The Nation Newspaper

Category: Sports

  • Eko 2012 medical report will be released soon – CMD

    Eko 2012 medical report will be released soon – CMD

     

    The Chief Medical Director of the just-concluded 18th National Sport Festival (NSF) in Lagos, Dr. Akin George, said a comprehensive medical report of activities at the games will be released soon.

    George told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday that proper documentation of medical activities at the festival would take time to compile because the relevant officials would come from the various centres where they were deployed to.

    According to him, all centres have been urged to ensure that reports were properly collated to serve as guide for future events.

    “We have been able to gather the data from all the venues now, which as I have shown you, they are being analysed for a proper documentation.

    “And I think this will take some time because you can imagine the number of people that we have seen.

    “A place like UNILAG sees an average of 150 patients a day, throughout the competition.

    “Even up to this morning when the camps are supposed to have been closed, we still had people coming in, I had to tell them that the festival was over and we have to go back to our various institutions to do our normal work.

    “You will get the proper analysis of this when they are ready,” George told NAN.

     

  • 2013 Africa cup of nations: Betis plot to stop Igiebor

    2013 Africa cup of nations: Betis plot to stop Igiebor

    There are indications that Spanish La Liga side, Real Betis may delay the departure of Nosa Igiebor for the Super Eagles Faro, Portugal camp that will commence on December 27.

    SportingLife gathered that Betis who are aware of Nigeria’s AFCON 2013 programme could contemplate hold on to the attacking midfielder as FIFA statute stipulates that a player can only be released for his country 15 days to any major championship.

    This thus means that Igiebor may as well say goodbye to his Nations Cup dream which kick-off on January 19 and with the Super Eagles locking horns against Burkina Faso Stallions at the Mbomlela Stadium in Nelspriut two days later.

    The club informed that if they are to let the Nigerian travel to Faro, as he would take part in the two tune-up games against Cape Verde and Angola, and later play in the friendly between Nigeria versus Catalonia on January 2, that he would end up missing some their key La Liga matches.

  • Mikel: Eagles ‘ll lift the trophy

    Mikel: Eagles ‘ll lift the trophy

    Mikel Obi will back Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi to make history by winning the 2013 AFCON as a coach after he won it in 1994 as a player.

    In an interview with FIFA.com, the Chelsea midfielder maintained that with good preparation and determination by the players, the Eagles could be crowned African champions in South Africa for a third time.

    However, he has not ruled out a few shocks at the tournament in South Africa, tipping defending champions Zambia and West African islanders from Cape Verde, who shocked out four-time champions Cameroon, to cause a few upsets.

    You missed out on playing at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa due to a knee injury. Would winning the Nations Cup also in South Africa next year make up for that disappointment?

    Not really because we are talking about two different competitions and the World Cup is a far bigger event and the ultimate dream for any player. I was disappointed to miss the last World Cup in South Africa, but I also believe there are more World Cups for me to play.

    The 2013 Nations Cup is a different competition and I hope to win my first winners’ medal with Nigeria there.

    What do the Eagles need to do to win a third Nations Cup?

    We need to prepare well, be focused and take all opponents very seriously.

    We also need to play as a team. If it is individual qualities, we have that in abundance and coach Stephen Keshi has already won this tournament as a player and I believe he can make history by winning it again as a coach.

    You will play in the FIFA Club World Cup and the English Premier League is in full swing, will you not be exhausted by the time you arrive for the competition?

    No, not at all. This won’t have a negative effect on me, but would rather make me fit and be ready for the Nations Cup.

    How would you describe your first Nations Cup in Egypt in 2006?

    It was a wonderful experience. And it was great to finish up with a bronze medal there at my first-ever Nations Cup coming through from U20s to the senior team.

    How was it rejoining the team for the all-important qualifier against Liberia in October after staying away from the team for various reasons for several months?

    It was good, but even when I was not part of the team, I kept in touch with the team. So, it was not like I was cut off completely from the team because I’m always honoured to represent my fatherland.

    How would you rate the Eagles first round opponents – Zambia, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia?

    They are all decent teams by the fact that they have qualified for the Nations Cup.

    We therefore have to approach all of them with all seriousness, but I would still rate Zambia ahead of both Burkina Faso and Ethiopia as they are the defending champions.

    Who is the Nigerian player who has most impressed you this year and why?

    I don’t wish to single out just one player, we are all doing well at our different clubs, so I am not in position to pick just one player, we are all doing great.

    Who are your top favourites for the Nations Cup?

    Nigeria, Of course! Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire will also be up there, but teams like Cape Verde and Zambia could pose major threats. If Cape Verde could stop Cameroon, they must have qualities to do so. They therefore need to be taken seriously.

    You are close to two Ivorian stars Salomon Kalou and Didier Drogba having played for several years with them at Chelsea. Have you discussed the Nations Cup with them?

    We haven’t talked about it yet. We would probably do so when the competition draws closer.

    On a final note, what do you expect at the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan with Chelsea?

