Sports
Attom Foundation Charity Champions Cup: We Are Here To Make Nigeria Happy-Emmanuel Ebue Others
Joel Ajayi
The former Arsenal football club Defender Emmanuel Ebue and other legendary players who will take part in tomorrow’s Attom Foundation Charity Champions Cup said he is in Nigeria for the game to make Nigerians happy.
The Charity Champions Cup aims to raise funds and awareness to support eye care treatment for at least 10,000 Nigerians, particularly the elderly, affected by vision problems such as refractive errors, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma.
The ex-Ivorian player who was present at the press conference on Thursday in Abuja for the much-awaited Attom Foundation Charity to raise awareness and provide medical assistance to over 10,000 individuals in need expressed: “I am here to thank God, I know the Attom very long time and when he talks to me I have no option than to oblige him, I am here to make Nigerian Happy.
Speaking also, the Super Eagles defender, Kenneth Omuero said the charity cup even is a very important day for Nigeria and for the organizer, my foundation has been doing a lot, especially for the blind people, and when Attom Foundation approached me I was happy to be part of it.
The inaugural edition of the Attom Charity Champions Cup is billed at 4:00 pm tomorrow Saturday 15th June 2024 at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium with the involvement of over 50 football legends and celebrities.
The legend expected to take part in the charity Game includes football legends, including current African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen, former African Footballer of the Year winners El Hadji Diouf and Didier Drogba, as well as Nigerian football icons Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Emmanuel Ebue, Kenneth Omeruo, Ahmed Musa, Wilfred Ndidi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Onazi amongst others
Speaking at the press conference ahead of the Charity Cup on Friday in Abuja Dr Emmanuel Ogonna who represents the founder of Attom Foundation, Yahaya Attom, said the Attom Foundation is targeting 10,000 Nigeria before the end of the year.
“We felt that there is a need to improve the lives of the local community and bring society together and one of the best ways to do this is through sports have started this year in Maiduguri Borno state where we did over 2000 surgeries and provision of glasses for people and we are willing to do more.
Speaking also, a Public Health Optometrist with Habib Medical Clinic Dr Ozy Okonokhua, revealed that 84 percent of blindness is avoidable and noted that quacks cause a lot of damage.
Meanwhile Saturday’s game, the Attom Foundation hopes to raise funds to support its mission of treating 10,000 people in need during this period.
Sports
A Triumphant Close to the 22nd National Sports Festival
…As organisers promise another spectacle at closing ceremony on Thursday
Joel Ajayi
After 11 days of a true showcase of sporting competition in multiple Sports by some of the country’s top and even promising athletes, the curtain will finally be drawn on what many have described as one of the best ever organised National Sports festivals, when the closing ceremony is held on Thursday at the MKO Sports Arena in Abeokuta.
Whilst the quality of the Games’ opening ceremony is still getting tongues wagging, the entire sporting family and beyond is now anxiously looking forward to what the closing ceremony will look like.
The last 11 days have showcased Ogun state as a true Sporting hub with potential to even do more, with the quality of the facilities built for the games and the enthusiasm of the people who made the various venues their second home in the last few days.
A big testament to this was the history-making crowd that attended the male football final between Ogun state and Kwara State, which the host won by 4-1.
The MKO stadium was filled to full capacity while the crowd outside watching from the big screen reminds one of how much Sports is truly the soul of our togetherness as a country.
From the Alake Sports centre in Ijeja and the Baptist boys high school, to the Obafemi Awolowo square and the Remo stadium both in Ikenne, to the NYSC orientation camp in Shagamu, and the Ilisan town hall in Ilisan, the festival never lacked spectatorship throughout the games.
The Games actually lived up to the pre-tournament hype as both the National Sports Commission, NSC and the Ogun state Government pulled out every administrative capacity to ensure both athletes, officials and the media have an unforgettable experience.
The Gateway Games 2024 had been full of exciting drama and intrigues amongst the states and athletes which led to different new records being set and some old records being shattered.
The festival has also produced for the country some new exciting young talents especially with the shocking performance of the 38th state, the Invited Junior Athletes ( IJA), where they ended up winning some surprised medals to justify the Commission’s establishment of the initiative.
As the Closing ceremony holds on Thursday, the leadership of the National Sports commission, NSC, expresses its profound gratitude to the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Ogun State Government for making sure millions of Nigerian youths see a renewed brighter future in the country through the National Sports Festival.
The NSC Chairman Mallam Shehu Dilko said ” our overwhelming gratitude goes to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,GCFR, for his personal commitment to the development of Nigerian Sports by giving us every support financially and otherwise for the success of this festival”.
” And the Ogun state Governor, Dapo Abiodun also deserves a huge praise for the feat we all recorded with these games. I can’t thank him enough and posterity will surely remember him for good “.
The NSC Director General who is also the Chairman of the Main organising committee of the games, Hon Bukola Olopade also extended his gratitude to all the technocrats behind the scene that are responsible for the successful organisation of the games.
” From all the members of the Main organising committee to the various sub committees, to members of the local organising committees and all our technical officials in the various sports to the media and our athletes, every success that everyone is talking about concerning these Games belongs to you all”.
” Yes it was not a perfect festival because we acknowledged we had also some challenges but let me assure everyone that some of the challenges are already being worked upon ahead of the next Games holding in Enugu state next year”, he concluded.
The Closing ceremony is expected to bring together top Government functionaries to captain of industries while there will also be the rich cultural display of the state as Ogun state will officially pass the barton of hosting to Enugu state for the 23rd edition of the Games come September 2026.
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