Sports

Excitement As NDDC Set To Hold Niger Delta Sports Festival In Uyo

Published

8 months ago

February 2, 2025

Editor

The Commissioners for Sports and Chairmen of Sports Commissions in the nine mandate states of the Niger Delta Development Commission(NDDC) have hailed the leadership of the commission for establishing the Niger Delta Sports Festival, saying it will greatly impact sports and human capital development across the region.

INFO DAILY reports that the maiden edition of the festival is scheduled to hold in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, from April 1 to 9, 2025.

At a stakeholders meeting of the NDDC with the head of sports in the states held at the NDDC Headquarters, the delegates unanimously expressed their excitement at the intervention of the NDDC in the region’s sports sector, especially with the initiative of the competition, which they described as the greatest thing to happen to sports in the region.

Presiding over the meeting, Alabo Boma Iyaye, Executive Director, Finance and Administration (EDFA) of the NDDC, also the Chairman of the Planning Committee and former Rivers State Commissioner for Sports, revealed that the project was conceived in recognition of the fact that the Niger Delta produces a huge percentage of Nigeria’s elite sportsmen and women, there is urgent need to sustain their output in order to elevate the fortunes of both the region and the nation’s sports, in line with the objectives and drive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

He said the NDDC had been working with the Project Consultants, Dunamis Icon Limited, for several months, and having achieved several milestones in the preparations, the meeting was called to properly brief the state sports commissioners so that all the stakeholders will be on the same page.

He declared: “We considered it imperative to partner with and support the states for the discovery and grooming of talents into national and international stars and enable the region effectively tap into the global sports economy.

“We cannot over emphasize the role of sports in the transformation of society, but we recognise that while various state governments are interested in sports, there are funding difficulties due to the competing demands of other sectors.

“Considering that the Niger Delta states produce the largest number of Nigeria’s elite athletes, the nation suffers if they stop producing.

“So as the NDDC marks its 25th year anniversary, we thought it wise to start with the introduction of the Niger Delta Sports Festival to provide a platform for our teeming youngsters to showcase their talents, and with plans to continue to groom them through support for training and participation in competitions.

“In doing this, one of our major objectives is to drive sports bottom-up from the grassroots, to provide opportunities for our rural folks. In this regard, we have decided that the preliminary trials and selection process shall commence from the local governments and federal constituencies.”

Welcoming the development, all the states of the NDDC declared their readiness to participate in the festival and pleaded with the NDDC to sustain it as an annual event.

According to the Rivers and Cross River States Commissioners for Sports, Barrister Chris Green and Mrs Agnes Atsu, the introduction of the Niger Delta Sports Festival is by the hand of God and an answer to the prayers of sports administrators, coaches, athletes, fans and the entire people of the region, as it will cushion the gap in the funding of talent hunt, training, provision of facilities and competitions by the state governments.

Games to be competed for at the festival include traditional wrestling alongside Olympic style wrestling, Athletics, Basketball, Boxing, Canoeing, Chess, Football, Handball, Para-Athletics, Para-Powerlifting, Scrabble, Swimming, Table Tennis, Tennis, Volleyball and Weightlifting.

Sports

WCQ: Haaland Scores Hat-trick As Norway Thrash Israel 5-0

Published

9 hours ago

October 11, 2025

Editor

Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick to pass 50 international goals in record time as Norway cruised to a 5-0 thrashing of Israel on Saturday, edging closer to qualifying for a first World Cup since 1998.

Norway, who have not played at a major tournament since Euro 2000, now lead Group I with nine points more than second-placed Italy, who have two games in hand and play in Estonia later Saturday.

The Scandinavians will secure a place at next year’s finals in the United States, Canada, and Mexico with a win over the Estonians on Tuesday if Italy fails to defeat either Estonia or Israel in their next two matches.

Manchester City striker Haaland is the leading scorer in European qualifying with 12 goals so far.

He also became the fastest player in men’s international football to reach 50 goals for his country and now boasts 51 goals for Norway in just 46 games.

