Golden Eaglets Arrive Kaduna…To Tackle Sokoto United On Saturday

Nigeria’s Under-17 team, Golden Eaglets, would on Saturday tackle Sokoto United at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna.

The Nigeria National League side was drafted by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) following the late withdrawal of South Africa’s Amajimbos from an international friendly earlier scheduled for the same venue.

Officials said the match between the Golden Eaglets and Amajimbos was postponed at the instance of the South Africa Football Association (SAFA) due to logistical reasons contrary to insecurity as erroneously
reported by a section of the media.

“For the avoidance of doubt, we want Nigerians to know that South Africa did not raise any security concerns about playing in Kaduna,” stated Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, NFF’s Director of Competitions.” They had
issues with their travel arrangements and they duly exchange correspondence with us in that regard.”
Meanwhile, Coach Emmanuel Amuneke who led a team of 21 players and eight officials to Kaduna on Thursday ahead of the weekend’s fixture said he was happy to be in Kaduna again.

Golden Eaglets on arrival at their hotel in Kaduna

“We are always comfortable to play in any part of the country and during this campaign, we had played in Abeokuta, Calabar and we had two friendly matches against Egypt last year here in Kaduna,” said the
former Barcelona star.

“Of course, we would have loved to play South Africa in preparation towards Niger 2015 but we are happy that there is another game for us against Sokoto United on Saturday,” he added.

The 21 players to Kaduna include inspirational captain Kelechi Nwakali along with striking trio of Victor Osimhen, Kehinde Ayinde and Ebere Osinachi. Others are goalkeeper Udoh Akpan, Ebuka Nwokeocha and Amos
Benjamin. Also in the mix were new discoveries during recent open screening including former U-15 youth internationals like Abass Ibrahim, Mustapha Salisu and Suleiman Muhammed.

Golden Eaglets have already played and won three friendly matches this month at the NFF/FIFA Goal Project pitch in Abuja scoring some 20 goals.

Dates Confirmed For Beach VB Continental Cup And World Championships Qualifiers

CAVB Beach VB Commission confirmed the dates and hosts of the CAVB Continental Cup till the confirmation of the African representative for the coming 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, during its meeting in Cairo, Egypt on Wednesday.

CAVB President Dr Amr Elwani attended the meeting and urges the commission members to use their experience to help putting new strategies for the sport and give more proposals for the next Board of Administration.

“We are coming to a very busy Beach Volleyball season and we need the experience of each person here to widespread Beach Volleyball in the whole Africa using these events,” Elwani said.

FIVB Senior Beach Volleyball World Championships, credit FIVB

CAVB Vice President and Beach commission supervisor Waithaka Kioni and the Beach VB Commission President Ayaovi Babanaw welcomed the commission members and started the meeting Agenda with confirmation the dates and hosts for the sub- zonal phase of the second edition of the CAVB Continental Cup. The sub- zonal phase will be completed by the end April. The second phase will be organised in October and November 2015, while the semifinal in March 2016 ahead of the finals June 2 to 6, 2016 to determine the African representatives at the 2016 Olympic Games in both genders.

The second edition of the competition attracted more than 40 NFs throughout 4 different rounds until producing the team which represent Africa in the Olympics.

The commission confirmed also the dates of the 2015 All Africa Games qualification to be held in each zone to determine 24 teams booking their tickets to the highest African Sport event due to be held in Congo Brazzaville in September 4 to 14, 2015.

CAVB Beach Commission meeting in Cairo

The first ever African qualifications for the Senior FIVB Beach VB World Championships will be held 14 to 20 February, 2015 to determine 4 vacancies for Africa at the World Beach VB elite event.

The meeting was attended by CAVB President Dr Amr Elwani, CAVB Vice President Waithaka Kioni, CAVB Beach Commission President Ayaovi Babanaw and the commission members Musa Nimrod, Ali Yaro, Antonio Rodriguez, Ben Juma, Gershon Rorich, Augustine Agapa, Alexis Mbarga, Bah Oury and Fouad Abdelsalam.

The full CAVB Beach VB calendar will be announced soon.

