ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Qualifiers’ Preparations Resumes In The UAE

Afghanistan, Ireland and Scotland have arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to participate in a triangular series, which will take place in Dubai and Abu Dhabi from 8 to 19 January, as part of their ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 preparations.

The series is part of the ICC’s High Performance Programme (HPP), which is targeted at assisting the qualifiers prepare for cricket’s pinnacle 50-over tournament.

Afghanistan and Scotland, who are in Pool A of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and will play each other in Dunedin on 26 February, will meet in the opening match of the tri-series on Thursday at the ICC Academy in a competition.

On Saturday, Afghanistan and Ireland will go head to head at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in a day/night fixture, which will start at 1400 (local time), while the same venue will host the final match of the first round between European rivals Ireland and Scotland. Spectator entry for all series matches is free of charge.

The series will be played in a double-league format, with each match carrying One-Day International (ODI) status.

Afghanistan, Ireland and Scotland completed the acclimatisation phase of their ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 preparations in Australia and New Zealand in September-October, and played a series of matches against local sides. Afghanistan played matches in Canberra, Perth and Tauranga and Perth, Ireland played games in Brisbane, Canberra, Christchurch, the Gold Coast and Hamilton, while Scotland played in Christchurch, Hobart and Maroochydore.

Looking ahead to the series, Scotland’s head coach Grant Bradburn said: “This series is obviously important for us to gain valuable match-time as we build towards February. The last few months have allowed the squad to hone our skills, whilst building a strong team environment.

“It’s going to be a great opportunity to test ourselves against Ireland and Afghanistan and I know the guys are itching to get out on the park.”

Ireland coach and former West Indies opener Phil Simmons also spoke about the importance of the series. “It’s a vital series as we look to fine-tune our preparations for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. The facilities and climate are first-class in Dubai, and it’s been a happy hunting ground for Irish cricket in recent years,” he said.

“We’ve just announced our World Cup 15, so there will be a lot of healthy competition within our squad to state their case for a place in the starting line-up.

“We’ve developed a great rivalry over the years with both Scotland and Afghanistan and I’m certain it’ll be a tough, keenly contested tri-series, and one which we’re all looking forward to,” he concluded.

Squads:

Afghanistan – Mohammad Nabi (captain), Nawroz Mangal, Asghar Stanikzai, Samiullah Shenwari, Afsar Zazai (wk), Najibullah Zadran, Nasir Jamal, Mirwais Ashraf, Gulbadin Naib, Hamid Hassan, Shapoor Zadran, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Javed Ahmadi, Usman Ghani, Izatullah Dawlatzai and Hasmatullah Shahidi.

Ireland – William Porterfield (Captain), Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Andrew McBrine, John Mooney, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson and Craig Young.

Scotland – Preston Mommsen (captain), Hamish Gardiner, Matthew Machan, Josh Davey, Rob Taylor, Calum Macleod, Matthew Cross, Iain Wardlaw, Ali Evans, Gavin Main, Freddie Coleman, Richie Berrington, Kyle Coetzer, Michael Leask, Majid Haq and Saffy Sharif.

Series schedule

Thursday, 8 Jan – Scotland v Afghanistan, ICC Academy 1, Dubai (0930-1715)
Saturday, 10 Jan – Ireland v Afghanistan, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai (1400-2145)
Monday, 12 Jan – Ireland v Scotland, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai (1400-2145)
Wednesday, 14 Jan – Afghanistan v Scotland, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi (1400-2145)
Saturday, 17 Jan – Afghanistan v Ireland, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai (0930-1715)
Monday, 19 Jan – Scotland v Ireland, ICC Academy 1, Dubai (0930-1715)

Afghanistan, Ireland and Scotland go head to head in a triangular ODI series from Thursday; live scoring will be available at http://www.icc-cricket.com

Azarenka Heads Nominations For 2015 Fed Cup By BNP Paribas Zone Group I Events

Former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka heads the nominations for the 2015 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Zone Group I events taking place on 4-7 February in the same week as the Fed Cup World Group and World Group II first round ties.

