By Emmanuel Afonne

President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ibrahim Gusau, has pledged his support to the Benue State Football Association (BSFA), led by its Chairman, Paul Edeh.

A statement issued on Sunday by Malu Iorngulum, Secretary, BSFA, stated that Gusau made the pledge when he hosted the executive members of the Benue FA at the NFF Secretariat.

He commended the vision of the new State FA leadership, as well as their dedication in developing football from the grassroots.

While expressing his admiration and confidence in the Edeh-led leadership, Gusau expressed optimism that the programmes of the BSFA would achieve great success with its emphasis on grassroots development.

Gusau said that the grassroots football development programme of the BSFA was in tandem with the vision of his board to develop the game in Nigeria.

He added that the BSFA would get the necessary support it deserved from the NFF to succeed.

“I want to assure you that under my watch, we shall do everything possible to support your leadership.

“When Hon. Icheen met me to communicate that she was not going to contest again. I told her I don’t want to talk about that now, that she should give me a little time to think about it.

“But later, Edeh told me his intention to contest for the Benue FA Chairman.

“It was then I felt a little bit relieved, because the whole essence is to get people that are interested and committed to the game of football.

“If we don’t have people that are interested and committed to man the positions of leadership, then we are deceiving ourselves.

“God in his own wisdom will see us through to make sure we achieve our goals as FA chairman and NFF president respectively, ”he said.

Gusau also said he was deeply honoured by the presence and presentation of the delegation, stressing that the visit by the BSFA was the first of its kind by any FA in the country and urged them to sustain such a leadership style.

“I am proud of you Paul because your board is the first FA board that is making this kind of visit in the history of the NFF, I stand to be corrected.

“This is a pointer to the fact that your leadership as Benue state Chairman will be exceptional.”

Earlier, the Chairman of the BSFA and President, Ratels Sports Development Foundation (RSDF), Edeh, said the visit was to interact with the NFF and for the football house to be acquainted with his programme.

“When I made up my mind to contest for the Benue state FA Chairman, I first swept through your manifesto so that I can understand the vision of the man who is currently the first citizen of football in Nigeria.

“One fundamental vision of yours that caught my attention was your vision to develop football from the grassroots. Today, I must confess that the President and I have a couple of similarities.

“The first is the fact that the President has two women on his board and so do I. The President’s General Secretary is a PHD holder and so is my Secretary General.

“As you can see Sir, I am following in your footsteps,” Edeh said.

He appreciated the NFF President for granting his board audience within a short notice and appealed for the football house’s assistance to develop football facilities in Benue.

According to him, Benue has made tremendous contributions to football in the country but current infrastructural deficit if not urgently addressed will affect football development in the state and the country.

Edeh further advocated the need to embrace a policy direction that would encourage the combination of sports and education.

Two big hamper baskets of fruits were presented to the NFF President, which portrayed Benue as the food basket of the nation.

Other memorabilia were handed to the NFF President by the leadership of the BSFA to symbolise why the state was regarded as the food basket.

Other notable figures, including NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi and NFF Board members Margaret Icheen and Alhaji Sharif Inuwa were in attendance. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Vivian Ihechu

By Ijeoma Okigbo

Nigeria’s Super Falcons have arrived their camp in Brisbane Australia, ahead of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Cup co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand is scheduled to hold from July 20 to Aug. 20.

The nine-time African champions will begin her campaign on Friday against Canada before meeting hosts Australia on July 27 and the Republic of Ireland on July 31.

After a 10-day camp in Gold Coast, the team is now set for the World Cup beginning on Thursday.

In a video posted on the team’s twitter handle @ngsuperfalcons on Sunday, the team was welcomed to its Sofitel Luxury Hotel by officials of the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA).

The Super Falcons have been unable to dominate at the World Cup just like they have done in Africa.

The team has been to every World Cup since 1991 but managed to finish in the top eight just once. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Chidinma Agu and Emmanuel Afonne

By Emmanuel Afonne

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) says it remains committed to giving students opportunities to engage in sporting activities.

The Permanent Secretary, Dr Olushola Adeshola, said this on Thursday when he received in his office, the FCT contingent to the Nestle Milo National Basketball Championship held in Lagos.

Olushola said that the FCTA was committed to developing its students through sports, and lauded the efforts of Government Secondary School (GSS), Karu, for giving FCT podium outing at the just concluded Nestle Milo Championship.

“Sports come with a lot of rewards and your victory in Lagos will spur us to look inwards at identifying talented athletes and nurture them,” he said.

According to Adeshola, sports is part of the activities recognised and appropriated for its contributions to the development of our children and it gives meaning to life.

“We have seen many sports stars from this competition. We shall support you as you prepare to represent the country at the World School Basketball Championship in China.”

The Director, FCT School Sports, Adamu Ojah, said GSS Karu had become a household name in Basketball.

“I want to sincerely bring to your attention that GSS Karu, Abuja, has been consistent as far as Nestle Milo Basketball Championship is concerned.

