The Nation Newspaper

Category: Ade Ojeikere

  • Be wary of match fixing

    Be wary of match fixing

    The incurable optimists are on the prowl. They are praying the South Africa and Republic of Benin slip in their last two 2026 World Cup qualifiers. They argue that with these unholy prayer sessions, Nigeria will finish with 17 points. They have forgotten that the South Africans’ last two group matches would be played on their soil, having been chosen by their ‘hosts’ Zimbabwe and against Rwanda as Bafana Bafana’s last home.

    Only a dreamer deep in illusory thoughts would predict that the South Africans would bottle up these clear hurdles. Those jokers who administer our football hardly remember that our penultimate game is against Lesotho in one of the South African cities. And with the way our players have played so far in the qualifiers, it would take more than prayers and luck for Nigeria to beat Lesotho in South Africa with South Africans rooting for Lesotho. Did I hear you ask if Nigeria beat Lesotho in Uyo in the first leg tie? You have started again. No. Nigeria came from behind to play 1-1 draw with Lesotho in the first World Cup qualifying match.

    Where were these incurable optimists when South Africa inadvertently had eight home games in a World Cup qualifier when Lesotho, Rwanda and Zimbabwe opted to play their home games in South African cities? That was the day Bafana Bafana clinched Group C’s sole qualification ticket. What the NFF and NSC people are doing now is to shift the goalposts after the damage has been done. The talk of miracle favouring Nigeria always is bunkum.

    I appreciate the fact that the South Africans joined the debate about the deduction of three points of 17; which means that Bafana Bafana would have 14 points like Benin Republic, but only if FIFA rules against them. But I smell a rat. We wait. However, with two matches remaining for Bafana Bafana, all which will be played in South African cities, it is safe to say that they have 20 points, going by their matches up to th last stage of two matches. By the same token, it is safe to say that Nigeria should win her two matches to jump to 19. But, there is a caveat. This means that Nigeria must beat Republic of Benin in Uyo in the all-systems-go tie.

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    This will be crunchy because Benin would be having 17 points from her last home game. It remains to be seen if Nigeria would beat Lesotho in South Africa. Already, Lesotho have perfected plans to drag the Eagles to Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth in South Africa. Concerns were raised about the conditions of the stadium’s pitch in the preceding match days 7 and 8 that pitted Lesotho with South Africa and South Africa versus Nigeria. Don’t we see this match venue uncertainty as some form of mind games meant to unsettle the Super Eagles on October 6? Could it also be an attempt to take the game to a city where our players would be guzzling water like camels due to altitude issues? All is said to be fair in warfare, isn’t it?

    Do our sports chieftains know about these undercurrents? Did you say yes, dear reader? People who didn’t know that the South Africans inadvertently had eight home games as soon as Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Rwanda opted to play in South Africa cities?

    “The negotiations are just at the beginning. People bid to host games, and then it’s what they can offer. We will compare the two deals, then the one which is better…” Mohapi told Soccer Laduma.

    The decision will be crucial for both teams as Nigeria pushes to secure maximum points away from home in a tightly contested group. Nigeria has no business being in this permutations, given the armada of stars we have playing in the European leagues. A few times in my quiet moments I ask myself if our players can’t speak to themselves and beat some of the countries that have humbled us in competitions as a result of poor coaching?

    Since Monday, I have avoided participating in the debates of FIFA’s likelihood of deducting three points from South Africa’s 17, because most of the arguments are warp. Whereas, they reckon that the Super Eagles will win the next two games, these pundits are saying that Bafana Bafana would lose theirs. Indeed. I envisage a situation where both Nigeria and South Africa would win their two matches, culminating in 17 points for Nigeria and 20 points for South Africa, that is if FIFA find them guilty. Gravevine talks suggested that Lesotho filed their protest out of time as they say in law.

