Made In Africa Sport reports that the 15th edition of the continental event started in Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) on Monday, 18 December 2023, featuring over 20 institutions.

Led by Dr. Theophilus Mensah, the team received blessings and guidance from the university’s top brass, including the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Stephen Jobson Mitchual, who expressed unwavering faith in their abilities.

“I am extremely hopeful that you’ll come home with medals,” proclaimed Prof. Mitchual, urging the athletes to compete with discipline and integrity – values that embody the university’s spirit. He emphasized the importance of hard work and unwavering belief as they face the challenges ahead.

Prof. Victor Antwi, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, echoed this sentiment, urging the team to be not only athletic champions but also ambassadors for UEW. “Go and sell the school to them so that they will come,” he challenged, envisioning not just medals but also a chance to attract future students from Nigeria.

Prof. Dominic Danso Mensah, Principal of the College for Languages Education, singled out the sprinters and table tennis players for their proven track record on the African continent, expressing his conviction that they would return with gold. Prof. Frimpong Kaakyire Duku, Principal of the College for Distance and e-Learning, added to the pressure, urging coaches to replicate the successes achieved at the FASU and GUSA Games.

UEW carries the hopes of Ghana alongside Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), University of Ghana (UG), and the University for Development Studies (UDS) as they face fierce competition from universities across the region.

With the weight of expectation on their shoulders, the UEW contingent is determined to leave their mark on WAUG 2023, proving their mettle and bringing home the coveted prizes.

2023 West African University Games men's singles table tennis:

Group A
S. Boboye – BIU
Abdulbaki Yinusa – BUK
Afowewo Jesutomi – EKSU
Bless Hodasi – UG

Group B
Qudus Surmer – LASU
Ahmad Oladipupo – LASUED
Tiamiyu Abdullahi – OAU
Ogbodo David – ABUAD
Charles Forson – UEW

Group… pic.twitter.com/3o17mixkQM

— Made In Africa Sport (@madeinafricaweb) December 19, 2023

WAUG 2023 Updates

As the excitement surrounding the 15th West African University Games continues to build, Made In Africa Sport remains your ultimate source for all the latest news and updates. Stay glued to our social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) and visit our website regularly at madeinafricasport.com for:

• Detailed reports: Get in-depth coverage of all the competitions, including exclusive interviews with athletes, coaches, and officials.
• Exclusive content: Enjoy behind-the-scenes stories, insightful analysis, and engaging multimedia features.
• Latest news: Stay ahead of the curve with breaking news, updates on athlete performances, and all the action from the Games.

Don’t miss a single moment of the WAUG 2023! Make Made In Africa Sport your go-to platform for all things Africa and University Sports.

The post Ghana’s UEW sports contingent shoulders high hopes for WAUG 2023 glory appeared first on Made In Africa Sport.

Made In Africa Sport reports that the 15th edition of the continental event, featuring over 20 institutions, kicked off on Monday, 18 December 2023, with competitions limited to four Olympic sports: Tennis, Athletics, Table Tennis, and Basketball (3×3).

BUK arrived in OAU with 14 student athletes ready to compete in both male and female categories. Their roster boasts talented individuals across various disciplines, including:

• Table Tennis: Abdulbaki Yunusa (M) and Patience Mbaka (F)
• Tennis: Dominic Amadu (M) and Muhammed Imam (M)
• Athletics: Mustapha Alhassan (M) and Jamal Suleiman (M)
• Basketball (M): Saeed Mohammed, Ahmed Umar, Samuel Ojobo, and Enyo Abubakar Muhammad
• Basketball (F): Cherry Ngumimi Chaghshor, Princess Zaki, Eunice Idowu, and Theresa David

The team is accompanied by a strong support crew, including five coaches, a medical team, the BUK Director of Sports, Prof. Rabiu Muhammed, the BUK chairman of sports council, Prof. Yakasai, and the BUK Students Union Sports Director, Teniola Nafisat Balogun.

Target and potential

In an interview with Made In Africa Sport, Balogun, who led the BUK team to OAU, expressed their high aspirations for the games:

“Like any other institution that is participating in this WAUG, the target is to get gold medals. Since we have athletes competing in all categories, we hope we can clinch the top spots in each of those categories.”

Balogun believes BUK’s rigorous preparation and unwavering support from the school management position them for a potential first-place finish:

“I think with the level of preparation our athletes and the school management have put in, the respectable position for us would be first.”

“Our athletes have put in a lot of work in this, they’ve been training hard for so long, we’ve had mini competitions just to get us prepared for this and also the management has been very supportive of this whole movement.”

“So I believe with all of that we are mentally prepared being in that competition spirit for a while now, all we need is opportunity to perform,” she said.

However, she expressed some concerns regarding the organisation of the event.

“I am already a little bit disappointed on the level of preparation on the organisers’ side,” Balogun said. “The back and forth change of fixtures can be a little bit fibling given that athletes have prepared, warmed up, and come out to play and they will have to tell them to come out another time for the game, pushing it to a different time.”

