Governing Bodies

Think-tank to develop sports in Edo State

Published

3 years ago

February 10, 2022

BY EHI BRAIMAH

Three years ago, a private initiative was conceived by eight sports promoters purely for the purpose of sports development in Edo state.

The promoters who are from Edo State became trustees of Edo Sports Development Foundation (ESDF), a nonprofit organisation duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission.

Of course, there’s no way the promoters can run with the idea without formally briefing Edo State Government.

It explains why ESDF has not been launched up till now. From experience, the proposed meeting between the state government and ESDF is expected to foster a win-win partnership for the benefit of Edo people.

Edo Sports Development Foundation is an independent think-tank set up with the primary objective of promoting, enhancing and accelerating the development of sports in Edo State.

ESDF intends to work with distinguished members of the newly re-constituted Board of the Edo State Sports Commission under the chairmanship of Yusuf Alli.

Through team work and the proposed partnership, we hope to revive sports so that Edo State will regain its pre-eminent position as the “home of sports” in Nigeria.

As a keen lover of sports himself, we have no doubt that Philip Shaibu, the deputy governor who has oversight responsibility for sports, will welcome ESDF and support the initiative.

For full disclosure, I’m a trustee and Chairman of the Edo Sports Development Foundation. The other members of the board/trustees are: Tony Agenmonmen, Aisha Falode, Godwin Enakhena, Dr Patrick Uwagbale, Ben Ijewele, Francis Orbih and Kevin Erhuwhumnse.

Historically, Edo State, right from when it was part of the old Bendel State – which was split into Edo and Delta states – has been famous for producing notable sportsmen and women who excelled in different sporting events such as football, athletics, cycling, gymnastics, badminton, table tennis and basketball, winning laurels both at national and international competitions.

We are keen to keep the winning spirit of the old Bendel state alive because wherever you go, you will find an abundance of talents in all the 18 local government areas of Edo State.

ESDF, as part of its mandate, is committed to bringing back the glory days of sports through a deliberate re-positioning strategy.

For example, if we cast our mind back in time, transformational leader, late Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia, military governor of Midwest State and later renamed Bendel State, made huge investments in sports infrastructure such as the famous Afuze Games Village and Ogbe Stadium.

This explained why Bendel State was way ahead of other states in national sports competitions, producing champions who distinguished themselves in nearly all sports.

ESDF will attract funding through private sector collaboration, partnerships, crowd funding, sponsorship and access to grants. In addition, we shall explore the possibility of securing technical assistance from international organisations.

Our game plan is to identify young talents in secondary schools and turn them into national champions and award winners in five major sports.

“Catch ‘em young” is a popular call-to-action phrase in sports and it will be the overarching strategy of ESDF.

Secondary school students – especially in the junior category — represent the best pool for talent development in sports. As young students in Government College, Ughelli (GCU) many years ago, we were active in a variety of sports.

If you were not identified with a sport, be ready to be called a “waste pipe”.

I played football (I’m a ‘leftie’, lol) and table tennis as a young lad. It did not occur to us then that a footballer could earn as much as $300,000 a week playing football, in which case I may have opted for a professional career in Europe.

We were lucky to have sports facilities in GCU that were in great shape and the annual inter-house sports competition brought out the best in all the competitors; winning medals was good but taking part was better.

When Nigerian Breweries launched “Maltina School Games” two years ago, the brewing giant explained that the sports campaign was designed to promote the development of students through sports comprising a series of track and field sporting competitions held across Nigeria.

Maltina School Games is a suitable platform for youth development in sports, rewarding students, athletes, teachers and communities across Nigeria. Believe it or not, about 20 million students will be impacted in one way or the other through sports under Maltina sponsorship.

We are familiar with inter-school sports competitions to grow future sports champions at the secondary school level.

With a similar objective in mind, EDSF will solicit sponsorship from the private sector amongst others, approaching organisations such as Nigerian Breweries.

