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At centre court of
the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, venue of the 10th edition of the Governor’s
Cup, Karan Rastogi of India brought down Laurent Rochette in straight
sets of 6-2, 6-2 to move to the semi-finals.

Right from the
beginning of the game, fans could see that the more composed Rastogi
had the upper hand with Rochette allowing the pressure to get to lose
his serves. The second set was a relatively easy win with Rastogi
getting opportunity to throw the first salvo. A lot of drop shots from
Rochette also gave him an upper hand and he finished the game in a
relatively short time. Speaking on his victory, Rastogi said he was
happy to have won. “It may have looked relatively easy but I tell you,
he was strong. He is even a better seeded player than I am but see the
way it ended. I tried my best and I made use of all the opportunities
that came my way.” On who he thinks is the best; Rastogi said:
“Everyone is evenly matched. All the players I have had opportunity to
face have all been challenging but I think a little bit of luck and God
helps.”

Sad outing for Nigerians

For a tournament
that is taking place in Nigeria, the Nigerians have all had a poor
showing with the last of them crashing out on Wednesday. Fatima Abinu,
top Nigerian player fell to Slovakia’s Zuzana Kucuva, the number one
seed in the women singles. In the men’s category, Abdulmumini Babalola,
also lost out to South Africa’s Raven Klaasen, 7-5, 6-2. Boy Westerhof
of Holland sent Clifford Enosoregbe out in a match that ended 6-3, 6-0.
Also Samuel Omoile could not survive the heat from the tournament
number one male player, Desein Niels from Belgium. He was beaten 6-3,
6-2. In another encounter, Isreali, Amir Weintraub, stopped Candy Idoko
in their match, which ended 6-2, 6-0; while his compatriot, Blessing
Samuel, was defeated by Melanie Klaffner of Austria 6-1, 6-0.

Westerhof crashes out, Kucuva moves on Boy Westerhof’s dream of
winning the first leg of the 10th Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis
Championship ended yesterday as he was betean 6-4, 2-6,4-6 by Weintraub
in one of the quarter final matches. In another match, Desein justified
his rating in the Etisalat/FCMB sponsored championship as he out
stroked Indian Ranjeet Virali-Murugesan in straight set of 7-6(6),6-4
to move to the semi final scheduled for Friday. South African Raven
Klassen beat Melaine Klaffner of Isreal 6-1, 7-5. In the women’s event,
Slovak lady, Zuzana Kucova showed her prowess to repeat the feat she
recorded at the Governor’s Cup last year, as she secured a place in the
semi-final by defeating Germany’s Karolina Nowak in straight set of
6-4,6-3.

Officials of The
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Enugu have taken over the
investigation of corruption charges levelled against the Nigeria
Premier League chairman, Davidson Owumi.

Mr. Owumi, who was
flown into Enugu Thursday, after initially been questioned in Abuja by
officials of the anti-graft body, is accused of misappropriating funds
while he was the chief executive officer of Enugu Rangers International
Football Club between 2002 and 2006. He was succeeded by Ray Nnaji, who
is believed to have sent the petition currently been acted on by the
EFCC.

Speaking to
NEXTSports on the latest development, Femi Babafemi, spokesman for
EFCC, revealed that the League boss is still in their custody and might
remain there, depending on the findings of the officials.

“Our men are
currently questioning him on the petitions we received that he used
fictitious companies to award contracts and also corruptly enriched
himself while in office. For now, he is still in our custody. But I
cannot say if he would have to remain with us,” he said.

Owumi defence

Though attempts at
getting across to Mr. Owumi proved abortive yesterday, the NPL boss was
on to a sports programme on City FM 105.1 Lagos, where he dismissed the
petitions against him. According to him, his record speaks well of him.

“The record is
there for all to see. We achieved what we achieved that time with the
leanest of allocations from the state government. The record after I
resigned is also there for all to see. Even with better funding, Ray
could not achieve anything as my successor,” Mr. Owumi told Sports
Flight.

The former Enugu Rangers chief executive officer said his invitation by the anti-graft agency was a routine invitation.

