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Players
of Bendel Insurance Football Club yesterday called for the sack of Edo
State Commissioner of Youths and Sports Development, Anita Iyiegbe
Evbuomwan, over the non-payment of their seven months salaries, sign-on
fees and match bonuses as well as general lack of care from the
government.

The angry players
held workers of the ministry hostage for several hours as they locked
the gates to the main entrance of the ministry, preventing workers from
going in or coming out as they sang: “we want our money,” “commissioner
must go,” “pay us our match bonuses.” Assistant captain of the club,
Robson Aituayuwa, said that they have not been paid salaries, match
bonuses, Christmas and New Year allowances and other entitlements
September 2010.

Aituayuwa
specifically accused Evbuomwan of playing games with their requests,
adding that if their legitimate demands were met, the club would gain
promotion to the Premiership.

He said the
non-payment of their entitlements has led to the inability of most of
the players to take good care of their families just as he alleged the
lack of concern from the present administration in the state.

“Can you imagine
that we were travelling to Lagos to prosecute a match and we had an
accident on the way? But up till now, neither the governor nor the
commissioner has visited us. It was Lagos State Governor who heard about
it that sent somebody to us in the hospital and the hotel where we were
lodged,” Aituayuwa stated.

The Benin-based
players who were packed in their 36-seater bus, had earlier protested
across some major streets in Benin City before moving to the Ministry of
Youths and Sports where they locked up the entrance gates.

Plea for patience

Chairman of the
club, Igbinomwanhia Ekhosuehi who was at the ministry when the players
stormed the ministry, urged the players to make their protest
violence-free and avoid unnecessary destruction.

Ekhosuehi revealed
that the club has received only N3 million since September last year for
the prosecution of the league this season, a situation that he said was
responsible for the poor performance of the club, being on the 14th
position of the Division One table.

He pleaded for the
release of money for payment of the players’ entitlements in order to
boost their morale so as to gain promotion into the top flight this
season.

When contacted, the
state Commissioner for Sports, Evbuomwan said the ministry was already
working on the matter. Also, Chief of Staff to Governor Adams
Oshiomhole, Osarodion Ogie, promised that something positive would be
done before the end of the week.

Members of the Lagos
State grassroots football community have announced their support for
Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola in his bid for re-election.

The community, led
by players who have participated in Street Soccer Competition organised
by the Lagos State Government, held a meeting with the state’s
Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development, Ademola
Adeniji-Adele yesterday at the Teslim Balogun State, declaring their
support for the governor.

The players said Mr
Fashola has initiated and promoted sports programmes at the grassroots,
which has not only helped to keep youths off the streets and crime but
has equally empowered them. One of the footballers, Prince Edoh, of
Planners Football Club of Amuwo Odofin, moved a motion to adopt and
endorse Fashola for a second term.

The players also decided to launch a project in that regard, ‘Score
with BRF’. They added that they have already launched a Facebook page in
that regard to drum up support for the governor.

Grassroots
Soccer Developers Association of Nigeria (GRASSDON) has expressed
disappointment at being left out by the National Sports Commission (NSC)
when a committee was constituted to help resuscitate academicals sport
competitions in the country.

The national
coordinator of the body, Ossy Nwaokebia, stated that his group’s
non-inclusion in the committee was tantamount to neglect by the NSC.

Mr Nwaokebia was
speaking in reaction to the formation of a committee that was
inaugurated two weeks ago by order of President Goodluck Jonathan. The
directive was for the NSC to revive the academicals cup competitions as
an avenue for taking sports to greater heights in the country. Since
GRASSDON is the umbrella body for grassroots football in the country, Mr
Nwokeabia believes the group should be integrated into the mainstream
of the nation’s grassroots football development.

“GRASSADON has
written to the National Sports Commission intimating them of the
developmental plans of the body but since then nothing has come out of
it. Shutting the body out shows that all the efforts made by us to aid
the nation’s football development are not being appreciated. We are the
people on the ground, who run grassroots football on a daily basis. We
know the problems associated with grassroots football development.

“It is our belief
that we can contribute a meaningful quota to the development of football
at the grassroots.” The committee, which was inaugurated on April 8,
has as its chairman Segun Odegbami, who was discovered through the
academicals. The sports minister, Toaheed Adedoja, has explained that
the new initiative would exploit the abundant talent available in
Nigeria and that it would provide an equal opportunity for both men and
women to excel.

Mr Nwaokebia has however said the group would not relent as they are
already writing a reminder letter to the National Sports Commission to
register their grievances and seek a possible solution.

