The Nation Newspaper

Tag: football

  • 12-year-old gets football scholarship

    12-year-old gets football scholarship

    •’I worked hard for it’

    Twelve-year-old Similoluwa Gbenle was the star of the fourth Greensprings-Kanu Football camp that ended last Saturday.

    He emerged the best player at the camp and would complete his secondary education at the Greensprings Spring School, Lekki, Lagos as his reward.

    The scholarship worth millions each year, would afford him to study at the elite school while nurturing his football talents.

    He would get the opportunity to participate in national and international age-grade football competition, which the school normally enters its football team for.

    Gbenle is the fifth beneficiary of the scholarship that is announced  yearly at the end of the camp meant for school-aged children of between five and 17.

    Though grateful to God, the former  pupil of Somolu High School, Bariga, in Lagos State, said he worked for it.

    “I am very happy and thank God for making it possible for me to get the scholarship. I am grateful to Greensprings and I prayed that God will continue to support and strengthen school. I worked very hard this week and I put in my best. I followed the coaches’ instructions and took my training very serious,” he said.

    The camp was handled by British Coaches from English Premier League side, West Bromwich Albion, who described some of the participants as future football stars.

    One of them, Richard Holmes, said the talent displayed by the students was exceptional.  He however added that efforts must continue to nurture them to stardom.

    “The footballers are great and they are very keen. Even when we finish coaching them, they still carry on playing all day. We train them four hours a day; so for them to carry on is brilliant. They are very good players, the equipment and facilities is great and everybody here is fantastic and it has been really good,” Holmes said.

    Adrian Dove praised the Greensprings for its facilities, which he said helped to bring out the best in the pupils.

    He said: “The facility is great and it is incredible. The grass pitches is great for the purpose they are used for. The goal posts are very good and I think everything is fantastic even the halls we are staying in are just what we need so it is really good and the school is great. I think it is the passion for the game. The children are willing to learn which I think it is a good thing because if you got children who don’t want to be here, it will be hard for us.

    “We’ve got children who are really passionate about what they want to do and they are going to do well with football.”

    On his part, Ashley Hodgkins, who was facilitating the camp for a second time, also said the facilities had improved.  He praised the tenacity of the participants.

    “This week the children have had 18 hours of coaching time. Back home in England, the professional players wouldn’t get 18 hours a week of coaching so I think they had a lot of good coaching.

    They camp is good for the youth teams, the national teams and if we see players like we’ve got in the older groups, they can go to England have opportunity to play in the Premier League. When we get back home we can speak to the academy at West Bromwich Albiom and see what they can do for players to give them choices,” he said.

    Over 100 participants drawn from Lagos, Ogun, Rivers states, Abuja and others participated in the camp.

     

  • FIFA celebrates Ribery at 32

    FIFA celebrates Ribery at 32

    The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has sent congratulatory messages to former French national footballer, Franck Ribery on his birthday.

    Ribery, who currently plays his football for German Bundesliga side, Bayern Munich, on Tuesday clocks 32.

    FIFA, the international governing body of football associations, futsal and beach soccer, posted on its Instagram handle saying: “…Like to wish the Frenchman a happy birthday!”

    Ribery celebrating his birthday back in 2010.

    The French player primarily plays as a winger, who prefers playing from the left side despite being right-footed.

    Ribery, known for his pace, energy, skill and precise passing, is described as a player who is fast, tricky and an excellent dribbler, who has great control with the ball at his feet.

    Since joining Bayern, he has been recognised on the world stage as one of the best French players of his generation.

    To his homour, former talisman of the French national team, Zinedine Zidane, called Ribéry the “jewel of French football”.

  • Football defeats fashion in Game On finale

    Football defeats fashion in Game On finale

    WHEN the maiden edition of Game On, a Malta Guinness’ reality series came to an end recently, it was to lift the ‘hand’ of football up, as winner over fashion.

    The game format, which had celebrities, team mates and supporters from the football and fashion professions, was to determine which passion best fuels the rise of Naija.

    The show kicked off with an opening round of jokes and banter by popular humour merchants, Owen Gee and Lepacious Bose who kept the audience entertained before the host for the night, another popular comedian, Gordons, arrived. After a one-minute debate by both team captains, Lanre Da Silva Ajayi and Daniel Amokachi; representing fashion and football passions respectively, there was a recap of memories of the contestants in the house and on tasks.

    The four evictees were brought on stage again, wishing the finalists luck in their future endeavours and thanking Malta Guinness for the opportunity.

    The night was full of several activities, from a football-inspired dance rendition, to a runway show, with elegant designs on display.

