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Tag: Toyin Ibitoye

  • Ibitoye: How NSC can reshape Nigeria’s multi-billion naira betting industry

    Ibitoye: How NSC can reshape Nigeria’s multi-billion naira betting industry

    In a move that sent shockwaves through Nigeria’s sports sector, President Tinubu’s decision to scrap the standalone Ministry of Sports Development might have inadvertently dealt wild cards to one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing industries – sports betting. With over ₦2 trillion in annual revenue and millions of young Nigerians actively engaged, the betting industry’s fate now hangs in a curious balance as sports administration undergoes structural transformation.

    Veteran Sports broadcaster and producer, Toyin Ibitoye, is anything but shocked. He recalls that this is not the first time a Nigerian government has made such a move and explains that the rationale might be an indirect admission of the Tinubu administration’s pockets not being deep enough to shoulder the responsibility.

    He said: “We’re talking about the structure of sports development  in Nigeria- the desire of the government to move into new areas of sports administration and focus on grassroots development and also get a lot of private sector development. This is because it’s  becoming increasingly difficult for the government  to solely improve sports while shouldering the responsibilities of improving other crucial sectors like health, education and defence. The National Sports Commission (NSC) is in place to develop a relationship with the private sector to improve funding, corporate governance, efficiency and make sports more profitable by developing a strong ecosystem for sports.”

    The Nigerian i-gaming industry is relatively new compared to the NSC which dates back to 1910 when the Empire Day competition first commenced. The last time it was dissolved was in 2015, during the Muhammadu Buhari administration. Now that it has been resurrected by the Tinubu administration, the expectations are high.

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    Ibitoye makes it clear that he expects  the commission to draw a significant correlation between the i-gaming industry  and the sports industry-  especially when taking into consideration the glaring inroad which i-gaming has made into sports and the level of empowerment which echoes throughout the industry.

    The ministry of sports is renowned for the abundance of technical knowhow, unfortunately this does not always translate to effective implementation.

     Ibitoye explained  that the problem which the ministry of sports has often faced  was that of leadership direction. However, he is optimistic that ‘there are still competent  and knowledgeable people with institutional knowledge in the sports ministry that can be useful to the NSC.’ He recommends that such individuals be absorbed and given leadership roles- as long as the individuals in question can align their goals with the leadership of the NSC.

    An idealistic sports commission is one which is grassroots cantered and according to Ibitoye’s standards, this is what the commission should be focused on. This would translate to the development of more home-grown talent and would ultimately lead to more bets being placed on ‘made in Nigeria’ players. He wants to see intentionality in locating these young talents at a tender age, training them and polishing them in order to turn them into “champions and world record holders that play at the highest level at their different fields.”

  • No leadership crisis in Nigeria Football Supporters Club – Ikpea

    No leadership crisis in Nigeria Football Supporters Club – Ikpea

    Samuel Ikpea, President, Nigeria Football Supporters Club ( NFSC ), has debunked the statement credited to the Media Officer of Super Eagles, Toyin Ibitoye, that the club was enmeshed in leadership crisis.

    Ikpea said this on Wednesday in Lagos while reacting to Ibitoye’s allegation on the leadership of the supporters club.

    The Eagles spokesman had on Monday in a private newspaper interview allegedly said that the Nigeria Football Federation was mindful of the situation with the Nigeria Football Supporters Club, which is a private body.

    He also said that hence, there were plans to ensure that the crisis did not affect the Eagles in Russia.

    Ikpea quoted him as saying: “The Nigerian Football Supporters Club has split into two factions with Rev. Ikpea and Vincent Okumagba laying claims to the leadership of the body.

    “The Ikpea faction is backed by majority of the members, including Rafiu Ladipo, who is the President-General of the body.

    “While Okumagba is supported by the younger elements, who want change in leadership from Ladipo’s over 20 years of controlling the body.

    “The club could not travel with the Super Eagles to Ndola where Zambia hosted Nigeria in the opening game of the Russia 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

    “The Ikpea-led group arrived in Cameroun by road on match day when the Indomitable Lions hosted the Super Eagles in Yaoundé.

