Nigerian Football
PAUL BASSEY CONGRATULATES “MIGHTY” GEORGE, TASK AKWA IBOM SPORT JOURNALISTS ON COMMITMENT
BY MFON PATRICK.
The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Udom Emmanuel on Sports and Chairman of Akwa United Football Club, Elder Paul Bassey has congratulated the winner of the 2018 Nigeria Radio Sports Journalist of the Year Award, George Essien of Comfort FM on his achievement.
Elder Bassey heaped praises on Essien who is known by the professional name “Mighty George”, and congratulated him when he presented the award he won to him in his office in Uyo.
Essien who described Elder Paul Bassey as the Father of Sports journalism in Akwa Ibom State said he was humbled to have been voted the Best Radio Sports Journalist in the country and revealed that such an honour could not have been possible without the tutelage of the veteran journalist.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor said he was proud that another son of Akwa Ibom was honoured for professionalism by the organisers of the Nigerian Sports Award after His Excellency Governor Udom Emmanuel was honoured last year by the same body as the Best Sports Governor.
“Let me begin by saying congratulations to you for bringing honour and respect not just to your station Comfort FM but to the entire Akwa Ibom State through this award. I am glad and proud of you for all your contributions to sports reportage and presentation in Akwa Ibom State and in Nigeria. We are honored that you have come to share your award with us here at Akwa United.
“Last year, the Nigerian Sports Award honoured His Excellency Governor Udom Emmanuel with the Best Sports Governor Award and this year you have been voted the Best Radio Sports Journalist, this honour has gone a long way to demonstrate that Akwa Ibom is the centre of sports in Nigeria and you deserve to be celebrated.
“Your good works and dedication has distinguished your station and made it a must listen to station in this state. You have brought honour to this state and this is just the beginning of many honours to come your way, once again I say congratulations” Elder Bassey concluded.
The veteran journalist turned administrator however called on sports journalists in Akwa Ibom State to be more committed and dedicated to their work, stressing that there is always reward for hard work.
Nigerian Football
Nigeria face tough defence as Burkina Faso lie in wait at U17 WAFU B AFCON qualifiers
Defending champions Nigeria have been handed a difficult path to the 2025 U17 Africa Cup of Nations finals after being drawn in the same group as Burkina Faso for next month’s WAFU B qualifying tournament in Ghana.
The Golden Eaglets, who won the last edition of the regional championship in 2022, will also face Togo and Niger in Group B of the competition which runs from 15-28 May.
Hosts Ghana find themselves in Group A alongside Cote d’Ivoire and Benin in a tough-looking section of the competition to be played in Accra.
The draw was conducted by 1970s Ivorian football legends Kobenan Kouman and Die Foneye at the Ivorian FA headquarters in Abidjan on Friday.
Nigeria claimed their WAFU B U17 AFCON title by defeating Burkina Faso 2-1 in the regional final in Ghana two years ago.
However, they will need to overcome some familiar foes if they are to defend their crown and with the Burkina Faso finishing third at the last TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations, some exciting matches are expected.
Arch-rivals Nigeria and Ghana are among the two favourites and could meet in the final in Accra on 28 May, should they top their respective groups and make it through the semi-finals.
Ghana also have pedigree at this level, having the World Cup in 1991 and 1995 as they bid to reach the U17 AFCON finals on home soil.
The top two teams from the WAFU B tournament will qualify for next year’s U17 Africa Cup of Nations.
Groups:
Group A: Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin
Group B: Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Togo, Niger.
Nigerian Football
Former Nigeria international, Onye recommends Amuneke-Siasia combo for Super Eagles
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Kingsley Onye, the left sided defender who was a member of the first Flying Eagles side to have a podium finish at the U-20 World Cup has suggested the employment of Emmanuel Amuneke as the coach of the Super Eagles.
He wants him to be assisted by Samson Siasia when the ban on the latter lapses in August. Alternatively, Onye pointed to Sylvanus Okpala as alternative to Siasia.
The Super Eagles are in dare need for a head coach as the clock ticks down to the Match day 4 and 5 of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in which the team is trailing at the third position.
The two matches in early June are crucial for the Super Eagles to bounce back into reckoning as the team can not afford to drop any of the available six points in the duels with South Africa at home and away to Benin.
From this Monday, it is 41 days to the potentially challenging tie with South Africa, but the Nigerian national team has been without a coach since the expiration of the contract of Portugal’s Jose Peseiro shortly after the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.
Without mincing words, Onye remarked: “Emmanuel Amuneke is the right man for the job of the coach of Super Eagles. He has been there before.
“He tasted it and had been fantastic with the Nigeria youth team, the U-17 by assisting Manu Garba to win the U17 World Cup in 2013 and as head coach, led the Golden Eaglets to win the cup again in 2015.”
Onye who played for the Enugu Rangers in Nigeria before venturing to the UK but had his career scuppered by freak injury pointed out that the solution to Super Eagles’ technical deficiency is the appointment of an indigenous coach and that Amuneke is the man.
In buttressing his assertion, he declared: “As a senior team coach, Amuneke qualified a long standing absentee team, Tanzania for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
“His record as a player is also very impressive. He played and won with the Super Eagles, the AFCON 1994. He played at the Olympic Games and was also the first Nigerian to score two goals at the World Cup.
“He has played at the African Games and also for top clubs in the continent as he was a member of the Egyptian giants, Zamalek. In Europe, he played for Sporting Clube de Portugal and then Barcelona before injury ended his playing career.”
Onye also looked at the personality of Amuneke in recommending him for the Super Eagles job.
His record as a player is also very impressive. He played and won with the Super Eagles, the AFCON 1994. He played at the Olympic Games and was also the first Nigerian to score two goals at the World Cup.
He has played at the African Games and also for top clubs in the continent as he was a member of the Egyptian giants, Zamalek. In Europe, he played for Sporting Clube de Portugal and then Barcelona before injury ended his playing career.
Nigerian Football
GTI enlarges coast…spreads from League fund-raising to Federation Cup
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Strategic partners of the Nigeria Football Federation, GTI Asset Management and Trust Ltd has expanded their scope of operations from fund sourcing for the Nigeria Premier League to adding the responsibility of getting the national cup competition back into its glamorous days.
The MD of the company, Abubakar Lawal at the unveiling a revamped Federation Cup which has been renamed President Federation Cup remarked that his company decided to take a bold step to support the national cup.
“I am the happiest man today, he said in the opening remark of the rebranding of the national cup through signing of Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Sports and the NFF.
“Our company is also strategically involved in ensuring that the President Federation Cup is given necessary attention to thrive using The Nigeria Football Fund (TNFF) as our vehicle to actualise this dream.
“Therefore, it is our vision that the oldest domestic football event becomes one of the best organised football events in the world in no distant future.”
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