“Normally, if a mad
man on the streets writes a petition against someone, the EFCC must
respond and invite the person to come and give your own side of the
story,” he said.

Meanwhile, the
Nigeria Premier League season, originally meant to begin this weekend,
has been put off again. The shift, according to NPL officials, was
based on the dissolution of the all committees of the Nigeria Football
Federation (NFF), and not the arrest of its boss. The dissolution thus
affects the referees’ appointment committee, which is responsible for
the placement of match officials for Premier League games.

Incidentally, plans to pay the debt of N3.8 million to affected
referees of the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA) on Thursday by the
Nigeria Premier League (NPL) failed to take place due to the absence of
the referees’ body leadership.

The Governor of Edo
State, Adams Oshiomhole, on Wednesday, commissioned the FIFA-standard
2-Star turf of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, in Benin City.

Present at the
commissioning were former members of Nigeria’s senior national football
team, the Super Eagles, including Daniel Amokachi and Austin Okocha.
Oshiomhole had noted at the inception of his administration the pitch
and other facilities at the stadium were dilapidated and given their
condition could not attract international matches. “Stakeholders,
football administrators and players were unanimous that we needed to
have a completely new pitch,” he said. “This new pitch is not only
beautiful; it is user-friendly and minimizes the potentials of injuries
to footballers.” The governor restated the commitment of his
administration to the revival of sports and football in the state. “Our
performance in sports has long been a heritage of Edo State, we have
produced sporting administrators and legends,” he said. He appealed to
the private sector to assist the state government in its quest to
restore the lost sports glory of the state.

Showering praise

Speaking on behalf
of the players, Amokachi said: “We know who you are and what you are
doing in Edo State. When I landed at the airport this morning, I saw
the massive road development you are working on. This turf is another
testimony of what you are doing. I pray God to grant you the strength
to conclude the good works you are doing.” Okocha also described
Oshiomhole as “an active governor with a vision and a mission.”

Earlier, the Edo State Commissioner for Sports, Anita Evbuomwan,
said the construction of the pitch is one of the most important
developments in the state, stressing the determination of the
Oshiomhole’s administration to develop sporting infrastructure for the
use of professional and amateur sportsmen and women. The high point of
the ceremony were two novelty matches. The first was between the
executive arm of government, captained by Oshiomhole versus the State
House of Assembly, captained by Bright Omokhodion; while the second
involved former Eagles and Bendel Insurance FC.

After scoring one
of the two goals in the first leg encounter between Nigeria’s Flying
Eagles and the Mauritius U-20 team, Stanley Okoro, popularly known as
“little Messi”, has promised to score more goals when both teams clash
this weekend in the second leg encounter at the Abuja National Stadium.

“I am confident I
am going to score against them again, we are ready for them and we have
actually been training hard for this match,” the Almeria of Spain
player said.

The Flying Eagles
currently have a 2-0 advantage going into the match and would need to
avoid conceding three un-replied goals to guarantee a spot at the Libya
2011 Africa Youth Championships.

In the team’s last
tune up match against Premier League side, Niger Tornadoes played on
Tuesday, the John Obuh led side defeated the Minna based team by 1-0 to
maintain their 100% record in the friendly matches.

Already the
Mauritius U-20, which breezed into the country Wednesday night, are
beaming with confidence with the promise to still give the Flying
Eagles some fight for the available ticket though admitting it would be
a mountain to climb in Abuja this weekend.

Not yet uhuru

Despite having the
advantage, the Flying Eagles coach, John Obuh, is not resting on his
oars as he posited that a match is not won before it is played.

He said even though they won the first leg by two clear goals, the game was not as easy as it seemed.

“We suffered a lot
in the first leg and only our superior individual quality carried us to
safety. The Mauritians worked very hard and displayed a surprisingly
hard appreciation of the game. Besides they will be playing under no
pressure at all because no one expects them to get anything out of this
game so if we underrate them, we are going to be punished,” he said.

“If we were able to beat them at their home they can do the same here, so that is why we are not taking anything to chance.”

