Sports
Rangers Manager Urges Players To Beat 3SC
Rangers Team Manger Ameobi Ezeaku has urged the players to ensure victory over 3SC of Ibadan in their Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Match Day 28 in Enugu on Sunday.
Speaking to yesterday in Enugu, Ezeaku said, the match against Shooting Stars Sports Club was a must win in the club’s bid to secure a continental ticket.
“Our next match is against our traditional rivals and we are looking forward to seal the three points against them.
“Remember they beat us 1-0 in Ibadan and in that match, we missed a penalty toward the end of the game.
“Our players, technical crew have given an account all that happened in Ibadan and this time around, I believe we are not going to let our fans down.
“In fact, the players have vowed to give their best and we are going for nothing less than the three points,’’ he said.
The coaches, management and the players are working assiduously to ensure that we bring smiles on the faces of our supporters at the end of the 90 minutes.
“In that, we will show the state government that we appreciate its total support,’’ he said.
He expressed regret that the club missed three points in Markudi against Lobi Stars, saying that the dynamism of football could not be over emphasised.
“Well the dynamism of football cannot be over emphasised, we went to Markudi with a team we trusted, we got early chances but we could not convert them and Lobi Stars utilised their chances against us”.
“The players fought gallantly as the Rangers we know but at the end we were not able to selvage even a point,’’ he said.
who is fit and back in training.
“We also have Nana Bonsu who is at the verge of full recovery, there is no course for alarm and we are assuring our fans that Rangers goalkeeping department has no issue,’’ he said.
He urged the players to start another unbeaten run from the match against Shooting Stars.
“Rangers will travel to Kano Pillars after Shooting Stars and then back home for Kastina United,’’ the manager said.
Ezeaku said that the six points in their next two home matches is vital to whatever ambition the club has in this ongoing season and must dig deep for it.
The defending champions occupy the 12th position on the competition’s log after 27 matches with 35 points.
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.