Bet9ja Foundation Fitness Festival 2.0 Set For April 18th in …..

By: Ogo Clarkson

The Bet9ja Foundation Fitness Festival is set to return for its second edition, promising an unforgettable experience for attendees. Scheduled to take place on Good Friday, April 18th, the event will be packed with exciting workouts, thrilling challenges, and inspiring wellness sessions.

The fun-filled day will also feature electrifying entertainment, afro dance, and yoga, ensuring there’s something for everyone. To add to the excitement, organizers have planned games and a raffle draw with numerous prizes up for grabs.

The event will kick off at 6:30 am and will be held at the Delta Mall car park. Whether you’re a fitness enthusiast or just looking for a fun way to spend the morning, the Bet9ja Foundation Fitness Festival 2.0 promises to be an event to remember.

African Beach Soccer President commends Kebbi State Government for pitch allocation

The President African Beach Soccer Union (ABSU) who doubles as the National Coordinator of the Nigeria Beach Soccer League (NBSL), Mahmud Hadejia, has commended and appreciated the Kebbi State Government for allocating a portion of the Haliru Abdu Stadium in Birnin Kebbi, for a state of the art modern beach soccer facility.

The ABSU President with a team of experts alongside State Government and Kebbi Beach Soccer Association officials had a facility site inspection in preparation for the construction of a world-class beach soccer arena in Kebbi State on Thursday 03-04-2025.

According to ABSU Media, this is coming at a time when the State is marking it’s 10th year anniversary of the arrival of beach soccer in the State.

“We are here to inspect the space that has been allocated to the Kebbi Beach Soccer Association purposely for beach soccer activities here at the Haliru Abdu Stadium by the Kebbi State Government through the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development,” He said.

“This is quite unique and interesting as Kebbi State celeberates it’s 10th year in beach soccer. I can remember clearly back in 2015 when we introduced the game here at Zauro Town with a local tournament. For some time now, we have been playing at the horse race course (Filin Sukuwa) within the state capital. The Government, in its magnanimity, decided that beach soccer should have a permanent site with standard facilities just like every other sport so that we can be hosting national and international competitions.

Beach soccer hosting is not new to Kebbi State. I can recall two times we hosted the Nigeria Beach Soccer team (Super Sand Eagles) for camping and played friendly matches here in Kebbi State, and we hosted international clubs from Africa, and players from Europe have been to Kebbi. We only just recently hosting the first round of the Nigeria Beach Soccer League (NBSL). I think it is about time that we have a standard beach soccer facility in Kebbi just like in other places. If you go to Kaduna, where we held the Super Four Finals of the league last season in 2024, it is a standard facility at the Murtala Muhammed Square, which even hosted the Nigeria versus Mauritania CAF Beach Soccer African Cup Qualifiers.

“If we can have these facilities across the country, then it goes to show that we are really progressing not just on the pitch of play but in terms of building facilities. Thank God, the Government of His Excellency Dr Nasir Idris (Kauran Gwandu) has a lot of foresight for them to say it is about time to have a beach soccer facility, and we are very grateful and express lots of gratitude to the Governor for his support and foresight. The Governor is a unique sports lover and an active badminton player so he clearly understands the importance of having such sporting facilities.”

Kebbi State has become the center piece of beach soccer in the country with regular hosting of activities, especially the Nigeria Beach Soccer League, since inception in 2021 and other competitions from 2015 to date.

With two teams from the State in the national league, Hadejia expects more clubs to spring up into the game from the State including local clubs.

“The encouragement is now having a facility that everyone across Kebbi State can come and utilize,” He added.

“I must give kudos to the youths in Kebbi because they have keyed into the beach soccer project since we started in 2015, and they have seen the benefits and value because back then, when we were starting, they were not sure if they were playing football or other sports. The game was very new, but when they saw their colleagues and teammates flying on Emirates airline to travel to Turkey and Italy to represent Kebbi State at the World Cup, they told themselves that they needed to key in. Right now, we have two teams from Kebbi. Kebbi Fishers Beach Soccer Club, the number one team in Africa for six years now since 2019 and also our new team, Kebbi United Beach Soccer. I think they are doing well and expecting more teams going forward in Kebbi. What is important now is to celebrate this 10th year anniversary with a standard and brand new facility for the youths to utilize and enjoy.”

The proposed beach soccer facility in Kebbi State is expected to have a standard pitch, training pitch, spectators stand, dressing rooms, parking lot, and players hostel.

Maiden NDSF:Team Athletics, Para powerlifters shine as Edo increases in Gold, Silver

As competition enters full swing in the ongoing maiden Niger Delta Sports Festival in Uyo,team Edo has surged forward with increase in medals, taking in eight gold, thirteen silver and six Bronze to have a total of 27 medals on Friday, April 4,2025.

In the medal harvest by the heartbeat state, Athletics takes the lead with 3 Gold,4 Silver and 2 Bronze medals. Aquatic Association followed with 2 Gold,5 Silver and. 2 Bronze medals.
The special athletes of team Edo showed how special they are at the Niger Delta games,as the Para Powerlifting athletes won the first Gold and Silver for the state on Thursday before adding another Gold on Friday.

