Senator Orji Kalu, Musa Kida fashion way forward for Nigerian basketball.

Senate Chief Whip, Senator Orji Uzoh Kalu has identified with the Nigeria Basketball Federation following its recent achievements which have reinforced Nigeria as one of the emerging powerhouses in the world.

While hosting the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Engr Musa Kida in Abuja recently, Sen. Kalu said that the recent achievements of the federation cannot be overlooked which is an indication that Nigeria can rule the world.

The former Governor of Abia state who masterminded Enyimba FC of Aba to a back to back CAF Champions League triumph said, “I must commend you, members of your board and all stakeholders for what you have achieved so far since you came on board in 2017. It has been an exciting journey with many Nigerians really proud of what you have done in such a short time.”

Recently, the basketball culture is growing in Nigeria thanks to the successes being recorded by our national teams as well as grassroots programs being organized by your federation.”

In his response, NBBF President, Engr Kida who recently retired as the Deputy Managing Director of Total Nigeria thanked Senator Kalu for his kind and inspiring words.

“Words like these inspire us to double our efforts to achieve more despite all the challenges associated with sports in Nigeria. With better funding, support from individuals, government and corporate organizations, we can definitely do more.”

Kida reaffirmed his commitment to bring more laurels to Nigeria.

“We have so many plans and lofty programs at the grassroots level where talents can be discovered and the next generation of stars can be discovered. Sports is a multi-billion naira sector in Nigeria which can be well harnessed to create jobs for millions.

“To make billions from sports, there is a need for serious investment by all and sundry”, Kida concluded.

AFTER WORLD 5000M RECORD, CHEPTEGEI IS ON TRACK TO ACHIEVE GLOBAL DOMINATION

Joshua Cheptegei had a simple plan.

Sixteen months ago, beside the picturesque cross country course in Aarhus, Denmark, where he had just won his first senior world title, the then 22-year-old Ugandan laid out his strategy for world domination.

With his first global triumph secure, the next object of his desire was to succeed Mo Farah as the 10,000m title-holder at the World Championships in Doha.

And then?

“My ambition is to dominate the track for the next five or six years,” Cheptegei said.

The audacity was startling, but no more than the delivery has been since. So far it is happening as if it was ordained.

Just look at his last five races, which include three consecutive world records in a year of unparalleled achievement:

• On 29 August, last year, he won the 5000m at the Diamond League final in Zurich.

• On 6 October, he won the 10,000m at the World Championships in Doha.

• On 1 December, he set a world 10km record of 26:38 in Valencia, Spain.

• On 16 February, he set a world 5km record of 12:51 in Monaco.

• On 14 August, he set a world 5000m record of 12:35.36 in Monaco.

Between February and August this year the world changed as the coronavirus pandemic took hold, but Cheptegei did not miss a beat.

He spent lockdown with his Dutch coach Addy Ruiter in his hometown of Kapchorwa, which sits at 1800m altitude in the rolling Uganda’s eastern region.

© Getty Images

When he wasn’t training, he took on family and community duties.

“It was both good and bad,” he said. “It allowed me to spend more time with my family, but at the same time we are missing the sport so much.

“I did some gardening at my grandparents’ house. But mainly, I worked at my school in town. It’s a primary school, and I worked on some renovations there, like painting the walls.”

With relatively few cases of Covid-19 in Uganda, the lockdown was relaxed two months ago and Cheptegei returned to a more normal regime with his training partners.

“I honestly really missed competing,” he said. “It’s something I love doing, it’s in my blood.”

He targeted the Monaco meeting and made no secret of his desire to take down the great Kenenisa Bekele’s monumental 5000m world record of 12:37.35, set more than 16 years ago in Hengelo, Netherlands.

Joseph Igbinedion: A Super Eagle In The Making

Your first impression of him is that of a sweet little boy. His handsomeness and his disarming smile portray the picture of innocence that readily win him admirers.

