FIBA Afrobasket: D’Tigers release final 12-man list
Agency Report 19 August 2021
The Head Coach of D’Tigers, Mike Brown, on Thursday, released his final 12-man list for the 2021 FIBA Afrobasket which begins in Kigali, Rwanda next week.
Afolabi Oni, the Media Officer of the Nigeria Basketball Federation , in a statement explained that the list does not have Nigerians playing in the National Basketball Association.
He said this was because NBA League rules does not permit players to participate in a competition 60 days before the league’s resumption.
“This has made the coach to try other players by extending his invitation to players in Europe, the minor leagues in the U.S and the Nigerian league,” he said.
Oni listed the players who made the final cut after days of preparations in the U.S to include Daniel Utomi, who plays Vichy Clermont in France, and Ikenna Ndugba.
“The list also has Emmanuel Omogbo of Apoel BC of Cyprus, and Benjamin Emegolu (Rouen Basket Metrople, France), as well as TK Edogi who is making a return to the team after missing out of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
“We also have on the list Stephen Domingo (Lake land Magic – G League, U.S), Jordan Ogundiran and Jeremiah Mordi,” he added.
The NBBF spokesman added that the list also have Nigerian premier league stars such as Rivers Hoopers point guard Ikechukwu Benjamin and Koko Victor Anthony.
“The duo of Nwafor Celestine Joseph (Kano Pillars) and Agu Ibe Aguchi (Gombe Bulls) are on the list of invited players from the Nigerian league,” he said.
The senior national men’s basketball team is expected to arrive in Kigali on Sunday ahead of their first game against Mali on Wednesday.
Nigeria, ranked number one team in Africa, will face Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire in the competition’s Group C hoping to improve on the silver medal won at the Tunisia 2017 edition.
Meanwhile, Ogoh Odaudu who led Rivers Hoopers to the inaugural edition of the Basketball Africa League has also joined the team as one of the assistant coaches.
Afghanistan: National youth team footballer Zaki Anwari 'dies in fall from plane' at Kabul airport
The 19-year-old national youth team footballer reportedly fell from a USAF Boeing C-17 on Monday after it took off from Kabul's international airport.
Thursday 19 August 2021 16:47, UK
An Afghan national youth team footballer has died in a fall from a US plane at Kabul airport, a local news agency has said.
Crowds of people seeking to flee Afghanistan have fled to the airport since the Taliban seized the capital on Sunday. In dramatic scenes, some tried to board a moving plane as it prepared to take off.
According to the Ariana football agency, national youth team footballer Zaki Anwari fell from a USAF Boeing C-17 on Monday.
His death has been confirmed by the General Directorate for Sport, the report said.
The report added that the 19-year-old is believed to have died after attempting to hold on to the outside of the American military aircraft.
The US Air Force said on Wednesday it was conducting a review of what happened as Afghan civilians ran alongside and around the aeroplane before it took off from Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA).
The C-17 Globemaster, with a callsign Reach 871, was carrying some 640 Afghans, reportedly more than five times its suggested payload, after hundreds of desperate people flooded onto the plane.
A photo showing the Afghan civilians, crouching and crammed up against each other on the floor of the military plane, went viral on social media after Kabul was seized by Taliban insurgents.
US defence officials said the plane took off from the international airport in Afghanistan's capital city with what is believed to be the highest number of people ever flown in the C-17, a military cargo aircraft that has been used by the US and its allies for nearly 30 years.
It touched down safely in Qatar.
In a statement, the Department of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) said it was reviewing all available information regarding a C-17 aircraft, as well as the loss of civilian lives.
"In addition to online videos and press reports of people falling from the aircraft on departure, human remains were discovered in the wheel well of the C-17 after it landed at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar," it said.
OSI said its review will be "thorough to ensure we obtain the facts regarding this tragic incident", adding "our hearts go out to the families of the deceased".
The aircraft had landed in Kabul to deliver a load of equipment to support the evacuation of Afghan and American civilians from Afghanistan, but before the aircrew could offload the cargo, it was surrounded by hundreds of Afghan civilians who had breached the airport perimeter.
The air force said its crew decided to depart the airfield as quickly as possible due to the rapidly deteriorating situation around the aircraft.
At least five people were killed during chaos on the ground, with US troops firing into the air to deter people trying to force their way onto flights evacuating diplomats and embassy staff.
Yesterday the UK Chief of Defence Staff, General Sir Nick Carter, said that the Taliban had changed and that they were cooperating with the UK's Armed Forces. These are reactions to that statement.
Scenes there have become increasingly desperate in recent days, with new footage showing a child being passed to a foreign soldier in the hope they might be able to escape.
Another clip, thought to have been filmed on Tuesday, captures shots being fired near large crowds and fighters kicking those trying to flee.
Foreign embassies have set up evacuation centres inside the airport compound, including the UK and US who have committed to airlifting thousands of their own nationals and eligible Afghans in the coming weeks.
Speaking to Sky News this morning, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that the Taliban are cooperating with the British by letting people through to be evacuated.
