Sports
Egypt 2009: Spirit, Grit Key To Ghana’s Triumph
They play with a free spirit” – that was England coach Brian Eastick’s assessment of Ghana ahead of the group game between the two teams here at the Under-20 World Cup in Egypt.
At the time, having not seen the Black Satellites play in person, many thought this was very possibly so much cliche.
But after watching them live six times, one had to agree with him, although there is much more to this team than attack.
The truth is this Ghana side, World Champions now of course, is massively entertaining to watch, they certainly keep you on the edge of your seat.
Their style captured the imagination of the local fans as Dominic Adiyiah, ably supported by fellow striker Ransford Osei and captain Dede Ayew, raced to the Golden Shoe award for the tournament’s top scorer.
With Samuel Inkoom and David Addy flying down the flanks to provide service, the Black Satellites had the perfect attacking formula.
But if you devote yourself to attack, then your defence frequently suffers, and that problem persisted for Ghana.
They were at their most vulnerable having just scored themselves, seemingly relaxing too much and allowing the opposition opportunities they should not have had.
This happened in their quarter final and their semi, both of which finished in 3-2 wins for the Black Satellites.
And their attitude, although they would deny this, often seemed to be “if they can score two, we can score three!”
And of course they could, but an alternative approach was needed in the final against Brazil.
Those of us who had talked about a high scoring match were proved wrong, as Ghana showed a very different side to their game in the Cairo International Stadium on Friday night.
A lesser team would have wilted at some stage, physically and emotionally exhausted, but Ghana knew they could stay with the South Americans and overcome them.
And so they did, thanks to the most dramatic device of the penalty shoot-out.
So in Africa, in the led up to Africa’s first World Cup, an African team has claimed the under-20 crown for the first time.
And Ghana fully deserve their title.
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.