    When will FIFA release their findings and punishments? It has to be before October 6, such that all the countries in Group C can know where they stand on the table and how to go about their remaining games. I must warn here that our soccer chiefs should be wary of match fixing. Nigeria won’t cease being a sovereign country, if Super Eagles fail to qualify for the 2026 World Cup to be co-hosted by Mexico, Canada and the United States. Heaven didn’t fall when Nigeria failed to qualify in 2006 World Cup in Germany and at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

    Only back-to-back defeats for South Africa against already-eliminated Zimbabwe and Rwanda will give Nigeria any chance of topping the section.

    What we should talking about is how to use the next two World Cup matches to rebuild the Super Eagles for the 2025 AFCON in December. How prepared are the NFF members for the competition coming on the heels another likely 2026 World Cup fiasco.

    According to Google: ‘’AFCON 2025 gets underway on 21 December 2025 when Morocco will host Comoros at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat. The 24 teams have been drawn into six groups of four, where they will play a round-robin format, facing each of the other three teams in their group stage.”

    It would be foolhardy for Nigeria to parade the same set of players who prosecuted our last two World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda in Uyo and against Bafana Bafana at the Free State Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein on September 9 wholesale and expect to clinch the Group C’s sole qualification ticket.

    Already, one of our topmost defenders, Ola Aina returned to Forest, and the extent of his injury was confirmed. The former Chelsea player’s earliest return is expected by December, hinting that he could miss the Super Eagles’ AFCON 2025 campaign in Morocco. Aina underwent his first surgery on a torn hamstring in his right leg and is out of the country’s preparations.

    “On the 13th of September [four days ago], I had my operation. Thank you for all the support and all the messages and stuff.

    “I just finished having my surgery. It’s my first one, but yeah, I just want to say thank you for all the messages.

    “We move. It’s all in God’s timing; this is God’s plan.” Aina said in the clip he posted.

    Troost Ekong can be elevated to an administrative role in the Eagles among others whose time for Nigeria have reached the bus stop. They truly have to disembark and do other things.

    The perennial crises associated with Nigeria’s elimination from the senior World Cup is always ferocious. It could scuttle our attempt to surpass last edition, where Nigeria lost 2-1 in the finals to the host nation, Ivory Coast.

  • Another fish to fry

    Another fish to fry

    The blame game begins. Where did we get it wrong? Not for the first time. Our soccer buffs have repeatedly shown their lack of leadership when picking coaches for our national teams. They rely on frivolous criteria, including name dropping of elite European managers recommending our morbid choices.  We are always told that such choices served as countless assistants to big and successful coaches just to browbeat us over their individual tactical savvy. Nobody dares to interrogate those picked since Nigerians only get to know the next coach at odd hours of the day through press releases.

    Lilliputian coaches are recruited without throwing the offer open to knowledgeable tacticians with credible credentials to attend interviews where they are drilled, so that the best are picked. Instead, we employ journeymen who sign mercenary contracts where they would be living in Europe to watch our boys most times on television, rather than attending those matches to establish good rapport with our players’ European managers.

    With this tardy arrangement, the coaches only remember Nigeria when they are challenged by their employers to either submit the lists of players to be invited for games, which could be done by mails or to find out when they would be in Nigeria for important competitions such as the World Cup, Africa Cup of Nations, the Olympic Games, WAFU e.t.c. Nobody sees anything wrong with the setting, since our federation chieftains don’t have to bother about the manager’s welfare and other logistics to keep him in Nigeria without an official car, house and other domestic staff to make his stay worth his time spent.

    With handicapped coaches, we would find ourselves in a position where they can’t control our big boys. Our federation buffs forget that our better exposed players know good coaches when they see them. Such coaches’ philosophies prepare the players’ minds of what to expect from them. The result is the discotheque manner in which they report to camp for critical matches. Whereas other countries’ players who play regularly than our boys in the different European clubs get to their home countries 24 hours after their club matches, ours are spotted in parts of the country attending to family matters. The result is the chaotic manner in which our teams are prepared for competitions.

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    Equally disgusting is the impudence with which our players are kitted with gadgets tied around their necks and mouths while preparing for the days’ training sessions. This underscores the low quality of the coaches we employ to train the team. The other day when the players were taking a walk around their hotel, almost all of them had their ear drums covered with different gadgets dangling around their shoulders. Of course, wires are seen around their waists. Pray, our players can’t try this hogwash in their respective clubs. Let me save you dear reader, the thought of how disjointed they walked around the hotel’s premises, with the big boys strolling behind the other players leading the exercise from the front.