But he said the real challenge for embassy staff at the airport is "crowd issues" as hundreds battle for safety.
"It is very, very difficult for those soldiers dealing with some desperate, desperate people," he told Kay Burley.
In terms of numbers, he committed to "calling forward nearly 2,000 people" to board evacuation flights in the coming days.
Asked about footage of parents offering up their children to be rescued by Western soldiers, he said the armed forces cannot take youngsters without their families.
"We can't just take a minor on their own," he said.
Sky correspondent Stuart Ramsay, who is on the ground in Kabul, said crowds around the barbed wire fence to the airport were "absolute chaos" on Thursday morning.
He described "thousands upon thousands" of families with children trying to get to evacuation centres inside the compound, particularly via the US gate.
For the most part, Taliban fighters are not stopping people entering, he added, but thousands coming in "with no hope of getting on a flight", mean those who are eligible for asylum are not able to get through.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has committed to keeping US troops on the ground for as long as it takes to get every last American out.
Speaking to ABC News, he said: "If there's American citizens left, we're gonna stay till we get them all out."
Defending the decision to pull out troops ahead of the 20-year anniversary of 9/11, he said there was "no way" to do it "without chaos ensuing".
Meanwhile, the Taliban says it is celebrating Afghanistan Independence Day on Thursday by beating the US, who they refer to as "the arrogant power of the world".
World Athletics confirms Okowa-led AFN, reject Gusau board
’Tosin Oluwalowo 17 August 2021
We recognised Abuja election, says WA
THE World Athletics has confirmed Tonobok Okowa as the officially recognised President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, The PUNCH exclusively reports.
WA confirmed Okowa’s choice in an email to our correspondent.
“World Athletics has received information from both elections and based on the information provided, we are now working with the board elected in Abuja.
“The meeting in Abuja was attended by the most voting members plus the National Olympic Committee, and is the board with whom the National Olympic Committee dealt with for the purposes of entering its team to the Olympic Games,” WA Head of Communications, Nicole Jeffery, said in a statement sent to The PUNCH.
World Athletics’ declaration puts an end to the leadership crisis that has rocked the AFN since 2019, which led to parallel elections in Abuja and Kebbi on June 14, which produced Okowa and incumbent Gusau as presidents.
Our correspondent further learnt that before the official recognition of Okowa as AFN president by WA, the global athletics body had sent the password for the official email of the federation and correspondence between both bodies to his camp. The Gusau-led group was previously in custody of the password.
WA told our correspondent on June 30 that it revoked the initial access of the email granted to Gusau as standard procedure after the election. “It is World Athletics’ standard practice to revoke all access at the time of a Member Federation election until the new office-bearers are confirmed. In the case of Nigeria, we are still verifying the information we have received about the two elections,” WA said in the email.
In 2019, former AFN vice president Olamide George led other board members to impeach Gusau (in his first term), but the Abuja High Court and Court of Appeal ruled in Gusau’s favour as president of the country’s athletics body, until WA and Confederation of African Athletics directed that elections must hold latest June 14, where Gusau and Okowa returned as factional presidents.
The PUNCH had earlier reported that the WA was yet to recognise any of the factions, with the world body informing our correspondent they were studying the reports from both elections.
While Okowa has continued to enjoy the backing of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, he also led the AFN delegation to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The Okowa-led AFN also presented Nigeria representatives for the WA U-20 Athletics Championships, which begins in Nairobi Kenya on Wednesday.
Sky News did not just depend on what the Chief of Defence Staff said, but like any good media organisation, they went to see things on the ground for themselves and this video report is the result.
A tiny barrier is all that separates British troops from Taliban fighters outside the airport. These are two armies that have fought each other for 20 years. The Taliban are helping the British to control the crowd of people that are trying to get to the airport. The Taliban have their check point on the outside of the barrier and the British have their checkpoint on the side that's close to the airport.
samsegs: What's the essence of the competition?? Someone should enlighten me pls
Lots of people, including me, have criticised the NFF for failing to organise friendly matches for the Super Falcons. The Falcons have sometimes gone an entire year without playing a single game or even camping together. The NFF is now trying to correct that situation by ensuring that the Falcons take part in many competitions like the Cyprus Cup, the Turkish Cup and the US Summer Series. It is now also organising a tournament in Nigeria.
The Lagos State Government has recently finished rebuilding the Onikan Stadium and they've also signed a deal with the NFF to stage Super Eagles matches in Lagos. They are eager to bring back major football matches to Lagos. Also remember that a former chairman of the Lagos State Football Association, Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi, is the vice president of the NFF.
Therefore, the NFF and the Lagos State Government are organising this competition. They have appointed HotSports (Taye Ige) as their marketing consultants and named the tournament after Aisha Buhari. Seyi Akinwunmi is the chairman of the organising committee.
It's a female football tournament that features the best national sides in Africa and these are the Super Falcons of Nigeria (11 times champion of Africa), the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon (4 times silver medallists at the AWCON), Bayana Bayana (5 times silver medallists), the Black Queens of Ghana (3 times silver medallists), Morocco (hosts of the next AWCON) and Mali.
