IN a highly charged main event at UFC 305, South African fighter, Dricus Du Plessis, retained his middleweight title, defeating Nigerian-born Israel Adesanya by submission in the fourth round. The grudge match, which had been fueled by pre-fight tensions over race and identity, culminated in a dramatic turn of events as Du Plessis secured the victory with a rear-naked choke. Adesanya, a former two-time champion, came into the fight determined to reclaim the belt he lost to Sean Strickland last September. Despite trailing 2-1 on the scorecards heading into the fourth round, Du Plessis turned the tide with a series…
Author: Peter Noah KC
FORMER Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi has voiced his frustration with the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), urging government intervention if the body fails to address ongoing issues. Mikel, who has been outspoken about the state of Nigerian football, did not hold back in his criticism, highlighting instances where he had to step in due to the negligence and questionable practices of those in charge. He also questioned the competence of those occupying key positions, with poor decision-making and a lack of proper support for the national teams the order of the day. “The (NFF) need to make sure they…
MINISTER of Sports Development John Ewah Enoh says a new coach for the Super Eagles will be announced sooner than later. He made this disclosure during an appearance on Politics Tonight on Channels TV on Wednesday monitored by News Point Nigeria. The team have been without a coach since Finidi George resigned in June after a poor run of games in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. But the wait seems to be nearing an end over the minister’s assurance, which may have come late, with the Super Eagles facing Benin Republic in a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification tie…
AS the abysmal performance of Team Nigeria at the 2024 Paris Olympics continues to raise dust, Minister of Sports Development John Enoh says the different sporting federations in the country need comprehensive reforms for efficient sports development. The minister, who apologised to Nigerians over the poor outing in Paris, indicted the leadership of sporting federations for the lacklustre performance, emphasising the need for systems and structures at the federations to get the best athletes to represent Nigeria and get the desired medals in the next games. “I’ve always stated that we need to reform our federations,” he said on Channels…
AFTER Nigeria failed to win any medals in the Olympics, sporting officials are under pressure from accusations of incompetence and calls for reform over what the sports minister branded a “disastrous outcome” in Paris. While smaller nations on the continent came home with multiple medals, the Giant of Africa left empty-handed for the first time since the 2012 London Olympics. Despite fielding continental champions like 100m hurdles record holder Tobi Amusan, Africa’s most populous nation did not live up to Olympic expectations. A day after the Olympics closed, former and current Olympians lashed out at the country’s sporting federations calling…
THE Paris Olympics may have ended with Team Nigeria winning no medal in what has been described as one of the country’s worst outings. However many athletes of Nigerian descent competed for other nations and had a podium finish. Some heartbreaking misses and what many have pegged as administrative lapses saw Nigeria having its worst Olympics outing since 2012, mirroring similar performances in the past. In the wake of Nigeria’s outing in Paris, the Federal Government has called for a review of the contingents’ performances. While the heartbreak of a poor outing in France would linger in the minds of…
THE Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh has issued an apology to Nigerians over the poor outing of the Nigerian team at the just-concluded 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. President Bola Tinubu had approved ₦12bn for the country’s outing at the Olympics and the Paralympics. ₦9bn was earmarked for the former while ₦3bn was budgeted for the latter. Despite the funding, Nigeria had ended the games without a medal. Apologising to Nigerians in a statement on Sunday, Enoh said the team had fallen short of expectations. “The Olympic Games, Paris 2024, have ended, and I accept that our performance should…
D’TIGRESS Rena Wakama has won the best coach at the women’s basketball event in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Wakama is also the first Nigerian National Female Basketball Team coach to win the women’s Afrobasket title since it began in 1966. She took the Nigerian female team to the quarter-finals of the tournament t for the first time in its history. That feat made them the first-ever African team (men or women) to play at that stage of the event. Nigeria would eventually bow out of the women’s basketball event losing 74-88 to the US. “Best coach of #Paris2024 Women’s…
NIGERIA has ended the 2024 Paris Olympics without a medal. Hannah Reuben lost her Women’s Freestyle 76kg fight early Saturday to effectively put the country’s slim hope of making the podium to rest. She lost 5-2 to Mongolia’s Enkh-Amaryn Davaanasan in the round of 16 tie, capping off a woeful showing for the West African nation. Team Nigeria went to the Olympics on the back of some great performances in qualifying events. The country registered for 12 events, but sadly – like previous Games – failed to translate its continental dominance at the Olympics. A series of heartbreaking losses and…
MINISTER of Sports Development, John Enoh, has explained why Nigerian athlete, Ese Ukpeseraye, had to ‘borrow’ a bicycle from the German team to compete at the ongoing 2024 Paris Olympics. Ukpeseraye had on Thursday via X revealed that due to short notice, she could not get a bicycle and was almost at the risk of not participating but for the intervention of the German track team, who helped her with a bike. “Due to the short notice of me competing at the Keirin & Sprint, #teamNigeria I had no bicycle to race with on the tracks. In the spirit of…
