August 21, 2023
The La Roja of Spain tamed the Three Lionesses of England in the final game of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Since England won the men’s World Cup at home in 1966, the country’s men and women teams have recorded a series of near misses, with their nearest to the diadem being semifinal finishes at different editions of FIFA’s senior championships.
Many thought 2023 would be different following the Three Lionesses escape from the claws of Super Falcons, who they beat narrowly on penalties despite playing with a lady down.
But yesterday in a cold winter night in Sydney, Olga Carmona’s goal separated the teams in a tournament that showcased the evolution of football as a more technical and tactical game.
From the first minute to the 14th minute of second half stoppage, the Spanish team withstood England’s direct attacks. They strategically broke through England’s defense with rondos, poise, and well-timed runs.
The game was effectively decided in the 29th minute by Carmona, who finished a slick move involving Teresa Abelleira and Mariona Caldentey. Spain held off everything England three at them to become the latest country to win the Women’s World Cup.
They join a group comprising U.S., Japan, Germany, and Norway.Speaking after the final whistle, Captain Irene Paredes said some of the players had grown up thinking that football was not for them, but now they had proven themselves on the world stage.
August 18, 2023
The Athletics Integrity Unit has lifted with immediate effect the provisional suspension of Nigerian 110m Hurdles queen; Tobi Amusan. The news came after the Panel sat to review the whereabouts violation charge leveled against her, and found her Not-Guilty.
This means that Amusan will compete at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary from August 19 to 27.
Amusan was provisionally suspended by the AIU in July for missing three whereabouts tests.
According to World Athletics’ anti-doping rules, any athlete who misses three drug tests in the space of 12 months will be banned for two years, subject to a reduction to a minimum of one year depending on degree of fault.
But on Thursday, a panel of the Disciplinary Tribunal, by majority decision, discovered that Amusan did not violate any rule as claimed by the body in July.
“A panel of the Disciplinary Tribunal, by majority decision, has today found that Tobi Amusan has not committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation of three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period,” the statement reads.
“The decision is currently confidential but will be published in due course.
Meanwhile, AIU Head, Brett Clothier, has expressed the body’s disappointment following the ruling clearing the world champion and record holder.
He also vowed that AIU would review the decision in detail before deciding whether to exercise its right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport within the applicable deadline.
Amusan set a new world record of 12.12secs when she won gold at the World Championships in Eugene in July 2022.
She also won gold at the last edition of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, after finished fourth at the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021.
August 15, 2023
Team Akwa Ibom has qualified for all six male category team sports it entered for at the just-concluded zonal elimination of the 7th National Youth Games – NYG, which are scheduled for Asaba, Delta state, from September 7 to 17, this year.
The regional elimination, which took place at the ancient city of Calabar, the Cross River state capital, from Friday, August 12 to Monday, August 14, drew participation from all six states of the South-South region of the country.
The team towered above its opponents to secure qualification in
Volleyball, Beach Volleyball, Basketball, Football, Cricket and Baseball. It, however, did not enter for Rugby and Hockey.
Speaking, Monday, shortly after the Calabar outing, the Director of Sports, Akwa Ibom state Ministry of Youth Development and Sports, Elder Ifiok Duff, thanked Akwa Ibom state Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, for supporting them to participate in the competition despite the prevalent economic hardship that the country is currently grappling with and attributed the the team’s success to the effective supervision of the Honourable Commissioner for Youth Development and Sports, Sir Monday Uko, as well as the hard work and commitment of his athletes, coaches and staff.
“I thank His Excellency, the Governor of Akwa Ibom state, Pastor Umo Eno, for approving our participation in the Games, especially because some states in this region could not enter for more than four team sports while some in other regions completely withdrew from the competition due to the present-day harsh economic realities that the country is experiencing”, he stated.
“Our athletes, coaches and members of staff have been very hardworking in the past few weeks and I’m happy that their hard work, coupled with the effective supervision of our boss, the Honourable Commissioner, has resulted in today’s success”, he further stated.
The National Youth Games are a multi-sport event organized by the Federal Government for athletes who are under the age of 15 from the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory with Team Delta, which won the 2021 edition in Ilorin, the defending champion.
August 14, 2023
The World Athletics has disclosed that women’s 100m hurdles world champion and record holder, Tobi Amusan, has not yet been cleared to compete at this year’s World Championships, which begins on August 19 in Budapest, Hungary.
This is in reaction to reports that the Nigerian had been given the go ahead to compete to defend her title at the championships.
Amusan was provisionally suspended last month by the AIU for missing three whereabouts tests.
Head of Communications of World Athletics, Nicole Jeffery, in a statement obtained via Nigerian track and field club Making of Champions said, “Please be advised – reports appearing in Nigeria that say Tobi Amusan has been cleared to compete in Budapest are wrong.
“No decision has been made in this case yet. When a decision is made, it will be announced by the Athletics Integrity Unit.”
In the entry list published by World Athletics, the women’s 100m hurdles world record holder was listed among Team Nigeria’s athletes, but her participation is still subject to clearance by the AIU.
With a decision expected to be made before the start of the championships, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria said it was awaiting the AIU’s verdict on the hurdler.