    I am delighted and honoured to be in Japan with my club to compete in this top competition. This is the first time Chelsea are playing in this competition and I hope to win it with them and create another history here in Japan after we won the UEFA Champions League for the first time in May.

  • Baribote: NPL’s Congress illegal

    Baribote: NPL’s Congress illegal

    Rumson Baribote has described Tuesday’s Congress of the NPL as illegal declaring the NFF does not have the power to order for such gathering.

    Baribote-led board was impeached at the Congress in Abuja which had 19 of the 20 Premier League clubs in attendance but he said the move will only exacerbate the troubles of the domestic league.

    “The way they are going about it, they just want problem in Nigerian football because we wanted peace. It is only the board that can call a congress and not the Nigeria Football Federation. Article 17 says it is only the chairman that can preside over congress and meetings of the NPL. If I’m not unavoidably there, it is the vice chairman that can preside. I don’t know whether in any article of the statute, there is s provision for one of the club chairmen to preside over the congress,” he said.

    Baribote, who will also lose his post as a vice president of the NFF, is however optimistic of surviving the turmoil as he said he is looking forward to Thursday’s Annual General Assembly of the NFF.

    “We are looking forward to the Annual General Assembly in Port Harcourt and we will be sending our complain to them that they should not recognise such an illegal congress because if they do, they will be setting a bad precedence,” he added.

  • ‘Form, not names will make Afcon 2013 team’

    ‘Form, not names will make Afcon 2013 team’

    Super Eagles boss, Stephen Keshi, has said that only players who are on form will make his team to the Nations Cup Championship, next January in South Africa.

    Keshi, who is perceived by many to have a selection problem, going by the plethora of options available to him, declared that there is no such problem as players will naturally cancel themselves out in the course of camping for the Nations Cup.

    “What we want to get is a good mix of players who can help us do well at the Nations Cup, we want to win and I know we can but like will always says names don’t count in football anymore, if you are good enough, come and prove it and you will be ion the plane to the Nations Cup. Objectivity is the watchword for selection of players and I promise I will stick to it,” he said.

    Big Boss as Keshi is popularly known in his playing days, added that he and his team will make adequate selection of players for the Nations Cup as he hopes there would be no excuses when the championship starts next month in South Africa.

  • 2013 Africa cup of nations Camp: Keshi names Fegor Ogude

    2013 Africa cup of nations Camp: Keshi names Fegor Ogude

    Holidaying Norwegian midfield star, Fegor Ogude, has been called up to join home-based professionals as preparations resume on Sunday in Abuja for the Super Eagles ahead of the Nations Cup championship in South Africa.

    Head Coach Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, who returned to the country from the United States on Tuesday also named the usual suspects like Chigozie Agbim, Daniel Akpeyi and new call-up Femi Thomas of Enyimba FC all goalkeepers among the other 23 players that should come and battle for shirts ahead of the Nations Cup Championship in South Africa which starts January 10.

    The team is expected at its usual abode at the Bolton White Apartment, Zone 7, Abuja on Sunday, December 16, all players and officials are expected at the time and training will effectively starts on Monday, December 17. The list of foreign based players is expected to be named in the week leading to Christmas, as the team is expected to travel by 27 December for the final phase of its camping in Faro, Portugal. Team Scribe, Dayo Enebi Achor, warned that excuses will not be permitted for late arrival to camp of any invited player, because serious business has started for the Nations Cup championship. Below is the full list of invited players.

    HOME BASED PLAYERS

    Goalkeepers

    Agbim Chigozie – Rangers

    Akpeyi Daniel – Heartland

    Femi Thomas – Enyimba

    Defenders

    Oboabona Godfrey – Sunshine

    Egwuekwe Azubuike -Warri Wolves

    Zango Umar -Kano Pillars

    Benjamin Francis -Heartland

    Papa Idris -Kano Pillars

    Kwambe Solomon -Sunshine

    Kalu Orji -Heartland

    Midfielders and Forwards

    Uzoenyi Ejike -Rangers

    Mba Sunday -Rangers

    Sunday Chinedu -Rangers

    Henry Uche -Enyimba

    Onduku Gomo -Sharks

    Ubale Mannir -Kano Pillars

    Reuben Gabriel -Kano Pillars

    Asuquo Philip -3sc, Ibadan

    Emeka Ezeh -Rangers

    Pius Samson -Ranchers Bees

    Gambo Mohammed -Kano Pillars

    Bunde Moses -Lobi Stars

    Anthony Okputu -Lobi Stars

    Foreign Based

    Fegor Ogude – Valerenga Norway

  • Please help!: Olympic gold medallist begs for job

    Please help!: Olympic gold medallist begs for job

    IVORY NWOKORIE, a gold medallist at the 2012 Paralympics Games, has made a passionate appeal to the government and corporate organisations to employ special athletes.

    Nwokorie told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos that most physically-challenged athletes had the requisite educational qualification that made them suitable for gainful employment.

    NAN reports that Nwokorie won a gold medal for Nigeria in the 44kg Para-power lifting event at the 2012 Paralympics Games.

