Nigerian Football
SEYI AKINWUNMI ESCAPES FROM 36 LIONS’ JAWS
BY KUNLE SOLAJA
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) 1st Vice President, Seyi Akinwunmi had a titanic battle before he coasted to victory at home front in the Lagos State Football Association elections where he got a renewed four year mandate as chairman.
He had a formidable opposition in Gafar Liameed, the owner of 36 Lion FC as the election had to go into second ballot at the Morning Side Hotel and Suit in Victoria Island, Lagos.
That was the highpoint of the Lagos State FA Electoral Congress which had 13 eligible voters all present.
In the first ballot, Akinwunmi had a slim victory of seven votes as against six for Liameed. The electoral guidelines stipulate that a winner had to have two-third majority to be validly elected, otherwise, the election goes into the second ballot in which requires just a simple majority.
It was tension all the way. One of the voters said his vote was initially for Liameed but changed his mind at the congress hall. But for that, the initial result in the first ballot would have been the other way.
All the same, the election would have still gone into the second ballot. An initial five-minute break to allow the two contestants canvass dragged into 15 minutes which looked like eternity.
Then came the rerun. Akinwunmi won by nine votes to four, meaning that the initial seven voters remained with him and he got two additional votes from those who voted for Liameed.
He had won what was more of an escape to victory. He told www.sportsvillagesquare.com that the result of the second ballot was what he had projected for in the first instance and that he was unperturbed even when the first ballot was nearly deadlocked.
With the victory, he said his immediate action was to bring back the football body as one family. This he demonstrated immediately the result was announced. He stood up and hugged his opponent, Liameed.
Tade Azeez returned with acclamation to his post as vice chairman. Other elected members include Mojeed Adegbile, Dotun Coker, Aramide Cole. The new board was immediately sworn in by Abdulrasheed Ibrahim, a lawyer and public notary.
With the re-election of Akinwunmi, he becomes the fourth member of the NFF Board to be returned as head of their various affiliate constituencies of the NFF General Assembly.
On Sunday, Yusuf Ahmed Fresh retained his seat as Chairman of Niger State Football Association. Almost at the same time that the Lagos FA Elections were on, two other Members of the NFF Executive Committee were overwhelming choices of their State congresses for a further term in office.
Chidi Ofo Okenwa, Chairman of the Nigeria National League, was runaway choice of the congress of Enugu State Football Association, just as Mohammed Alkali, Chairman of the Nigeria Nationwide League One, was overwhelmingly endorsed by the congress of the Nasarawa State Football Association.
Nigerian Football
Nigeria Premier League: A Sunday evening of big surprises
Rivers United seamless flow in the Nigeria Premier League ended abruptly as the backwaters candidate suddenly got rejuvenated and inflicted a 2-0 defeat on initial table-toppers from Port Harcourt.
Even by the waterfront arena, the Mobolaji Johnson Arena which overlooks the Lagos Lagoon, Rivers failed to flow. The result meant the first defeat this season to Rivers United.
Remo Stars moved up to the top of the log again after a 1-0 defeat of Lobi Stars and the setback that Rivers United got in Lagos.
Victory for Remo Stars at home is the icing on the cake of the Ikenne town’s celebration of its annual Ereke Day, which concluded on Saturday.
The goal that shot the Ikenne community outfit to the top was scored by Michael Okoro Ibe in the 47th minute.
In Lagos, after a goalless first half, Cole Ayomide, put the Ikorodu City side in the lead in the 48th minute, just a minute after the goal in Ikenne that compromised the initial top position of Rivers United.
Rivio Ayemwenre doubled the lead for Ikorodu City in the 53rd minute. What could have turned a miserable evening for Rivers United was averted when a third goal by Ikorodu City in the 78th minute
But the struggle against relegation is far from being over for Ikorodu City as they are still one of those in the backwaters.