    One wonders why we are always late to take decisions on the future of the game here even when the broken roofs have killed many people and maimed others for life. The ugliness of football is such that we drew four of our home game, yet we expect to be ta the 2026 World Cup. It won’t happen. Our fire brigade approach to sporting events is primarily the reason for the dearth of sports in Nigeria, where influence peddlers get jobs that they’re ill-equipped for.

    If we know what is good for the game here, the government should make the task of rebuilding the Super Eagles such that the ultimate target would be to qualify the country for the 2030 World Cup with four matches to the end of the qualifiers. It is achievable with the right coaches and a group of not more than five knowledgeable Nigerians to reinvent the Super Eagles of our collective dream.

    If we ask the right people the coaches we need and how to interface with them through their agents, meetings can be organised to get the best man for the job before the end of October, especially if we start the search for a new coach now. The argument that the time to search for a new coach is too close is unacceptable. Super Eagles, the way it is structured and the coach that we have, including the federation chiefs and their NSC supervisors are bereft of ideas to stem the rot and would only lead us into another ditch.

    If we compute how much it has cost Nigeria to prosecute these World Cup qualifiers, we would recognise our folly that if only we had stepped back from the tearful past to recruit a Grade A European coach. England for her claim of being the originators of the beautiful game are going to the 2026 World Cup with a German coach Thomas Tuchel, who needs no introduction in world football. Tuchel and England have an 18 months contract which I dare say would be extended after the Mundial. England’s Three Lions have won all her five matches without conceding a goal, and only on Tuesday beat Serbia at home in Belgrade 5-0.

    According to a Reuters’ report on the Tuesday match: ”England have a maximum 15 points from five games and could even seal automatic qualification as group winners next month. Criticised for a laboured 2-0 home defeat of Andorra on Saturday, England produced their best performance under head coach Thomas Tuchel to punish a timid Serbia display.” I digress.

    My problem with those insisting on having a Nigerian coaching bench is that they are quick to multiply the going rate of the naira to the dollar when the figure of what foreign coaches earn comes to the fore. They forget the huge returns on this kind of investment if the team does well in such a major soccer competition as the senior World Cup. Nigeria is in very big trouble. The country must wake up to the fact our national flag won’t be hoisted among the comity of nations at the 2026 World Cup to be co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico. I’m not an alarmist.

    Nigeria doesn’t need journeymen European coaches who have traversed the continent losing games with aplomb. Indeed, we need young and enterprising coaches hungry for glory.

    The Super Eagles next game is an away match to Lesotho at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein, South Africa, on Oct. 10, before wrapping up their campaign on Oct. 16 against Benin Republic in Uyo. South Africa will play against Zimbabwe inside the Orlando Pirates Stadium in South Africa. Of course, Bafana Bafana’s last game is with Rwanda in South Africa, yet we are deluding ourselves that they won’t win Group C’s sole qualification ticket. These are fishes for the South Africans to fry on match days. They won’t bottle it.

    As it stands, South Africa remain in a strong position to top the group with 17 points from eight matches, while second placed Benin Republic are on 14 points.

    Fourth-placed Rwanda are tied on 11 points with Nigeria, while Lesotho (6 points) and Zimbabwe (4 points) complete the six-team table.

  • Give us this day!

    Give us this day!

    Soccer fans are tired of Super Eagles‘ penchant of breaking their hearts with their shambolic outings for Nigeria. Fans have jettisoned the now defaced drawing boards since that object must be tattered, having suffered several cancellations arising from failed expeditions by easily the most pampered but highly unreliable soccer team when the stakes are high.