    She added that disabled athletes should be given the same opportunity as able bodied individuals in the society; and not ostracised.

    ”We had been expecting the government and corporate bodies to support us, after our brilliant performances at the London Games.

    ”It is good for Nigerians to wake up from their slumber and assist athletes with physical challenges, because we need to be encouraged,” she said.

    She noted that in European countries, athletes with special ability were usually assisted through insurance and salaries, saying government should also emulate such examples.

    “If you go to foreign countries, you will see how our counterparts are being treated. Most of us came to sports because we do not wish to be idle but after sports what happens to us.

    “All the stipends given to us now if it is not used well, we will become beggars but if we are gainfully employed, we would keep off the streets,’’ she said.

    She urged the National Sports Commission (NSC) not to neglect newly discovered athletes from the just concluded National Sports Festival, and ensure that they are properly groomed.

  • ‘My vegetable delicacy won northerners’ hearts’

    ‘My vegetable delicacy won northerners’ hearts’

    Halima Abogunde, a food vendor at the 18th National Sports Festival concluded on Sunday in Lagos on Wednesday said that her vegetable soup attracted many northerners at the Games.

    Abogunde, whose shop is situated behind the tennis courts at the National Stadium, Lagos, said that apart from the vegetable delicacy, her gizzards were also a strong selling point. She told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that most of her customers during the festival were northerners who craved for the delicacies.

    “Most of my customers were northerners who booked for my vegetable soup with gizzards and increased my sales during the Games before noon, my food is finished and I have to prepare a new set of dishes all over again,” she said.

    Abogunde, who hails from Kogi, said that the fact that she understood and could communicate in the Hausa language was an added advantage for her during the Games. She said that she had to take two days rest due to the stress, after the Games.

    “I had to wake up early each day and close as late as 10.30 p.m. Now, I have to take two days off work in order to rest my body which was having aches and pains,” she said.

    The food seller said she was grateful to the Lagos State Government for hosting the festival because her income from the trade increased during the Games.

  • NFF congress begins in Port Harcourt

    NFF congress begins in Port Harcourt

    The 2012 Annual General Congress of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will begin in Port Harcourt today.

    Chairmen of the 36 state football associations in the country as well as top officials of the NFF will converge in the capital to deliberate on issues surrounding Nigerian football in the past year.

    The venue of the congress had been dogged with controversy with association chairmen kicking against the choice of Port Harcourt as venue for the congress following comments credited to the Rivers State governor, Chibuike Amaechi accusing the NFF of corruption.

    That has now been put to bed and president of the NFF, Aminu Maigari has now voiced his sentiments on the upcoming congress.

    “We expect a very good congress in Port Harcourt as we prepare to take our football forward. It has been an eventful year and all members of the Nigerian football family will be sharing ideas on how to move the game forward,” Maigari exclusively revealed to supersport.com.

    Rivers State sports commissioner, Fred Igwe also spoke on his expectations ahead of the congress.

    “You know decisions that change the face of football in a country are taken at congresses of this magnitude and I am confident that in another one year, Nigerians will say the round leather game has moved one step forward and credit will be given to Port Harcourt for not only hosting a successful congress but creating the serene atmosphere that gave rise to positive growth of the game,” he said.

    The 2012 congress of the NFF will come to an end on Friday.

  • Heartland aim to keep Super Cup

    Heartland aim to keep Super Cup

    Cup holders Heartland will hope to beat NPL champions Pillars today so as to retain the Super Cup they won last year. Heartland beat Dolphin 1-0 courtesy of a Chibuzor Ozurumba goal to be crowned champion of champions.

    “We won it last year and a repeat is what we want. We know Pillars are no small team, but we will do our best to win it again,” said Heartland skipper Chinedu Efugh, who will miss this fixture.

    Striker Brendan Ogbu, who grabbed a late winner in last season’s cup final against Lobi Stars will also not be available but Obinna Nwachukwu has returned from injury.

    Goalkeeper Ebele Obi told MTNFootball.com he hopes to mark his joining the Owerri club with a winner’s medal in Port Harcourt.

    “I hope we will go all out and win. It will be great to win the cup as that would be my first trophy with my new club,” Obi said. “The Naze Millionaires’ though have lost strikers Kabiru Umar and Bello Kofarmata to Kano Pillars and have several new players including goalkeeper Obi, David Tyavkase (Lobi), Isah Akoh(Prime FC) and Bright Ejike (Sharks).

    However, Umar will miss this clash because he is just recovering from illness, but he will back his new club to come out tops.

    “It’s going to be an interesting and tough game. It is a pity I won’t play the game due to sickness, all the same I believe Pillars will win the trophy,” Umar told MTNFootball.com. Pillars Eagles stars Gabriel Reuben and Papa Idris will also not be available, team officials said.

    The league champions have listed at least seven new signings for this game and they include Promise James, Samuel Tswanya, Ado Ali, Emma Bivan and Kabiru Musa.