“It gets a little tiring if it keeps happening, but I’m still looking forward to a fair competition and hope the officials will do justice to the competing athletes,” she concluded.

Despite these concerns, BUK kicked off their WAUG journey on a strong note, securing a resounding 21-8 victory over Ambrose Ali University (AAU) in the men’s basketball group stage opener.

They look to continue their winning streak in Group A against Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD) and University for Development Studies, Ghana (UDS) later on Tuesday. The BUK women’s basketball team will also face ABUAD in their Group A opener.

WAUG 2023 Updates

As the excitement surrounding the 15th West African University Games continues to build, Made In Africa Sport remains your ultimate source for all the latest news and updates. Stay glued to our social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) and visit our website regularly at madeinafricasport.com for:

• Detailed reports: Get in-depth coverage of all the competitions, including exclusive interviews with athletes, coaches, and officials.
• Exclusive content: Enjoy behind-the-scenes stories, insightful analysis, and engaging multimedia features.
• Latest news: Stay ahead of the curve with breaking news, updates on athlete performances, and all the action from the Games.

Don’t miss a single moment of the WAUG 2023! Make Made In Africa Sport your go-to platform for all things Africa and University Sports.

The post Bayero University Kano aims for gold at WAUG 2023, demands fair play from organisers appeared first on Made In Africa Sport.

WAUG, also known as the ECOWAS Students Games, is a multi-sport event among student-athletes from universities in West Africa.

The continental sports event, scheduled to be held between 16 and 22 December 2023, attracted contingents from various universities in Nigeria and Ghana.

Participating teams

While the organisers still expect more universities, Made In Africa Sport can confirm that the following 20 universities will be participating in the games:

• Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) – Host
• Ambrose Ali University (AAU)
• Bayero University Kano (BUK)
• Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana (KNUST)
• Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD)
• University for Development Studies, Ghana (UDS)
• Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University Lappai (IBBUL)
• University of Ibadan (UI)
• Lagos State University (LASU)
• Federal University Oye Ekiti (FUOYE)
• University of Ghana (UG)
• University of Ilorin (UNILORIN)
• Benson Idahosa University (BIU)
• University of Education Winneba, Ghana (UEW)
• University of Lagos (UNILAG)
• Ekiti State University (EKSU)
• Lagos State University of Education (LASUED)
• University of Osun (UNIOSUN)
• Kwara State University (KWASU)
• University of Abuja (UNIABUJA)

Games Overview

Made In Africa Sport understands that this edition will not be a full WAUG Championship and only four games will be featured.

The edition is titled WAUG TATTB with the latter acronym representing the four sports to be featured; Tennis, Athletics, Table Tennis and Basketball (3×3).

Tennis

The Tennis event will feature ladies and men’s singles and doubles, and the mixed doubles.

The ladies singles starts in the second round (round of 16), ABUAD (Azubuike) faces OAU (Sani), ABUAD (Oraigbo) faces OAU (Yinus) in another match-up while IBBUL (Danjuma), UI (Ayodeji), UG (Aghoghorbia), UG (Manu), UI (Jimoh), and BIU (Godwin Mary) receives a bye to the quarter-finals.

In the ladies doubles, UG (Aghoghorbia/Manu), UI (Ayodeji/Jimoh), and BIU (Godwin/Udoka) receive bye to the semi-finals while ABUAD (Azubuike/Oraigbo) and OAU (Sani/Yinus) face off in the only quarter-final fixture.

The men’s singles and doubles fixtures are yet to be made, but the mixed doubles have been confirmed.

The mixed doubles will start from the semi-finals and will see IBBUL (Kwange/Danjuma) going up against the host, OAU (Makinde/Yinus), while ABUAD (Bello/Oraigbo) faces off against BIU (Debekeme/Godwin).

Basketball

The draws for the basketball event were made on Monday, 18 December with 10 teams grouped in two for the male category and six teams grouped into two in the female category.

Group A for men has AAU, BUK, KNUST, ABUAD, and UDS.

In Group B, host Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is joined by IBBUL, UI, LASU, and FUOYE.

For the female category, Group A consists of UDS, UNILORIN, and BIU while ABUAD and BUK match up with OAU in Group B.

Day one of the basketball games will see the following 16 matches played at an unspecified time.

1. AAU vs. BUK (Male)
2. KNUST vs ABUAD (Male)
3. UNILORIN vs UDS (Female)
4. UDS vs AAU (Male)
5. IBBUL vs UI (Male)
6. LASU vs FUOYE (Male)
7. ABUAD vs OAU (Female)
8. OAU vs IBBUL (Male)
9. BUK vs ABUAD (Male)
10. AAU vs KNUST (Male)
11. BUK vs ABUAD (Female)
12. UDS vs BUK (Male)
13. UI vs FUOYE (Male)
14. IBBUL vs LASU (Male)
15. BIU vs UNILORIN (Female)
16. OAU vs UI (Male)

Ten games follow on Tuesday, day two, while semi-finals, third-place, and finals come up on Wednesday, day three.

Table Tennis

The draw for the Table Tennis event took place on Monday evening at the Table Tennis hall in Obafemi Awolowo University.

