Category: Sports

Sunday Oliseh has won the Bronze Bull award of Best Coach in the first half of the Dutch second division this season.

Dutch football club, Fortuna Sittard coached by Sunday Oliseh also had their 17-year old team captain Perr Schuurs clinch the Bronze Bull award as the Best Talent in the first half of the Dutch second division this season.

In his reaction, Sunday Oliseh who was voted the best trainer said:

“I am very honored to win this prize because this is the result of hard work and a lot of help from my players, fans, assistants, our chairman Isitan Gün and above all God.”

Meanwhile, Turkish businessman and Fortuna Sittard Club Chairman Isita Gün is very pleased with the awards.

According to the Chairman:

“The whole club is very proud of Perr and Sunday. We may have missed the title in the first season, these Bronze Bulls indicate that we are on the right track. Everyone in the club has given a strong energy boost for the club to stay on the road and even take a step further. This is really great!”

After taking over as coach of Fortuna last season, Oliseh helped the club to escape relegation.

This season, Oliseh led Fortuna to a club record eight consecutive home victory.

He recorded his highest away win as a coach with a 6-0 victory against Telstar in September.

Also, he got Fortuna into the third round of the Dutch Cup for the first time in 18 years following a 3-0 win against Go Ahead Eagles in October.

Fortuna Sittard are currently third in the second division.

Sunday Oliseh is the only head coach from sub-Saharan Africa coaching in professional European football.

Nigeria emerge winner of the 2nd Africa Zone 2 Junior Swimming Championship at the newly refurbished National Stadium Swimming Pool.

Nigeria won 26 gold, 35 silver and 26 bronze medals, winning a total of 87 medals.

Ghana came second with 12 gold, nine silver and six bronze medals making a total of 27 medals.

Senegal came third with eight gold, three silver, and six bronze winning a total of 17 medals.

The event took place from October 27 to 29 [2017].

Ten countries took part in the 2nd edition of the regional swimming championship.

They are: Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Togo, Guinea, Central Africa Republic, Sierra Leone, Benin Republic, Niger and Equatorial Guinea.

The maiden edition of the Championship was held in 2012 at Akure, Ondo State.

NFF 2^nd Vice President/LMC Chairman, Shehu Dikko has been appointed a Member of the FIFA Football Stakeholders’ Committee.

Shehu Dikko’s appointment makes him the third Nigerian to be appointed into a FIFA Committee this year, after Pinnick himself was enlisted into the influential Organizing Committee for FIFA Competitions and former Lagos State Chief Judge, Justice Ayotunde Philips was elected Member of the FIFA Ethics Committee (Adjudicatory Council).

Its modus operandi states that the FIFA Football Stakeholders Committee:

“Shall advise and assist FIFA on all matters relating to Football (including women’s football, futsal and beach soccer), particularly the structure of the game, as well as on all technical matters.

The committee shall also deal with relationship between clubs, players, leagues, member associations, Confederations and FIFA, as well as issues relating to the interest of club football worldwide, and analyse the basic aspects of football training and technical development.”

The FIFA Football Stakeholders’ Committee is a merger of several committees (among them Football Committee and Strategic Studies Committees), in line with FIFA’s new organizational strategy that cut the list of committees from 20 to 11.

President of CONCACAF and FIFA Vice President, Victor Montagliani is Chairman of the Committee.

The membership cuts across all major stakeholders in football, comprising Presidents of Member Associations, former players (including former Brazilian World Cup –winning captain Cafu and Dutchman Robin Van der Sar) and Chairmen of Leagues (including the Chairman of EPL and CEO of the Bundesliga).

World football–ruling body, FIFA now conducts independent and very rigorous and thorough global integrity, background and eligibility checks on all its potential appointees well before–hand, and Pinnick, Justice Philips and Dikko deserve accolades for passing the tough tests conducted by independent and renowned global experts.

President of Nigeria Football Federation, Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick on Friday congratulated NFF 2^nd Vice President/LMC Chairman Shehu Dikko:

“Shehu (Dikko) fully deserves his appointment. He has been doing excellent job as Chairman of LMC and as 2^nd Vice President and Chairman of the NFF Marketing, Sponsorship and Television Advisory Committee, as well as the NFF Strategy Committee.

I believe he will fly our country’s flag very high in that committee and his experience, deep knowledge and work ethic would be huge value added to FIFA’s objectives in developing football across board.”

FIFA also approved an increase in the prize money for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia to a total amount of USD 400 million — 12 percent up from the USD 358 million awarded at the 2014 edition.

Seven (7) Nigerians have emerged standing committee members of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The members shall pilot the affairs of the continental governing body for the next two years.

