CAF: Finidi Declines Comment On ‘Bench Ban’

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Enyimba coach Finidi George has refused to comment on his ‘bench ban’ in Sunday’s CAF Champions League first-round game at Al Ahly Benghazi.The former Super Eagles winger and his assistant Yemi Olanrewaju as the two-time African champions threw away an early lead to lose 4-3 to hosts Al Ahly.While several reports stated that the UEFA Champions League winner with Ajax in 1995 and his assistant were barred from the bench by the Confederation of African Football for not having the prerequisite CAF coaching licenses, Finidi declined to comment on the issue.When our correspondent asked him the reason he wasn’t on the bench, Finidi replied, “I will not want to put more fuel in this burning issue.”The gaffer, who watched from the stands in Benghazi on Sunday, however, said his team should have done better with their defending, noting that they would bounce back in the return leg.“It was a good game to watch but it was unfortunate we conceded those goals, but we will bounce back this Sunday,” Finidi told PUNCH Sports Extra.“Even if we were not there, I felt we should have defended better. We have an opportunity to rectify things in Aba when we play the second leg. We will be much better defensively next match,” he added.The Nigeria Professional Football League champions scored first through striker Victor Mbaoma, but they had to fight back twice to restore parity in the game, before losing 4-3 at the death.

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Oyedeji Basketball Camp Begins In Lagos

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Kenya’s scrabble star, Njoroge Stanley and Nigeria’s Durojaiye Segun were the cynosure of all eyes at the opening of the ongoing Pan African Scrabble Association [PANASA] Cup at Lekki, Lagos.The four-day event which started on Thursday 24th August saw the duo out-shine 36 others before the day 2 duels commenced Friday at same venue.With the Kenyan making a perfect start after seven rounds, Durojaiye who led seven players to the championship gave him a run for his money in a bid to settle for the 2nd spot.In a similar vein, the African Youth Scrabble Championship [AYSC] which is running alongside the PANASA Cup, also witnessed a tough start in Division A round 3 standings with Ogbonna Michael and Lateef Musa showing class ahead of others aiming for glory. The Division B round 2 standing also saw Archibong Prestige and Imode Clinton fail to bow to his rivals.Meanwhile, PANASA President, Adekoyejo Adegbesan alongside AYSC founder and Chrisland Schools Proprietress Dr Winifred Awosika were on ground to inspire participants to greater heights despite championing their hosting in Nigeria largest economic state.

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Sports stakeholders have called for the return of the National Sports Commission in order to make the administration of the sector more effective, Tidesports source reports.This is coming in the wake of President Bola Tinubu’s appointment of Senator John Enoh from Cross River State as the new Minister of Sports Development, just as the Ministry of Youth, hitherto with sports, has been separated.The NSC is the apex body responsible for regulating sports in the country, with Alhassan Yakmut serving as the last Director-General before it was scrapped by Major Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s (retd.) regime in 2015.Enoh’s predecessor, Sunday Dare, who was in office during former Buhari’s second term, had promised that the commission would be revived.According to Dare, the commission will be headed by a sports technocrat who will ensure that the federations have financial autonomy.“The ministry is pushing for the return of the National Sports Commission because that is the way to get our sports federations working effectively. The federations will be directly under the NSC and will be able to source their funds. The ministry only steps in when there is a major international competition like the Olympics, African Games and Commonwealth Games,” Dare said in Abuja in 2021.Former Vice President, Nigeria Olympic Committee, Lanre Glover, said the revival of the NOC would enable the sports federations run more efficiently.“The sports ministry is just too big. I think it’s better we bring back the National Sports Commission because it will focus deeply on sports and is even more controllable. From my experience in working with chairmen of associations and sports federations, having the commission will help manage the gap of administration,” Glover told Tidesports source.

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The best 11 players and coach selected by the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) All Stars Committee will, at the end of the coming season, embark on a training tour of Spain to play friendly games against some La Liga teams, NPFL Chairman, Gbenga Elegbeleye, has said.The team would also get opportunity to be trained by some of Spain’s coaches during the tour.Speaking during the inauguration of the Team of the Month Selection Committee, headed by ex-international, Daniel Amokachi, Elegbeleye said, “the Nigerian Premier League (NPL) board has an agreement with a La Liga club, who said they would be ready to host the best of the country’s league to a playing tour of Spain.“They will arrange friendly matches for the team, which will be trained by some of Spain’s best coaches.”He said that his board would soonprovide policy guidelines and schemes aimed at making the league attractive to corporate sponsors, stakeholders, players and fans.Elegbeleye said: “The idea of a technical committee for Team of the Month Selection may not be entirely new, but we are including the added flavour and benefits of going to have an end of season team, an All-Star squad that will spend two weeks in Spain playing friendly games with top LaLiga sides.“This is an agreement we have secured with a top LaLiga club to host our NPFL select and arrange for them to play against some other top teams in Spain. This, no doubt, will be an enriching experience for the players, as they will have the opportunity to train and play against some of the very best. It has the added edge of going to form the nucleus of a future CHAN Eagles team.”Journalists, Mitchel Obi, Segun Agbede and Deji Omotoyinbo.Also in the committee are Coach Manu Garba, Coach Godwin Uwauh and Davidson Adejuwon, a former Director of defunct NPFL side, MFN.

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