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2014/2015 SEASON: NNL FIXES RESUMPTION DATE

The Board and Management of the Nigeria National League (NNL) has fixed first week of March as the resumption date of the nation’s second tier league.

The date was unanimously agreed by all the participating clubs in response to the demand by the NNL to the clubs to suggest the new league kick-off date in the face of the month-long General Elections in Nigeria starting from February.

In a circular sent to the management of all the NNL clubs by the Board Secretary, Lawrence Katkem, yesterday in Abuja, the resumption date has been fixed for March 2015 as collectively agreed by all.

The circular read inter alia; “Sequel to the foregoing, we write to inform you that in adherence to the majority decision by the various clubs, the 2014/2015 league season will now commence in the month of March, 2015. This is to allow all citizens of Nigeria to perform their civic responsibility by involving actively in the February 2014 Presidential election as well as the gubernatorial elections scheduled in the same month”.

However, Katkem reminded the clubs to note that the payments and collection of registration materials has commenced, adding that “You are by this circular advised to make your payments so as to meet the last week of January, 2015 deadline for submission of forms and collection of licenses”.

Cuba Domadores Begin Wsb Title Defence At Home To Morocco Atlas Lions

Cuba Domadores begin the defence of their World Series of Boxing (WSB) title at home in Havana against WSB newcomers Morocco Atlas Lions.

The Lions could not have asked for a tougher draw in their opening contest against the defending Champions, but they will be full of confidence and excitement, and will be aiming to cause the biggest upset in the history of the competition.

Boxing fans in Cuba can view the event live on Friday 16th January at 8.30pm (local time) on the TV Cubana, while fans across the world can watch the action free, live and on demand 20:30 (GMT -5) at AIBABoxingTV.com.

In the first fight of the evening, Cuba’s 2013 AIBA Junior World Champion Joahnys Oscar Argilagos Perez competes at Light flyweight (49 kg) against Moroccan National Champion Zouhair El Bekkali who also won the Mohamed VI Trophy in October, and is no stranger to competing in Cuba, having reached the semi-finals of the Roberto Balado Cup in June 2014.

Heavyweight (91kg) Erislandy Savon (R) Cuba Domadores vs Abdulkadir Abdullayev (L) Azerbaijan Baku Fires

Fight two is at Bantamweight (56 kg), as Cuba’s 2012 Olympic Champion Robeisy Ramirez looks to maintain his undefeated WSB record against Morocco’s National Champion and Mohamed VI Trophy winner Mohamed Hamout, who like his teammate El Bekkali will be hoping his successful year will inspire him against one of the best Bantamweights in the world.

Two-time AIBA World Championships silver medalist and Olympic bronze medalist Yasniel Toledo went 5-2 in WSB last season, and will hope to dominate the Light welterweight (64 kg) division again.

His opponent is Morocco’s Hamza El Barbari who took silver in June’s Giraldo Córdova Cardín tournament in Cuba, and was narrowly defeated by Toledo in the Mohammed VI Cup last year.

El Barbari took a round of Toledo in that three frame affair, and will hope the longer WSB format will increase his chances of picking up a priceless victory.

Former AIBA Junior World Champion Arlen Lopez made his WSB last season, and claimed his first win in the competition in September’s “Clash of Champions” match against Astana Arlans Kazakhstan.

The Cuban won many tournaments last season, and the Middleweight (75 kg) will look to become a key member of the Domadores this season.

Trying to stop him will be Morocco’s Badreddine Haddioui, who competed at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Erislandy Savon was named as the best boxer of WSB last season after the Heavyweight (91 kg) went 8-0 in the competition.

His first opponent in Season V is Morocco’s Amine Azzouzi who fought at the 2011 AIBA World Championships, and the last fight of the evening should produce fireworks.

Let’s Make 2015 Memorable For Taekwondo, Chukwumerije Charges Athletes

Ready to consolidate of the successes recorded in 2014, Beijing Olympics bronze medalist, Chika Chukwumerije has charged taekwondists across the country to make 2015 memorable for taekwondo.

The Commonwealth Championship silver medalist, believes with unity in the taekwondo fraternity, more successes would be recorded in 2015.

