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Baseball And Softball Federation Call For More Corporate Support 

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President, nigeria baseball and softballball federation Uchenna Odozor says nigeria has what is takes to be a force to recon with in the sport globally if only the necessary support and encouragement are in place 

Uchenna Odozor who is an ex nigerian baseball player stated that the country boost of talented baseball and softball players who can become world beaters if given the enabling environment

He said the federation has had series of competitions for athletes and trainings for officals all geared towards taking nigeria to the ptomise land but noted is still not enough

Also coach Peter nwabuba adds that funding is a major challenge hindering the growth of baseball and softball in the country

“Actually we’ve had couple of programs ongoing from the beginning of the  year, from building capacity we have had some various tournaments ,just recently we had a group of four American world renowned coaches who visited Nigeria on our invitation and we had a capacity building both in Abuja and in Port Harcourt , And what that entailed was gathering all the coaches in Nigeria both the coaches that are based in the university, club sides and National coaches we assembled all of them in port harcourt were they had to go through various certifications because one thing with coaching in Baseball is you have to renew often times your level of qualification and exposure to the sport , that was conducted successfully, before then we also had the JAHABS( from Japan coach Tomanari who also visited Nigeria with his own Teams, we took the opportunity to create awareness and do some developmental program and most importantly we signed a very major deal with the Japanese JAHABS( Japanese Africa Baseball and softball foundation) which is going to be sponsored by JICA(Japanese international cooperation for Africa) they have found Nigeria very worthy to be supported when it comes to Baseball development so you would find our programmes go through all this grassroots , And immediately after that also we convened the pitcher  catcher  program  which is where you determine what has been coached ,what kind of people are we developing, pitcher catcher for softball determines the quality of every play so just recently we ended the pitcher catcher National program where all the pitchers in softball in Nigeria Female and of course all the catchers of softball were actually gathered in Lagos” He said 

The nigeria baseball and softball boss who will ontesting for the position of the World Baseball and Softball Confederation -Africa at the upcoming Election Congress in Bangkok Thailand from the 16-19 October 2025 says this will rubb off pisitely on the growth of the game in nigeria and Africa 

“Actually I think Africa deserves better when it comes to Baseball development and Baseball Leadership and the first thing they did is that every country has been publishing its progress and its developmental programs and I think it caught the attention of a lot of African Nations who actually found Nigeria worthy to be nominated to contest the office of the president of Africa Baseball and the elective congress is in Thailand between the 16th and 18th of October it brings good tidings to Baseball  in Nigeria and it most importantly reemphasis the confidence the other nations of Africa do have around Nigeria and it all about our program, our vision our commitment , to the game of baseball , Baseball is been played over 35years in Nigeria , I played Baseball as a youth as far back as 1989 , 1990 I represented Nigeria, I still play till today, I have my own club and of course have also come of to be considered worthy to lead the Baseba and softball and Baseball 5 Federation in Nigeria, a whole lot of all this come together . The biggest takeaway will be the return of world Baseball and softball ” . He said 

Peter nwabuba speaks on the succession plans of the federation as regards softball 

“We need A lot we are lacking money and funding, the youth need a lot of support and Baseball is going to be one of the strategies through which we can engage the youth to have a meaningful busy moment in their life in other to curb crime because when the youth are meaningfully engaged we need funding to move forward

We have a very viable president whom I know wants the betterment of the country he is doing all he could to make sure the Nigeria youth better, we have Vibrant female youth proving they can do better than the male , they are highly spirited we in the baseball can bring a lot of support for the female folks to make their life more meaningful and we want to make it gender friendly”. He said 

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Ikoyi Club 1938 Rounds Up 87th Anniversary With Colourful Gala Nite

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The weeklong  87th anniversary of the prestigious Ikoyi Club 1938 came to a close on Sunday, October, 5, 2025 with a colourful Gala nite .

Chairman of the club, Akinwumi Akintola expresses  happiness on the hitch free event while noting that the club will continue to strive to maintain it’s leadership position amongst recreational clubs in sub- saharan Africa.

He was also full of praise to  the general committee and the  anniversary sub- committee for putting up a colourful event while he thanked sponsors that identified with the anniversary celebration.

“It’s a thing of joy that the 87th anniversary was a colourful and eventual one and for the past one week, members and invited guests had a fill of the hospitality which the club is noted for.