    The event also featured mind-blowing performances by delectable R&B songstress, Niyola and Alobamcrooner, Phyno, who got the audience rising to their feet, and singing and dancing along.

    Eventually, Olumide Ajibolade was declared final winner over Henrietta with Team Football winning 52 percent of the votes to Team Fashion’s 48 percent in the outcome of voting by Nigerians on Facebook and by SMS across the nation. Olumide Ajibolade, who by virtue of his victory, will be embarking on a trip to England for a series of trainings and coaching classes was also presented with a cheque of N2 million by Uche Onwudiwe, Marketing Manager of Malta Guinness.

    “I don’t know what to say. This is unbelievable and I can’t explain the feeling I’m feeling now. I’m even happier because my colleagues now have their own opportunities too,” said Olumide.

    Among the celebrities present at the event were, football legend, Taribo West; singing duo, Waje and Omawumi; actor Joseph Benjamin, Adams Ibrahim and Noble Igwe among others.

  • Finding feeders for national football teams

    All has not been well with the nation’s football. Whenever Nigerians put their hopes in the teams, they are rewarded with the greatest disappointment.

    The teams have not been able to reach and maintain their rightful places on both continental and global stages.

    The senior national team, the Super Eagles, are not defending the trophy they won two years ago in South Africa because they could not qualify for the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Equatorial Guinea.

    This was a rude shock to many Nigerians.

    The team, last year, also performed woefully at the 2014 FIFA World Cup championship in Brazil.

    While many sports analysts believed that the crisis that engulfed the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) played a great role in the lackluster performances of the national teams in recent times, others felt that the problem has to do with the lack of talented youths to take over from the tiring old legs.

    To this latter group, the solution to the poor outings by the national teams is in age-grade football competitions that will discover strong youthful talents to feed the national teams.

    Even though there are some existing age-grade football competitions in the country, analysts observed that they have not achieved the desired impact over the years due to their poor packaging.

    Also some of the young talents that have been discovered in the existing age-grade competitions have not been allowed to grow.

    According to the sports analysts, most of the past national football coaches have not helped matters as they have, during their tenures, largely relied on the big names among the Nigeria’s foreign -based players to prosecute their matches.

    So, the opportunity to discover new talents to take over from the tiring legs in the national teams was not really exploited fully.

    Despite failing to go far in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and unable to qualify for 2015 African Cup of Nations, credit, however, must be given to the Super Eagles coach, Stephen, for giving more young home-based players the opportunity to prove themselves.

    Going back to the drawing board and to chart a new course, President Goodluck Jonathan before the commencement of the last Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in the State House, Abuja, unveiled the President Cup to be competed for by teenagers in the country towards discovering talents.

    President Jonathan was decorated at the brief ceremony as the Grand Patron of the Cup by ex-international and football stakeholders, who initiated the football competition.

    Among the former players and officials in the delegation were Kanu Nwankwo, Peter Rufai, Taribo West, Emmanuel Babayaro, Garba Lawal, Austin Eguaveon, Shuabu Amodu, James Peters, Kadiri Ikhana, Manu Garba, Patrick Pascal, Anthony Chinasa and Kashimawo Laloko.

    Others include Director-General of the National Sports Commission, Gbenga Elegbeleye; President of Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick; Darlington Anyanwau; Musa Uja; Auwalu Shekarau, Ike Neliaku; Ambassador Richard Ubohekong, and the Directors-General of Nigeria Television Authority, Shola Omole; and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Ladan Salihu.

    President Jonathan said: “We remember how you put Nigeria’s name on [the map of] footballing nations…you brought glory and pride to our nation. We are happy with you and of course these efforts to come up with a template, a platform that you will use to build the younger ones so that you can groom them, you serving as their role model so that they would take after you and also take our country to a higher level, is quite commendable.”

    “So on behalf of the government of the country, we thank you for your sincere commitment to continue to drive soccer to project football in our country, so that we will continue to be on top.”

    He went on: “One thing that all Nigerians know that brought unity to this country is the game of soccer. Whenever you people are playing, those of us who watch do not know the difference between a Moslem and a Christian, we don’t know the difference between a northerner and a southerner or an easterner or a westerner.”

    “We also see ourselves as Nigerians and that is the story; you have done very well for this country, we believe the younger ones will emulate you and also do what you have done,” he said

    On his part, Sports Minister, Tammy Danagogo, who accompanied the ex-internationals, described the President Cup as a private sector contribution to football development which will hunt for teenage football talents through tournaments and nurture them for the use of national teams and other clubs.

