Author: The Nation

The sports world has welcomed the verdict in the George Floyd murder trial, while cautioning that there is still work to do addressing systemic racism in the United States. Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of Floyd, who was black, after kneeling on the 46-year-old’s neck for more than nine minutes in May last year.

“ACCOUNTABILITY,” tweeted Basketball great LeBron James, who has been a prominent voice on social justice over the last few years. Magic Johnson also expressed his relief at the verdict after other high-profile cases in which police officers have not been convicted or charged after killing black Americans. “Thank God…guilty! Justice has been served!!” wrote the NBA hall of famer.

However, others pointed out that the verdict does not change the many problems surrounding policing and race in the United States.

“Will it change anything? There was a just verdict. But will it have enough larger implications?” New Orleans Pelicans coach Van Gundy said. “Will it force us or at least motivate us to explore better policing and solving the immense problems of racial justice? Will it do any of that? Will it move forward on any of that? Or is this just an isolated verdict on one where we had clear video evidence.”

The Minnesota Timberwolves play in the same city where Floyd was murdered and their star player, Karl-Anthony Towns, said he had been worried about the outcome of the trial before Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings.

“I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Towns said. “I had sweated so much I had to take a shower because I didn’t know how it was going to go. My feelings towards it was, we’ve seen moments like this so much that go the opposite way, that even with how quick the verdict came in, you still have no idea where it’s going to go.

“I was worried. I was worried for our community. I was worried for if justice was going to be served. I was worried about all the family our team has, every player, and wondering if their safety was going to be guaranteed tonight and how they would feel. On our team, we’ve got guys who have kids, who are kids of color, wondering if we’re going to show them if the word accountability actually lives in the world we live in today.”

The Timberwolves dedicated their victory over the Kings to Floyd’s family and many athletes brought attention to the fact that the verdict did not erase the tragedy of his death.

“I was going to make a celebratory tweet but then I was hit with sadness because we are celebrating something that is clear as day,” wrote tennis world No 2 Naomi Osaka on Twitter. “The fact that so many injustices occurred to make us hold our breath toward this outcome is really telling.”

Towns shared similar sentiments. “It’s bittersweet because it cost a life to see a moment like this,” he said. “It’s one of those moments you worry that if reform’s not done, we’ll be having the same situation again, and that’s the most unfortunate, disheartening thing.”

F1 champion Sir Lewis Hamilton says the conviction of Chauvin “marks a new dawn in the fight for racial justice”.

“This is the first time that a white officer has been convicted for killing a black man in Minnesota,” Hamilton posted on Instagram.

“Convicting him of all three charges marks a new dawn in the fight for racial justice.

“Justice for George. This is monumental, George’s death is not in vain.

“We can now breathe a collective sigh of relief that the right decision has been met, and that justice has been served.

“Black voices have been heard and action is happening. When we stand together, we can make a difference.

“But this is just one step on the path towards a more equal society. The fight isn’t over, and there is more to be done, but we can consider today a glimmer of hope.”

Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Hamilton, 36, continues to kneel before races in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and has set up a joint charitable foundation with Mercedes to promote diversity.

Former tennis world number one and 12-time women’s Grand Slam champion Billie Jean King tweeted: “The time to collectively examine the treatment of black people, in particular black boys/men, by some law enforcement is long overdue.

“The path to healing must begin.”

The NBA said it will “redouble our efforts to advocate for meaningful change in the areas of criminal justice and policing”.

“Today showed to me the power of community,” said former Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers star Dwyane Wade.

“If there was any win, you can’t celebrate this, to me it was a win for accountability. We have got more work to do, we all know that.”

Tyronn Lue, head coach of the LA Clippers, added: “It’s still a sad day. It’s great to see someone being held accountable for their actions. It doesn’t bring George Floyd back.”

Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash commented: “I just hope that this is the type of statement by our justice system that gives hope and precedence for these type of verdicts to be the norm.”

