…NFF keen to avoid the mistake made with Rohr

New Super Eagles manager, Jose Peseiro is only being hired as an interim coach of the team ahead of the Nations Cup in Côte d’Ivoire. A competent NFF source disclosed last week that the coach is getting a short contract of just one which can only be renewed if he delivers at the 2023 Nations Cup. “What we are signing with Peseiro is a short contract of just one year. While he is in charge, we would still be shopping for another competent coach. But should he prove his mettle within the one that he would be in charge then we can then get back to the negotiation table with him. We want to avoid the mistakes we made with Rohr,” our source said. It would be noted that the NFF had in a release over the weekend confirmed the hiring of the coach who is expected to be with the Eagles in the two-match friendlies against Mexico and Ecuador later this month in the United States of America. The NFF in her release was however silent on the duration of the contract of the new Portuguese manager.

Waldrum calls Ebi, Oshoala, Ordega, 29 others to Women AFCON camp in Morocco

Head Coach Randy Waldrum has invited 32 players to the camp of the Super Falcons as the Cup holders get set for a two-week training camp in Morocco ahead of the 12th Women Africa Cup of Nations holding in that country, 2nd – 23rd July. Goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, defender and captain Onome Ebi, midfielders Rasheedat Ajibade and Toni Payne, and forwards Francisca Ordega, Desire Oparanozie and Asisat Oshoala are among those called to the two-week intensive training programme. Thenff.com learnt that the training camp will start on 18th June in the North African kingdom, with all players already advised to arrive in Rabat on 17th June.

Nine –time champions Nigeria will play in Group C of the 12-team tournament alongside South Africa’s Banyana Banyana, Botswana and Burundi. Nigeria’s first match of the competition, at which Africa’s four flagbearers to next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will emerge, is against the Banyana at the Complexe Sportif Prince Abdellah in Rabat on 4th July. Super Falcons for training camp in Morocco: Goalkeepers: Chiamaka Nnadozie (Paris FC, France); Tochukwu Oluehi (Maccabi Kishronot Hadera, Israel); Rita Akarekor (Nasarawa Amazons); Yewande Balogun (Coppermine United, USA) Defenders: Opeyemi Sunday (Edo Queens); Glory Ogbonna (Santa Teresa FC, Spain); Onome Ebi (En Avant Guingamp, France); Osinachi Ohale (Deportivo Alaves, Spain); Ugochi Emenayo (Konak Belediyespor Izmir, Turkey); Ashleigh Plumptre (Leicester City, England); Nicole Payne (West Virginia University, USA); Michelle Alozie (Houston Dash, USA); Akudo Ogbonna (Edo Queens) Midfielders: Peace Efih (Kiryat Gat, Israel); Amanda Uju Mbadi (Atasehir Belediyespor, Turkey); Halimatu Ayinde (Eskilstuna FC, Sweden); Charity Adule (Deportivo La Coruna, Spain); Toni Oyedupe Payne (Sevilla FC, Spain); Regina Otu (Minsk FC, Belarus); Christy Ucheibe (SL Benfica, Portugal); Rasheedat Ajibade (Atletico Madrid, Spain); Rita Chikwelu (Madrid CFF, Spain); Suliat Abideen (Edo Queens) Forwards: Anam Imo (Pitea IF, Sweden); Francisca Ordega (CSKA Moscow, Russia); Desire Oparanozie (Wuhan Chegu Jianghan, China); Vivian Ikechukwu (WFC Gintra, Lithuania); Chinonyerem Macleans (GSK Gornik Leczna, Poland); Chinwendu Ihezuo (Meizhou Hakka Club, China); Ifeoma Onumonu (NY/NJ Gotham FC, USA); Uchenna Kanu (Tigres Femenil, Mexico); Asisat Oshoala (FC Barcelona, Spain)

Sports Minister insists future is bright for Nigerian athletics

Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare says the future of the sport of track and field is bright in Nigeria following another impressive displays by the country’s athletes both at home and abroad. Johnson Nnamani, Egbuchilem Raphael Chimezie, Ezekiel Nathaniel, Favour Ofili, Rosemary Chukwuma, Alaba Akintola and Favour Ashe among others displayed standout performances at the 3rd AFN All Comers in Abuja and the Collegiate Circuit in the USA. Teenagers Nnamani and Egbuchilem both improved on their Personal Best at the Abuja Meet while Ezekiel broke Henry Amike’s 35-year-old 400m hurdles Nigeria record. Ofili was simply unstoppable as she successfully completed a sprint double, running 10.93s in the 100m and 22.04s in the 200m. Ashe and Akintola set new Personal Best times in the 100m, both running 10.04s while Chukwuma ran a wind-aided 10.88s to place third in the 100m before scorching to a wind-legal 22.33s finish in the half lap.

 World U20 200m and 400m champions, Udodi Onwuzurike and Imaobong Nse Uko also set new lifetime best with the former running 20.09s in the half lap event while the latter raced to a new 51.24s best in the 400m. “The performances by our athletes show the depth of talents we have in Nigeria. I am particularly pleased that majority of the athletes left Nigeria between 2020 and 2021 and their incredible rise to world class standards is a testimony that we have the talents here,” said the Sports Minister. Continuing, Dare is convinced investments in our home based stars will always produce results and congratulates the AFN for providing competition for the athletes. “I was at the AFN All Comers in Abuja on Thursday and Friday and witnessed how our athletes, especially the junior ones have been improving, setting new lifetime bests. “Johnson Nnamani is only 19 and was at the World U20 Championship last year in Nairobi, Kenya.

He ran a new personal best of 46.23s in Abuja. I was told he ran 46.9 seconds last year and first improved to ran 46.66s in Lagos last month. “This is a massive leap in performance, the kind our athletes are also displaying in the USA,” added the Minister. Dare is particularly pleased with Ezekiel who ran 48.42s to break the 48.50s Henry Amike ran in Rome in 1987 to set a new Nigeria record. “I have been following the performances of our athletes, especially the junior ones that achieved unprecedented feats at the Nairobi World U20 Championship last year and saw how Ezekiel improved from a 51 seconds runner to a sub 49 seconds athlete. Now, he has broken a 35-year-old national record,” said Dare who recalls some of the athletes were in the Sports Ministry’s adopt an athlete programme. “This shows with the right investment; we can achieve so much. We all saw how Enoch Adegoke and Grace Nwokocha defied the odds to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics as home based athletes.”

The Sports Minister says the Ministry will always encourage and support federations who don’t rely only on athletes born and bred abroad to achieve success for the country. “While we celebrate these victories, have we asked how it has impacted on the development of the sport locally? President Muhammadu Buhari is an advocate of us eating what we grow, wearing what we produce and use talents we develop and nurture at home. We in the Sports Ministry will not deviate from this, doing otherwise will be counter-productive,” he concluded.