The ITF has announced the full nominations for Europe/Africa Zone Group I in Budapest, Hungary; Americas Zone Group I in San Luis Potosi, Mexico; and Asia/Oceania Zone Group I in Guangzhou, China, P.R.

The draws for all three Zone Group I events will be held at the ITF offices in London on Friday 9 January.

All nations contesting the Zone Group I events will be bidding to qualify for the Fed Cup World Group II play-offs on 18-19 April, with two teams qualifying from the Europe/Africa Zone, and one team from both the Americas and Asia/Oceania Zones.

Four top 50 players will contest Europe/Africa Zone Group I, with Azarenka joined by Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria and Heather Watson of Great Britain. Peng Shuai of China and Kurumi Nara of Japan head the nominations for Asia/Oceania Zone Group I.

Nominations for the 2015 Fed Cup World Group and World Group II first round ties, which take place on 7-8 February, will be announced on Wednesday 28 January.

EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE GROUP I
Venue: Syma Event and Congress Centre, Budapest, Hungary (hard – indoors)
Dates: 4-7 February

Austria
Patricia Mayr-Achleitner
Tamira Paszek
Barbara Haas
Sandra Klemenschits
Captain: Jurgen Waber

Belarus
Victoria Azarenka
Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Olga Govortsova
Iryna Shymanovich
Captain: Tatiana Poutchek

Belgium
Yanina Wickmayer
An-Sophie Mestach
Alison van Uytvanck
Ysaline Bonaventure
Captain: Ann Devries

Bulgaria
Tsvetana Pironkova
Elitsa Kostova
Dia Evtimova
Viktoriya Tomova
Captain: Dora Rangelova

Croatia
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni
Donna Vekic
Ana Konjuh
Darija Jurak
Captain: Iva Majoli

Georgia
Sofia Shapatava
Ekaterine Gorgodze
Oksana Kalashnikova
Mariam Bolkvadze
Captain: Margalita Chakhnashvili

Great Britain
Heather Watson
Johanna Konta
Anna Smith
Jocelyn Rae
Captain: Judy Murray

Hungary
Reka-Luca Jani
Dalma Galfi
Anna Bondar
Fanny Stollar
Captain: Gabor Juhasz

Israel
Shahar Peer
Julia Glushko
Keren Shlomo
Alona Pushkarevsky
Captain: Amos Mansdorf

Latvia
Diana Marcinkevica
Jelena Ostapenko
Darta-Elizabete Emulina
Captain: Daiga Juska

Liechtenstein
Stefanie Vogt
Kathinka von Deichmann
Lynn Zund
Sandra Hinterberger
Captain: Daniel Kieber

Portugal
Michelle Larcher de Brito
Barbara Luz
Maria Joao Koehler
Ines Murta
Captain: Andre Lopes

Serbia
Aleksandra Krunic
Ivana Jorovic
Doroteja Eric
Vojislava Lukic
Captain: Tatjana Jecmenica-Jevtic

Turkey
Cagla Buyukakcay
Pemra Ozgen
Ipek Soylu
Basak Eraydin
Captain: Alaaddin Karagoz

Ukraine
Elina Svitolina
Lesia Tsurenko
Kateryna Kozlova
Olga Savchuk
Captain: Natalia Medvedeva

AMERICAS ZONE GROUP I
Venue: La Loma Sports Centre, San Luis Potosi, Mexico (hard – outdoors)
Dates: 4-7 February

Bolivia
Maria Fernanda Alvarez-Teran
Noelia Zeballos
Maria Ines Deheza
Hortencia Birnbaumer
Captain: Rolando Nieva

Brazil
Teliana Pereira
Beatriz Haddad Maia
Gabriela Ce
Paula Cristina Goncalves
Captain: Carla Tiene

Chile
Andrea Koch-Benvenuto
Daniela Seguel
Fernanda Brito
Barbara Gatica
Captain: Belus Prajoux

