Kevin Mayer had already established himself as a combined events superstar, but the French all-rounder elevated his status to an all-time great by smashing the decathlon world record in Talence on Sunday (16). Had it not been for his three fouls in the decathlon long jump at last month’s European Championships in Berlin, Mayer most […]
via WITH 9126 WORLD RECORD, MAYER JOINS LIST OF ALL-TIME GREAT DECATHLETES — finixsportsblog
To acquaint the officials with the new rules in Taekwondo, the Chika Chukwumerije Sports Foundation (CCSF) in collaboration with the FCT Taekwondo Association is set to host and organize the World-Class Referee course, coming up on March 8 2017 at the Old Parade Ground, FCT Abuja. The World Class Referee Course is being conducted by […]
The annual Chika Chukwumerije Sports Foundation (CCSF) International Taekwondo Opens may become a World Taekwondo Federation may (WTF) Grade 1 event in 2016.
With this status, the tournament would become a point hauling event for athletes across the globe as taekwondists are expected to use the tournament to up their world ranking.
Being the first tournament in Africa to use the electronic head gear, the CCSF championship has continued to attract the best fighters on the continent with countries like Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger Republic, Togo, Cameroun and Senegal taking part in this year’s tournament.
Efforts are on by the organizers of the CCSF Open to apply for the status from the world taekwondo ruling body.
![Mali’s Golden Star, Karamoko Soumare, stands heads above Silver Medallist, Temitope Oyo [Nigeria National Team] and Bronze Medallists, Sunday Onofe [Nigeria National Team] and [MALI] during the medal ceremony for the +80kg category at the just concluded 3rd CCSF Opens](https://finixsports.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/mali_s-golden-star-karamoko-soumare-stands-heads-above-silver-medallist-temitope-oyo-nigeria-national-team-and-bronze-medallists-sunday-onofe-nigeria-national-team-and-mali-e1446672548870.jpg)
For the best athlete of this year’s tournament, Mali’s Karamoko Soumare (+80kg), attending the tournament has really exposed him to world class equipment which would aid him in subsequent tournaments.
“Having attended series of tournament across Africa, I realized that CCSF tournament stands out in terms of organization and quality of equipment. The atmosphere was also superb. Being my first time of taking part in the competition, I think the knowledge I acquired would be helpful to me in other international tournaments and I look forward to taking part in more CCSF tourneys,” the Malian star said.
Soumare who won gold in the men’s heavyweight category believes the quality of athletes in Nigeria is enormous while blaming their under-achievement on lack of exposure of most of their athletes. “I respect Nigerian athletes particularly with the pedigree of their athletes, but they have not been able to use this to their advantage at international tournaments. We attend a lot of international tournaments but I hardly see Nigerians competing and this has really affected their rating globally. But attending international competition is vital for any nation to improve her athletes,” he added.
Also silver medalist at the CCSF Opens, Cameroun’s Kamgue Silvre hailed the organizers for putting the colourful tournament together, which he described as a world class championship. “I am surprised with the quality of organization as well as the atmosphere which is of international standard. I am indeed looking forward to the next edition because I have been able to up my skills as well as improve my rating among the best fighters in Africa. Winning silver will surely improve my chance of representing my country at the Olympics qualifiers come 2016. When the tournament gets the WTF G-1 rating, I believe more athletes within and outside Africa will be part of the tournament,” Kamgue, winner of the fair play award said.
Impressed with the ingenuity and immense contribution of Chika Chukwumerije Sports Foundation (CCSF) to taekwondo development and promotion, the National Sports Commission (NSC) has promised to enter into a four-year strategic partnership with the foundation.
However, the 3rd CCSF International Taekwondo Open witnessed a large turnout of athletes across the continent with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) dominating the eight events competed for at the two-day championship.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the championship held at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, Director General of NSC, Alhassan Yakmut said with what CCSF has been doing in terms of its programmes, it is clear that the foundation’s has been able to champion the ideals of the commission.
