Sports
Anichebe Targets Eagles World Cup Shirt
Victor Anichebe is hoping he can regain full match fitness in time to be considered for a place in Lars Lagerback’s 23-man squad for South Africa.
The Everton youngster cracked a stunning effort home in Everton’s 2-2 draw at Birmingham on Saturday in his sixth appearance for the club after being out for nearly a year with torn ligaments in his ankle.
It was only his third start for the club and Anichebe told Tidesports source that while Premier League fitness is his primary focus, he also has an eye on the World Cup party.
“Fitness for the Premier League is my first target but I’d be lying if I said the World Cup is not in my thoughts.
“The Olympic Games was an unbelievable experience and to take part in a World Cup would top that especially with it being in Africa”.
Nigeria’s forward line is bursting at the seams with talent like Osaze Odemwingie, Obafemi Martins, Yakubu Ayegbeni, Ike Uche, Chinedu Obasi and Michael Eneramo as well as the likes of Peter Utaka and Joseph Akpala. The big forward knows that competition will be stiff.
“Nigeria has a very good squad and plenty of attacking options so I am not suggesting for a minute that as soon as I am fit, I’ll be selected.
“I will have to prove myself to show that I am capable but I’m sure that everyone in the team still has something to prove nobody in the team has automatic selection.
“I’m not the coach he is the only one that can pick the team.”
Nigeria had an inconsistent African Nations Cup performance in Angola early in the year, and the forward says it was hard watching and not being involved.
“To be honest I missed playing football in general. Its hard just watching knowing that you’re not going to be involved for a while but my best wishes always gone to my team and my country.
“It would have been good to have gone to Angola but my main focus is to concentrate on getting myself fit again and playing well for my club, then maybe I can start thinking of playing for my country.
“I am very proud to be a Nigerian and it makes me even prouder to have represented my country so hopefully when I regain my fitness I can achieve this again.”
Anichebe was taken off with just over 20 minutes to play in that Birmingham game after landing awkwardly and rolling in pain on the turf, but he says he is fine.
“It is not as bad as we thought at first. It’s good,” 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.