Sports
Nigeria Targets Milo Football Tourney Title
The country’s representa
tives in the 3rd edition of the Nestle Milo African U-13 Football Championship have completed the first phase of closed camping at the Kwara State Football Academy, Ilorin.
The head coach of the team, Paul Odey, told newsmen in Lagos that the players were now ready for the tournament.
St. Barnabas LGEA of Ilorin won the national U-13 championship and will represent Nigeria at the tournament to be hosted in Lagos at the Campos Square Sports Centre.
South Africa, Ghana and Kenya are the other countries that will take part in the championship scheduled to hold from May 29 to 31.
“We have completed the camping exercise which was scheduled to last two weeks and the boys have been primed to face any opposition at their level.
“The important thing is that they responded very well to the drills we put them through and this can be seen in the number of friendly matches they played and won,” Odey said .
The coach expressed satisfaction with the depth of strength the boys have built up, saying that “we put them through three hours of football daily.
“It is significant that they played at the same strength and in fact, stronger in the second friendly match they played and winning both games”.
He said though the Ilorin camping programme had been completed, he would be working with the boys daily until they were called for the final closed camping.
“We just have to keep up with the boys so that they don’t lose the stamina gained during the period they were in camp.
“We will keep a close tab on them in the period they will be out of closed camping.
“The Nigerian squad is expected to undergo another camping exercise at the International Football Academy in Wasimi, Ogun State,’’ he said.
The biennial football event was first hosted by South Africa in 2010 and saw Nigeria’s representative Ashegun School, Oyo State lifting the trophy.
In 2012, Ghana hosted and won, while Nigeria was represented by St. Stephens School, Lagos.
Vice president of the Nigeria Olympics Committee (NOC), Chief Solomon Ogba, foremost Sports Marketer and founder of Okpekpe Road Race, Mike Itemuagbor and top Sports Journalist and Media Strategist, Mitchel Obi have lent their voices in support of the Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF).
The personalities with backgrounds in sports administration, marketing and media spoke separately in commendation of the festival, an initiative of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with Dunamis Icon as consultants.
“This is a positive addition to the evolving sports business ecosystem because it is not just a springboard for identifying talents, it also offers a platform to truly hone the skills of those already discovered”, remarked Obi, who served as Special Advisor to a former Sports Minister, late Anthony Ikhazabor.
He said the festival will be a flagship event in the region that would trigger interest in sports among the youths and people of the region.
Edo State-born Itemuagbor commended the NDDC for the decision to add sports in the list of their intervention projects in the region, adding that: “This speaks directly to the problem of youth restiveness which is of great concern to our people.”
Raphael Onyedika has now emerged as a major doubt for the Super Eagles’ must-win 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe later this month.
The midfielder was forced out early from last week’s league game against Standard Liege.
He has not recovered from the injury and so will miss today’s league match against Gent and may also miss a UEFA Champions League Round of 16 clash against Aston Villa yesterday.
The Super Eagles take on Rwanda in Kigali on March 21, before they face Zimbabwe in Uyo four days later in crucial World Cup qualifiers.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Al-Khalood defender, William Troost-Ekong, has shared his experience on the difficulties of winning the prestigious Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) while describing it a must win trophy.
The former Watford FC defender has competed in the tournament three times but has yet to lift the trophy.
“I’ve been there three times now, bronze medal, silver medal, but I haven’t had the chance to win it. That remains my ultimate goal,” he told Tidesports source.
“It means so much to me and all the kids growing up in Africa and Nigeria.”