Globally, sport is a major PR tool for branding and destination marketing, attracting visitors and investors in droves.

It will not be different in Edo state, the “heart beat of the nation”.

Sporting events attracts spectators and creates commercial opportunities that help to boost the local economy.

By the time you add the value of the “brand equity” gained from the accompanying media coverage and exposure, you will understand why sports — and entertainment — are usually leveraged in nation and city branding campaigns.

The Ogbe Hard Court Tennis, for example, was one of the most important tennis tournaments (men and women) in the Nigerian tennis calendar and until the last edition 14 years ago; it had grown to be on the ATP Challenger Tour.

Wouldn’t it be nice for the Edo state government, through the Edo State Sports Commission and private sector collaboration, to revive this important tournament, thereby putting Edo state and by extension, Nigeria, back into the mainstream of international tennis circuit?

The long-term ambition obviously would be to get the tournament back as an ATP Challenger Series. I’m aware that a consulting firm in Lagos has done significant work on the tournament, going as far as engaging the Nigeria Tennis Federation.

Still on the significance of destination marketing, the Paris-Dakar rally is a key brand asset for Senegal; Tour de France attracts millions of viewers and tourists globally putting France in international limelight for about three weeks every year; Dubai has built a reputation for hosting the world’s richest horse racing competition (Dubai World Cup) while Monaco Grand Prix is one of the major brand assets of the location.

Wimbledon, Berlin Marathon and Rio Carnival, etc are also strong elements of destination marketing.

With a population of over 200 million plus being the largest economy in Africa, Nigeria is missing a great opportunity to represent the region with world class events that will resonate in a big way amongst national and international audiences.

Edo state can fill this void with a major sporting event and challenge Lagos state which hosts the Lagos marathon.

It is evident that the marathon is perhaps the only annual sporting event in Nigeria gradually gaining popularity and building significant momentum.

Four years ago, our public relations and marketing management company, Neo Media & Marketing, working with Osaretin Emuzie, a sports journalist and cycling enthusiast and our associates in the UK led by Toju Ogbe, a global PR strategist, came up with the Edo Cycling Tour envisioned to become Africa’s response to Tour de France within five years.

It was conceptualised as a hybrid of sports and culture showcase that will generate both national and global fellowship.

The three-day tour was designed to flag off from the scenic town of Ososo in Akoko Edo local government area, passing through Uzairue, Auchi, Ubiaja, Uromi, Ekpoma, Ehor and terminating in Benin City.

Ososo was planned as a backdrop for the event because it is one of the touristic places in Nigeria, located on a plateau with rocks and hills of different sizes and an average temperature similar to that of Jos in Plateau State.

The Ogbe Hard Court and Edo Cycling Tour are just two examples, indicative of what is possible in the area of “sporting revolution”.

I have no doubt in my mind that the Edo State Sports Commission will take up these initiatives and more, and convert them into massive opportunities.

Ultimately, the goal will be to make Edo state an attractive investment destination through sports.

Braimah is the publisher/editor-in-chief of Naija Times (https://naijatimes.ng) and chairman, Edo Sports Development Foundation

Governing Bodies

Zimbabwe sports minister among candidates for International Olympic Committee presidency

Published

4 days ago

September 16, 2024

Kunle Solaja

A total of seven candidates are running for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee with the winner replacing outgoing president Thomas Bach at elections in March 2025 in ancient Olympia, Greece.

Kirsty Coventry:

Age: 41

Country: Zimbabwe

Entry into the IOC: 2013

An Olympic swimming champion and Zimbabwe’s most successful Olympian, Coventry is Zimbabwe’s Sports Minister. She is the only woman among the candidates and the only one from Africa.

Prince Feisal Al Hussein:

Age: 60

Country: Jordan

Entry into the IOC: 2010

Prince Feisal heads the Jordan Olympic Committee and has been an IOC executive board member since 2019. An Executive Board member of the Olympic Council of Asia, Prince Feisal has also held several posts at the Royal Jordanian Air Force.