England captain Harry Kane held the previous record, bringing up his half-century in 71 appearances.

Ahead of kick-off, hundreds of people attended a pro-Palestinian demonstration, chanting “Free Palestine” to protest against Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza, AFP journalists reported.

The head of the Norwegian football association, Lise Klaveness, recently said she was pushing “for Israel to be sanctioned”.

In early action, Haaland surprised the Norwegian fans in the Ullevaal Stadium when his penalty was saved by Israeli goalkeeper Daniel Peretz.

The spot-kick was ordered to be retaken for encroachment inside the area and Haaland struck his second effort in the opposite direction, only for it to be parried away again by Peretz.

But Norway did forge ahead in the 18th minute through an Anan Khalaili own goal, before Haaland raced clear to score in a ninth successive international appearance.

The hosts grabbed their third just seconds after Israel kicked off again in the 28th minute, as Peretz kicked the ball off Idan Nachmias, who was under pressure from Haaland, and into the net for another own goal.

Nachmias also had to go off injured after colliding with the post.

Haaland added his second in the 63rd minute, powering home a header from Antonio Nusa’s cross, before nodding in to complete his hat-trick with 18 minutes left.

Elsewhere, Hungary beat Armenia 2-0 in Group F, meaning Portugal could qualify with back-to-back wins over the Republic of Ireland, who they were facing at home later Saturday, and then Hungary on Tuesday.

Sports

Just Like Football Clubs, Let’s Sign Foreign President To Fix Nigeria – Actor Okele [VIDEO]

Published

2 days ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

Popular Nigerian actor, Tunde Usman, professionally known as Okele, has proposed ‘signing’ of foreign Presidents to fix the country.

The actor made the suggestion while reacting to Nigeria’s current economic hardship.

Reacting to the increase in price of cooking gas across the nation, Okele in a now trending video shared on his Instagram page proposed a football method of removing a non performing coaches to address Nigeria’s challenges.

Speaking in Yoruba, the actor argued that adoption of the football method might solve constant disappointment with elected leaders.

“Greetings to all Nigerians home and abroad. May God help us soften this hardship. I just thought of something about gas, fuel and the way things are expensive in Nigeria.

“If you are a lover of football you would know that every club has a coach, assistant coach, and those that train the keepers. So, instead of campaigning for different political parties with some looting our money, why can’t Nigeria look around the world and sign any ex-president that has proven himself in another country to fix Nigeria.

“Even many football nations signed coaches from different countries. Maybe we should adopt the signing of the President method to end different political parties campaigns. Let’s come together and sign our President the same way we signed the coach and we can sack the non performing President and sign a new one.”

Sports

FIFA U-20 World Cup: Argentina Crush Nigeria 4-0

Published

3 days ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

Argentina produced a commanding performance to beat Nigeria’s Flying Eagles 4-0 in a knockout-stage match at the U-20 World Cup on Wednesday.

Alejo Sarco opened the scoring after just two minutes, tapping in from a Dylan Gorosito cross.

Maher Carrizo doubled the lead with a superb left-footed free-kick on 23 minutes and added a second shortly after the interval (53′) to make it 3-0.

Mateo Silvetti capped the scoring with a low finish on 66 minutes, finishing off a move created by Gianluca Prestianni.

The Flying Eagles huffed and puffed but rarely threatened the match rhythm. Daniel Daga saw a close-range effort saved before half-time, and Kparobo Arierhi rattled the post in stoppage time of the first half.

But none of their attacks could find a way past Argentina’s goalkeeper Santino Barbi or break down a disciplined defensive unit.

Meanwhile, Ebenezer Harcourt produced several important saves to limit the damage early on.

Tactical changes came early in the second half as Nigeria’s coach shuffled his pack, introducing Auwal Ibrahim, Abduljelil Kamaldeen, Emmanuel Ekele and Charles Agada in a bid to spark a revival, but Argentina’s control of the midfield and clinical finishing rendered the substitutions ineffective.

Details later…