Kwesi
Sagoe on Friday in Nairobi was elected chairman of the Africa Cricket
Association (ACA) at the body’s annual general meeting which held at the
Nairobi Hilton last Saturday. The Nigerian will be serving for the next
two years. After his election, he made it known that he would continue
to toe the line of the former chairman, Cassim Suliman, who made
developmental programmes key to his tenure.

Speaking to
reporters after the election, Mr Sagoe, the chairman of the Nigeria
Cricket Federation (NCF), said, “Grassroots development is the way to
go. Developing the umpiring, curatorship and other aspects of the game
is so vital to the development of the sport in Africa. The educational
programme is continuous. The coaching clinics will continue in the short
term as they have always been done and that is the way that we want to
go to develop capacity for the game on the continent.” Also speaking on
Sagoe’s election, the chief operating officer of the NCF, George
Wiltshire, said the development could only help the growth of the game
in the country and also in Africa.

In the same vein, the national team players currently in Benoni,
South Africa, preparing for the World Cricket League Division 7 matches
are feeling the chill as the weather is down to between 13 °C and 15 °C
in Benoni. But the team, which has settled down to training twice a day
under Sean Philips, are looking ahead to the coming challenge of Kuwait,
Germany, Botswana, Japan and Norway. They hope to be one of the two
teams that will book a place in the World Cricket League Division 6 in
Malaysia. The two best countries in the round-robin tournament qualify.

Nigerian
football was thrown into mourning on Monday following news that Super
Eagles defender, Olubayo Adefemi, had died in an automobile accident in
Greece.

Greek police said
that the defender, who plays for Greek top division outfit Skoda Xanthi,
lost control of his car on the Egnatia motorway while driving from
Xanthi to Salonika in the Kavala region of Northern Greece. No one else
was hurt in the crash.

He was travelling to the airport to catch a flight to Nigeria, where he was due to finalise plans for his wedding.

A statement from the
Greek football federation read: “The Super League and the entire Greek
football family would like to express its deepest condolences and
sympathy to the family of Olubayo Adefemi, who died tragically in a car
accident.” The former Rapid Bucharest of Romania player, who had also
played in the Austrian and Israeli top flight divisions, joined Skoda
last year after leaving French club Boulogne.

Adefemi made 24
appearances for Skoda, scoring two goals. He had been granted a
week-long leave by his club and was expected in Nigeria last night to
finalise plans for his wedding. This much was confirmed to NEXT by the
deceased’s older brother, Abiodun Adefemi, who also disclosed that plans
were underway to airlift his brother’s remains to Nigeria.

“He was on his way
back to Nigeria,” said the older Adefemi. “He spoke to our sister on
Sunday asking her to pick him up at the airport later today (Monday).”
He added: “We were contacted by officials of his club in respect of his
death and there were discussions regarding how to get his body to
Nigeria.” The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), as at the time of
filing in this report, was yet to get in touch with Adefemi’s family but
NEXT gathered from the acting secretary general of the NFF, Musa Amadu,
that the Nigerian FA would keep in touch with the Adefemi family, as
well as Skoda, regarding funeral rites for the late international.

Facebook addict

Fans of the late
footballer were not left out as they poured their hearts out on his
Facebook page, where hundreds of messages have been posted on his wall.
One from Germany-based Super Falcons midfielder, Cynthia Uwak, appealed,
albeit in vain: “Femi, wake up, you can’t die.” Even his national team
buddies, past and present, were not left out as they expressed shock at
the death of the defender, an easygoing fellow, as testified to by his
latest Facebook profile picture where he and a Greek fan in the shirt of
the Nigerian national team were holding on to a pair of draws… with
their teeth.

“That’s Femi for
you. He is always looking for a way to make you laugh,” said former
junior international, Ambrose Vanzekin, who was Adefemi’s teammate at
both the 2005 U-20 World Cup and Beijing 2008 Olympics. He added: “He’s
always on Facebook chatting with people and making new friends. That’s
why he had so many fans.” Kola Ige, who was also at the 2005 and 2008
tournaments said, “He was a very funny guy. He always had a way of
lifting our spirits anytime morale was low. He was very friendly and
we’ll all miss him.” Osaze Odemwingie, who was also at the Beijing
Olympics, however, found it hard to accept the news of Adefemi’s death
as he posted the following on his Twitter page: “Got a bb msg
(blackberry message) that Olubayo died in a car accident. The person is
his friend so can’t joke like that. Still hope it’s not true.”

Adefemi came into
the limelight in 2005 when he featured in the Flying Eagles side that
won the 2005 African Youth Championships in Benin Republic. That win
marked Nigeria’s first AYC victory in 16 years.

