Sports
Rangers win league title
Enugu Rangers are this year's Nigerian league champions. Having bagged 28 points, Rangers had to wait for the outcome of the match between second placed New Nigeria Bank and Rovers of Calabar. With the Bank team determined to accomplish their triple title chase Enugu Rangers were left in an uncomfortable state to await the result of the last match of the league contest involving the defending WAFU champions.Playing away from home the ambitious New Nigeria Bank were the first to score a goal. Home team Calabar Rovers however jolted their aspirations when they equalised through a spot-kick, thereby leaving WAFU with 27 points on the league table.
Rely on home based athletes
Ghana's National Olympic Committee has recommended that priority in Ghana's participation in future international sporting competitions should be given to athletes based at home rather than those abroad when it comes to selection. The Committee (NOC) made this recommendation in a report on the Los Angeles 23rd Olympiad presented at a press conference.According to the NOC, experience gained in Los Angeles "should make us reconsider our method of selection of our sportsmen based outside Ghana. We should not from now on place too much premium on the reports received from the athletes and their coaches. Money spent in bringing them down home to justify their inclusion would in the long run prove to be money well spent."
In this way, the NOC said "we should concentrate more on our athletes based at home and encourage them by sponsoring them to compete regularly at home and abroad."
It said "the performance of both of our athletes and boxers clearly confirmed that had they had the opportunity to compete in a number of competitions both at home and abroad, they could have fared better than they did."
Youth team prepares for Chile tournament
Ghana's national youth team, Under 20, are engaged in a training exercise in preparation for the World Youth Tourna- ment in Chile next year.The national team will leave for Banjul, Gambia soon to play their Gambian coun- terparts in Banjul in the first leg of the pre- liminary round of the World Youth soccer tournament.
Suspension lifted on boxer
The Nigerian Boxing Board of Control has lifted the indefinite suspension on bantam- weight boxer, Obelle Anzaor. In a statement in Lagos the board said that it took the decision after considering Anazor's letter of apology. Anazor was suspended last May for fight- ing for the vacant African Boxing Union bantamweight title in Kenya without the board's approval in April.He lost the contest to Kenya's Napunyi.
Azumah predicts victory
The Ghanaian challenger to the World Featherweight Crown, Azumah Nelson, has Malien of Bamako in the finals. predicted he would stop the Puerto Rican champion, Wilfredo Gomez, in the fifth round in their title fight fixed for September 29 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.Azumah Nelson confidently said: "I will stop Gomez in the fifth round and if he manages to go to the sixth round, that will be the end of his boxing career.
The Ghanaian challenger made the prediction when he met the Chairman of the PNDC, Flt-Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, at the Castle to say good-bye to him before leav- ing for New York, United States, to continue his preparation for the fight.
He stated: "Ghanaians can be assured that the featherweight title is going to come back here again and they will have to watch the fight on the television to know what I mean."
The Youth and Sports Secretary, Mr Amarkai Amarteifio, who accompanied Azumah Nelson to the Castle said Azumah had been prepared psychologically and physically to win the title this time.
"Everything has been done for him and what is left is Azumah's two fists to win the fight," he said.
The Secretary said the fact that the fight has been twice postponed indicates that the promoters are aware that Azumah Nelson would by all means win the fight.
Kano Pillars qualify
Nigeria's representatives in this year's African Cup Basketball Championship, the Kano Pillars, have qualified for the next stage of the competition without throwing a ball. This followed the failure of their Camerounian counterparts to show up for a match in Kano. The match umpire, Mouhammed El. Moutar Diop of Senegal blew his whistle at awarded the two points to Kano Pillars 5.03 p.m. to effect the walk-overAccording to the rules of the game Kano Pillars had qualified for the next round of the competition, even without playing a return match in Yaounde, since the Camerounians did not show up for the first leg.
But the secretary of the Nigerian Amateur Basketball Association (NABA) Uche Nebedum, cautioned that it would be necessary to confirm from Cairo, the head- quarters of the African Amateur Basketball Association, the true position of things before jumping to conclusions.
The Secretary was of the view that Cameroun might have communicated its inability to appear for the match in Cairo, without Nigeria knowing about it.
