President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation ( NBBF) Engr Musa Kida had made it clear that they are in no way competing with the Sports ministry on their Supervisory Role.

This was part of the statements made by Engr Kida during an executive of the body held during the weekend to channel a new course for the body.

” “The fact that we can meet today and the Secretary-General who is a ministry staff is here and the Assistant SG is also here means that the ministry is already participating in what we do. Going forward, I think it is much brighter than we have experienced in the past.

“I will want to make it clear that we, as a board, have no interest whatsoever in contesting with the ministry in its sphere of statutory influence.”

“They have their supervisory and statutory job to do by way of supervising bodies like us but they have allowed us to constitute ourselves into federations that can run these activities within the territory of the country.

“I do think we are helping them deliver on basketball development in the country. Going forward, I think the proof is very evident, we are all on board here,” kida said

The training camp for the Flying Eagles is scheduled to open in Abuja on Monday as the CAF regional competition Kicks off next month.

The designated coach of the team, Ladan Bosso, has already submitted his list of invited players to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). Bosso will have less than four weeks weeks to prepare the team for a major tournament that serves as qualifiers for the U20 African Nations Cup.

The biennial tournament, which also serves as the qualification for the TotalEnergies U20 Africa Cup of Nations, will get the organisation’s activities underway for this year.

It will be held in the capital Niamey from May 7 to May 20, 2022.

Title holders Ghana will compete with rivals Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Togo and hosts Niger for the coveted trophy.

In December 2020, the Junior Eagles failed to go past the sub-regional qualifiers in Benin Republic from a group that had Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana.

Some of the players with NFF Executive Committee Member, Aisha Falode (second left) during the ferry ride between Vancouver and Victoria City on Saturday evening.

Nine –time African champions, Super Falcons are confident of a better outing against Olympic Champions Canada when both teams square up in the second of their two-match bouquet in the North American country on Monday.

Two second goals by Jessie Fleming (50^th minute) and Vanessa Gilles (72^nd minute) earned the world’s sixth –ranked team victory over the African champions in their first encounter in Vancouver on Friday (Saturday morning in Nigeria). However, Coach Randy Waldrum prosecuted that game with only 14 outfield players, most of whom arrived on the eve of the match due to late issuance of visa from their respective bases.

They held on tenaciously in the first 45 minutes but fatigue and injuries saw goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, defender and skipper Onome Ebi and forward Uchenna Kanu stretchered off at different times during the game. Midfielder Rita Chikwelu also had to be substituted.

However, Nigeria would be able to offer greater tenacity in Monday night’s duel as injured players would have recovered, there would have been more training sessions for greater bonding and understanding, and there is the added impetus offered by the arrival of barnstorming forward Francisca Ordega in Canada on Sunday.

In the first match, Waldrum had started with goalkeeper Nnadozie, defenders Onome Ebi, Nicole Payne, Ashleigh Plumptre and Akudo Ogbonna, midfielders Rita Chikwelu, Toni Payne and Rasheedat Ajibade, and forwards Uchenna Kanu, Christy Ucheibe and Ifeanyi Onumonu.

Onumonu scored the two goals that took the fight out of Cote d’Ivoire’s Lady Elephants in the first leg of their Women AFCON 2022 final round fixture in Abuja on 18^th February, and was quite active in the return leg in Abidjan, where Esther Okoronkwo’s late goal made it a 3-0 aggregate win for Nigeria.

Monday’s encounter will take place at the Starlight Stadium, and will commence at 7.30pm Canada time (3.30am Tuesday in Nigeria).

The two-match tour is part of the NFF’s general plan to prepare the Falcons adequately for the 12^th Women Africa Cup of Nations finals taking place in Morocco 2^nd – 23^rd July this year, at which Africa’s four flag-bearers at next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in Australia/New Zealand will emerge.

Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo has apologised after he appeared to knock a mobile phone out of a supporter’s hand following his side’s 1-0 defeat at Everton on Saturday (April 9).

Footage emerged on social media of Ronaldo appearing to swipe his hand towards the ground as he walked off the pitch and headed for the tunnel at Goodison Park.

Eyewitnesses said the 37-year-old had knocked a fan’s phone out of their hand and it smashed to the ground.

Ronaldo took to Instagram to apologise for the incident.

“It’s never easy to deal with emotions in difficult moments such as the one we are facing,” Ronaldo said.

“Nevertheless, we always have to be respectful, patient and set the example for all the youngsters who love the beautiful game.

