Author: Emmanuel Opara

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will appear two times in just twenty four hours before the House of Representatives Adhoc Committee over investigation on the dispute between Super falcons and the federation.

The Committee was assigned with responsibility to investigate the unpaid bonuses and allowances of the Super Falcons.

The Committee Chaired by Honourable Blessing Onuh Onyeche expressed disappointment and described as affront on the House of Representatives as the Federation’s President, Ibrahim Gusau and other Executive Members failed to come with the General Secretary, Sanusi Mohammed.

According to the Chairman of the Committee, the NFF President cited ill-health as an excuse not to appear before House but was strong enough to go on jamboree to FIFA Women’s World Cup final when his house is on fire .

The Committee told the NFF that the sitting cannot be possible without the presence of Gusau. Hence, the adjournment to Thursday morning at the National Assembly.

The federation is expected to provide details of how the monies given to them by the Federal Government were used regarding the Super Falcons preparation and participation at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World up in Australia and New Zealand

Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh will commence engagements with all sports federations in the country on Tuesday, as he continues to assess the state of affairs of all federations.

The efforts are part of a series of strategies the minister is employing to reposition sports in the country.
He stated that part of the process will involve the withdrawal of all sports cases in court, to give room for settlements that favours national interest and that serves the interests of athletes.

Enoh said that “I have an open and neutral mind on the issue of sports cases that are in court. My meeting with all sports federations in the country will give me an opportunity to assess the federations one by one and see where there are disputes and also where there is normalcy.”

“As a measure of goodwill and good faith, I will require that all disputes that are in court be withdrawn, so we can have a chance to resolve them as a ministry, he said.

The minister explained that when disputants are given an opportunity, it provides a window to resolve lingering issues in the interests of the sports and for the love of country.

“We spend so much time amongst sports administrators and federations in disputes and forget the athletes, who are the critical actors, competing for laurels. Without the athletes, all of the disputes and fights will make no meaning,” Enoh added.

He explained that his administration will focus on turning the tide, to place less emphasis on positions and offices, and instead place more attention on athletes and development.

“We cannot do the needful successfully (focus on athletes’ progression), if we do not put our house in order. I am open and available to every suggestion and approach that can help us solve the teething problems and lingering issues we are confronted with, to give us the result that we desire.”

A fortnight ago, the minister informed the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Alhaji Ismaila Abubakar to direct all sports federations to submit a full report of their state of affairs, to open the door for further engagements and evaluation, starting this week

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has celebrated Desire Oparanozie’s prowess in female football following her retirement from professional soccer.

On Wednesday, She announced on her X handle that she would be retiring from football.
Her announcement has been generating reactions from footballers past and present.

Reacting to the announcement, CAF described Oparanozie’s football career as outstanding.

“An outstanding professional football career path has come to an end for the amazing Desire Oparanozie .
“What a journey! .”

Oparanozie’s last outing for the Super Falcons was at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
It was her fourth appearance at the World Cup after featuring at the 2011, 2015, and 2019 editions.

She was part of the Super Falcons squad that won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2018.
She scored the goal that saw the Falcons beat hosts Cameroon 1-0 in the final of the 2016 WAFCON

The AthIetics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) President Chief Tonobok Okowa has lauded the initiative which will bridge the gap between youth and junior athletes.

AFN President Okowa spoke on the need to produce a pool of young athletes who will be positioned to take over from their older ones.

He said: “I am the main beneficiary of what is happening here today (4th Oct.2023) When the older ones are fading out, what happens if you do not have the younger ones coming up? Okowa queried.
So, grassroots sports development is the key to success. At the National Youth Games (NYG), the age bracket is between 12 to 15, but for those within ages 15 to 20, there are no proper competitions, and Making of Champions (MoC) have just rescued us from that challenge.

