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| The wrestlers |
Tochukwu Ide
Awka
Awka, Anambra State Capital has been chosen to host the 44th anniversary celebration of the Nigeria Professional Wrestling Federation, NPWF.
The event, scheduled to be held on the 26th, 27th, and 28th of September, 2025 at the Dr Alex Ekwueme Square in Awka, will also witness the immortalization of the late Chief Michael Okpala, popularly known by the ring name- PowerMike of Africa, who is the first African Man to win the World Heavyweight title.
The NWPF President, Chief John Uche, who made the disclosure in an exclusive chat with TNC correspondent in Awka, said a golden trophy has been donated to immortalize the great wrestler.
According to him, Anambra State was chosen due to the support the State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo has pledged to the development of wrestling in the country.
“When in 2021, we wanted to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Federation, the US government published that its citizens should not come to the Southeast due to insecurity. So, we relocated the event to Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.
“This year, we wrote to the governor and he found interest in it and endorsed it.
“Now that the governor has done a lot to rid the state of these criminal elements, we felt it would be proper to bring the event here and also use the opportunity to impress the need for the people of the state to support him for a second term,” Uche said.
The NPWF president revealed that the event will witness wrestling competitions, where citizens of the state will be contesting alongside other professionals from other African countries.
He said, “There will be a wrestling championship and professional wrestlers from other African countries will be coming to contest against our own in the country.
“Two Anambra wrestlers will be fighting for titles. Angus Emeadi will be defending his belt against a Congolese, while a female wrestler, Joy Nwafor will be fighting for the African Women's title.”
He revealed that as part of the Federation’s agenda to empower the youths positively, five restive youths will be selected from the 21 local government areas of Anambra State, who will be trained in the next six months and sent overseas for boxing activities, where they will become responsible.
“We are bringing foreign trainees from UK and US to train the youths. These youths will go abroad and make so much money just like others, instead of staying back here and getting involved in crime and criminality,” he said.
Uche regretted that due to government neglect and poor management, professional wrestling had gone into extinction in the country, after it was introduced by former President Shagari as a means of human empowerment.
He worried that because of the setback, there are no young people to replace the ageing wrestlers, calling for government investment in Professional wrestling as a way of empowering the youths.
“Nigerian wrestlers are ageing, and there is nobody to replace them. Very soon, the African Wrestling Championship will be going from one country to another, to ensure that the sport is developed.
“We have over 10,000 wrestlers in Nigeria, but due to a lack of facilities and funding, they don’t make any headway.
“The government only believes in amateurs, which lasts for just about two, and after that what happens. That is why some of them engage in crime.
“Today, Cameroon, South Africa, Egypt, Congo, Togo and Benin Republic, and Botswana all fund professional wrestling. It is only in Nigeria that the government does not cater for professional wrestling. But all of us are taxpayers and by the time everybody is being organized in different ways of earning their living, the society will be better.
“We are appealing to the government to put in more efforts in building sports facilities that will help the Federation train more youths and make them self-reliant and positively engaged,” Uche appealed.
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