SPORTS
Coach Obinna Signs for English Side
By Danusa Ocholi
Barely three months after getting his UEFA “B” Licence, a Nigerian-born England-based Coach, Obinna Maduike . has signed for an English football team. Coach Maduike recently signed for Mansfield Town FC of England, a professional division two side for a year contract in the first instance as its coach.
He told DAILY ASSET exclusively:“I am immensely happy on this development, but above all I give God Almighty the glory for making this possible.
It is a breakthrough for me in professional football academy coaching career. It is an under-15 academy side. The team narrowly missed the chance to get promoted to division one last season.”He said he feels honoured that he could be considered for the job, usually reserved for the citizens of the country. He added:“To be honest with you, coaching football side as a foreigner is not as easy as many think. It is a herculean task. You have a lot of work to do. You need to learn the culture of methodology of assimilation by the players, and this plays a major role in the success or otherwise of the coach.
“On the other hand, coaching could be fun, could be enjoyable if , when as a coach you understand how to transfer the message to the players. However accent could be a barrier, as this could differentiate you from other local coaches. Communication therefore is key.”
He promised to make the difference while coaching the English side. According to him:
“Essentially my goal as the professional academy coach with Mansfield Town FC is to develop the players according to the philosophy and then progress to UEFA A licence course in future. Presently I am a holder of UEFA B license, as you know.”
English and Italian football giants Manchester City, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Juventus will square up for pre-season friendlies in Hong Kong in August, the clubs announced yesterday.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, currently arm-wrestling Arsenal for the Premier League title, will take on Inter Milan on Saturday, August 1, spearheaded by their Norwegian goal machine Erling Haaland.
The match will kick off the “Hong Kong Football Festival” at the city’s futuristic 50,000-seat Kai Tak stadium.
The gleaming arena opened a year ago, featuring a roof that can be closed and air-conditioning to combat the fierce summer heat and humidity in Hong Kong.
Chelsea will play Juventus on Wednesday August 5 to round off the mini-tournament.
Lagos State will host the second edition of the National School Volleyball Championships from April 21 to April 24 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.
President of the Nigeria School Sport Federation (NSSF), Olabisi Joseph, said in a statement on Monday that schools from across the country had converged for the four-day tournament.
She said the competition meant for secondary schools is organised by the NSSF in collaboration with the Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF), with support from the Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC).
Joseph said the annual tournament aims to develop volleyball in the school system and identify outstanding athletes who will represent Nigeria at the International School Sport Federation (ISF) events.
She expressed delight at the growing interest among schools nationwide and urged participants to be worthy ambassadors of their institutions.
“In Nigeria, we are blessed with an abundance of talent in the school system.
“Volleyball, being one of the popular sports in schools, has ignited healthy rivalry among students.
“Sports stimulates learning, so we are building a total child through events like this,” she said.
Joseph added that standout athletes from the Lagos championship would be shortlisted to compete at the ISF World School Volleyball Championship in China.
She described the event as a unique opportunity for young players to showcase their skills before global scouts.
“Teams from Lagos, Osun, Rivers, Bayelsa, Adamawa, Ogun, Taraba, Bauchi and other states are competing for honours, with NVBF technical officials on ground to scout for talent.”
The maiden edition of the National School Volleyball Championships was held in Abuja, where host teams won both the boys’ and girls’ categories.
Outstanding players from the FCT, Plateau and Kaduna states later represented Nigeria at the 2025 ISF World School Volleyball Championships in China.
The World School Volleyball Championship is scheduled to be held from July 1 to July 10 in China.
Guinea will face Nigeria’s Flamingos in the final qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The Guineans defeated Niger Republic 3-0 in the second leg of their qualifying fixture in Conakry on Saturday.
They won the contest 8-2 on aggregate, following their 5-2 triumph in the first leg last week.
The winner of the Flamingos versus Guinea clash will qualify for the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The Flamingos set up camp in Abuja for the clash with their fellow West Africans last week.
Newly appointed head coach, Akeem Busari invited 36 players to camp for the team’s preparation.
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