Sebastian Coe:

Age: 67

Country: Britain

Entry into the IOC: 2020

An Olympic track and field champion and head of World Athletics, Coe also led the organisation for the 2012 London Olympics. A former Conservative Member of Parliament, Coe is also involved in sports consultancy and is a former head of the British Olympic Association.

Johan Eliasch:

Age: 62

Country: Britain

Entry into the IOC: 2024

The wealthy Swedish-born entrepreneur with a variety of business interests has headed the international skiing federation since 2021. He only joined the IOC in July at its session in the Paris Olympics.

David Lappartient:

Age: 51

Country: France

Entry into the IOC: 2022

A rising figure in world sports administration. He heads the international cycling body, UCI, and is in charge of esports within the IOC, having helped seal a 12-year deal with Saudi Arabia earlier this year for the Olympic esports Games.

Juan Antonio Samaranch:

Age: 64

Country: Spain

Entry into the IOC: 2001

The son of the late former IOC president, Samaranch has considerable IOC experience and influence in his six years as vice president and 23 as a member. He headed the coordination commission for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Morinari Watanabe:

Age: 65

Country: Japan

Entry into the IOC: 2018

Watanabe has headed the gymnastics federation (FIG) since 2016, having been re-elected twice since. He is the first Japanese candidate to run for the IOC presidency.

Governing Bodies

World Athletics boss, Coe and multi-millionaire Eliasch among seven candidates for IOC presidency

Published

4 days ago

September 16, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Paris 2024 Olympics - Athletics - Women's Marathon Victory Ceremony - Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France - August 11, 2024. World Athletics President Sebastian Coe and International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach during the medal ceremony REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo

World athletics chief Sebastian Coe, multi-millionaire and Olympic newcomer Johan Eliasch and Zimbabwe’s Sports Minister Kirsty Coventry are among seven candidates for next year’s International Olympic Committee presidency election, the IOC said on Monday.

IOC Vice President Juan Antonio Samaranch, son of the late former IOC president, international cycling chief David Lappartient, Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan and international gymnastics federation head Morinari Watanabe are also in the running to succeed current president Thomas Bach.

The 70-year-old German is stepping down next year after 12 years at the helm. The election will be held at the IOC session in ancient Olympia, Greece in March 2025.

The candidates will all present their programmes, behind closed doors, to the full IOC membership in January 2025.

The IOC, with 111 members currently, is in charge of the Olympic Games and the multi-billion dollar industry linked to the world’s biggest multi-sports event.

Bach’s departure comes with the organisation in a financially robust position, having secured $7.3 billion for the years 2025-28 and $6.2 billion already in deals for 2029-2032.

The president is elected to an eight-year first term with the possibility of a second term of four years, if re-elected.

Coe, 67, only joined the IOC in 2020 after a rocky relationship between World Athletics and the IOC over Coe’s ban of Russian track and field athletes almost a decade ago following the country’s doping scandal.

A former Olympic champion with a wealth of experience in the sports world, Coe was previously head of the London 2012 Games and the British Olympic Association. He is also a former Conservative Member of Parliament.

Coventry, 41, is the only woman running for president and the former Olympic swimming champion, who is Zimbabwe’s most decorated Olympian, could become not only the first female president but also the first from Africa.

MALE PRESIDENTS

All IOC presidents have been men, with eight of the nine from Europe and one from the United States.

The 62-year-old Eliasch, head of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), only joined the IOC in July, with the Swedish-born British businessman’s candidacy a surprise for some.

Prince Feisal, 60, is a member of the IOC executive board, having joined the organisation in 2010, while Spaniard Samaranch, with considerable IOC experience in his six years as vice president, headed the coordination commission for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

“The IOC and Olympic movement have made enormous strides over the past decade under the leadership of Mr Bach,” said Samaranch in a statement.

