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Tag: African Games

  • African Games:  Minister pays impromptu visit to  Team Nigeria athletes

    African Games:  Minister pays impromptu visit to  Team Nigeria athletes

    Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh, has urged  Team Nigeria athletes to strive for excellence and make the 2024 African Games  the nation’s best appearance ever.

    Senator Enoh’s call comes as Nigeria gears up to compete in the prestigious sporting event to be hosted in Accra, Ghana between March 8 and 23.

    The minister was quoted as saying in a release signed  by  his Special Assistant (Media), Diana-Mary Nsan, the importance  for the athletes to give  their all , urging  them  to go for nothing short of gold in all sports and events.

    He encouraged the athletes to tap into their potential, showcasing the spirit of resilience, determination, and sportsmanship that defines Nigerian athletes.

    “I encourage you all to make this edition our best African Games appearance. I urge you all to draw inspiration from Nigeria’s African Cup of Nations performance and make the nation proud,” the Minister stated. “I want us to carry the same energy and zeal to this Games and get to a point in which  The President receives us when we come back.

    “I am urging you all to raise the bar so high so that the Presidency also confers national honours on you as well, and I am sure you can’t wait to bring this to reality. It takes hard work, dedication, and giving your all. I am here to encourage you and work the talk!” Enoh added.

    This impromptu visit  reportedly allowed Senator Enoh to directly engage with the athletes and provide them with the necessary motivation and encouragement ahead of the African  Games.

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    “I have full confidence in the abilities of our athletes to excel at the African Games. This is a pivotal moment for Team Nigeria, and I urge each and every athlete to rise to the occasion, push their limits, and make our nation proud. Together, let us strive for greatness and write a new chapter in Nigerian sports history,”  Enoh remarked.

    The Minister reiterated the government’s total support for sports development in Nigeria, affirming that investments in sports infrastructure, training programs, and athlete welfare remain top priorities.

    He further thanked  the athletes for their dedication to serve the country, as he urged them to be of professional conduct while in camp.

     Senator Enoh is expected visit other camps across the country, with athletes also training hard in Lagos, Ibadan, Bayelsa, and Gombe.

  • African Games: Our Wrestlers will fight to the finish-Igali

     

    President of Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF) Daniel Igali has assured that the Nations wrestlers will battle to the finish in their quest for glory in Morocco. While hinting that the team may not garner as many medals as it did at the last edition in Brazzaville, no effort however will be spared in trying to make the nation proud.

    The federation according to him is constrained to take only 16 wrestlers out of 23 that are good to go as only those in the Olympic Games weight categories have been chosen. Reduction in the number according to him is sure to limit the level of medal haul but added that with determination those on parade will rise to the occasion.

    “We are taking just 16 wrestlers to the event, we may not get as many medals as we did the last time but we will certainly do our best,” he enthused. The Sydney Olympics Gold medalist expressed hope that the contribution of the Wrestlers will as usual rub off positively on the final performance by Team Nigeria.

    One of Nigeria’s hopefuls
    Odunayo Adekuoroye celebrates after beating an opponent

    Wrestling has continued to be a major medal hopeful for Nigerian contingent to the African Games, the commonwealth Games among other meets.

    Nigeria won the wrestling event at the Brazzaville 2015 with 19 medals, comprising 9 gold, 5 silver and 5 bronze medals.

    Recall that Team Nigeria finished overall second with 144 medals, 73 medals behind winners Egypt who led with 217 medals and 22 medals better than South Africa who finished third with 122 medals made up of 41 Gold 41 Silver and 40 Bronze. Nigeria will be participating in 23 sports at the Games in Morocco.

     

     

     

  • Nigeria, 53 others listed for 2019 African Games in Morocco

    After Morocco was confirmed as host of the 2019 African Games, Nigeria and 53 other nations have been listed for the continental multi-sports fiesta holding in Rabat and Casablanca.

