Eagles in last minute war for shirts

By The Citizen

…Keshi keeps list close to chest All 23 members of the national team were in full flight at the UJ Esuene Stadium, Calabar  yesterday evening despite a down pour, with no one sure of which of them will be on the start list on Saturday in the World Cup qualifier against Malawi.

Nnamdi Oduamadi and John Ogu were the last two players to arrive and they showed no sign of fatigue at the wet   pitch of the Calabar's prime sports arena. Among the crowed who came to catch a glimpse of the African champions were NFF Security Committee, Effiong Johnson, who discussed  security issues with State's Sports Commissioner,  Patrick Ugbe and FIFA Security chief in Nigeria ACP Gideon Akinsola.

There was alsoNFF Marketing Committee boss, Deji Tinubu, who has been trying to market Nigerian football on the world wide web and several officials too numerous to mention.

At the training proper, which was the first full house ahead of the game against Malawi, Mandela Challenge hero, Uche Nwafor was splendid, so was Emmanuel Emenike,  Victor Moses, Obinna Nosfor, Ahmed Musa and Shola Ameobi. When asked about his selection concerns, Head Coach, Stephen Keshi simply said he will pick only the best players for Saturday's game. .

Fans at the stadium took nearly half of the arena, admiring their national team heroes.  After the  training they invaded the pitch, desperate  to catch a glimpse of their stars. This did not quite go down well with the security men on ground in Calabar. 'We will get over the situation before Saturday, because I am working in tandem with the Eagles Chief Security Officer, CSP Baba Nara', said ACP Akinsola.




RIGAN 2013 to hold in December
The 14th edition of the Research Institute Games tagged RIGAN 2013 will now hold from the 6th to 15th of December this year.

This was the resolution of the National Executive Council meeting of RIGAN HELD AT THE National Institute of industrial Research, Oshodi, host of the Biennial event.

Speaking at the end of the meeting, The President of RIGAN, the umbrella body of the research institute games, Dr. Eddie Okolo said the body was satisfied with the state of preparedness of the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi to host the over 35 research institutes from across the country. He commended the management of FIIRO for putting machinery in motion for a successful event and believes that Lagos will live up to the billing of 'Eko for show'.

Responding, the chairman of the Local organizing committee 'RIGAN 2013' Sesan Akinwusi, thanked the National Executive committee for the confidence reposed on the institute and pledged that Lagos will put up the best show in the history of the RIGAN Games,' We have put in place different strategies to ensure that athletes and officials have the best memories when the games are over because Lagos indeed is ready to provide an experience of a life time for all involved.

'We are looking forward to the support of corporate Nigeria that can leverage on the games that have continued to evolve into a mini Olympic and which serve as a platform for all institution involved in research in Nigeria to come together to celebrate the best of sports'