Sports
Aisha Buhari Cup: Ogbonna Tips Falcons To Conquer
Sweden-based Super Falcons’ defender Glory Ogbonna has boasted that her team remains the team to beat when hostilities begin for the six-nation Aisha Buhari Invitational Women’s Tournament in Lagos next month.
The former Edo Queens defence marshal was in the Falcons squad that undertook an 8-day training camp in the Austrian capital, Vienna in July as part of the intense preparations for the forthcoming football showpiece.
Speaking on her expectations at the competition that will see the nine- time African champions trade tackles with Mali and Morocco in Group A, the Umeå IK star insisted that Falcons are well – equipped to emerge victorious at the prestigious tournament named in honour of Nigeria’s First Lady.
“As champions of Africa, we have a status to defend. I am aware that no team should be underrated but the Super Falcons remain the team to beat. Be it Mali, Morocco or any other country, they can never be a serious threat to us.
For sure, it is going to be a great competition and I relish the challenge it brings. The teams will definitely put up lots of effort to battle for supremacy and make an appreciable impact in the competition.
“I know Lagos will be the perfect home for us and it is always good to play right in front of your home fans as it gives the players the extra energy to bring out the desired result, “ Ogbonna assured.
Meanwhile, head Coach of Morocco’s Women National Team, Reynald Pedros is targeting his first successful campaign on the continent ahead of the Aisha Buhari Cup in Nigeria in September.
“It is a tournament that will be great, seeing that we have all the best African teams, the quality is there,” The 49-year-old French tactician said.
England captain Harry Kane netted a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to an impressive victory against Stuttgart.
Kane’s goals, plus one from Kingsley Coman, helped Bayern end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
They faced a tough task against a Stuttgart side who sat back and limited their chances, leading Vincent Kompany’s side to enter the break frustrated and with the deadlock unbroken.
Bayern eventually found a way past Stuttgart’s steely defence when Kane drilled a low effort into the bottom corner from around 30 yards out after Joshua Kimmich overturned possession.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor