Sports
Nigerians Optimistic Of Eagles Winning Remaining Group Matches
Nigerians yesterday expressed optimism that the Eagles will win the remaining matches in Group D.
Tidesports source reports that the Super Eagles lost 2-0 to Croatia in their maiden match in the group.
Other countries in the Argentina and Iceland.
Tidesports source gathered that Nigeria will face Iceland on June 22 and play their last group D game against Argentina on June 26.
Mr Layi Adesiyan, the Director of Sports, Youths and Special Needs in Osun State, says Super Eagles can win the remaining matches in their group.
Adesiyan told newsmen in Abuja yesterday that Super Eagles needed to focus on other matches.
Super Eagles lost 2-0 to Croatia in their maiden match in the group D.
He said that the technical crew should immediately start to prepare for the remaining games.
“We should not start to blame players and coach for the loss by now, rather we should be thinking about what to do to encourage the team.
“The technical crew needs to work more in all the departments of the team; the goalkeepers, the midfielders, the attackers and the defenders.
“Each player should be given the appropriate responsibility and by now the coach should know what department each player belongs.
“The coach needs to be apt in ensuring necessary substitution where he notices a gap. We can’t just come home without wining any team in our group stage,’’ Adesiyan said.
Also speaking, Godfrey Gaiya, former Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Sports yesterday advised Super Eagles’ Head Coach, Gernot Rohr, to go back to the players used for the World Cup qualification.
Gaiya told newsmen in Abuja that the performance of the Super Eagles was expected.
Reacting to the 2-0 defeat of the Eagles, Gaiya said the team was a work in progress, saying that, in the match played in Kaliningrad, the Eagles lost through an own goal by Oghenekaro Etebo
and a Luka Modric penalty kick.
He advised the head coach to go back to players used to gain the World Cup qualification.
“For now, there is nothing we can do to remedy the situation, let us make this change to avoid further embarrassment.
According to him, the outcome is what most of us saw coming.
“ I am an active supporter of the national team but I did not go to Russia with the team because in spite of their preparations, the team doesn’t have quality that can compete at that level.
“Basically, we have an assembly of average young players that are struggling in their various clubs and I don’t think that the World Cup is an avenue for such players to be thrown into in the mix of teams like Argentina, Iceland and Croatia.
“ I thought we could have depended more on players that we can trust not introducing very young players at the dying minute of the preparations.
“You can see that there are about four or five players that came in long after we have qualified for the tournament.
“And these players are coming in from clubs that were never using them, who will have said that Francis Uzoho will be the one keeping when he has never tested such competition.
“We were not expecting this team for the World Cup, the team is a team for the future and not for this World Cup.
“The team is a work in progress, a team that if we allowed them to stay together in the next two to four years, they can do well,” he said.
But the Enugu chapter of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), said lack of cohesion among individual players brought painful loss to the Super Eagles in the ongoing World Cup.
All is now set for the maiden Sun Open Amateur Golf Tournament expected to take place at the Python Golf Course in Port Harcourt.
The tournament which is expected to attract hundreds of golfers from across the country will see the winner represent Nigeria at the Qatar Open.
Speaking to newsmen at a briefing in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, the Chairman of the Python Golf Club of Port Harcourt and partner of the golf tournament, Ikenna Okafor said the partnership with the organizer of the tournament, High Performance Center Sports Leadership Hub, HPC, will advance the game of golf and also project amateur golfers to the global stage.
According to the Chairman, who is also an ardent promoter at various levels, the Python Golf Club will sustain its efforts to ensure golf development in the country.
He further urged interested golfers to sign up for the mundial.
On his part, the Director of the High Performance Center Sports Leadership Hub and organizers of the Sun Open Amateur Golf Tournament, Dr Bob Olukoya said the tournament will also advance sports diplomacy between Nigeria and its international counterparts.
He also said the tournament will serve as an opportunity for Nigeria to get a ranking in the golfing community.
Dr Bob Olukoya also revealed that Nigeria has now been removed from the blacklist of the Qatari Golf Association.
The tournament,which will hold between the 21st and 24th of this month is expected to attract a good number of golfers, especially, amateurs and potential professionals, who would use the platform to hone their skills.
It is also an opportunity for the Python Golf Club to push further their efforts toward developing and promoting the sport in Rivers State and beyond.
Port Harcourt residents and indeed Nigerians are set for thrilling experience as no fewer than 68 polo players from Nigeria, Argentina, England, and South Africa are set to compete in the 2025 Port Harcourt International Polo Tournament scheduled to gallop off on Sunday at the Port Harcourt Polo Club.
The tournament to be hosted in collaboration with the Nigerian Polo Association (NPA), would take place from January 12-18.
Over the years, the event has attracted polo patrons and enthusiasts from Nigeria and beyond, making the tournament one of the major flagships in Nigeria.
President of the Port Harcourt Polo Club, Prince Henry Agbodjan, noted that the tournament, themed ‘Unity in Motion,’ aims to provide a lively and enjoyable experience for polo enthusiasts nationwide, residents of Port Harcourt and beyond.
The President said this during a Press briefing at the club last Wednesday.
He added that, apart from the matches, attendees could look forward to entertainment shows and opportunities to purchase items at affordable rates from the tournament’s Micro Market.
“The event will serve as a major commercial boost for the Rivers State economy,” Agbodjan remarked.
He expressed appreciation to the Rivers Government and the tournament’s sponsors for their support and called on the media to raise awareness to further promote the sport of polo in Nigeria.
In his own speech, the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the tournament, Dolapo Attoni said that this year’s tournament was expected to surpass previous editions, showcasing the finest polo players from Nigeria and around the globe.
“About 60 players from 20 teams across Nigeria and eight players from Argentina, England, and South Africa will compete for four trophies and other prizes,” Attoni said.
Attoni highlighted the participating teams, which include two each from Adamawa, Plateau, Kano, Katsina; three from Lagos; one from Nassarawa; and eight from Rivers.
“The teams are categorised into high goal, medium goal, and low goal teams.
“They will compete for four trophies, comprising the TY Danjuma Cup, Alfred Diette Spiff Cup, TJT Princewill Cup, and Governor’s Cup, which has been rechristened OB Lulu Briggs Cup.
“Trophies, medals and individual prizes will be awarded to winners and runners-up, while sponsors and individuals who have significantly contributed to the growth of polo in Nigeria will also be recognised,” he added.
Attoni, who also serves as the Vice President of the Port Harcourt Polo Club, mentioned that matches would take place daily between noon and 6:00 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Captain of the Port Harcourt Polo Club, Ikenna Nebolisa, expressed confidence in his team’s readiness to compete.
“Our players and horses are fully prepared to claim victory and make our fans proud,” he concluded.
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.
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