Nigeria’s junior Scrabble team emerged as the second-ranked nation at the World Youth Scrabble Championship in Nairobi, Kenya, collecting several individual awards in a performance the Nigeria Scrabble Federation credited to continued support from the Kwara State Government and Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
Nigeria finish second in Nairobi
NSF spokesperson Maxwell Kumoye said the Nigerian delegation faced 134 competitors from across the globe during a 24-round contest held over three days. Their combined performance secured the country the Second Best Country award.
Individual honours for the young players
- Sophia Ekeruche retained the Best Female Player crown she claimed in Malaysia last year.
- Yusuf Abdulsalam won the Under-8 division and was additionally recognised as the tournament’s Best Kid.
- Salvation Onazi took second runner-up in the Under-10 event.
- Saviour Onazi finished third in the Under-12 competition.
- Olamide Hassan placed second runner-up in the Under-16 category and ended 10th overall.
State backing helped Nigeria compete
Kumoye said Kwara has supported Nigerian Scrabble for roughly six years and paid the Nairobi travel costs for four players and two officials. That assistance enabled Nigeria to take part rather than sit out another important international youth tournament.
The team also received backing from the Bayelsa and Niger State Governments and was led by coach Hassan Olojoku Abdulrafiu.
A rare positive result for Nigerian sport
Nigeria’s Scrabble success came during a difficult week for the country’s sporting teams. The senior women’s basketball side, D’Tigress, suffered two narrow losses to China in Haikou: a 70-67 defeat on Friday followed by a 69-65 setback on Sunday. The matches were preparation for next month’s FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin.
At the FIBA U-18 AfroBasket in Abidjan, the Junior D’Tigers failed to win any of their three matches, including a 77-68 loss against hosts Côte d’Ivoire.
Football teams also fall short
- The Super Falcons’ Women’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign ended with a 1-0 quarter-final defeat by Cameroon in Casablanca on Sunday.
- The Flying Eagles were beaten 4-1 by Burkina Faso in the WAFU Zone B Under-20 Championship final.
- That final loss also denied Nigeria places in both the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations and the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