    The trajectory of how the Eagles causes us pains on match days loom large, with all the emphasis on ensuring that FIFA deducts three points from Bafana Bafana’s 13 points being upmost on the mind of our sports administrators, as if Rwanda, our opponents in today’s game count for nothing. Interesting. Rwanda, dear reader has eight points and are joint second with Benin Republic by virtue of inferior goals advantage on the Group C table.  Nigeria beat Rwanda in the first leg and we would be playing with a banana peel if we underrate them in Uyo, a bad hunting ground for the Eagles in recent times.

    Indeed, if the Eagles fail to beat the Rwandans today, Nigeria would have no business going to South Africa for the September 9 game inside the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein, especially if the South Africans win the September 5 clash against Lesotho,

    According to Google: ‘’In reality, since they lack approved stadiums, Lesotho and Zimbabwe are staging their matches in South Africa. As a result, both countries are scheduled to play as “hosts” against Bafana Bafana on South African soil on September 5 and October 6, during the 7th and 9th rounds of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.”

    One isn’t surprised at the South Africans’ insistence on our players sorting out the entry visas for the game inside the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein. This, of course, is to slow down the preparations of the Super Eagles. Worst hit would be the fans who the South Africans know have a way of motivating the Super Eagles to victory. Indeed, about 150 fans had concluded their plans to secure a charter jet to storm the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein. Now that this plan has been botched, the players must work their socks wet to get the desired three points on September 9.

    For the South Africans all is fair in warfare, especially with the unmanning manner in which our federation’s chieftains have repeatedly kept the aspect of the three points from Bafana Bafana’s 13 points haul with four more games left. What has happened to the Norte Verbal policy? Don’t sporting contingents enjoy the privilege of stamping their visas at the point of entry anymore? Whose fault was it not to have second-guessed this kind of unsportsmanlike attitude by our hosts towards our players, fans and officials, ahead of the September 9 clash in Bloemfontein? Was this how we treated them before the first leg game in Uyo? It is time our sports administrators began to be proactive, rather than this blame game session in getting entry visas to participate in sports competitions.

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     The implication is that the number of days which we would have used to prepare for the Rwanda game has been reduced to three, with the third day being 24 hours to the game. Of course, training on Friday would be light, with players watching the group’s first game for the fourth round between ‘hosts’ Lesotho and Bafana Bafana, in one of the South African cities. Dey Play!

    “The World Cup, that’s the biggest stage for a footballer in your career, especially playing for your country,” Dele-Bashiru told Nigerian journalist Victor Ademola.

    “It will be a very massive moment for not just me; I’m sure, all the players here. It will be a massive moment for all the staff and all the fans. So, yeah, that’s what we are working towards. God willing, we will win the next two World Cup qualifying games and then after that, we’ll take it from there.”

    The injury bug has also stung the Bafana Bafana, with the latest players to withdraw being Orlando Pirates star Patrick Maswanganyi and Hannover 96 defender Ime Okon, who has a Nigerian father. Pirates marquee player, Sipho Mbule and Stellenbosch FC’s Thabo Moloisane, have since replaced the duo.

    It will now most likely be a new defence that will come up against Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman next Tuesday.

    What our players must do today is to beat the Rwandans with at least three goals, knowing that the South Africans would throw all systems at us on September 9. One only hopes that no ineligible player is fielded in today’s game. Our federation’s chiefs are capable of making silly mistakes. Need I list them? Group C’s sole ticket would be decided on September 9. And our players must be schooled on the principles of selfless play – meaning they must be told that the ball should be given to the person in a better position to drive the ball accurately into the net. You don’t need to destroy the net to score a goal. Place the ball into the net like Chelsea’s gangly striker Cole Palmer.

    If Nigeria fails to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, our players’ approach to reporting to camp should chiefly be one of the causes of the disaster. How would a camp be opened on September 1, a Monday and by Wednesday, the coaches were struggling to get a full house in training. Had the South African game been our first game and not Rwanda, it would have been a fiasco.

    What our players must recognise is that the balance of power among African nations has been bridged in spite of the armada of stars being paraded by countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Cote d’ Ivoire etc. Sadly, the fear factor which enveloped teams drawn against the Eagles has fallen off like nectar on hibiscus – fickle, making the team to wobble and fumble through matches.

