MEDIA
Proud to be one of Fabio’s boys
BY ADE SOMEFUN
Fabio was indeed a media legend! Editing his weekly column, “The GrandMaster”, way back in the Nigerian Tribune, was like going to a sports class or was it a course?
l always looked forward to going through his articles, he was a man of details… and was always prompt in sending in his column which was typed.
I remembered vividly when l suggested his name to the Tribune editorial as one of those who could add value to the newspaper and shoot up our circulation, he was immediately accepted by everybody.
That was to tell you that he was held in high esteem. Now, handed with the opportunity of sounding him out which l did with ease, as he graciously accepted.
He was to write that column for years and gave the Tribune newspaper the leverage it deserved, a newspaper of repute, as people looked forward to reading his weekly column.
If you hadn’t read The Grand master, then your Day was yet to be made! One thing of note was that l later found out about Fabio was that he never took anybody for granted.
If he was to be late in sending his typed column he would call to inform me that he would be a bit late in sending as he was correcting the typed script. He was a man of perfection.
Professionally, over the years, l learnt a lot from him and he took interest in me, guided me in the right path as l edited the Tribune Sports pages…and Sports newspaper, the Sporting Tribune.
However, the last time l spoke with him on phone was sometime last year after l had a chat with Tayo Balogun, another former NTA guru, who had intimated me of his sickness due to aging…
On the day l put a call through, it was his wife that picked the call, asking who l was, l identified myself and l could hear her telling Fabio.
I heard Fabio say: is that Ade,? give me the phone, l want to speak with him: yes his voice wasn’t all that clear but he was able to say a few words, asking after my health and telling me to call more often…
l cherished those few minutes because Tayo Balogun had told me it was unlikely he would speak with me as his phone was always with his wife….
The rest is now history… l am proud to say l am one of his “boys.” May his soul rest in perfect peace.
Dr Patrice Motsepe, who was returned unopposed as CAF president on Wednesday in Cairo, has had his first term in office documented.
According to the CAF publication, Motsepe will build on the extensive progress he made during his first term to make African Football globally competitive.
Dr Motsepe’s objective when he first took office in March 2021 was to make African Football self-sustaining and drive growth in several different spheres. The last four years have seen CAF move its development agenda forward at pace with many historic firsts.
These achievements are contained in a publication to mark Dr Motsepe’s first four years as President, titled, ‘The Growth and Success of African Football Continues’, which media can download here
The magazine walks us through Dr Motsepe’s 10-point plan when he took office, and the wide-ranging advances that have been made towards reaching and surpassing his objectives.
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The Organisers of the annual Sportsville Special Recognition Awards have announced a new date for the ceremony.
The award ceremony will now come up on Thursday, April 3rd, 2025, at the same Eko Club venue
Frank Ilaboya, the Chief Executive Officer of Sportsville, announced the change in a release issued this morning.
“Yes, the ceremony will now hold on the 3rd of April. The earlier date of March 21st, coincides with the Super Eagles World Cup qualifying match against Rwanda in Kigali.
“We all know how important that fixture is to Nigeria and Nigerians and it’s only fair for us, as stakeholders in Nigerian sports, to join others to support our Eagles.
“Besides the huge support for the Eagles, many of our Awardees and top dignitaries have also called to inform us of their trip to Kigali to be part of the historic match.
“Based on the above, the Organising Committee decided to shift the ceremony to April 3rd, 2025.
“We have also communicated this to the awardees and our invited guests to kindly bear with us on this unavoidable change while regretting any inconvenience this might have caused them,” Ilaboya added.
This year’s ceremony, the 5th in the series, will be held under the Chairmanship of Arise TV Anchor, Oseni Rufai with the rave making Cricket Federation President, Dr Uyi Akpata, as the Sports Personality of the Year.
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The initiator and financier of the first-ever boxing league in Africa, Omolei Imadu, is happy that his noble efforts at reviving Nigerian boxing are getting the required attention.
Imadu, who was reacting to his nomination as the Sportsville Innovative Personality of The Year, said he cherishes recognition from reputable organisations like Sportsville.
“I want to thank Sportsville for this recognition. I never saw it coming. For a reputable organisation like Sportsville to recognise our efforts in less than two years of operations means a lot”.
“You can understand why I cherish this award. It’s a big motivation for me and my team”.
“I want to assure you that the best of the Yucateco Boxing League is yet to come.
“We are determined to bring the glory days to Nigerian boxing and appreciation like this will continue to motivate people like us,” says the President of the Boxing Promoters Association Of Nigeria (BPAN)”.
Yucateco Boxing Promotions under Imadu’s leadership started the first ever boxing league in Nigeria two years ago and today the country’s boxing ecosystem is agog.
Boxers and officials continue to heap praises on the outfits CEO Imadu for his innovation saying that Nigerian boxing will witness a new lease of life.
In the words of Babatunde Ajose, Commonwealth Boxing Champion.
“Yucateco has brought the vibes back to boxing and the boxing community is grateful to him.
“From what we have seen of the boxing league, very soon, it will compete with the football league in Nigeria.
“The followership has been massive, big kudos to the financier and initiator Imadu for doing this for our beloved nation”.
“If we have people like him at the helms of affairs of boxing, the sky will be our beginning,’” he added.
Imadu is the second Nigerian to win the Prestigious Sportsville Innovative Award, created to reward and appreciate excellence and creativity.
Jenkins Alumona, the Managing Director of Flykite Promotion won the award last year for coming up with the highly successful Super 8 League held in Lagos.
Meanwhile, the organisers have listed award-winning referee, Linus Mba, Marketing guru, Rotimi Pedro, Sunny Osa Adun, the Founder of Nigeria’s first ever Sports TV Station and Nigeria’s only individual Olympic gold medallist, Chioma Ajunwa-Oparah to receive awards in the Icon Category.
This year’s ceremony comes up on Friday, the 21st of March, 2025 at the Eko Club, Surulere Lagos
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