 

Rite Foods Limited, a truly world-class and proudly Nigerian foods and beverages company, on Friday, dazzled fans of celebrities, sport lovers, guests and Lagos residents as it threw its weight behind the 11:45 edition of Elegushi Peace Cup, that kept fans, spectators and guests in excitement. The Elegushi Peace Cup was characterized by celebrity football matches at the Campus Mini Stadium, Lagos Island, to commemorate the 11th coronation anniversary and 45th birthday celebration of His Royal Majesty, Alaiyeluwa, Oba Saheed Ademola Elegushi (Kusenla III), the Elegushi of Ikateland, who also flagged-off the tournament.

According to Oba Saheed Elegushi, the vision of the Elegushi Peace Cup is to promote peace and unity through passion. It is His Royal Majesty’s belief that for peace to reign in Nigeria, every stakeholder must rise up at this critical period with good initiatives that will complement the existing efforts by the various arms of government, and that ‘the traditional institution, as the custodians of the nation’s history and heritage must be supported to lead this new drive.’

“While the ‘Elegushi Peace Cup is the project, the Legends for Peace is the platform,” he said.

In her remark, the Assistant Brand Manager, Rite Foods Limited, Bolu Adedugbe, stated that the company, is committed to promoting the cultural values and heritage of the people as well as youth and sports development by creating valuable experiences through such platforms, hence, it has decided to celebrate with the Oba who is keenly interested in youth and sport development.

“Elegushi Peace Cup created the platform for us to emotionally connect with our consumers and actively engage in community development to encourage sports and promote peace. The Fearless energy drinks brand being the frontline sponsor shows the brand is on the right platform as it has created its desired experience for consumers,” she stated.

She further congratulated the Oba for being a pillar of support for youths by championing causes to promote peace and unity.

It was an exciting experience for all as four teams which comprised team Nollywood, team Music, team Comedy and team Soccer, played a novelty tournament to promote peace and unity among Nigerians, especially the youths.

Team Nollywood players were top actors and film makers in the movie industry like AY, Fred Amata, IK Ogbonna, Rykardo Agbor amongst others. The music team comprised performing music stars and music makers like Zlatan, TG Omori, Praiz, Spyz etc.

Ex-super Eagles stars like Jay Jay Okocha, Kanu Nwankwo, Daniel Amokachi, Ikpeba, Garba Lawal, Tijani Babangida, and Austin Eguavoen, made up Team Soccer while Team Comedy includes top comedians like Akpororo, I go Save, Maleke, AY and others

In the tournament, Team Nollywood emerged winners, thus clinching the trophy, with the next edition dubbed 12:46.

By Taiwo Alimi

AYINDE: My brothers tried to stop my soccer dream

The story of Super Falcons strong midfielder Halimatu Ayinde is compelling.  Born to mix parentage of Yoruba and Igbo and born and bred in Kaduna, a core Northern state of Nigeria, Ayinde chose a part not too familiar and popular as a young girl growing up in a conservative environment.  She was interested in football and because there were not many girls ready to kick with her, she opted to play with boys. In a strict environment where girl-children are traditionally not heard but stayed home, the outgoing Ayinde wanted more than anything unrestricted access to football. And for her to indulge in the round leather game, she must be on the streets like the boys.

Interestingly, her father a retired military officer did not stand against her wish and neither did her mum.  Halimatu, however, met with stumbling blocks on the part of her brothers- all six of them having born into a familiar of 10-parents, six boys and two girls.

Growing up in the midst of six brothers, she said proved bittersweet for her as his brothers, hell bent on watching over her, overdid it.

They could not bear to see her play football in a predominantly boys team discouraging her on several occasions but she stuck to her mission.

She said: “I grew up in the midst of men six boys and two girls, and all my play mates were boys, everything about my growing was with boys, always playing street football with them. When I decided I was going to play football actively I didn’t have any challenges with either of my parents because my dad is a retired military man so he understood with me going into sport, my obstacles then was my brothers, they believed football was meant for boys and not girls so they did not want me to play with the boys in my street. So most times I hide to play football with my ‘boyfriends.’

The pastime grew to become a passion for her and as she kept going to the streets playing football her brothers relaxed and allowed her pursue her dream.