    It is instructive to note that the South Africans are no novices to the World Cup qualification series having played 31 of such fixtures, winning 23 of them, drawing four and losing four, one of which was a game against Nigeria. Yes, the two teams on September 9, will fight to the finish. One hopes that Nigeria’s manager Eric Chelle isn’t fooled by what he sees during training sessions.

    Hello, Chelle, if you don’t start Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen on September 9, you will be done for. We need fighters who have been through this path before. We need players who can attract markers from the opposition, yet would remain unchecked on Tuesday; not those weaklings who would be hiding behind defenders instead of running forward into space to receive defence splitting passes.

    Dear Chelle, have you spoken to Stanley Nwabali over his injury penultimate Saturday? We shouldn’t put our hands on the head when the South Africans attempt to injure Nwabali. They know the prognosis of Nwabali’s injury while keeping for his South African side and could place the balls in particular areas which could spell doom. Nigeria mustn’t field any injury prone player. Please, the doctor and coaches should interrogate the nature of Nwabali’s injury.

    We placed ourselves in this dangerous position when we drew three of our four home matches. How did Nigeria fail to beat Benin Republic on neutral ground in Ivory Coast during the first leg game which we lost?

    Let us beat Rwanda later today. Let us ensure our players aren’t seriously injured. Let us pray for luck, but after we must have given our best against Rwanda. Eagles, give us this day.

  • FIFA free points, my foot!

    FIFA free points, my foot!

    What kind of soccer administrators do we have in Nigeria, and how did they get into such positions of trust? I have this funny tendency of looking through my phone for news, though I end up feeling very upset listening or reading information therein, which would have been better ignored.

    One of such interviews was that on Facebook, where a top NFF boss revealed that Nigeria had filed a protest to FIFA urging the soccer ruling body to, as a matter of necessity, deduct three points from South Africa’s points haul and hand them to Lesotho who didn’t lodge any protest when they played against South Africa. It would have been better if this official had kept quiet rather than utter such laughable statement.

    This official, who ought to have covered his face in tears, prided himself in telling the world how Nigeria fielded an ineligible player in an away game against Algeria during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. A clear case of failure of leadership, the official ought to have kept his trap shut rather than bask in airs while spewing excuses that belie his academic qualifications. In other climes, this official ought to have lost his job to save Nigeria from such anomalies in the future. Isn’t it shameful that Nigeria is fighting for action to be taken against an offender who incidentally is one of our group opponents? The immediate poser would be, if the points would be added to ours?

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    I ask, isn’t it true that FIFA alerts federations through the mail, informing them about ineligible players and their punishments before each round of matches begin? Our soccer chieftains should face the business of getting the 12 points left and see what others in the group can get. Otherwise, we would find ourselves in a clay pot and rat situation, where others in the group would be working to eliminate Nigeria. I’m glad that renowned journalist and lawyer, Osasu Obayiuwana spoke with a spokesman of FIFA on the delay and he gave his explanation.

    Obayiuwana revealed to OwnGoalNigeria.com that: “The matter should be before the FIFA disciplinary committee. They don’t tell the administration what cases they have before it, as they are independent.”

    “We will only hear of their decision when they have made it. If they have not made a pronouncement before South Africa’s next match in September, I will encourage you to ask why a decision has not been taken on this matter,” the FIFA source said.

    Perhaps, NFF’s men and their trumpeters would let the three points which won’t be ours be, and face the daunting task of preparing a battle-ready Super Eagles now that the shocking news of goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali’s injury was made public on Monday. The optics of Nwabali being attended to frantically on the pitch by the doctors showed how serious the injury was. In fact, Nwabali was stretchered out of the pitch into the ambulance and driven to the hospital for further treatment. If the Chippa United man is ruled out, Chelle will be forced to look elsewhere. The alternatives include former Bendel Insurance goalkeeper Amas Obasogie, one-time Hapoel Jerusalem shot-stopper Adebayo Adeleye, and teenage prospect Ebenezer Harcourt. None, however, possesses the experience or reliability of Nwabali, whose presence has been vital for Nigeria since his emergence.

