The Nation Newspaper

Category: Ade Ojeikere

  • Lord have mercy

    Lord have mercy

    I’m a patriot. I love my country, Nigeria. I wish I could ring changes on some of the 25 players listed in the country’s campaign at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations matches slated to be held in Cote d’Ivoire. I’ve been drinking water to push down thoughts of some of the misfits Coach Jose Peseiro has forced down our throats as those to actualise our dreams of lifting the Africa Cup of Nations diadem like we last did in South Africa in 2013.

    What one finds disturbing is the invitation extended to injured players such as Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho who both play regularly for Leicester City in the English Championship. You don’t need any special skill to find out why hitherto regular players are exempted from a winning team’s matches.

    You don’t need to be physically present to uncover the reasons why big stars in the Championships or any other cadre of the leagues in Europe are watching their team’s matches from the stands. Commentators spot them at the stands or by the way they walk into the stadium wearing mufti clothes to tell listeners why Ndidi and Iheanacho aren’t playing games. Of course, during pre-match discussions with the media and post-match analysis, mention would be made by the pressmen wishing to know when they would be back onto the pitch to play for the club.

    What is clear from Iheanacho’s and Ndidi’s invitation is a failure of leadership in the NFF. It puts a lie to the public that the NFF’s technical committee is functional. It is just a rubber or at best existing only in name. If the NFF did their homework well by watching European league matches regularly, especially those involving Nigerians, they would have known that the duo had been missing from games. If NFF members had been listening to news belts on European matches on DSTV, they would have seen the visuals where the duo were taken out of the pitch at different times.

    Most disturbing is the fact that Peseiro didn’t do enough due diligence of the health of his players before listing them for Nigeria’s AFCON matches. The practice would have been for Peseiro to visit those he shortlisted in their different clubs to physically assess them to know those who are recuperating from injuries. The reason most Nigerians root for foreigners to train the Super Eagles rest with the fact that clubs would easily open up to them about their players’ medical history. Peseiro can’t commit this kind of blunder in saner climes, yet keep his job. This is a kindergarten error in coaching. It shows clearly that Peseiro has no cordial relationship with his players and their different clubs’ coaches.

    In quotes relayed by LeicestershireLive, the Foxes manager, Enzo Maresca said: “Kele and Wilf are both injured, but they are now going to be with the international team.

    “We’ll see if they’re going to keep them or send them back. But they are both injured unfortunately for us. “

    Iheanacho missed the Foxes’ 2-0 win over Cardiff last Friday. He was also not named in the match-day squad in the Championship table-toppers victory over Huddersfield on Monday,  revealing further doubt over his fitness. Foxes’ boss Enzo Maresca virtually mocked Nigeria over the poor decision of inviting sick players to camp. Indeed, if there was a line of communication between the coach or the federation’s technical department, they would have known the players’ current health conditions and advised the NFF President forthwith, if the coach picked them. No foreigner would love the country more than Nigerians.

    It has taken the alarm raised by the Foxes’ manager for Peseiro to accept that Ndidi is out of Nigeria’s plan to lift the African Cup of Nations trophy. But what amazes followers of the game is Peseiro’s stoic silence of another big Eagles star,  Iheanacho’s inclusion in Nigeria’s final 25-man squad. Words from Iheanacho are that he would make the country’s squad going through his recovery processes with the medical crew at Leicester City. What Iheanacho doesn’t understand is that recovery from injury is a different exercise from being match-fit to prosecute Nigeria’s AFCON game. AFCON is a competition for the fittest and the best African players, not for recuperating or orthopaedic patients.

    The flipside to Ndidi’s and Iheanacho’s absence is that it throws the door wide open for others to seize the opportunity of their absence to unseat them. It also reduces the selection challenges Peseiro would have faced in picking his first team players and knowing who should be deployed during games as substitutes. While one wishes both players a quick recovery from the injuries that would keep them out of this edition of AFCON, they should take solace in the fact that the platform of playing at the next World Cup begins in March, barring any form injuries.

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    Perhaps, it is important to plead with the NFF president, Ibrahim Gusau, to leave the aspect of picking the Nigerian squad to Peseiro. It is the only measure to judge the coach’s tactical savvy during the competition. Besides, it would be easier to sack the coach if all the decisions were Peseiro’s, not Gusau’s. This writer isn’t impressed with Gusau’s comments on Iheanacho’s role in the team, especially as he hasn’t been part of the squad which trained in ABU Dhabi, in the past 10 days.

    Iheanacho is nursing a muscular injury, but the NFF president said the player is recovering well.

    “I have spoken to Iheanacho, he’s recovering fast and has even started running,” he told Totori News.

    “He will most likely join us in Lagos, where the team will be hosted to a dinner on January 9.”

    My dear President, I appreciate your concern towards Iheanacho’s health. But, medical clearance for any medical issue should come from Leicester City’s doctors not from the player. It is out of place for the President to clear Iheanacho. It would send a wrong message if Iheanacho makes the team. Muscle strains don’t heal quickly. The game is a contact sport, making a reoccurrence most likely; and with Iheanacho avoiding crunchy tackles. This crop of Super Eagles has enough prolific strikers not to miss recuperating Iheanacho.

    I’ve been waiting for Peseiro or the NFF’s President’s comments on the absence of Victor Osimhen from the camp as of Wednesday. Indeed, Italia Serie A’s defending champions Napoli released the Nigerian one week before the last round of matches in December. The striker was seen at different functions to celebrate his African Footballer of the Year crown. Why Osimhen isn’t one of the early birds in Abu Dhabi is still a mystery. One hopes that when Osimhen starts to fluff goal-scoring chances during AFCON, we will all know why.

    Osimhen should know that he would be the poster boy for the competition, not just Nigeria, as the reigning Africa Footballer of the Year. Osimhen ought to be the pivot of the Eagles’ attacking foray. Yet, he left the team in the lurch in Abu Dhabi.

    I’ve refused to discuss the Eagles’ chances at big competitions because they are full of surprises. When you write off the Eagles, they perform. When you shout to the rooftop about their potential, they fall like a pack of cards to minnows in the game. So, dear reader, if you insist on knowing my predictions on the Eagles’ chances of lifting the 2023 AFCON trophy, I will say, ”Lord have mercy”.

  • Setting agenda

    Setting agenda

    Compliments of the season everyone. Permit me dear, to dwell on events associated with the European leagues, which one hopes their lessons are not lost on those who run the beautiful game in Nigeria. The past two weeks’ scenes captured the essence of having top-ranged medical facilities with dutiful medical personnel, whose knowledge of their trade comes to them as second nature.

    Two European examples in Spain and England showed how to effectively handle life-threatening incidents without making a meal out of it. The Spain incident should have taught Nigerian clubs, the organisers of the league (Nigerian Premier Football League (NPFL) and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) that any spectator’s life is as important as that of any top functionaries, sitting in the VIP lounges of any stadium in the country. It is expected that the Nigerian clubs didn’t see any confiscated facilities on display, while they are saving  distressed people’s lives. There was no margin for error. Everything needed  in the medical boxes to be taken to the stadium are inspected and tested and certified functional. The oxygen cylinders didn’t require a wheelbarrow to tow them to the field. They didn’t require hefty men to bring themto the field either.

    Nigerian clubs should understand that fans form an integral larger family of matches. The Nigerian referees ought to be educated by the referees’ trainers on the need to monitor what is happening in the fans’ seating area to enable them aware of  any emergence and stop the game pronto if it involves threat to life of  a distressed fan irrespective of his or her status in the society. The provision of medical facilities must be readily available.

