Sports
We‘ll Rebrand NWFL To Attract More Sponsors – Obi
Chairperson of Nigeria Women’s Football League (NWFL), Nkechi Obi, has said that the body is putting up a structure that would attract more private sector investment to the female football competition, which kicks off on November 15.
Speaking at the board’s 2023 yearly General Assembly in Lagos last weekend, Obi said the women’s league must be made financially attractive to lure more girls into the game. She said that the NWFL has adopted a structure that would ensure every fund that comes into the game is properly utilised to grow the game.
She said: “The board of the Nigeria Women’s League has been saddled with the responsibility of driving the growth of professional women’s football in Nigeria.
Building on the success that has been achieved in the past and also positioning the league to leverage the global rise in women’s football and women’s sports across the World is our goal.
“The task of delivering monumental growth of the league by the new board requires strategic thinking to ensure the full commercialisation of the league.”
The development of frameworks to increase the number of girls playing football and clear guaranteed pathway for young talented girls to become professional football players are also the board’s target.
“We unveiled the women’s rising platform to assist in drawing well-meaning Nigerians and organisations to join in promoting the NWFL.”
In a communique released after the yearly general meeting, the board approved the expansion of the NWFL Premier League to 16 teams from 14, and Championship to 20 from 12. It also approved the restructuring of the 10-team Nationwide League to the States League.
The congress confirmed the promotion of Dannaz Ladies, Sunshine Queens, Lakeside Queens and Ekiti Queens to the NWFL Premiership from the Championship and the relegation of two clubs, Ibom Angels and Osun Babes, to the NWFL Championship.
While approving November 15, 2023 as the kick-off date for the 2023/2024 NWFL Premiership, the body adopted a two-group league format of A and B for the season.
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.