I also want to express my appreciation to the anniversary committee for a job well done and to our sponsors for identifying with the club  and I hope they’ll still be there for us when we hold the 88th anniversary next year”. He said 

According to him, the attendance of the Alaafin of Oyo to the event is a testament that the club is a respectable one and they will continue to sustain the legacy Ikoyi is noted for since it came into existence on September 29, 1938, through the merger of the European Club and the Lagos Golf Club.

Chairman of the anniversary committee who also doubles as the Vice Chairman of the Club, Bolaji Martins noted that the glory for  success recorded should go to the entire members of the committee who toiled day and night to ensure they had a seamless event 

In his remarks, the Royal father of the day and the Alaafin of Oyo, His Imperial Majesty, Oba, Akeem Abimbola Owoade commended the club for the legacies it has built over the years, promising that he’ll not hesitate to attend any event of the club when invited.

He admonished the members to continue with their spirit of friendship and oneness which has made the club record a milestone as the only socio cultural recreation club with eight sections in the country.

The gala nite was spiced up with music, dance, cutting of the anniversary cake, presentation of trophies to tournament winners from the various sections of the club and unveiling of the anniversary mascot known as ‘Ajala’ and raffle draw. 

There was also a demonstration by the Karate class of the club 

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Ikoyi Club 1938 Set For A  Memorable 87th Anniversary 

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The leading social cultural recreational Club in the country, Ikoyi Club 1938 has announced plans to organize a memorable eighty seventh anniversary.

In a press conference to herald the anniversary, chairman of the club, Akinwumi Akintola explained that the event became necessary inorder to celebrate the achievements of the  iconic club which has witnessed many transformations, innovations and continuous improvement in facilities since it was established more than eight decades ago 

He expressed happiness that all the eight sections in the club namely; golf ,tennis, table tennis, squash, swimming , badminton, billiards, snooker and pools and other sports  all boosts of modern equipment that can be found anywhere in the world, noting that they will continue to sustain the momentum.

“We are rolling out the drums because for the past 87 years, the club has sustained it’s legacy as the number one recreation club in  sub- saharan Africa with improved facilities where members come to relax, exercise, recreate, share business  ideas and burn out calories in a conducive environment.

” Over the decades, our club has not only remained a beacon of excellence but has been technology  driven. It  has also adapted and thrived in the ever- evolving landscape of social and recreational life in Nigeria and we’ll continue to keep the flag flying”, he said.

Vice Chairman of the club who doubles as chairman of the anniversary planning committee, Bolaji Martins says the weeklong celebration with the theme  ‘Globalization, the world in one club’, begins September ,30, 2025 with a novelty football match between members of the planning committee and staff of the club.

This will be followed by anniversary symposium/ business day where some select professionals will deliver papers. There will also be children and junior members party, ladies night, fashion parade,  dance and elders party.

“We are greatful to all our sponsors for identifying with the anniversary, we promise  there will be no dull moment throughout the weeklong celebration of the  club which  officially came into existence on September 29, 1938, through the merger of the European Club and the Lagos Golf Club.” He said 

Also lined up are; digital night/ interaction  with AI and  aviation day that will witness  discussion and interaction with Qatar and Turkish Airlines.

The ceremony  rounds off on Sunday, October, 5, 2025 with gala nite.

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KOREAN CULTURAL CENTRE COLLABORATES WITH LAGOS MINISTRY OF BASIC AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ON TAEKWONDO DEVELOPMENT 

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Friday 19 September 2025 was very memorable for junior secondary school students of Lagos Education District 3. Assorted taekwondo training equipment like uniforms, competition mats, focus pads, head guards etc were donated to enhance grassroots taekwondo development in three selected Lagos schools (Boys Junior Academy Mandilas Lagos Island, Kuramo Junior High school Victoria Island and Victoria Island Junior Secondary School).

KCCN formally adopted these three schools for taekwondo training since September 2023. An annual assessment is always conducted by the KCCN in September to check how well the programme fulfills its objectives.

The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education and all other officers of the ministry are very positive about the program which is largely an initiative of the Embassy of South Korea in Nigeria

The KCCN has been actively promoting Korean culture, including Taekwondo, in Nigeria through various initiatives like termly Taekwondo training projects in Lagos and Abuja, and organizing events like the U-15 Taekwondo championship. 

The Nigeria Taekwondo Federation collaborates with international bodies like Kukkiwon and World Taekwondo to strengthen Taekwondo in Nigeria, with a history dating back to 1975

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