“I would like to apologise for my outburst and, if possible, I would like to invite this supporter to watch a game at Old Trafford as a sign of fair-play and sportsmanship.”

The club have told Reuters they are looking into the incident.

The defeat left United seventh in the Premier League standings and they face the prospect of missing out on qualification for next season’s Champions League as they are six points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.

Merseyside police said on Sunday they were reviewing CCTV footage to establish if Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo committed an offence by knocking a mobile phone out of a supporter’s hand after his team’s 1-0 defeat at Everton.

Footage emerged on social media of Ronaldo appearing to swipe his hand towards the ground as he walked off the pitch and headed for the tunnel at Goodison Park after Saturday’s match.

Eyewitnesses said the 37-year-old had knocked a fan’s phone out of their hand and smashed it to the ground and Ronaldo later took to Instagram to apologise for the incident. 

A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said the force was liaising with both clubs after reports of an alleged assault.

“As players were leaving the pitch at 2.30pm, it was reported that a boy was assaulted by one of the away team as they left the pitch,” the spokesperson said.

“Inquiries are under way and officers are currently working with Everton Football Club to review CCTV footage and are carrying out extensive witness enquiries to establish if an offence has taken place.”

The defeat left United seventh in the Premier League standings and they face the prospect of missing out on qualification for next season’s Champions League as they are six points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.

City of Lagos has been chosen by the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) as the host of the World Championships regional qualification, African Club Championships, and African Cup.

The three tournaments start from May 19 to 28 at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.

The World Championships regional qualification for West Africa teams will kick-start the tournament on May 19 to 21 while the African Club Championships follow on May 23 to 25. The African Cup which is a singles tournament will climax the event on May 26 to 28.

According to the President of ATTF, Khaled El-Salhy, the choice of Lagos was based on the remarkable organization of previous tournaments coupled with the positive comments from players, coaches, and participating teams.

“Lagos has the best bid to host the African Cup in 2022 together with the African Clubs, as ATTF is always satisfied with the remarkable organisation in Lagos coupled with full capacity of spectators in the venue throughout any major competition,” he said.

The ATTF boss said the African Cup would now be a continental qualification for WTT Cup Finals.

“The new thing is that the ITTF World Cup may not be held this year and the other option will be the WTT Cup Finals which will include the same policy that continental cup winners will represent each continent.”

All the top players in Africa are expected in Lagos for the African Cup as Egypt’s Ahmed Saleh and Dina Meshref are expected to defend their titles against the best players in Africa at the three-day tournament at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.

“All top players will be competing for the Cup, while they will be aiming for ranking points as well as qualification to represent Africa at WTT Cup Finals taking place later in the year,” he added.

For the African Cup, each participating country will nominate two players each in men’s and women’s events while the host country will nominate four players each for the cup.

Meanwhile, a nine-man Main Organising Committee (MOC) has been approved by the continental ruling body with Wahid Oshodi chairing the committee. President of Cote D’ivoire Table Tennis Federation, Prof. Alfred Germain Karou will deputise Oshodi in the MOC.

Other members include the Executive Chairman of Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC) Sola Aiyepeku, Dr. Adesoji Tayo, Kweku Tandoh and, Mokhtar Toukabri of Tunisia.

Insurance FC of Benin, on Saturday night, maintained its hold on the second position of the Nigeria National League after a 2-1 victory over Giant Brillers FC of Enugu in Benin City.

The Benin club are campaigning in Group B1 of the NNL with 21 points, behind table toppers, Gateway United.

A first-half stoppage-time penalty by Tanimu Benjamin and an own goal in the 67th minute ensured Bendel Insurance picked maximum points.

Idoko Mathew scored the visitors’ consolation goal in the 86th minute with a shot from the edge of the 18-yard box.

Giant Brillers FC handler, Suleman Hafeez, noted that Insurance deserved to be in the Premiership.

He said, “We lost against a team who should be in the Nigerian Premiership; it is that simple. Their style of play is more superior and their organisation is standard.

“We want to win away games, but today we lost to a better team, so we will go back and re-strategise.”

On his part, assistant coach of Insurance, Stanley Osaze, said, “We are still on course to gain promotion and we have done well so far.

“The first half of the season is coming to an end and there are a lot of matches to play in the second half. We have lost just one game and I am sure we will meet our target.

Match-day 22 games in the Nigeria Professional Football League

With the frontrunners Rivers United and Plateau United not in action, the Oriental Derby in Aba between Enyimba and Enugu Rangers turned the match of the day.

