Sports

Badminton Confederation Africa launches “Path to Olympic Glory” in Nigeria

Published

2 months ago

November 22, 2024

Joel Ajayi

The Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) is looking forward to a podium finish at the next Olympic Games holding in Los Angeles in 2028 as its parent body, the Badminton Confederation Africa (BCA) launches a major initiative in the country.

Tagged “Road to LA 2028”, the athlete-focused program of the BCA is expected to ginger the Nigerian and other African badminton players to aim for higher achievement at the next Olympics.

The BFN, in conjunction with the BCA, believes that greater achievement is possible if preparation is done on time.

According to the BFN president, Francis Orbih who is also a member of the BCA Council, building an Olympic contender, let alone a champion, is not an overnight venture. “That explains our quest for early preparation, thanks to our continental parent body (BCA), for the initiative.”

This is aimed at propelling African and Nigerian badminton to new heights.

When Nigeria’s Eniola Bolaji won a medal at the Paris 2024, she became the first African to do so. “We want to build on the momentum and the fact that a badminton player, Anuoluwapo Opeyori was made the Captain of Team Nigeria has underlined the fact that badminton has come of age.

That was the first time in Nigeria’s 18-participation that a badminton player was chosen as team Nigeria captain.

The Road to LA 2028 is planned to inspire and support African badminton players as they strive for glory at the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The launch event is scheduled for December 1st, at the Kano Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.

“For Nigeria as hosts, we would also be celebrating the remarkable achievements of Nigerian badminton and para badminton players at the recent Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics”, remarked Orbih.

The “Road to LA 2028” initiative will focus on nurturing young talents, providing world-class training facilities, and securing essential resources to ensure African athletes are well-prepared to compete at the highest level.

“As a Nigerian, I am proud of our athletes’ achievements at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, and I believe that the initiative of the BCA will motivate the athletes to better performance at the LA 2028, ” said Orbih.

Continuing, he said that “the ‘Road to LA 2028’ campaign is a BCA commitment to supporting African athletes and providing them with the tools they need to reach their full potential. We invite the entire nation to join us on this exciting journey.”

Expected at the event are critical stakeholders. Those invited include Governors, government agencies, corporate sponsors, the media and badminton stakeholders.

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Sports

Mahanaim FC too good for Green Lock in first match of the year

Published

2 days ago

February 2, 2025

The Gleamer

Mahanaim FC kicked-off year 2025 with a victory over Greenlock FC on Saturday, at the Bwari Township Stadium. Goals from Aliyu Imran and Nambou Roman were enough to secure victory for the boys in our first match of the year.

Both teams hadn’t met since 2023 when we cruised to a 2-nil win over them. That result set the tone for our match on Saturday, with our opponents hoping to get one over us this time.

Our Coaches, Saheed Jimoh and Jackson Mbuk had set up a line up which had a blend of young players and the experienced ones, including Haruna Abdullahi, who also got a goal the last time we played GreenLock.

After the opening exchange in first few minutes, Haruna bursted through the middle into the opponents 18-yards, Dribbling his way past three players before setting up Aliyu Imran who finished the move with a goal from close range. The game became very close from that point onwards with only the goal separating the teams.

After the break, the match became more open as we pushed forward searching for the second goal. GreenLock FC came close a couple of times before finding an equaliser through a low free- kick from Samuel Daniel, that went past our Goal-Keeper, David Adolphus.

Barely two minutes after the equaliser, Haruna Abdullahi once again conjured a magical pass that found Nambou Roman who had replaced Aliyu Imran in the attack. Roman’s well timed run was complemented by Haruna’s defence spliting pass. Roman lobbed the ball over the on-rushing goalkeeper into the net, to restore our lead.

GreenLock FC fought fiercely to find an equaliser but our defence line which had Nura Yahaya, Jesse Mokele, Salisu Hamisu and Marcus Haruna stood firm with the help of the midfielders, Daniel Egwuatu and Ikoh Danjuma, as we gained another victory over GreenLock FC in our first match of 2025.

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