The Nation Newspaper

Category: Sports

  • Ikidi welcomes Ordega to Swedish club

    Ikidi welcomes Ordega to Swedish club

    Super Falcons attacker Francesca Ordega has left Russian side Rossiyanka to join compatriot Faith Ikidi in Swedish top football club Pitea.

    Ordega is the name of Piteå’s latest acquisition. A talented forward with the merits of the Nigerian national team, and Russian grand Rossiyanka.

    ‘Like most Nigerians, she is a technical footballer, also, she is fast and there are two characteristics of a forward who we searched for,’ says sports director Leif Strandh.

    Francisca is a talented football player who represented Nigeria in both the U17 World Championship (2010) and U20 World Cup (2012). Additionally, she was the age of 17 with the National Team at the 2011 World Cup in Germany, where she made two appearances.

    After her success in the U20 World Cup, she was recruited last fall to Rossiyanka for the Champions League. Unfortunately, she was injured almost immediately and chose to go home to rehab workout.

    ‘Francisca has already come a long way in her football development. She is young, and we are confident that she will take even greater strides with us. We are obviously delighted that she has signed for us,’ Strandh said on the club’s official website.

  • Drogba reveals: Mikel key for Nigeria

    Drogba reveals: Mikel key for Nigeria

    Didier Drogba says his former Chelsea mate John Mikel Obi could be a factor in Sunday’s quarter-final tie between Ivory Coast and Chelsea at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg.

    The Shenua Shangahi striker told SportingLife at the AFCON 2013 mixed zone that: “It’s going to be hard against him, everyone knows how tough Mikel is more so his achievements with Chelsea last season.

    “He’s one of Nigeria’s quality players, but I’m sure we won’t allow him play his style of football come Sunday.”

    Asked why the Elephants didn’t play very well against Algeria Wednesday night, the Chelsea legend said: “I think it was a good result despite coming behind twice against the Desert Foxes; we showed a lot of character. So we intend to improve as the games come.”

  • I’m not missing my brother — Ike Uche

    I’m not missing my brother — Ike Uche

    Villarreal ace, Ikechukwu Uche says he is not missing his elder brother Kalu Uche since the AFCON 2013 kicked-off on January 19.

    “I don’t really have anything to say about that, he’s been here before I played. Well, now that he’s not, I have to play well too.”

    On the quarter-final game against Ivory Coast, the Eagles striker said: “We are soccer professionals so we have to be ready for any game; the question of if Nigeria is ready for Ivory Coast is of no need as we all came here to win.

    “More so, if we were not confident of ourselves, we would have been sent packing from the championship.”

    When the Yellow Submarines ace was reminded that he is yet to score an AFCON 2013 goal despite having emerged as Nigeria’s top scorer in the qualifiers, Ike Uche replied: “As a striker, my duty is to score goals. I can assure you that my goals will come.”

  • Levante lands striker to support Martins

    Levante lands striker to support Martins

    Levante have secured a striker as intended this month, bringing in Robert Acquafresca from Bologna on a loan deal.

    Los Granotes were linked with moves for both Acquafresca and Henri Bienvenu this month in a bid to provide Obafemi Martins with more support at the Ciutat de Valencia.

    Whilst Bienvenu has opted for Real Zaragoza, Bologna’s 25-year-old Acquafresca has come to the Valencian outfit, as confirmed on Wednesday.

    Levante have signed the struggling striker, who has not scored from his limited seven appearances so far this season in Italy, until the end of the season.

    The Spaniards’ loan deal runs until June 30 and they do have an purchase option included to turn it into a permanent move. Acquafresca was presented to the local media on Thursday.

  • KESHI EXPLODES: Eagles will fight

    KESHI EXPLODES: Eagles will fight

    Super Eagles boss, Stephen Keshi has come out to advise Nigerians to remain steadfast behind the national team, as it will be bold and ready for the quarter-final duel against the Elephants of Cote D’ Ivoire on Sunday. His skipper, Joseph Yobo also spoke in similar vein on Thursday in Rustenberg.

    Keshi was reacting to news making the rounds that Nigerians were scared of the confrontation with the Ivorien Elephants. “If you must win a trophy you must beat the biggest and best teams, so why should we be afraid of any team. The bigger they come the bigger they will fall. Who told you that if it were to be the Hawks of Togo, it will be a walk-over? There is no small team anywhere and the Ivoriens know. It’s a classic and we will show why we are the Super Eagles on Sunday,” he said.

