Mikel Obi, Toriola, 22 others nominated for Nigerian Sports Award

CHELSEA midfielder, Mikel Obi, African table tennis star, Segun Toriola and 22 others are among the stars nominated by Nigerians for the maiden edition of the Nigerian Sports Award scheduled for next month in Lagos.

Unveiling the nominees for the award yesterday in Lagos, the General Manager, Unmissable Inceptives Limited, Kayode Idowu, said the nominees were selected by the general public through a nomination process held from July 19 to September 28, adding that the winners would be unveiled during the award ceremony on November 29 at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island in Lagos.

Mikel was nominated alongside Osaze Odemwingie and Ikechukwu Uche for male footballer of the year award category, while six-time Olympian and the most decorated table tennis player in Africa, Toriola, was listed in the ball sports personality of the year award alongside Funke Oshonaike and D’Tigers’ star, Ike Diogu.

In the team of the year category are Under-20 women football team, Falconets; national men’s basketball team, D’Tigers and Heartland Football Club of Owerri are the nominees for the award.

For the coach of the year award, Falconets’ chief coach, Okon Edwin; Head Coach, Powerlifting (Paralympians), Feyisetan Are and D’Tigers’ head coach, Ayodele Bakare are the nominees, while the Woman Footballer of the Year category has the trio of Francisca Ordega, Perpetual Nwokocha and Desire Oparanozie as contestants.

For their feat at the London Paralympic Games, the trio of Grace Anozie, Yakubu Adesokan and Folashade Oluwafemiayo are in the special sports personality of the year category, while Mikel Obi, Odemwingie and Paralympian Adesokan made the last three of the Sportsman of the Year award.

In the administrator of the year award, Oyo State Commissioner for Sports, Dapo Lam-Adesina, his Cross River State counterpart, Patrick Ugbe and Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) President, Solomon Ogba were nominated in the category.

Other awards expected to be won at the grand finale include Journalist of the Year award in print and electronic and which, Idowu said, would be decided by the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN).

Idowu, however, said that for the Team of the Year, Sportsman and Sportswoman awards, the winners would be left for the public to decide through SMS voting, adding that voting commenced yesterday and ends on November 19.

To add glamour as well as to reward the public for participating in the awards, five people would be rewarded at the weekly draws, starting from October 30 to November 20, with prizes ranging from LCD Television, mobile phones and tickets to the grand finale on November 29.

Unmissable Incentives Limited is packaging the event in conjunction with Mastersports International Limited.