    On the position of NFF over the issue, Ikpea said that it was unfortunate that the football house was feigning ignorance about the status of the association.

    “There is no truth in a statement by Super Eagles Spokesman, Ibitoye, over their imaginary crisis. We had a legitimate election last year which has the NFF representative in attendance.

    “There is no faction or crisis at all, I was duly and democratically elected at the July 10, 2016 election at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, so why the denial of the authenticity of headship of NFSC.

    “What I expect from NFF is a role of bridge builder and not fanning the embers of disunity. The fact remains that the supporters club is a one body with no known faction,’’ he said.

    Ikpea said that if NFF truly wanted to send a contingent to Russia 2018 World Cup, they knew who and who to contact.

    “If the NFF truly want to sponsor some of us to Russia, they know who to contact there are no two ways to that. They are well aware of the status of our association.

    “Maybe, this is another ploy to sponsor some of their cronies to the Mundial on government payroll by claiming that we are divided or did not know the faction to deal with.

    “We want to appeal to NFF not to divide the house with undue interference and speeches that could set the association on the brink.

    “The election which they failed to acknowledge was witnessed by the body’s council of Elders, Representatives from the NFF and Ministry of Sports,’’ he said.

    On the issues around Okumagba, Ikpea said he has been officially dismissed from the club in 2015, adding that the club had been part and parcel of the Super Eagles qualifiers.

    “We have been part of Eagles matches both home and away, where we spent our personal resources and even our lives to travel to Cameroon by road.

    “About Okumagba, he and some members were officially dismissed from the club for anti-club activities and disrespect to the club.

    “Their letters were forwarded to the NFF, Nigeria Police, Ministry of Sports and House of Assembly which they acknowledged, copies of the letters were documented,’’ he said.

    NAN

  • ‘Super Eagles going for outright win against Zambia’

    ‘Super Eagles going for outright win against Zambia’

     The Super Eagles spokesman, Toyin Ibitoye, on Wednesday debunked the news that the team would be satisfied with a draw against Zambia, saying instead that the team would be going for an outright win.

    Ibitoye said this in Lagos that the team would be aiming at defeating the Chipolopolo of Zambia in the crucial encounter in Uyo, Akwa Ibom.

    Nigeria is on the brink qualifying for the 2018 Mundial in Russia with an emphatic win over the African champions 4-0 and the reverse fixture in Yaoundé which ended1-1.

    Nigeria will play Zambia on Saturday at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.

    Nigeria got the first goal in Yaoundé after 30 minutes play through Moses Simon while Cameroun got their equaliser 15 minutes to go through a Vincent Aboubakar penalty.

    The super eagles had started the campaign in what many soccer pundits predicted to be the group of death in a blistering form with a defeat 2-1of Zambia in Ndola to pick their first ever away win.

    Goals from the premier league hotshots, Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho in the 33rd and 43rd minutes, ensured the much needed bright start, while Zambia’s Mbesuma scored in the 70th minute.

    Nigeria maintained the record when they defeated the highest ranked team in Africa, the Desert Warriors of Algeria in Uyo 3-1, courtesy of a brace from Victor Moses and a goal from Mikel Obi.

    However, the Gernot Rohr’s men can take a watertight lead on the summit of the Group B if they defeat Zambia on Sunday.

    A win means they will be on 13 points as against Zambia who will be rooted with seven points.

    On the importance of the match against the Wedson Nyirenda-tutored team from the Southern part of Africa, Ibitoye said the team’s management was leaving no stone unturned.

    He said that the Super Eagles Camp at the Le Meriden Hotel, was complete save the absence of Victor Moses who is been expected on Wednesday morning.

    “The camp is bubbling with the influx of the players, they all arrived early enough and they are training well. We are expecting the last person, Moses, who will arrive this ( Wednesday ) morning.

    “It is not true that we are contented with a draw according to some stories circulating around and which was attributed to the coach. All we want is an outright win.

