President of West African Football Union, W.A.F.U,Amos Adamu, has assured that there will be no dull moment during the forthcoming WAFU Under-20 men competition holding in Delta State, Nigeria, from November 30 through December 14, 2008.

Nigeria will be hosting teams from Cote Diviore, Ghana , Togo , Gambia and Benin Republic . Others who will also join the fray include Niger , Senegal , Cape Verde , Sierra Leone , Guinea and Liberia .

Adamu, said he was confident that those appointed into the Local Organizing Committee(LOC) have the capacity to deliver, adding that the participating nations from the West Coast should expect a very good and exciting Competition.

He acknowledged that there would be some level of pressure for the Union to deliver a hitch-free event, since the WAFU Under-20 competition is the first project under his nascent administration.

Already, the LOC is in the process of holding an inaugural Media briefing to sensitize the West Coast on the competition as well as also formally unveil the Competition logo



Wheelchair tennis seeks National Sports Festival entry

The success stories recorded by the Nigeria wheelchair tennis since its inception in the country has sparked up debate on its chances of being included at the National Sports Festival scheduled to hold in Kaduna State later in the year.

The recent exploits of the only Nigerian player, Wasiu Yussuf at the Men’s single event of the last Beijing Olympics in China and past efforts of organizing two successful national open championships, are enough to earn the sport an automatic qualification to be part of the sports festival.

According to the Chief Coach Nigeria Wheelchair Tennis Association , Frank Tarmena, the spectacular performance of many of the physically-challenged athletes at the Beijing Paralympics Games was an eye opener to Nigeria sports administrators.

He revealed that the Paralympic Games has demonstrated that Nigeria is lagging behind in areas in developing her potentials in disabled sports.

He said it was appalling that wheelchair tennis had a representation from Nigeria playing along side with top rated players at the Olympics has not been included at the national sports festival, when efforts have already been made by the African body to include the sport at the next All African Games.

He said the Association had held series of national championships and also went as far as playing in the African Olympics qualifiers,hence the reason to included at the next sports festival.

Lending credence to Coach Tarmena’s claim, NTF President, Engineer Sanni Ndanusa noted that the inclusion of wheelchair tennis at the Next sports festival will further accelerate the development of the sport in the country.

The Niger State Commissioner for work said the country is blessed with abundant wheelchair tennis players, adding that Nigeria has not tap from thousands of physically challenged athletes.

Ndanusa, said the Association could produce future world class tennis players if there is an enabling environment for these players to acquint with modern trend in wheelchair tennis.

He however, thanked major sponsor of the sports, New Era Foundation of former Lagos State first lady, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu for her support.

It would be recalled that Nigeria’s Wasiu Yussuf, who represented Africa at the Olympics, lost to world's number seven ranked player in the first round of the championship.

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Flying Eagles’ Official Robbed in Abuja

The Flying Eagles escaped being sanctioned by the Confederation of Africa Football over the weekend when the team played against the Sudanese under Twenty team, inside the manibowl of the National Stadium Abuja, in the African Youth Championship billed for Rwanda, next year.

This is because an official of the Nigeria's Under Twenty ’s football team who was in possession of the players international passports, was robbed on the streets of Abuja, a couple of hours to the match.

The team Secretary, Magaji Abdullahi, had chartered a plain –colour taxi to drop him off at the National Stadium Complex, so he could sort out administrative matters ahead of the Nigeria team’s arrival at the venue.

But the taxi –man pointed a gun at him as they negotiated a bend heading towards the Stadium and ordered him to surrender all he had.

The Media Officer of Nigeria Football Federation, Ademola Olajire, who confirmed this, said the match officials assigned for the match allowed the match to be played after the Federation produced a photocopy of the players international passports.

The team won the match by five golas to nothing as Nigeria was billed to play Sudan in the first leg, second round of the qualifying series for the Rwanda 2009 African Youth Championship.
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M.F.M Cup.

Mountain of Fire Ministry Football team of Ilorin has emerged the winer of the maiden Edition of D.K Olukoya National Soccer Championship which came to a close on Saturday at the Mainbowl of the National Stadium, Lagos.

The team defeated Mountain of Fire Football team from Calabar by three goals to nothing in a match that had many national coaches and members of the Nigeria Football League, in attendance.

The team from Ilorin scored its first goal in the first half while the remaining two goals were scored through penalties in the second half as the squad from Calabar consolatory goal was scored in the Sixtieth minutes.

To reach this stage, the Mountain of Fire Ministry Ilorin beat their counterpart from Ejigbo two - nil while the tyeam from Calabar outclassed their conterparts from Agege, two - one, during the semi final encounter.

While speaking, the General Overseer of the Church, Doctor Olukoya, said the essence of the tournament was aimed at sucking the youth out the streets and also to get them closer God through sport.

