The Nation Newspaper

Tag: WIKKI

  • Wikki set to down Sunshine

    Wikki set to down Sunshine

    Wikki Tourists captain and right-back, Mustapha Ibrahim has said his side will puncture the smooth ride of Sunshine Stars in the ongoing season.

    The newcomers will host the second placed side, Sunshine Stars in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) match day 26 clash on Sunday at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium (ATBS) in Bauchi.

    Ibrahim said his side cannot afford further drop of point in the ongoing season if the chance at the continental will be a reality.

    “Sunshine Stars are almost invincible and wonderful, especially on the home ground while they have equally gone outside their base to pick valuable points on the road but we have resolved to turn them back empty-handed on Sunday.

    “We are 100% ready for them and have actually strenghtened ourselves to engage them in what will go down in history as the toughest match of the season. Of course, we cannot afford to forfeit any point on the home ground if our season’s laudable mark will be achieved.

    “We need the whole three points to inch closer to the summit after we ceded the three points to Warri Wolves in our last match. The match will certainly be tough, we have no choice right now but to claim the points at stake,” said Ibrahim to supersport.com.

  • Wikki admit NPFL difficulty

    Wikki admit NPFL difficulty

    Wikki Tourists captain and right back, Mustapha Ibrahim has admitted his side are experiencing some difficulties at the moment.

    The newcomers have been without a win in their last four consecutive matches in the ongoing season.

    The Bauchi-based side will host Nasarawa United in the Nigeria Professional Football League match day 22 clash on Sunday at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium (ATBS), Bauchi.

    Ibrahim said his side have decided to fight hard to end the winless streak against the Solid Miners on Sunday.

    “Of course, playing four matches in a row without a win is not the dream or desire of any side.

    “I must confess that the situation is a source of worry to us, we are really worried over the experience. Though some of the stated matches like the away clash at 3SC was a game we have no reason to draw not to talk of losing the whole three points.

    “The officiating officials were quite fair to both sides in the first half but practically turned against us in the later stage of the game. However, we have told ourselves that the time has come for us to raise our game to end the winless streak.

    “And we have decided to break the four-match winless jinx against Nasarawa United on Sunday. Yes, it’s nothing short of outright victory that will be acceptable to us at least to improve our rating on the log,” said Ibrahim to supersport.com.

    Wikki Tourists are fourth on the league log on 34 points five points behind leaders, Sunshine Stars.

  • Wikki aim to halt Pillars home invincibility

    Wikki aim to halt Pillars home invincibility

    Wikki Tourists said they hope to end the long unbeaten home record of Nigeria league champions Kano Pillars today when they clash at the Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano in a Week 18 game.

    Pillars have not lost at home since 1992.

    Wikki are second on the league table with 32 points from 17 games, while Pillars are ninth with 25 points.

    Wikki defender Peter Ambrose told AfricanFootball.com his team are well equipped to beat Pillars in front of their home fans to possibly topple Sunshine on top of the league standings.

    “We are going to Kano Pillars with the aim of winning. By his grace, we will get the needed victory to end their unbeaten run at home,” said the younger brother of Super Eagles star Efe Ambrose, who is on loan from relegated Kaduna United.

    “It’s not going to be easy though, but we are equal to the task.”

    It will also be a very sweet victory for coach Abdu Maikaba were Wikki to win in Kano after he left his hometown club under a cloud last year.

  • Wikki blame ref for Cup defeat

    Wikki blame ref for Cup defeat

    The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) side, Wikki Tourists, have blamed the centre referee for their defeat to Tornadoes Feeders in the Federation Cup round of 32 clash in Gusau.

    The Bauchi outfit lost 5-6 on penalties to the Nigeria Nationwide League (NNWL) 2 side after full time scores stood at 1-1.

    Wikki Tourists captain and right back Mustapha Ibrahim said aside from the number disadvantage, the referee practically made it impossible for the side to play their game with endless bad calls.

    “The referee killed us and killed every move we made to win the match before the penalty shootouts.

    “It was a game we could have comfortably wrapped up within the regulation time but the referee aside reducing our numbers to 10 unjustly disallowed two good goals we scored.

    “The referee made it a point of duty to frustrate any positive moves by us with his endless bad calls.

