Nigeria Content Online

After leading the
Falconets to a historic final against Germany, coach, Adat Egan, has
said he is satisfied by the performance of the U-20 women’s team.

In an interview
with NextSports, Egan said, “Of course, at least for leading the team
to the finals of the World Cup, and not in Africa; it wasn’t easy.

Nigeria beat
super-powers like America, Japan, South Korea which has been in the
sport for long. “I cannot say I am the best in this country as far as
coaching is concerned but it is just the grace of God. We are channels
that God has used to achieve this goal for Nigeria,” Mr Egan said.

In the finals
against Germany, Nigerians believed till the last minute that the
Falconets would equalise, and Egan revealed that the girls were ready
to die to honour their country. “Well, I don’t need to tell you
anything because it was a very big challenge. When we were talking to
them, the girls assured us that they will die. The goal came
unexpectedly because they lost concentration in those short seconds.
The girls tried their best and if they had utilized the chances we had,
the result would have been different but since it didn’t come, we take
it that the Lord knows best,” Egan explained.

The fittest team

The Falconets were
adjudged the fittest team in Germany and Egan said there was no secret
apart from hard work. “It is the determination and commitment of both
the girls and the technical crew because we took it up as a challenge
to return with a different result. ” All Egan’s words are regularly
peppered with the fact of God’s grace. After this success, he will like
to be involved in the continuous development of these girls but he has
to wait on the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), who is his employer.
“Well, that is automatically in the hands of the NFF because I don’t
know their plans. They have plans already on ground set for the girls.
Certainly, some of those girls are going to be moved into the Super
Falcons for the soon-to-come competition. Without being told, some of
those girls must be in that team going to the African Women
Championship for us to be able to repeat what we have done in Germany.
Those are the things the NFF is trying to put in place so that there
will be a total graduation from one category to another. The plan is
promotion from where they are to a higher level.”

High discipline

The 2010 Falconets
displayed a high sense of technical and tactical maturity in their play
and never wavered from how they performed in Germany. Egan said
discipline comes naturally to him and he was able to inculcate that
into the team. “I am naturally a disciplinarian because I was brought
up in a disciplined home; it is a part of me and wherever I am, it is
part of my operational tool because it is important to know that
without discipline you cannot achieve anything. Without discipline, you
cannot meet up with the target your have set for yourself. They obeyed
instructions to the letter because they knew we had a lot at stake.”

The team left
Nigeria unheralded and came in as heroines but according to their
coach, just giving honour to the nation was enough motivation after the
threat of a complete football ban. “I thank him (Goodluck Jonathan) for
listening to the appeal by Nigerians from all walks of life, for having
the fear of God and I see our feat at the World Cup as a reward from
God for our President’s obedience to listen to the wishes of the
people.” Egan added that Patience Goodluck’s presence helped the team.
“Also, the presence of the First Lady in Germany did a lot to psyche up
the girls even when they were down; this encouraged both the girls and
the technical crew to do more.” Lastly, Egan wants more attention to be
paid to the female aspect of football in our country. “I strongly
believe that will change; I believe they will begin to give equal
consideration to female football. It is clear that the girls can no
longer be treated as second best; it is clear that with determination,
right environment, encouragement, right incentives, we can only imagine
where we will be. It will be disastrous if we go to sleep after this.
This is the right foundation to build on and I don’t think both the
government and the NFF will let that opportunity pass.

On the back of
three straight defeats in pre-season matches, Chelsea’s excuse has been
the fact that most of their players are just resuming from the World
Cup break and have only had a week of full training. But another defeat
today against rivals, Manchester United at Wembley will surely send red
lights flashing.

Nicolas Anelka
however believes they will perform better against United today: “We had
a lot of hard training sessions in the last few days. I think we are
improving in our play, we played well in some parts, and I hope we will
be okay for Manchester United on Sunday.”

The Frenchman who
was sent home from the 2010 World Cup thinks some players are still
short of match fitness. “I think we will be ready in two weeks, we are
working a lot in training but it is very difficult to play this kind of
game, it is very hard after the training, and I think we will be okay
soon,” he told the Chelsea’s official website.

He is expected to
start in a central striking role with Didier Drogba still recovering
from a hernia operation he had last month. Whether new signing, Ramires
will get to play any minute will depend on his getting a clearance from
the FA as he has not played the mandatory 75% of Brazil’s matches.

