Kicking off!

Tomorrow Nigerians from all walks of life will roll out the drums to celebrate 57 years of Independence from British rule. As usual, it will be another moment to reflect on the pains and gains of nationhood.

The sporting fraternity in Nigeria will also be looking at the achievements made so far and the disappointments suffered at international competitions.

Our cover story therefore takes a deep look at the good, the bad and ugly of Nigerian sports since the time of Independence on October 1, 1960. Although Nigeria has recorded some glorious moments, the country’s brightest time in sports came in 1996 at the Atlanta Olympics where the country won her only two gold medals till date. Have we lived up to our potentials in sports? Our cover story answers this pertinent question.

In the interview section, we serve you the telephone interview we had with Nasarawa United’s experienced midfielder, Eugene Obi who spoke to us on the need for players in the NPFL to enjoy better welfare packages.

It is no longer news that tennis great, Serena Williams and her boyfriend Alexis have a baby girl. What is news is the confidence being expressed by her present and former opponents like Li Na that she has the capacity to come back strongly.

And former world number one golfer, Rory McIlroy has said Tiger Woods “doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone” as the 14-time major winner battles to recover from injury and return to competitive golf.

We round up this edition of SHOT! with Europe Round Up by previewing the to-of-the-table clash between Chelsea and Manchester City at the Stamford Bridge. Victory will take ‘the blues’ to the top of the table after a shaky start against Burnley.

This is where we pause to be back next week with another exciting edition of SHOT!.

Enjoy your weekend and have a splendid 57th Independence Anniversary celebration.