Nigeria finished third at the last edition of the AYC held in Rwanda
and will be hoping to better the feat if a spot it secured at next
year’s edition

The match between
Hamburg and defending champions, Bayern Munich, will kick off the
European weekend on Friday. It has always been a tight affair between
these two sides in the past four seasons and this one should not be any
different.

The margin of
victory for either has been the odd goal; and on the basis of goals
scored in the current season, it is debatable that there will be
anything different. With 13 and seven goals scored between both sides
in eight matches, Bayern will have to continue to plod on without their
most effective players of Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben. Hamburg
stopped the terrific march of Mainz last weekend and moved to fifth in
the standings; and in Ruud Van Nistelrooy, they have a rejuvenated
marksman who is still on top of his game. He will be supported by
Mladen Petric and Eljero Elia. Martin Demechelis, Bayern defender seems
set for the exit door, and Holger Badstuber will continue to pair
Daniel Van Buyten.

Spurs need a come-back victory

Harry Redknapp
needs to lift his side after their 4-3 loss to Inter Milan, and he will
be happy with the return of Rafael Van Der Vaart to the side. Ledley
King is still out and there are fears on when he will make his return.
Gareth Bale gave a master class performance and hit three neat goals
which were not enough for a draw in Italy and a return to familiar
surroundings may help Tottenham get over the first 35 minutes in Italy,
where they fell to four goals. Jermain Defoe is still weeks from a
return to the first team.

Everton on a high

Everton have been
buoyed by the Merseyside win and will be highly wound up for this trip
to West London. Against Liverpool, the midfield led by Mikel Arteta
pressurised Liverpool midfielders high up the pitch and that allowed
the Everton defence to push up and squeeze the space where Fernando
Torres and Steven Gerrard could run into. Yakubu Aiyegbeni had an
excellent outing in attack and seems to be back to his bullying best.
Louis Saha is near to a return from injury that has kept him out since
the beginning of September with Steven Pienaar still out. Marouane
Fellaini, Jack Rodwell and Victor Anichebe all remain on the long-term
injured list.

Wolves set on mission impossible

After a second
match in 42, in which the Blues did not score, it is back to Stamford
Bridge where they have scored 14 goals in four matches. Wolves will be
hard pressed to get a win at the Bridge but have scored on all their
away trips except one – last weekend’s 2-0 loss to Wigan. The major
highlight will be if one goal will be enough to get a win or a point.
Stephen Hunt looks like getting a debut on the left with Matthew Jarvis
shifted to the right and these two will cause the Chelsea defence some
problems with their pace and trickery. Jose Bosingwa could start in
place of Paulo Ferreira and Didier Drogba should make a return to the
front line to help his team get goals as they have scored just two
goals in their last three Premiership matches.

The alleged
involvement of Amos Adamu, a FIFA Executive Committee member and former
Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC) in cash for
vote scandal, has been described as shocking and disturbing.

Adamu and Reynald
Temarii, President of Oceania Confederation both members of FIFA’s
24-man executive committee, scheduled to vote on December 2 for the
nations hosting the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, were on Wednesday
provisionally suspended by FIFA, the football governing body after
their appearance before the ethics committee of the body. In a
statement signed by Olukayode Thomas, the Special Assistant (Media) to
Ibrahim Bio, Minister of Sports and Chairman of the NSC, the federal
government expressed dismay at the alleged involvement of Adamu in the
saga. In the statement, Thomas noted that while the government awaits
the outcome of the investigation by FIFA into the allegations, it has
again re-emphasized its zero tolerance for corruption at all levels.
“The alleged involvement of Dr Adamu in the cash for vote scandal is
shocking and disturbing and has negative consequences for Nigeria’s
image,” he stated. “The anti-corruption agencies are monitoring the
outcome of the investigation and will act at the appropriate time.”

