Sports
Ganduje Appeals To Nigerians To Pray For Eagles
Ahead of today’s African Cup of Nations (AFCON) cracker between Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Palancas Negras of Angola at Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has called on Nigerians to rally support and pray for the victory of the Eagles.
He made the call yesterday, when he received members of the Amb. Moses Ebahor-led Local Organising Committee (LOC) of APC National Chairman Football Cup 2024 for Youth competition at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja.
Expressing confidence in Super Eagles, Ganduje who said he has been monitoring the performance of the Super Eagles with keen interest, noted that the national squad has the wherewithal to emerge winners of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
He said: “Coincidentally since I am the grand patron of the supporters club, I am using my position to tell you that since the beginning of this Africa Cup nation, there is no match that I have not watched. I can tell you who is who in the team and also inform you tomorrow by 6 p.m Nigeria is playing against Angola.
“We know our defence is very strong because we have only conceded one goal. What we require is the middle, our forward is also fantastic.
“We will continue to pray so that we win our match against Angola tomorrow and then we move to the semi-final and in the semi-final I know the coast is clear already.”
He commended the organisers of the APC National Chairman Cup 2024 for Youths, describing the tournament as well thought out, adding that the competition aligned with the manifesto of the APC.
Ganduje said: “No doubt what you are doing in consonance with APC constitution. The backbone of any party is the youths and what you intend to do is for the youths.
“We are seriously planning to establish a youth wing secretariat, we have a women’s wing and a wing for the physically challenged. In each of these, we are trying to establish a secretariat so that activities will be put together to promote the party and manifesto of our party.
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.