    “You will recall that one of the cardinal highlights of our roadmap for the transformation of our sports is grassroots sports and some of the strategies for achieving grassroot sports development are the national schools sports festival, the President’s cup etc.” he said

    It is expected that this effort will not only turn around the round-leather game in Nigeria, but ensure that Nigeria maintain its top position at continental and global levels of the game.

    With this, it is also hoped that never again would Nigeria as a defending champion be eliminated at the qualifying stages and prevented from featuring at the next competition of any championship.

     

  • Fashion, football debate continues on Game On

    Fashion, football debate continues on Game On

    Aculmination of a series of passionate debates and rivalry between fashion and football lovers in Nigeria, Game On TV reality show, rebounds with a second episode, Sunday, on NTA and AIT television stations.

    The show kicked off last week with both teams led by fashion icon, Lanre Da Silva Ajayi  and his football counterpart, Daniel Amokachi.

    During the first episode of the show, the first challenge saw both teams visiting the popular Balogun market in Lagos to demonstrate their passions by persuading traders and the general market community to accept either profession as representing the never-say-die spirit of the Nigerian.

    Incidentally, team football came tops, as they were voted the winning team by members of the community and went on to celebrate at the GET arena in Lekki, Lagos, courtesy of sponsoring brand, Malta Guinness.

    Sequel to their loss, Team Fashion had to vote out Modupe, whom they considered their weakest link on the challenge. Meanwhile, Lanre Da Silva Ajayi encouraged her team saying, “We need to put all we can into the next challenge. The game has just begun and I am very sure we will win it despite this setback.”

    Although Team Football was quite jubilant over their victory, The Fashion promised to show their resilience in the subsequent episodes.

    Episode two of Malta Guinness Game On was a wedding challenge which had Team Fashion design wedding dresses for the bride and chief bridesmaid. The bride and her chief looked adoring in their lace embellished dresses which appeared effortlessly put together by the fashion team.

    Team Football on the other hand, had to impress the crowd at the wedding with an entertaining routine which ended with the groom scoring a goal.

    Guests present at the event voted in favor of Team Fashion, even though a sampling of opinions after the event appeared to favour Team Football.

    Team Football eventually voted off Coach Ben, who the team unanimously said was less involved in the week’s challenge. Captain for Team Football, Daniel Amokachi, tried to motivate his team in the face of their loss. He said: “In football, if you can’t accept defeat, you can’t  work to the next game and win.”

    Interestingly, it is a level playing ground, as both teams are now down with two members.

  • Beware of fake football agents

    It’s not news that we have so many young Nigerians with the dream of becoming a professional football players. Most of them are often seen attempting to travel abroad all in the quest for professional football careers and many that have managed to cross the shores of the country have a lot to tell you when you meet them outside the country.

    Let me start by saying that there is nothing wrong for any youth to aspire playing professional football abroad but the way and manner they go about it is what is worrisome to me and this calls for serious concern because lots of youths have lost their freedom and dignity because of ambition to travel abroad.

    Meanwhile, I need to make something very clear and it is that our youths that are interested in becoming professional football players abroad should be weary of false agents who come with the idea that the youths should pay certain amount of money for them to be taken abroad  for trials. Many families have had to go through various harrowing experiences to fund their wards through such processes.

    While it is important that we state here clearly that some very important things should be considered when becoming involved in matters like this. Firstly, make sure that the club you want to attend the trials sends an invitation letter to you to participate in their trials. Ensure that you see the club’s invitation letter and not that of a third party in the name of an agent abroad inviting you to a trial to no specific club.

    Another strategy adopted by fraudsters is to say that they are taking the teams abroad for a mini competition and as such they put up a group of players with the notion that after they play the competition they will be discovered by agents who will eventually sign the players into European clubs.

    While some of the players have been able to secure playing contracts through these strategies others have ended up stranded in foreign lands without anyone to turn to. I have said it before now that we have thousands of Nigerian youth’s abroad that travelled with the expectation of playing football only to be abandoned by their so called agents in those countries.

    Depending on the country they find themselves some have resorted into business others have gone into other areas all in the name of trying to survive. But the truth is that because most of the boys are not educated they hardly find any reasonable job to do in Europe and thus becomes destitute in those countries.

    Youths and parents should be very wary about those who come to take your wards in the name of helping them to secure a football contract abroad. Many of these players have often forgotten that abroad, old players cannot find any club and that is why after they are able to secure one deal they find it difficult to renew their contract because of their age

    We need to be very careful because I have heard several negative stories of which if said a lot of families will be shocked. There was a young man I met in Liberia who claimed to have travelled to the country to play football. Honestly but for his name and ability to speak a Nigerian language you would have mistaken him for an airport tug.

