Sports
Scrabble: Team Nigeria Set To Defend World Title
A total number of 22 Scrabble players and five officials from Nigeria have arrived in the United States for the 2023 World English Scrabble Players Association Championship (WESPAC). It will hold from July 22 to 26 at Westgate, Las Vegas Resorts & Casino.
According to the Nigeria Scrabble Federation, the national team, which departed aboard Turkish Airline, travelled early for the World event to have enough time to acclimatise to the weather of the host city.
Speaking with Tidesports source before the team’s departure, NSF President, Toke Aka, assured Nigerians that the Team would do it’s best to bring back the World Scrabble trophy.
“Team Nigeria’s goal at the WESPAC is to maintain its position as the best Scrabble playing Nation. The team is traveling early to the U.S. because we need to avoid jet lag on players, and also our players will be taking part in some other Scrabble events before the major World Championship begins on July 22. One of this tournaments is the American National Championship billed for July 15 to 17,” he said.
He added: “The series of Championships ahead of the WESPAC will give Nigeria players enough opportunity to prepare well for the main event. About 30 countries will be taking part in the tournament, but with the current top ranking of Nigeria players in Scrabble, I am sure our players will give good account of themselves in the WESPAC. NSF is still pleading with the U.S. embassy to issue visa to one of our major player, Oluwatimilehin Doko. If he eventually gets the American visa before the major championship begins, he will join the team in the U.S.”
Coach of the National Scrabble team, Prince Anthony Ikolo, said that all hands are on deck to ensure Nigeria wins the WESPAC title this year.
Sports
We’ll use Sports to Promote Peace, create Wealth in Tai…Chairman.
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.
Sports
NBA train youths, coaches in Nigeria
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.
Sports
BFN Hold Clinic to Empower Coaches
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.