Not a must win game for United

United on the other
hand have not been able to bolster their squad as Alex Ferguson will
have wanted but he will have to help Wayne Rooney find his pre-World
Cup form. The United striker looked flat in South Africa and needs the
new season to get back on his high pedestal. He needs to repair his
image, starting with today’s match against Chelsea. More so it was the
London side that narrowly edged United to the Premiership title by a
point.

Though there are
pointers that Rooney may be rested for the season’s opener. Ferguson is
not taking the Wembley match very seriously. “Winning is part of what
we have to do, but the main object is to get everyone game time and
come back ready, fit to start the season.

“Even the Community
Shield does not come into the agenda in terms of a must win game. It’s
always been used at this club as the final part of our preparation. We
have our first game the following Monday against Newcastle.”

United will most
likely parade new Mexican import, Javier Hernandez, who has so far
scored three goals in pre-season. Rio Ferdinand is still some way off
returning to full fitness so Nemanja Vidic and Johnny Evans will
feature in central defence.

Two important
players will be missing in today’s match, Petr Cech for Chelsea and
Michael Carrick for United. The result of the match may not matter once
the season begins next Saturday but it will give an inclination as to
the strength and weaknesses of both teams.

The Nigeria
Football Federation elections are getting close; August 21 approaches.
Most importantly, the unfortunate scenario I predicted, as did a number
of other concerned Nigerians, where a few selfish, egocentric Nigerians
are determined to seize control of our football is unfolding before our
very eyes.

For the past couple
of weeks Nigerians have been subjected to brazen display of power, and
contempt for the development of our football by those in charge. The
unfolding charade brings us back to the fundamental predicament of the
seriously flawed laws or constitution, the NFF is based on.

Therefore, until
the constitution of the NFF is rewritten by persons who are genuinely
motivated to develop Nigerian football, and willing to separate its
financing from the Federal Government, these repeated electoral shams
and shot-in-the-arm fixes will keep repeating themselves.

Absolute power corrupts

It is clear that
the existing rules already permit one person (the NFF President) to
exploit constitutional gaps provided by simple opportunities such as
overlapping tenures of previously selected (oh I meant elected)
officials to keep them in office. Or how else can you explain the
former NFF President Sani Lulu turning a blind eye to the fact that
several state FA Chairmen’s terms had expired several months ago? If he
didn’t turn a blind eye to their status, why wasn’t there any call for
a remedy to the anomaly? Or if there was no constitutional backing for
it, shouldn’t that have been one of the erstwhile President’s concerns
while in office? Yes, but not if it was advantageous to him. He rather
allegedly gave state FA Chairmen Greek gifts of N5 million each and
sponsored them to the World Cup in South Africa. Whether the
allegations are true or not, simple logic reasons that keeping them in
office against the law can only be beneficial to both the former NFF
President and state Chairmen who would in turn owe him their loyalty.
More so, as FIFA’s near-absolute hold of national football associations
has given mischievous presidents the power to cry ‘wolf’ to the world
governing body whenever a threat to their fiefdom is perceived. The
power of autonomy given to them by FIFA is near-absolute … except you
have a President like ours who ‘wisely’ found a way round it. The NFF
president has even been dictating how money is spent without recourse
or accountability to the source of funds which is part Nigerian
Government and part FIFA!

Emotionally, the
NFF president also tugs the people’s heart-strings directly and can
easily ride on or manipulate our passionate love for football to colour
mediocre achievements like qualifying for or winning age-group
tournaments with questionably young players instead of attacking the
scourge of age cheating.

So, it is easy to
understand why the tussle for the NFF presidency is comparable to being
the Nigerian President in terms of raw power in the hands of the
holder. I beg to digress slightly. The decision to award scholarships,
rather than cash to athletes who succeed at age group tournaments
represent a welcome return to what really matters.