• NFF 1^st VP Seyi Akinwunmi is member of the Committee on Youth Competitions;
• Shehu Dikko is member of the Committee on Inter-Clubs Competitions and Club Licensing System;
• Ibrahim Musa Gusau is member of Organizing Committee for CHAN;
• Senator Obinna Ogba is in the Committee for Futsal and Beach Soccer;
• Yusuf Ahmed ‘Fresh’ is member of the CAF Technical and Development Committee;
• Dr. Peter Singabele is in the CAF Medical Committee and;
• Chisom Mbonu is member of the Organizing Committee for Women’s Football.  

Winners have emerged in the 4th Awa Ibrahim Junior Golf Open Championships at the Ikeja Golf Club.

George Inalegwu of St. David Mark Golf Academy and Country Club, Akpegede, Benue, won the grand prize in the U-16 male category. Friday Peters emerged second place winner.

For the U-10 to U-13 category, Emmanuel Aleji from St. David Mark Golf Academy is the champion, while Okoko Godman from the same academy emerged second.

In the U-9 category, Weng Davou of St. David Mark Golf Academy took the first prize, while from the same academy, Godwin Okoko emerged the first runner-up.

In the Girls U-16, Georgia Oboh from Ikoyi Golf Club emerged the overall winner. Also, in the U-13 to U-16 category, Naisha Nandal from Ikoyi Golf Club came out tops, while in U-9 and below, Faith Bawa took the first prize.

The male U-16 champion, George Inalegwu, said the win was a reward from his hard work while preparing for the competition, adding that it had been his dream to be a champion in golf.

In his words:

“I always want to play golf and I don’t get tired of it at all. We have a good academy where we are trained to become champions.

I missed last year’s competition because I was in school and my school calendar of event did not permit me, but this year, I made a promise to do all it takes to win.

This is my sixth year playing golf and I thank God I am able to make something out of it.

I also want to thank the organisers of Awa Ibrahim Junior Golf Championships for giving us this platform to showcase our talents.”

Also, according to the best girl for the tournament, U.K. based Georgia Oboh said:

“From my experience, the sport is still growing in Nigeria, and I don’t expect someone playing for just three years to be at my level.

I have been playing golf about 10 years ago now, about all my life playing golf. The main thing is to ensure that more children are encouraged to play golf.”

The sponsor of the championships, Dr. Awa Ibrahim, urged the young golfers to take their studies seriously as it was the only way to the full realisation of their life pursuits.

According to Dr. Awa Ibrahim:

“I will not like the case whereby you will drop out of school playing golf and that is the reason the cash price is attached to your scholarships.

I want to see you fulfil your potential by coming out tops in your studies, so we have also increased the cash price to ₦200,000.

Those that are not captured in the scholarship scheme are third place winners but now they are also to receive ₦50,000 in scholarships which will be paid directly to their school accounts. Other winners in the first day but unable to win in the overall medals table will also have ₦50,000 in scholarships now.’’

Nigerian weightlifters have won 18 medals in the 2017 African Junior/Youths Weightlifting Championship in Uganda.

The President of Nigeria Weightlifting Federation, Mohammed Yahaya, disclosed that the weightlifters were the products of the 2017 National Youth Games in Ilorin.

In his words:

“I am very happy with the results of the competition because our weightlifters worked hard and made us proud. We won a total of 18 medals in all; 13 gold, four silver and one bronze.

We won nine gold medals in the female categories on the first day of the competition and we finally won up 18 medals at the end of the Championship.

With this performance, we have a chance to participate in next year’s Commonwealth Games.

We need to participate in one more Championship to meet the requirements of the World Weightlifting Federation.

Nigerian weightlifting Grade 2 referees were promoted to Grade 1 Category. They are: Nurudeen Suleiman (Bauchi), Evelyn Okuofor (Edo), and Bilkisu Musa (Jigawa).

They passed both the theory and the practical examination during the Championship; they are now recognised by the Africa and the World Weightlifting Federation.”

Nigeria Table Tennis players have won six medals at the 2017 ITTF Circuit Junior and Cadet Open in Cairo, Egypt.

Mati Taiwo won two gold and one bronze in the cadet single, mini Cadet singles and team event respectively.

Tosin Oribamishe on her part won one gold and one bronze in the female singles and team events while Azeez Solanke won a bronze medal in the team event at the Sharm El Sheik.

Mati Taiwo dedicated his victory to his coach, the NTTF Federation and those that believed in him. According to him:

“It is an honour wearing the jersey of Nigeria. This victory is not for me but for those that believe in my ability.”

Tosin Oribamishe also expressed her delight to be in Egypt and winning medals for the country. She promised continual training ahead of the 2018 Olympic Youth Games. Oribamishe is the only table tennis player to have qualified for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Argentina.