Joesph Igbinedion, the son of Efosa Igbinedion, an Ireland based Nigerian lawyer, is not innocent though when it comes to matters involving the beautiful game of football. Born on July 31, 2006, the lad who turned 14 years a few days ago, has football running in his veins. His mother, Izehiuwa, was one of the pioneers of women’s football in the country. She was a founding member of both the Benin City Queens and the dreaded Ufuoma Babes FC, which in the early days of women’s football in Nigeria, was the leading women’s football club. Izehiuwa would later quit football to further her education.

Joseph( squatting, second left) with U14 Limerick District School League Team that won the Liam Donovan Memorial Inter-League Cup

Joseph’s mother, Izehiuwa was not his only link to football. His mum’s elder brother, Ikponwosa Omoregie nicknamed Pele for his dazzling football skills, played for the Nigerian national team. Joseph, a student of Crescent Comprehensive College, Limerick, Ireland, will in September this year, move up to the 3rd year, the equivalent of the Junior Secondary School 3(JSS3).

Despite operating as a central midfielder, Joseph has on occasion be deployed as an attacking midfielder and deep-lying playmaker. His football exploits at school has drawn the attention of football authorities in the area. Last season the lad played for both the U14 and 15 teams of Mungret Regional Football Club.

He was also called up to the Under 14 of Limerick District Schoolboys/girls League L.D.S.L(Association Football) boys team for the 2020 Kennedy Cup competition which is held annually in June featuring the best talent from the 31 schoolboys football leagues in Ireland. His dream of showcasing his skills at the tournament has been put on hold following the outbreak of the Coronavirus disease(COVID-19).

Joseph, who started playing football six years ago at the age of eight years is growing in confidence by the day. And his exploits on the field have been yielding fruit too. He was a member of the Under 14 Limerick District Schoolboys League (L.D.S.L)team that won the Liam O’ Donovan Memorial Inter-League cup 2019.

Aside team honours, Joseph has also garnered a few personal awards for his progious talent. In 2016 he was voted the Mungret Regional Football Club Under 10 Red Player of the Year. In the 2017/2018 season, he emerged the District Schoolboys/girls League (L.D.S.L) Under 12 Premier Division player of the year 2017/2018. While the same season he was crowned the Mungret Regional Football Club Under 12 Premier Division player of the year 2017/2018.

Joseph’s father, Efosa, is clearly pleased with the progress of his son on the field. An avid football fan himself, his dream is to see his son play football at the highest level.

Efosa Igbinedion hopes his son, Joseph, will play for Nigeria someday
“Joseph loves football. He is working hard and improving everyday. It would be nice to see him play at the highest level. That will have to wait for sometime though. For the moment we ( he and Joseph’s mum) are ensuring that he is grounded in academics. The life of a sportsman is precarious. One accident could derail an entire lifetime of ambition. We want to see him succeed on both sides,” the elder Igbinedion said.

His long term plan for the lad is to see him donning Nigerian colours like his famous uncle. He believes his son would be an asset to the Nigerian national team when he eventually gets called up to play. For the moment though, the lad is learning the ropes and carving a niche for himself at junior football level where he is wowing football fans with his breathtaking skills.

Mike Okafor, a sports analyst, who says he has seen video footages of Joseph in action believes the lad will become one of the leading footballers in the world if nothing disrupts his progression.

“I have seen the boy play. He is good and reminds you of a player like the former Manchester United captain, Keane with the way he takes charge in the midfield. His confidence is amazing. I cannot wait to see him grow up and begin to play for the Super Eagles,” Okafor said.

That will be a while yet. For the moment, Joseph is having pun playing the game and attracting attention of locals. Hopefully, before long top clubs in Ireland and may be even England will give him a look in.

“That would be very nice,” Jospeh’s father says. “However, that isn’t our major preoccupation for now. We want him to grow into a fine young man, academically sound and focused. A football career will be good but what is more important for him will be to take things one step at a time,” he said.

NFF: There Was No Election In Anambra State FA

The Nigeria Football Federation has stated categorically that there has been no election into the executive committee of the Anambra State Football Association.