“I am convinced beyond any doubt that CCSF has done a lot to promote and develop taekwondo in Nigeria. For us at the NSC, we want to partner organizations like this because they are doing things that are in line with our vision. The atmosphere at this year’s tournament is what obtains globally in terms of international standard and I don’t think any reasonable person will not be impressed with what they have seen here tonight. Apart from the tournament, they have had workshops and other developmental activities to support the upcoming athletes. With this, NSC will be entering into a four-year strategic partnership with CCSF to champion the development and promotion of taekwondo which is an Olympic sport in Nigeria. So from 2016, the collaboration will take off with NSC fully supporting the foundation in all its activities,” Alhassan said.
After two days of competitive action, NSCDC confirmed why it is committed to sports in Nigeria when its athletes dominated the medals table at the 3rd CCSF Open concluded at the weekend.
NSCDC amassed four gold, one silver and four bronze medals to beat Mali and Niger Republic to second and third places on the medal table.
Mali again showed why it remains of the taekwondo power house in Africa when the two inspired by Soumare Karamoko won two gold and two bronze medals while Niger Republic won same number of gold with one silver and one bronze medals.
From the 284 athletes that featured in the competition which has the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF)-certified referees handling proceedings, Mali’s Karamoko was voted the best male athlete while NSCDC’s Chinazum Nwosu won the best female diadem.
Cameroun’s sole representative who fought his way into the final in the men’s -80kg to clinch silver medal won the fair play award for his sportsmanship during the final match, which he lost to NSCDC’s Segun Olushola. Youthful Thursdaline Peter was adjudged the most outstanding referee of the championship.
Power house in taekwondo in Africa, Mali, Togo and Niger Republic are among the first teams to arrive as the city of power, Abuja comes alive for the 3rd Chika Chukwumerije Sports Foundation (CCSF) International Opens which begins on Saturday October 24.
The Malian team was the first foreign continent to arrive for the two-day tournament while Togo and Niger Republic have also continued their training in Abuja in readiness for the competition while others are expected to arrive on Friday October 23.
Also, the invited World Taekwondo Federation (WTF)-certified referees from Kenya, Egypt, Ghana, Niger Republic, Mali and Senegal are expected to arrive on Friday for the draw.
Registration of athletes commenced on Thursday October 22 at the Korean Cultural Centra in Abuja.
Over 300 athletes across Africa and Nigeria are taking part in the competition with Olympics equipment expected to be deployed for the tournament.
“At this year’s CCSF Open, there are lots of innovation and first is the technology being used – the Daedo Electronic Head Gear. The 1st edition of this tournament was the first tournament ever in Nigeria to use the Daedo Electronic Body gear, which inspired all other tournaments to follow suit in Nigeria. Now this will be the first event in Africa to use the Electronic Head Gear.
This gear was not even used in the just concluded All Africa Games. Thus, the fact that we are using the latest technology is a huge pull for Africa countries, especially given the fact that the Olympic qualification tournament to be held in February 2016 in Morocco will be using this same equipment,” said the founder of CCSF, Chika Chukwumerije.
To make the tournament a mixture of sports and entertainment, the Beijing 2008 Olympics medalist said: “The entire ambience of the competition venue will be such that persons who have never seen or done taekwondo before will have a lot to talk about long after the event is finished. The ambience of diversity of activities planned around the hall will be major talking point for spectators and participants alike.”
According to the triple Olympian, “This event has been designed to be a truly unique sports entertainment event, as against being just a taekwondo event. Other events planned to run concurrently is a mini table tennis event, and a Play Station 4 FIFA Football event to make it a truly family event. It would be capped off with a musical concert on the third day that would take place alongside an award ceremony for the medalists.”
Over N2.6m will at be at stake as the registration for the 3rd Chika Chukwumerije Sports Festival (CCSF) International Taekwondo Opens begins for athletes and teams.
