Nigerian Sports Award: Uduaghan, Imoke, Fashola battle for honours

From left: Uduaghan, Imoke and Fashola

All roads lead to the Muson Centre Onikan, Lagos as the long-awaited day for the emergence of winners in the various categories of the 2013 Nigerian Sports Award is here.

Prominent sports men and women who have excelled in different aspects of sports will be honoured today in a grand presentation ceremony billed for the Muson Centre.

Except there is a sudden twist in the voting pattern, Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi is in strong contention for the coach of the year award.

Keshi is nominated for the revered award alongside Coach Manu Garba who led the Golden Eaglets to the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup triumph in UAE recently. Similarly, Nigeria and Chelsea midfielder, John Obi Mikel is in a pole position to bag the Footballer of the Year Award. On loan Chelsea striker, Victor Moses and Sunday Mba are the other nominees for the footballer of the year category. Perpetual Nkwocha, Stella Mbachu and Ebere Orji are contenders for the female category

The biggest battle, however is the Sports Governor of the Year category where Governors Babatunde Fashola of Lagos, Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta and Liyel Imoke of CrossRiverState are contenders. It was hard to pick who the likely winner will be as the three governors were running neck-to-neck in the race for the award. Imoke has a strong youth athletics programme in his state aside hosting Eagles and Golden Eaglets matches.

Fashola has embarked on development at youth and community levels. Uduaghan was the pillar to Delta’s victory at the last Sports Festival and he has started a special track and field programme in DeltaState after he revived football in secondary schools. He supports Nigerian athletes who compete internationally and sponsored the training of Blessing Okagbare to the last World Championships in Moscow where she won two medals. He has also taken care of her training for the next Olympics and enlisted other athletes for similar sponsorship.

Delta’s Ogedegbe, a primary school in warri axis won the national U 13 Soccer Championship sponsored by Channels Television. Blessing Okagbare is favourite for the Track and Field Star of the year award just as she is also in the running for the Sports Woman of the Year award.

Other categories include Ball Sports Personality of the year, Sports administrator of the year where NFF President, Aminu Maigari, AFN President Solomon Ogba and Chairman of the Delta State Sports Commission, Pinnick Amaju are in contention. In total, there are 14 categories to be won. “We are set for the event,” Kayode Idowu, General Manager, Unmissable Incentives Limited, organisers of the award assured yesterday.