    Being the first time Morocco will be competing at the continental Games since the 1978 African Games in Algiers. This followed Morocco leaving the African Union in 1984, after the continental body recognised the independence of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, also known as Western Sahara. The dispute over Western Sahara, which Morocco claims is part of its territory, led to Morocco being outside of the African Union for three decades and they were readmitted to the body in 2017 and this would be the first time Morocco has staged the event, first held in the Republic of Congo’s capital city Brazzaville in 1965.

    Nigeria as one of the contenders in the last three editions will have Egypt and South Africa to content with in the 21 events already confirmed for the championship.

    Also, for the first, Ghana will be hosting the African Games after the West African nation was given the nod to stage the 2023 edition by the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA).

    Following the withdrawal of Equatorial Guinea in November 2017, ANOCA was left to find a host for 2019 edition and Morocco stepped in as hosts in July 2018.

    ANOCA President Mustapha Berraf has pledged to ensure that the 2019 African Games would be staged without the problems which have plagued previous editions of the event.

    Berraf, speaking following his election as head of ANOCA at an Extraordinary General Assembly here, confirmed 21 sports would be on the programme at the 2019 Games in Rabat and Casablanca. The Games are set to be held from August 23 to September 3.

    The exact sports programme is not yet set in stone but Berraf said 21 would feature, one less than when Brazzaville hosted the Games in 2015.

    The African Games have been held on 12 occasions since an inaugural edition in Brazzaville in 1965. Republic of Congo, Mali, Nigeria, Algeria, Kenya, Egypt, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique have all previously held editions of the Games.

  • Taekwondo: African Games medalist Ekhator eyes Olympics slot in Algeria

    From 2007, Joy Ekhator has proved her worth by winning medals at her three appearances at the African Games.

    From her maiden appearance in Algiers, where she claimed silver, she had added two bronze medals at the 2011 and 2015 editions of the championship.

    However, her attempt to become the second Nigeria female taekwodist to feature at the Olympics has failed as she could not secure a spot at her appearances at the qualifiers.

    But the Edo State-born athlete who was recently promoted by the Nigeria Police told SportingLife recently that she is hoping that she can make it to Rio 2016 Olympics at the African qualifiers in Algeria next year.

    “I must admit that it has not been easy for me in all appearances at the African Games but I ensured that I did not return home empty-handed. Despite winning medals at the African Games, I have not been able to secure a place at the Olympic Games,” she regretted.

    But, she is not sure whether she would be part of the Nigeria’s four-man team to the Algeria’s qualifiers. “I know that the team that will represent is yet to be decided but I hope I can be part of the team but this time around I won’t make any mistake by making sure I make it to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. I am aware that it is the best from the continent that will be at the Qualifiers and everybody is there to make to Brazil. I promise that if I can be part of the team, I won’t make any mistake of not qualifying for the Olympics,” she vowed.

    Ekhator, meanwhile, lauded Chika Chukwumerije for staging an international tournament which has continued to attract world class athletes to Nigeria in the last four years.

    Apart from Princess Dudu who was at the 2014 Athens Olympics in Greece, no Nigerian female athlete has qualified for the Olympics in taekwondo and Ekhator is indeed aiming to equal Dudu’s records.

  • AFRICAN GAMES 2015: NRFF sad over last minute exclusion

    AFRICAN GAMES 2015: NRFF sad over last minute exclusion

    The President of the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation (NRFF), Sir Edward Pam Fom has expressed surprise at the last minute removal of the sport from events to feature at the 2015 Africa Games scheduled for Congo next year. Having already qualified for the games at the qualifiers in  Togo, Pam Fom wondered why the organisers allowed participating teams to waste their time and resources to prepare and play the qualifiers when there was no concrete plan for the sport which is fast becoming popular in Africa.

    In the same vein, the federation’s Vice President and Technical Director, Fasimoye Olatunji, described the exclusion of the sport from the 50th edition of the AAG as a devastating blow for the federation after their 2012 Commonwealth games exclusion on the insistence of the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the Nigeria Olympics Commission despite their qualification.

