separately in commendation of the festival, an initiative of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with Dunamis Icon as consultants.
“This is a positive addition to the evolving sports business ecosystem because it is not just a springboard for identifying talents, it also offers a platform to truly hone the skills of those already discovered”, remarked Obi, who served as Special Advisor to a former Sports Minister, late Anthony Ikhazabor.
He said the festival will be a flagship event in the region that would trigger interest in sports among the youths and people of the region.
Edo State-born Itemuagbor commended the NDDC for the decision to add sports in the list of their intervention projects in the region, adding that: “This speaks directly to the problem of youth restiveness which is of great concern to our people.”
Raphael Onyedika has now emerged as a major doubt for the Super Eagles’ must-win 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe later this month.
The midfielder was forced out early from last week’s league game against Standard Liege.
He has not recovered from the injury and so will miss today’s league match against Gent and may also miss a UEFA Champions League Round of 16 clash against Aston Villa yesterday.
The Super Eagles take on Rwanda in Kigali on March 21, before they face Zimbabwe in Uyo four days later in crucial World Cup qualifiers.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Al-Khalood defender, William Troost-Ekong, has shared his experience on the difficulties of winning the prestigious Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) while describing it a must win trophy.
The former Watford FC defender has competed in the tournament three times but has yet to lift the trophy.
“I’ve been there three times now, bronze medal, silver medal, but I haven’t had the chance to win it. That remains my ultimate goal,” he told Tidesports source.
“It means so much to me and all the kids growing up in Africa and Nigeria.”
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