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Mark D Ball Basketball Championship Dunks Off in Abuja

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*NBBF to Roll out Programmes Soon

By Jude Opara, Abuja

All is now set for the Men’s version of this year’s Mark D Ball Basketball Championship which will dunk off on Sunday, February 6th, at the Indoor Sports Hall, Package B of the MKO Abiola National Stadium Abuja.


Recall, that two weeks ago, the female version of the championship also held at the same venue.

The event which was earlier billed to start immediately the female version ended was however pushed forward following the usage of the venue for a Table Tennis tournament which comes to an end on Saturday.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s dunking and slamming, newly elected  President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) and Proprietor of Mark D Ball Basketball Championship, Igoche Mark, said the championship is his pet project geared towards the development of the game; and not that of the NBBF, while stating that the federation will soon roll out its own developmental programmes.

Mark said; “For 10 years and counting, Mark D Ball Basketball Championship has been my pet project even before I emerged as the President of NBBF. The championship is geared towards the development of the game (Basketball). It is a mixture of sport, entertainment and rewards. 
“As stated in the Press Release I issued few days ago, the NBBF under my watch is committed to developing and expanding the scope of Basketball in Nigeria. All stakeholders in Basketball including the media will benefit from our programmes”.  

Meanwhile, the NBBF President, has promised to revive the moribund domestic league following the lack of games suffered in the last four years by Nigerian basketball teams.
The teams have been pooled into 3 Groups – A, B, and C; as they will take turns to play each other in a round robbing format, weekly – starting with Group A.
The Mark D Ball teams in Group A consist of Gombe Bulls, Police Batons, Apa Flames, Hot Coal Ballers, Nile University Spartans, AHIP Giants, Mo Heat and Safety Knights.

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SPORTS

Finals of Gov. Peter Mbah Secondary Schools Games Begin in Enugu

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The finals of Gov. Peter Mbah Secondary Schools Games, on Thursday began in Enugu with the arrival and accreditation of athletes at Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium Enugu.

Dan Onwuegbuna, Director, Information, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Enugu State, said in a statement on Thursday that the games would be held between Aug.

7 and Aug.
10 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium and the Enugu State Sports Council.

“The games is designed to help the state discover talents to represent the state at the forthcoming U15 National Youth Games scheduled to take place in Asaba, Delta, from Aug. 26 to Sept. 6,” he stated.

Onwuegbuna said that apart from representing the state at the Youth Games in Asaba, talented athletes discovered would represent the state in other competitions.

He quoted the Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Lloyd Ekweremadu as thanking Gov. Peter Mbah for approving the games.

Onwuegbuna said that the games was made possible following the collaboration between the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the state Post Primary Schools Management Board (PPSMB).

The games finals followed the outcome of the inter- Secondary Schools competitions held at the local government areas in the six Educational Zones in the State – Enugu, Agbani, Awgu, Udi, Nsukka and Udenu.

“The games will feature athletics, boxing, chess, basketball, volleyball, football, tennis and scrabble,” Onwuegbuna stated.

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SPORTS

Super Falcons’ Nnadozie Nominated for Ballon d’Or Best Goalkeeper Award

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Super Falcons goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie has been nominated for the 2025 Women’s Yachine Trophy, the Ballon d’Or award for the best female goalkeeper.

The 24-year-old recently joined Brighton Women FC from Paris FC after helping the French side win their first major title in nearly two decades.

Nnadozie delivered a heroic performance in the final of the 2025 Coupe de France Féminine, where Paris FC edged Paris Saint-Germain 5-4 on penalties following a goalless draw at Stade de l’Épopée in Calais.

She was also instrumental in Nigeria’s success at the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), where the Super Falcons secured a record-extending 10th continental crown against host nation, Morocco.

Her standout displays earned her the Best Goalkeeper award and a place in the Team of the Tournament.

Other nominees for the Yachine Trophy include Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham FC), Cata Coll (Barcelona Femeni), Hannah Hampton (Chelsea Women) and Daphne van Domselaar (Arsenal Women).

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SPORTS

Super Falcons Maintain 36th Position in Latest FIFA Women’s World Ranking

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Nigeria’s Super Falcons maintained 36th position in the latest FIFA women’s world ranking.

The latest ranking was released on FIFA’s official website yesterday.

While the Super Falcons remain the number one team in Africa, WAFCON 2024 runners-up Morocco are third on the continent and dropped to 64th spot in the world.

Former WAFCON champions Banyana Banyana of South Africa maintained 54th place in the world and second in Africa.

Ghana’s Black Queens who claimed third place at the WAFCON dropped to 67th position in the global ranking.

The Super Falcons recently won their 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) after coming from 2-0 down to beat hosts Morocco 3-2 in the final.

Second half goals from Esther Okoronkwo, Folashade Ijamilusi and substitute Jennifer Echegini completed the turnaround.

Okoronkwo, scored a goal and provided two assists against the Moroccans was Named Player of the Match.

Chiamaka Nnadozie was named Goalkeeper of the Tournament while Captain Rasheedat Ajibade won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.

Meanwhile, World champions Spain (1st, up 1) had an impressive run to the final of the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 with five back-to-back wins, which was enough to see them reclaim top spot in the ranking, a position they previously held from December 2023 to June 2024.

The USA (2nd, down 1) have therefore been knocked off their perch, which they had occupied since August 2024.

However, three convincing home wins in friendlies during this period have kept the USA in contention, and they are now sitting less than two points behind Spain.

The top 10 has been shaken up completely since the June edition of the ranking, with France (6th, up 4) performing best among them.

France completed a flawless group stage at the European Championship before falling to Germany in the quarter-finals.

The next edition of the Women’s World Ranking will be published on 11 December 2025.

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