    His story was that he was supposed to go to Libya from where he will move on to Spain but unfortunately for him by the time he got to Liberia he had exhausted all the monies that he came with and as such became stuck in Liberia. He was begging us to please give him some money for him to return to Nigeria. We tried the little we could but I don’t know If he eventually used the money to come back home or better still if he decided to stay put in Liberia

    Also in South Africa we have lots of youths that are roaming around the streets. Further investigation will reveal that some of them came to the country to play football but unfortunately today they are unable to play any football. You find them around most Nigerian restaurants begging for food and as I said earlier they have two major problems firstly they don’t have good papers and some don’t have any educational certificates.

    I wish to honestly advise any youth that loves to play football to be very careful and not fall into the trap of fraudsters. You need to know that if you are 25 or 30 years it will be difficult to make a team in Europe and because most players lie about their true age it is very difficult to get those young ones that will want to travel abroad.

    If truly you are good then try playing in one of the various clubs in Nigeria and don’t travel to Sudan, South Africa, Libya and other countries in the name of wanting to play professional football. I wish you all good luck.

    Merry Christmas to all.

  • OML 58 FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT: Sponsor, LOC chairman chide teams

    OML 58 FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT: Sponsor, LOC chairman chide teams

    The 2014 OML 58 football tournament is in its second week and lots of matches have been decided between the sixteen communities that are vying for honours.

    Players of the respective teams have been showcasing their skills and interpreting the instructions dished out by their coaches. Competition has been intense because of bragging rights between the competing teams.

    However, it must be mentioned that the matches have been played in good and brotherly atmosphere, as fair play has been the watchword.

    Members of the Organising Committee have been up to speed, making sure that every logistic is in place to ensure a hitch-free tournament. Chairman of the Main Organising Committee, Goodnews Mbonu said that sponsors of the tournament ,TOTAL E and P always striveto improve the standard.

    Mbonu also charged players and officials of the competing teams to continue to adhere to the rules governing the game of football, and the competition rules of the annual OML 58 football tournament.

    Manager, Community services, TOTAL E and P, Okechukwu Obara charged the players to continue to turn on the style, as scouts are taking notes and keeping tabs on exceptional players who will be helped to have a possible future career in football.

    The 2014 OML 58 Football Tournament will end on January 16.

  • Football: Are star players born or made?

    Football: Are star players born or made?

    Many people believe that skills or talents in football or other sports could be inherited but that number may not be as much as those who do not.

    Quite a number of footballers like Didier Drogba, according to the Daily Mall, think so, especially when he celebrated Chelsea’s 6-0 Champions League win with his son Isaac.

    In his celebration, Drogba showed his son, Isaac what life could be like if he makes it through the academy ranks at Stamford Bridge.

    Having said that, the long list of father-and-son duos featured in the Premier League’s article entitled “Family Ties: Fathers and Sons of the Barclays Premier League” does much to support this claim, with Harry and Jamie Redknapp, Steve and Alex Bruce, and Gus and Diego Poyet.

    However, for every genetically gifted offspring, there are equally as many who did not inherit their football gene from their fathers. It was reported by Chronicle Live that even at the age of 12, Paul Gascoigne’s son Regan knew he had no “genetic predisposition” to play football.

    In addition, despite his dad’s best efforts, it seems Manchester United might not be totally convinced of Brooklyn Beckham’s genetic potential.

    An article published in the Daily Mall in November 2013 revealed that “despite David Beckham’s son training at Manchester United a few weeks back, he will not be offered a deal at the club.”

    There is no denial that the emerging winger is still young and has lots of time to develop, the kid can clearly play, otherwise he would not have even been considered.

    Thiago Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo jnr
    Thiago Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo jnr

    In view of an Express report from November 2013 claiming he was paraded in front of  Fulham and Queens Park Rangers (QPR) and despite stories from May 2013 in the Daily Mall and Hello magazine claiming he signed for QPR, it seems the young prospect is still without a contract.

    This possibly indirectly indicates that any professional career may be more of nurture than it is of nature.

    So, based on a general but current understanding of genetics and sporting success, the question remains ‘are great footballers made or are they born?’

    Again, judging by a recent story published by the Mail Online that celebrated the skills of Lionel Messi’s 20-month-old son as he played on the beach in Italy, it is the latter.

