Sports
An Unplayed Australian Open Is a Turning Point for Novak Djokovic ( Opinion)
An Unplayed Australian Open Is a Turning Point for Novak Djokovic ( Opinion)
Even after being ejected from Australia, Novak Djokovic will remain No. 1 in the men’s tennis rankings at the end of the Australian Open, which began on Monday without him.
He still holds the titles at the French Open and Wimbledon; still has supple limbs, formidable tennis skills and a deep history of resilience in the face of hostile crowds and long odds.
But in a what-have-you-won-for-me-lately sport that is often categorised by eras and the champions who define them, it would come as no surprise if Sunday marked a turning point, symbolised by his long, grim walk to the airport gate in Melbourne under the escort of immigration officials.
Djokovic is 34, and as he left Australia against his will after his Visa was cancelled, a new generation of taller, talented stars in men’s tennis was preparing to pursue the title at the Grand Slam tournament he has dominated like no other and may never play again, if his three-year ban from the country is not rescinded.
“This certainly could knock him back,” John Isner, a friend of Djokovic’s and one of the top-ranked American players, said on Sunday. “I honestly don’t know which way it will go. It could take him a long time to recover, or light a fire under him.”
Djokovic has rebounded from demoralising periods in the past and resumed winning. In 2017, after perhaps the most dominant phase of his career, he struggled with his motivation and lost his edge for more than a year amid personal problems and a persistent right elbow injury. He had a commitment to natural healing that foreshadowed his decision not to be vaccinated for the coronavirus. But after playing and struggling at the Australian Open in 2018 with his elbow supported by a compression sleeve, he decided, tearfully he has said, to undergo surgery.
Five months later, he was a Grand Slam champion again, winning the 2018 Wimbledon title and soon re-establishing himself as No. 1, at the expense of his career-long rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
In early 2020, Djokovic was still on a roll, starting the year with 18 straight victories before the pandemic shut down the sport for five months in 2020. He organized an ill-advised exhibition tour in Serbia and Croatia in June during the enforced break that turned into a superspreader event and public-relations bonfire as he and other players and team members, including Djokovic’s coach Goran Ivanisevic, danced and partied unmasked in a Balkan nightclub, thoroughly out of sync with the global mood.
The tour was cancelled. Djokovic; his wife, Jelena; Ivanisevic; and others tested positive for the coronavirus, and when Djokovic did return to Grand Slam action, at the 2020 U.S. Open, he proceeded to eliminate himself from the tournament in the fourth round by hitting a ball in frustration after losing his serve and inadvertently hitting a lineswoman in the throat. He was defaulted by the tournament referee and returned to Europe to regroup. A young Austrian, Dominic Thiem, eventually won the title.
After all the dubious decisions and dents to his image, another Djokovic tailspin was hardly out of the question, but in a reflection of his tenacity and talent, he roared back in 2021 with one of his finest seasons: winning the first three Grand Slam tournaments and coming within one match of achieving the first men’s Grand Slam in singles in 52 years before losing to Daniil Medvedev in the U.S. Open final.
That display of resilience in 2021 should give pause to all those who might expect Djokovic to curl himself into a ball on the floor of his Monte Carlo apartment in the aftermath of the Australian affair.
We are talking about a player who became a champion despite growing up in Belgrade during the violent breakup of Yugoslavia, when NATO bombing forced him to interrupt tennis practices. He left home at 12 for a tennis academy in Germany as his parents and family borrowed and improvised to fund his training in the hope that the sport would be his route, and theirs, to better days. Djokovic told me that his father, Srdjan, once gathered the family and slammed a 10 Deutsche mark on the kitchen table and explained that this was all the money they had left.
“He said that more than ever we have to stick together and go through this together and figure out the way,” Djokovic said in that interview. “That was a very powerful and very impactful moment in my growth, my life, all of our lives.”
What is one deportation in comparison with all of that?
The answer seems self-evident, but the body blows can add up. Djokovic is accustomed to being the outsider, to hearing the roars of support for Federer and other opponents and winning anyway. He has even gone so far as to imagine that the crowds are chanting his name instead, but he has never been a global target to this degree.