    Fasimoye said the federation saw the AAG participation as a proper avenue to prepare for the 2016 Olympics games qualifiers in South Africa later this year and also as a launch pad for the Black Stallions on the international scene.

    He  appealed to all stakeholders who were looking out for the national team‘s participation at the games never to give up over what he described as a “minor setback” in the wheel of progress of the sport in Nigeria promising that nothing will stop the federation from repositioning Rugby in the country.

  • NTTF names Toriola, Oshonaike, seven others for 2015 African Games

    NTTF names Toriola, Oshonaike, seven others for 2015 African Games

    Segun Toriola and Olufunke Oshonaike will be making their seventh appearance at the 2015 African Games after the former champions were named alongside other seven others by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) for the multi-sports championship in Congo Brazzaville.

    As the most respected table tennis stars, Toriola and Oshonaike will lead Nigeria’s nine-man team to the Games. Toriola and Oshonaike made their debut at Cairo 1991 in Egypt.

    The nine-man team was selected based on their ranking coupled with series of trails organised in Lagos in the last three weeks.

    Toriola is the most successful player in the history of African Games having won the men’s singles title four consecutive times in 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007.

    Like Toriola, Oshonaike is also the most successful female player in the history of the games having claimed the women’s singles title twice in 1999 and 2003 while she was runner’s up in 1991 and 2011 will be making her seventh appearance at the multi-sports championships.

    Toriola, a six-time Olympian will be joined in the men’s team by 2014 ITTF Star Player, Aruna Quadri, Bode Abiodun, Seun Ajetunmobi and Ojo Onaolapo.

    Besides Quadri and Ajetunmobi who had featured at the previous African Games, Abiodun and Onaolapo will be making their debut at the games

    Oshonaike will spearhead the female team which include African Games women’s singles defending champion, Edem Offiong, Cecilia Otu-Akpan and Rasheedat Ogundele.

    Also, Offiong and Otu-Akpan will be making their fourth appearance at the games having debuted at Abuja 2003 in Nigeria. The duo is also the women’s doubles defending champions having retained the title they won in Algiers 2007 at the 2011 edition in Mozambique.

    Ogundele, who is only debutant in the female team, returned to the national team having had a stint with the team to various continental and international tournaments.

  • Ahead 2015 African Games: Enosoregbe, Airhunmwunde top tennis trials in Abuja

    After one-week of trials to select the Nigerian tennis team for the 2015 African Games, Clifford Enosoregbe and Osariemen Airhunmwunde emerged as top players among the 14 players that took part in the exercise.

    According to national coach, Rotimi Akinloye, two players – Henry Atseye and Onyeka Mbanu who were part of the team to the 2011 African Games in Mozambique were knocked out of the trials by injuries.

    From the eight male players that participated in the selection, the hard-hitting Enosoregbe topped the trials while Moses Michael and Christian Paul finished second and third respectively. Sunday Emmanuel settled for fourth place.

    In the women trials, Airhunmwunde emerged as top player while Sara Adegoke, Chrsity Agugbom and Anu Aiyegbusi made the list of top four.

    Akinloye, however, said that United Kingdom (UK)-based Elizabeth Pam and Russia-born Melissa Ifidzhen are expected to join the team this week for the final trials that will decide the eventual team to the games.

    “All the players that took part in the trials still have chance to make the team because we want to use the trials to know the best. But all the others are on reserves in case any of the players cops an injury. It would be recalled that some of the selected players prior to the 2011 edition and they were later decamped for indiscipline and it was the reserves that went on to do well. So we will surely be on the lookout for all the players until the final list is concluded,” Akinloye told SportingLife.

    In 2011, Nigeria finished third with one gold, one silver and two bronze medals while Egypt and Tunisia finished first and second respectively in the tennis event overall medal table.