Connect with us

Sports

NDDC Football Competition Kicks-off In Uyo

Published

on

A five-day football tournament, organized exclusively for staff of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has commenced at the West Itam Playing Ground, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Speaking shortly before he took the kick-off to signal the beginning of the NDDC MD/CEO Cup competition, the Interim Administrator, Mr. Efiong Akwa, stressed the importance of sports in creating unity and bringing people together for the achievement of set goals.

The NDDC Chief Executive Officer said that the football tournament, which would end on July 23, provided an opportunity for the Commission’s staff to come out in unity to compete among themselves.

He remarked: “We have to take our staff out from their work schedule, because as the saying goes, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

“We all know the importance of sports all over the world. When Nigeria was at the forefront in the fight against apartheid in South Africa, the country had to miss the Montreal Olympic Games in Canada. This was to put pressure on the South African government to end apartheid.”

The Chairman of NDDC Staff Union, Comrade Anthony Gbendo noted that the competition has been specially planned to ensure that it turns out a success bigger and better than previous competitions.

He explained that various departments, cutting across the nine NDDC states would slug it out against each other in a five-day football contest to determine which team would emerge as the champion.

The union chairman commended the Interim Administrator for his love for sports and physical well-being of NDDC staff.

He said that the objective of the tournament was to create some level of physical training for staff, encourage healthy competition outside the confines of work place and promote unity and peaceful co-existence.

He lauded the NDDC management for sponsoring the competition, stating that it would help staff to keep fit and be alert to attend to their duties.

The preliminary stages of the competition would see 8 teams for males and 8 female teams slugging it out, after which two teams will emerge, before they proceed to Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on July 23, for the finals.

Continue Reading

Sports

Robinho To Serve A 9 Year Jail Term Over Gang Rape

Published

on

Former Manchester City and Real Madrid striker Robinho will reportedly serve a nine-year jail sentence for gang rape – Imposed on him by an Italian court — in Brazil, judges in Brasilia has ruled.

The 40-year-old was found guilty in Italy in 2017 and according to Globo, Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (BSCJ), made the ruling on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

The former Premier League player, whose real name is Robson De Souza, was one of six men who were found guilty of a§§aulting an Albanian woman in an Italian nightclub in January 2013.

In January 2022, the Supreme Court in Rome dismissed his final appeal against the conviction, according to the report.

Robinho claims he is innocent and has been living in Brazil for the past seven years. It came after nine of the court’s 15 ministers had voted in favour of the decision to incarcerate the footballer in Brazil.

Globo also claims that the ex-footballer, who also spent time at AC Milan and Real Madrid, will now be arrested in Santos, where he currently resides.

Robinho, who was 28 and was playing for AC Milan at the time, admitted during his appeal to having ‘contact’ with the woman, but the Brazilian insisted it was consensual.

The Milan Court of Appeals found Robinho had ‘belittled’ and ‘br¥tally h¥miliated’ the victim as it upheld his original sentence in December 2020.

Intercepted phone calls between the Brazilian and those allegedly involved in the assault were used as key evidence in his initial conviction.

Continue Reading

Sports

Former Tennis Champion, Tania Okpala Returns To Tennis After Rehabilitation

Published

on

Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, has revealed that former tennis champion, Tania Okpala, has resumed playing on the courts.

This development follows Soludo’s assurance that she would undergo rehabilitation after a video surfaced online showing her in distress on the streets of Awka, pleading for assistance.

In an update on his social media handle on Thursday, Soludo expressed his satisfaction with Okpala’s return, stating, “Tania Okpala is back on the courts!

“A few months ago, social media was flooded with a viral video showing Ms. Tania in a distressing state on the streets of Awka. I am pleased to report that we have successfully restored Tania to her winning ways.”

Okpala, who hails from Anambra and has a Belarusian mother, represented Nigeria in the 1990s.

Here are pictures of her in the tennis court.

Continue Reading

Sports

AFCON: Victor Osimhen Now Cleared To Join The Other Super Eagles Ahead Of Tomorrow’s Game

Published

on

Good News has it that Victor Osimhen has finally joined the Super Eagles Nigeria team in Bouake, Ivory Coast.

He has been given the clear from the medical team on the abdominal discomfort issue. Earlier it was reported that the player could not join the rest of the team who flew to Ivory Coast ahead of Tomorrow’s football match against South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.

He’s fully fit and ready to play in the Semifinals against South Africa tomorrow.

Continue Reading

Trending