    “At present, there is no injury concern in the team, Iwobi trained with others and he is 100 per cent fit as well as other players. The fitness level is perfect.

    “What we are saying is that the match against Zambia may not necessarily be a whitewash as we did against Cameroun.’’

    “The scoreline may or may not be the same but the points are what we need. Three full points will make us qualify in style,’’ he said.

    NAN

  • Eagles are Now Battle Ready for AFCON Qualifiers – Official

    Eagles are Now Battle Ready for AFCON Qualifiers – Official

    The Super Eagles are now set to get off to a winning start in the AFCON 2019 qualifying campaign against South Africa on June 10 in Uyo.

    The National Team spokesman Toyin Ibitoye made this after the Thursday friendly match gainst the Hawks of Togo in Paris, France.

    According to Ibitoye fall outs from the match indicates that the Eagles will not settle for anything less than a winning start as the qualifiers campaigns beckon.

    He said, though the Eagles were ruthless in front of goal and so took their chances against Togo on Thursday night, which was not the case against Corsica, a team official has said.

    Nigeria raced to a 3-0 win within 30 minutes against Togo in the friendly game with Leicester City forward Ahmed Musa scored a brace and fellow Premier League star Kelechi Iheanacho from Manchester City bagging the third goal.

    “We took our chances, which was not the case against Corsica,” said Eagles spokesman Toyin Ibitoye.

    “There is a lot to build on, which is very positive. The long training camp in France will certainly pay off.”

    Akwa United striker Alhassan Ibrahim ‘Muazzam’ said Eagles dominated the game from start to the end.

    “We dominated the match from start to finish,” he said.

    Ibitoye said the Eagles are now set to get off to a winning start in the AFCON 2019 qualifying campaign against South Africa on June 10 in Uyo.

    “The team is now in excellent mood mentally and physically for the challenge ahead of us,” he said.

    “We want to start the AFCON qualifying campaign with a win.

    “We missed the last two AFCONs, we don’t want to miss a third one.”

  • FIFA World Rankings: Nigeria remains 40th

    FIFA World Rankings: Nigeria remains 40th

    Nigeria’s Super Eagles have remained on the 40th spot with 726 points in the May FIFA World Rankings released on Thursday.

    According to the rankings table on the website of the world football governing body, Nigeria remained unmoved from the spot it occupied in the April rankings.

    The position has also left Nigeria on the 5th spot in the continent behind Egypt, Senegal, Cameroon and Burkina Faso respectively.

    The Super Eagles Media officer, Toyin Ibitoye, reacting to the rankings said it was a reflection of what happened in the month under review.

    “The ranking have come again and the Super Eagles were ranked 40th in the World and 5th in Africa, the same position we were as at the last ranking.

    “I think it is nothing to worry about. In the month reviewed, nothing happened and there were no friendly games and no official games.

    “The new FIFA ranking is a reflection of what happened during the month, but we will continue to do what we are doing to work and prepare the team.

    “We are ready for the challenges coming up. Next month will be very busy for us; we will be going to camp for training.

    Ibitoye said that the Eagles would concentrate more on the task ahead which were qualifiers for the 2018 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

    “We will concentrate on preparing for the crucial game against Bafana Bafana of South Africa. This will be the qualifiers towards the 2018 Nations Cup.

    “But last month’s assessment by FIFA is justifiable because it has been a quiet month for the teams in international front,’’ he said.

    On the global scene, it was a quiet month on the international front with only seven games played.

    The top 20 places remained static following April, with a one-place drop for Slovakia (24) into accounting for the only movement inside the leading 73 nations.

    Bolivia (73, plus 1) brought about that small ripple of motion, but outside the top 100 there were some notable changes.

    A pair of wins for Madagascar (111, plus 9) over Malawi (114, minus 14) saw them claim the titles of the month’s biggest movers up and down the table respectively.

    Also, South Sudan (146, plus 8) is not far behind after similarly twice seeing off Somalia (206, unchanged).

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on June 1, 2017. (