    The ambulances in the stadia attract attention as a  distressed patient is wheeled into it. The drivers of the ambulances are usually on standby with their engines humming and ready to speed off if that was the instruction of the doctors. Of course, the ambulances are miniatures of what you find in the hospitals, equipped with what are needed to revive, stabilize distressed fans in response to the prompt attention and treatment administered to them.

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    A search party wasn’t needed to get the standby drivers to ignite their ambulances’ engines. You don’t hear any of the driver  complaining of lack of fuel. The ambulances’ batteries didn’t malfunction  in the processes of their rescue missions. I hope that Nigerian club owners are reading what I have highlighted. No soul should be lost owing  to anyone’s negligence of duty. We are tired of government setting up Commissions of Inquiry to find out what happened as incidents are handled with expertise on top of their games as it’s the practice in other climes. Life-saving gadgets must be seen to be functional and even tested during pre-match meetings before games begin in the evening. Need I say that no fewer than six specialised hospitals would have been  on alart and standby for  patients as soon as crisis begin. Right from the scene of the incident, doctors on ground, who participate in administering necessary first aid. Such  exercises would have provided doctors in the targeted hospitals with the patients’ case history to guide them.  There is no room for laughable foolery of the hospital’s management, asking to be paid deposits before continuing treatment of  patients.

    While the doctors at the stadia do their job on the field, no government official is expected to be  seen interfering as it is common practice  in Nigeria where agbada-wearing big guns usually heighten tension at the stadium with their needless darting to and fro seeking and attracting attention. There should be no room for busybodies.

    The English people can’t stop making the game beautiful in England with innovations. One of such innovation happened last Saturday when 40-year-old Rebecca Welch took charge of Burnley’s 2-0 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage. She became  the first woman to officiate a Premier League. Welch became a referee in 2010 when she combined it with a job in the NHS, before becoming a full-time official in 2019.

    ”In January, Welch became the first woman to officiate a men’s fixture in the Championship. She returned to Craven Cottage a month later after serving as the fourth official during Fulham’s 1-0 Premier League defeat by Manchester United,” according to one of  the BBC match reports last Sunday.

    Welch’s handling of last  Saturday’s match was top notch. She didn’t need  VAR decision to authenticate her decision and  VAR did not overrule her judgment either. Of course, women are very dutiful on matters such as this. And Welch’s debut in the Premier League won’t be the last. Rather, it is just the beginning of an epochal day when the centre referee, the two assistant referees and the reserve referee would all be women. That would be the day. I look forward to Welch handling a game and the players pushing and shoving one another even after she would have blew\\ her whistle.

    Interestingly, as I watch the game which Welch handled I looked forward to any setting where players would cluster her the way they behave with male referees. Welch followed the movement of the ball and was always close to any spot where offence could be committed.

    Burnley’s manager, Vincent Kompany, who spoke to Welch at full-time, said: “I wanted to congratulate her because it’s a big moment.

    “After the game, it’s fair to say that it’s a milestone moment and may there be more, and the best thing will always be when someone is judged on merit. But you have to have a first and this is it, so well done [to her] and I’m happy to be part of this moment.”

    Truth be told, the English people know how to set agenda for the good of the game. It explains the reason the game in England is the showpiece that it is in all ramifications. Again last week, the first black man to officiate in a Premier League game, Sam Allison becomes the first Black referee in Premier League for 15 years in a Boxing Day match between Sheffield United and Luton. It made Referee Sam Allison the Black man to officiate a match in England’s top division since Uriah Rennie in 2008.

    According to Skysports’ report: ” BAMRef – which offers guidance, support, mentoring and counselling to Black, Asian and mixed heritage referees – said before the game: “It is a further step in the right direction towards refereeing, reflecting society and the playing contingent within football.

    “It is also the culmination of years of hard work by BAMRef members. We hope to work with Howard Webb (Professional Game Match Officials Board chief) to identify and promote more black officials to the top flight.”

    Dan Forbes, at level four in the referee pathway and working for BAMRef, said: “It’s been a long time coming for him and it’s been a long-time ambition as well. He totally understands the pressures.

    “Sam absolutely deserves to be there, he’s one of the top referees in the country and there’s no doubt Sam will deliver and fly our flag.

    “We’ve also got some other top referees coming through – Lisa Rashid, Ruben Ricardo, Aji Ajibola – who deserve the opportunity. “This is just the starting point. This is not the end. It’s huge, it’s also well overdue. The impact will be huge. If you can’t see it, it’s a lot harder to be it,” Skysports wrote on their website.

    Did you notice the name Aji Ajibola as a black referee deserving of the feat in the future. It raised high hopes that something good can come out the country though Ajibola learned his trade in England. Had Ajibola been a footballer, moves would have been made by the NFF chieftains to persuade him to play for Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations which begins next year in Cote d’ Ivoire. Ajibola isn’t so the NFF wouldn’t bother itself about the upcoming feat. It would just what it is to him.

  • Fully equipped ambulances please

    Fully equipped ambulances please

    For the second consecutive week, the European leagues have shown why they are the best in all ramifications. Every detail of the game is beyond just playing it to create excitement and entertainment. It is addressed to further reassure the active participants in the game that their lives are treasured with top-of-the-range medical equipment and personnel to man the gadgets with the swiftness of sound.

    For most followers of the English game, especially in the elite class, a fixture involving Bournemouth and Luton wasn’t one to kiss the headlines in the media, not for the game’s final result, but for the scary moments of the sudden fall of Luton’s captain, Tom Lockyer, in the 65th minute with the scores at a goal apiece.

    Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest during Saturday’s Premier League match at Bournemouth. This unfortunate incident brought to the fore the attention of the organisers of the game in terms of providing adequate, modern, and functional medical facilities at match venues. Lockyer’s cardiac arrest exposed the quality of medical facilities that the two teams (Luton and Bournemouth had with them right there on the pitch.

    In fact, what high-quality medical gadgets that both teams had including the presence of renowned doctor’s have been heralded globally as one of the reasons, if not the major reason that Lockyer is alive today. There was nothing like sachets of pure water for the distressed player on the turf. Players didn’t crowd Lockyer to block the flow of fresh air to him. Nor was there the unhygienic setting where the players freely fanned Lockyer with their sweat-soaked jersey tops in their damp and dingy conditions to further suffocate him.

    Luton’s manager, Rob Edwards, has also been praised after he sprinted onto the pitch and waved players away to allow paramedics to reach Lockyer as quickly as possible. The boss could be seen shouting “away, away” to players  of both teams.

    Medical staff gave Lockyer CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and used an AED (automated external defibrillator). The combination of the two teams’ medical crew saved his life due to the speed at which they mobilised for prompt action. The 29-year-old was responsive as he was carried off on a stretcher  and taken to hospital.

    Indeed, medical records attest to the fact that 90 percent of cardiac arrests suffered outside of hospital are fatal. Those who ensured that Lockyer remained responsive and stable before he was wheeled out of the pitch and even inside the stadium’s medical centre, almost the equivalent of what you can find in any high-tech hospital justified their competencies on the job.

    Why the medical teams were battling to save Lockyer’s life, you needed to see how the fans rose in unionism to sing songs in Locker’s name and the thunderous sound from fans who clapped to celebrate a clear improvement on what they had seen when Lockyer fell on the turf and was being resuscitated. I was moved to tears as I watched the emotional scenes playing out on the pitch.

    My mind raced to the Nigerian setting, asking  would Lockyer have survived. I unconsciously hissed because the two Nigerian teams’ medical crew would have found out that their cylinders of oxygen were empty, while standing over the distressed player, wondering how the oxygen evaporated from the rusty cylinders they carried. My mind’s eye created the scenes where players of both teams would have crowded the player, while taking their turns to fan him with their smelly shirts soaked in sweat. Don’t ask me what the condition of the stretcher would have been, if it was in Nigeria. I’ve been told that the Davidson Owumi-led NPFL has changed the narrative of the domestic game. I want to believe them.