Colombia
Mariana Duque Marino
Yuliana Lizarazo
Maria Paulina Perez Garcia
Maria Fernanda Herazo Gonzalez
Captain: Catalina Castano

Mexico
Ana Sofia Sanchez
Marcela Zacarias
Victoria Rodriguez
Renata Zarazua
Captain: Angelica Gavaldon

Paraguay
Veronica Cepede Royg
Montserrat Gonzalez
Camila Giangreco Campiz
Sara Gimenez
Captain: Ramon Delgado

Venezuela
Andrea Gamiz
Adriana Perez
Mariaryeni Gutierrez
Aymet Uzcategui
Captain: Yohnny Romero

ASIA/OCEANIA ZONE GROUP I
Venue: Guangdong Olympic Tennis Centre, Guangzhou, China, P.R. (hard – outdoors)
Dates: 4-7 February

China, P.R.
Peng Shuai
Zhang Shuai
Zheng Saisai
Wang Qiang
Captain: Wang Peng

Chinese Taipei
Hsieh Su-Wei
Chan Yung-Jan
Lee Ya-Hsuan
Chan Hao-Ching
Captain: Wang Shi-Ting

Hong Kong, China
Zhang Ling
Wu Ho Ching
Ng Man Ying Maggie
Claire Spackman
Captain: Phillip King

Japan
Kurumi Nara
Misaki Doi
Eri Hozumi
Shuko Aoyama
Captain: Yuka Kaneko-Yoshida

Kazakhstan
Yaroslava Shvedova
Yuliya Putintseva
Kamila Kerimbayeva
Anna Danilina
Captain: Dias Doskarayev

Korea, Republic
Jang Su Jeong
Han Na-Lae
Choi Ji-Hee
Lee So-Ra
Captain: Cho Yoon Jeong

Thailand
Luksika Kumkhum
Tamarine Tanasugarn
Varatchaya Wongteanchai
Noppawan Lertcheewakarn
Captain: Vittaya Samrej

Uzbekistan
Nigina Abduraimova
Agkul Amanmuradova
Sabina Sharipova
Arina Folts
Captain: Dmitriy Tomashevich

NFF Badges 28 FIFA Referees

The Nigeria Football Federation will on Thursday in Lagos present badges to Nigeria’s FIFA Referees for the year 2015. The list includes six men Referees, three women Referees, seven men Assistant Referees, four women Assistant Referees, four Futsal Referees and four Beach Soccer Referees.

NFF President Amaju Pinnick will badge the referees at the Eko Hotel & Suites just before the 2014 Glo-Caf Awards ceremony inside the same edifice.

The men referees are Amao Joshua Opeyemi, Udoh Anietie Ferdinand, Ao Abubakar, Shuaibu Abdullahi, Odey Benjamin Ekabatiem and Ogunyamodi Henry Shina, while women referees are Nwogu Uloma Nneka, Musa Hadiza and Foluso Adewuyi Ajayi.

Men assistant referees are Edibi Peter Elgam, Baba Abel, Pwadutakam Samuel, Usman Isah, Orowole Tope, Igudia Efosa Celestine and Ogwu Peter Eigege, and women assistant referees are Momoh Bosede Adijat, Iyorhe Mimisen Agatha, Nkwocha Hulda Uba and Aliu Felicia Obile.

Futsal referees are Musa Dung Davou, Ukah Ndubuisi, Umar Ibrahim Fagge and Umuago Paul Akpome, with Ogunmuyiwa Jelili, Mohammed Sani, Jimeta Suleiman Abdulrahman and Ushie Michael are Beach Soccer referees.

Djokovic Cruises Into Qatar Open Quarter-Finals

World No.1 and top seed Novak Djokovic cruised into the Quarter final of the Qatar Exxonmobil Open with a 6-2,6-1 win over Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky on wednesday.

The Serb who is making his debut at this tournament won 29 of his 34 points(85%) when his first serve went in,and saved all three break points he saved.