    “We are not happy because we actually lost to the referee and not Tornadoes Feeders,” said Ibrahim to supersport.com.

    Ibrahim said his side have shifted their whole attention on the league especially on the weekend match day 17 clash against El Kanemi Warriors in Bauchi.

    “Right now we are facing the NPFL squarely especially the match day 17 game against El Kanemi Warriors on Sunday in Bauchi.

    “We are damn prepared to fight for the maximum three points at stake which will greatly boost our chase for the summit.

    “The three points is quite important more so as our next two matches will be on the road to Kano Pillars and Heartland.

    “We have no choice at the moment than to put all our energies in the league to ensure we get something at the end of the season,” said Ibrahim.

    Wikki Tourists are third on the 20-team elite league log on 29 points one point behind leaders, Sunshine Stars.

  • Wikki keep pressure on front runners

    Wikki keep pressure on front runners

    Wikki Tourists continued with their impressive run in the Nigeria league after they snatched a point at Dolphins following a 1-1 draw to keep the pressure on the top two teams.

    Wikki Tourists are third on the league table with 29 points from 16 games, while Dolphins have 14 points from 16 games.

    In the 58th minute, Wikki took the lead through Mubarak Umar in what looked like the winner until a minute to the end of the game, when Victor Ezurike equalised for Dolphins from the penalty spot.

    It took the referee some time before he awarded a penalty when Wikki expected him to book a Dolphins player for simulation.

    Ten minutes to the end of the game, Wikki defender Peter Ambrose was sent off for bringing down goal-bound Omoh Johnson, but the free kick posed no danger to Wikki.

    In the fifth minute, Dolphins Diarra had his effort from close range saved by goalkeeper Sani Haliru.

    Ten minute later, Haliru made another save off Asamoah Godbless effort. Johnson’s powerful effort in the 69th minute.

  • Maikaba: Wikki have got their groove back

    Maikaba: Wikki have got their groove back

    Owerri Wikki Tourists FC head coach, Abdu Maikaba has told SportingLife that he is enthusiastic about the form of his boys whom have been finding it difficult to score  before the league embarked on a recess after they fired lots of goals in the Bauchi FA Cup competition.

    The Bauchi side beat Zabgai 5-0 to lift the FA Cup title again and this come after they had beaten their foes 3-0 in the semi-final before the date with Zabgai in the final.

    He said he was happy that his boys scored plenty of goals in the FA Cup competition without conceding any goals and that he would like his team to carry that form to their Match Day Four clash with Abia Warriors in Umuahia this weekend.

    “We are gradually getting our groove back and I am happy about this. We found scoring difficult in our last home game but I am glad that we are getting over our challenges and before you know it we will be very hard to beat in the league by the time my players have blended together,” Maikaba told SportingLife in a brief interview yesterday night.

    Wikki are seventh on the log with four points from three games.

     

  • Dream Team to play Wikki in friendly tie in Bauchi Dec 11

    Dream Team to play Wikki in friendly tie in Bauchi Dec 11

    Chief Coach of the Nation’s U-23 team, Samson Siasia has urged soccer loving Nigerians to assist him in moulding a team that would be able to qualify for all the tournaments they have entered to play.

    In a chat with SportingLife in Abuja shortly after paying a condolence visit to Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Abuja Chapter who lost a vibrant member Ramsey Ugele solicited for Nigerians support to lead the team to successes.

    “It is beg that I am begging every Nigerian especially, you the press guys. You must support us to succeed so that we avoid what happened with the Super Eagles that failed to qualify for next year’s Nations Cup.

    “We are not resting at all in searching for the right kind of players. We will not rest until we see the players we are looking for. And I can tell you that we have made serious progress and by the time the elimination begins we should have gotten the best players,” he said.

    The Dream Team V1 have been engaged in series of friendly matches with some Abuja based football clubs and have so far won all the matches. The team would be taking on newly promoted club to the Nigeria Premier League, Wikki Tourist of Bauchi in yet another friendly match in Bauchi in December 11, 2014.

    Samson Siasia will be hoping to repeat the feat he achieved when he led the then Nation’s U-23 team to winning silver at the football event of the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. Before then he led the Nation’s U-20 team to winning silver at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in the Netherlands.

