NIS Students’ Week ends in grand style, as Professionals lift football trophy

The weeklong National Institute For Sports (NIS), Students’ Week ended on a good note on Friday with all the students praising their union’s government for putting up a seamless event.

The climax of the event was the finals of the football tournament played between the Advanced Class and the Professional Class captained by the President of the Students Union, Omefe Michael Kanayo.

Watched by an appreciable crowd, including the Registrar and other Principal Officers of the institution at the play ground of the prestigious school saddled with the responsibility of producing coaches and sports managers in the country, the high tensioned game proved bookmakers right with fans enjoying actions in the game as it lasted.

The match which started on a cautious note saw both teams giving out their best with regular incursions into each others goal area but their agile goalkeepers and defenders ensured they kept rampaging strikers from both sides on check to end the first half goalless.

In the beginning of the second stanza, the Advanced team made some efforts to score the curtain raiser but were not successful, however, it was the Professionals who having earlier lost a penalty saved by ex- international Dele Aiyenugba in post for the Advance team became more purposeful as they scored the first goal deep into the second half.

This goal served as a morale booster for the Professionals who continued to pile pressure on their opponents which resulted in the second goal to end the game 2-0 and lift the giant trophy at stake.

Also in the women exhibition match, Team Nelly defeated Team Florence by 4-2.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, the Director General of the institute, Prof.Olawale Moronkola who was represented by the Registrar, Mr. Belimond Benson noted that it’s a thing of joy that the students used the opportunity offered by the students’ week to display their talents in a friendly and conducive atmosphere.

According to him, the institute’s management declared the students’ week to enable them take time out of their busy classroom work to have some fun and am happy they’re doing it in a matured manner.

” The management decided to declare the week, lecture free week to enable the students take time out of their busy classroom schedule to have some fun, bond together and put into practice what they are being taught and you can see that the students really exhibited the qualities they have.

“What this shows is that the institute is adding value to what they already have and it’s something to applaud. We hope that after graduating, it will rob off on their various clubs as they go back and give back what they’ve learnt to their athletes.

He also promised that the institute under the present management will continue to produce quality coaches and managers for the country which he believes is necessary for the development of the country’s sports ecosystem.

” You’re aware that the institute has over the years, being contributing it’s quota in sports development, particularly in the area of producing coaches and managers for our various clubs.
” The evidence of this can be seen in the last National Football League where coaches of both the winning club and the runners-up were products of NIS which buttresses the point that the institute is really adding value to the country’s sports development.

“A testimony of the institute adding value to our coaches could be adduced from the fact that our former internationals like Austin Eguavoen and Peter Rufai all came back here to acquire knowledge.

The Registrar was of the view that if the institute is adequately funded, it will do more in it’s mandate of producing world class coaches for the country.
” All the institute needs is adequate support and funding to enable it do more in what it’s presently doing”, he concluded.

In his remarks, President of the Students Union, Omefe Michael Kanayo A.K A MKO explained that he’s very fulfilled that a journey that started many months ago eventually came to a successful end.

” You can see smiles on the faces of the students which is an indication that they’re happy with the present leadership of the Students Union.

” Most of the students participated in one sports or the other and you saw me leading my team in the first half of the finals of the football match and I want to say that there’s no victor, no vanquished in the games.

Apart from the finals of the football match, finals of 100 meters, 4× 100 mixed relay and 4×400 meters were also decided.
The closing ceremony also saw the display of Tug of War, Caterpillar Race and boxing exhibition