Sports
At Last, Stranded Falconets Landed In Abuja
Nigeria’s Women U20 team (Falconets) who were reported to be stranded in Turkey, returned to Nigeria in the early hours of Thursday, and were received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The Falconets who were eliminated at the quarter finals stage of the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup by Netherlands, were received by Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) staff led by General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, and Sports Minister representative, Toyin Ibitoye
The team won three of its four games at the Costa Rica 2022, defeating France (1-0), South Korea (1-0), and Canada (3-1), before losing 2-0 to The Netherlands in the quarter-final.
The was however had a stop over hitches in Turkey on Tuesday on their way back home. As a result of the worrying news, the Nigeria Football Federation on Wednesday explained that a number of factors, including the inability to secure transit visas for players and officials of the U20 Girls National Team, Falconets, at the Istanbul Airport, led to the team having to stay 24 hours at the airport in Turkey on their way from the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup.
“The NFF did not book the team’s tickets from Costa Rica; FIFA did. FIFA also did not envisage the hitches that saw the team delayed for more than three hours in Bogota, and another one hour in Panama. By the time the team got to Istanbul, the flight to Abuja had left.
“Our officials pleaded for compassionate transit visas so as to take the players and officials to a hotel inside the town, but this was not possible as they were informed that Nigeria had been removed from the list of countries whose citizens were issued visa-on-arrival in Turkey. The airline then took the team to a sleeping area at the airport and gave them tickets to have meals every five hours. This situation has nothing to do with NFF, who had made arrangements to receive the team in Abuja before the complications in travel arrangements,” NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, explained.
It would be recalled that the NFF had implored the world-governing body, FIFA to intervene with the Embassy of Germany to issue the team transit visas before their departure from Nigeria, in order for the team to be able to travel through Germany. This did not happen.
On the issue of body-wear, Sanusi said: “The players were handed three sets of green jerseys and two sets of white jerseys, several house-wear types and training jerseys. The players opted to wash only their jersey top (no other stuff) because when the first set of body-wear was sent to the laundry people at the hotel, it returned with some FIFA and NFF badges at the front and names at the back peeled by the machine.”
Spain will face The Netherlands in one of the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup while holders, Japan trade tackles with Brazil in the second semi-final game this week.
Sports
PremiumTrust Bank Abuja City International Half Marathon Splashes Big Prize Money Ahead Of 14 November 2026 Race
Top Three Elite Finishers To Earn $8,000, $6,000 And $5,000 Respectively
The organisers of the highly anticipated PremiumTrust Bank Abuja City International Half Marathon have announced an attractive prize package for athletes across every category ahead of the race on 14 November 2026 in Abuja.
The prize announcement has been welcomed by athletes and coaches, as the event continues to establish itself as one of the leading road races in Nigeria. The race offers local athletes the chance to compete against international runners in front of a home crowd, while also earning meaningful rewards.
In the elite category, first place earns $8,000, second place takes $6,000, third place gets $5,000, fourth place receives $4,000, fifth place goes home with $3,000, sixth place earns $2,000, seventh place takes $1,000, and eighth place gets $500.
In the Nigerian category, first place earns ₦2,000,000, second place takes ₦1,500,000, third place gets ₦1,000,000, fourth place receives ₦500,000, fifth place goes home with ₦300,000, sixth place earns ₦200,000, seventh place takes ₦100,000, and eighth place gets ₦50,000.
According to the organisers, the prize structure reflects the commitment of PremiumTrust Bank to the growth of athletics in Nigeria and to the encouragement of home based athletes. The separate Nigerian category ensures that local runners are properly recognised and rewarded for their performance.
The half marathon, which covers 21 kilometres, remains an important event for long distance runners. It serves as a test of endurance and preparation, and it provides a competitive platform for athletes building towards major national and international competitions.
The race is expected to draw elite athletes, club runners, corporate teams, fitness enthusiasts and supporters from across Nigeria and beyond. The turnout is expected to be high, given the interest already shown since registration opened.
Organisers have advised interested runners to register early through the official registration portal of the race to secure their participation, as arrangements are being put in place for timing, security, medical support and traffic management on race day.
The prize money is now confirmed, attention will shift to the athletes as they complete their final weeks of training and preparations ahead of the race day.
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