Chairman of Chairmen of Nigerian Football, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau minced no words in declaring that what took place in the State on Monday, 27th July 2020 and which some stakeholders styled ‘an election’ was a charade of very low grade, and the NFF would never recognise such a sham.

“That was an act of brigandage and the NFF fully dissociates itself from it. The Electoral Committee sent to the NFF a letter which they received from the Anambra State COVID-19 Task Force, requesting that the elections into the State FA and the local football councils be postponed, in line with the situation in the country, as the ban on sporting activities and mass gatherings was still alive.

“The same Electoral Committee issued a press statement on Monday, 27th July 2020 informing the general public that the elections would no longer hold, and regretted the inconvenience that the sudden postponement may have caused the candidates, delegates, observers, stakeholders and the general public.

“In view of these, it is incomprehensible how anyone could have gone ahead with the charade they are calling ‘election’, and you begin to wonder who actually conducted the so-called election,” Gusau said on Tuesday.

Gusau, who is also a Member of the NFF Executive Committee, stated further: “That was an affront on the Government and the NFF will never be part of it. The Anambra State COVID-19 Task Force made it clear that there should be no such gathering. It is irksome, and let it be said without ambiguity that the NFF does not recognise such a sham and it cannot stand.”

Access Bank Lagos City Marathon: 10km Race Winners Pick Car Prizes

It was all smiles for the duo of Oyelade Sunday and Vera Yohanna Davou as they were officially handed their Kia Rio saloon cars having emerged winners in the 10km male and female races during the 2020 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon.

Davou, a 13-year old JSS Three Pupil of the Victory Academy High School Jos surprised everyone and even herself to win this year’s 10km women’s race.

Vera Yohanna Davou with Yusuf Alli and Bukola Olopade

On his part, Oyebode, a fun runner and a student of United Anglican Methodist High School Ilesa revealed before coming to win Lagos, he had tried out at the 10km Abeokuta Road race also sponsored by Access Bank but he finished then in distant 9th position.

Both teenagers were understandably over the moon as they were given their car keys and papers in the company of their guardians and coaches.

“I will even advise my friends to start training and running because I never expected I will be where I am now, I have just been training for one year and through the help of God and the Holy Spirit, I have won a race and a car” Davou who treks several kilometres to school daily said as she posed for pictures with her new car.

Oyebode Sunday recieves his car key from Nilayo Brand and Communications Manager Jumoke Adekanye

For Oyebode, he is now more motivated than ever to take his athletics career even more serious while he remains optimistic of going global sooner like his Kenyan idols in long-distance running.

“I hope to be a world champion one day, this car will motivate me to work even harder, I thank the oragnisers and the sponsors for this big prize” the United Anglican Methodist High School student stated.

The CEO of Nilayo Sports Management company, Bukola Olopade, said he was delighted that the Lagos race is making huge impacts in the life of people and he thanked the sponsors; especially Kia Motors for coming through with the saloon cars for the winners.

Vera Yohanna Davou

He said: “For us, we have shown the public that we will would always keep to our promise and do as we say while for our sponsors they can trust us that whatever we get from them is channelled to the right directions”

Mr Olopade, a former commissioner of sports in Ogun State assured that his drive to change people’s life for the better with sports will continue to be push vigorously with platforms like the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon.

Already in its fifth year, the Lagos Marathon is hoping for another upward movement from its present Silver Label ahead of the 2021 edition tentatively meant for February 13.

Sport The Ball Prize Money Debuts in Africa

For lovers of Sports competition in Nigeria and Africa, Dekaizen Worldwide has announced the arrival of Spot the ball Africa platform in conjunction with United Kingdom-based firm, Sports Alive Limited.

Following the success of Spot the ball in Europe, Dekaizen Worldwide said it was high time the company made its grand entry into the fast growing gaming and electronic sports market with the opportunity to reward participants with weekly cash prizes.

In a statement released by the Chief Task Assigner of Dekaizen Worldwide, Abioye Femi, “The new system is geared towards rewarding participants for their passion when they Spot the ball using their skill on the published weekly picture which is quite different from what we have presently in the Nigerian and the African market.”