The General Overseer, said all the teams that featured in the tournament were properly screened to deprieved merceneries hijacking the objectinves of the event.

He said plans are in top gear to make next edition an international football tournament as the Ministry's tentacle is well across the globe.

The winner will represent the church in an international tournament in South Africa.

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Nwosu/ Appointment.

The new Golden Eaglets Chief Coach, Henry Nwosu, has assured that the team's tehnical crew would retain some of the Golden Eaglets players would had played under the tutelage of Alphonsus Dike.

The Executive Committee of Nigeria Football Federation, accepted the recommendation of its technical committee to install a new technical crew of Henry Nwosu, Monday Odigie, Abimbola Samuel and Suleiman Shuaibu, following the disastrous outing of the National Under Seventeen Team in the African Championship qualifying fixture against Benin Republic.

Nwosu, who claimed the team's new technical would start from where the team's former handler had stopped, promised that new credible players would be introduced into the squad so as to fortify the team as Nigerians are expecting much being the current FIFA Under Seventeen World Cup Champions.

The former Green Eagles player, said the team's techical crew would meet soon to outline its programmes ahead of next year's FIFA Under Seventeen World Cup, billed for Nigeria, next year.

The former Assistant Coach of Under Twenty Three Team, said he was not surprised that NFF appointed him as the team's Chief Coach, stressing that he merits the position following the position his contribution to the development of football in Nigeria.

He added that he would adopt the system of elimination by substitution to select the best young players who could record similar feat achieved by late Adeyemi Theophilous Tella, at the last organise FIFA Under Seventeen World Cup, in South Korea.
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South Africa’s new President pledges full support and commitment.

South Africa’s newly elected President Kgalema Motlanthe and the Vice President Jacob Zuma have personally reassured FIFA President Joseph Sepp Blatter of the South African government’s full support for next year’s FIFA World Cup, holding from eleventh of June through eleventh of July twenty ten.

After congratulating Kgalema Motlanthe on his election, Blatter stated that the President gesture showed the importance of the World Cup to the South African government.

Blatter also reassured Motlanthe of FIFA’s One Hundred percent support and assistance in the preparations as well as FIFA’s full confidence and trust in South Africa’s organisational capabilities.

Motlanthe, said South Africa remain on course to host in 2010 the best FIFA World Cup ever – an African World Cup, adding that the South Africa’s hosting of the World Cup is testimony to the achievements of South Africa democracy.

FIFA President, said he was pleased to hear that the 2010 FIFA World Cup is fully supported by all political and governmental authorities and that everything would be done to make the event an unforgettable success.

Motlanthe informed the FIFA President of the composition of his new cabinet and also expressed his satisfaction with the infrastructural preparations.

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A.W.C.Draws.

Nigeria's Super Falcons has been drawn in group B, alongside the Ghanaian Female team in the CAF Africa Women Championship billed for Equatorial Guinea, in November, this year.

According to the draws conducted on Saturday, Nigeria's Super Falcons are paired alongside, Ghana, the Bayana Bayana of South Africa and Tunisia.

Nigeria, the defending champion, will test the might of Ghanaian side on the Sixteenth of November at Bata while the South African team will challenge the Tunisian squad, in the group's first round of matches.

The host country, Equatorial Guinea, will slug it out with Cameroon just as Mali and Congo, will battle for supremacy in Group A, first round of matches.
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Nigeria in A Tough Group, Says Perpetual.

Super Falcons player,Perpetua Nkwocha, has regarded the team's group as a difficult one.

Perpetual, said the pairing would be the first time Super Falcons would be playing Ghana, South Africa and Tunisia,in the African Women Championship.

The player who believed at none of the teams would pose a threat to the Super Falcons as they are not afraid of any African teams.

The admitted that she knew little about Tunisia,adding that it would be good to play the teams in the first game, so as to study their style of play.

Nigeria's group will play in Bata whilst group A will take place in the capital, Malabo.

The tournament takes place between 15 and 29 November.
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FIFA and CAF Instructor, Adegboye Onigbinde, has vowed to use his new appointment as the Nigeria Football Federation’s Technical Consultant to help develop the game in the country.

The football administrator confessed that the appointment was long overdue because he has been serving under that capacity without being formalized.

The former Super Eagles handler, said he has always been part of football administration in the country for several years, stressing that there is much that is new about the appointment but he appreciates NFF gesture to formalize the process.

He said the technical department is supposed to be the nerve center of a sports organization and this explain why the Federation want to concentrate on how to make it functional.

The former Shooting Star Coach, said the appointment does not make him a staff or employee of the Federation but a consultant on technical matter, adding that the move would give Nigeria an oportunity to regenerate the standard of football.