With 11 points, they are 17th in a 20-team league in which four will drop at the end of the season. Their fellow strugglers include Bayelsa United, Akwa United and Lobi Stars. They all have one thing in common – all within aquatic zones of either the sea, lagoon and the Benue River that linked with River Niger before flowing southward into the sea.
Apart from the match in Lagos, struggling Heartland’s heart was large enough to inflict an away win over neighbours, Abia Warriors who were compelled to drop their ammunition following a 2-0 loss.
And so, Heartland FC under Emmanuel Amuneke, continues a dramatic recovery after a bad start in the season.
Micheal Ogu opened scoring for the visitors in the 12th minute and Chukwuma Agor in deep into injury time added a second goal. The result practically gave the Owerri side relief as they were out of the relegation zone after amassing 12 points. They are now in the 12th position.
While in Ijebu Ode, Bendel Insurance recovered from their last week’s home defeat as they inflicted the same fate on Sunshine Stars of Akure.
Kayode Oke Solomon opened the score for the visitors in the 17th minute but the home side away from home secured parity in the added time of the first half. But Nnamdi Anthony got the winning goal for Insurance in the 60th minute.
In Enugu, the defending champions secured a two-nil win through Godwin Obaje with the first in the 50th minute and another in the 60th minute via a penalty kick.
El-Kanemi Warriors pipped visiting Katsina United by a lone goal while Akwa United won 2-1 against visiting Kwara United. Chijioke Alaekwe opened score for the home side in the 17th minute but Emmanuel Ogbole restored parity in the 32nd before Ebedebiri Endurance scored the winner in the 60th minute via a penalty.
The win still leaves Akwa United, nine points, in the relegation zone. They are 19th on the log.
In Yenagoa, Bayelsa United forced visiting Enyimba to a 1-1 draw. Eneke Awazie had put the visitors in front in the 29th minute but Magbisa Wisdom scored the equaliser in the 36th minute.
In Kano, two late goals from veterans, Rabiu Ali and Super Eagles off-field captain Ahmed Musa gave host Kano Pillars a 2-1 win against Plateau United.
After an uneventful first half, the visitors opened score in the 66th minute through Gafar Saka before Rabiu Ali restored parity in the 76th minute and Musa scored the winner deep inside injury time.
While in Minna, Niger Tornadoes dismissed visiting Shooting stars of Ibadan with goals from Joseph Godstime in the 30th minute and Mendos Rickson in the 88th minute.
NPFL RESULTS
El-Kanemi 1-0 Katsina Utd
Abia Warriors 0-2 Heartland
Akwa Utd 2-1 Kwara Utd
Bayelsa Utd 1-1 Enyimba
Rangers 2-0 Nasarawa
Ikorodu City 2-0 Rivers Utd
Kano Pillars 2-1 Plateau Utd
Tornadoes 2-0 Shooting StarsSunshine 1-2 Insurance
Nigerian Football
Enyimba, six others have players’ Licenses restored
Following full compliance with the arbitration decisions of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Players Status Committee, the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) has restored licenses of newly transferred and registered players of seven of the ten defaulting clubs.
In a letter conveying the development to the clubs, the NPFL Chief Operating Officer, Davidson Owumi, commended the clubs for complying swiftly with the requirements, which will enable them play to their full strength.
The clubs are Enyimba, El-Kanemi Warriors, Plateau United, and Bayelsa United.
Others are Lobi Stars, Heartland, and Akwa United.
In the case of Akwa United, the licenses were restored on the directive of the NFF pending ongoing further investigations into their case.
With the development, two other clubs, Abia Warriors, Katsina United, and Kwara United, are still not off the hook as they are yet to comply with the ruling on their cases.
Nigerian Football
Pinnick calls for infrastructure adequacy and maintenance culture
Former President of Nigeria Football Federation and Nigeria’s FIFA Council Member, Amaju Melvin Pinnick OFR, has called for new methods and a re-dedication to the ethos of sports infrastructure maintenance in the country.
