Author: The Nation

Current and past winners of the gold label Okpekpe international 10km road race and Access Bank Lagos City Marathon will lead the Nigerian elite cast at the first Cross Country competition in Nigeria scheduled to hold on Saturday at the Rhino Golf Course in Jos, the capital of Plateau state.

The race will be the first organised Cross Country event in Nigeria in over four decades.

Top on the list of athletes who have registered for the race is Nyango Gyang Boy, the first Nigerian finisher at the 2023 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon held last weekend in Lagos.

Also confirmed for the historic race in Jos are Iliya Pam, the best Nigerian finisher at the 2018 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, and Paul James Pam who won the 10km race at the same event this year.

Emmanuel Gyan Gwom, the 2019 Okpekpe race ‘Nigerian’ winner will also be competing in Jos as well as Stephen Joshua Dalop who has also registered to join over 200 others who have so far confirmed their participation and make history on Saturday.

Veteran distance runner and multiple Nigerian 5,000 and 10,000m champion, Deborah Pam Badung has also confirmed her participation.

Project coordinator, Chief Tony Osheku is delighted with the response shown by Nigerian elite athletes and believes the Cross Country event will help the athletes to get physically and mentally stronger.

“Running Cross Country will make our distance runners better and stronger. In this way, they can, in a few years’ time start challenging the east Africans for places in the international circuit and earn some good money which will help their career, their families, and of course Nigeria,” said Osheku.

The Lagos State Boxing Association (LABA), organisers of the popular Lagos Monthly Boxing Show, have announced their decision to postpone the 125th  edition of the event.

The show, scheduled to hold on February 25 at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Sports Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, will now be held next month at the same venue.

The decision to postpone the event was informed by upcoming General Elections to be held on the same day across the nation.  

In a statement by the secretary of LABA, Lawal Yussuf said the decision to postpone the event was taken after consultation with boxing stakeholders in Lagos and the major event partner, Lagos Boxing Hall of Fame (LBHF), chaired by Olawale Edun.

 “After close consultations with boxing stakeholders and our major partner, we have decided to postpone the Lagos Saturday Monthly Boxing Show for the month of February due to the General Elections coming up on the last Saturday of the month which coincidentally falls on the same last Saturday of the month we normally host our boxing event,” he said.

The secretary further assured boxing fans that their much-loved tournament, which has been ongoing for 13 years non-stop, would eventually hold on the 25th of March.

As one of Nigeria’s longest-running sporting events, the boxing show brings hundreds of boxing fans together every last Saturday of the month as well as amateur boxers who are happy to showcase their skills.

Rivers United of Nigeria started their campaign in the group stage of the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup on a shaky note yesterday after the Stanley Eguma-side were walloped 3-0 by their host – Congo Brazzaville’s Diables Noirs.

Unlike Rivers United, Tunisia’s US Monastir cashed in big on their home advantage, picking comfortable wins in their opening group match.

The only surviving Nigerian side in the club continental championships conceded three first-half goals against their host with the Congolese side topping Group B with the win.

In the encounter played in Brazzaville, the home side was keen to make a statement from the start of the match and they did so with military precision in a full-blown first-half performance. Three goals in seven minutes were all they needed to wrap up maximum points.

To break the defense line of Rivers United, it took the home team half-hour mark through Carl Wunda who tapped in from close range, before Jaures Maudsly Ngombe doubled their advantage just two minutes later with a low shot with the keeper off his line.

With eight minutes left to the break, they wrapped up their convincing victory through 19-year-old forward Domi Jaures Massoumou.

Despite frantic efforts in the second half by Rivers United to reduce the tally, in the 55th minute, they nearly draw one back and change the trajectory of the game after Ukeme Williams was brought down inside the box by Josie Mwimba.

However, Gideon Duru saw his penalty comfortably saved by Dhody Foutou, while none of their efforts could bear any fruit as Diables ensured they kept their guard tight to bank maximum points.

Asec Mimosas and DR Congo’s DC Motema Pembe played out to a barren draw in the other Group B match played at the same time.

At the Stade Mustapha Ben Jannet, hosts US Monastir scored two first-half goals to see off Tanzania’s Young Africans 2-0. The victory sees them sit second in Group D behind TP Mazembe who earlier on saw off Real Bamako 3-1.

Flying Eagles came back from a goal down to beat Congo 2-1 in a friendly game played in Morocco ahead of the forthcoming Egypt 2023 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Ladan Bosso-led side started poorly when the Congolese took the lead in the 21st minute against the run of play.

They however equalised in the 66th minute through former FC IfeanyiUbah player, Emmanuel Uchegbu while Adams Olamilekan completed the comeback with what turned out to be the winning goal in the 74th minute.

Nigeria is in Group A with hosts, Egypt, Mozambique and Senegal at the Egypt 2023 Africa Under 20 Cup of Nations billed to start February 19th.

Since joining Salernitana from Watford last month, William Troost-Ekong will be making his third starting line-up for the Serie A side when Coach Davide Nicola-side hosts Hellas Verona.

