Sports
Nigerian is fastest man in English football
Nigerian footballer John Chidozie has been released by his club Tottenham Hotspur FC to play for Nigeria in a world cup qualifier against Liberia. But he is not happy about it. Chidozie believes that his absence will create problems for him. He said there are so many good players in his London club that he might not get back in when he returns from Nigeria.Meanwhile, the 24-year-old Nigerian star, even though claiming not to be going flat out at the moment, has been rated the fastest man in the English First Division. The records show that as a school boy at Forest Gate in East London, Chidozie was an exceptional athlete. At the age of 15 he clocked 10.6 seconds for the 100 metres and was clearing 6ft in the high jump.
Six qualify for hockey finals
Nigeria's National Hockey League final comes up on October 21, in Minna, Niger State. Six states qualified for the final rounds.They are Oyo the current league champion, Bendel, Imo, Plateau, Gongola and Niger States. The qualified states are competing for the retired Major General Yar Adua's Cup.
Hockey players leave for US
Sixteen hockey players and four officials of the Union Bank Hockey Club have left Lagos for Washington for this year's J.F. Kennedy Memorial Tournament. The Union Bank Club finished fourth in last year's competition.Stade Malien lose to New Nigeria Bank
Defending champions New Nigeria Bank of Benin are on course to retain the WAFU cup. In their first leg final against Stade Malien in Bamako last week, the Benin team emerged 3-2 winners.In a match watched by a large crowd including hundreds of Nigerian fans, some of whom made the trip to Bamako on two chartered flights provided by the Nigeria Football Association, the New Nigeria Bank team made sure of early goals which the Malians had to struggle to redeem.
Stade Malien, 1982 WAFU cup quarter finalists who are yet to lose a match at home this season struggled to keep their unbeaten record intact but woefully succumbed to a team that is determined to make the second leg of the final on their home ground a mere formality.
Niger national team disbanded
The Niger national team has been disbanded by the Ministry of Sports days before it was scheduled to play Libya on October 19 in the 1986 World Cup qualifying match.An official of the Sports Ministry says a decision will be made in the next few days on whether a new team will be formed or not, but there is no doubt that the chances of Niger in the world cup campaign have been dampened by this development.
The scrapping of the side, only reformed early this year, was officially put down to poor results and "the bad frame of mind and poor relations between the players and coaching staff".
Hockey congress in Brussels
Nigeria will be represented at the forth- coming International Hockey Federation Congress coming up in Brussels, Germany from October 16-22, 1984.The country's representative will be Mr Chris Eneli, the Vice-President of the Nigerian Hockey Association. The week- long Congress coincides with the Diamond Jubilee celebration of the International Hockey Federation, the world's largest hockey governing body.
GFA fines Kotoko, Hearts, Olympics
Ghana's 1984 league ends officially on October 21 with a crucial match between league leaders Accra Hearts of Oak and Real Tamale United in Tamale.Hearts with 26 points need a draw to win the championship while second placed Real United with 25 points need a win to snatch the title from their rivals.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Football Association (FGA), has penalised four clubs which were suspected to have indulged in dubious means to win the title.
The clubs are Kumasi Cornerstone, Asante Kotoko, Accra Great Olympics and Hearts of Oak, who had the gate proceeds from their mid-week matches frozen for what the GFA felt lacked 'competitive spirit'.
Corners, who are third from the bottom of the league table lost their match 0-3 to Hearts of Oak while Kotoko beat Olympics 7-5.
Kotoko and Goldfields in cup final
Asante Kotoko and second division side Obuasi Goldfields, were to meet on Sunday October 14, in Accra to decide who wins this year's F.A. Cup competition. In their semi-final matches in Accra and Kumasi, Asante Kotoko predictably qualified for the final at the expense of second division side Tema-based Apeguso Arnold Warriors while Goldfields pushed out highly fancied Brong Ahafo United in their encounter in Kumasi with a lone goal in the 84th minute.African champions beaten
African champions, Cameroon lost their third consecutive match in an international football tournament at the New Olympic Stadium in Seoul last week when Brazilian Club Fluminense beat them 3-1. The Brazilian goals came in the first half, through Benedito De Assis (13th minute), Julio Cesar Romero (15th minute) and Washington Santos (21st minute).Cameron, beaten 5-1 by the South Korean Olympic side and 5-0 by the Korean World Cup team, fought back in the second half and scored through Ernest Ebongue in the 29th minute.
