Sports

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

Published

5 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

Super Falcons To Face Portugal Ahead Of WAFCON 2025

Published

6 hours ago

June 22, 2025

Editor

Nigeria’s Super Falcons, aiming for a 10th continental gong at the 13th Women Africa Cup of Nations taking place in Morocco next month, will take on the senior women national team of Portugal in a friendly match in Lisbon on Monday.

The Falcons’ contingent flew out of the Federal Capital, Abuja to Casablanca on Sunday morning aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight, and then travelled to Lisbon.

After appearing at the Portuguese and Moroccan embassies during the week as part of the procedure for visa processing, the nine-time African champions trained at the MKO Abiola National Stadium on Thursday evening, and at the Turf Arena on Friday and Saturday, in preparation for Monday’s encounter.

Goalkeepers Chiamaka Nnadozie and Tochukwu Oluehi, experienced defender Osinachi Ohale, midfielder Christy Ucheibe and forward Francisca Ordega were among those that worked out under the guidance of Head Coach Justine Madugu and his assistants.

US-based defender Michelle Alozie, Saud Arabia-based Ashleigh Plumptre, captain Rasheedat Ajibade and fellow midfielders Halimatu Ayinde, Jennifer Echegini and Toni Payne, as well as forwards Esther Okoronkwo, Rinsola Babajide and Chinwendu Ihezuo will team up with the team at the training camp in the Portuguese capital.

Monday’s encounter will take place at the Estádio José Gomes in the Amadora precinct of Lisbon, and will
commence at 7pm Portugal time (same time as in Nigeria).

Ghana’s Black Queens are also in the Falcons’ radar, as both teams are set to clash in another friendly match in Morocco on Sunday, 29th June, days before the kick-off of the continental finals.

The Falcons tackle Tunisia, Botswana and Algeria in group B of the competition, with the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca as venue.

Sports

Tobi Amusan Hits Season’s Best At Paris Diamond League

Published

2 days ago

June 21, 2025

Editor

Nigeria sprint icon, Tobi Amusan has emerged as the winner of the Diamond League trophy for a third consecutive time.

World record holder Tobi Amusan delivered a powerful performance at the 2025 Paris Diamond League on Friday, recording a season-best 12.24 seconds in the women’s 100m hurdles to secure a strong second-place finish.

This marks the Nigerian star’s second-fastest time ever, trailing only her world record of 12.12s set in 2022.

Amusan surged in the final stretch, narrowing the gap on the USA’s Grace Stark, who had an explosive start and clinched victory with a lifetime best and meet record of 12.21s—making her the fifth-fastest woman in history over the distance. Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent followed closely in third, clocking 12.30s.

The race in Paris was a thrilling continuation of Amusan’s resurgent 2025 campaign. After beginning the season with a pair of fourth-place finishes in Xiamen (12.74s) and Shaoxing (12.66s), she rebounded in style, winning the Rabat leg of the Diamond League in 12.45s—a season-best at the time and a meet record.

Paris marked Amusan’s fourth Diamond League appearance this season, and the consistency she’s building suggests she is rounding into peak form just as major international competitions approach.

She faced a stacked field that included the likes of former world silver medallist Keni Harrison, Jamaican rising talent Ackera Nugent, Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska, Dutch national champion Nadine Visser, Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas, and the in-form Diamond League leader, Grace Stark.

Despite the fierce competition, Amusan showcased her experience and rising form, finishing strong and scoring valuable points in the race toward the Diamond League Finals in Zurich.

She now sits fourth on the Diamond League leaderboard with 10 points, trailing Stark (23), Danielle Williams (15), and Marione Fourie (12).
(VANGUARD)

Sports

Enabulele Hails Edo-born Athletes’ International Feats

Published

3 days ago

June 19, 2025

Editor

The Executive Chairman of the Edo State Sports Commission, Hon. Amadin Desmond Enabulele, has expressed delight over the outstanding performance of Edo athletes representing Nigeria on the international stage.

Enabulele, while describing the athletes as worthy ambassadors of the state and the country in general, singled out the impressive participation of seven Edo kickboxing athletes in Team Nigeria at the African Union Kickboxing Championship in Cameroon.

In a congratulatory message signed by his media aide, Edoko Wilson Edoko, Enabulele lauded the accomplishments of Flora Ugwunwa and Christopher Michael, who clinched gold medals at the 2025 World Para Athletics (WPA) Grand Prix in Tunis, Tunisia.

INFO DAILY reports that Ugwunwa bagged gold in the F54 women’s shot put and discus events, while Michael emerged victorious in the T11 men’s 100m event.

He said: “The remarkable performance of the country’s para-athletes in Tunisia, where Nigeria finished second overall out of 42 participating nations with 10 gold, 6 silver, and 3 bronze medals, is highly commendable.”

The Edo sports boss, while recalling the impressive performance of Team Edo during the recently concluded National Sports Festival (Ogun 2024), where Edo kickboxers secured 20 gold medals, said the feat which earned many of them national call-ups.

Enabulele reaffirmed the Commission’s unwavering commitment to grassroots sports development and consistent support for para-athletes and other promising talents who continue to bring pride to Edo State and Nigeria.

“I’m proud of our athletes. Flora, Christopher, and our kickboxing team have done exceptionally well. This is what we want to see—Edo athletes in large numbers representing Nigeria at global events,” he emphasized.

Enabulele added that the achievements of Edo athletes reflect the deliberate investments in sports development by the current administration.