Adefemi later went on to feature, also in 2005, at the FIFA Under-20
World Cup in Holland where the Samson Siasia-tutored side finished a
respectable second, before going on to make an appearance at the 2008
Olympics in Beijing, where the Nigerian team won silver. He made his
Super Eagles debut on May 29, 2009 in an international friendly against
Ireland. Even though he got called up regularly, he only earned two more
caps for the national team.

Nigeria’s
U-20 team, the Flying Eagles, got their campaign at the 2011 Africa
Youth Championships (AYC) off to a winning start as they defeated the
reigning world and African champions, the Black Satellites of Ghana, by
2-1.

Two strikes from
Enugu Rangers forward, Uche Nwofor, ensured Nigeria’s first victory over
Ghana. The Black Satellites had recorded a hat trick of wins in the
previous meetings between both teams at the AYC.

The Flying Eagles
started the stronger of the two teams, with star attacker Ahmed Musa,
who only joined the team on Sunday evening from Holland, posing so much
threat to the Ghanaian defence.

After much incursion
into the Ghanaian deeper half, the Flying Eagles deservedly took the
lead in the 17th minute, taking advantage of poor defending by their
opponents.

A cross from the
right flank was flicked-on by Abdul Ajagun to Uche Nwofor who fired the
ball beyond the reach of goalkeeper James Achampong to make it 1-0.

The goal seemed to
spur the Black Satellites into action as they got back on level terms in
the 32nd minute. Right-back Richmond Nketiah crossed to the near post
from a corner kick which Kwame Nsor scored with a header.

With the first half
ending even, both teams resumed for the second half seeking another goal
that would guarantee the three points in the testy opening encounter.

Both teams had their
chances to change the scoreline in the second half but it wasn’t until
the 82nd minute that the deadlock was broken.

Winning goal

Nwofor again found
himself in space on the right flank and looked to be lining up a cross;
the ball bobbled up off the pitch, causing the attacker to mis-time his
kick, while the ball looped over a helpless Achampong and found its way
to the back of the Ghanaian net.

At the end of the
game the happier of the coaches, expectedly, was John Obuh who was
thrilled by the important opening day win over Ghana. “I am happy to
have won the opening game, especially against a strong team like Ghana.
We have done well. Congratulations to my boys, and thank God,” declared
Obuh.

Ghana coach, Orlando
Wellington, said he is still optimistic that his side would cruise
through the group phase with six points in their next two matches to
grab one of the two slots for the semi-finals, and also for the World
Cup in Columbia. “My team lost because of tactical indiscipline on the
part of my players. We will go home and fix the problem so that we can
win the next two games and qualify for the next round.

Nigeria, now atop
Group B, will be meeting the Young Lions of Cameroon on Thursday, April
21. The Young Lions had defeated Gambia 1-0. Ghana will be meeting
Gambia on the same day.

Rafa
Nadal said he must try to keep improving his game after securing a
seventh straight Monte Carlo Masters title at the weekend.

The world number one
beat fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 6-4 7-5 in Sunday’s final but
explained he was still a little rusty on clay, his favourite surface.
“I’m pleased with how the first week (on clay) has gone,” Nadal told a
news conference at the Barcelona Open on Monday. “I need to use the
confidence from the first week to keep improving. I have to be more
aggressive, to serve better and to finish off points more emphatically
and with more authority.”

After Barcelona,
Nadal will compete in Madrid, Rome and then at the French Open in Paris,
giving him three possible chances of a clash with in-form Serb Novak
Djokovic. The world number two has won 24 successive matches in 2011,
including final victories over Nadal at Indian Wells and Miami, and a
claycourt showdown between the two is eagerly anticipated. It was put to
Nadal that Djokovic rather than Roger Federer was now his main rival
for the number one spot.

“He (Djokovic) has started very well and I congratulate him,” said
the five-times French Open champion. “Roger and I have played many
important matches, with great moments for each of us,” he said. “The
year is very long and he (Djokovic) is in a privileged position but
unfortunately I have to worry about many others as well. I’m not
invincible on clay. I have lost before and unfortunately I have plenty
more games I will lose in the future. It has gone well for me in recent
years but no one is perfect.

Despite
finishing in third place at the Dubai leg of the Red Bull X-Fighters
International Freestyle-Motocross (FMX), which held at the JBR Beach in
Dubai, United Arab Emirates on April 14 and 15, defending champion, Nate
Adams, says he is still optimistic of retaining the title he won in
2009 and 2010.

Adams, known as ‘the
destroyer’ for the manner in which he blows away opposition, finished
in third place after losing in the semi-final to eventual winner,
Spain’s Dany Torres.

