SPORTS
Aiteo Cup Final: 50,000 Kano Fans to Storm Kaduna For Pillars FC
From Abdulgafar Oladimeji, Kano.
At least 1,000 supporters drawn from each of the 44 Local Government Areas in Kano state have been recruited to cheer Kano Pillars FC to victory at the finals of this year’s edition of Aiteo cup scheduled to hold in Kaduna on July 24.
The chairman, Kano Pillars Fans club, Bashir Muazu(Jide) disclosed that preparations to ferry the fans to Ahmadu Bello stadium venue of the final match have been completed.
According to him, aside the anticipated 44 thousand supporters expected to be at the crucial game, thousands of independent sympathizers would hit the road to Kaduna to give support to their darling side.
He though expressed fear over the presence of a huge crowd at the game, he said the situation might be uncontrollable, “we had similar experience in Lagos, where those who were just sympathetic to our course, misbehaved and the football authorities tagged them to be members of our fans cub and punished us for their erring.“we want to state categorically that, we are aware ABS is a 30, 000, seating facility, we have registered fans that are going to Kaduna and they are humble and law abiding, there are other thousands unregistered sympathizers, beware some would even trek to Kaduna for the game, this we cannot control, but we are appealing to our sympathizers to always comport themselves in line with the spirit of fair play.” Bashir appealed .
He further said “we lost in the final last year to Enugu Rangers, this time, we have worked hard, we must commend the players and coaches for a job well done, we have a continental ticket in our pocket and we will ice the cake with the Aiteo coveted trophy.”
Kano Pillars fc of Kano have set up a final match against Niger Tornadoes of Minna, in the Aiteo final slated to hold at Ahmadu Bello stadium, Kano, on July 24.
The Kano lads and members of the technical crew will arrive Kaduna 72 hours prior to kick off time.
Nasarawa United Football Club of Lafia on Saturday defeated Lobi Stars of Makurdi 1-0 in a pulsating North Central derby.
The matchday 16 fixture of the 2024/2025 Nigeria Premiere Football League (NPFL) was played at the Lafia Township Stadium, Nasarawa State capital.
The Makurdi side had adopted the Lafia Township Stadium as their home ground for the 2024/2025 NPFL season.
The only goal of the match was scored by Qamar Adegoke in the 12th minute of the match to give all three points to the Lafia side.
Adegoke’s goal, who joined the Lafia team recently, was his second in four matches.
The Nasarawa attacker capitalised on a defensive error by the opponent’s backline and hit the back of the net to give Nasarawa United the advantage.
In a post-match interview, Kabir Dogo, Technical Adviser of Nasarawa United, hailed his players for taking all three points.
He explained that his team had improved by scoring five goals in their last three matches and expressed optimism that they would do better in subsequent games.
“We had a problem in the area of goal scoring in the past, but this has changed in our last three games,” he said.
With the win, Nasarawa United climbed to 14th on the NPFL table, while Lobi Stars remain on 17th position. (NAN)
The Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) is organising a two-day National Coaching Seminar, with the theme: “Leadership and Management Skills”.
The event will take place from Dec. 17 to Dec. 18, at the Additional Sports and Entertainment (ASEP) Pro Limited, in Mowe, Ogun State.
The seminar will enhance the capabilities of Nigerian table tennis coaches, with a particular emphasis on female coaches, aligning with the International Table Tennis Federation’s (ITTF) Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (GEDI) Initiative.
A statement issued by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation, on Tuesday, said that the seminar was part of the one-week sports and leadership boot camp titled “Awaken the Giant, She Can 4.
0,” proudly supported by NTTF.“This seminar will also represent the third stage of the 2024 “My Gender, My Strength” programme, which has table tennis star Abosede Akinsete, as a beneficiary.
“NTTF President,Tikon Ishaku, Vice President, Adesoji Tayo, and other board members are dedicated to initiatives that support the development of coaches.
“Wahid Enitan-Oshodi, ITTF Executive Vice President, and President of ITTF-Africa, reaffirms his commitment to empowering women in sports, in line with the GEDI Initiative.
He explained that the seminar would feature people, who would speak on leadership and management skills, to enhance the abilities of coaches to identify and develop talents, as well as encourage the development of high-performance table tennis players capable of competing globally. (NAN)
Rivers United Football Club of Port Harcourt on Sunday returned to the 2024/2025 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) summit as strong rivals Remo Stars FC faltered on Match Day 13.
Report says that Rivers United beat visiting Abia Warriors of Umuahia 1-0 after an Ndifreke Effiong 58th minute goal from the penalty kick spot.
Effiong’s goal in the match at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium helped them to move to 25 points from 13 matches, after seven wins, four draws and two losses.
Former leaders Remo Stars dropped to second with 23 points from 13 matches after seven wins, two draws and four losses, following a 0-2 loss to hosts Katsina United.
Plateau United of Jos beat visiting Nasarawa United of Lafia 2-0 to bolster their position.
Shooting Stars Sports Club also struggled to a 1-0 win over visiting Bayelsa United of Yenago.
A 15th minute goal by Anthony Okachi at the Lekan Salami Stadium in Ibadan gave them the win.
El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri had on Saturday beaten Akwa United of Uyo 1-0 to move into third place on the table with 22 points from 13 games.
Enyimba International of Aba remained in fourth place with 20 points from 12 matches, with their week 13 game against Sunshine Stars of Akure on hold.
Rangers International of Enugu are in fifth place with 20 points also, after a goalless draw with hosts Heartland FC ain Owerri on Saturday.
Bendel Insurance of Benin had also beaten Kwara United of Ilorin 3-1, while Lobi Stars of Makurdi drew 2-2 with visiting Kano Pillars in Lafia.
NAN reports that the league will enter Match Day 14 on Wednesday.(NAN)
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