    What bowled me over was the frequency in the dissemination of information about the game being suspended before the message was abandoned.

    Premier League Rule L15 dictates that any game abandoned with the consent of the match officials will be replayed in full – rather than picking up where the previous fixture left off – with a new date and kick-off time set to be arranged, as reported by Daily Mail. In the case of a suspended game, it would continue 24 hours after both teams would have agreed on it being suspended.

    The fans waited for the most pleasing news about Lockyer’s health. So, when the message came that Lockyer was responsive and stable, players of the two teams moved around the field clapping. The excited spectators joined in the chorus celebrating Lockyer’s recovery. Mention must be made of how the fans sat on their seat edges in a pensive mood waiting for the good news that Lockyer was alive. This writer looks forward to the day when the game will be replayed with fit Lockyer standing on the centre circle of the field fighting back tears, while waving to fans most of whom were at the stadium when he collapsed.

    At some points of the parade of the players and coaches of both sides, one would have thought that the story was bad with the way Luton’s manager fought back tears, while doing his lap of honour. Luton’s manager could barely utter the word ‘thank you’ You could only tell by reading his lips with his eyes bloodshot. Welcome back to the world of reality, Lockyer. One only hopes that he could heed the doctors’ advice about his future in the game after this scary experience.

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    Penultimate Sunday in the Spanish league, the news flash read that the game between Granada FC and Athletic Bilbao had been halted because of an incident where fans sat. It was sketchy, but the attention was turned to that Spanish La Liga game to find out what transpired to halt the match. With time, the news changed, stating that Granada and Athletic Bilbao agreed to suspend the La Liga fixture after the tragic death of a fan in the stands at Los Carmenes. 

    “From the Entity, we want to send our most sincere condolences to the family and friends, as well as to the entire Granada family,” read the statement from the home side.

    “The match between Granada CF and Athletic Bilbao was suspended after the death of a subscriber of our Club.”

    Athletic Bilbao added via their official social media accounts: “La Liga and the two clubs have agreed to call off the match due to the death of a fan at Los Cármenes. Athletic Bilbao expresses its deepest condolences. Our thoughts are with the person’s family and loved ones.”

    This writer was very impressed with the way the dead fan was treated and the respect he got, the suspension of the game for 24 hours, is extremely commendable. It also showed that the organisers and the two participating teams had a working synergy worthy of thunderous applause. Again, fans have been credited with a lot of importance.

    If you thought that such scary medical situations with one of them leading to the death of a fan in Spain, dear readers, then let me share this scene that occurred in the Dutch League. According to the Reuters media platform: ” Ajax Amsterdam’s Dutch league away game against RKC Waalwijk, was abandoned in the 84th minute on Saturday after RKC’s goalkeeper, Etienne Vaessen was knocked out in a clash with an opposing player.

    ‘’Vaessen went down after a collision with Ajax’s forward, Brian Brobbey, causing panicky reactions from his teammates as they frantically called for medical help. Screens were put up around the goalkeeper to shield him from the public eye and players from both sides watched with tears in their eyes as a defibrillator was rushed onto the field.”

    “Etienne was knocked out for a while,” RKC’s director, Frank van Mosselveld, told broadcaster NOS about an hour after the incident.

    “Our medical staff started reanimation straightaway, but it looked like it wasn’t a problem with his heart. He was conscious again when he left the field, but he did not know where he was, ” The Reuters report concluded.

    In these incidents, modern medical technology triumphed. The medical crew at the stadium in both incidents knew their onions and applied the rules of their profession to the letter. No room for emotions. No margins for errors, God forbid.

  • No soul is unimportant

    No soul is unimportant

    The European game is an interesting setting to follow, both in the physical displays of how the game should be properly exhibited and how the ethics of the game should be administered by the rules and regulations. No sentiments. Rules are applied no matter whose ox is gored.

    The leagues in Europe are structured in such a unique way with the FAs of the different European countries, holding the game in trust for FIFA.  However, the leagues are administered by the regulatory bodies constituted by different countries such that major decisions are taken by them except for a few which reside in the custody of the home FA as directed by FIFA. The club owners are to be seen unlike in Nigeria where club owners want to be judges in their matters.

    With such discerning roles, sitting on a tripod in terms of lines of authority, there are no overlaps since everyone knows where his power starts and ends. It isn’t rocket science. Club owners obey decisions before they complain through the avenues for seeking redress on any matter. They know the implications of joining issues with superior bodies. The laws in the European leagues are no respecters of persons or clubs. Club owners, my foot.

    Every weekend, one sits at home to watch European league matches across all the cadres, especially the big games live on television. The beauty in watching these games on television is that if there are breaking news and goals scored at different venues, the cameras’ focus is turned to that match and visuals are beamed for everyone to see and make their submission.

    Last week Sunday, the news flash read that the game between Granada FC and Athletic Bilbao had been halted because of an incident where fans sat. It was sketchy, but the attention was turned to that Spanish La Liga game to find out what transpired to halt the match. With time the news changed stating that Granada and Athletic Bilbao agreed to suspend the La Liga fixture after the tragic death of a fan in the stands at Los Carmenes. 

    “From the Entity we want to send our most sincere condolences to the family and friends, as well as to the entire Granada family,” read the statement from the home side.

    “The match between Granada CF and Athletic Bilbao, was suspended after the death of a subscriber of our Club.”

    Athletic Bilbao added via their official social media accounts: “La Liga and the two clubs have agreed to call off the match owing to the death of a fan at Los Cármenes. Athletic Bilbao expresses its deepest condolences. Our heats are with the person’s family and loved ones.”

    What struck me as soon as the communiqué from both teams was made public was to ask myself, what the scenario would have been if the unfortunate incident happened in Nigeria, God forbid. A known fan of Nigerian team confirmed dead from the stands? Would such a tragic incident be enough to suspend an ongoing match? Who is such a fan to attract such a huge respect of suspending the match? Would the away team be rewarded enough to spend an extra day to play the game the next day? Won’t the away team be asking the question about who would foot the bill for the extra costs of continuing the match the next day? What does the rule require both teams to do under such an unfortunate incident?

    As one ponders one of the aforementioned questions among others, the organising body La Liga was right there on the status of the game after the fan died in the stadium on Sunday.

    According to La Liga’s terse statement: “Granada CF vs. Athletic Club de Bilbao has been suspended, following the tragic death of a fan at the Estadio Nuevo los Cármenes,” the Spanish top-flight said. “Our condolences go out to the family and friends, as well as to all Granada CF fans. A rescheduled date and time for the match will be announced shortly.”

    La Liga also confirmed that the match would be rescheduled, with an official date to be announced  as both clubs took some time to come to terms with the tragic event at Los Carmenes. Interestingly, the match was eventually played the next day, which was Monday, and ended 1-1.

    Indeed, would a fan’s death have necessitated a suspension of an ongoing match for 24 hours in Nigeria? Perish that thought. It would never happen unless we start to cite this kind of instance for our administrators to emulate, and not to watch in awe. This fan’s death while watching a game at the Estadio Nuevo los Cármenes, has shown that no soul is unimportant, no matter what.

    Igeniwari George was killed during a crowd incident at an FA Cup game between Rangers International and Stationery Stores at the Lekan Salami Stadium in Ibadan. He was a member of the Golden Eaglets team at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Ecuador in August of that same year he was killed. He died of a gunshot wound. The league games weren’t suspended. There was no a minute silence observed across the playing ground in his honour either. Perhaps. Everyone went about their businesses as if nothing happened and until this day his killer was never found. Sad.