    Equally, Cristiano Ronaldo revealed on Spanish radio station, ‘Cadena COPE’ via the Mirror, when speaking about his son: “Now he’s mad for football, and is always like ‘daddy, daddy, let’s play.’ I can’t say no to him because my dream is to see him playing. He’s already asked me for boots with studs, and striking the ball he’s already very good.”

    Even Argentina international Sergio Aguero recently took to YouTube to broadcast the football talents of his son, and grandson of one Diego Maradona, in a video.

    But is this just sensationalist journalism—and in Aguero’s case just a proud dad—or does sports science support the idea that Thiago Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo Jr. could meet at the 2034 FIFA World Cup final.

    Research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine shows this might not be as ridiculous as first thought, and Messi and Ronaldo’s optimism might be supported by science.

    This is because researchers concluded “that although deliberate training and other environmental factors are critical for elite performance, they cannot by themselves produce an elite athlete. Rather, individual performance thresholds are determined by our genetic make-up.”

  • World’s major football leagues: Nigeria ranks 34 in average salaries

    World’s major football leagues: Nigeria ranks 34 in average salaries

    The Premier League is by far the richest league in the world, with the 20 clubs now earning an average of around £155 million per season. This is underpinned by a domestic TV deal with Sky and BT worth £1bn each year, overseas TV deals in 212 countries bringing in £733 million a year and assorted other highlights, near-live and clip deals bringing in hundreds of millions more.

    Premier League footballers earn £2.3million a year each on average, or £43,717 a week, giving them wages almost 60 per cent bigger in 2014 than their closest earnings rivals in Germany’s Bundesliga, an exclusive Sportsmail study of football leagues around the world has revealed.

    Players in Germany’s top division earn £1.46m a year on average, or £28,011 a week, with players in Italy’s Serie A next best remunerated on £1.3m a year (£25,263 a week), followed by those in Spain’s La Liga on £1.2m a year (£23,327 a week).

    France’s Ligue 1 follows La Liga, with players averaging £988,000 a year, then the Russian Premier League is next on £902,000 before a drop to the only other league where players earn more than £500,000 a year – Brazil’s top division, where average yearly pay is £583,000.

    Players in England’s Championship are next, earning £486,000 on average, a staggering sum for a second tier – and higher than most top divisions around the world. The Sportsmail study has considered 34 leagues from across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Australia.

    Players in Major League Soccer, where Frank Lampard will star next year for Sheikh Mansour’s New York City FC, are earning an average of £135,945 in 2014 – or £2,614 a week.

    That puts them in 22nd place of the 34 leagues, where the bottom three slots are occupied by Croatia’s Prva League and the top divisions in South Africa and Nigeria.

    The average annual player wage in Croatia of £45,500 is roughly the same as the average weekly wage in the Premier League.

    In South Africa the average annual pay is £33,659 a year and in Nigeria, where domestic football has been in crisis, it is just £6,776 a year, or £130 a week.

    The Russian Premier League pays the sixth best wages, with players earning an average of £17,338 a week

     

    Culled from Dailymail

  • GOtv ‘Hood to Hood’ Football Championship Season 2 Kicks Off Oct 19

    GOtv ‘Hood to Hood’ Football Championship Season 2 Kicks Off Oct 19

    The season 2 of the GOtv Hood to Hood Football championship set to hold between  October 19 and  November 1  at the Legacy/NIS pitch, National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

    The plans for the tournament were unfolded at a press conference held at the Secretariat of Sports Writers’ Association of Nigeria (SWAN) in the National Stadium, Lagos.

    Speaking at the Press conference, the General Manager , GOtv, Mrs Elizabeth Amkpa disclosed that the GOtv Hood to Hood football championship is an initiative aimed at contributing towards the development of football at the grassroots.

    Amkpa assured that the Season 2 of the competition promises to be more exciting with a larger crowd of spectators expected. ”All the matches will be played at  the Legacy and NIS pitches of the National Stadium which will enable teeming football lovers to watch the matches live while adequate media coverage will be provided by Supersport”, she said

    Mrs Amkpa announced that the winner of the season 2 of the competition will go home with N500, 000 and a gold trophy, the second placed team will get N250, 000 and a silver trophy, the third placed team will get N150, 000 while the fourth placed team will go home with a consolatory prize of N100, 000.

    On the match fixtures for the competition, the Marketing Manager, GOtv,  Oludare Kafar noted that 16 teams will compete in the first round of the competition which will be  direct elimination to produce eight teams for the quarter final stage of the competition.

    According to Kafar, the four teams that emerge for the semi-final stage of the competition will be presented with a set of jerseys made in the four dominant colours of the brand which are yellow, green, white and red to play the semi-final match, third place and the final match.