Nigerian Football
Calabar Gets Private Soccer Academy
The first private-owned football academy, Pythagorean Academy and Robusto Sarl, PARS, has officially opened in Calabar, South Eastern Nigeria.
The academy, with Swiss partnership, was fully registered with FA in Cross River and the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, in 2016 has trained medical experts who attend to health of footballers.
The academy came into being in August 2016 with 20 players within the age bracket of 15 and 19 years
In his address, during the opening ceremony/launching of the academy in Calabar recently, the Chairman of PARS, Mr Henry Ojugu, lamented that despite the rich history of Cross River state the state hardly boast of first line player in the national team, let alone in the international arena.
He said that one of the major pre-occupation of the academy is to build champions and not mediocre players, adding that Pythagorean not only train young people how to play football alone, but also teach young players much about discipline, excellence, attitude that will help young footballers attack the future.
“We are rolling male football professionals and the secretariat has all information for enrolment, just on Thursday this week, we played against Rovers Football Club but we unfortunately had a draw game; next time we shall beat them ”Ojugo said.
Declaring the academy open, the Technical director of Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, Mr Bitru Bewarang, said the federation is set to partner with management of PARS Football Academy, Calabar in the promotion of grassroots soccer in the country.
Bewarang, said the federation will never allow the academy`s footballers to be taken abroad on slavery and commended the management for putting in modern sports facilities,.
The Technical Director enjoined them to aggressively seek for sponsors to be able to remain in business just as NFF will give them necessary support to succeed.
He said: “For this singular initiative to have invested in such area of human capital potential and for not thinking like most Nigerians, who prefer to put their monies in ventures that they can reap quick rewards, NFF weight is solidly behind the academy.
“We remain a bulwark to ensure that this project survives. What I have seen here is more than enough to make NFF give approval; PARS Academy has passed the test of becoming an academy.”
The NFF Technical Director further enjoined Cross Riverians to support the academy and urged the management of Pythagorean to aggressively seek for sponsors if they are interested to see the academy succeed.
Speaking also, the Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Rt Hon. John Gaul Lebo has urged the students of Pythagorean Academy to focus not only their attention in learning how to play football alone, but play football alongside with education.
“As you play football think of education, as you are here, your coach is going to be like your next God, take whatever that you are thought, your future lies in your hands” the Speaker said although learning how to play football is a noble idea, but it has to be done alongside with education so that even when football career crashed perhaps due to injury in the future the footballer can still stand the chance of fending for themselves.
“This is the field that will build your career in life, you cannot play football and forget education, if you abandoned education and follow football alone you not survive when your career fades,” Lebo said.
- From: EMMAH OKOH, Calabar
The miserable run of Akwa United and Ikorodu City came to an end after six games in the Nigerian Premier League this season. Both teams were initially glued at the bottom of the league table.
They now got respite as Akwa United beat Kano Pillar by 2-0 while Ikorodu City even did what could be considered an upset, beating Bendel Insurance 3-0.
Remo Stars bounced back to the top of the log after a 3-0 defeat of Nasarawa United. Shooting Stars are yet to get their rhythm this season, playing a barren draw with Enyimba in Ibadan.
Kwara United who got their first full points of the season last week after a 1-0 defeat of Remo Stars could not consolidate as they were beaten 1-0 by Abia Warriors.
Heartland under Emmanuel Amuneke are gradually recovering as they got a valuable away draw against El-Kanemi Warriors.
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
It is 75 years since Nigeria’s national football team first played an international match. That was on 8 October 1949 when the first set of Nigeria’s assembly on their return voyage stopped over in Freetown and engaged Sierra Leone in an international football match. Nigeria won 2-0, setting a chain of positive results on 8 October.
The country never lost any competitive duel on that date. More significantly, the Super Eagles first qualified for the World Cup on an 8 October date.
That was in 1993 when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Algeria in the quest for USA ‘94 World Cup.
Nigeria became the first English-speaking African country to qualify for the World Cup. Another significance of the October 8 match at the July 5 Stadium, Algiers is that Nigeria were unbeaten for the first time by Algeria at home.
The only deviation from the 8 October Magic was in 2015 when Nigeria lost 2-0 to Congo in a friendly match.
Twenty-six years after Nigeria’s debut international match, one of Africa’s biggest football nations, Egypt fell to the October 8 magic, losing 4-0 to Nigeria in the last stage of the triangular World Cup qualifying series for Argentina ’78.
Up till October 15, 2013, when Ghana beat Egypt 6-1 in Kumasi, the October 8, 1977 duel with Nigeria remained Egypt’s biggest loss in a World Cup qualifying match.
Before the 1977 duel, Nigeria in 1963 played a friendly match with Liberia in Monrovia. The October 8 magic was active, even in an away match. Nigeria drew 2-2 in their very first encounter with Liberia. It was shortly after the team had, through a protest, upturned a victory by Guinea to pick Nigeria’s very first African Nations’ Cup ticket.
Little wonder then that when FIFA suspended Nigeria in 2010, the world governing body provisionally lifted the ban on October 8!
Nigeria on 8 October
- 1949 – Freetown (Friendly) Sierra Leone 0-2 Nigeria
- 1963 – Monrovia (Friendly) Liberia 2-2 Nigeria
- 1977 – Lagos (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 4-0 Egypt
- 1993 – Algiers (World Cup qualifier) Algeria 1-1 Nigeria… qualify for USA ‘94.
- 2005 – Abuja (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 5-1 Zimbabwe
- 2010 – FIFA, in apparent respect to the 8 October magic, provisionally lifted a ban imposed on Nigeria.
- 2011 – Abuja (African Nations Cup qualifier) Nigeria 2-2 Guinea. Although undefeated, Nigeria failed to make it to the 2012 African Nations Cup.
- 2015 – D.R. Congo beat Nigeria 2-0 in Visé, Belgium. The ‘October 8 Magic’ is finally broken.
Rivers United have launched themselves to the top of the log at the end of the match day 5 of the Nigeria Premier League. The Port Harcourt side beat Akwa United 2-1 to go afloat after initial leaders, Remo Stars crumbled to a 1-0 defeat at Kwara United in Ilorin on Sunday.
It was Remo Stars’ first defeat in the season. Rivers United are now with 13 points. Stephen Mayo put Rivers United ahead after 31 minutes. But it turned a temporary lead as Akwa United bounced back almost at the blast of the referee’s whistle for the second half.
Friday Apollos levelled up for Akwa United before Ndifreke Effiong Udo scored the winner in the 85th minute.
Sunday Results
- Kwara United 1-0 Remo Stars
- Rangers International 1-0 Abia Warriors
- Heartland FC 2-0 Niger Tornadoes
- Kano Pillars 2-0 Sunshine Stars
- Plateau United 1-0 Ikorodu City
- Rivers United 2-1 Akwa United
- Enyimba 3-0 Katsina United* Suspended
- Nasarawa 0-0 Bayelsa United
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