Timely Facade/Distraction

In light of how
crucial getting it right for Nigerian football at this important moment
is, the record-breaking U-20 Women’s performance in Germany can be
viewed as a timely facade for all those who needed something to
distract attention away from what is at hand. But for President
Goodluck Jonathan’s intervention after the South African debacle,
preparations for the coming elections and the expectation that the
women (or girls) would put up their hitherto usual unimpressive
performances at past global tournaments, the motley crew of NFF members
and party train would have been in Germany to cheer the girls to
victory. The women’s (girls) progress caught them all unawares and
coupled with an empty treasury, all they could do was watch them play
like every other Nigerian resident here. They even almost embarrassed
the nation when the responsibility of accommodating the wo….girls
(why do I keep doing this?) came up prior to being hosted by the
President and First Lady when they couldn’t afford it. It is laughable
to know that the NFF has destroyed any shred of goodwill they had to
deserve the offer of a first-class hotel lodging the girls on credit;
never mind the excuse that the EFCC has rightly frozen their less than
meagre accounts. Remember they declared themselves broke after the
World Cup.

Just as the
euphoria of the women’s performance (oh! There I go again when I meant
girls) is already being used as propaganda material to laud the
“achievement” as the beginning of great things in Nigerian football or
the kick to finally jump-start big-time female football (I hope so), it
can also be used as a weapon to restructure our football from the roots.

Since all we really need is a flimsy reason to oust them at their own game, isn’t the one I am about to give good enough?

The girls (aha),
the NFF is now attaching itself to were more or less maltreated and
abandoned to train in hardship without adequate motivation (apart from
psyching themselves to play well for the possibility of securing
professional contracts abroad) till they departed for the competition
virtually unannounced. Therefore the NFF really had nothing to do with
the girls’ success. So, if they didn’t satisfy one of the basic
responsibilities of adequately preparing Nigeria’s national
representatives for competition and the girls succeeded, this bunch of
administrators is not needed. It is left to the imagination what these
women may have done with adequate preparations.

Please Mr President

It is time to call
upon President Jonathan again to intervene at this point. Though I am
not a politician yet, some astute horse-trading from the President’s
side could be extremely appropriate at this time for a quick-fix
remedy. With national elections scheduled for next year, Mr President
could just use a thorough cleansing of the NFF House starting by
shrewdly cleaning out all existing members of the NFF (state and
federal executives) by using the very constitution they are currently
taking advantage of.

First of all, he
can insist (according to the law) that all state chairmen with expired
tenors must first leave office and an electoral process be conducted or
supervised by an independent body like INEC at all levels to fill the
gaps before national elections take place. Also, tenures should be
amended to align with the national period and simultaneously conclude
prior to the next electoral session. That will buy some time for deeper
structural manoeuvring.

We must discard
that infamous tag of perhaps being the only nation that conducts
elections for the president before regional leaders are known.

Secondly, all
members of the past executive should be advised or encouraged to leave
as they were an integral support system of the deposed five and
contributed to the malaise in our football. They most certainly must
not be involved in any part of the electoral process. Thirdly, a
necessary addendum to the electoral process should immediately be
added. Have you ever wondered how come elections of this magnitude take
place into such sensitive positions as these without most of the
contestants (at least not the ones that win) submitting detailed
manifestoes stating goals and milestones they can be held accountable
by? This must be a requirement for candidacy. It is time for the
President to insist on “unifying the electoral laws of the land and
football” for the purpose of producing credible elections to usher in
freshness into our football administration. FIFA laws allow this so far
there is transparency so no one should attempt pulling wool over Mr
President’s eyes like before.

The clincher should
then be announcing that the Federal Government will begin pulling out
of funding the NFF immediately and conclude the process within one year
and the organisation would be left to generate their own financing
since they are already autonomously (and financially) affiliated to
FIFA and have a product (football) that is a cash-cow worldwide. That
will drastically reduce the glut of those lining up to enter the NFF
for monetary gain. How can FIFA have the audacity to insist that the
financier or shareholder of an organisation has no say in how finances
are disbursed? No more than a handful of football associations in
African countries can claim to be financially autonomous from their
governments, yet FIFA insists on outright autonomy of governance for
them too. Even Sepp Blatter will visit us quickly to lend an ear when
he hears that one. Apart from radically transforming our football
administration by encouraging those with genuine interest to present
themselves, it will guarantee a glut of soccer goodwill votes from
grateful Nigerians who will see Jonathan Goodluck as a ‘soccer
President’ “if” Mr President decides to contest next year’s elections.