    Keshi said the spirit in camp has been very good so far and all the 23 players in the squad are all healthy and ready to give their best. “Nigerians should just be praying for their team and have belief in them instead of expressing any fear, because on Sunday it will eleven players from Ivory Coast against the same number from Nigeria”.

    Yobo on his part said the game will be an exciting one for him and he’s looking forward eagerly to it. “They are a great team and so we are and we know ourselves well, so no one is afraid of the other just a case of top football giants clashing at the wrong time. I think we shall be up to it,” he said.

  • Akpoborie: Eagles need a miracle

    Akpoborie: Eagles need a miracle

    Ex-Nigeria star Jonathan Akpoborie has told TNFootball.com Eagles will need a miracle to beat Cote d’Ivoire on Sunday.

    Nigeria will take on Africa’s top ranked team Cote d’Ivoire on Sunday night in Rustenburg for the chance to reach the AFCON semi-final.

    Straight-talking Akpoborie said that as a Nigerian he would wish the Eagles are crowned African champions in South Africa, but if the team play the way they have in all their group games against the Elephants, they will exit the tournament.

    “The Eagles performance against Ethiopia was nothing to write home about. The only good thing about the game for us is that we won. How we scored against the lowest rated team at the competition was not the best,” said the former Wolfsburg striker.

    “On paper Cote d’Ivoire are favourites to win the competition and on the field, they have been acting like that too. But in football anything could happen. Chances of Nigeria winning this one, only Jesus can save. We need a miracle to beat them especially we play this match the way we played our last three matches.”

    However, Akpoborie has singled out Chelsea winger Victor Moses for special mention in South Africa.

    “I told you before the tournament that Moses will play a big part for Nigeria and he has been doing well, while Ahmed Musa has been the most disappointing player in the team after so much was expected of him,” remarked the former international.

  • Big names don’t play football

    Big names don’t play football

    GODFREY Oboabona says the Super Eagles defence has what it takes to cage the Elephants of the Ivory Coast in Sunday’s quarter-final game in Rustenburg.

    The Sunshine Stars skipper, who has regained confidence soon after a school boy error gifted Burkina Faso a late equaliser in Nigeria’s first AFCON 2013 match, said: “Not minding that they are tournament favourites, it’s going to be tough, however, it’s still anybody’s game depending on whether we take our chances against them.”

    On his thoughts of playing against Drogba, Gervinho and Kalou, the AFCON debutant stressed: “With due respect to the Ivorians, as a soccer player, I’m not scared of them, as big names don’t play football.

    “We can make them ineffective caging them for the entire match duration.

    “More so, I played against top Barcelona stars in the Catalonia friendly during our AFCON preparations; I didn’t slack then, why would I against the Elephants.”

    As regards his expectations since the continent’s biggest football fiesta kicked off, the home-based Eagles ace informed: “It has been a good debut for me as I’ve not been under any pressure, rather I just try and improve on my game by training harder.

    “My target is to make my country proud by winning the AFCON trophy as it’s 18 years since we last won it.”

  • More Nigerians extol late Ositelu’s virtues

    More Nigerians extol late Ositelu’s virtues

    More Nigerians have continued to extol the virtues of the late sports analyst, Deacon Ayo Ositelu, describing him as a man who contributed immensely to the growth of sports.

    They paid their tributes at a service of songs organised for him by the Lagos State Government at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Indoor Sports Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that many of them who were his contemporaries said he was a man of “great visionary leadership’’.

    Ewa Henshaw, former Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) Development Manager, said his friendship with the deceased spanned over 30 years without blemish.

    Henshaw, now the Secretary, Adopt-A-Talent of the Lagos State Grassroots Sports Development Programme, said, “We were close friends during our secondary school days. Ositelu was a student of Igbobi College and I was at Kings College Lagos. We spent a lot of time together almost 20 hours together, especially when he came back from the U.S.

    “He was actively involved in football, table tennis, lawn tennis and cricket and his versatility in sports writing was felt across the nation. Ositelu was a writer of sound intellectual credibility and the impact of his demise is felt immediately in the coverage of the just-concluded Australian Grand Slam. No one covered that area like he did; I am going to truly miss him, he was a dear friend,’’ Henshaw said.

