Sports
Athletes Target National Record At Golden League
Some track and field ath
letes have expressed optimism to make the national standard as the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) Golden League ends on June 7 in Benin.
The trio of Precious Okoronkwo, Nkem Eziala and Mercy Abiere as saying that their efforts would earn them the required grade.
They spoke with our correspondent in Lagos during their training at the Tesilm Balogun Stadium in Surulere.
The athletes added that they were looking forward to the final of the league which started in March in Abuja to know their fate.
Okoronkwo, 200m gold medalist from the events in Abuja and Akure, said that with his performance, nothing would separate him from the standard.
“I am going to Benin to seal my achievement in the league as I don’t aim at anything less than a gold medal,” he said.
Nkem Eziala, third place winner in the 100m in Abuja and Ilorin events, said that the Edo event would be a better outing for him.
“I went to the 3rd edition in Akure in bad mood because of the non-payment of our outstanding prize money.
“With the payment made by AFN, I am now in a mood to perform better in the next leg,” he said.
According to the 17-year-old sprinter, the Akure leg witnessed a low turnout of athletes unlike the previous editions.
“The more the athletes, the better for the league. It will bring about stiff competition which makes for better evaluation of athletes,” Eziala said.
Mercy Abiere, a long jumper, said that with two gold medals in her possession from Abuja and Ilorin events, that the coast was clear to make it to the national standard.
The AFN’s league is organised every two weeks in different states to harness talents for national assignments.
The winner of the first position earns N40, 000, second place N30, 000, while the third and fourth positions are to get N20, 000 and N15, 000 respectively.
Super Eagles player trying to outsmarth an opponent during World Cup qualification campaign in Nigeria, recently.
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.