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    The way the dead fan was treated and the respect he got as the game was suspension  for 24 hours is extremely commendable. It also showed that the organisers and the two participating teams had a working synergy worthy of thunderous applause. Again, fans have been credited and accorded a huge  importance and it is expected that the NPFL pays attention to how the European leagues are administered.

    Of significant note is the swiftness in which decisions were taken and how the message was disseminated without any misrepresentations. How the fans who watched the game exited showed that the league organisers in Spain communicate about the dictates of the league. The fans didn’t create a scene by demanding a return of their cash despite the match was only 17 minutes away when the fan died.

    Last weekend’s matches had scenes meant to educate the informed and uninformed watchers of the beautiful game in terms of their relationship with match officials before, during, and after games, irrespective of the game’s result.

    Faruk Koca, president of Super Lig side MKE Ankaragucu, raced onto the field and hit referee Halil Umut Meler after a draw against Caykur Rizespor on Monday. Koca was arrested on Tuesday, with matches across Turkey temporarily put on hold amid the fallout from the incident.

    Earlier on Tuesday, the Association of Active Football Referees and Observers of Turkey called on all referees not to take to the field, adding: “The violent attack was not only against our referee Halil Umut Meler but also against the entire referee community.”

    The referee punched by a club’s president in Turkey left hospital, with the country’s football association, saying that the sport will resume after a week-long suspension on December 19.

    The 37-year-old, who had spent three days in hospital following the incident, confirmed that ‘there was no problem with his health’ before commenting on whether he would continue to officiate.

    ”They called me from UEFA,” he told reporters. ”I will explain these issues later. There is no situation at the moment, everything is possible. I just want to go home and rest,” he replied.

    FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino has slammed the incident claiming it was ‘totally unacceptable’, while president Koca has spoken to defend himself, claiming that the official had ‘thrown himself to the ground.

    I hope referees in Nigeria can take their destinies into their own hands by ensuring that those who inflict bodily harm on them are made to face the wrath of the law no matter their status in society.

  • Task Force? Not again

    Task Force? Not again

    Sports Minister, Senator John Enoh, keeps amazing me with his approach to solving age-long problems that have bedeviled all facets of sports in Nigeria. Whenever I read Enoh’s thoughts on problems in the sports industry, my mind flashes back to the first description of the minister as a farmer. I wasn’t fooled by the initial tag of Enoh because it is in the DNA of the media to make a meal out of issues through ‘satanic’ headlines.

    I was bowled over by the witty way in which he laughed off the farmer’s tag insisting on maximum cooperation from everyone, who wants to return sports to its Eldorado era of yore. Enoh’s masterstroke response laid the foundation for how the calm minister has gone about his duties.

    I’m not a praise singer. I’m also not a musician. But, I strive to speak the truth about sporting issues and I’ve found Enoh as an incredible addition to sports in Nigeria. Am I surprised about the minister’s scorecard so far? How can? Enoh’s academic citation tells the story of a man, who wants to leave his footprints of sports on the sands of time in Nigeria. Enoh, welcome to the biggest unregistered political party in the world – administering sports here, especially football, the opium of the people.

    Interestingly, Enoh held court in the sports circle without creating room for existing cabals in the sports to either encircle him or capture him. It is the reason there isn’t any media war since his Press releases are unambiguous and well-circulated in the print and electronic media. The minister’s media team also includes recorded videos for clarity sake on their boss’ utterances.

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    And so when the minister ruled that Super Eagles’ Head Coach, Jose Peseiro, should stay, his submission sounded convincing just as I gave the Portuguese the chance to keep his job if Nigeria lifts the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations slated to be held in Cote d’  Ivoire next year. But there is the big problem with this ministerial intervention based on the fact that if Peseiro wins the Africa Cup of Nations diadem for Nigeria, it would be insane for anyone to sack him.

    For a fact, a coach is as good as his last game. Besides, nobody sacks a winning team. The truth, however, is that the group of players Peseiro has been picking as his team for Nigeria’s matches cannot lift the AFCON title. I’m not a seer. I base my submission on the fact that at 42nd position in FIFA’s recent ranking, it would take only a miracle for Nigeria to lift the trophy in January.

    This writer would rather rate the Super Eagles to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup, using the matches of the next AFCON to prepare for the Mundial. The AFCON games wouldn’t be the priority, but a path to World Cup success. This doesn’t foreclose Nigeria from lifting the trophy as she did in South Africa in 2013. Tasking the NFF members and Peseiro to return to Nigeria with the trophy puts more pressure on the players which isn’t the best way to motivate sportsmen and women to glory.

    If one may ask, what would happen to the NFF if Nigeria doesn’t lift the trophy? Is the option that of asking the members to resign or that of constituting a Presidential Task Force to prepare the Super Eagles for the 2024 World Cup? Honourable minister sir, the PTF option would be a fiasco. The PTF option is dead on arrival, just as it is a recipe for disaster for the game in Nigeria, going forward.

    Honourable sports minister sir, the World Cup qualifiers resumes in March, leaving us with enough time to prepare only if we find the money to politely ask Peseiro to go. We can pay off Peseiro with our FIFA grants, while the government can organise a Dinner with the corporate people, stating what they stand to gain supporting sports in the country. The President’s presence at such a Dinner with the blue-chip firms’ Chief Executives could jumpstart the process of sourcing cash from the private sector, knowing that the government is behind the project and that their cash won’t be misappropriated.

     The truth, honourable sports minister, is that Nigeria doesn’t have a well-blended team to lift the AFCON diadem. If we fail to lift the trophy, the ripple effect of our elimination from the next AFCON would not only tear the players apart, it would also affect how we prepare for the World Cup qualifiers. The flipside to the earlier argument is that Nigerian teams don’t know how to manage success.

    Nigeria lifted the AFCON trophy in 2013, yet the cup-winning coach resigned live on South African radio. In fact, the then sports minister was stunned when the South African driving him in the competition’s pool cars informed him that Nigeria’s coach had resigned. The furore from that unfortunate act was such that the then senate president led the delegation which came to South Africa to pick the victorious squad.

    Those who claimed that they contributed to the team’s winning the trophy wanted their pound of flesh. They openly boasted that the team would be beaten before games were played in Uyo and it happened. A few of these aggrieved sports administrators told the coach to his face before some games that he would cry after the games. The coach watched in awe as his team fell face down.

    A team that doesn’t have a top-rated goalkeeper fewer than 34 days to the country’s first game is doomed to fail.

    Title-winning squads always have an impregnable spine, comprising a world-class goalkeeper, a seasoned central defender, and a dependable midfielder whose intelligence and vision, while releasing his passes to his top striker, is like a done deal in terms of firing the ball into the yawning net. It isn’t rocket science.

    Most countries know that Nigeria has goalkeeping problems and would strive to exploit it to their advantage. Peseiro has gambled with all manner of players, which has left us high and dry. Except something spectacular happens to the Super Eagles in terms of change in personnel in the team’s midfield, Nigeria’s dreaded attackers wouldn’t be able to replicate their awesome knack for scoring goals next year in Ivory Coast.

    Let’s be realistic, these Eagles can’t fly. The coach doesn’t know his players. The Portuguese’s style of coaching is hinged on guesswork. It is one of the reasons Super Eagles matches are no longer exciting to watch. A team that can’t trounce Lesotho anywhere in the world has no business aspiring to lift any continental trophy. A team that struggles to beat Zimbabwe on neutral ground should ask their coaches to go.

    One is excited that the minister hasn’t voiced the PTF as one of the solutions to the team’s problems. PTF is simply another job for the boys. The minister should, in the coming weeks, seek an audience with the President to explain the team’s nefarious problems and assure the President that with closely-monitored spending of cash, a lot can be achieved at the Africa Cup of Nations next year.

