Apexmedia

 Dear Grassroot Coaches, As we look ahead to 2024, I would like to share some advice with all of you who dedicate your time and efforts to grassroots coaching. I understand that grassroots coaching is often a voluntary program, and the majority of you do not receive a regular salary. However, it is essential to ensure that you are not solely dependent on the young players in Africa for your income. In order to secure a more substantial payment for your coaching services, I encourage you to invest in further coach education and certification. By obtaining qualifications such as CAF, AFC, or UEFA coaching certificates, you can enhance your coaching skills and increase your marketability. These certifications will not only provide you with a competitive edge but also demonstrate your commitment to professional development. Moreover, acquiring additional coaching education will equip you with a broader knowledge base, enabling you to deliver higher quality coaching sessions. This, in t...

Happy birthday to BSA. Happy birthday to an outstanding boss Happy birthday to an outstanding boss and a lovely man. Having you as a leader and a mentor is both a blessing and a privilege. I’m wishing you the best and I hope you have many more successful years ahead of you! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BARRISTER SEYI AKINWUNMI.

  HAPPY BIRTHDAY BARRISTER SEYI AKINWUNMI  Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi is renowned as one of Nigeria’s foremost Finance, Insolvency, Debt and Business Recovery & Reconstruction Lawyers.  He has vast experience in litigation as well as in negotiation, restructuring and documentation of simple as well as complex syndicated and securitised loans for local and international joint ventures, projects, banks, and businesses.  He has tremendous experience in high profile local and cross-border insolvency matters and has acted as liquidator, receiver and turn around manager in various cases relating to the recovery of delinquent loans and asset tracing. He has written various articles on securitisation, Insolvency, business and loan restructuring.  He contributes to international intellectual work such as the Bankruptcy chapter in the World Bank’s Doing Business Series, the Restructuring Review by the World Bank and World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index. As Presiden...

  Sports Ministry Receives National Stadium Pitch, Scoreboards, as  Post Maintenance Rehabilitation Ends _Calls for greater collaboration between Government and Private Sector for enhanced development_  The Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh has expressed his delight with the completion of work and the handing over of the rehabilitated pitch and scoreboards at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, by Dangote Group and Aron Nigeria Ltd on Tuesday.  The Minister commended the companies over the completion of their two years post maintenance rehabilitation and called for increased collaboration between the government and the private sector to further advance sports development in Nigeria. The rehabilitation of the National Stadium facilities by Dangote Group and Aron Nigeria Ltd represents a significant milestone in the ongoing efforts to enhance sports infrastructure in the country. Senator Enoh applauded the commitment and resources invested ...

Sports Minister Undertakes Inspection Tour of Obafemi Awolowo Stadium _Affirms significance of ministry's Zonal Offices in grassroots development_  In his dedication to advancing grassroots development and fostering sports at the community level, the Honourable Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh, undertook a detailed inspection tour of the Obafemi Awolowo National Stadium in Ibadan on Monday. The inspection was undertaken during the Minister's visit to the Southwest Zonal Office of the Ministry of Sports Development. He emphasized the crucial role that the Ministry's zonal offices play in his comprehensive agenda for grassroots development.  The Southwest Zonal Office, encompassing Ekiti, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, and Lagos states, serves as a strategic hub for implementing policies and initiatives aimed at activating grassroots sports and facilitating holistic development at the regional level. During the inspection tour of the Obafemi Awolowo National Stadium,...

  Glamorous ending at revived Ikoyi Club National Badminton Classics It was almost a first time experience for most of the players as the third edition of the Ikoyi Club Badminton Classics ended in grand style last Saturday. The championship had just been revived after it was last held 24 years ago, meaning that most of the players were not born when it was last held in 1999. It turned a worthwhile experience as being a classic, only the ranked players were eligible to participate. In this case, only the first 16 ranked players were involved. It was a thriller from beginning to the end. The opening round was a round robin leading to the quarter-finals which produced the usual suspects - Anuoluwapo Opeyori Juwon (Lagos), Hansen Bello (Oyo), Victor Ikechukwu (Rivers) and Aliyu A.Shehu (Niger) - who proceeded to the semi-finals in the Men's Singles.  The Women’s Singles event was equally thrilling. Dorcas Ajoke Adesokan (Ogun), Ruth Chinenye Over (Edo), Sofiyat Arinola Obanishola...

