Sports
Poor Performance: We Are All Responsible – Eto’o
Samuel Eto’o wants Cameroon to quickly banish the memories of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and turn their focus to the future after a forgettable experience.
The Indomitable Lions failed to register a point for the first time in their six appearances at the competition. They were beaten in all three matches in Group E, by Japan, Denmark and the Netherlands, despite coming into the tournament as one of Africa’s biggest hopes.
“We’re all disappointed, we went to South Africa with high hopes of having a good World Cup, but it was not possible,” said Eto’o. “We cannot go back now.
“We must look to the future. And the future comes quickly because we already play in September. We must reorganise this and try and come back strongly.”
The future the Inter Milan striker was referring to is the start of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign. The west Africans, who are pooled in Group E for that campaign alongside Senegal, Congo DR and Mauritius, will be without their South Africa 2010 coach Paul Le Guen. The Frenchman left his post after their exit, but Eto’o refused to blame him for their troubles.
“We are all responsible,” said the 29-year-old. ”It would be easy to say that it was the fault of the coach. But I think the players were equally responsible. We are all in the same boat and it is important not to look for a scapegoat. But Paul Le Guen did what he could and it is not his fault.”
Eto’o, who scored both of his country’s goals in losing causes against the Danes and the Dutch, also asked the people of Cameroon not to be disheartened. “The most important thing now is to thank the people of Cameroon for their support,” he said.
“Yes, we’re disappointed not to meet their expectations, but in football this is sometimes the case. The most important thing now is to reorganise, have a strong plan going forward and do something good.
“It was not all bad, we still had the chance to discover some young players and we can say that in three months we have the qualifiers for the Africa Cup. So hopefully we can restore some pride then.”
Sports
We’ll use Sports to Promote Peace, create Wealth in Tai…Chairman.
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.
Sports
NBA train youths, coaches in Nigeria
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.
Sports
BFN Hold Clinic to Empower Coaches
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.