    What sports require in this country is a sports budget that can address the industry’s problems over two years, four years, or yearly depending on such a sport’s calendar for competitions.

  • The urchins are back

    The urchins are back

    The domestic league has been recently characterised by interesting results with a few hiccups, which are expected following the reforms from the Chief Operating Officer of the Nigeria Professional Football League, COO, Davidson Owumi, ably guided by the body’s Chairman, Gbenga Otolorin Elegbeleye. Nigerians, who watched the weekly games in venues nearest to their abodes, have applauded the significant changes noticed in the domestic league. Even the clubs have each taken a loan facility of N400 million in two tranches, which assisted and improved their finances.

    Unlike in the rotten era of the league under the old body, match referees’ needs and indemnities are promptly paid without recourse to the clubs to settle their bills. The usual embarrassment of referees of the yore, who handled the league, have been eased off for a peacefull atmosphere to hold during games. Of course, the referees whose performances, during games are questionable, are reported to the NFF by the NPFL for immediate reprimand. Erring clubs are punished according to the dictates of the rule book.

    So, when the social media was awash with video clips of officials of Enugu Rangers being molested by urchins, who acted as officials of the host team, Abia Warriors, in Umuahia, last weekend many people waited to see how the NPFL’s board would react. In fact, a matter of assault was reported in one part of the country where a top club official manhandled a journalist. It was settled internally by the State’s Commissioner, though the story went viral. The NPFL hinged their inability to deal with the club official on the fact that the matter wasn’t reflected in the referees’ reports or did the sportswriters’ body lodge any complaints to show that one of their members was brutalised by the club chief either.

    This time round, the social media’s coverage of what happened in Umuahia was accompanied with video evidence where one of the home team’s officials punched a lanky Enugu Rangers’ man, who fell badly to the ground. It was a pitiable sight, watching the Rangers’ chief grapple to pick his eyeglasses, which wason ground besides him, though his mental state at that particular stage was hazy. The free for all fight saw the introduction of blocks, sticks and cudgels brought to the fighting scene by officials, who had been dazed groggy by jabs to avenge their assailants.

    Many people felt that because it was a pre-match show of shame, it should be swept under the carpet, while those identified in the shameful act were given a spank on the wrist as punishment. Others wondered why the fighting session wasn’t captured by the league’s television company as evidence since they would have setup their machines for effective coverage 24 hours before the game. Further facts emanating from the game answered the poser.

    NPFL promptly reacted on Monday by imposing sanctions where necessary to both the officials and the clubs. The NPFL chieftains went a step further to invite both clubs to  Abuja to show why further disciplinary actions shouldn’t be taken against them for bringing the game to disrepute. Investigations so far have thrown up despicable acts, especially the one in which one Abia Warriors’ official prevented the NPFL official broadcast partner from recording pre-match content, harassed the official broadcast partner’s media crew & ceased the mobile device of StarTimes’ regional manager.  Abia Warriors’ management has been ordered to identify and produce the official involved in the act of misconduct for additional sanctions.

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    One wonders the calibre of people who run the clubs in Nigeria if a visiting team can be stopped from using the match venue to train 24 hours to the eventual match day for them to get used to the facilities therein, especially if the playing turf in the stadium is alien to them – for instance- a synthetic pitch. It isn’t a rocket science to know that such training exposure is necessary since the boots used on grass turfs are different from those used on artificial  grass.

    Some Abia Warriors’ officials, in an aggressive manner, prevented the away team (Rangers) from gaining access to the pitch before the match, which led to violent scenes capable of bringing the game to disrepute, according to a circular from the league organisers. Besides, Abia Warriors failed to provide adequate security to the away team before the match, resulting in a physical exchange of punches committed by some of their officials.

    According to NPFL’s statement: ”A fine of N1 million has been imposed on Abia Warriors for misconduct capable of bringing the game to disrepute.

    ”Abia Warriors have also been fined N1 million for failure to provide adequate and effective security. A further fine of N2 million has also been slammed on Abia Warriors for restraining Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL’s) broadcast partners from recording.”

    The interesting thing about the NPFL’s statement is that it has given the erring club 48 hours within which they can appeal the sanction imposed on them by the league organisers. One isn’t surprised at what transpired in Umuahia. It isn’t what you see in Umuahia alone. In fact, club owners surrendered their stadium to urchins and idiots, who take the laws into their hands by wreaking havoc within the premises. NPFL members should hold the club owners accountable for these kind of misdemeanours. The Abia State FA boss, Abia Warriors’ Club Chairman and those assigned to the stadium for the match should be invited too for questioning. Those found to be negligent should be barred for very long periods to serve as deterrent to others who would want to emulate them.

    Indeed, NPFL board should after their investigations invite the police to treat the issues raised professionally and drag the culprits before the law for adjudication. In fact, clubs and their criminally minded fans would call themselves to order than to take the laws into their hands. It would be foolhardy not to take this matter to the court, henceforth. The court’s proceedings should be given massive coverage by the media. The news stories from the courts should be published in all the newspapers and in the electronic media. Shouldn’t the NPFL members insist that venues playing host to the domestic league games should have closed-circuit devices to fish out such miscreants?

    Interestingly, the window for appeals lapses after 48 hours as stated in the communiqué. It is quite laudable that the NPFL’s decisions have been timely, but it raises the poser why the league body hasn’t contacted the State Commissioners of Police in the States where the games are played for them to watch over the different stadia to maintain public peace. Of course, where the police or security operatives are present in the stadium, beasts who have flouted the law are immediately arrested and handed over to them for prosecution. It isn’t enough for the body to make pronouncements or ask the criminals or offending clubs to pay fines and treat those injured in the course of the ensuing mayhem.

    Soccer-crazy nations measure the game’s growth by the number of home-grown players in their national teams. It is the product of a very functional domestic leagues, which are run as a business and not jobs for the boys. The authorities of the game, FIFA, recognise the importance of this point and have instituted several incentives to drive the game’s development globally. FIFA, in its wisdom, provided funds for less-developed nations to embrace the game and bridge the gap between them and others. The cash is to improve on the facilities for the game to thrive in the 211 affiliate countries.

  • The permutations begin

    The permutations begin

    Nothing shocks me about the Super Eagles whenever they are pitched against football minnows. It is in the Eagles’ DNA to fumble against nations that are lowly-rated by FIFA’s ranking. In fact, I’m surprised that Lesotho and Zimbabwe didn’t beat the Eagles in Uyo and in Kigali. This is the reason we should clap for our overrated players for avoiding defeats as the South Africans suffered in the hands of Rwandans inside the Huye Stadium in Butare on Tuesday evening. If you think that the Eagles won’t fumble in the course of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Group C, then stay away from Nigeria’s next games if you are hypertensive or suffering from any form of underlying illness, if Jose Peseiro remains the coach.

    For those who know the Eagles, the permutations of how they may pick up the qualification ticket, if not properly monitored, have begun with the stunner in Butare. The talk among die-hard fans of the Eagles arose from the shocking 2-0 victory that Rwanda secured over South Africa. The buzz from the viewing centre where I chose to watch the game was deafening. The electric mood among those who watched the match it was akin to Nigerian side winning a game. One can understand the cause of the celebrations.

    Over time, I’ve not failed to tell people that the Eagles’ sloppy play won’t take them to the 2026 World Cup if something isn’t done to ginger the players before matches are played. I pointed at our players’ sealed lips, while the National anthem was being sung. But ardent fans rush to blame the stadium’s bumpy turfs as if our opponents’ were always good and our’s bumpy. I looked forward to the day the Eagles would play in Uyo where their underbelly would be thoroughly exposed. And it came to pass when Lesotho dragged the Eagles on the turf, scoring first much to the consternation of the fans in Uyo. Those loyalists of the Nigerian team who always blamed the pitches for the Eagles’ shambolic outings sneaked out of The Nation’s premises in Lagos, wondering what had gone wrong. The new slogan became: Peseiro must be sacked immediately. Indeed.

