Connect with us

History was made in Lagos at the weekend as Mr. McCarthy Obanor emerged the winner of the first edition of the Nigeria National Freestyle Championship accredited by the World Federation of Freestyle Football.

Apart from winning the sum of N1m, Obanor also won for himself a brand new GAC car and will also be representing Nigeria at the World Super Ball Championships in Prague, Czech Republic.

Obanor defeated 15 other contestants in the hotly contested men’s final, which clearly displayed increasing talent in the sporting industry and in the country. He defeated Mayowa Bababunmi, a medical doctor, to clinch the coveted prize.

In the female category, Rasheedat Ajubade, the captain of Nigeria’s Under 17 Women National Team clinched the title, winning the sum of a million Naira. Ajibade, a professional footballer, defeated Chidinma Okeke, another professional footballer, in another hotly contested final.

Apart from the winners, the final four were rewarded with cash prizes starting from the fourth position who both went home with the sum of N250,000 each in the men and women’s events. Third place finishers were rewarded with the sum of N500,000 each and the first runners-up got N750,000 each.

The chairman, Feet ‘n’ Tricks International, organisers of the event, Valentine Ozigbo, promised a better outing in 2018.

“We are glad to have celebrated our home-grown freestylers in an extraordinary fashion, breaking a number of records from the most active participation of womenfolk in the competition of quality and volume of prizes to world class ambience down to the richness and diversity of judging panel.

“We have succeeded in creating role models for many other youths on this street , as through this medium, our youth will see in freestyling an opportunity to live a good life, build career, pursue their passion and pursue other goals in life,” Ozigbo said

He used the occasion to appreciate all those who supported the competition, promising a better competition in 2018 and beyond

“Apart from those that supported us this year like GAC Motors, FIRS, Five Star Music, VFD Group, all the media houses and others who in one way or other supported us, there were so many others who because of time constraints could not come on board, so we are expecting them next year. “It is going to be bigger and better next year, we are going to be working will all that were part of this year’s and more others that will be joining us, ” he concluded.

To demonstrate Freestyle Football as entertainment, the packed audience at Ikeja City Mall were entertained by the best of Nigerian musical artists including Kcee, Timaya, Kaffy, Skiibii, Soma, Abiodun Koya and many others.

The event was also witnessed by top personalities in sport, entertainment and business, including the football legend, Kanu Nwankwo, the Vice President of Nigerian Football Federation, Seyi Akinwunmi, the 2014 European Champion and of of the top 8 freestylers in the World, Daniel Mikolajek and the President and Founder of the World Federation of Freestyle Football, Daniel Wood

Advertisement

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

BIG STORY

Usyk Defeats Fury, Becomes Undisputed Heavyweight Champion

Published

on

Oleksandr Usyk emerged as the world’s undisputed heavyweight boxing champion adter defeating Tyson Fury.

On Saturday night, Fury and Usyk engaged in combat at the Kingdom Arena located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Usyk defeated the British fighter 115-112, 113-114, and 114-113 on the scorecards to win the fight by split decision.

In the first several rounds of the battle, Fury came out swinging, but Usyk was able to withstand the British fighter’s assault.

As the battle went on, the Ukrainian gained momentum because of his excellent movement and technical proficiency, which allowed him to block Fury’s strong attacks and land accurate shots of his own.

The highly anticipated battle took a turn for the better when the Ukrainian stopped Fury in the ninth round.

Despite Fury’s valiant effort to recover in the final rounds, Usyk’s dominance had already sealed the victory.

The 37-year-old Ukrainian is the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world since Lennox Lewis 25 years ago. He has now unified the WBA, WBO, IBF, and WBC titles.

For Fury, it is the first loss in his 16-year professional career, but he will have a chance at a rematch before the end of the year.

In his post-fight interview, the British boxer accused the judges of giving the victory to Usyk because of the war in Ukraine.

“His country is at war, so people are siding with the country at war,” he said.

Continue Reading

BIG STORY

Prince Harry, Wife Meghan Arrive In Nigeria To Promote The Invictus Games [PHOTOS]

Published

on

To support the Invictus Games, an initiative he launched to facilitate the rehabilitation of sick and injured service men and veterans, including Nigerian soldiers engaged in a 14-year fight against Islamic extremists, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, arrived in Nigeria on Friday morning.

The couple, who were invited by the Nigerian Armed Forces to visit West Africa for the first time, reportedly landed in Abuja early on Friday morning, according to Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, spokesman for the Ministry of Defence. In an effort to improve wellbeing and morale, they will meet with injured soldiers and their families while they are there.

This participation has been praised by Nigerian officials as a major chance for the soldiers’ recovery.

Prince Harry, who served in Afghanistan as an Apache helicopter copilot gunner, founded the Invictus Games in 2014 to provide wounded veterans and Service members with the challenge of competing in sports events similar to the Paralympics. Nigeria participated in last year’s edition of the games.

During their stay, the couple will attend basketball and volleyball matches and meet with local non-governmental organizations in Abuja and Lagos that receive their support.

Meghan will also co-host an event on women in leadership with Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, according to the couple’s spokesman Charlie Gipson.

The news of Meghan’s visit has generated excitement among Nigerians who closely follow her life and association with the British royal family.

The Nigerian military has emphasised the significance of the Invictus Games in aiding the recovery of thousands of personnel who have been fighting Boko Haram Islamic extremists and their factions since 2009.

According to the military’s sports director, Abidemi Marquis, “Eighty percent of our soldiers that have been involved in this recovery programme are getting better (and) their outlook on life is positive.

“The recovery programme has given them an opportunity to improve their personal self-esteem, to improve their mental health and emotional intelligence.”

 

More Photos Below:

Continue Reading

BIG STORY

Nike Unveils Super Eagles 2024/25 Jersey [PHOTOS]

Published

on

The new Super Eagles jerseys for the 2024–2025 football season have been unveiled by clothing powerhouse, Nike.

Nike’s Instagram page published a post on Monday with a launch video of the new jerseys.

“The 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑻𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒔 disrupt convention with bold twists on icons.

“Featuring 𝑫𝒓𝒊-𝑭𝑰𝑻 𝑨𝑫𝑽 innovation, each kit is engineered for the needs of the modern footballer, from kick-off to the final whistle,” the post read.

Green hoops at the ends of the sleeves and shorts adorn the white home jersey. In a striking combination of colours, the word “Naija” is written in green across the kit’s breast.

In a stylistic nod to Nigeria’s national colours, the away uniform is patterned in a pastel version of the same colour, dark green.

For their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, the Super Eagles are anticipated to wear the new jerseys.

The team’s third qualifying match is scheduled for June 3 at home against South Africa. Seven days later, they are scheduled to travel to Benin Republic.

Before that, the Eagles will visit Grand Stade de Marrakech in Morocco for friendly matches against Ghana and Mali on March 22 and 26, respectively.

 

See photos below;

Continue Reading

Most Popular