Sports

Baseball And Softball Federation Call For More Corporate Support

Published

3 weeks ago

September 30, 2025

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

Sports

Team Panamai Wins 5th Millenium Taekwondo Plus Club Competition

Published

3 days ago

October 18, 2025

Stories24

Former Nigerian Taekwondo athletes have called for more synergy between the government and corporate bodies to raise the standard of the sport in the country

Mukaila Aramide , Koffi Anani , Joseph Golu and Ferguson Oluigbo all agreed that the future is bright for the sport but is challenged by some basic needs to push taekwondo to the top

They said this at the one day Millenium Taekwondo plus club competition held at the basketball courts of the National stadium surulere Lagos were over 100 children from different clubs across Lagos State comperd for honours in poomsea and kyuorgi

They said Nigeria has the talent who are hungry for success at the biggest stage but lack the necessary requirement to take them there

The synergy between the public and private sector will help accelerate the growth of Taekwondo in Nigeria through regular tournaments, trainings, good welfare packages and accessibility to world standard facilities which are pre-requsits to becoming world champions

The age grade championship organised yearly by grand master mukaila Aramide availed the athletes a platform to showcase their skills and develop their knowledge on the sport tney have passion for

Organised of the championship, Mukaila Aramide, says it’s his own contribution towards the growth of the sport in the country

” The Millenium Taekwondo plus club competition is to put smiles on the faces of the children, given them a platform to display what they have learnt from their coaches. Without competitons it will be difficult to access how well the athletes have mastered the sport.

We need more support from the corporate world to be able to take Taekwondo to greater heights in the country, the future is bright for the sport as the talents are abound” He said

Team Panamai were crowned the overall champions with 10 gold , 10 silver and 4 bronze medals

Winners got medals, and educational materials for their efforts

This year’s edition was the 5th installment

Sports

Alake Of Egbaland Birthday Table Tennis Championship Concludes With Splendor At Ikoyi Club 1938

Published

1 week ago

October 12, 2025

Stories24

The third edition of the prestigious Alake of Egbaland Birthday Table Tennis Championship culminated on Friday, October 10, 2025, at the revered Ikoyi Club 1938, drawing royalty, dignitaries, industrial leaders, and table tennis aficionados.

The weeklong tournament, served off on Monday, October 6, celebrated the birthday of His Royal Majesty Oba Adedokun Gbadebo, Alake of Egbaland

OBA Oluwambe Reuben Sogaolu (Olu of Orile-Imo) and OBA Prof. Saka Adelola (Olowu of Owu) showcased skills in royal exhibition matches.

Chief Taiwo Adeoluwa faced off against

former Ogun State Governor, Senator Gbenga Daniel, in an exhibition game.

Chief Taiwo Adeoluwa: Organized the tournament to honor the Alake’s contributions to Egbaland’s development and his patronage of Ikoyi Club 1938.

Chairman ikoyi ub 1938, Akinwumi Akintola represented by Vice Chairman Bolaji Martins Lauded the sponsor for backing the annual championship.

Chairman table tennis section of the club Folunsho Ajilore Described the event as a celebration of the Alake’s legacy, leadership, and service, highlighting his impactful reign.

In results of games, Men’s Singles Tunde Badare defeated opponent 4-2 (11-6, 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 8-11, 11-5).

In the Women’s Singles, Chinwe Igwe won 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-8) against Ayinwade Banjoko.

Winners in Doubles, Premiership, Championship, Veteran Singles (60+), and Septuagenarian Veteran (70+) categories received trophies and cash prizes.

Men’s/Women’s singles winners got trophies, cash, and iPhones

Director General, National Sports Commission Hon. Bukola Olopade Praised Ikoyi Club’s sports development role.

Birthday Cake Cutting Marked festivities honoring the Alake.

The championship blended sportsmanship, cultural pride, and celebration of the Alake’s esteemed position.

Sports

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

Published

2 weeks ago

October 6, 2025

Stories24

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