Sports
Okpalaka Urges NFF To Rest Emenike
A former Rangers International FC of Enugu defender, Vincent Okpalaka has urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to allow Emmanuel Emenike to recover from injury before inviting him for duty.
Okpalaka told Tidesports yesterday in Abakaliki that the striker should be allowed to regain full fitness before inviting him for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
It would be recalled that Emenike sustained a hamstring injury during the Super Eagles’ 4-1 drubbing of the Stallions of Burkina Faso in the semi-final of the recently concluded 2013 AFCON.
The player, however, said on Saturday that he was back to fitness and ready to resume training with his club Locomotive Moscow of Russia.
“Inviting him to play for the Super Eagles now, especially against Kenya in a World Cup Qualifier on March 23, would pile intense pressure on him which might be counter-productive.
“He should at least be allowed to concentrate on club duties for at least two months to enable him get fully prepared to withstand the rigours of international football,’’ he said.
The former Rangers defender urged the NFF to emulate the Ghana FA that decided to allow two of its key players more time with their club sides in order to be fit.
“Ghana conceded to Michael Essien and Sulley Mundari’s requests, to be allowed to concentrate on club duties, to regain full fitness after recovering from injuries.
“Their subsequent exclusion from the AFCON 2013 squad, made them to regain their places in their respective clubs thereby placing them in a good stead for future invitations,’’ Okpalaka said.
He advised Coach Stephen Keshi to use the opportunity to test some new players to also come and prove their mettle.
“Instead of rushing Emenike back to national team duties, players like Kalu Uche and Obafemi Martins, should be invited.
“Such invitation would bring out the desired competitiveness from the players and ensure optimum result for the team,” he said.
Okpalaka, however, warned Keshi not to invite players such as Shola Ameobi and Danny Shittu, who shunned the team’s invitation for the Nations Cup.
“Inviting both players now would dampen the morale of players who had displayed unbridled patriotism to national team cause.
“Such an act can affect the current harmony being experienced in the team,” he said.
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.
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