    Dream Team have been undergoing screening of players in Abuja ahead of the 2015 All Africa Games and the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

  • Wikki reveal secret weapon of promotion

    Wikki reveal secret weapon of promotion

    •Hail Governor Yuguda, people of Bauchi

    Wikki Tourists  have attributed their return to the premier league after a season in the lower league to the financial support of Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda and the unrelenting disposition of other stakeholders of the club including the technical crew of the team.

    Wikki gained a berth to the top flight after the coach Tunde Abdulrahman-led side secured 53 points from 30 games and the club’s supremo, Suleiman Chindo alias Sule Tiger revealed that the Almighty God made use of  Governor Yuguda and other important stakeholders to enable the club actualise the dream to get back.

    Mallam Chindo said: “Almighty God was our guidance in our quest for promotion through prayers. Bauchi state’s soccer-loving governor, Yuguda backed us financially and morally. The stakeholders also did a yeoman’s job while the press were also very supportive.”

  • Wikki appoint Abdulrahman as new coach

    Wikki appoint Abdulrahman as new coach

    • New tactician vows to return Bauchi to the elite division

    Wikki Tourists have installed Tunde Abdulrahman as their head coach ahead of life in the Nigeria National League (NNL) next season.

    Abdulrahman led both defunct Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) FC and Taraba United to the Glo Premier League and Bauchi-based Wikki are hoping they would be the third team the tactician would return to the top flight.

    His last known place of work was Taraba United with whom he toiled until they secured a ticket to the elite division alongside Giwa FC of Jos. Ironically, the chairman of Taraba United, Tijani Babangida deemed Abdulrahman surplus to requirements despite having given the club their first top flight ticket.

    Speaking with SportingLife, Abdulrahman said he was grateful to God for another opportunity to work after the Taraba United episode.

    He said he would be needing the assistance of all the management staff, players and other key officials to achieve the club’s return to the Glo Premier League at the end of the next NNL season.

    Abdulrahman noted that although he would be having only a few days to prepare his boys judging by the deadline given to teams to register for the new NNL season, he was ready for the new challenge and would strive to return Wikki to the top.

    “I have resumed with Wikki Tourists as head coach. I have begun another phase and what happened in Taraba United is now in my past. I am looking forward to a cordial working relationship with all those that matter in Wikki Tourists.

    “I would like us to be progressive minds and focus solely on our target to get back to the Premier League. It is achievable. I have done it before with JUTH and Taraba United and I can still do it again with proper support and motivation,” Abdulrahman told SportingLife.

    Coach Abdulrahman begun work after his formal signing of contract papers on Monday in Bauchi.

    Wikki ended last season’s Glo League second from bottom with 49 points from 38 matches and were subsequently relegation alongside Kwara United, ABS and 3SC.

  • Wikki supporters promise good conduct at Nationwide League

    Wikki supporters promise good conduct at Nationwide League

    Chairman, Wikki Tourists FC of Bauchi Supporters Club, Aliyu Dan has said his administration will introduce measures to curb restiveness among its members during the 2013/2014 Nigeria Nationwide League (NNL) matches.

    Dan told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Bauchi that the supporters club had consulted with the Wikki management, players and stakeholders on the way forward. He said the members were prepared to conduct themselves well while supporting their club during the league later in the month.

    “We are ready to support our club to the best of our abilities because we have realised the effect of the past mistakes in the last Globacom Premier League. The league is starting this month and we are calling on all our members to change their attitude,” he said.

    Dan said that in spite of the team’s relegation, the supporters would make sure they boost the morale of the players to be at the top of the table.

    “Wikki will perform creditably at the nationwide league and eventually return to the premier league,’’ Dan said.

    According to him, the relegation has dragged the state backwards in terms of sports, especially football, considering that the state was known as a hub of sports.

    Dan took over the chairmanship after Wikki was beaten 1-0 by El-Kanemi Warriors FC of Borno during the 2012/2013 Globacom Premier League, leading to its relegation.

    It would be recalled that the club was fined N2 million and had to play the rest of its matches without spectators at the Bauchi Township Stadium after the encounter with El-Kanemi.