The three-day championship holds at Ladi Kwali Hall of the Sheraton Hotel Abuja from October 22 to 27, 2015.
According to CCSF, the tournament is aimed at discovering prospective athletes for the Rio 2016 Olympics, showcase the entertainment potential of a well-organized sporting event, and promote the image of Nigeria to foreign visitors.
This year’s edition is expected to be more entertainment-oriented with the award ceremony shifted to a third day to coincide with a musical concert, and table-tennis matches planned alongside a FIFA mini-tournament for PS 4 lovers to run concurrently with the main event.
The last edition, which received a commendation from the National Sports Commission (NSC) had over nine countries, 26 states, eight Universities, as well as teams from the Para Military and Armed Forces participating.
The numbers are expected to be higher in this year’s edition with 12 countries expected to grace the event, in addition to active participation from the Nigeria Taekwondo community.
The tournament, which is set to apply to gain a World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) G-1 ranking status for 2016, is expected to attract over 1200 spectators during the three-day tournament with a total prize money of N2.8m alongside free equipment worth over N1m, which is to be given to medalists and participants.
Some notable champions expected at the event include 2014 US Opens Gold Medallist, Alfaga Abdoul-Razak Issoufou [+87kg] of Niger Republic [ranked 22 in the World], 2015 Grand Prix Champion, Cheick Salah Cisse [-80kg] of Cote D’Ivoire [ranked 11 in the World], double World Bronze Medallist [2013, 2015] and current Africa Champion, Ismael Coulibaly [-74kg] of Mali [ranked 19th in the World], amongst others.
Nigeria Champions expected to fend off both local and international competition include Commonwealth Gold Medalists, Josephine Esuku [-46kg], Jamilu Mohammed [-58kg], Shola Olowookere [-63kg] and Isah Adams Abubakar [-58kg], all National Team members expected to fight at the All African Games in a fortnight.
Ahead African Games: Former Africa Champion Boosts Taekwondo Team, Showers N.2M On Contingent
Two-time African Games gold medalist, Margaret Elizabeth Binga, in company of fellow African Champion, Chika Chukwumerije, stormed the National Taekwondo Camp in Abuja to inspire and share first-hand knowledge with the chosen athletes to the Taekwondo event of the 2015 All Africa Games, holding in Congo Brazzaville in a fortnight.
Over the weekend, the retired maestro, who is also the current Vice-President of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation and a World Taekwondo Federation International Referee, who will also be officiating at the 2015 AAG donned her Taekwondo gear to share tactical and practical fighting tips with the team, who are currently camped in Abuja.
![Mrs Binga in action against Fatimoh Abdullahi [-57kg]](https://finixsports.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/mrs-binga-in-action-against-fatimoh-abdullahi-57kg-nigeria-taekwondo-federation-e1440954323146.jpg)
Mrs Binga explained why she flew down just to see the athletes.
“The aim is to use our past Champions to inspire the future ones, and to transfer real knowledge that would be of use to the Nigeria representatives. Being an official for the 2015 AAG and an official at almost every major WTF tournament this year, i felt it was important and a duty to pass down my knowledge and experience to our next generation of stars.”
Head of the NTF Coaching Department, Tony Anafulu was also present alongside the two of indigenous coaches – John Victor and Abdul-malik Mohammed – who will be leading the team to Congo Brazzaville, and have been working very hard over the past weeks with the team.
Mrs Binga, who is also an officer with the Nigeria Customs Service, and to be inducted into the World Taekwondo Hall of Fame next month was quick to recognize and praise the efforts of the indigenous coaches.
“The Coaches are doing a good job so far, and I know the tactical tempo will be raised in the remaining two weeks to get the team battle-ready. Meanwhile I will continue to give the technical crew and athletes all the support I can.”
The athletes’ expressed their joy to our correspondent through the Female Captain, 21 year old Chinazum Nwosu who competes in the -52kg, and is the current National Champion in that weight category.