‘I am innocent’

Meanwhile, Adamu
has stated he was innocent of the allegations against him. In a
statement released yesterday he said: “Allegations were made against me
by a British newspaper on 17th October 2010 which prompted a FIFA
ethics committee meeting yesterday which concluded I should be
provisionally suspended from my FIFA duties. Whilst I wholly refute all
allegations made, I fully support the inquiry since it is important
that these claims are thoroughly investigated. Only by doing this will
FIFA – and the wider football community – be able to trust that its
appointed representatives are beyond reproach. I have yet to present my
position to those investigating this matter; however I am confident
that my actions, the full and true extent of which were not detailed in
the story published, will demonstrate not only my innocence and
integrity, but also my commitment to football and to FIFA. Since
investigations are not yet complete, it would be inappropriate for me
to comment further and I will not do so until FIFA’s final conclusion
is made public.”

Soldiering on

Former Nigeria
international, Emeka Ezeugo, has thrown his weight behind Adamu, the
president of the West African Football Union (WAFU), who was
provisionally suspended along with five others pending the conclusion
of investigations by FIFA after he allegedly demanded for money from a
team of undercover reporters posing as lobbyists for the United States
of America’s World Cup bid. Adamu and the other suspended officials now
have to prepare their defence ahead of the next meeting of FIFA’s
ethics committee which meets in mid-November to take a final decision
on the case ahead of the World Cup vote on December 2. Ezeugo insists
that the former director general of the National Sports Commission
should “soldier on”. “I’m actually surprised about the whole thing,” he
said. “It is quite unfortunate how he got himself into this mess. But
it’s at times like this that you get to know those who care about you.
But irrespective of the suspension hanging on his head at the moment I
don’t think it’s entirely over for him as he hasn’t yet been found
guilty.”

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday arrested Davidson Owumi, Chairman of the Nigeria Premier League board, over allegations of corrupt practices while he was in charge at Rangers International Football Club, Enugu.

Owumi was picked up from the NPL’s board meeting in Abuja and will be taken to Enugu today to respond to a petition filed by Ray Nnaji, a former member of the board of the NPL.

Femi Babafemi, Public Relations Officer of the EFFC, said the inability to get a flight to Enugu led to the delay in taking Owumi there yesterday.

“I can confirm that he was arrested and it is for cases of fraud and award of fictitious contract,” Babafemi said.

When asked if Owumi committed the alleged fraud as chairman of Premier League Club, Rangers International or as a member of the former NPL board headed by Oyuiki Obaseki, Babafemi said: “It cuts across board but more of Rangers because the case is being handled by our Enugu office”.

Not guilty

Initial efforts to get Owumi to comment on the matter were unsuccessful but the NPL Chairman was later quoted by SuperSports.com, a sports news website, to have said he is innocent of the allegations against him.

“I don’t have anything to hide. I am open to any probe. I have heard people say I used money from Enugu Rangers to build my house and I laugh at that because the records are there. Also, I can say I have not got any contract from government or anywhere,” he said.

Foster Chime, the Media Officer of Rangers, said he was surprised by the development noting that the arrest could not have been as a result of Owumi’s activities in Rangers.

“Rangers is owned and run by the Enugu State government and so any issue of misappropriation or foul play should be pointed out by them, which for now has not been done. Even Owumi has left the club for quite a while so I wonder why now,” he said.

However Babefemi said the commission need not wait for the Enugu Sate government before it acts.

According to him, once sufficient information is received on any corrupt practise, the EFFC can swing to action.

More in the net

Owumi’s current travail is the latest instalment in a short tenure pockmarked by controversy since being elected earlier this year.

He joins the list of football officials being investigated by the EFFC. Sani Lulu, former President of the Nigeria Football Federation along with former vice-president, Amanze Uchegbulam; Taiwo Ogunjobi, former head of the federation’s technical committee; and Bolaji Ojo-Oba, its former Secretary General are also answering charges of corruption and abuse of office while they were in charge of the Nigeria FA.

The EFCC has also waded into the cash-for-vote allegations brought against FIFA executive Amos Adamu by setting up a panel to investigate the matter.

The new NPL season is expected to kick off on Saturday after several postponements and it is not clear whether the latest development will have any impact on it.