In Para Athletics ,Edo won 1 Gold ,2 Silver and 1 Bronze just as Chess have 1 silver and 1 Bronze to their credit.
Nicholas Ojomah’s spirited effort in the 72kg of para powerlifting earned team Edo a Gold medal on Friday.

Team Edo also won Gold in men’s Discuss event to have a total of 8 Gold,13 Silver and 6 Bronze to have a total of 27 medals on Friday evening.

Meanwhile, Edo State’s Lorelay Holzendorff defeated Ondo State’s Olaniyan Adesewa in two tiebreaks 5-4(2), 5-4(5) that lasted for 90 mins in the Women’s Tennis Quarterfinals at the Dakkada Skill Acquisition Center.She will be facing Akwa Ibom Etoro Bassey in the semi-final.

Six NNL Clubs Secure Spot in the Federation Cup Round of 16

Six Nigeria National League clubs, Solution FC, Beyond Limits, Abakaliki FC, Wikki Tourists, Warri Wolves, and Osun United, have secured passage into the President Federation Cup Round of 16.

Inter Lagos faces Danburam FC, Bendel Insurance faces Rangers International, and Beyond Limits faces Ikorodu City FC

*Others Fixtures: Round of 16 (Men)*

Enyimba FC Vs Abakaliki FC

Nasarawa United Vs Bayelsa United

Warri Wolves Vs Wikki Tourists

Ikorodu City Vs Beyond Limits

Akwa United Vs Inter Lagos or Danburam FC

Solution FC Vs Kwara United

Plateau United Vs Osun United

Bendel Insurance Vs Rangers Int’l

Usman Bature

**Says his elevation, testament to his exemplary leadership in global energy landscape

Olu Of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III CFR To Grace 46th Coronation Of Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade 1

The Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, will grace the official enthronement of Oba Akeem Owoade 1 as the 46th Alaafin of Oyo, Lord of Warri on X, reports.

This much, was extracted from a post dropped this morning, Friday April 4 on the X handle of Lord of Warri.

The tweet, titled; ‘The King of Warri is heading to Oyo tomorrow!” noted that The Olu of Warri, shares a common lineage with the Alaafin of Oyo, “through Prince Oranmiyan”

Coronation of the new Oyo Monarch, has been designated to be hold tomorrow, Saturday April 5, at different venues including; Oliveth Baptist High School, where the Oyo state governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde’ will be leading notable dignitaries, Ladigbolu Grammar School, Durbar Stadium, Oba Lamidi Aderemi mini stadium and the palace of Alaafin of Oyo.

Fresh Angle reports that Oba Owoade, who is ascending the throne of his forbears after Late Oba Adeyemi joined his ancestors, completed the 21 days traditional rites, “Oro Ipebi,” on Saturday, 29th March 2025.

Ogun  Governor, Prince Abiodun Visits BetKing 3×3 National Wheelchair Basketball Open Championship

Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun has set the ball rolling with a moral boosting visit to the Alake Sports Center, Ijeja, the venue of the BetKing 3×3 National Wheelchair Basketball Championship, which runs from April 3rd to the 7th 2025.

During the visit, the Governor commended the Wheelchair basketball players for their dedication and resilience, encouraging them to continue excelling in the sport they love so much.

” I want to commend all the players participating in this tournament and I want all of you to know you are already a winner. Despite your challenges, you guys showed determination to stay true to your passion and I want to encourage you and assure you that as a Sports loving state we will continue to support you to live your dreams”, he stated.

In his response, the President of the Nigeria Wheelchair Basketball Federation, Seyi Johnson, expressed his gratitude to the Governor for the visit, describing it as a significant milestone for the federation and a source of inspiration for the athletes.

” This is an important day for us in the Federation and such a high profile visit will only foster the growth of wheelchair basketball in Nigeria. Once again we want to thank the Governor for his show of love and support not only for wheelchair Basketball but for Nigerian Sports in general”.

Meanwhile the Governor also conducted an inspection of the facilities which will be used for the upcoming 22nd National Sports Festival, NSF, in May.

The Governor acknowledged the efforts of the NSF Local Organizing Committee (LOC) in ensuring that the venue meets the required standards for the prestigious event.

The BetKing 3X3 National Wheelchair Basketball Championship which is held at the Alake Sports centre in Ijeja is a Perfect dress rehearsal for the facilities ahead of the Sports Festival scheduled to hold from May 16th-30th 2025.

Temitope Ademola Shines in Athletics, Wins Gold for Team Delta in Female Shot Put

By Ogo Clarkson

Team Delta has secured a impressive gold and silver medal haul in the female Shot Put event at the ongoing Niger Delta Sports Festival.

Temitope Ademola took top honors, throwing an impressive 12.55 meters to claim the gold medal.

Linda Nwagbo, also representing Team Delta, put in a strong performance, securing the silver medal with a throw of 11.87 meters.

This impressive one-two finish underscores Team Delta’s dominance in the athletics events.

Ademola’s gold medal win is a testament to her hard work and dedication, and she will be looking to build on this success in future competitions.

The Niger Delta Sports Festival continues to showcase the best of regional talent, and Team Delta is certainly making its presence felt.