“We learnt valuable tips that would hopefully make a difference in Congo, and the Vice-President went one step further in matching her words with action by the token she gave to the team.”
“The VP came here, gave us valuable competition tips and crowned it with all with N200, 000 as a motivational token. Our morale has been reinvigorated and we are determined to do our best to make Nigeria proud at the AAG.” Ms. Chinazum declared.
Final list includes: defending AAG Gold Medallists, Uche Chukwumerije [+87kg], who will captain the 16-man team, and Jamilu Mohammed [-58kg].
Other AAG medallists that make the team are 2011 AAG Bronze Medallist, Sunday Onofe [-80kg], and 2011 Bronze Medallist, Joy Ekhator [-49kg] who also won a Silver in the 2007 edition.
Commonwealth Gold Medallists, Abubakar Isah Adamu [-54kg], Josephine Esuku [-46kg]. Other Commonwealth Medallists that made the team were Segun Olushola [-74kg] and Uzoamaka Otuadinma [-72kg].
Other members of the team include: Edwin Samson Nduka (-63kg), Kolade Paul (-68kg), Ayodele Temitope Ebenezer (-87kg), Chinazum Nwosu (-52kg), Fatimoh Abdullahi (-57kg), Ndu Vivian (-63kg), Ifeoma Dennis (-67kg), and Esther Uzoukwu (+73kg)
The Taekwondo event of the 2015 African Games will be taking place 16 – 19 August 2015.
Commonwealth gold medalists, Abubakar Adamu Isah and Mohammed Jamilu topped the list of 16 athletes listed by the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF) for the 2015 African Games in Congo Brazzaville.
Isah, who will be competing in the men’s-54kg, is one of the experienced athletes in the team having featured at the 2014 World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) World Junior Championship in Chinese Taipei as well as the maiden at the 2014 Africa Youth Games in Gaborone, Botswana.
![Medallists at 2014 Commonwealth Taekwondo Games [L-R: Adaeze Asigbe, Chika Chukwumerije, Shola Olowookere, Jamilu Mohammed, Esuku Josephine, Segun Olushola, Adamu Abubakar Isah, Uzoamaka Otuadinma, Ebere Blessing Nwakanma]](https://finixsports.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/4-medallists-at-2014-commonwealth-games-e1440105574944.jpg)
Like Isah, Jamilu (-58kg) is also an established taekwondist having won gold at the 2011 African Games in Mozambique as we as a quarterfinalist at the 2015 Alexandria Open in Egypt.
In the absence of his sibling, Chika, 2011 African Games gold medalist and captain of Team Nigeria, Uche Chukwumerije who will jostle for a medal in the men’s +87kg will also be part of the team.
Another experience taekwondist in the team is 2011 African Games bronze medalist, Sunday Onofe who will fight for a medal in the men’s -80kg.
Other members of the men’s team are Edwin Samson Nduka (-63kg), Kolade Paul (-68kg), Olushola Segun (-74kg), and Ayodele Temitope Ebenezer (-87kg).
2014 African Championship bronze medalist, Joy Ekhator (-49kg) will lead the female team as the most experienced athlete.
Others are Jimoh Morufat (-46kg), Chinazum Nwosu (-52kg), Fatimoh Abdullahi (-57kg), Ndu Vivian (-63kg), Ifeoma Dennis (-67kg), Uzoamaka Otuadinma (-73kg) and Esther Uzoukwu (+73kg).
At the last African Games in Mozambique, Nigeria settled for fourth place with two gold, one silver and seven bronze medals while Egypt, Tunisia and Senegal finished as the top three teams in the taekwondo event.
Chika Chukwumerije returned to the top cadre at global level when the 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze medalist made it to the quarterfinal stage of the ongoing World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) World Championships in Chelyabinsk, Russia to finish in the top eight of the men’s +87kg category.
Chukwumerije, who managed to make it to the round of 16 at the last edition of the tournament defeated some top rated athletes including European championship silver medalist and 2013 bronze medalist at the world championship.
