Sports
7th NYG: Director Tasks Coaches, Secretaries On Age Limit
Ahead of the 7th National Youth Games, Director of Sports, Bayelsa State Sports Council, Braveman Wodi, has charged coaches and secretaries of the various associations to adhere to the age limit of the competition.
The 7th National Youth Games is expected to take place from 7th to 17th of September, 2023.
Wodi gave the charge at the Indoor Hall of Samson Siasia Stadium while addressing the coaches, secretaries alongside his management on arrival from the National Youth Games Joint Technical Meeting held in Asaba.
He noted that the zonal elimination for the games will come up from the 12th to 14th August in Calabar, Cross River State to decide the team sports that would represent various states in the youth version of national sports festival.
He explained that the format of qualification for the team sports has changed from the previous edition where the first and the second runner usually qualify, stating that it was ratified that only the team that finishes first will qualify for the games.
The Director also urge the coaches and secretaries of the participating associations to stick to the age limit of under 15, maintaining that every athlete going to the games must have National Identification Number NIN in compliance with the rules.
He pointed out that the essence of the national Identification number was to annihilate age cheating in line with the vision of the competition as a breeding ground for the future, noting that Bayelsa would not be involved in falsification of age for. athletes.
The Odi born Seasoned Sports Administrator added that the National Youth Games will see three hundred sixty (360) athletes from each state seeking glory in thirty four (34) Sports.
This year’s National Youth Games promises to be a showcase of young talent, with Delta State prepared to host this significant sporting event with zeal and enthusiasm, having previously been held in Illorin Kwara.
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