Author: The Nation

SuperSport viewers on DStv and GOtv can look forward to live actions from the La Liga and Serie A seasons, with  exciting matches scheduled  for this week.

The pick of matches for this round sees Atletico Madrid host Real Sociedad at Estadio Wanda Metropolitano tomorrow  at 9pm on SuperSport La Liga (DStv channel 204) and SuperSport GOtv La Liga (GOtv channel 32).

The title race continues to enthral in Spain’s top flight and Atletico need three points from this clash to move one step closer to glory, while visitors Real are scrapping to finish in fifth place and ensure a spot in the UEFA Europa League next season.

Other games to watch include Sevilla hosting Valencia and looking to further underline their status as the top team outside of the title-contending ‘big three’, while the always entertaining Villarreal will have to fight for all three points away to a Real Valladolid side fighting against the prospect of relegation.

The headline fixture from Serie A this midweek sees Internazionale host Roma for a key clash at the San Siro in Milan tomorrow at 7:45pm on SuperSport Football (DStv channel 205) and SuperSport GOtv Select 1 (GOtv channel 33).

Elsewhere in Italy , Juventus face a tricky trip away to Sassuolo tomorrow  at 7:45pm on SuperSport Variety 3 (DStv channel 208), while Milan will be wary of visiting a Torino team fighting for their top-flight lives at 7:45pm.

By Kolade Adeyemi, Jos

Activities marking the 58th birthday anniversary of Plateau State Governor Simon Bako Lalong came to a climax as the golfing community in the State completed its triangular golf tournament at the oldest golf club in Nigeria, Rayfield Golf Club in Jos.

The golf tournament which had kicked off on Friday at the Rhino Golf Club, Maxwell Khobe Cantonment in Jos, saw golfers from different parts of the country joining to celebrate the Governor.

Despite the downpour, the golfers defied the odds to honour Governor Lalong at the oldest golf club in Nigeria, the Rayfield Golf club 1913

Among the Special Guests were Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State Dr.  Emmanuel Akabe, Minister of  Youth & Sports Development  Sunday Dare as well as Director General, ITF among others.

Governor Lalong said he was honoured by the golfing community in Plateau and Nigeria as a whole and highly overwhelmed by the show of love during his birthday.

He said this has encouraged him to do more for the State and continue to contribute to national development as the task of building Nigeria is the responsibility of all.

Minister of Sports Sunday Dare said the honour to Governor Lalong was well deserved because of his achievements in restoring peace in Plateau State, developing infrastructure and touching the lives of the people.

He said Lalong has also shown tremendous interest in sports development by not only playing golf, but ensuring other sports such as football in the State receive attention.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Luik Tennis and Recreation Club, Uzonna Izugbokwe, has expressed his satisfaction on the performance of members of the club at the recently concluded 4th annual Luik Tennis and Recreation Club Member Tennis League.

Speaking with our correspondent, Izugbokwe revealed that the members have shown that they are one big family despite the hostilities on the Court as they were able to imbibe the spirit of true sportsmanship.

Emelie Okika defeated Damien Uyagu  7/5, 6/2 to lift the title in the men’s singles, while Betsy Eze defeated Mobolaji Ogundairo in straight sets of 6/4,6/2 to win the women’s singles event.

The most explosive match of the final day was the men’s doubles final between Rume Dubre/Godwin Kienka and Tope Aremu/Bayo Oguntunde.

After losing the first set at 6/4, the pair of Dubre and Kienka won the second set 6/3 and went ahead to win the tough decider in the rubber 11/9 as spectators were kept at the edge of their seats for the better duration of the encounter.

“The final was like every normal Grand Slam as all the players were just keen to win,” Izugbokwe said. “The tournament which started on April 15 was an improvement on the 2020 edition and I really want to appreciate all the sponsors for their support.

“We have had loads of fun in the past two weeks or so. Nigeria Breweries Limited under brand, Amstel, ARM Pensions and Redbull- they were really supportive. We are so happy and hope the next edition will be better.”

By Olalekan Okusan

Over 150 Athletes, including some of Nigeria’s top Athletes and several from across Africa, have registered for the inaugural AFN/MoC Invitational billed to hold at the Yaba College of Technology in Lagos State on May 22.