    One of them, Alabi Afin, a colleague and an ardent Chelsea’s fan, who literally molested me in my office to explain what may have happened to the team in Uyo. Alabi Afin’s first attack was expected, knowing that I would ask if the Uyo pitch was also balding. Afin is a very knowledgeable soccer fanatic, who dominates discussions when his preferred teams need help. I listened to Afin with a little regret that our discussion was in my office and not in the newsroom. Afin is hands full when he is in his elements, especially when the topic is about Arsenal and Chelsea. I digress!

    The talk of the Eagles missing their big stars is unacceptable because injuries to top stars, which eventually sidelined them for weeks or months form some of the hazards of playing the beautiful game.  Of course, the essence of having 26 players on the bench during games is to manage a team’s game plan in the event of injuries. Although, it is difficult to know who would sustain injuries, the new rule of having five substitutes to change goes a long way to assessing the manager’s tactical savvy. It is strange for any apologist of Coach Jose Peseiro to say there are no good players in the domestic league. I would rather say that Peseiro should field our best domestic league goalkeeper than for the Portuguese to invite Okoye. If he took that risk, perhaps, Nigeria would have beaten Zimbabwe in Kigali. Kigali is a neutral ground, which a reasonable coach would have latched on to beat Zimbabwe silly with goals.

    I’m an unrepentant advocate of the Eagles to be trained by renowned foreign managers, having had lengthened discussions with some of our foreign-based players over the years. Peseiro’s choice as Nigeria’s manager is a scam, going by his records in all the teams he has handled. With due respect, how can Nigeria pick a coach sacked by Venezuela for poor productivity? Nigeria’s pedigree in the football world should have been considered by those given the opportunity to recruit a new manager for the Super Eagles at the time they made the laughable choice in Peseiro.

    Nigeria’s selectors of foreign managers for the Super Eagles always make the mistake of recruiting coaches who don’t want to live here. But they are very happy to receive our cash to operate from the comfort of their homes in Europe. Any foreign manager, who refuses to work with Nigerian coaches as assistants should be shown the exit door immediately. I imagine that the reason for recruiting a foreign manager is for such a man to help to train and retrain his assistants about the modern tricks in the game. Nigeria should, henceforth recruit foreign managers who would, in their spare time, while living here organise refresher courses routinely at mid and off seasons to help them increase their capacity.

    Do we have domestic coaches to handle the Super Eagles in Nigeria? No. The so-called good ones haven’t been able to dominate the African inter-club competitions as the North Africans. Even the North Africans recruit reputable foreign coaches to strengthen their technical crew. You can’t give what you don’t have. Coaching is a serious business. It isn’t a part-time session, but one in which the coaches are ready to update the skill and know-how of their Nigerian assistants without prompting from anyone. What they acquire in the training and retraining sessions at the end of the season is the reason they are well paid. It isn’t enough to be a former player to make you a coach. Such an ex-international must be ready to go through the rudiments of coaching in designated schools and platforms to acquire the requisite training and certification.

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    Those rooting for one of our ex-internationals as the next Eagles’ coach should ask themselves what they brought to the country and how long the impact of their feats rubbed off on the country’s football. No disrespect to the contributions of the late Stephen Keshi, who learned under the tutelage of renowned coaches, first as a player before being a coach. The departed Big Boss’ leadership qualities endeared him to most of his coaches and teammates as a player such that he easily captained the teams he played for here in Nigeria and in Europe. As it is often said, captains of teams are the coaches on the field to remind his or her mates of what they practiced before the game. No Nigerian has these innate qualities that the departed had, which prepared him for the task he husbanded.

    I’m not a fan of the country’s feats in underage competitions. I don’t doff my hat for the coaches over what they achieved either. In fact, those age-graded teams are the reason the country’s soccer is in the canal.  Most of these age-grade coaches fielded cheats as kids. These quick fixes adults couldn’t sustain their kindergarten feats as they grow older. The products of all our age-grade squads stunt the growth expected from the nurseries.

    Today, the FIFA U-17 World Cup matches are being played and nobody gives a hoot having realised our folly in parading adults as kids. We are paying dearly for this act. Today, the products of our nurseries aren’t good enough to compete with their contemporaries in world football. To cover our faces, we quickly rushed to Europe to lure any good player with Nigerian names to play for the country. What a pity. The NFF under Ibrahim Musa Gusau should do everything to reinvent the nurseries in the country by ensuring that they are graded with fake ones banished and their owners made to conform with what is conventional and in sync with best practices.

  • Fishing in troubled waters

    Fishing in troubled waters

    Suddenly, chieftains of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have woken up from their slumber to interrogate the 23-man squad list submitted by Super Eagles’ Head Coach, Jose Peseiro, for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Lesotho and Zimbabwe. The story in town is that the Portuguese coach was queried to explain why players who are not regulars in their different European clubs found their names in the list of the invited Nigerian players for the 2026 FIFA World Cup against the two above-mentioned countries.

    NFF’s query served on Jose Peseiro confirms fears in the past that foreign coaches run the rule over the federation’s technical committee by bypassing on the choice of players for different games. Football federations always insist on seeing the list of invited by speaking to the list to find out why those selected were the best in terms of how regularly they played for their European clubs. It is at such meetings that members with superior arguments impress it on the coaches to explain why the boy who scored four goals in the last six games is dropped for someone who has not scored since the league where he plays began 17 weeks ago.

    It amounts to a failure of leadership if the federation members ask brilliant questions after the list has been released. One would have thought that the players’ list would have undergone robust analyses among members of the technical committee and the coach without necessarily lording it on the coach who to play and otherwise. Matches are won from the bench. A team populated by players who sparingly play for the European teams cannot compete.

    Speaking at the pre-match press conference held on Wednesday in Uyo ahead of Thursday’s 2026 World Cup qualifying match against Lesotho, manager Jose Peseiro explained that Maduka Okoye opted out of the November qualifiers due to passport difficulties depending on what Peseiro meant by that excuse on Okoye’s behalf.

     “I have confidence in our goalkeepers. Of course, in that moment Adeleye could not come because he didn’t play in Israel. Maduka could not come because of the problem with his passport,” Peseiro said at the pre-match conference.

    “Uzoho was our goalkeeper in qualification. He only didn’t play one match, it was Adeleye who played against Sierra Leone. Now there’s Ojo and Amas. I believe in our goalkeepers, I believe in Uzoho also.”

    Peseiro also defended his decision not to invite Hapoel Jerusalem star Adebayo Adeleye, stressing that Adebayo Adeleye the Nigerian has been inactive for his club since September this year. Dear Peseiro, please listen to yourself. Who recruited Peseiro?

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    It is a big indictment on Peseiro that goalkeeper Okoye opted out of Nigeria’s two World Cup qualifiers after the list was made public. Bendel Insurance Goalkeeper, Amas Obasogie was invited to replace Okoye. What this shows clearly is that Peseiro didn’t speak to Okoye if he would be available to play in the two matches, especially after Francis Uzoho’s fumbling displays in the country’s last two matches. Besides, inviting Uzoho back to the Eagles for crucial World Cup qualifiers is a case of blind fixation on Peseiro’s part and kills he morale of players to give their best during training sessions, knowing that the coach already has his players he wants to field even if three of them are reporting for training with walking sticks. It could be that Okoye opted out of the games because Peseiro would always parade Uzoho as the team’s goalkeeper even if he kicks the ball into the net.