From the first round of the men’s +87kg, the grieving 2011 All Africa Games silver medalist defeated Canada’s Jordan Steward 3-0 to progress to the round of 32.
In the round of 32, he battled 2013 World Championship bronze medalist, Slovakia’s Ivan Trajkovic and he prevailed against the European at 7-6.
In the round of 16, he confronted another European Championships silver medalist, Croatia’s Vedran Golec and against the 31-year-old Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) graduate emerged victorious with a 5-3 win.
In the quarterfinal tie, he was set up against his 2012 London Olympics conqueror, Cuba’s Robelis Despaine and the encounter lived up to expectation but the Cuban prevailed at 9-4 to end Chukwumerije medal’s dream.
An excited President, Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF), George Ashiru, described Chukwumerije’s performance as a confirmation of his status as one of the best in the world.
“Chika proves that he is still world class. In the international scene, he is one of the few Beijing generation champions still in the world’s top 20. That is testament to his work ethics and professionalism and experience. That should serve as inspiration to upcoming athletes,” the NTF boss said.
“The World Championships carries three times as many points as the All Africa Games. That is how important it is to improve your world rankings. Two years ago, Chika was in the last 16 and it was good enough to be ranked top 20 in the world. With this performance of being in top eight he will regain much momentum which if he so desires and is still passionate about training and competition will keep him in contention if he gets back on the Grand Prix Circuit,” he added.
However, Chukwumerije’s compatriot, Saturday Martala was unlucky as he fell 15-7 to Kazakhstan’s Smaiyl Duisebay in the men’s -87kg in the first round.
On Monday, May 18, another Nigerian, France-based Mohammed Murtala will face Tajikistan’s Farkhod Negmatov in the first round of the men’s -80kg.
Nigerian team will return to the international stage at the World Taekwondo Federation(WTF)-organised World Championships holding this week in Chelyabinsk, Russia.
Three experienced athletes led by Beijing 2008 Olympics bronze medalist, Chika Chukwumerije will hoist Nigeria’s flag at the global tournament, where athletes are expected to garner points for their final qualification for the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil.
United States-based Saturday Bashir and France-based Murtala Mohammed will be on duty at the tournament kicking off tomorrow at Traktor Arena in Chelyabinsk.
Besides Nigeria, some top African teams like Gabon, Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire and Tunisia are also using the tournament as a tune-up to this year’s All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville.
According to the President, Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF), George Ashiru who was at yesterday’s WTF Annual General Meeting (AGM) said the team’s build up was hampered by the political and economic situation in the country.
He however ruled out prospect of medals. “Our chances are much slimmer than usual because we didn’t have the luxury and indeed necessity of a formal training camp you would expect from the biggest event of the year. We had expected to camp our athletes for two months prior to the now rescheduled National Sports Festival, use the festival to test these preparations, and then take only the athletes that demonstrated ability for the nature of the event. None of these opportunities were afforded us early in the year. So, training was informal open camp, and some bureaucratic bottlenecks also hampered our final push for sponsorship of the full national team. Therefore, we won’t have similar results as we would ordinarily expect with proper preparation,” he added.
Meanwhile, the WTF Council has decided on the host cities of upcoming taekwondo championships and announced key appointments, including the organization’s new secretary general.
Muju, Korea, beat out Turkey’s Samsun to host the 2017 World Taekwondo Championships, while American Hoss Rafaty was named the new secretary general of the WTF.
The WTF Council also approved Mexico as the host country of the 2016 WTF World Junior Taekwondo Championships, and Lima, Peru as the host city of the 2016 WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships.