“I want to say thank you thank you to MoC. With these competitions, these athletes will look forward and will train towards them, because sometimes we lose the athletes between 15 and 18 because no good competitions to keep them going. We at the AFN will give you every support you need.”
MoC Chairman Engr Olu Akani is optimistic that the championship sponsored by one of telecommunication giants in Nigeria will be a turning point for Athletics in Nigeria.
Akani also highlighted the immediate and imminent rewards of staging Championship and appreciated the efforts of all the bodies backing the initiative.
He said: “I am pleased that we now have a telecommunications giant identifying with our efforts to take Track & Field to lofty heights in Nigeria. This is indeed a monumental turning point in our country’s history in school sports and in Athletics. I have the conviction that Championship will unearth and foster athletics talents across the country and is poised to becoming the primary platform for identifying and nurturing promising athletes who can represent Nigeria in future international competitions.

“Indeed, is a cumulation of years of the sacrifice and investment that has been made in the last decade by MoC to bring Nigerian athletics to where it needs to be, and now together, we can collectively uphold the vision and scale it to the highest standard imaginable that will ensure a resurgence of Nigeria’s bold footprint in global athletics.”
More than 7000 athletes and 500 schools are set to battle for over 1000 medals and 32 school/team titles in the first edition of the Schools’ Athletics Championships which will take centre stage across four locations: Benin, Uyo, Ibadan and Abuja.

A press conference held on Wednesday, unveiled a telecommunications giant as title sponsor, with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and the Nigeria School Sport Federation (NSSF) also partnering with the organisers of the historic initiative, Making of Champions (MoC), to ensure a hitch-free competition.

Sports Business and Tourism magnet Hon. Ahmed Shuaibu Gara-Gombe, has tagged the NI.6 billion deal between Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) and pay television service provider, StarTimes as a huge insult and ‘unacceptable’.

Officials of NPFL and Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) signed the N1.6 billion five-year broadcast rights deal with the management of StarTimes in Abuja on Thursday.

According to the Sports officionado, the N1.6 billion deal is a big insult to Nigerians and football stakeholders in the country.

The Former Gombe United Football Club Chairman told The Guardian on Friday that, as far as he is concerned, selling the TV broadcast right of our league at just N1.6billion per year is total rubbish and is unacceptable. We won’t take such rubbish.
“If you look at the size of our league, the market, the viewership and the population of our country, for somebody to came and give us a mere N1.6billion for our league, to say the least, is the most terrible thing to happen to Nigerian football. Is that of the value of our league? And to add salt to injury, StarTimes says it will broadcast just two matches per week. It is unacceptable.

“I have someone who can bring in $11 million yearly to put the Nigerian league on television. How can someone collect just N1.6 billion for the Nigerian league? How much is N1.6 billion to the US dollars? If you go by current market value, N1.6billion is just about $830,000. Is that not madness? By the time you take out other expenses, how much will go to the clubs? It is unacceptable.”

Speaking further, Gara-Gombe, who is currently the chairman of Gombe State Athletics Association, asked: “What was the yardstick used to bring in StarTimes? Was there a transparent bidding? How come the bidding process was not made opened to the public for other companies to apply or express their interest? Everybody is celebrating a mere N1.6 billion saying it is good for our football. What is good in it? We are talking of mere N1.6billion not in US dollars. Enough of this insult on Nigerian football! Where in the world will StarTimes make such offer? We are poor in so many areas, including infrastructures, medical and insurance for players. With the kind technology in existence all over the globe, StarTimes want to put just two of our matches on television on weekly basis. I have people with the technology that can give Nigerians all the matches played simultaneously on television. You can then choose the one you want to watch, and you can switch. We have the equipment and technology to do it.
“I don’t want to call this deal with StarTimes a huge fraud. But how come the bidding process was not thrown open to everyone. Where on earth do you see this kind of thing? As I said earlier, I have someone who is ready to bring in $11 million into the Nigerian league. I am challenging anybody that the Nigerian league is worth $11million, and it is possible. Collecting just N1.6 billion from StarTimes, and everybody is clapping is an insult to all of us. It is unacceptable,” Gara-Gombe stated.

President of the NFF, Ibrahim Gusau, who led members of the board of the NPFL to the signing in Abuja, on Thursday, said: “We thank God for making this day a reality. It has been our dream and earnest desire to do everything it takes to improve our domestic league.

According to him, the broadcast deal was aimed at driving the interest of football fans in the country over foreign football leagues like the English Premier League (EPL).

Chairman of the NPFL board, Gbenga Elegbeleye, said that the deal with StarTimes would potentially witness a N50million increment annually from 2023 to 2028