    For Nigeria not to be made the laughing stock in the comity of soccer nations, Peseiro should be made to submit his technical reports for games played to the technical committee members to read and make their contributions. No foreigner can love our country more than us. The coach isn’t bound to do the members’ bidding since the buck stops on his desk. Nigeria is too big to always recruit visiting coaches for our matches, given the way in which our players play in Europe, the Americas, and  in the Diaspora.

    The World Cup ought to be an elixir of sorts for participating countries to introduce new players into their senior squads as replacements for either injury-prone players, the recuperating ones, and those who are aging and wouldn’t be able to compete at this competitive platform in the next four years. Indeed, the World Cup pens a new vista for players of countries who partook in the competition. The exemplary players end up being signed for huge sums of money by new clubs while those with subsisting contracts before the Mundial return to their different European clubs to secure more compelling wages to scare off moneybags’ teams from snatching them under the nostrils of their current employers.

    Super Eagles defenders aren’t good enough. They expose Uzoho and other goalkeepers to mesmerising strikers who dribble past Eagles’ defender like hot knife through butter. One would have thought that Kenneth Omeuro had played his last game for Nigeria with the way the  ease in which the Sierra Leoneans outran in the game played in Monrovia, Liberia. Not so with Peseiro who sends his list of invited players via Whatsapp to the key members of the team. Will NFF muster the courage to sack Peseiro before the next game if we hope to participate at the 2026 World Cup?

    Every country always strive to look for value when recruiting coaches to prosecute their World Cup. And it is obvious that Peseiro isn’t money for value in Nigerians’ quest for another World Cup outing in 2026. This dream would soon become a nightmare, except NFF ask Peseiro without any form of hesitation. Lesotho is ranked 153rd in the world. Any country desirous of playing at the World should beat Lesotho. Beating Lesotho ought to be a stroll in the park with a savvy tactician. Shouldn’t we beg the NFF to allow someone else to handle the next game for a change? But would it be fair to sack Peseiro with the huge debts the country owes him?

     Nigeria has the players to remain unbeaten in Group C to clinch the qualification ticket. We need to deemphasize experience in picking Super Eagles squad list. Countries have reduced the average playing age of their stars to between 22 and 26. It is the reason these countries are winners of big tournaments. Football is for the youth who acquire experience by playing regularly.  This regular changes of players exists in countries with thriving nurseries with discernable playing patterns across their national soccer teams.

    Other countries would have resolved the goalkeeping crises that Super Eagles is experiencing by going to their cadet teams to pick their goalkeepers unlike in Nigeria where we could even persuade a retired goalkeeper to return to the team. Need I name such retirees?

    Academies which are nurseries for warehousing the game have been standardised to protect the sector and backed by law for effectiveness. It is at this level that countries’ playing patterns evolve depending on what the coaches feel could bring the best from their nationals.  Standards are set for owning such academies including their curriculum to shut out quackery. These academies are registered by the country’s FA with the right synergy struck where players’ movement in and out of the country are documented.

    The serious-minded soccer nations expose players from academies who also have the template to monitor those who did well and have juicy packages in big clubs in Europe, Americas and the Diaspora. These academies ensure that the players’ career paths are cut to fit their ambitions. Those of them eager to combine playing soccer with going to school are enrolled to be educated. They also have drawn up training schedules to suit their schools’ curriculum, knowing the importance of education when their career as soccer players is over. Nothing happens in such countries as an accident.

  • World Cup: A birthright for Nigeria

    World Cup: A birthright for Nigeria

    Going to play at the senior World Cup anywhere in the world should be a birthright for Nigeria, given the exploits of her players in Europe, the Americas, and the Diaspora. Our players in the foreign legion need to replicate their mastery of the game which they display at their various clubs, while playing for their fatherland. Super Eagles have been consistently awful in their outings relying on the artistry displays of a few players such as Victor Osimhen. Preparing the Super Eagles for the World Cup is the most expensive project with as it takes a minimum of N540 million per game. No hyperbole. You better believe it.

    Every invitation for any qualifier attracts as many as 29 foreign-based players flying on business class while some privileged few with long legs fly on first-class tickets. This crowd of 29 players reside in some of the best five-star hotels in the world, beginning with the African continent. At other times, the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) secures a charter jet, which takes a contingent of 200 people including supporters Club members. This crowd flies into such countries with high altitudes the evening before the game and departs immediately after the game, irrespective of the results.

    Of course, the charter jets spend the night at the airport with all its huge logistics, landing rights paid for in foreign currencies. I don’t know how much it costs to keep an aircraft in the hangar in foreign land. All attempts are made by the NFF to treat our players as the big boys that they are. The pre-match show of class for players melts away like ice cream when the matches begin with our players behaving on the pitch as if they are doing us a favour.

    On a few occasions, one can understand why our players are mindful of their commitment towards our matches because of the terrible conditions of the pitches compared to what they have in Europe which propels the players in their different clubs to always give their best. Many people have sworn not to watch the Super Eagles on live television after the breathtaking 3-2 away win against Sierra Leone played in Monrovia. The Eagles led by 2-0 only to falter a bit. The Sierra Leoneans seized the loop to level the scores at 2-2. It took a last-ditch effort by Kelechi Iheanacho to score the winning goal at the death.

    Some other times, the Eagles struggle with the atmospheric conditions of some of these African countries necessitating the medically-informed plans by the NFF to fly the team to such places by charter flights a day before such games. Sadly, the plans to curtain the altitudinal problems are thrown into the trash bin by the same players who stroll into the camp as if they were in town to attend a disco session.

    Rather than hit the camp on Monday for the Sunday match, our big boys don’t report until Thursday, leaving the coaches with between two to three days to prepare the boys instead of the six days agreed with them after the last game. Guess what, these players who sauntered into the Nigerian’s camp at their leisure scamper to return to the European clubs, knowing the implications of late coming.

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    Why the Eagles manager has failed to bench latecomers remains a mystery. The excuse that the European clubs pay their wages is neither here nor there. After all, they are not playing for Nigeria for free. The players each gets paid between $5,000 and $ 10,000. They all share in the qualification bonus paid by FIFA which is quite handsome.  Multiply $5,000 by 29 players not forgetting the manager, who gets twice what the players earn in games won and drawn, you will appreciate why the players must play the country’s World Cup qualification matches as if their lives depend on the ticket. It is double the figure spent at $5,000 if the players are paid $10,000 each. Who gets paid $5,000 or $10,000 for a job done in 90 minutes in Nigeria?

    We have seen how Sadio Mane and Mohammed Salah have flown in charter jets to their countries to honour their invitations to camp. If our players can report early to camp and apply themselves to the six days of training, Nigeria has players who can deliver World Cup tickets with, at least, two matches left.

    It is instructive to state here that apart from those players who changed their nationalities to Nigeria, the rest cut their teeth playing for Nigeria, beginning from the country’s age-grade teams. Need I waste space naming those in these categories?

    Fortunately, the players and officials have the matches of the Africa Cup of Nations to be staged by Cote d’Ivoire in January to also prepare for the senior World Cup. Happily, the NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau while receiving the Ambassador of Cote d’Ivoire to Nigeria, His Excellency Kalilou Traore, in his Dankaro House office in Abuja said: “I have been receiving regular briefings on the preparations from the President of Cote d’Ivoire Football Federation, Yacine Idriss Diallo, who is a personal friend. I am aware that the Government of Cote d’Ivoire has really invested in stadia and general infrastructure to make the AFCON a success and a huge spectacle.

    “Our two teams (Super Eagles and Elephants) are in the same group at the finals, and it would be a very interesting game when we play on 18th January. We know the whole of Africa and even the world will be focused on Cote d’Ivoire before, during, and after the AFCON, and our team will be ready to do its best. When Cote d’Ivoire played host to the AFCON in 1984, our Eagles finished second. This time round, we will work very hard to emerge champions.”