![Taekwondo Team to the 2014 Commonwealth Taekwondo Games [L-R: Judith Usifoh, Adaeze Asigbe, Chiamaka Onumonu, Shola Olowookere, Sunday Onofe, Chinazum Nwosu, Jamilu Mohammed, Josephine Esuku, Shola Olushola, Adamu Abubakar Isah, Ebere Blessing Nwakanma and Team Captain & Athlete-Coach, Chika Chukwumerije]. Uche Chukwumerije and Murtala Mohammed are not in the picture](https://finixsports.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/8-tkd-team-to-2014-commonwealth-games-e1416874984585.jpg)
Also WTF has announced the appointment of Hoss Rafaty as the WTF Secretary General during the WTF Council meeting in Chelyabinsk, Russia, ahead of the 2015 WTF World Taekwondo Championships.
Hoss Rafaty has served as a special assistant to the WTF President since 2007 as well as President of the WTF International Foundation since 2008 and Chairman of the WTF Expansion Committee since 2009. As co-founder and President of Yumi Ice Cream Co., Hoss Rafaty will also bring extensive commercial business experience to his new role. He was awarded a taekwondo 3rd Dan by the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) before moving to the WTF.
Commonwealth Gold Medallist, Josephine Esuku, thrilled a mammoth crowd en route to grabbing three medals – two Gold and one Bronze medal at the just concluded World Taekwondo Federation sanctioned Qatar International Taekwondo Opens, held in Doha, Qatar, from 6 – 10 March 2015.
Esuku started the G-1 ranked tournament by picking up the Bronze in the -46kg Kyreougi, when she beat Host, Shakha Alharty of Qatar [8-2] in the Quarter-finals before losing to Number 2 ranked seed and eventual winner, Hajer Mustapha of France in the Semi-finals.
The well rounded taekwondo competitor went on to blaze through the opposition in her area of strength, picking up two Golds in the individual Poomsae and freestyle Poomsae categories on the 5th and final day of competition.
Her strong performance at the tournament was rewarded as Esuku was awarded the “Best Female Poomsae Player” Award, the first time in almost 20 years that a Nigerian is winning tournament-best award.
It can be recalled that the versatile female competitor also won a Gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in the Freestyle category, and a Silver medal in the Group Poomsae category.
Speaking on her victory from the Aspire Zone Competition Arena in Doha, the visibly excited University of Benin Graduate could not hide her tears of joy.
“I am so happy that I came here and won these medals, given the huge challenges I had en route to this trip”
She thanked the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation for their support
“The NTF and President Ashiru were very supportive of my trip, and I am happy with the outcome because it took a lot of sacrifices just to make this trip”
NTF Boss, George Ashiru, congratulated Esuku for making the country very proud yet again.
“This young lady has yet again provided inspiration to the Nigeria Taekwondo community, and has done very well. Against all odds, she has proved her quality and shown why she is a Commonwealth Gold medallist”
The NTF President vowed to continue creating opportunities for all members of the Nigeria Taekwondo Community.
“Our Federation will continue to support all genuine Nigeria Taekwondo practitioners that wish to expose themselves to the international circuit, especially members of the outstanding 2014 Commonwealth Taekwondo Team who had consistently replicated their top performance at subsequent National and International tournaments”
Speaking on the importance of further exposure of members of the successful Commonwealth team to more international competitions, the NTF Boss encouraged more sponsors to take advantage of the consistent success stories of Nigeria Taekwondo competitors to sponsor more current and upcoming Taekwondo athletes.
“There are many opens, and the only reason we do not win more medals is that we are not going for these events as often as we should. Esuku almost missed out on this trip, so imagine that we would not have this wonderful inspiring story to tell if she had not gone to Qatar”
For the Kyreougi category, there were 398 competitors registered from 44 countries, including France, Greece, United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Turkey, Belgium, Qatar, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Tunisia, Kazakhstan, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Croatia, Norway, Thailand, Morocco, Germany, Australia, Spain, South Korea, Algeria, Sweden, Netherlands, Yemen, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Libya, Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Isle of Man, Russia, New Zealand, Azerbaijan, Central Africa Republic, Niger Republic and Nigeria.
For the Poomsae category, there 119 competitors registered from 11 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Tunisia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Algeria, Guinea, Egypt and Nigeria.