    Austin Akoga, former National Secretary, Nigeria Lawn Tennis Association and an old school mate of Ositelu at Igbobi College, said his death was a great loss and thanked God for his good legacies.

    “Ayo Ositelu was a friendly man, very unassuming, a gentleman and a pleasant man. His impact was felt when he covered and reported tennis during the early 1970s when I was the National Secretary of the Tennis Association, he projected the sport very well. He gave tennis a good image and up till date, his reputation never dwindled. It’s unfortunate that he is dead; may his gentle soul rest in peace with the Lord,’’ Akoga said.

    Former U-20 national football team coach, Tunde Disu, also said that Ositelu was a leader who gave sports in Nigeria a credible image.

    “We will miss his clear-cut leadership; he was a very good man that dedicated his lifetime towards projecting sports in Nigeria. His touch of class in his “Arena’’ column paved the way for many upcoming writers. He had so much to contribute and he did just that,’’ Disu said.

    Segun Adenuga, a veteran sports journalist, remembered one of Ositelu’s works titled “You Gotta Believe’’ which dates back 40 years as a great write-up that really inspired him.

    “This was my motive for scouting for budding young football talents that abound in Nigeria and beyond.

    “I will surely miss him because as a great friend, he paved the way for us all,’’ Adenuga said.

    Ex-international, Segun Odegbami, described Ositelu as a man who wrote so much about him during his playing days and also inspired him to become a sports writer.

    “Nigeria will continue to benefit from the incredible legacy Ositelu has left behind, he may have physically passed on but his works would live for ever. We will continue to remember him and extol his virtues for as long as we live,’’ Odegbami said.

    Ositelu, 69, died in his Lagos home while watching the friendly match between Nigeria and Cape Verde Islands on Jan. 9.

  • GLO congratulates Eagles

    GLO congratulates Eagles

    Leading telecommunications operator and major sponsor of the Nigerian national teams, Glo, has congratulated the Super Eagles of Nigeria for securing a quarter-final ticket in the ongoing football tournament in South Africa.

    Glo noted that the Super Eagles have been improving with every game in the competition and praised the team for displaying tenacity to clinch the three points at stake in their last match against Ethiopia, at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, South Africa.

    In a statement from the company on Wednesday, Glo advised the Eagles not to allow the text-book rating of The Elephants of Ivory Coast to affect their psyche. “Like the Super Eagles that you are, you must soar and aim for the highest point,” the statement said.

    The company further encouraged the Eagles to remain focused on the pitch and “cage the Elephants on Sunday. They are not too big to conquer.”

    The company commended Super Eagles’ fighting spirit and tenacity of purpose which earned them the deserved victory over hard fighting Walyas Antelope of Ethiopia.

    It observed that the Super Eagles and their handlers needed to improve in all departments of the game in order to triumph against Ivory Coast, the highest rated team in Africa, and advised them to work harder for victory on Sunday.

  • Lagos to distribute handball equipment to 15 schools

    Lagos to distribute handball equipment to 15 schools

    The Lagos State Handball Association (LSHA) has said that it would equip a minimum of 15 schools with training facilities in its determination to promote the sport in the state.

    The association’s Technical Director, Toyin Aluko, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos that the items to be distributed included goal posts, nets and balls.

    Aluko disclosed that the items for the second phase of the project were available and that distribution would hopefully take place in the second week of February.

    NAN recalls that in the first phase last year, the Army Cantonment Junior Secondary School, Keja, Mulero High School, Agege and CMS Grammer School, Bariga were some of the beneficiaries.

    Aluko said that a school which was centrally located would be selected from each of the local governments, to enable others in the area to benefit.

    “We need to establish a solid handball team for Lagos State, particularly a junior team, that is why we are determined to provide the facilities to give students access to training. To actualise our target, our members have been directed to take a local government each for monitoring and trainers have been sent to selected centres. We have told some of our coaches to go to these local government areas to raise players to form a formidable handball team that could represent the state well in national tournaments,’’ he said.

    The director added that plans were being made to organise training for games masters and teachers in schools who would contribute to the success of the project.

    Aluko said the association had concluded plans to engage ex-players who would be paid to help to scout for talents and train them.

    She said 10 local governments in the metropolis and five in the suburbs would be be given the items, including Mainland, Bariga, Somolu, Mushin, Ikeja, Lagos Island, Agege, Badagry, Epe, Ikorodu.