Foundation revitalises kiddies’ sporting urge

“building better Nigerian children through sports.”

It also combined sports with dance competitions and talent shows which is held annually and would soon be held more often to promote healthy living among school children, Erokwu stated.

The programme coordinator, Amb. Stephen Osadebay said the foundation is a vibrant youthful network, collaborating with the Ministry of Sports and other youth groups to inspire children and youth positively and register their impact in various facets of human endeavours.

Meanwhile, a participating student from Ideal Basic School, Valour Didan thanked the foundation for organising the event saying he had fun while improving his skills and hoped to attend the next one.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup may be over but the football fever which has swept the world, had women as some of the most enthusiastic fans.

Nigeria, although suffered defeat and elimination in the round of 16, she also boasts of dedicated female football fans with their fanaticism sweeping across the social media and on the streets, analyzing the games while relating their disappointments. This, analysts say, is a deviation from the past where their activeness in sports was hardly felt.

Zainab, a student at Federal University of Technology, Minna, said her interest in football began to grow in 2006. “During that World Cup, my dad and brothers would not miss a minute of the action, I had no choice but to watch soccer if I really wanted to watch TV,” she said.

The young undergraduate now says it is no longer an option for her to miss a match especially when her EPL club is playing. “I am a Gunner and even though they have a track record of losing 7 out of their 10 matches, I still watch them play.”

A female journalist, Esther Philip, stated that she learnt to watch matches from her husband. “He is a fanatic, whenever Chelsea is playing, everything stands still at home and when Chelsea loses, there is a sure sombre mood around,” she said.

Esther, who calls herself a ‘PRO,’ said she is now an ardent analyst in football techniques including the conditions for awarding free-kick, offside, corner and penalty.

Another female fan, Samira Shehu, said she was encouraged by her friend to like football last year and now, she can’t resist watching her Barcelona team play. To the point of betting, Samira disclosed that she almost cried when Argentina lost to Germany at the World Cup final because her bet was for Argentina. “Watching it was fun, but I lost in my bet,” she said.