Sports
Stakeholders Hail CAF On AFCON Date
Some football stakeholders
have commended the executive committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for its decision to keep to the earlier dates fixed for the 2015 AFCON.
The host of the tournament, Morocco, had requested CAF to change the January 17 to February 8, 2015 period fixed for the competition.
Morocco had written to CAF asking for a shift due to the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease in some African countries.
Some stakeholders, who spoke to newsmen in Lagos, said that CAF had the power to determine the venue and date for any of their competitions in Africa.
Seyi Akinwumi, Chairman, Lagos State Football Association (LSFA), said that CAF, as a body, had the capacity to take decisions that were binding on the entire continent in football matters.
‘’CAF, as administrator of football in the continent, have the capacity to look at the issues before them and make proper decisions on behalf of the continent as regards football.
‘’It is something they have been doing in the past and their thoughtful decisions have given the body a good scorecard.
‘’They must have seen the advantages of the competition holding during that particular period they chose, hence the need to stand to their decision,’’ Akinwunmi said.
A former Super Eagles Coach, Adegboye Onigbinde, told newsmen that CAF executive committee must have done some necessary investigation which informed their decision to fix the dates.
‘’CAF has earned credible applause over the years in staging successful competitions, hence their decision to go with their competition dates must have been well thought upon.
‘’They are the owners of the competition and many other football competitions in Africa; the success of the body over the years has given African football the face it enjoys globally,’’ Onigbinde said.
Ex-international, Mutiu Adepoju said that CAF must have taken cognisance of dates fixed for other football competitions.
“The decision by CAF is obviously binding on other football competitions in the year, most especially the FIFA competitions.
“Any new dates could affect CAF calendar year; that must have been the reason they stuck to the earlier dates,’’ Adepoju said.
The CAF, in a statement on Nov. 2, said it had always acted in accordance with the precautionary principle of safeguarding lives by strictly adhering to the recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
It said it had done so since the beginning of the latest outbreak of the Ebola virus.
The CAF said it had been able to organize peacefully all competitions across the continent since April 2014 with no cases of Ebola reported in connection with the organisation of a football match.
Meanwhile, the CAF has requested the Royal Moroccan Football Federation to clarify their final position on the hosting of 2015 AFCON, not later than Nov. 8, 2014.
“This time is also applicable to all other CAF national associations wishing to organise the competition on the dates agreed as long as the hosting requirements are met,’’ CAF said in the statement.
It said that the final decision on the host would be taken at an executive committee meeting scheduled for November 11, in Cairo, Egypt.
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.