MoC announced the first ever AFN/MoC Invitational, which is being organized to provide athletes across Nigeria and Africa hope of  qualifying  for the Tokyo Olympics, African Championships and World U-20 Championships with a much needed opportunity to compete and hit the various qualification standards.

Meanwhile, Tobi Amusan and Chukwuebuka Enekwechi finished third respectively in women’s 100m hurdles and men’s shot put events at the USATF Golden Games – a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting – held at Mt SAC in Walnut, California at the weekend.

Amusan had earlier finished second behind Britain’s Cindy Sember with a time of 12.71secs in the heat event while the Briton ran 12.65secs to qualify for the star-studded final.

Despite running faster in the final with a time of 12.61secs, Amusan had to settle for third spot on the podium behind American Kendra Harrison (12.48 (2.0m/s) and Britain’s Sember (12.53).

Enekwechi alongside his compatriot – Dotun Ogundeji competed in the shot put event but it was 29-year-old 2019 African Games gold medalist Enekwechi that made it to the podium with a 20.97m throw behind American duo of Darrell Hill (22.34m) while  Josh Awotunde was second with a PB of 21.68m.

Two of the Premier League’s top four sides meet today as the season nears its climax and Nigeria international Wilfred Ndidi said the Foxes’ targets won’t change, irrespective of venue or opposition, especially at such a pivotal moment in the campaign.

Looking ahead to tackling Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s Red Devils, the 24-year-old told LCFC TV: “It’s one of those games. We have to try and do our best to get something out of it. We’ve got three games left, so it’s that part of the season where every point is really important.

“It’s a tough game. Obviously, the last time we met, we knocked them out of the FA Cup, but it’s going to be a difficult game. We’ll look forward to it and see what comes out of it. They’re a really good team, a really strong side. The players they have are top quality.

“They’ve really done well in the league and the Europa League. They will also want to finish as high as possible, which is how every team wants to finish the season. It’s something that means we have to go there, see what comes out of it, and we’ll give everything.”

City have won 10 and lost just two of their away Premier League fixtures this season, but Ndidi says that success comes down to always taking the opposition seriously, regardless of where they are in the league table.

“In the Premier League, it doesn’t matter if you’re playing Manchester United or another team, you’re just going for the points,” he added, speaking at LCFC Training Ground in Seagrave. “We’ve been on a fantastic run away from home.

“We’ve had some ups and downs and some games where we should have got more points, but we’re looking forward to this one and we’ll be trying as much as we can to get points. We’re in the last part of the season so every point is very important for us.”

The delayed CAF Super Cup match between Al Ahly of Egypt and Renaissance Berkane of Morocco will be played on May 28 in Doha, the organisers have confirmed.

Coronavirus and disagreements over the venue led to several postponements of the annual fixture between the winners of the CAF Champions League and the second-tier CAF Confederation Cup. Last November, Ahly beat Zamalek 2-1 in an all-Egypt Champions League final and Berkane edged another Egyptian club, Pyramids, 1-0 to lift the Confederation Cup.

This will be third consecutive Super Cup match to be staged in Qatar, who will host the 2022 World Cup, the first to be staged in the Middle East.

Previously asked why an African match was being played in Asia, a CAF official said taking the game outside the continent helped to “broaden the appeal of the Super Cup”.

Traditionally, the match was hosted by the African champions, leading them to win 21 of 23 matches between 1996 and 2018.

But the switch to Doha saw successive victories by the Confederation Cup title-holders, Raja Casablanca of Morocco and Zamalek. Ahly have won the Super Cup a record six times in eight appearances while Berkane are debutants.

The Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) has staked N4.5m for the 2021 National Championships taking place on May 18 to 22 at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.

According to the breakdown of prize money for the five-day tournament, winners in men and women singles events will earn N250,000 each while U-21 and cadet champions carting N100,000 and N50,000 respectively.

Winners in team and doubles events will get N200, 000 and N100, 000 respectively while quarter-finalists in each event will earn a minimum of N50, 000 each.

Also, national technical crew will be present to identify talents that will be invited to national camp in junior and senior categories.

12 events will be contested for by the players in the cadet, U-21, men, women and veteran divisions.

Already, winners of the singles events of the just concluded Aso Championship Azeez Solanke and Fatimo Bello have vowed to continue their dominance at national levels.

“We are coming to Lagos to give our very best again because I must remain on top of my game as there are no pushovers in the game again. Everybody wants to become champion but it is a bit tougher to remain on top,” said Bello who claimed the singles title in Abuja and the 2020 National Sports Festival in Benin City.