“The IOC now needs a new leader with deep experience of the Olympic movement who can help steer it through this period of upheaval.”

UCI chief Lappartient has been a rapidly rising figure within the sports world after joining the IOC in 2022.

The Frenchman also is in charge of esports within the IOC, having helped seal a 12-year deal with Saudi Arabia earlier this year for the Olympic esports Games.

Japan’s Watanabe, 65, has headed the gymnastics federation (FIG) since 2016, having been re-elected twice since, and is his country’s first ever candidate for the IOC presidency.

Under current rules members have to step down when they reach 70, the IOC’s age limit, unless they are given a four-year extension.

-Reuters

Governing Bodies

Storm in CAF over proposed statutes amendments

Published

6 days ago

September 15, 2024

Kunle Solaja

There is currently insinuations that proposed certain elements may have smuggled modifications to amend the Statutes of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) when the body holds its General Assembly next month in Kinshasa, Congo next month.

The confederation will be having its 46^th General Assembly on 10^th October. It is at such gatherings that amendments are made to existing rules.

According to an article authored by Mansour Loum, the editor of Sports News Africa, some national football federations have denied being party to proposed amendments which were linked to them.

One of such is coming from the Equatorial Guinea Football Federation which has denied signing proposals being circulated relating to amendments to CAF Statutes.

It is claimed that a circular dated 8 September has been sent to CAF member associations. Signed by CAF General Secretary, Véron Mosengo-Omba, it is titled: “Proposals for amendments to the CAF statutes and regulations for the application of the statutes, as well as the rules of procedure of the CAF General Assembly, presented by the national associations.”

Seven member associations were quoted as sponsoring the amendments. They are: Botswana, Comoros, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania and Niger.

But Equatorial Guinea has denied being party to the proposed amendment which seek to remove age barrier for candidates seeking to be CAF Presidents and also removing zonal considerations in election into FIFA Council.

The current Statute stipulates that a presidential candidate must not be older than 70 as at the date of election.

Most of the national federation members are already approaching that age. In the estimation of the author of the article, Mansour Loum, the current CAF president, Patrice Motsepe, is 62 years old. With the age limit, he could, for example, only run for two more terms.

Continuing, Loum wrote that regarding the elections to the FIFA Council, each zone has a representative on the FIFA Council and candidates for these positions can only be elected by the presidents of the member associations of their group zone.

Thus, the presidents of French-speaking federations can only vote for a French-speaking representative, the English-speakers for the English-speaking group, and so on.

The distribution of seats on the FIFA Council is currently as follows:

Francophone Group – Two members

Anglophone Group – Two members

Arabophone/Lusophone/Hispanophone Group – Two members

One female member elected from among the female candidates, regardless of language groups

The modification of the grouping by zonal unions would mean that all presidents could vote for candidates outside their group, or that the candidates would also no longer be limited to a group.

Several candidates from the same group could be elected to the FIFA Council, while at the same time some groups could no longer be represented.

Equatorial Guinea disputes any request for modification. The football federation president, Venancio Tomas Ndong Micha has reportedly denied being party to the proposed amendments.

“I am writing to you to present the disagreement of the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation with part of the content of the document sent to the CAF Executive Council on September 8, 2024 signed by you (…)

“In this document, there are amendments presented by the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation (…) By this letter, we confirm that the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation has not submitted any amendments to the CAF administration for the 46th CAF Ordinary General Assembly to be held on Thursday, October 10, 2024 in Kinshasa,” he denounces.

Enough to cast doubt on this document sent by the CAF secretary general and the objective targeted. Contacted, a federation president, whose body is not mentioned in the letter, is surprised by these two requests for amendments and wonders about their intentions.

The press release from the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation has sown doubt and now he is questioning the originality of the attachments included in this document which is likely to be talked about between now and the CAF General Assembly.

– Mansour Loum