Nigerian Football
VAT Wonder Goal Winner, Pasca Feels for Ozubulu Charity Home Inmates
Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Match Day 23 VAT Wonder Goal Award winner, Seka Pasca and some of his FC IfeanyiUbah team mates were at the Rehabilitation Centre for the Disabled, Old and Tramps (RECDOT) home Ozubulu, Anambra State, the charity he nominated to receive 50 percent of his prize money.
Pasca was received at the home by Mrs. Rosemary Odunukwe, the Founder of the RECDOT home, who commended the player and the entire FC IfeanyiUbah crew for their taking time out to be with the inmates of the home.
Touched by the sight of some of the inmates, Pasca, an Ivorian said he has been motivated by their plight to work towards winning more of the award so he can earn more money to assist the enter.
“This singular gesture will make me to work even harder to achieve more. The donation I am making today to this home is very timely.
“I am really touched by what I am seeing here, the level of suffering and the difficulties this people go through most especially the kids can only be imagined.
“We who are hale and hearty are not better than most of them, it’s just that nature and circumstances are behind their ordeal.
“What we have to do is to support them in any way we can both now and in the future by providing alms in form of food, clothing and shelter to make their lives comfortable and give them a sense of belonging”, stated Pasca in emotion filled voice.
Mrs. Odunukwe while receiving Pasca and his club mates said the visit will help create more awareness within the community and beyond on the challenges faced by inmates at the home.
“This home is aimed at bringing God’s love to the needy by not only providing them with basic needs of life but to also give them formal and vocational training as their abilities permit them to understand that there is ability in disability.
“This will in no small measure help to create more awareness to the public on the status of people with different health challenges of all kinds,” Odunukwe stated.
She thanked Pascal, players of FC IfeanyiUbah and the club management for the support.
The VAT Wonder Goal supported by the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) was created by the League Management Company (LMC) to promote club and community engagement through support for charity work within the club’s domain.
Winners receive cash prize of N150, 000 and they donate 50 percent of the prize to such Charity projects within the state where the club is based.
Pasca was the fourth winner since the award commenced on Match Day 20
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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