Katsina United FC In Crisis As New Commissioner Set To Name Substantive Board All is not well with Katsina United Football Club as the newly appointed commissioner for sports, Yusuf Rabiu-Jirdede has inherited a deep crisis that may send the club back to relegation. According to reports monitored from the state over the weekend, the new commissioner is said to be unhappy with the way and manner the club has been managed by the estranged interim board led by Alhaji Kabir Dan'lami Rimi. It was alleged that the crisis created by the interim management board has painted the club and the state in bad light and further put the state in disrepute. It was said that the governor of Katsina state, Malam Umar Dikko Radda is angry after going through the reports of the investigative panel set up to look into the involvement of the immediate past commissioner of sports in the whole saga. The panel indicted the former sports commissioner, Hon. Abdu Abu Dan Kum and the interim management board of...

  How Katsina United Interim Chairman Planning To Frustrate Coach Bolus Out Of The Team The problems of Katsina United football club is far from being over going by the news filtering in from the team's camp. Since the appointment of Mallam Kabir Dan'lami Rimi as the interim chairman of Katsina United football club, the team has been under heavy siege and controversies. Reports reaching Apexmedia2020@blogspot.com from Katsina United camp indicates that players and officials are not happy with the constant harassment of the Head Coach, Tope Bolus by the interim chairman. The embattled Kabir Dan'lami Rimi assured to take action against Coach Tope Bolus and other technical crew members for allowing a wrong mode of dressing in the game against Sporting Lagos. Meanwhile, Coach Bolus was not any place near the team for the away fixture in Lagos.  Recently, Coach Bolus was embarrassed through a fake sack letter engineered by Interim chairman that went viral. As at the time of this...

NPFL League Body To Sanction Katsina United For Violating Administrative Criteria Of NFF Club Licensing Regulations The Nigeria Premier Football League, could sanction Katsina United FC for running contrary to the extant rules governing the administration of football in Nigeria. Katsina United FC are yet to respond to the query it got from the league body, several months after the Katsina state government installed an Interim Board to over-see the affairs of the club following the order for the  Alhaji Surajo Baba Malumfashi led board to step aside. According to news making the rounds, the NPFL board is considering hammering Katsina United with heavy fine and suspension for going against the extant rules of the league. It is said that, Katsina United may be ducked three (3) points for presenting a coach that is not registered in accordance with the club licensing requirements on a game day match between Katsina United FC and Insurance FC of Benin. The NPFL board has already invalid...

  African Coaches Connect Seeks Justice For Tope Bolus  African Coaches Connect ACC has been notified of the ongoing issues regarding the contractual dispute between the Technical Adviser of Katsina United Football Club Coach Tony Bolus and the interim management committee of the football club. ACC is committed to matters of Coaches welfare and well -being and is assuring all parties involved that a thorough investigation is currently underway. ACC understands the importance of maintaining fair play, adherence to contractual agreements, and upholding the standards outlined by the Nigeria Football Federation and the Nigeria Premier Football League. Speaking on the matter, the President of ACC, Eldred Sunju-Abbey said, “our commitment is to conduct a comprehensive review of the situation, considering all relevant factors and information. Our Legal and Advocacy team will work diligently to gather the necessary details and will keep all concerned parties informed”. ACC’s Director ...

YOUR HEALTH AND HAPPINESS ARE OUR TOPMOST PRIORITIES AT MONIMICHELLE SPORTS. At Monimichelle Sports, We priortise your safety and well-being. Unlike some artificial turf options that use black rubber granules infill made from recycled car and truck tires, we take a stand against potential health risks. Rubber granules, whether ambient or cryogenic, have been associated with concerns related to harmful chemicals. Your peace of mind matters to us, and that's why we strongly recommend against the use of black rubber granules infill in any Monimichelle Sports installation for almost two decades. Our commitment to quality extends beyond just creating a beautiful and durable synthetic turf; it's about ensuring your environment is free from potential harm of playing football on black rubber granules infilled pitches. Choose Monimichelle Sports hybrid synthetic pitches for a safer, more sustainable, worry-free turf experience.

  CAF 2023 Awards: Okumagba Fetes Osimhen, Oshoala, Unveils Big Plan For AFCON The National President of the Super Eagles Supporters Club (SESC), Prince Vincent Okumagba has congratulated the trio of Victor Osimhen, Asisat Oshoala and Chiamaka Nnadozie that made Nigeria proud by emerging winners in different categories during the CAF 2023 Awards held in Marrakech, Morocco. Okumagba who is also the Vice President of Africa’s Football Supporter’s body in a congratulatory message issued and made available to newsmen also expressed happiness over the Super Falcons of Nigeria that won 2023 Women’s National Team of the Year. It’s a sparkling sixth win for Oshoala in the category, while Osimhen claimed the honour for a first time in his career. Osimhen is the first Nigerian man to claim the prize since Nwankwo Kanu in 1999. “I am very excited tonight. This has been hugely rewarding for our football and for our country as a whole.” “As the country is in a celebratory mood, with Nigerians h...

