Sports
Edo Govt Assures Athletes On Camping
The Edo Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, has assured that athletes of Team Edo would be camped for the upcoming 2020 National Sports Festival (NSF) when the state government was ready.
Shaibu gave the assurance yesterday while addressing some of the athletes who protested in front of the Edo Government House in Benin about late camping and payment of allowances.
“If we have not defaulted in paying you in any tournament you have participated, is it now that we are hosting that we will default?
“We have made up our mind on what to do, and you have to act in line with that. We want you to be of good discipline and that is key in the effort to win medals for us,’’ he said.
The deputy governor reminded the athletes of similar incidents in the past and the effects they had on their performance, saying they should be comfortable with past efforts by the state government.
“You remember that during the 19th NSF in Abuja, I spoke to you guys like this. I appealed to you all, assured you that your allowances will be paid, but your delay in listening to me caused us three gold medals.
“The era of your allowances being paid to coaches is gone. We are going to use the same template as it was during the last festival, where money was paid directly into athletes’ accounts.’’
On the issue of closed camping for the athletes, the deputy governor assured that the actual period of camping of athletes would be strictly adhered to.
“You will go into camp at our own time, and we will communicate this to you, as well as what you will get when you win a medal. We will tell you what you are getting for winning and for participating,’’ he said.
Shaibu, however, warned that athletes should not allow themselves to be used by those he described as dishonest people.
“They want your allowances to be paid to them and not directly to you,’’ he said.
The spokesperson for the protesting athletes, Friday Aigbagben, assured the deputy governor that they were not sponsored to protest.
“We are only interested in knowing the number of days we will spend in camp, and what are our allowances during the camping period and during the festival.
“Also, we want to know what our reward is at the end of the event. Those are the things that brought us here,’’ he said.
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.
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