It is worthy to note that Esuku sponsored herself for the trip
…As Qatar revokes issued visas of taekwondo impersonators
The Qatar Taekwondo Federation earlier today revoked issued visas of a total of 16 persons who fraudulently obtained the Visas by posing as members of the Nigeria Taekwondo National Team, seemingly scheduled to attend the prestigious 1st Qatar International Taekwondo Opens, a G-1 ranked World Taekwondo Federation sanctioned event, billed to hold at Qatar from 6 – 9 March, 2015.
Coincidentally, some members of the actual Nigeria National Taekwondo Team that won medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games are also billed to compete for Nigeria at the event.
The unscrupulous scheme was revealed as part of an aggressive drive by the International Department of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation [NTF] to tackle visa racketeering through Sports head-on, where the first step of the progressive NTF is a constant check on the websites of international ranked tournaments to see if there are any suspicious names registered as members of the Nigeria Taekwondo Community.
A routine check earlier this week which revealed the registration of 16 persons, not in any way associated with the sport of Taekwondo in Nigeria, set off the alarm bells. Unknown to the perpetrators, the Qatar Taekwondo Federation has an existing relationship with the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation, who immediately contact their Middles Eastern counterparts to check-mate the fraudsters.
The [names, passport number, sex, and place of birth] of 16-persons as noted on their submitted international passports include:
Oyeniyi Ilesanmi [A03328102, Male, Ado-Ekiti]; Idris Adeoye Adelakun [A05860794, Male, Lagos]; Oluyinka Rebecca Adalawo [A03795343, Female, Lagos]; Emeka Henry Oboyo [A06137015, Male, Ndioke], Kelechi Kanu [A04387855, Male, Arochukwu], Akeem Ayodeji Adekola [A03451884, Male, Lagos]; Ghandi Maduka [A04229245, Male, Lagos]; Michael Chukwuma Obianukor [A03577759, Male, Inyi]; Kamarudeen Owolabi Gbagba [A06183327, Male, Ilorin]; Gbenga Ojo Adeyemi [A03517786, Male, Iwaro-Oka; Elvis Mike Erinmwionghae [A02640515, Male, Benin City]; Mariam Damilola Abeeb [A05252613, Female, Lagos]; Rilwan Oluwasegun Wahab [A04824863, Male, Lagos]; Yinka Usman Orimidara [A05245189, Male, Ibadan].
The details of two more names [Irabor Christopher] and [Gabiel Olushola Isokpehi [A05722999, Male] are being expected by the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation within the next 48 hours.
To disguise the fraud in their application to the Qatar authorities, the impersonators signed off their emails in the name of the current President of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation, George Ashiru, and gave the correct address of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation office located at the National Stadium, Lagos.
However, the false crafted-worded emails used by the perpetrators in their application [george_ashiru_presiden@outloook.com] and [taekwondofednig@yahoo.com], in addition to the false phone number of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation [08092667469] and false fax number of the Nigeria Olympic Committee [234 1 2801302] gave the game away.
In a confirmation email to fraudsters in which the NTF was copied, the Qatar Taekwondo Federation noted:
“Please note that the attached visas are no longer valid, It has been cancelled due to special instructions issued by non-validity of these visas. Accordingly, we would like to inform you not to use these visas and if used by anyone would not be allowed to enter the State of Qatar”
The President of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation had a strong message to this group, and similar group trying to use Sports as an avenue to get Visa.
“The Nigeria Taekwondo Federation is a very active, progressive and well-connected organization that uses the Sport of Taekwondo to positively impact the lives of Nigerians and build career paths for hardworking Nigerian sportsmen and women. Your illegal activities harm the chances and careers of thousands of our upcoming and current Taekwondo practitioners in Nigeria. Stay away from Taekwondo and all Sports Federations”
The development points a bold way for many Sports Federation to tackle this far-reaching problem, in order to safe guard the chances of genuine Sportsmen and women.
newfanzone 