Delivering this year’s personality guest lecture of the Faculty of Education, University of Ibadan on Tuesday, the FIFA Council Member and Member of the CAF Executive Committee started with a brief overview of the country’s sports infrastructure landscape.
He remarked on the relevance of hosting major competitions for sports infrastructure abundance, traced the era of decline and neglect, and concluded by stating that plenteous and well-maintained sports infrastructure is crucial for Nigeria’s success in international competitions.
“Poor sports infrastructure has the consequence of limited talent development, reduces competitiveness, is a major disincentive to athletes, makes it impossible for any nation to host competitions, and hurts a country’s pride and sense of identity,” Pinnick said, as he delivered his paper titled, The Challenges of Sports Infrastructure and Maintenance in Nigeria: Prospect for the Podium Performance.
To ensure a positive turn-around, he advocated for public-private partnerships in infrastructural development and maintenance, innovative funding models, adopting modern maintenance technologies, capacity enhancement for maintenance experts and a cluster model that will rank States according to sports infrastructure available in their domain and also engender stiff competition among them for infrastructural sufficiency.
“There are a few success stories on the African continent, such as South Africa and Morocco, which have a national sports maintenance agency.
“We do not necessarily need to copy them; we can develop what will work for us. What is important now is that we must confront this sport infrastructural deficit head-on and the Federal Government, States, local councils, tertiary institutions, private club owners and private investors all have roles to play.
“With improved sports infrastructure round the country, there will be brighter prospects for podium performance by our athletes in international competitions, as we will be able to discover more talents in their youth, can nurture them and utilize the facilities optimally to blood them to real competitors. In addition, our country will be able to host major competitions, and our national pride and sense of identity as host of big events will be restored.”
In his opening address, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Kayode Adebowale , emphasized the university’s vision and mission, which includes fostering a love for sports and promoting national growth and development.
He noted that sport plays a vital role in shaping individuals, communities and nations, and commended Pinnick’s efforts in advancing the cause of Nigeria sport internationally.
The Dean of the Faculty of Education, Professor Olufemi Adegbesan, hailed Pinnick for his engaging delivery, which was also inspiring, insightful and thought-provoking. He described him as a visionary leader, astute administrator and a passionate advocate of sport infrastructure development in the country.
Goodwill messages were received from FIFA President Gianni Infantino, CAF President Patrice Motsepe (virtual), as well as Alhaji Shehu Dikko (Chairman, National Sports Commission), Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau (President, NFF), Barr. Seyi Akinwunmi (Former 1st Vice President, NFF) and Ms Aisha Falode (Member, NFF Executive Committee) were all physically present.
The carnival-like opening to the lecture featured dance performances by Itsekiri and Brazilian groups, and a special performance by the Nigeria Football Supporters Club led by its President-General Worldwide, Dr Rafiu Oladipo.
Pinnick was presented with a distinguished service award by the Faculty of Education. The award was presented by Professor Aderonke Baiyeroju, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics).
The guest lecture had in attendance the full team of the university’s management. Also present were Oyo State Sports Commissioner, Hon. Wosilat Adegoke; Oba James Odeniran, Chairman of Oyo State Football Association; former NFF General Secretary, Dr. Bolaji Ojo-Oba and; NFF’s Director of Communications, Dr Ademola Olajire.
-
AFCON1 week ago
Libya appeals CAF ruling in controversial AFCON qualifier with Nigeria
-
CHAN4 days ago
Why Ahmed Musa is out of CHAN Eagles despite being with Kano Pillars
-
BALLON D'OR1 week ago
Rodri wins 2024 Ballon d’Or!
-
OBITUARY1 week ago
Zambia mourns seven footballers killed in bus crash
-
AFCON1 week ago
Nigerian justice to step down if Libya appeals
-
AFCON1 week ago
BREAKING: CAF Awards Libya-Nigeria botched match to Super Eagles!
-
AFCON1 week ago
Reprieve for Libya national football team
-
Nigerian Football6 days ago
Odegbami has a twin anniversary today