“I want to extend appreciation to the athletes, who are my colleagues and friends. You are the reason the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF) exists, and I thank you for all your hard work and dedication. It has been a tough 2014, and I hope we continue to work very hard to make 2015 even more memorable,” he said.

Chika Chukwumerije

The four-time Olympian added: “2015 is an important year, as President Ashiru has repeatedly mentioned; chief among the tournaments are the All African Games and the WTF World Championships, plus other important issues like gaining lots of global ranking points to increase our chances of automatically qualifying for the 2016 Olympics, and gaining international exposure and experience. I know the official program of the NTF will be release soon through the appropriate channels, and I am excited that 2015 presents another opportunity for us to work together towards making even more history.”

He however, tasked the athletes not to relent in their efforts. “On this note, I would like to challenge each and every one of us to continue to develop ourselves, and aspire to take the Sport to a better place than we met it. On a personal note, I wish you all the best in your individual endeavours and hope your personal ambitions, hope and dreams comes to a positive conclusion in 2015,” he explained.

He lauded the tenacity of NTF president, George Ashiru, describing him as a goal-getter.

George Ashiru, President Nigeria Taekwondo Federation, NTF.

His words: “Firstly, I want to extend our thanks to our President, GM George Ashiru, for his steady and focused steering of Taekwondo Development and Administration in Nigeria. It is a difficult job, and one that requires a lot of wisdom, knowledge and experience; being an ex-international athlete, ex-national champion, established business man, accomplished sports administrator, these are three ingredients Master Gee possesses in abundance.”

He singled out the support of board members of NTF, which he said is commendable in the last one year.

“I would love to say a big thank you to the media, for believing in the vision and activities of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation, under the capable leadership of GM George Ashiru, and giving Taekwondo the kind of exposure that matches the amount of hard work that has been put in by all its stakeholders to develop, not only an Olympic sport that wins medals for Nigeria, but develops the character of young Nigerians. Your support has been instrumental and critical to our vision, and we hope to continue to count on your support of NTF programmes and our upcoming super stars,” he said.

Quadri Has Restored Table Tennis Glory, Says Oshonaike

For Funke Oshonaike, the feat achieved by Aruna Quadri has restored the lost glory of table tennis not only in Nigeria but in Africa as a whole.

The German-based four-time Olympian said she was not really surprised by the successes recorded by Quadri, but said that the world’s 30th ranked player needs support to remain on top of his game.

“I am sure that the world now knows that Nigeria is a force to reckon with in table tennis. The feat of Quadri has vindicated us that with support, table tennis can bring more glory to Nigeria. For me, Quadri is a hardworking player who plays the game with passion and that is what every player needs to succeed.

He spent his time and resources to improve and the result has been coming. I knew that he (Quadri) will become a great player but I never expected it to come so soon because since I have been playing for more than two decades, no African player has made it to the top 30 in the world. This is indeed a history for the whole continent and we should indeed support him because he still has the ability to make it to the top 10 in the world,” he said.

The former Africa table tennis queen believes it is high time that the government paid attention to table tennis. “What football could not achieve table tennis has done and this must give them the opportunity to support the game. We are indeed very happy with this and we hope that other players will be supported alongside Quadri to continue to shine,” Oshonaike said.

“I am pained that our female players are not matching up with their male counterparts in terms of standard and quality. When we started some years back, we were so disciplined and determined but these days, our players are not ready to work hard and maintain discipline. This is one of my priorities for now and that is why I will like to tutor them so that they can imbibe the characteristics that aided some of us to still be playing now,” she said.

Funke Oshonaike

She added: “A lot of people are still baffled that I am still active even in my club in Germany. But I want them to know that it was the discipline I imbibed when I started the game that has kept me far. So players must be discipline and train hard to be among the best in life. If you are doing well in the game, the success will be for you alone so discipline remains the key to success.”

However, the five-time Olympian is not ready to quit the sort that has brought her fame, saying, “I will continue to play as long as my body still carries me. So for me, table tennis has become part of me and I am really in love with the game. It is my body that will tell me to stop,” Oshonaike explained.