And it was the Aba Elephants that completed a double over Rangers after a 2-1 comeback victory in the feisty clash that headlined match-day 22 of the Nigeria Professional Football League fixtures on Sunday.

 The Peoples’ Elephants had claimed the match points in the reverse fixture following a 1-0 win in Nnewi and were all out to complete the double in Aba

 But it was Rangers who drew the first blood in the 14th minute when Ossy Martins rounded up Enyimba goalkeeper Bassa Djeri and scored following a through pass from Chidebere Okorie.

 Enyimba restored parity in the 32nd minute when Adekunle Adeleke found Victor Mbaoma in a good position and the forward calmly slotted past Seidu Mutawakilu, in goal for Rangers

 Mbaoma got his brace and Enyimba’s turnaround was complete in the 66th minute when he leapt highest to head in a cross from substitute Cyril Olisema.

10-man Sunshine down Warriors

 At the Dipo Dina Stadium in Ijebu Ode, 10-man Sunshine Stars got the better of Abia Warriors with a slender 1-0 victory.

 Ejike Uzoechi gave the hosts a first-half lead from the spot after Innocent Gabriel brought down Ikenna Cooper in the box.

 The Warriors responded well in the second half and bossed, even though they couldn’t get on level terms.

 They also had the numerical advantage to even the score when Sunshine midfielder Chinedu Ozor was sent off for a second booking but couldn’t find a way through goalkeeper Lawal and his defence line.

Tornadoes triumph in ‘no man’s land’

Niger Tornadoes won the game of tenants in ‘no man’s land’ against Wikki Tourists as they managed to record a nerve-wracking lone goal victory.

Chinedu Ufere could have given Tornadoes the lead earlier but had his spot-kick was saved by Wikki keeper, Ibrahim Galadima.

 Musa Wakili pulled the chestnut out of the fire for the Minna lads with a late goal in the 87th minute to guarantee the Minna side maximum points.

 Lobi, Pillars share spoils

 It ended goalless between Lobi Stars and Kano Pillars in Makurdi as coach Baba Ganaru’s side couldn’t find a way through against his former employers.

 It was also a game shy of talking moments as Pillars proved impossible to break down.

MFM beat Dakkada to boost survival hope

 Finally, for the Sunday games, Mountain of Fire Ministries continued their push for survival with a convincing 2-0 home win over fellow strugglers Dakkada FC.

The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, Saturday, stressed the need to find young talents for para-sports games to replace the aging ones.

Dare said this at the opening ceremony of the First edition of the National Para Games, tagged ‘Abuja 2022 Festival’, at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.

He said the young talents would represent the country in future international competitions.

According to him, some of these athletes representing the country presently are already aging out of competition.

The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, Saturday, stressed the need to find young talents for para-sports games to replace the aging ones.

Dare said this at the opening ceremony of the First edition of the National Para Games, tagged ‘Abuja 2022 Festival’, at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.

He said the young talents would represent the country in future international competitions.

According to him, some of these athletes representing the country presently are already aging out of competition.

“We will move the talented ones immediately into team Nigeria to go for camping for Commonwealth games for 60 days,” he said.

Dare said the ministry created for the very first time the department for para-athletics.

“We want to build a sustainable model. The first thing is to create a department of para. In the 2022 budget, we have a budget for para-sports itself.

“So, the same way you have the National Youth Games, the National Sports Festival, para sport will also get the budget to fund it,” he said.

Dare said the mandate of the ministry aligned with the vision of the Disability Act, adding that there are disability commission of the National Assembly and committees chaired by lawmakers.

“There’s ability in their disabilities. If there is no competition, no athletes can improve and excel and we felt that they deserve their own special national sports competition,” he said.

15 Para-Sports Games will feature in the competition.

The sports are Amputee football, Nigeria shooting sport Federation, sitting Volleyball, para table tennis, para-swimming, wheelchair basketball, para taekwondo, and wheelchair tennis.

Others are para-badminton, powerlifting, deaf sport, para-athletics, para soccer, para karate, and para canoe.

17 States are represented at the opening ceremony.

They are Gombe, Enugu, Anambra, Adamawa, Abia, FCT Abuja, Yobe, Plateau, Oyo, Kebbi, Ondo, Kano, Edo, Imo, Jigawa, Balyesa, and Bauchi.

The event will kick off on Sunday and is expected to end on April 15.