The singles events will start in a group phase, with the athletes in Groups A to D.

MEN’S SINGLES GROUP

Group A

• S. Boboye – BIU
• Abdulbaki Yinusa – BUK
• Afowewo Jesutomi – EKSU
• Bless Hodasi – UG

Group B

• Qudus Surmer – LASU
• Ahmad Oladipupo – LASUED
• Tiamiyu Abdullahi – OAU
• Ogbodo David – ABUAD
• Charles Forson – UEW

Group C

• Adeolu Opeyemi – OAU
• John Mathew – BIU
• Oscar Forson – UEW
• Olaniyan Fawaz – UNILAG
• E. Richard Daniel – FUOYE
• Oyeyinka S. Boluwatife – UNILORIN

Group D

• Emmanuel Osei – UG
• Jimoh Muiz -UNILORIN
• Akala Mayokun – UI
• Ekemta Daniel – ABUAD
• Adedara Michael – EKSU
• James Okechukwu – UNILAG

WOMEN’S SINGLES GROUP

Group A

• Hope Udoaka – BIU
• Hamzat Mariam – LASUED
• Mustapha Adejoke – LASU

Group B

• Zainab Surmer – LASU
• Patience Adoboh – BUK
• Oluyemi Ifedolapo – EKSU

Group C

• Ayobami Taiwo – OAU
• Tolulope Aluko – EKSU
• Babalola Dorcas – LASUED

Group D

• Judith Achempong – UEW
• Ibrahim Elizabeth – UI
• Ogidan Iyanuoluwa – OAU

Commencing with a single match in the first round, the men’s doubles event will feature LASU (Surmer/Saidi) against UNILAG (Olaniyan/Ikechukwu). The victor in this encounter will progress to the quarterfinals (second round) to face OAU (Gbadebo/Adeolu).

In the remaining second-round match-ups, BIU (Boboye/John) will confront UNILORIN (Jimoh/Oyeyinka), ABUAD (Ogbodo/Akinbohun) will take on UG (Emmanuel/Bless), and UEW (Forson O/Forson C) will compete against EKSU (Afowowe/Adedara).

Moving to the women’s doubles, the semi-finals will feature LASUED (Babalola/Hamzat) against OAU (Ayobami/Ogidan) and EKSU (Aluko/Oluyemi) against LASU (Surmer/Mustapha).

In the mixed doubles, BIU (Boboye/Udoaka) will initiate the quarter-final proceedings against BUK (Abdulbaki/Adoboh). Concurrently, EKSU (Afowowe/Aluko) will face UEW (Forson O/Achempong), LASU (Surmer Q /Surmer Z) will compete against UI (Akala/Ibrahim), and LASUED (Ahmad/Babalola) will clash with OAU (Adeolu/Ayobami) to complete the round’s bracket.

The games are set to kick off on Tuesday and culminate on Wednesday.

Athletics

The athletics event will kick off on Tuesday and conclude on Wednesday, featuring morning and afternoon sessions on both days.

Full Schedule:

Day 1 – Tuesday, 19th December

Morning Session:

• 9:00 A.M. – 1,500m (M/W) – FINAL
• High Jump (M/W) – FINAL
• 9:30 A.M. – 100m (M/W) – SEMI-FINAL
• Shot Put (M/W) – FINAL
• 10:20 A.M. – 400m (M/W) – SEMI-FINAL
• 11:30 A.M. – 4x100m (M/W) – FINAL

Afternoon Session:

• 2:30 P.M. – 110mH/100mH (M/W) – FINAL
• Javelin (M/W) – FINAL
• Triple Jump (M/W) – FINAL
• 3:00 P.M. – 800m (M/W) – FINAL
• 3:30 P.M. – 100m (M/W) – FINAL
• 4:00 P.M. – 4x400m (M/W) – FINAL

Day 2 – 20th December

Morning Session:

• 9:00 A.M. – 5,000m (M) – FINAL
• Discus (M/W) – FINAL
• 10:00 A.M. – 400m (M/W) – FINAL

Afternoon Session:

• 2:30 P.M. – 200m (M/W) – SEMI-FINAL
• Long Jump (M/W) – FINAL
• 3:30 P.M. – 400mH (M/W) – FINAL
• 4:00 P.M. – 5,000m (W) – FINAL
• 4:30 P.M. – 200m (M/W) – FINAL
• 5:00 P.M. – 4x100m MIXED RELAY – FINAL

Previous Editions

The competition began in 1965 at the University of Ibadan. OAU was the host for the first time in 1975, during the sixth edition. It is the only Nigerian university to host the games a second time, as it hosts the 15th edition.

The 14th edition was the most recent one, hosted by the University of Port Harcourt (Nigeria) in 2018. The 13th edition, also in Nigeria (UNILORIN) in 2012, had 1,443 athletes from 56 West African Universities from five countries competing in 13 Olympic sports.

The games have visited different West African cities in its 68-year span, such as Freetown (Sierra Leone), Kumasi (Ghana), Yamoussoukro (Côte d’Ivoire), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), and Ibadan (Nigeria).

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