Sports
How Obasanjo only gave us a handshake when we won silver in 2000 AFCON- Tijani Babangida
………. hails Tinubu for rewarding this group
Former Super Eagles winger, Tijani Babangida has hailed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for honoring this current group of the Super Eagles players who won silver at the just concluded Africa cup of Nations, AFCON with a national honour and gift of houses and lands.
Speaking with our corespondent in Abuja, Babangida lamented how the former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo only gave them a handshake when they won the same silver at the 2000 AFCON played in Nigeria.
The current President of the Professional Footballer Association of Nigeria , PFAN was full of praises for President Tinubu maintaining that this kind gesture would go a long way in motivating young Nigerians to want to represent the country.
“When I look back to how we were treated by the former President it was never a thing of joy. We gave the best, we got to the final and we only lost through a penalty shootout. And technically, we even won the tournament if not for the mistake of the match officials who failed to recognize that Ikpeba penalty was a goal.
“Sometimes this kind of recognition has a way of giving you a sense of belonging. And this is what President Tinubu has demonstrated. As the President of Nigeria players union I humbly salute him.
“My prayer is that our players would record more victories during his tenure as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because he has demonstrated that he is fully ready to support football and sports in general,”
You may want to recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu showered the Jose Pesiero tutored Super Eagles players with National honors, lands and houses in the Federal Capital Territory.
Sports
NLO’s Shola Ogunowo Earns Praise for Driving Grassroots Football and Exemplifying Integrity
Joel Ajayi
The Nigerian football community has lauded Mr. Shola Ogunowo, Chief Operating Officer of the Nationwide League One (NLO), for his unwavering commitment to integrity and the development of grassroots football, earning him widespread respect and admiration across the sporting landscape.
In a statement released in Abuja and signed by Okechukwu Okebugwu, Mr. Ogunowo was praised as a transformative leader who has redefined the ethics and standards of football administration at the grassroots level. According to the release, Ogunowo has emerged as a “leading figure in the fight against match-fixing, bribery, and all forms of corruption” that have plagued the lower tiers of Nigerian football for decades.
Through consistent enforcement of transparency, fairness, and accountability, Mr. Ogunowo is steering the NLO toward becoming a credible platform where talent can be discovered and nurtured based on merit, rather than manipulation or favoritism.
“In an environment where shortcuts and compromises are all too common, Shola Ogunowo has remained a pillar of integrity,” Okebugwu stated. “He is restoring credibility to grassroots football by ensuring that fair play, discipline, and professionalism are non-negotiable.”
Since taking over as COO, Ogunowo has spearheaded a number of structural reforms aimed at instilling discipline and operational excellence among participating clubs. These include stricter licensing requirements, performance audits, and compliance monitoring to ensure clubs uphold the league’s code of conduct. His administration has also emphasized youth development, with a renewed focus on coaching education and player welfare.
The result is a reinvigorated Nationwide League One that is beginning to attract renewed attention from fans, corporate sponsors, and local communities. Observers say Ogunowo’s leadership is helping reshape perceptions of grassroots football—not just as a stepping stone to the elite leagues, but as a vital foundation for the future of Nigerian football.
“His leadership is not only impacting the pitch—it’s rebuilding trust, creating real value, and setting a good standard for sports administration in Nigeria,” Okebugwu concluded.
As the NLO season progresses, many stakeholders believe that with figures like Shola Ogunowo at the helm, the future of grassroots football in Nigeria is not only secure, but promising.
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