Before the race,
Adams dropped his 200cc bike for the heavier 400cc model. He finished
third in the qualifying rounds, where he recorded 429 points. On the
final day of the event, on Friday, he outshone a resilient Robbie
Maddison, known for his huge repertoire of tricks in the heat of the
second round to set up a semi-final meeting with Torres who had finished
outside the top six on day one and so had to battle to get into the
final rounds.

Having to go through
the qualifying rounds on the final day seemed to have set Torres on
fire as he blew Adams away, beating him in all five categories on which
the judges decided the race. Adams, who had beaten Blake Williams in the
last round before the clash with Torres, remained upbeat: “It was a
good race. I made a few mistakes, which I’ll correct before Brazil
(venue of the next leg of the tour),” Adams told NEXTSports after the
race. He said his loss to Torres had nothing to do with his new bike,
the heaviest of all the bikes used by the riders.

“The bike is fine. It had nothing to do with my performance today.
Like I said earlier, I made a few mistakes and I paid for them. In
Brazil, things will be different.”

Post election crisis
in some parts of the country has forced yet another postponement in the
commencement date for the second half of the Nigeria Premier League
(NPL).

Matches in the
troubled league were originally set to kick off on Wednesday April 20
across the country, but the leadership of the league said it was no
longer safe to start the league in light of the clashes that have
followed on the heels of last weekend’s presidential election.

The acting chairman
of the league, Shehu Gusau, stated that a new date would be communicated
once the situation improves. “Most of the clubs complained that it was
not safe for their teams to be travelling around now until the security
situation improves. So we have decided to put the league on hold for
now,” he said. The league has been on break for over six weeks. Dolphins
FC is currently the leading team with 43 points, closely followed by
Sunshine Stars.

Sponsorship deal

Still without a
title sponsor, the league has also been enmeshed in a leadership crisis
that has seen the former elected chairman of the league’s board,
Davidson Owumi, edged out of his seat. Mr Owumi is currently in court to
challenge his removal and attempts to stop him from re-contesting for
the position he previously held.

Despite its many troubles, the NPL’s drive at improving the league
has been yielding results. In line with this, fifteen clubs ‑ Gombe Utd
FC, Kwara Utd FC, Kaduna Utd FC, Warri Wolves FC, Crown FC, Bukola Babes
FC, Niger Tornadoes FC, Ocean Boys FC, Sunshine Stars FC, Lobi Stars
FC, Plateau Utd FC, JUTH FC, Sharks FC, Dolphin FC, and Zamfara Utd FC ‑
interested in a kitting pact with Massita B.V. will be signing the
partnership agreement between the NPL and Massita B.V. shortly.

Nigeria’s
U-20 team, the Flying Eagles have met with their Ghanaian counterparts;
the Black Satellites thrice at the Africa Youth Championship (AYC),
losing on the three occasions.

However, today at
the Dobsonville Stadium in South Africa by 11.00am (Nigerian time), the
John Obuh-led U-20 team will have another chance to break the jinx as
they get their AYC campaign off the ground against the defending world
and African champions, Ghana. The other teams in the group of death,
Group B, are Cameroun and Gambia.

“We are in good
spirits since our arrival here in South Africa,” Obuh said. “We just
want to go out there and get the result we came here for. We clashed
with Ghana in an invitational tournament last year and I also watched
Cameroun play against Egypt in Dubai, so we have gathered some useful
information about these teams already,” he added.

Ghana had defeated
Nigeria 4-1 in the 2001 AYC group stages, 1-0 in the 1999 final for one
of their three titles and 1-0 in 1993 group stage.

Beaming confidence

Despite the
intimidating record of the Black Satellites, Terry Envoh, Flying Eagles
forward says his teammates are ready for today’s crunch tie.

“We have a team full of quality players who are hungry to make Nigeria proud. We will not disappoint the country” he assured.

“We are
unstoppable! There is a great understanding in the team after we
trained together for long and we all know that what is expected of us
is the cup and nothing less” he said.

Also another Flying
Eagles forward, Olanrewaju Kayode, who was a part of the U-17 team in
2009, said he and some of his teammates who could not win the 2009 FIFA
Under-17 World Cup right in front of the home crowd, hope to make up
with the African trophy in South Africa.

Meanwhile Ghana’s coach, Orlando Wellington also admits that the first game with Nigeria is quite important for his team.

“It’s one game at a
time. We can’t think beyond that game. We only have Nigeria to think
about for now, Nigeria have a good side, they are very strong. We
respect them,” he said.

“We would play to
protect our status as champions. Every team we play against would be
motivated to beat us but we want to ensure that we keep our title.

“I have enough confidence in my team to challenge for the title
again. This present squad can go on to win it,” the Ghana coach boasted.