    Gusua’s comments find expression with most soccer-crazy Nigerians who support our national teams during competitions and international friendly games. And the least that players, coaches, and officials can do for the over 200 million Nigerians is to win their matches by scoring goals with aplomb. Gusau reiterated that three-time champions Nigeria are ready to give the campaign their best shot when the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations begins in Cote d’Ivoire on 13th January 2024.

    Nigeria’s green-white-green flag wasn’t among the comity of nations that participated in the Qatar 2022 World Cup. We can’t afford to miss the next edition.

     No country runs its sports on the yearly fiscal budget because of its clumsiness. Sports competitions are run on a calendar system which gives participating countries to prepare adequately for periods of one to four years. Besides, there are other tournaments that serve as qualifiers for the main events across the globe which makes it imperative that funding must be handy, not dependent on any form of bureaucracy

    The countries that excel in sporting events have systems that guarantee enough funds for the sportsmen and sportswomen to compete with the best such as tax rebates on sport-friendly firms, lotteries, and businesses owned by wealthy nationals who know what is in such a sponsorship that benefits them by the sitting government. Such financial taxes are spelled out to companies and wealthy citizens after agreements have been reached. These cast-in-stone policies are binding on all the parties to such an extent that breaches are adequately addressed to allow either of the parties to seek redress in court.

    The beauty of this organised method of funding is it gives all the concerned sponsors enough time to schedule their commitments to their boards to provide for them in the yearly budgets for the duration of the contractual agreements with reliant government parastatals for the exercise. Is Nigeria ready to prosecute a seamless World Cup qualification series with a solvent NFF? You tell me, dear reader.

  • Gusau, don’t reappoint Waldrum

    Gusau, don’t reappoint Waldrum

    I’ve tremendous respect for the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Ibrahim Musa Gusau. I actually encountered him once during the 10-Year Football Committee’s interaction with key stakeholders of the game. I recall asking Gusau if he thought being a member of the NFF board then and also doubling as the chairman of Zamfara State Football Association was appropriate. My heart sank when he justified the misnomer by saying that it is enshrined in the NFF Statutes. I was, however, shocked when he ranted around Abuja and wrote on the federation’s platforms stating that he put in my place by his nauseating response.

    Was it a personal thing between Gusau and I? Certainly not. I just did my bit as a member of the committee.  I’m, therefore, not shocked to hear that the president thinks that Super Falcons’ American coach, Randy Waldrum should be given another chance by renewing his contract which expired on October 31. I would have aligned with Gusua’s position if Waldrum didn’t lie to his part-time employers, NFF that he had pressing personal matters which prevented him from honouring Nigeria’s two-legged games against Ethiopia in Addis Ababa and Abuja. He lied that his wife was due for a surgery. What manner of man would wish his wife a fake surgical operation? He certainly cannot be trusted.

    Waldrum forgot that the world is a global village where all activities are captured in the media. Footages of the games which prevented Waldrum from honouring the matches involving his part-time job’s employers can be found in YouTube as a clear evidence of where his loyalty lies. So, Gusau, why should Waldrum be reappointed having seen incontrovertible evidence that he lied about his wife’s illness?

    One cannot understand why anyone would accuse the coach of abandonment now if indeed his contract lapsed on October 31? It must be stated here categorically that Waldrum failed the first test loyalty t his employers when he was seen sitting n the bench backing out instructions to his university college side. Waldrum’s name was listed on the match forms of both matches as the team’s coach. This presupposes that he was the one who prepared the players for the matches and had a place on the bench for both games.

    What other evidence does Gusau need to save Nigeria from the shame of being dumped by  a coach for a university side? My heart still bleeds that Waldrum’s sack is being discussed. Perhaps, to allow him defend himself against the stark evidence the NFF has against him. What Waldrum did by dishonouring Nigeria’s matches is a breach of contract whether or not Nigeria is owing him some of his monthly wages. Had Waldrum, the University of Pittsburgh Panthers women’s head coach not being captured in the YouTube report barking out instructions to his girls, the excuse that his wife was ill would have been tenable. If he sat at the state box to watch the games, it would have been understandable. Having is name on the matches’ manifest shows that he indeed prepared his side, the University of Pittsburgh Panthers for the game. He also sat on the bench to correct their mistakes in the course of the games.

    If NFF board members still think Nigeria has her pride and integrity as a nation to protect, then Waldrum’s contract must be terminated and process towards achieving this sack must start now, dear Gusau. Put simply, Wakldrum chose the University of Pittsburgh Panthers women’s head coach job over Nigeria’s Super Falcons assignments. And he should go now.

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    Gusau and indeed, NFF members won’t say that it isn’t common knowledge that Waldrum disliked his Nigerian assistants comprising of Coaches Justin Madugu, Ann Chiejine, and Auwal Makwalla who eventually handled the two legged ties against Ethiopia in Addis Ababa and Abuja. Nigeria drew the first game 1-1 and spanked the Ethiopians 4-0 in Abuja. The Super Falcons are pitched against the Cameroonians and this shouldn’t be the reason to press the panic button to justify the reappointment of Randy Waldrum. No way.

    We shouldn’t always make our local coaches look like ball boys and girls before half baked foreign coaches who aren’t good enough to handle their countries’ soccer teams. If we don’t allow our coaches learn on the job by giving them the desired exposure against top sides such as the Lionesses of Cameroun, how would they grow to handle the teams?

    Gusau cannot say that the players didn’t send a representation to him in the federation’s Abuja office pleading that Waldrum shouldn’t be reappointed for the good of female sfootball at that level. Gusau should be guided by the fact that Spain, the current Women’s World Cup champions sacked their winning coach based on complaints from his senior players among other unethical reasons.

    NFF should learn how to provide the platform for our established stars in the retirement to rain to coaches and or administrators depending on their areas of proficiency. Coach Ann Chiejine should be encouraged to participate in high level coaching courses to prepare her for full time coaching at the national level, having played the game at the top.

    Commentaries on the Super Falcons at the last women World Cup co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia would have been anchored on Chiejine’s exploits as a goalkeeper for Nigeria in previous women World Cups which she participated in with pictures from match videos of yore. Chiejine’s elevation from manning the goalposts t sitting on the bench to dish out instructions to the players would have shown the NFF as a federation with foresights and the players would respect her knowing that she is a legend of the game.

    I consider women’s football as a novelty, especially with a poor economy. I admire the girls who play the game, knowing the unscrupulous options which they would have taken if they were to behave like those who use what they have to get what they want.

    Anytime the NFF recruits foreign coaches it always clear that they weren’t recruited to train and retrain our domestic coaches working with them. The foreign coaches come with their nationals to fill the coaching spaces, making the Nigerians’ presence in the teams look like a duplication of roles. These assistants are usually specialists in one area of the game.  What it means in strict terms is that they are usually hired by clubs to solve problems in smaller or bigger clubs for a fee depending on their pedigree in such areas. What these assistants do is relegate the Nigerians in the technical crew to mere watchers of training sessions.

    There is the need to ask the NFF chieftains who coached the young girl who are now doing  well in Europe. Of course, Nigerians in the 774 Local Government Areas in the country who work as games masters and games mistresses.

    A foreign coach who abhors his Nigerian assistants should go. A foreign coach who calls his employers thieves has no business being an employee. A foreign coach who publicly asks his employers what they used FIFA’s $960,000 for shouldn’t be given a second chance to perhaps slap such an employer on the pitch in front of his players. A foreign coach who isn’t ready to live with Nigerians here for any reason should be sacked forthwith. So, Gusau, ask Waldrum to show us his back since he has burnt his candles on both ends. Hasn’t he? You tell me, dear reader.