Djokovic will face 7th seeded Croatian Ivo Karlovic who defeated Nikoloz Basiashvili of Georgia in the second round.

Novak Djokovic doha 2015. photo credit novakdjokovic.com

Fourth seed David Ferrer needed just 78mins to see off fellow country man Fernando Verdasco 6-3,6-2 and will now face German Dustin Brown who also posted a 7-6(9),6-4 win over compatriot Jan-Lennard Struff.

If the Serb and the Spaniard both win their quarter-final fixture they would be on course for a Semi final clash in Qatar.

Winter Issue Of ITFWorld Magazine Published Online

The Winter 2014 issue of the International Tennis Federation’s official magazine ITFWorld has been published online and can be viewed at:

http://www.itftennis.com/news/194519.aspx

Old edition of the ITFWorld magazine

The specially extended 44-page magazine features 2014 Davis Cup champions Switzerland on the cover, and the following articles are included inside:

Reaching new heights: a review of the record-breaking and history-making Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Final in Lille, which saw Switzerland defeat France to lift the trophy for the first time.

Czech again: a look back at Czech Republic’s victory in the 2014 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Final, with victory against Germany in Prague handing the hosts the title for an amazing eighth time.

The best of 2014: celebrating the outstanding performances of the 2014 ITF World Champions, in a season where repeat winners were named in five of the eight categories.

London smiling: a report from the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters as the year-end event settled into its new home in London at the former 2012 Paralympic venue.

Quadri Is World’s Table Tennis Player Of The Year

From Dubai in United Arab Emirates (UAE) came another accolade for Nigeria as Aruna Quadri has been named the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Star Player of the year at the award ceremony held on Wednesday.

At the colourful award ceremony held at the Armani Hotel, Quadri claimed two awards ahead of players from Asia and Europe to get standing ovation from the guests that graced the occasion.

Aruna Quadri with other award winners during the ITTF Star Awards at the Armani Hotel at Burj Khalifa on January 7, 2015 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The world’s number 30 ranked player was adjudged the best male player beating world number one, China’s Xu Xin and his compatriot, Fan Zhendong, who is the 2014 Youth Olympic Games gold medallist as well as Portugal’s Marcos Freitas, who is the 2014 European Team Championships winner and the first Portuguese player to be ranked top 10 in the world.

Also, Quadri’s crucial winning point against Olympics and World Champion, Jan Zhike of China at the 2014 ITTF World Cup was adjudged the best in the Star Point category at the second edition of the award.

An elated Quadri described yesterday’s award as the best in his career, while acknowledging the support he got globally from table tennis fans.

Quadri has moved from number 237 to number 30 in just nine months.

“This is the best day of my career and I want to thank the organizers for considering me for this. I also want to thank all my fans all over the world for their support because this is unbelievable for me and I promise to continue to work hard,” he said.

For the female star player of the year, China’s Ding Ning, 2014 ITTF Women’s World Cup winner and world number one defeated Feng Tianwei of Singapore, Kasumi Ishikawa of Japan and China’s Liu Shiwen, 2014 Asian Games champion to the award.

Other awards won at the ceremony include Para male star, para female star, star coach and fair play star of the year.

Aruna Quadri recieving is NSA2014 Award

The ITTF Star Awards is the official awards ceremony organised by ITTF since 2013. It is the most prestigious award aimed at recognising, honouring and celebrating the stars of table tennis, the athletes who have made table tennis their passion, career and life.

All the nominees for the awards attended the night of glitz and glamour, as athletes dressed up in their finest for the Awards Night.

Aruna Quadri during the ITTF Star Awards at the Armani Hotel at Burj Khalifa on January 7, 2015 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Andrew Walker Appointed ITF Commercial Director

The ITF announced today that Andrew Walker, formerly Chief Marketing Officer of the WTA, will take over as ITF Commercial Director on 7 January 2015. He replaces Kenny MacLeod who leaves the ITF in mid-January.

