Sports
2015 AFCON: Danger Looms For Nigeria After Loss In Sudan
Nigeria’s chances of qualifying
for next year’s AFCON in Morocco suffered a major setback last Saturday when they fell 1-0 in Sudan.
This was a must-win for the African champions, but they did not create any clear-cut openings, while their hosts delivered the killer punch after 41 minutes through Bakri Abdulqadir to record a very famous victory.
The unmarked Al Hilal striker’s powerful header from inside the box completely beat goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama for the match winner.
This was only Sudan’s second victory over the more illustrious Nigeria in a dozen meetings.
South Africa is now top of Group A after a sparkling 2-0 win in Congo earlier on Saturday, while Sudan leapfrogged Nigeria into third place with their first win of the qualifying series.
Nigeria will now hope to turn the table against Sudan when they host them on Wednesday in Abuja.
Mathematically, The Eagles could still advance to the 2014 Nations Cup were they to win their remaining three matches, at home to Sudan and South Africa and away to Congo.
The signals were worrying from the onset as Sudan quickly settled into the rhythm on the artificial pitch at the sell-out Khartoum Stadium, while Nigeria tried to get going with the long ball.
The Eagles lacked ideas especially in the final third and must be bitterly disappointed that they hardly troubled a well organised Sudan defence for most of this encounter.
Ironically, the first main chance fell in the 11th minute to Nosa Igiebor, who fired from outside the box but his shot crashed against the base of the post to the relief of the home team.
Sudan, on the other hand, preferred the short, simple passes as they very much looked like they have mastered the pitch.
Emenike was denied a goal by the Sudan goalkeeper and skipper Moez Mahjoub immediately after the restart of the second half.
He will also see his tame effort cuddled by the Al Hilal goalkeeper in the 58th minute.
Kenneth Omeruo was lucky not to be sent off by the Zambian referee after 65 minutes when he clearly elbowed goal scorer Abdulqadri on his way to goal.
In the 87th minute, Mikel thought he had drawn Nigeria level but he had scored from an offside position.
Super Eagles’ Efe Ambrose
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.