“They have been representing FCT since 2016 till date.”

Paul Edeh, partners of the FCTA in School Sports Developnent, said he was glad that the collaboration with his foundation was yeilding the desired results.

“We will continue to double our efforts to ensure that when these young lads are discovered they will be given regular training and I’m very happy with what GSS Karu is doing in training the children, as they train from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“Others are training in the afternoon and others train in the evening. No wonder they are representing Nigeria in the World Basketball Championship.

“I am confident that five years is still a long time and if within this short time we could come up with this kind of feat, I am sure in the next couple of years, we will have more trophies coming out of the FCT,” Edeh said.

He announced a donation of N500,000 to the management of GSS Karu for the development of basketball infrastructure in the school.

It would be recalled that GSS Karu defeated their opponents from Lagos, 46 to 43 points to emerge champions of the 23rd edition of the championship, while the girls category, FCT lost 50 to 53 points to team Lagos.

With the feat, GSS Karu would represent Nigeria at the World School Championship in China later in the year.

Captain of the boys team, Sambo Ibrahim, said the school would not relent in its determination to win the global championship for the country.

“We shall work hard not to disappoint FCT and Nigeria in general at the 2023 World Championship in China.” (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

By Abbas Bamalli

The Speaker, Katsina State House of Assembly, Alhaji Nasir Daura, has commended the management and players of Katsina United Football Club (FC) for gaining promotion back to the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

This is contained in a statement issued on Saturday in Katsina by the Assembly’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Aminu Idris.

The speaker acknowledged the commitment of the entire management staff, players as well as the technical crew for living up to expectations of sports loving people in the state.

Daura further noted that with this development, the name of Katsina State would keep on resonating in the sports arena.

While describing sports as a modern lucrative venture, he assured of more effective legislations that would enhance the sector across the state.

The state’s number three citizen however enjoined the team to exhibit a high sense of sportsmanship and endurance in the professional league.

He also expressed optimism that the lads have what it takes to go the extra mile by winning the league crown at the end of the 2023/2024 season.

The club succeeded in returning to the league after winning two out of the three playoff matches in the ongoing Nigeria National League (NNL) Super-Eight in Asaba, Delta. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

By Victor Okoye

Sports enthusiasts have called on stakeholders in the sector to uphold the virtues of transparency and accountability to fight corruption in the industry.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that they spoke at a one-day International Conference on Corruption in Sport, Whistle blowing and Transparency in Abuja on Saturday.

The conference was organised by the Africa Centre for Media Information and Literacy (AFRICMIL), Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), HEDA Resource Centre and PLAY!YA Nigeria.

Beverly Agbakoba-Onyeijanya, a Sports, Entertainment and Technology legal practitioner, said that the sports industry had been so heavily politicised which has led to corruption in the sector.

She said that member states of various Federations are involved in wars over who has the right to vote, with elections being a major source of contention and disputes in the sports industry.

“We’ve seen the rancour that have torn apart the Basketball Federation in Nigeria with factions, and of course with this comes the possibility of bribery, corruption and inducements,” she said.

She said given the amount of money involved in the prosecution of sports, there was a need for the anti-graft agencies to focus attention to financial crimes in the sports industry.

According to her, the establishment of an anti-corruption sports desk in agencies such as the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), ICPC, would check mate the excesses of sports administrators in the country.

In a remark, Usman Kaltungu of the EFCC explained that the commission’s powers to fight sports related corruption cases in the country, was been hindered by undue interference from International Sports organisations such as FIFA, FIBA and others.

Francis Obih, President, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN), said the issue of favoritism and sentiments must be stamped out from sports.

“As far as I am concerned, it doesn’t matter where you are coming from, once you are going out to represent Nigeria, you are representing the country and not any ethnic group or a particular religion.

“So, such things should be taken away from sports, it doesn’t matter whether you are my brother or not, it should be purely based on merit and competence.

“Also one of the disturbing areas is also the sexual harassment of female athletes by their coaches.

“This is a no go area for me and the height of indiscipline to have officials, the coaches or technical personnel to have any sexual relationship with their athletes.

“We must do everything to stop it because it hampers the performance of the athletes,” he said.

He said every stakeholder, be it administrators, ministry, journalists, must come together, join hands and set certain ethical standards.

“These standards should guide the growth and development of sports in the country, in order to bring corruption to its barest minimum.

“No one person cannot do it alone, all hands must be on deck and in agreement, even though in every group, there are always some bad eggs and that’s the truth.

“However, we must find a way of isolating those elements and minimise the damage that they can do, so that the whole body is not seen in a bad light,” he said.

Also speaking via zoom, an Investigative journalist based in Germany, Grit Hartmann, said that journalists outside the shores of Africa were not ignorant of corruption stories from the continent, especially Nigeria.

She called for synergy and transnational corporation among stakeholders, adding that the issue of corruption in sport in Nigeria and the African continent at large was a systemic problem.