“Most of the time we organise a street by street football matches and I was always the only girl amongst them, then one faithful day I was with my friends playing football and a guy walked up to me after training and said, he knew two academies here in Kaduna that could take me in. The first is Pepsi Academy at Murtala Square, which trains both boys and girls and the other one is at Ahmadu Bello Stadium, YSFON Academy. He said he will like to take me there and play.

“To cut the long story short, I began to train with both academies because Pepsi trains on Saturdays while YSFON trains on Mondays and Saturdays but sometimes I skip Saturdays with YSFON for Pepsi. The guy actually motivated me and helped me achieve that passion I long had for the game. That was how I left the street to academy.”

So, began the journey that would take Halimatu to the pinnacle of the game. She started her professional career with Nasarawa Amazons in 2009 and quickly moved onto the Nigeria top female football side Delta Stars where she was spotted by the national team handlers.

Halimatu has played for all cadres of national teams; from the U17 to U20 and now the Super Falcons. She was part of the Nigeria U20 that made runners up at the 2014 U20 Women’s World Cup. She also has two African Women’s Championship gold medals on her shelve and to cap it up has played in top leagues of the world from U.S.A, Albania and Sweden.

Halimatu said she had the ever bolstering Kaduna sporting arena to thank for her success.

“In Kaduna, it wasn’t strange maybe in some part of northern states, but back then in Kaduna we have different local female teams like Police Machine, Quest, YSFON Academy, Grey international,  Nasarawa ladies, Pepsi Academy and Waheed Babes. Waheed babes were the ones playing in the premier league then. So it was never strange in Kaduna, although not much support is coming for these teams.”

Halimatu speaks more on related issues. Excerpts:

You are born in Kaduna to Igbo mother and Yoruba father, how did that make you feel?

I feel that it just simply makes me a complete Nigerian. It’s such a great privilege.

Does that mean you speak Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba?

Not really and funny that I can’t even speak any of them fluently.

At what point did you decide to do football all the way?

Basically, I was playing it for the fun of it because of the passion I had for the game but then I began to take it seriously when I joined the Nasarawa Amazons in 2009, from there the love for the game grew stronger, that was when I knew I was in for it and ready for business.

In five years, you have played club football in the U.S, Belarus and Sweden, why that?

It’s just normal for the changes in football worldwide and also fun to travel worldwide and learn different culture and gain experiences.

You have also evolved from the Nigeria U17, U20 to the Super Falcons, are you fulfilled and could you share your experiences so far?

Any female footballer who has travelled in a career journey as mine should be proud of herself because it takes hard work, consistency and focus to achieve all of this. I’m proud of myself so far and have had great experiences with all the teams I’ve been involved in. It’s not easy; everything was achieved by the grace of God.

How do you unwind?

I just relax, eat, drink water, play music and stop thinking about work or problems

Having come this far in your career, what do you think of the growth of women’s football in the Northern part of Nigeria?

Women football in the north has not been given the attention due to it, all concentrations are on the men, most great female footballers are giving up on their dreams because they feel they are just wasting their time, and it’s not supposed to be so. I urge every state in the north to please help these girls that want to become professionals someday achieve their dream. Female football in the north should be given opportunity to grow and enable the girls in it striving to be world class players achieve their dreams

How do you hope the women’s game will grow in the northern region in spite of the religion and culture?

I want the northern region to allow any girl child that has passion for football to pursue their dreams by giving women football the support and attention it needs to explore in the northern region, even while practicing their religion. Nowadays, a Muslim can even still play football with hijab and achieve their dreams.

Do you have any projects in mind and words to parents in the North to encourage their girl child in football?

Yes, I have a lot in mind to do in Kaduna but too early to disclose yet.  They are mostly centered on grassroots awareness on football for girls. To northern parents, always support your girl child in whatsoever her dreams are, don’t discourage or stop them because you don’t know what the future holds for them.

What are your football dreams in the next five years and major career targets before retirement?

The future is bright and I’m hoping to win trophies with any team I will be with.

Do you still have a dream club and what attracts to the team?

I’m just going to focus on the Swedish league now since I still have an ongoing contract with Eskilstuna and not keen talking about leaving for now.