Though he insists he does not want to be an anti-vaccine champion, the fallout from his iconoclastic stance in Australia — he is one of only three top-100 men’s players to be unvaccinated — means that he will be indelibly associated with the issue. And as long as he remains unvaccinated, he will face challenges entering some other countries and tournaments.
Energy is one of Djokovic’s hallmarks. Spend time with him one on one and his life force and restless curiosity come through, but he has expended a great deal of effort in recent years on causes beyond winning tennis matches: taking on the status quo on the men’s tour and creating a new player group to promote — so far unsuccessfully — change and more decision-making power for players at all levels of the rankings. He has helped start a new tournament in Belgrade, done charitable work in Serbia and the Balkan region and has cooperated with a behind-the-scenes documentary that is expected to be released in 2022.
It should have no dearth of content: no shortage of major triumphs and brutal setbacks. At what point does it all dull his edge? The answer could be right about now.
Sports
FirstBank Sponsors Samuel Okwaraji U-16 Football Championship 2026, Promotes Education Through School Sports
FirstBank Sponsors Samuel Okwaraji U-16 Football Championship 2026, Promotes Education Through School Sports
Lagos, 31 March 2026 – FirstBank, the premier bank in West Africa and a leading financial inclusion service provider, is thrilled to announce its sponsorship of the maiden edition of the Samuel Okwaraji Under 16 Football Championship, a nationwide youth football tournament organised to honour the late Samuel Okwaraji, one of Nigeria’s most celebrated football legends renowned for his patriotism, discipline, and commitment to national service.
The tournament will engage secondary schools from all 36 states and the FCT, in a two-stage competition. The first stage will feature zonal eliminations across the six geopolitical zones, followed by a national final in Abuja featuring the top 12 qualifying teams. The event will also include cultural displays, memorial lectures, and talent scouting opportunities by national team coaches, ensuring a blend of sporting excellence and social impact.
Speaking on the sponsorship, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FirstBank, Olusegun Alebiosu, said: “Football is the strongest unifier of Nigerians. It brings communities together, inspires discipline, and nurtures talents across the country. FirstBank is making a deliberate incursion into grassroots football development with this sponsorship, creating an enabling environment for the next generation of Samuel Okwarajis to discover, refine, and maximise their potential, thereby shaping the future of Nigerian football.”
In his remarks, Senator Osita Izunaso, the Chairman of the Championship Organising Committee commended FirstBank for throwing its weight around the championship. He said “FirstBank’s legacy predates modern Nigerian football. The bank has once again shown that true corporate leadership lies in nation building. We thank FirstBank for their participation in this championship and we hope that other corporates will take a leaf and provide an enabling environment for young ones to thrive in education through sports.”
Through its First@Sports initiative, FirstBank has sustained an unbroken role in promoting the development of football and sports across Nigeria. The Bank is invested in nurturing talent through its ownership of the Elephant Boys Football Team currently competing in the Nigerian National League. The FirstBank Basketball Club popular known as the “Elephant Girls” is also owned by the Bank.
The Bank has supported youth-oriented and sporting initiatives including the National Sports Festival, South-West Youth Games, the Dala Hard Court Tennis Championship for 35 years, Lagos Amateur Golf Open Championship for 65 years, and the Georgian Polo Cup for 105 years.
The Bank’s sponsorship of the Samuel Okwaraji U-16 Tournament underscores its commitment to national unity, empowering communities, and fostering youth development.
Sports
Adeniyi Urges Customs Officers to Stay Fit, Commissions Sports Arena at Western Marine Command
Adeniyi Urges Customs Officers to Stay Fit, Commissions Sports Arena at Western Marine Command
By Ifeoma Ikem
Sports
Fans Mock Pinnick’s ‘Morocco-Level’ Pitch Claim as Credibility Debate Returns to Nigerian Football
Fans Mock Pinnick’s ‘Morocco-Level’ Pitch Claim as Credibility Debate Returns to Nigerian Football
By George Omagbemi Sylvester | Published by SaharaWeeklyNG
“Former NFF boss promises five world-class surfaces in 18 months, but supporters question record and reality.”
