The Chairman of Anambra state Football Association Chikelue Iloenyosi has made further appointments that will help his administration drive football development in the state. In the latest appointments, Barrister Iyke Igbokwe was named Head of the Disciplinary Committee of the Football Association. Ephraim Onyemachi is (SA) Diaspora, Umudu Joseph Obi (SA)Technical while Noel Anosike is (SA) Legal matters to the chairman. The appointments take immediate, even as Iloenyosi fondly called the General, charged them to be upright in their duties. Igbokwe who heads the Disciplinary Committee was the Secretary of the defunct Jasper United FC. He has also served in various committees in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). Umudu Joseph Obi was a former Director of Sports in Anambra State and a renowned coach. Ephraim Onyemachi who is based in the United States is a football philanthropist and youth leader.
Okpekpe road race gets AIU clean bill for eighth straight edition
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has given the eight World Athletics Elite label Okpekpe International 10km Road Race held in May in Okpekpe, Edo State, a clean bill of health following the negative dope tests recorded at the historic one-day meeting. Race Director Zack Amodu revealed that the result of the doping control carried out on race day (May 28) has returned an all negative result. In an e-mail message to promoter of the race, Mike Itemuagbor, the AIU, which sits at the heart of World Athletics’ integrity reforms confirmed that none of the samples taken at the event tested positive for the use of performance enhancing drugs. ‘I am glad to inform you that the results of the analysis on the samples collected after the race, performed at the WADA-accredited laboratory of Lausanne, did not reveal the presence and/or use of a substance or method prohibited under the current WADA prohibited list,’ wrote Stefano Longo, the AIU In Competition Testing Manager. This development, according to Amodu is a re-confirmation of the organisers resolve to ensure athletes compete cleanly and fairly. ‘This is not only a good development for the sport, it is equally a big plus for the organisers of the race and Nigeria,’ said Amodu who believes the clean bill of health the race has been receiving since its inauguarl edition in 2013 is a further testimony to the zero tolerance organisers of the race have for doping. “When we decided to make Dr Akin Amao who retired as the head of the Medical Unit of the Ministry of Sports and one of Nigeria’s foremost sports medicine practitioners as our head of the anti-doping unit for the race,it is because we wanted to ensure everything about the race has a touch of excellence and integrity. This has given Edo state and Nigeria a positive image that money cannot buy.’ ‘It will also directly or indirectly help the reclassification of Nigeria from a high risk doping nation’, said a delighted Amodu. The Okpekpe international 10km road race is the first road race in West Africa to get a label rating when it was granted a bronze label status in 2015. It graduated to become the first ever silver label road race in West Africa following its upgrade in 2018 and remains the first road race in Nigeria recognised by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS). World Athletics Label Road Races are races that the World Athletics designates as one of the leading road races around the world.
Algeria 2023: Adeyinka’s arrival completes Super Eagles B camp
The arrival of goalkeeper Adeyinka Adewale at the Bolton White Apartments in Abuja on Sunday afternoon has completed the body of invited players to the camp of the Super Eagles B, as Head Coach Salisu Yusuf and his assistants perfect strategies for the African Nations Championship qualifying match against Ghana in a fortnight. The Akwa United FC first choice goalkeeper got clearance from the team’s management to sort out a few family matters before joining his teammates. The goalkeeper who was in the Super Eagles A squad for the friendlies against Mexico and Ecuador earlier in the year, as well as the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Sierra Leone and Sao Tome and Principe in the month of June was full of elan and zest on arrival. Head Coach Yusuf on August 8 called to camp 35 players to battle for shirts ahead of the 2023 African Nations Championship qualifying fixture. The first set of 31 players arrived at the Bolton White Apartments on Wednesday, 10th August while the other three joined the following day. The Eagles B will square up to the Black Galaxies in the first leg in Cape Coast on Sunday, 28th August with the return encounter billed for the MKO Abiola National Stadium in Abuja on Saturday, 3rd September. The winner on aggregate will earn a berth at the 7th African Nations Championship finals to be staged in Algeria early next year. The players resumed full training on Monday, 15th August after being allowed some rest.
All the players in camp:
Goalkeepers: Victor Sochima (Rivers United); Adeyinka Adewale (Akwa United); Ojo Olorunleke (Enyimba FC); Nathaniel Nwosu (Flying Eagles)
Defenders: Tope Olusesi (Rangers Int’l); Kazie Enyinnaya (Rivers United); Sani Faisal (Katsina United); Samson Gbadebo (Akwa United); Ebube Duru (Rivers United); Christopher Nwaeze (Akwa United); Isa Ali (Remo Stars); Tosin Adegbite (Enyimba FC); Temple Emekayi (Rivers United); Andrew Ikefe (Plateau United)
Midfielders: Babatunde Bello (Akwa United); Philip Ozor (Enyimba FC); Maurice Chukwu (Rivers United); Hafeez Nosiru (Kwara United); Zulkifilu Mohammed (Plateau United); Chiamaka Madu (Rivers United); Jide Fatokun (Kwara United); Kenechukwu Agu (Rangers Int’l); Joseph Onoja (Rivers United); Haggai Katoh (Plateau United); Uche Onwuasonaya (Rivers United)
Forwards: Abdulazeez Yusuf (Gombe United); Sadiq Abubakar (Enyimba FC); Chidiebere Nwobodo (Rangers Int’l); Promise Amadi (Akwa United); Chijioke Akuneto (Rivers United); Valentine Odoh (Abia Warriors); Andy Okpe (Remo Stars); Adams Yakubu (Akwa United); Godspower Aniefiok (Kano Pillars); Ossy Martins (Rangers Int’l).