Walker joined the WTA in 2003 and played a leading role in sponsorship sales and activation plus sales and strategic projects in helping to drive the growth of women’s professional tennis. He played an important role in some of the biggest success stories in women’s tennis, including being a key member of the revenue generating team that concluded WTA’s sponsorship deals and subsequent renewals with organisations such as Sony Ericsson, Whirlpool, Xerox, BNP Paribas and Rolex. Since leaving the WTA, Walker has taken on various consultancy roles within the industry.

Francesco Ricci Bitti, photo credit ITF.com

“We are very pleased that Andrew Walker, with his outstanding experience in tennis, has agreed to join the ITF as Commercial Director,” said ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti. “We have known Andrew for many years and believe he will be a great asset to our commercial team. At the same time, we wish Kenny well for the future and thank him for his efforts on our behalf.”

“I am excited to join the ITF and to help contribute to the continued commercial success of the organization, members and sport,” said Walker. “The leadership team at the ITF have done an incredible job of expanding both the ITF’s flagship properties and the development of the game on a global basis, and I look forward to working with them along with their members and partners to drive new opportunities for growth.”

Eduok’s Saga: Pinnick Made The Wrong Call

Opinions have been divided between observers and stakeholders since the news of Emem Eduok’s dismissal from the Abuja camp of the Super Eagles broke out on Tuesday evening.

Amidst all the blame trading, condemnations, criticisms, vindications and justifications. I feel obliged to express my thoughts on the matter, by stating that while the decision to throw Eduok out of the camp of the national team may have been done with the best of intentions for the team in general, and without any hint of prejudice to the player, it was and is still a wrong call, and I hope you will come to understand why.

While explaining the reason for his decision, the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Melvin Amaju Pinnick, had this to say:

NFF President, Mr. Amaju Pinnick.

“We are not happy with the cloud of controversy over his transfer issue and it is a terrible distraction to the team and Nigeria football generally,” a statement from the Federation on Tuesday quoted Pinnick to have said.

“Telling him to leave the camp does not mean we are indicting him. We will carry out an investigation and whoever is found guilty, be he/she an agent or player manager or an official of his club, will be duly sanctioned.

“We have to do this (send the boy out of camp) to serve as a deterrent to others. We are not blaming the player for anything yet; investigation will unravel who is guilty. But the distraction and controversy the matter has generated is not good for the camp.”

TEAM INTERFERENCE

Looking at the comment above, while it may be true that the controversy being generated by Eduok’s transfer saga – involving Sarpsborg 08 of Norway and Esperance of Tunisia – could be a distraction not only to the player while in camp but also to the team in general, the final decision on the players’ fate in that regard rests with the team’s administrators and technical crew.

Pinnick not only acted ultra vires in sending the former Akwa United forward home, but also undermined the authority of the team’s managers both internally and in the eyes of the ever watchful and critical public by usurping their power and administrative function in the national team.

Lets keep in mind that Eduok’s ‘sins’ are not related to the national team or public morality as was the case of Victor Agali, Celestine Babayaro and Yakubu Aiyegbeni. When the trio were sent of the Super Eagles camp during the 2004 African Cup of Nations in Tunisia, for allegedly breaking camp rules.

Emem Eduok

INVESTIGATION

Pinnick on Tuesday revealed that the Felix Anyansi Agwu-led Technical and Development Committee has been mandated to look ‘into the matter and report back to the Executive Committee at its meeting in Lagos on Thursday.’

However, the act of sending the player home has already prejudiced whatever investigation is being carried out, as Eduok appears to have been pronounced guilty until proven innocent; a far cry from the conventional practice, especially as to the best of my knowledge non of the clubs involved has lodged a formal complaint on the matter.

True to Amaju, he did say in his comment above that his action action should not be perceived as an act of blaming the player. But when words like ‘to serve as a deterrent to others’ are used subsequently, it becomes too difficult to hide the obvious self-contradiction by the Nigerian football supremo.

