Nigerian Football
Kwara, Ogun Compete For Channels International Kids Cup Trophy
Burahanudeen LGEA Primary School from Kwara and African Church Central Primary School from Ogun State will play in the finals of the first edition of the Channels International Kids Cup. The match holds on Saturday at the Campos Square Mini Stadium, Lagos Island
Both schools enjoyed a good run from the start of the tournament and will be hoping to make record by becoming the first team to win the maiden international edition.
The boys from Burahanudeen played in Group B alongside last year’s champion, Kaduna, Rivers and Ekiti. In their first game, they defeated St. Augustine’s Catholic Primary school from Ekiti 2-1.
In the second match, they swept aside World Book Model Primary School from Rivers State 2-0 and rounded off the group stage with a 1-1 result against Jaafaru School from Kaduna, who were also a strong force in the group.
In the quarter-finals, the boys from Kwara played a different brand of football that showed they meant business. Playing against the impressive boys from Community Primary School, Imo they showed good character and achieved a convincing 4-0 victory. Waiting for them in the semi-finals was Mowoe Primary School from Delta.
In the semi-finals, Burahanudeen continued where they stopped against Imo. Five minutes into the game, Isiaka Shamsudeen scored the opener for Kwara.
But Delta will not go down without a fight and moments later, Oke Ahere drew level with a beautiful header. First half ended 1-1. It was a thrilling encounter.
When the game resumed, it was a post to post affair. Ten minutes to stoppage time, the boys from Kwara had a clear chance but Issa Kayode could not convert. But they didn’t have to wait too long when Delta’s defender, Onyema Trinity carelessly handled the ball in the box and gifted Kwara a penalty. Issa Kayode stepped to it and scored to give Kwara a 2-1 victory and a ticket into the final.
For African Church Central Primary School, Ogun, it was a fairytale ride. In their opening group C match against Abeka Basic 4 Primary School from Ghana, they struggled to play a goalless draw. The other group opponent, Islamiya from Kogi beat Turaki Model School, 2-1 and topped the table.
In their second game, they bounced back to beat Kogi 1-0 and kept hopes alive. In the final group game, they played 1-1 with Sokoto and the five points they gathered was good enough to take them to the next round. Ghana and Sokoto also finished with five points.
In the quarter-finals, Ogun came from a goal down to stun Paragon Demonstration School, Edo 2-1. It was a major upset! In the semi-final match against X-Planter Primary School from Lagos, in ten minutes Oloyede Qudus scored a brace and left Lagos chasing the game. Nababa Abdulsalam pulled one back but it couldn’t stop African Church Central Primary School, Ogun from making it to the final.
The Channels Kids Cup is a grassroots football development programme for boys in primary school under the age of thirteen. The competition became international this year with the inclusion of Ghana and Benin Republic.
Nigerian champions, Enugu Rangers have been beaten 4-3 by visiting Kano Pillars in the Match Day 7 of the Nigeria Premier Football League.
The visitors went into the lead in 15th minute when Rabiu Ali converted a penalty kick. They doubled the lead in the 28th minute through Zulkifilu Rabiu before Rabiu Ali extended the lead to 3-0 in the 37th minute after converting another penalty kick.
The game turned into a nightmare for Rangers as Ahmed Musa made it 4-0 in the first minute of the added time.
Rangers began a fight back in the opening minutes of the second half as Isaac Saviour pulled a goal back in the 47th minute. Twelve minute later he scored a second goal to reduce the tally to 4-2. Emmanuel Silas Nenrot made the score line a more respectable for Rangers when he scored a third goal in the added time.
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.
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