Sports
WWC: Nigeria Bemoans Paucity Of Funds …Prunes Wrestlers’ Number
The Nigerian Wrestling Federation (NWF) last Thursday said that paucity of funds had forced it to prune the number of wrestlers for the forthcoming World Wrestling Championships in Paris.
The President of NWF, Daniel Igali, told newsmen that a full team was initially intended to represent the country.
Tidesports source gathered that the championships will commence on August 21and end on August 27.
“The technical committee had earlier recommended for all the gold medalists at the last African championships to attend.
“The current financial realities have forced us to prune the number to six.
“Funding the trip still remains a challenge as we have yet to raise the required funds to facilitate the wrestlers participation,’’ he said.
Igali, who is also a member of the Bayelsa House of Assembly, however, called on the sport’s lovers to come to their aid through funding.
“We are calling on Nigerians to come to our aid so that the wrestlers can participate and showcase their skills.
“They have prepared so hard and I don’t want their efforts to be in vain,’’ he said.
On the final team list, Igali said, that “we will unveil the number on the final list to the media about 10 days before the event.’’
It would be recalled that at the last edition of the World Championships which held in Las Vegas, Nigeria won a bronze medal through Adekuoroye Odunayo in the 53kg class.
In this edition, Adekuoroye will, however, be competing in the 55kg class.
The 2000 Sydney Olympic gold medalist said currently the wrestlers are in two camps.
“They are training in Bayelsa and Ondo states but very soon all of them will converge on Bayelsa for closed camping.
“The closed camping will help in watching them closely and working on all their lapses,’’ Igali said.
The Olympian added that he did not really have targets other than everyone giving their best.
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.