STRUCTURAL FLAWS
I agree that there is no substitute for discipline, and that unprofessionalism should not be encouraged. However, I think it would be unfair to allow Eduok shoulder a large portion of the blame in this saga. Not merely because investigations into the saga are yet to be concluded, but because the problem here is sad advertisement of our poor administrative structure in the sensitive areas of players welfare, contract and transfer system.

Which is characterized by poor documentation, a lack of a database, unilateral determination of contracts by clubs as well as hitherto undocumented ownership of ‘ready made’ players by non-existing academies, amongst several other questionable practices.

That is why i see this Eduok’s transfer saga as an opportunity for our football administrators to cease this moment to adopt international best practice in the handling of player contracts and transfers, to enable us avoid a reoccurrence of this incident.

It will be recalled that in the not so distant past, players like Emmanuel Daniel and more notably Sunday Mba were involved in a similar transfer imbroglio which pitted Enugu Rangers against Shooting Stars and Warri Wolves respectively. Both issues were not convincingly handled, and even then attempts were not made to put machineries in place to forestall a reoccurrence.

CONCLUSION
Looking forward, I think the time has come for Nigeria to adopt the Global player registration and competition Management Systems. If countries like Liberia, Namibia, Tanzania and Rwanda have been using this system for years, i wonder what a football ‘powerhouse’ like Nigeria is waiting for.

Uche George Egbe

ICC Announces Associate And Affiliate Panel Of Umpires For 2015

Allan Haggo appointed to the panel

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced the 11-member ICC Associate and Affiliate Panel of International Umpires for 2015, which follows the annual review and selection process.

Scotland’s Allan Haggo has joined Sameer Bandekar, Kathy Cross, Mark Hawthorne, Wynand Louw, Nigel Morrison, David Odhiambo, Buddhi Pradhan, Sarika Siva Prasad, Ian Ramage and Courtney Young in the panel for 2015.

The panel was named by the Associate and Affiliate Selection Committee, which comprises of Senior ICC Umpire and Referees Manager Vince Van Der Bijl; ICC Umpire and Referees Administration Manager Adrian Griffith; ICC Regional Match Referee David Jukes; and ICC Development Events Manager Edward Fitzgibbon.

The 53-year-old Haggo recently officiated at Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 4 in Singapore 2014, including the final.

Ireland umpire Richard Smith, who officiated during the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in Australia in 2012, has stepped down from the panel, having moved from Ireland. Smith joined the panel in 2011, and officiated in six ODIs and six T20Is, including the historic Bangladesh in Netherlands tri-series in 2012.

The umpires on the ICC Associate and Affiliate Panel of International Umpires can be assigned to ODI and T20I matches involving Associate and Affiliate Members, ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers and ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers, as well as ICC Intercontinental Cup matches, the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Championship and Divisions, and other Associate and Affiliate tournaments.

ICC Associate and Affiliate Panel of International Umpires 2015

ICC Region Umpire Country
Africa David Odhiambo Kenya
Africa Wynand Louw Namibia
Americas Courtney Young Cayman Islands
Americas Sameer Bandekar USA
Asia Buddhi Pradhan Nepal
Asia Sarika Siva Prasad Singapore
East-Asia Pacific Kathy Cross New Zealand
East-Asia Pacific Nigel Morrison Vanuatu
Europe Mark Hawthorne Ireland
Europe Ian Ramage Scotland
Europe Allan Haggo Scotland

Tsonga Out of Australian Open

World No. 12 Jo Wilfred Tsonga has confirmed through his personal website on Wednesday that he will miss the first Grand slam of the year. He stated “It is with great disappointment that I have to postpone today the start of my season,pulling out of the Australian Open”.

The French No.1 said he would be undergoing treatments over the next three weeks in order to be fit for the Masters series tournament in Miami and India.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga from France at practice before the Davis Cup final between France and Switzerland, at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Lille, on November 19, 2014. Photo by Corinne Dubreuil/ABACAPRESS.COM

Tsonga made it to the fourth round of the 2014 Australian Open, before losing to Roger Federer in straight sets despite not dropping a set in the first three rounds.