Explaining how the system works, Abioye said, “Entrants will use their analytical skills and judgment to work out where the judges believe the ball is on a photo from a real football game. The closest prediction will smile home with the ultimate jackpot.”

Entry starts at just fifty Naira with winners standing a chance to win 12,000 Naira with a 350,000 Naira jackpot weekly for multiple winners with the closest spots.

With all logistics already put in place, the online platform is now live and the gaming community can visit the site http://www.spottheball.africa to experience this unique game of skill.

“For the next two weeks, you can play for free on our website and winners will be rewarded with exciting prizes and gift items. We have especially adapted the platform for mobile platforms i.e android and ios phone users as the real jackpot winning games debut from August 2020”, the Chief Task Assigner of the project said.

Sports Alive partners Dekaizen Worldwide on Sports Insurance for African Athletes

As sportsmen and stakeholders prepare for the post-Covid19 era, Sports Alive Ltd Uk has officially announced a partnership with Nigeria based Dekaizen Worldwide Limited to bring Speciality Insurance and promotions to Africa.

The partnership is geared towards expanding specialized sports insurance and insured promotions frontiers across Africa according to the Chief Task Assigner of Dekaizen Worldwide, Abioye Femi, who described the partnership as a fantastic platform that will bring together two great companies capable of offering African clients a wide range of insurance products and promotional activity.

“This is a wonderful milestone for everybody involved in this project as well as all stakeholders in the sports industry”.”Sports Alive Ltd has been around since 2001 with a deep wealth of experience and rich understanding of the market managing risk for clients both in the sports world and also in the marketing world From Performance bonus cover for sportspeople to big prize promotions, the partnership is positioned as the go-to people African wide to manage this risks.

“In the coming weeks, we will be rolling out our products and services specifically tailored to service the African market.”

He reasoned that with the growing interest of the young The African population in professional sports, it’s pertinent for their future to be protected with comprehensive insurance packages.

“We have heard so many sad stories of athletes who suffered career-ending injuries. Some athletes have died in their primes with their family left with nothing. Never again will such happen.”

“As a company, we feel these unfortunate cases can be avoided if athletes are properly insured. This is why Sports Alive is partnering with Dekaizen Worldwide to make life easier for athletes”, Abioye said.

Apart from the insurance products, Sports Alive Ltd and Dekaizen Worldwide will also be launching the ‘Sporttheball’ in Africa where people can win amazing prizes.

“We have tried this in Europe and it’s a huge success. We believe we can bring this to Africa where people have the chances of winning.”

WTT hope to create more Aruna Quadris for Africa

The chairman of the Council of World Table Tennis, Liu Guoliang believes the setting of WTT would help Africa to create more global superstars like Aruna Quadri as well as afford the continent to stage one of the top events in the world.

Speaking at the ITTF WTTF Webinar for Africa on Wednesday, the former Olympic and World Champion is excited with the setting up of WTT while hoping that Africa would embrace WTT with more super stars emerging from the continent.

“I am so excited with the WTT initiative and I hope that this is a good development for table tennis. As a global sports, Africa is one of the continent that will ensure the success of WTT and our aim is to ensure we have more top stars like Aruna Quadri from Africa because he has shown to be among the most popular table tennis players in the world and we believe there are still many talents from the continent,” he said.

Guoliang who is also the President of the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) called for more support from Africa to ensure that WTT becomes a reality with the hope that the continent would stage one of the major competitions in the WTTF.

“I could recall that in one of the Webinars we had in China recently, Aruna Quadri was part of it and one of the questions he asked was how Africa will be able to stage one of the top events in WTT while he also hope that more Africans will compete in the WTT Grand Slam. Aruna Quadri has raised a very vital question and we believe the fans and players are very important to the sport and that is why WTT will want to ensure that fans and players benefit a lot from WTT,” Guoliang said.

In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of ITTF, Steve Dainton believes WTT would help the growth of the sport in Africa, while calling for more support from the continent.

He however, acknowledged that there are plans to invest more in Africa, particularly in development and promotion of table tennis.