The Super Eagles assistant captain featured in the last two Serie A ties for Salernitana with a win and a loss against Juventus last weekend, the Nigerian has been listed in Nicola’s starting squad for the tie today.

The coach released the squad list for today’s match after their yesterday’s training with the Nigerian taking charge of the defense line-up against the visitors.

However, Coach Nicola has put the 3-0 home loss to Juventus behind him with the hope of a good outing against Verona today.

“Verona are an aggressive team, they apply strong pressure so we will have to be good at turning the ball around quickly and exploiting the spaces that will free up. We want to propose our ideas to do well. We must have the ability to express ourselves while maintaining a very high level of awareness and enthusiasm to conquer what we want,” Nicola spoke at the press conference ahead of today’s encounter,” the coach added.

Manchester City responded in a predictable fashion to their latest scandal against Aston Villa, as Pep Guardiola led his side to the brink of the top spot in the Premier League.

A 3-1 win over outclassed Villa featured first-half goals from Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, and Riyad Mahrez and was the perfect response to a controversial week in which they were charged with financial fair play violations.

Now, victory at leaders Arsenal on Wednesday will have seen City turn around an eight-point deficit in 27 days as they seek a seventh Premier League title in the last dozen years.

With City fans getting firmly behind their manager, owners, and players, the Premier League accusations of over 100 alleged infractions were always going to generate a passionate atmosphere.

And, as those fans taunted their critics with shouts of “we’ll cheat when we want,” their heroes turned in the sort of dominant display that has been all too familiar over the past dozen years of Abu Dhabi ownership.

After just four minutes, Mahrez’s left-wing corner found Rodri in the corner of the six-yard box and his header was helped into the net at the near-post by World Cup-winning keeper Emiliano Martinez.

It was the start of a completely dominant performance from the defending champions, whose hopes of retaining their crown looked doomed, as recently as the middle of last month, when they trailed the Gunners by eight points.

It took until the 39th minute for City to extend their lead when Kevin De Bruyne’s through ball was helped on by defender Calum Chambers and Erling Haaland pounced.

The striker took the ball wide of Martinez but brilliantly turned it towards the far post where Gundogan was able to make a routine finish.

And in the final minute of the first half, Jacob Ramsey’s clumsy trip sent former Villa favourite Jack Grealish sprawling, presenting City with a penalty.

Haaland appeared keen to take the kick but Mahrez won the discussion and comfortably converted into the left-hand side of the goal.

The victory also helped City in the goal difference department, the Blues now holding a six-goal edge over Mikel Arteta’s side and, more relevantly, that advantage ensures that a win at the Emirates on Wednesday will return them to the top of the table.

And the win was vindication for City supporters who left little doubt about their views on this week’s scandal, booing the Premier League “anthem” before kick-off.

They also sang their support for Guardiola, Abu Dhabi owner Sheikh Mansour and former manager Roberto Mancini, whose alleged irregular salary arrangements during his time with City form part of the league’s charge sheet.

Plateau State-based Nigeria’s most successful marathon, road races, long and middle distances athletics club, the High-Altitude Athletics Club of Jos, will storm the April 29  Abuja International Marathon with 75 runners according to the club owner Steve Nuhu.

Regarded as Nigeria’s most successful distance coach, Nuhu told reporters in Jos over the weekend that of the 75 runners, 30 of them are elite men and women runners, who have dominated the Nigerian running circuit in the last ten years and have also done well overseas.

Some of the elite men runners that have registered for the Abuja International Marathon are Emmanuel Gyang Gwom, Adamu Shehu Mu’azu, Gyang Boyi Nyango, Tokbe Christopher Gwet, Okot Friday, Stephen Joshua Dalyop, Istifanus Peter Mahan, Friday Yohanna, Joseph Kumbam, and Solomon Dauda.

The elite women according to Nuhu, are Deborah Pam Badung, Elizabeth Nuhu Power, Blessing Shambor Solomon, Charity Agofure, Hudung Gyang Stephen, Rosemary Danlami, Dinatu Yohanna, Monica Ezekiel Mandun, Juliana Usman and Faustina Oguh.

Nuhu thanked Unicentral Resources Generation Limited, the licensee of Abuja International Marathon, for bringing a proper international marathon to the North,

 “I hope our Governors from the North will be in Abuja on April 29 and watch the race and see what we have been talking about for so many years,” he said.

“We have what it takes to compete with the best in the world but our major problem has been a lack of support from the government and the corporate world.”

 He added:  “We have been saying the same thing. All parents want their kids in schools today so the only way to develop our children is to make sports part of the school curriculum. Let all the kids run as early as age five or six years by their early teen talented ones will be discovered and then we will have the center of excellence in each senatorial zone where the talents discovered will be exposed to elite training at a very early age.

 “But our leaders are not listening. With the desired support, we have what it takes to rule the world”.

Nuhu revealed the target of the High-Altitude Athletics Club is to win Nigerian prizes at the Abuja International Marathon and also have many runners finish in the top ten in the international category.