Tsonga’s finest moment as a singles player was recorded at The 2008 Australian Open when he defeated Rafael Nadal in the Semi-Finals before losing out to Novak Djokovic.

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MUSA YAHAYA, CHIDERA EZE CONFIRM FLYING EAGLES ARRIVALS

Tottenham Hotspur youth team forward Musa Yahaya and Chidera Eze, who features for the youth team of FC Porto, have confirmed their arrival dates to the training camp of the Nigeria U20 team, the Flying Eagles.

According to Flying Eagles team secretary Auwal Aliyu Ibrahim, Musa has said he will join the team by January 16 after he would have finished playing in an invitational tournament in Malaysia involving Tottenham youth team.

Chidera Eze, on the other hand, said he will join the team’s Kaduna training camp on January 15.

Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba has given a January 15 deadline for all invited foreign-based professionals to join the squad.

MUSA YAHAYA GOES FOR GOALS VS TANZANIA

Aliyu Ibrahim further disclosed he expects to get confirmation for the arrival of Manchester City pair of Kelechi Iheanacho and Chidiebere Nwakali as well as Slovakia-based Moses Simon and Kingsley Madu later this week.

The Nigeria U20s are slated to feature in an expanded Super 4 tournament that will include Nigeria U23 team, league champions Kano Pillars as well as Enyimba, Warri Wolves and Dolphins.

The Super 4 is expected to begin on January 22 in Abuja.

They are then expected to depart for an overseas training camp ahead of the 2015 African Youth Championship, which kicks off in Senegal on March 8.

The Flying Eagles are drawn in Group A along with the host nation, Cote d’Ivoire and Congo.

In Memoriam: Wojtek Markowski (POL), 1947-2015

Wojtek Markowski (POL), FEI 5-star Dressage Judge and Technical Delegate (TD) at the London 2012 Olympic Games, passed away on 5 January after a battle with cancer. He was 67 years old.

He judged at his first Olympic Games in Athens (GRE) in 2004, and he viewed his TD role at London 2012 as a major career highlight. He had also been appointed as TD for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Markowski obtained his first riding instructor diploma from Poznan Academy of Physical Education in 1975 and became active as an international judge in 1982. By 1989, he had become a 5-star judge, and during his long association with the FEI he acted as Foreign Judge, Technical Delegate and Ground Jury President and member at numerous high profile FEI events, including the FEI World Equestrian Games™ in 2006 and 2010, FEI European Dressage Championships and FEI World Cup™ Finals.

Passionate about the development of Dressage, he was also one of the first judges to support the FEI World Dressage Challenge, which was created in 1982, and since judged at many of the events around the world.

In 2012, he was appointed board member of the European Equestrian Federation (EEF), where he proposed the creation of the EEF Dressage Working Group which he then chaired. He was also the Eastern & Central Europe representative for the International Dressage Officials Club (IDOC).

Wojtek Markwoski (POL), who has passed away at the age of 67, will be remembered for his many years of dedication to Dressage. (Arnd Bronkhorst/FEI)

“No words are adequate to express the sadness we feel,” Secretary General of the Polish Equestrian Federation Łukasz Jankowski said. “Wojtek Markowski was a great person and international five-star Dressage judge, a great supporter of dressage in Poland and around the world, and a great EEF Board member.”

“Wojtek played a central role in judging and developing international Dressage in a career spanning over 30 years”, Trond Asmyr, FEI Director Dressage and Para-Equestrian Dressage said. “He was one of our most active judges and had a brilliant statistician’s mind. Thanks to his sought-after expertise, he was due to head to his second consecutive Olympic Games as Technical Delegate in Rio in 2016. He has left a valuable legacy for international Dressage, and his dedication and passion for our sport will be very sorely missed.”

The FEI expresses its sincere condolences to Wojtek Markowski’s family and many friends, to the Polish Equestrian Federation and to the global Dressage community.