A fresh controversy has erupted in Nigerian football after former Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president and FIFA Council member Amaju Melvin Pinnick declared that Nigeria would soon have football pitches comparable to those used at major tournaments in Morocco. The statement, intended to signal a new phase of infrastructure upgrades, instead triggered widespread skepticism among fans.
The backlash followed Pinnick’s remarks in early February 2026, when he said Nigeria would have at least five pitches matching Moroccan standards within 18 months. According to him, the team responsible for Morocco’s acclaimed stadium surfaces had already arrived in Nigeria to begin the upgrades. He identified the targeted venues as Warri City Stadium, two stadiums in Bayelsa State, Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, and the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.
Rather than inspiring confidence, the announcement was met with sarcasm and disbelief across social media. Many supporters dismissed the claim as unrealistic, pointing to the current state of numerous Nigerian pitches, several of which have failed to meet international standards in recent years. Some fans described the promise as something to “believe at your own risk,” reflecting deep mistrust toward football administrators.
The reaction comes against the backdrop of long-standing infrastructure problems in Nigerian football. For years, the country has struggled to maintain stadiums to the standards required by FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF). On multiple occasions, national-team matches have been moved or played in alternative venues because approved facilities were unavailable.
Pinnick himself has previously acknowledged the depth of the problem. In earlier interviews, he admitted that many Nigerian stadiums lack basic amenities and cannot meet international requirements, noting that the country is currently unable to host major FIFA competitions because of substandard facilities. He also contrasted Nigeria’s situation with Morocco’s, describing the North African country as having a “plug-and-play” football infrastructure capable of hosting major tournaments at short notice.
Morocco’s progress has been widely praised by football authorities. The country has invested heavily in modern stadiums, training facilities, and pitch technology, positioning itself as one of Africa’s leading hosts for international competitions. Its infrastructure upgrades have played a major role in securing hosting rights for major tournaments, including the Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria’s situation has followed a different trajectory. Many stadiums built or renovated at significant cost have deteriorated within a few years, often due to poor maintenance, irregular funding, and administrative disputes. Sports policy experts argue that the core problem is not simply the construction of facilities but the absence of sustainable management structures.
Global sports business scholar Professor Simon Chadwick has argued that infrastructure projects must be backed by sound governance. “Facilities are only as effective as the systems that sustain them,” he notes. “Without management discipline, even the best stadiums deteriorate quickly.”
Economist Andrew Zimbalist, a leading authority on sports infrastructure, has also warned that stadium promises often fail without transparent planning and long-term operational strategies. His research shows that politically driven projects frequently fall short of expectations when maintenance and funding models are unclear.
These broader concerns help explain the intensity of the reaction to Pinnick’s latest claim. Many supporters remember his eight-year tenure as NFF president from 2014 to 2022, a period that produced mixed results. While the national team qualified for major tournaments and maintained administrative stability, the infrastructure question remained largely unresolved.
Beyond public debate, the issue carries practical consequences. Stadium quality directly affects Nigeria’s ability to host international matches. When facilities fail to meet required standards, national teams are forced to play “home” fixtures in foreign countries, increasing costs and weakening home advantage.
The impact is also felt at the grassroots level. Without quality pitches, young players are forced to train in poor conditions that do not match international standards, creating long-term developmental disadvantages.
Supporters of Pinnick argue that the new plan could mark a genuine effort to address these long-standing problems. They note that the proposal involves collaboration with international pitch experts and focuses on specific stadiums rather than vague nationwide promises.
Critics, however, insist that credibility will depend entirely on execution. They argue that Nigerian football has heard similar assurances for decades, with little to show in terms of sustained improvement.
For now, the 18-month timeline has set a clear benchmark. If the promised upgrades materialize and the selected stadiums meet international standards, the initiative could help restore public confidence. Though if the deadline passes without visible results, the skepticism surrounding the announcement is likely to deepen.
In a football-obsessed nation, infrastructure promises are no longer judged by speeches or press statements. They are judged by results and by the condition of the pitch on match day.
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