To make matters
worse, credible candidates like Segun Odegbami, Festus Onigbinde and
Aisha Falode are being marginalised and pushed out of contention by
politicians without an iota of interest, knowledge or competence of
what it takes to run football professionally and successfully but are
using the system to push their hidden agendas. Should Mr President
decide to take the steps above or similar ones especially the clincher,
most of these imbeciles will quickly withdraw their interest.

Sadly, my slight
hopes of the Minister and his team being agents of change are rapidly
being extinguished if accounts of his involvement in the electoral
charade and recommending billionaires Aliko Dangote or Femi Otedola as
NFF Chairmen are true. So what is next?

Mr President Sir, over to you … AGAIN!

It was a gathering
of some of the finest footballers to have played for Nigeria. They
represented at least four different generations of Nigerian footballers.

They were all
there-from the fiery but now subdued Peter Fregene, the swashbuckling
Emman Tetteh, the staid and cerebral Segun Odegbami, the irascible
Tarila Okorowanta; the self-effacing Mutiu Adepoju; the boyish Victor
Ikpeba and Peter Rufai who looked as though he could still file out for
the Super Eagles twelve years after he quit the national team.

They had converged
at the Press Centre of the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos on Thursday
and had one burning desire-to rescue Nigerian football from
maladministration.

These stars and
others like Stanley Okoronkwo who starred for Enugu Rangers in the
early 1970s, Edema Benson of the celebrated New Nigeria Bank, Nicholas
Ukadike formerly of Iwuanyanwu Nationale (now Heartland FC), former
internationals, Tajudeen Disu, Peter Nieketen, Jide Oguntuase, Loveday
Omoruyi and many others had travelled from different parts of the
country to Lagos for this purpose.

Indeed Disu and
Nieketen had flown in the day before from the United States and England
because they considered the matter serious enough.

Waking up from slumber

The immediate cause
of the gathering was the decision of four illustrious members of their
club – Christian Chukwu, Segun Odegbami, Mutiu Adepoju and Austin
Okocha – to contest for seats on the board of the Nigeria Football
Federation (NFF).

For the former
footballers to come together was a momentous decision given the
disunity that has characterised their ranks. Indeed, many have held
them partly responsible for the problems plaguing football given their
indifference to developments on the football scene, a situation that
allowed all manner of characters access to the commanding heights of
the administration of the game.

Ikpeba, who spoke on behalf of the players, said they had turned a new leaf.

“The time for
change has come. No longer shall we fold our arms and watch others who
have done nothing in the game to continue to milk it and deny the
genuine actors, the patriots, the heroes their rights,” he said.

“We must not fold
our arms again and watch as people that are nothing in the game, have
added nothing to it, contribute nothing to it, now become the greatest
beneficiaries. These are people who have ridden on the back of us
footballers to become stupendously rich, to occupy the best positions,
become very fat and now the biggest detriment to the game.”

A story of neglect

One of the men who
were at that briefing, Fregene, captures the essence of the players
campaign. Fregene, who walked into the event on crutches aided by his
wife, had come all the way from Sapele. The man, regarded as the most
colourful goalkeepers to play for the national team, was stricken by
illness and was bed-ridden for years. He was neglected by both the
Nigeria Football Federation and the government of Nigeria until Lagos
State Governor, Babatunde Fashola through the entreaties of Odegbami,
Tetteh and journalist, Yomi Opakunle, came to his rescue by picking up
his hotel bills. He has since been living in Lagos and was brought to
Lagos for the players’ gathering his long time friend and colleague,
Tetteh.

At the event,
Fregene looked tired and gaunt. Indeed, when his friend Tetteh tried
recounting the former goalkeeper’s experience, he (Tetteh) dissolved
into tears.

Odegbami, who is
vying for the presidency of the football federation, said it was
situations like Fregene’s that he wants to stamp out from football
administration in Nigeria if elected. He said the running of the game
in Nigeria must be re-focused to turns things around.

“There is no going
back this time around. Even if I am the only one standing, I will fight
to the very end. I will use everything that I have; every connection
that I have, to ensure that at the end of the elections what is left is
real,” Odegbami said.

A long hard road

The road to the
Glass House, as the NFF is known, may be a long hard one for Odegbami
and his fellow footballers given concerns about the composition of the
electoral committee and the statutes of the federation under which the
elections will hold.