Monimitchelle Carpets Dimeji Lawal On AFCON 2024 I will totally disagree with Dimeji Lawal. He should have just told the coaches to forget about our elite players and concentrate on our home based good players. African qualifiers games will always be a struggle for our Super Eagles team  because most of our key players invited to the Super Eagles are elite football players that ply their trade day in day out on elite pitches, However, when it comes to the Nations cup proper, we still need these our elite players in the team. The Cocan23 pitches for AFCON have been specially prepared just for the AFCON. We class them as tournament pitches. Remember the COCAN 23 was moved from the rainy season in 2023 to the dry season in January 2024 to allow a loam that can be easily used to manage the root zone of the AFCON tournament elite pitches for the COCAN 23.  These tournament pitches are not sustainable pitches for countries that lack simple maintenance culture. Raining season will ex...

Pitch award excites, Monimichelle boss, Ebi Egbe Chief Executive Officer of Monimichelle Group, Ebi Egbe has declared that he is excited to be bestowed with the Pitch Award which he got last week in Yenagoa. The award which is one of the numerous accolades that has come the way of the Bayelsa born stadium construction expert was bestowed on Egbe by Rhythm 94.7 FM on the occasion of the Super 4 awards 2023 in Yenagoa. Egbe whose company, Monimichelle is unarguably the best in the country in the sector, said the award is another recognition that would propel him to do more. “I am excited because for me, the Pitch Award is an indication that people are seeing the good work we are doing across the country. It propels me to do more because for our football to grow we need quality pitches. Monimichelle’s sole mission is to eradicate bad pitches in Nigeria and Africa. We must bridge the sports infrastructure gap between Africa and the rest of the world,” Egbe said

Draws Vs Lesotho, Zimbabwe: Egbe Defends Eagles’ Stars, Peseiro A member of grounds Management Association in the United Kingdom, Ebi Ezekiel Egbe has stated that the problem with the Super Eagles’ performances in recent times can’t be attributed to the coaches or the foreign based players. Last month, the national team was held to consecutive 1-1 draws by the Crocodile of Zimbabwe and the Warriors of Zimbabwe in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers which were held in Uyo and Rwanda. But Egbe who is a pitch specialist said the players all gave in their best shots in all the games played so far adding that it will be very unfair to blame either the coaches or the players. Egbe who shed more light on the difference between elite pitches and good pitches explained that playing on elite pitches, not good pitches will bring the best out of the elite players who are mostly based in Europe. ” Egbe stated in a statement he released to give a different dimension to reasons the national team players ha...

  Badminton: Federation to promote game at grassroot - BFN President The President, Badminton Federation of Nigeria, BFN, Mr. Francis Orbih has restated the determination and commitment of the Federation to promote the game at all levels just as the current Nigeria number one Men’s Singles Badminton player and reigning African Champion, Anuoluwapo Opeyori clinched the coveted fourth Edition of the Mutual Benefits National Badminton Championship held in Lagos. Orbih who stated this in his message at the closing ceremony of the Championship said the Federation would not relent in taking the game to high level, especially at the grassroot.  The BFN President appreciated the sponsor and co-sponsor of the event, Mutual Benefits Assurance PLC and GIG Group as "steadfast pillars of support for badminton in Nigeria". He commended the players "...on your dedication, resilience and unwavering commitment to the sport." Orbih described the overall turnout as quite impressive an...

The National Association of Colleges of Education Students (NANCES) on Wednesday honoured the General Secretary of Nigeria Football Federation, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi with the National Outstanding Leadership award, describing him as “an icon of peace and national development.”   At a simple ceremony in his office within the NFF Secretariat, the student leaders said they were honouring the chief operating officer of Nigeria’s supreme football-governing body with the award as a result of his “unequal commitment, youth/students’ mentorship, diplomatic leadership excellence, human capital development, peace promotion and commitment to national unity both in Nigeria and beyond.”   They noted the credible performances of most of the national football teams in the past one year, including the bronze medal-winning effort of the Flamingos at the 2022 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in India, the Super Falcons’ impressive outing at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia & New Zealand, the ...

The problem with our national team performance can't be attributed to the coaches or our elite foreign based players, they all gave in their best shuts in all the games played so far. It will be very unfair to apotion blame to either the coaches nor the players. Elite players need to play on elite pitches, not good pitches.(See below the classification of pitches for football) The Nigerian home base eagles would perform better than our elite players on a good pitch.  The super Eagles elite players can never give a good performance on a pitch that holds back the ball because they train and play speed football  week in week out for their club sides on synthetic infused pitches meant for speed football.  SPEED FOOTBALL IS THE FUTURE. The transition in training from speed football to slow pace football in just few days of training before match day would kill the performance of even the best player in the world for a top competitive game like a world cup qualifiers or the Afr...