There are 4 traditional power houses in African female football. 3 of them, Cameroon, South Africa and Ghana are in group B, while Nigeria is in group A.
18th August 2021 i By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde Sports Writer, kick442.com Nigeria
Host, Super Falcons of Nigeria has been drawn in Group A to face Morocco and Mali at the Inaugural Aisha Buhari Cup.
This was confirmed during the draw at the Australian Hall, Eko Hotels on Wednesday.
Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon occupy Group B alongside Black Queens of Ghana and Bayana Bayana of South Africa.
The draw was coordinated by the Director of Organisation and Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) Chairperson, Ms. Aisha Falode, and assisted by FC Robo Queens captain, Monday Gift, a member of the Local Organising Committee, Alhaja Ayo Omidiran, Super Falcons Assistant Coach, Ann Chiejine, and Channels TV Correspondent, Cecilia Omoregbe.
It was also attended by Chairman, Organising Committee, Barrister Seyi Akinwumi, LOC member, Ruth David, Director-General, Lagos Sports Commission, Oluwatoyin Gafaar, Director of Media Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Demola Olajire, and Marketing Consultant, Taiye Ige.
The 2021 Aisha Buhari Cup will kick off on September 13, 2021, at two centres; Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, and Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, with all covid-19 protocols strictly adhered to from the gates.
Afghanistan: Taliban 'cooperating' with UK forces and not behaving in 'medieval way', says chief of defence staff "We are cooperating with the Taliban on the ground and that seems to be a very straightforward relationship," General Sir Nick Carter tells Sky News.
Samuel Osborne News reporter @samuelosborne93 Wednesday 18 August 2021 10:41, UK
The Taliban is "cooperating" with British forces as they work to evacuate people from Afghanistan and is not behaving in a "medieval way", the chief of the UK defence staff has said.
General Sir Nick Carter told Sky News: "We are cooperating with the Taliban on the ground and that seems to be a very straightforward relationship.
"They are keeping the streets of Kabul very safe and indeed very calm. They are helping us at the airport."
He said the militants are "keeping the streets calm, they are avoiding public disorder" - and added: "What we're not getting are reports of them behaving in a medieval way like you might have seen in the past."
Sir Nick suggested the Islamist movement, which has taken power in Afghanistan, could be more moderate than when it was last in control in the 1990s.
He said he does not think the Taliban "want to become international pariahs again", adding: "I do think that they have changed."
However, the shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy disagreed with Sir Nick's comments, saying the UK is "dealing with a very oppressive regime".
"I think that's a very difficult and unpalatable message to the very many Afghans, including women and girls, who are not just suffering at the moment but are also very, very fearful about the future," she told Sky News.
"I spoke to a friend from Afghanistan last week who told me the Taliban were going door-to-door, they were arresting people, they were threatening people who'd worked with British troops or women who'd worked in high profile jobs.
"I think we ought to be talking to the Taliban, that's absolutely right. But we ought to be talking to the Taliban about getting guarantees around human rights and the future for women and girls."
She added: "I think it's very difficult to judge people by their words when their actions are so at odds with the reality. I think we're dealing with a very oppressive regime and I think we need to be clear-eyed about that."
WHY DO PEOPLE FEAR THE TALIBAN? The Taliban was condemned internationally for enforcing a strict and extreme version of Sharia law during its rule from 1996 to 2001, which included administering punishments such as public stonings, whippings and hangings.
The militant group also banned music and musical instruments, with the exception of the daf - a type of frame drum - and cut off the hands of thieves and stoned adulterers.
Along with their allies, they committed massacres against Afghan civilians, denied UN food supplies to 160,000 starving people, and conducted a policy of scorched earth - burning vast areas of fertile land and destroying tens of thousands of homes.
Under the Taliban's ruling, activities and media including paintings, photography and movies that depicted people or other living things were banned.
Many Afghans fear the Taliban will reimpose this harsh interpretation of Islamic law - leading to thousands of people trying to flee the country.
It comes as Boris Johnson told MPs that events in Afghanistan "unfolded" faster "than even the Taliban predicted", but he said the government had not been caught "unawares".
MPs have been recalled from their summer holidays for an emergency sitting in Parliament on Wednesday to take part in a five-hour debate on the situation in Afghanistan.
On Tuesday night, the prime minister announced a new settlement scheme will allow up to 20,000 vulnerable Afghan refugees to come to the UK over the coming years.
The Taliban has claimed it is not seeking revenge after regaining control of the country after being ousted two decades ago.
Speaking from the Afghan presidential palace on Tuesday, Zabihullah Mujahid referred to Afghanistan as the "Islamic Emirate" and said the group is committed to the rights of women within the framework of Sharia, or Islamic law.
Meanwhile, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told Sky News that "thousands" of schools continue to operate following the Taliban takeover and claimed women will have the right to work and be educated up to university level.
Sports › FIBA Afrobasket: D’Tigers Release Final 12-Man List by naptu2(op): 2:16am On Aug 20, 2021*. Modified: 9:10am On Aug 20, 2021