Odegbami has
complained about some of the provisions of the statutes, which he
believes were tailored to exclude some individuals from the federation.
In June he sent a letter to world football governing body FIFA
detailing some of the irregularities in the statutes tinkered with by
deposed president of the NFF, Sani Lulu. Curiously, the football body,
which prides itself on fair play, has beyond acknowledging receipt of
the letter kept quiet on the matter, which is threatening the election.

From all
indications, Samson Siasia will be the next coach of the Super Eagles
following the decision by the team’s erstwhile handler Lars Lagerback
not to return to the hot seat.

Lagerback’s
Nigerian agent Emeka Enechi earlier in the week informed NEXTSports
that the former handler of the Swedish national side will not be
returning to Nigeria because he would find it difficult to work under
the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) as currently constituted.

Enechi’s revelation
only confirmed what had been speculated in the media since the Swede
left for his homeland on holiday following the unceremonious exit of
the Super Eagles from the World Cup. This was despite countless denials
from the federation’s officials who now appear to be accepting the
Swede will not return.

Last Thursday,
NFF’s technical committee chairman, Dominic Iorfa, on a radio
programme, said the federation had no choice than to look for a
replacement for the Swede.

Iorfa, a former
player of the Nigerian national team and English club side Queens Park
Rangers, even suggested that Siasia may succeed Lagerback, adding that
the NFF will soon begin negotiations with the Bayelsa State-born coach
who took Nigeria’s U-23 Eagles to a silver medal finish at the Beijing
2008 Olympic Games in China, three years after achieving a similar feat
at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in the Netherlands.

“The coach said he
is not coming back so it’s very likely that Siasia will take over the
job,” said Iorfa, “We’ll soon start discussions with Siasia.”

Siasia, in an
earlier interview with NEXTSports, confirmed that he had been
approached by the NFF regarding the Super Eagles top job but that no
further approach had been made by the federation. In the interview,
Siasia said he will be willing to take the job if an agreement is
reached.

On Thursday, the
former Nigerian international who now handles top Nigerian club side
Heartland FC of Owerri, reiterated his earlier stance regarding his
readiness to handle the Super Eagles but failed to confirm whether the
NFF had made another approach for his services.

A source within the
NFF who preferred anonymity, however informed NEXTSports that the
federation will be meeting with the former Super Eagles star in the
coming week with the aim of offering him the job, although the source
added that any announcement will only be after this week’s friendly
match against the Republic of Korea in Seoul.

Suitability

If Siasia gets the
job, it will be a another victory for Nigerian coaches who have always
believed the destiny of the national team rests squarely in the hands
of indigenous and not expatriate coaches.

They are not alone
in that regards as Lagerback had said at the World Cup that the future
of African teams can only be shaped by their local coaches.

But Siasia won’t be
the first Nigerian to handle the national team as Shaibu Amodu was, as
recently as February, at the helm of affairs in the Super Eagles before
making way for Lagerback.

Amodu’s reign
wasn’t however the most popular amongst Nigerian football fans most of
whom, despite the string of victories churned out by the Super Eagles,
were dissatisfied with the overall display of the side under the former
Orlando Pirates of South Africa coach.

Their
disenchantment with Amodu however went as far back as his ascendency to
the post which was blighted by suspected foul play on the part of the
NFF who picked him above Siasia, who at the time in 2008, reportedly
finished top of a shortlist of coaches that also included former Super
Eagles skipper Stephen Keshi who went on to take up a similar job with
the Malian FA.

“Amodu failed
because he didn’t have complete control of the team from the very first
day he took up the job,” said former Super Eagles midfielder Emeka
Ezeugo. “He was a coach who has achieved so much in the game but to a
lot of people out there, he was just someone that was used by the
people in the FA to achieve their selfish aims.

“We all heard
Siasia scored the highest points during the interview but he wasn’t
picked because he wasn’t going to bend his will and follow the
directions of those people in the FA.

“He is someone who
is always ready to learn but he also sticks to his guns and that is the
kind of coach the Super Eagles needs,” added Ezeugo, who is Siasia’s
assistant at Heartland.

Not experienced enough

Ezeugo’s view is
also shared by many former contemporaries of Siasia, such as Tijani
Babangida, Mutiu Adepoju, Thompson Oliha, Nduka Ugbade and Andrew Uwe
but there are also those who feel it is not appropriate to offer Siasia
the job now.