IN a display of sportsmanship, Nigerian cyclist, Ese Lovina Ukpeseraye, received crucial support from the German cycling team during the Paris Olympics. Ukpeseraye, representing Team Nigeria, found herself in a difficult situation when she had no bicycle to race with in the keirin and sprint events due to the short notice of her participation. “Due to the short notice of me competing at the keirin & Sprint, #teamNigeria I had no bicycle to race with on the tracks,” Ukpeseraye said in a post via her X handle on Thursday. However, the German team, Bund Deutscher Radfahrer, stepped in to assist…
NIGERIA’s D’Tigress suffered a 74-88 quarter-final defeat to the U.S. women’s basketball team at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Wednesday night. Nigeria, who have made physical play a trademark, looked anything but intimidated by the powerhouse Americans as they traded buckets in the opening minutes. Two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player A’Ja Wilson scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to pace a US side that could break a tie with the US men’s basketball team for the most consecutive Olympic golds — set from 1936-68. Jackie Young added 15 points and Breanna Stewart — another two-time WNBA MVP chipped in…
WORLD record holder Tobi Amusan qualified for the 100-meter hurdles semi-finals in the ongoing 2024 Olympics in Paris on Wednesday. Amusan led the pack of eight athletes with 12.49 seconds, followed by America’s Alaysha Johnson with 12.61 and Jamaica’s Janeek Brown qualified with 12.84 seconds. The semi-finals will be held on Friday, August 9, while the final is slated for the penultimate day of the athletics event, Saturday, August 10. This is Amusan’s third consecutive Olympic Games. Speaking, Amusan said she is confident of securing a medal in the event at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris after failing to…
THE Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma has unveiled a former Super Eagles winger and ex-coach of Nigeria’s Under 17 Emmanuel Amuneke as the new coach and technical adviser of Heartland FC. The club is owned by the Imo State Government. According to Governor Uzodimma, the appointment is in line with his administration’s efforts to reposition the club and bring back its lost glory. “I am thrilled to announce that our brother, Mr Emmanuel Amuneke, the celebrated international football legend from Imo State, has been appointed as the Head Coach of Heartland Football Club. Amuneke’s remarkable career has made us incredibly…
NIGERIA’s Favour Ofili was in tears after she stormed to the final of the 200m race in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Ofili qualified for the final after picking up the second automatic spot in the race on Monday, reigniting Nigeria’s hopes for a medal at the Games. She finished with a season’s best of 22.05s, falling behind St Lucia’s Julien Alfred – the 100m champion – who crossed the line in a time of 21.98s. The United States Mary Long was in third, finishing in 22:30s. Ofili is the first Nigerian to reach the milestone since Mary Onyali raced to…
THE Nigerian female basketball team, D’Tigress, made history at the Paris Olympics 2024 by qualifying for the last 8, claiming a 79-70 victory over Canada. That feat made them the first ever African team (men or women) to play in the quarter-final of an Olympic game. Nigeria, three-time Women’s Afrobasket Champions faced a tough test in the North Americans ranked 5 in the world A win for the D’Tigress was non-negotiable as they hoped to put behind them the loss to France. First ever African team (Men or Women) to play in #Olympics Quarter-Finals: The first quarter saw both sides…
THE Minister of Sports Development John Enoh has again raised questions about Favour Ofili’s omission for the 2024 Olympics, saying officials of the Nigeria Olympics Committee (NOC) have not slept since the discovery. Ofili was supposed to compete in the 100m race at the Games. Her name, was, however, omitted, a development that has raised questions among stakeholders. While giving an update about Ofili’s omission, Enoh said Nigerian officials are working on getting to the root of the matter. “The 100m race got off to a start today, sadly without Favor Ofili. I was on the matter until the early…
THE Super Falcons’ campaign at the Paris Olympics is over. A loss to Japan in their last Group C game condemned them to a disappointing exit from the competition. It was 3-1 in the Asian side’s favour, ending the Super Falcons’ Olympics dreams. Nigeria lost their first two games – Brazil and Spain – but went into Wednesday’s match aiming for a win to reignite their slim chance of making the quarter-finals of the women’s football event of the Olympics. That flicker of hope was, however, extinguished by Japan who scored twice in ten minutes, starting from the 22nd minute,…
THE Super Falcons will hope to end their two consecutive defeats in the women’s football event at the 2024 Paris Olympics when they take on Japan in the final Group C game at the Stade de La Beaujoire – Louis Fonteneau on Wednesday (today). Nigeria and Japan are both targeting a place in the Olympic quarter-finals and a win for either side will do their campaign a lot of good. After two rounds of matches, the Falcons are at the bottom of their group, following back-to-back defeats against Brazil and Spain, while Japan are sitting in second place in Group…
NIGERIA’s D’Tigress have started their Paris 2024 Olympics campaign on an impressive note, stunning world number three Australia in the women’s basketball event of the Games. The Nigerian girls won the Monday basketball encounter 75-62 in the French city of Lille. The D’Tigress had an 11-0 run to end the first half on a good note, getting a 13-point advantage. That proved to be okay to keep the Opals of Australia at bay with Amy Okonkwo getting a triple to make things better for coach Rena Wakama’s charges. Nigeria’s Ezinne Kalu was impressive on the day and fired 19 points,…