Governing Bodies
Let’s make Nigerian football great again, says Mines & Steel Minister, Adegbite
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Memories of the glorious past of Nigeria’s football came flooding as Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite, Nigeria’s minister of Mines and Steel Development received the Organising Committee for the 50th Anniversary of the passage of Nigerian legendary footballer, Tesilimi Balogun in his office.
The minister displayed an encyclopaedic knowledge of the football industry when he reeled out the country’s glorious past and footballers that the current generation of Nigerian youths should take inspiration from.
In throwing his weight behind the organisation of the 50th anniversary of Thunder Balogun, Adegbite remarked on the good image football and footballers have given Nigeria and harped on the need for the country to use the game to further improve on the international image of the country.
“I remember when I introduce myself as a Nigerian abroad, the first enquiry people also make are on the notable footballers the country had produced. ‘How is Amokachi?
He recalled the golden era of Nigerian football especially the exploits in the US during the World Cup in 1994 and later at the Atlanta ‘96 where Nigeria became the first country outside the Europe to win the football gold medal in 68 years.
Before then, the last time a non-European won was in 1928 when Uruguay won the gold medal. According to Adegbite, Nigeria will have to embark on human capital development in sports for the country to re-enact the golden age.
To this, he believes that emphasis should be on empowering the youths and engaging in skill acquisition to uplift the youth for a brighter Nigeria in the future.
He remarked that he once visited a state in the country where the governor had embarked on massive upgrading of roads. ‘But today, citizens are avoiding travelling on the roads for fear of hoodlums.
He made reference to the popular saying of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo that the “children of the poor you failed to train will never let your children have peace.”
Adegbite remarked that the untrained children of the poor will at first be beggars and mere urchins. But as they grow older, proceeds from such ventures would no longer take care of their needs and they resort to crime and violence.
He therefore suggested that there must be more emphasis of skill acquisition than merely providing amenities that are rendered useless. He bemoaned the state of some sports facilities in the country which ought to provide avenues for skill acquisition by the youths in sports.
He therefore commended the Lagos State Government for not just naming a sports facility after Tesilimi ‘Thunder’ Balogun, but also constantly renovating it.
Adegbite will be the chairman at the opening ceremony at the week-long 50th anniversary of Thunder Balogun in July this year.
Governing Bodies
Nigeria becoming an epicentre of global badminton as Francis Orbih enters the Badminton World Federation Council
Laurels on the courts and now glory in the boardroom sums up the mark that badminton is making in Nigeria.
The President, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN), Francis Orbih, has been elected as a council member of the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
The election took place during the BWF Annual General Meeting on Saturday in Xiamen, China.
Orbih emerged victorious over top contenders from other African countries.
He will join Cameroon’s Odette Assembe Engoulou on the council, while Chipo Zumburani (Zimbabwe) and Hadia ElSaid (Egypt) missed out.
An elated Orbih expressed his gratitude to fellow badminton presidents across the globe for their trust and support.
He said, “I am deeply honoured by the trust placed in me by my peers across the badminton world.
“I look forward to quality representation, driving development initiatives, and strengthening badminton’s global reach over the next four years.”
Orbih also acknowledged the support of the Federal Government of Nigeria, particularly the National Sports Commission (NSC), which he said played a significant role in his successful bid.
“The Chairman and the Director General of the NSC monitored the entire process. I’m grateful for their involvement and confident Nigeria will benefit from this,” he stated.
He further appreciated the BFN board members and the Nigerian badminton community for their prayers and continued belief in his leadership.
“From the day I declared my intentions, the board members of BFN have been supportive, and I promise not to disappoint them,” Orbih concluded.
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A former member of the FIFA Council, Mamoutou Toure, has been released from jail in Mali after almost two years in detention for alleged corruption, Malian media reports said on Wednesday.
Toure, president of the Malian Football Federation since 2019, was released after 622 days in prison on Tuesday.
He served on the FIFA Council, world football’s all-powerful decision-making body, for four years until last month when he lost his seat after failing to contest new elections.
The 67-year-old was arrested in August 2023 on allegations of embezzling $28 million of public funds but was granted a provisional release order by the Malian courts, reports said.
He was accused of misconduct during his time as the National Assembly’s financial and administrative director from 2013-2019.
Toure denied all charges and, during his time in jail, was last August re-elected as Malian Football Federation president for a second consecutive term, with his supporters claiming he was a victim of a conspiracy fuelled by detractors.
While in jail, he received a letter of support from FIFA president Gianni Infantino. However, as of last month, Toure is no longer a member of the FIFA Council or the Confederation of African Football’s executive committee.
-Reuters
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The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has denied reports of an outstanding debt to former captain Christian Chukwu and has challenged anyone with verifiable documents to prove otherwise.
Chukwu, a former national team captain and chief coach, died last Saturday.
The Nigeria Football Federation decried statements in a section of social media that the football-ruling body was indebted to the deceased.
Reacting to one statement on social media that claimed NFF owed the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations-winning team captain the sum of $128,000, NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, said: “There is no record in the NFF of any outstanding indebtedness to ‘Chairman’ Christian Chukwu.
“During the first term of the Board headed by Amaju Pinnick, a committee was set up to diligently peruse the papers of coaches who were being owed, even from previous NFF administrations.
“That committee was given the clear mandate to verify all debts and ensure that the coaches being owed were paid immediately. I am aware that the ‘Chairman’ was in the employ of the NFF between 2002 and 2005, before he was relieved of the post following the 1-1 draw with Angola in a FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Kano in August 2005. There is certainly no record of indebtedness to him in the NFF.”
Sanusi challenged anyone with genuine and verifiable documents of NFF indebtedness to any coach, who has worked with any of the National Teams over the past two decades, to come forward and tender those documents.
“As a credible organization that is very much alive to its responsibilities, if we are confronted with any genuine document of indebtedness to any coach, we will offset the debt immediately.”
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