One of such people
is the vice-chairman of the Lagos State Sports Council, Tayo Balogun
who feels tSiasia still needs to gather more experience and won’t be
ready to manage at the top level until, probably around 2014.

Balogun agreed that
the former Nantes of France forward has done quite well at age-grade
tournaments but asked “how many has he won?” Stressing that the only
way Siasia would be useful in coaching the national team is if
Nigerians are patient enough with him, Balogun said: “You know the way
we Nigerians are when we get new things; we want ‘sharp-sharp’ results
which is not possible.

“We Nigerians
should be forward looking, we should always look beyond now,” added
Balogun who, however, advised that if Siasia is contracted in the
coming weeks, he should be left to coach the Super Eagles until at
least the 2014 World Cup.

“But it is usually
not so. Immediately he plays one or two games and we do not get the
desired results, we would just send him packing.”

The experience
factor was also the reason why Siasia was dropped by, in the words of
award-winning Liberian journalist Roland Mulbah.

Mulbah noted that
Siasia, as well as a South American and three Europeans, was short
listed for the job of coaching the Lone Stars in the qualifiers of the
Equatorial Guinea-Gabon 2012 Nations Cup, but “was dropped on grounds
that he has a B certificate in coaching and that he is from the same
West African sub-region Liberia is a part of and that the whites are
better than the blacks with regards to football.”

Access to the presidency

One way of becoming
a successful coach in Nigeria is to have direct access to the seat of
government which was something that worked in favour of Clemens
Westerhof during Nigeria’s dominance of the African game back in the
1990s.

It was also a move
that Siasia utilized back in 2005 when seeing that his chances of
leading the Flying Eagles to a successful outing in the Netherlands
were being jeopardized by the NFF, he went cap in hand to the Bayelsa
State government, his home state, to source for funds to prepare the
side for the World Cup.

President Goodluck
Jonathan was at the time Bayelsa State deputy governor and being a keen
lover of football, chances are that he won’t turn a deaf ear to Siasia,
if he does get the Super Eagles job.

Siasia informed
NEXTSports he won’t be exploiting that avenue if he gets the job but
Lagerback’s agent, Enechi earlier last week declared that was the only
route to success in Nigeria.

“That’s the only way,” declared Enechi. “Any coach who wants to
succeed in Nigeria must have access to the president regardless of
whether he is a Nigerian or a foreigner because there will always be
someone in the background waiting to make life difficult for the
coach.”

The Nigerian Cup
and General Hassan Cup, two of the most prestigious prizes in the
Katsina International Polo Tournament, were again at the centre of
massive battles and betting frenzy as this year’s tournament climaxed
last night.

This is not the
first time these two titles would be living up to their billing as the
tournament’s star attractions. The cutting edge drama and flourish that
characterise competition in these two events make them the favourites
of polo fans who throng the Usman Nagogo Polo ground to watch top
flight action.

The Nigerian Cup
remains the premier trophy in Katsina and one of the four grand slam
prizes in Nigerian Polo, ranking in popularity with Georgian,
Majekodunmi and Emir of Katsina, sure has some mystic around it.

Apart from its
pre-eminent position as the first high-goal prize to be competed for
every season, what makes it thick is the approach of the competing
teams from Kaduna, Lagos, Kano and lately Katsina, a commitment no
other prize can quite regularly induce.

This year, that
same commitment was displayed by former champions, Fifth Chukkers,
defending champions, Lagos Rubicon, and two home teams, Hajara Farms
and Katsina Max Air. Both were seeking to win the title for the first
time for host Katsina.

Though the Hassan
Katsina Cup is a handicap notch below the Nigerian Cup here, it has
consistently attracted more fans with its vibrancy, which pumps up fans
adrenaline levels and keeps polo aficionados on their toes.

In recent times
these attributes have elevated the cup to become arguably one of
Nigeria’s top medium goal prizes, easily eclipsing its counterparts in
Lagos (Open), Kano (Dantata Cup) and Kaduna (Dickenson) which can’t
quite escape the overbearing shadow of their respective high goal cups.

Annihilating the dream

The fact that the
host club, Katsina, has not been fielding teams in the Nigerian cup for
a long time, has everything to do with the growing popularity of this
medium-goal title named after “Soul of the Game” and the late Life
President of Nigerian Polo Federation (NPF)Hassan Usman Katsina.