Aruna Quadri at the Qualification Groups. Seamaster 2017 ITTF World tour platinum; German Open Magdebourg. 7-12 November 2017

“I am aware that Africa is eager to be part of WTT and with the quality of players that have emerged from the continent, it is very important for the continent to embrace WTT with the aim of growing the sport and make it more commercially viable. With WTT, events in the continent will be organised professionally while the fans and players are the main targets of WTT. We want to raise the profile of our players as well as give our fans something worthy for their interest in our sport,”Dainton said.

WTT is the commercial and events company of the ITTF, which will be placing players and fans at the core of all its business to catapult table tennis to the forefront of global sports business.

Late Ifeanyi George: Nigeria players union lauds Gov. Ugwuanyi, Rangers management on insurance payment to family

Nigeria’s players’ union, the National Association of Nigerian Professional Footballers (NANPF) have described the planned payment of life insurance compensation to the family of late Ifeanyi George Onwubiko, as commendable and encouraging.

According to a statement from the management of Enugu Rangers, late Ifeanyi George who died in a fatal car accident, like other players and officials, were given comprehensive life insurance premium by the Enugu State Government. Therefore, the family of Ifeanyi George is expected to receive a princely sum of N20,000,000.00 (Twenty million naira) from the insurance firm, Premier Brokers.

Reacting to the development, the players union led by Tijani Babangida, MON, praised the State Governor, H.E, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for the efforts to assuage the emotional pains suffered by the family of the late player.

In a statement signed by the General Secretary of NANPF, Comrade Austin Popo, the decision on the prompt payment the insurance compensation is encouraging and would help set a benchmark in Nigerian football in such regards.

Ifeanyi George Onwubiko,

“This decision would surely set the pace for others to follow. And you know, it takes true feelings, to understand feelings. NANPF says thank you to Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for his genuine compassion and fatherly concern for the family of the late Rangers attacker.

” We also praise the management of the team ably led by Prince Davidson Owumi. The management has displayed astuteness, true professionalism and high level of integrity. And this move would surely set the pace for other teams in such regards,” Popo remarked.

The statement from the club revealed further that the presentation of the cheque to the family of Ifeanyi George will take place, Tuesday,July 21st, 2020, at the Enugu Rangers Camp Hall by 11am.

Akeem Busari

Rwandan Rugby receives support to fight Covid-19 pandemic

Rwanda Rugby Federation has received financial aid to support their respective clubs, referees, players and coaches in order to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

The aid from Rugby Africa Solidarity Fund was used by RRF to procure both medical and food supplements that were distributed at Nyamirambo Stadium on Friday 3rd July.

All Rwanda Rugby Federation club members including coaches and referees received relief which included food packages, personal protective masks (for each player), both hand sanitizers’ and disinfectants for hand washing and cleaning of Rugby jerseys and balls.

Rwandan Rugby receives support to fight Covid-19 pandemic

Tharcisse Kamanda the president of Rwanda Rugby Federation thanked Rugby Africa for the financial support explaining that the financial aid was meant to go towards the purchase of medical and food supplements for the local Rugby community.

He said “The current health status is having a major impact on all our members in their respective clubs, their coaches and players. This is a boost to our Rugby community as we continue to stand together to do everything possible to deal with the complex situation. Right now health and safety is our currently top priority.”

The president further urged the referees to continue embracing the e-online tutorials to upgrade course levels, at the same time holding meetings and discussions in order to share knowledge and skills.

David Bimenyimana, the president of Lions de Fer also thanked RRF and Rugby Africa for the support in such a complex situation. He promised that the supplements will be put in use.

Emmanuel Rusika the Rwanda Rugby Federation medical doctor also urged the rugby community to comply with the public health measures by wearing masks and social distancing.

Rwandan Rugby receives support to fight Covid-19 pandemic

All sporting activities, including rugby were postponed by the Rwandan Government through the Ministry of Sports mid-March owing to the Covid-19 outbreak when the country was under total lockdown.

All Sports activities including Rugby in the country will resume on September according to the announcement from the government.