Stanis Elsborg, a Senior Analyst also based in Germany, said that corruption in sports was not limited to Africa.

He said that Europe and other parts of the globe are also susceptible to corruption tendencies in the area of sports.

Joshua Umeifekwe, a professor at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, said the essence of measuring and managing multiple sports governance crisis was to maintain the credibility and transparency of the sector.

“Transparency like you know ensures trust and so what we are saying is that there is a need to measure the nature of crisis that we have.

“For one to talk about ways of managing the crisis, you need to have an assessment of these crises.

“Some of the ways include; collecting qualitative data, running a survey, interviews, to mention a few.

“Having done this, we must ensure we manage the crisis by ensuring transparency and ethical standards are followed and maintained,” he said.

Chido Onumah, Coordinator, AFRICMIL and Oluwashina Okeleji, a sports journalist with BBC Sports, among others said that the role of whistleblowers in the sector cannot be overemphasised.

They said for sports to grow, there was a need to have whistleblowers to expose some of the ills and corruption going on in the sector.

They also called for the establishment of a legislation to protect whistleblowers, as well as investigative journalists in the country. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Joseph Edeh

By Chimezie Anaso

The Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) has called on States to demonstrate full commitment to the success of the Olympic Day celebration.

Ibrahim Abdul, Chairman of the Sports-for-All Commission of the NOC made the call during a virtual meeting of the Committee ahead of the Olympic Day Run celebration scheduled for June 24.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of this year’s Olympic Day Run is “Let’s Move”.

Abdul said the Olympic Day Run had become an essential event that brings people together to celebrate the values of Olympism and promote physical well-being.

He described the celebration as a significant event which promotes the values and goals set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

According to him, it is worth mentioning that the Commission benefits from the expertise and experience of two former chairpersons, Anthony Oyetayo and Henry Amike who brought valuable insights to the table.

“With their guidance and the collective knowledge of all members, the success of this celebration becomes highly feasible,” he said.

On his part, Tunde Poopola, NOC, Secretary-General, said there was need to enhance the marketing drive of the NOC to improve its funding.

Poopola said the funding was crucial in sustaining the values of Olympism and ensuring the continued celebration of the Olympic Day.

“It reflects the Commission’s dedication to maintaining and promoting the essence of the Olympic Games,” he said.

Also speaking, Austin Odigie, the Assistant Secretary In-charge of the Commission commended the impressive turnout at the inaugural meeting.

Odigie commended the enthusiasm and commitment of members towards organising a memorable Olympic Day celebration.
He said it was encouraging that 13 States had volunteered to host the event on their territories.

“This number showcases the wide participation and interest in the celebration, further reinforcing the expected success of the occasion,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited By Emmanuel Afonne

By Emmanuel Afonne

Nigeria will participate in 11 events at the 2nd African Beach Games scheduled to hold between June 22 and June 30 in Temament, Tunisia, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

A statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja by Tony Nezianya, Public Relations Officer (PRO), Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), said the Games was organised by the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA).

Nezianya disclosed that President of the NOC, Habu Gumel is expected to lead Team Nigeria to the Games which would serve as crucial qualification phase for the upcoming ANOC World Beach Games in Bali, Indonesia, scheduled for between Aug. 4 and Aug. 12, 2023.

“Not less than 11 events will be on offer, where athletes will showcase their talents and athleticism of Nigerian athletes on the beautiful beaches of Tunisia.

“The events cover a wide range of sports, ensuring a diverse and exciting competition for both participants and spectators alike.

“First on the list is the high-energy sport of Beach Volleyball, where Nigeria will be represented by a skilled team of 12 players.

“Following closely is Beach Handball, with a talented squad of 10 players ready to showcase their exceptional skills on the sand.

“In addition to these dynamic team sports, Nigeria will also compete in individual events, while air badminton will see three players from Nigeria demonstrating their agility, quick reflexes, and finesse,” Nezianya stated.

The NOC image maker said a solitary athlete would represent the country in Kata Karate (traditional martial art).

He further stated that the open water would provide an exhilarating challenge for Nigerian athletes participating in Open Water Swimming.

“The country will have four determined swimmers diving into the waves, seeking to conquer the demanding nature of the sport.

“The thrill continues with the inclusion of Teqball, a relatively new sport that combines elements of soccer and table tennis.

“Nigeria will field a competitive team of three players, who will battle it out against the other nations in this unique and exciting sport.

“With Tennis, four skilled Nigerian athletes will make their mark on the sandy courts, showcasing their power, precision, and strategy against tough opponents.

“Ocean Racing, a daring and physically demanding water sport, will feature two athletes representing Nigeria’s competitive spirit,” he stated.

He also stated that four athletes would fly the country’s flag in Rowing Beach Sprint, while three wrestlers would represent the country in Beach Wrestling. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Yinusa Ishola/Joseph Edeh