In this year’s
fiesta, Katsina Kangiwa boasting the likes of Umar Kabir, Bashir
Mangal, Bello Buba and Mohammed Serirki hoisted its flag in the Hassan
Cup rumble and they were blistering in their opening game annihilation
of Ibadan Dream team.

Locked against
teams from Kano and Kaduna, the home fans’ favourite squad who are the
kings of medium-goal games in other major tournaments around the
country, did not disappoint.

The Kangiwa army,
which is being mounted to immortalize the late Governor of Sokoto
State, Shehu Kangiwa, who died in playing in the Georgian Cup in Kaduna
three decades ago, were truly at their best endearing themselves to
thousands of polo buffs across the country with their robust campaign.

Consistent performance

Tournament after
tournament, venue after venue, Katsina medium goal teams have
consistently reproduce the same blistering performance that has become
their trademark and when it comes to Hassan’s prize and in front of
their home crowd, they display zero tolerance to opposition.

Put it on the
Katsina players then, as they are always motivated by competitive
ambitions beyond the reward, in the truest Olympian tradition. The roll
call include the Katsina polo playing princes like Hussaini, Umar and
Sanusi Kabir, Shehu Lawan Kaita, Mohammed Seriki, Lawal Mangal,
Abdulwahab Sani Stores, Suleiman Shema, Bashir Yar’Adua, Aminu Gagare,
Nura Daku, Madani Sani etc.

Together with their
foreign legion like Ibrahim Zakari, Babangida Hassan, Honourable Hadi
Sirika, Ahmadu Bakori, Abba M. T. Usman, Ibrahim Abba and England based
Dikko Ladan, they create legends out of Katsina polo.

The state boasts a
number of medium and low goal teams like Katsina Kangiwa, Katsina
Gobarau, Katsina Max Air, Katsina Masanawa, Katsina Hajara Farms,
Katsina Tarno and lately Katsina IT Sec.

Often they merged
for a more potent campaign. On the road one or two of the Katsina teams
are usually enough to work up the crowd and before their teeming fans
at the Nagogo Ground, where they play with the full compliments of
their resource, they let the sparks fly all over the ground all too
easily.

Over the years,
Katsina players may have created such an intimidating reputation, but
the Grand Slam prizes won’t necessarily follow them home. Quite often
they do get as much as they give, especially from Lagos and Kaduna,
Kano, Yola, Bauchi, Ibadan and Port Harcourt teams.

Starcomms has yet
again reiterated its passion for the development of boxing at the
grass-roots following the successful conclusion of the latest
instalment of the monthly Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame competition.

The competition,
which took place over the weekend at the Mobolaji Johnson Sports Hall
Complex, Rowe Park, Lagos, aims at rewarding excellence in the noble
sport of self-defence and is organised monthly in conjunction with the
Lagos State Amateur Boxing Association (LABA).

A budding female
boxer, Kate Peters emerged as the best overall boxer this time –
joining the likes of Rasheed Lawal who had earlier won the contest and
who flew the country’s flag at the last Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

Giving back to society

Speaking shortly
after presenting the Starcomms Overall Best Boxer prize to Peters, who
is a member of the Modupe Boxing Club, one of the numerous clubs that
competed at the tournament, the Marketing Director of Starcomms,
Richard Gill said that the sponsorship of the monthly boxing
competition is one way through which the telecom service providers is
giving back to society.

According to Gill,
Starcomms is committed to the development of sports, particularly at
the grassroots level pledging that the company will continue to give
support to the event, which has become relevant to the development of
boxing within the state.

He also said that
Starcomms’ sphere of influence in sports development in the country
will continue to increase adding that just as the company is not
relenting in its determination to give its customers unmatched quality
of service, so also will it not relent in creating an atmosphere where
young Nigerians can develop their talents.

Gill also stated
that sport remains a veritable means for young people to express
themselves, adding that since Starcomms began the sponsorship of the
event, a great number of young boxing talents have proven that they
have the potentials to take Nigeria to the top of the world in the
sport of boxing.

While rating the
performance of the boxers, Gill said that the LABA displayed
professionalism in the organization of the event noting that the spirit
of sportsmanship put up by the boxers deserves commendation.

Starcomms has for
some time sponsored the monthly Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame
Competition, which takes place on the last Saturday of every month at
Rowe Park.