Sports
Christian Chukwu Receives Felicitation On 70th Birthday
The Nigeria Nationwide League One (NLO), felicitated with former Super Eagles Coach and Captain, Christian Chukwu, on his 70th birthday.
Director in-charge of South-East of the NLO, Ebere Amaraizu, in an interview with Tidesports source in Enugu, said Chukwu had played significant roles in the lives of youths especially sportsmen and women in Nigeria.
“We are joining millions of soccer loving personalities, administrators, fans, coaches and veteran players to felicitate with Christain Chukwu who marked his 70th birthday on January 4,” he said.
Amaraizu, who is also the National Coordinator of Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV), said Chukwu over the years also displayed high level of patriotism to his fatherland.
“Chukwu, popularly known as Chairman, has contributed immensely in the placement of Nigeria’s name in the annals of history in sports especially football.
“He has been a role model to upcoming sports stars to discover their potentials devoid of involvement in cultism and other vices as well as to upcoming football coaches,’’ he said.
Amaraizu revealed that Chukwu, in his usual characteristics, was among professionals that offered great technical assistance to the Crime Busters FC, Enugu under Enugu State Police Command.
“We join millions of lovers of the round leather game in Enugu, Rangers International, his traditional club-side and his family to wish him a very happy birthday and continual good health of mind and body,’’ he said.
Tidesports source reports that Chukwu, MFR, was born in Obe in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State on January 4, 1951.
As a player, he became the captain of Enugu Rangers football club and the Nigeria National Team in the late 1970s.
He was the first Nigerian captain to lift the African Nations Cup trophy after a 3–0 victory over Algeria in the final of the 1980 tournament.
Chukwu started his coaching career in Lebanon in the mid-1990s, before being appointed coach of the Kenya national team in 1998.
Later, from 2003 to 2005, he coached Nigeria, leading them to reach semifinals at the 2004 African Cup of Nations. (NAN)
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.