The Nigerian Triathlon (NTU) suffered  a major blow when it’s Vice President Cycling and Technical Director, Yinka Badare passed on April 2  after a brief illness in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Late Badare was a foundation member of the NTU, a private sporting association made up of very experienced sports administrators.

Badare who started his stint in Nigeria Cycling Federation (NCF), won an election into the Executive Committee of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) in Yenegoa in 2004 as treasurer where he served meritoriously till 2009.

The Founding President of NTU and  Trustee of the NOC, Dr Lanre Glover praised the late Badare as a passionate and sports administrator extraordinaire who committed his life to uplift of sports in Nigeria in general and Triathlon in particular.

Late Badare was a recipient of the highest honour in triathlon for his services to the sport and he will be laid to rest on May 21 in Akure, his hometown.

The president of the Italian FA president Gabriele Gravina confirmed yesterday on Naples radio station Kiss Kiss that the Turin club must pull out of the plans to form a European Super League if they are to remain part of Italy’s top flight.

Juventus remain part of the ESL plans with Barcelona and Real Madrid, despite the other Italian clubs involved in the project removing themselves within 48 hours of the announcement.

Barcelona’s official website released a statement two days ago that came from each of the clubs still involved with the league which confirmed that they are still committed to the plans.

Asked about the stance of I Bianconeri, Gravina said: “The rules are clear. If Juventus is still part of the Super League when it enters next season, it can’t participate in Serie A, I would be sorry for the fans but rules are rules and they apply to everyone. I hope this holdout ends soon.”

While the three clubs maintain that the plans will go ahead, they are likely to receive a ban from European competition if they do not concede defeat to UEFA soon.

Juventus, who dropped out of the Champions League places in Serie A after a 3-0 defeat to AC Milan, are currently refusing to be reintegrated with European football’s governing body.

Sporting venues across England will be able to welcome back spectators from next Monday, the Prime Minister has confirmed.

Boris Johnson said at a press conference yesterday  that the Government was proceeding with its plan to take the third step in its coronavirus recovery road map, first set out on February 22.

“We’ll unlock the turnstiles of our sports stadia subject to capacity limits,” Johnson said in his opening speech, as he detailed the further easing of lockdown in England.

It means larger seated outdoor venues will be able to admit up to 10,000 spectators from next week.

The Premier League pushed its penultimate round of matches back to May 18 and 19 so that every club would be able to play one game in front of supporters before the end of the season on May 23.

The league confirmed last week that the matches will be open to home supporters only.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said: “It will be brilliant to see fans back. They have been hugely missed and the Premier League has not been the same without them. Their presence will ensure a fantastic finale to the end of our season.

“Although only a small number of home fans will be at our matches next week, this is an important step in our return to normality.

“We will continue to work with the Government and other authorities as our priority is to have full vibrant stadiums – including away supporters – from the start of next season. Only then will we get back to the real Premier League.”

For smaller outdoor venues capacities will be capped at 4,000 or 50 per cent, whichever is the lowest. The indoor venue cap will be 1,000 or 50 per cent, whichever is lower.

The decision to ease restrictions comes as the country continues to benefit from an accelerating vaccination programme and a fall in deaths and hospitalisations related to Covid-19.

The Government hopes to allow venues to admit significantly higher numbers of spectators from June 21 onwards and it has set up an events research programme (ERP) to test out different safety measures at a range of sporting and cultural ‘pilot’ events in order to achieve that.

The first ERP sports event with spectators in attendance this year was day one of the World Snooker Championship on April 17, with crowds at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield being increased as the tournament progressed, culminating in a full house for the final on May 2 and 3.

The FA Cup semi-final between Leicester and Southampton at Wembley on April 18 was the first outdoor sports event to welcome back spectators, though it was limited to residents and key workers living locally to the stadium.

The following weekend’s Carabao Cup final was the first outdoor event attended by fans of the clubs involved. Manchester City and Tottenham were each able to offer tickets to 2,000 supporters.

There have been no major hiccups in the ERP so far, which continues on Saturday when 21,000 people are due to go to the FA Cup final between Chelsea and Leicester at Wembley, where Prince William is set to be on hand to present the trophy to the winners.

It was confirmed on Monday that the Duke of Cambridge and FA president will attend the game.