    Surprised? Don’t be. Last weekend on this column, I warned about the effects of the voodoo called injuries as if was a seer who foresaw what has happened to Nwabali. Yes, I’m not a seer but my experience on this job has taught me a few things which I reveal intermittently here for those who have ears and can assimilate what they read in this column, without sounding immodest.

  • The voodoo called injuries

    The voodoo called injuries

    It is precisely 14 days to Nigeria’s next World Cup qualifier against Rwanda inside the Nest of Champions in Uyo, with the voodoo of missing key players due to injuries starring us in the face and which have effectively ruled out at least six players from the must-win game on September 6.

    In fact, coaches pray fervently against it knowing how badly it dissipates their squads ahead of crucial matches such as the two waiting for the Super Eagles against the Rwandans on September 6 and the kill-and-go game against Bafana Bafana on September 9, a date dear to my heart. September 9? Why always September 9.

    These injury worries have sidelined central defender Semi Ajayi, while poor form arising from a spate of injuries kept them off the pitch last season, making them ineligible for bidding during the summer transfer period, such as Taiwo Awoniyi of Nottingham Forest FC in the Premier League.

    Ajayi’s injury also raises fresh concerns over squad depth, as the team continues to battle with injuries to key players ahead of must-win matches. His injury problems paved the way for the Baggies to stop his contract, prompting his summer move to Hull City, where he delivered a dominant display against Coventry before the latest setback.

    Chelle is now saddled with the task of replacing Ajayi which means the Malian coach will naturally play an ageing William Troost-Ekong who has a way of rising to the big occasions with Bassey who features regularly for Fulham FC of England in the centre-back.

    Awoniyi was attempting to get on the end of a cross by winger Anthony Elanga. Sources told BBC Sport that Awoniyi suffered a ruptured intestine. He received medical attention for several minutes and had to leave the field after initially attempting to carry on.

    Having had the first part of the surgery, he spent the next day in an induced coma, as medical staff monitored his progress. Awoniyi had the second stage of the operation, including closing the wound, on the third day after the horrific injury in one of the Premier League matches last season against now relegated Leicester City.

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    Iheanacho’s spell on the sidelines with thigh injury contributed immensely to his poor form at the Foxes, leading to his move to Spain. Indeed, the former Golden Eaglets’ striker was out for “a number of weeks” after tearing his adductor muscle.

    This voodoo is threatening the depth of the squad with only Stanley Nwabali as the safest hands in the goalkeeping area of the team. The talk of having Okoye to stand in as the reserve goalkeeper has been shattered following the results of an investigation into the allegations of “unsporting misconduct” or match-fixing which was dropped against him by the tribunal.

    Okoye’s two-month ban began with Udinese’s first official game of the season, scheduled for their Coppa Italia tie against Carrarese on August 18. He will miss six Serie A matches and return to action on October 18. The import of this judgment leaves Nigeria with the short end of the stick, as it effectively rules out the Udinese FC of Italy goalkeeper from Nigeria’s September 6 and September 9 fixtures.

    My thoughts ran wild trying to figure out the goalkeepers to deputise for Nwabali in the event of injuries or red card (God forbid). I quickly rushed to the team’s past invitation of players’ list. Again, my heart shrunk. Tanzania-based Amas Obasogie will still fight for the goal-tender’s starting shirt. My only fear is that he has returned to Nigeria, casting doubt on his fitness and the quality of opposition he had whilst playing in Tanzania’s league last season.

  • Is FIFA Father Christmas?

    Is FIFA Father Christmas?

    Suddenly, some of them who chained our football in the past with their tunnel vision ideas and illusory concepts have again woken up from deep sleep to reinvent what they destroyed over nine years ago. Do they think that when they were snoring and producing frightening sounds in their sleep, our group opponents left their doors ajar? Certainly not. Where were our sports administrators when some countries in Nigeria’s World Cup group chose some of the South African cities as their home grounds for their qualifiers? What did they do to stop the matches? Do they now want to shift the goalposts when the fixtures have just four matches left? Who does that? Dey play, as they say in pidgin English.

    Our football buffs have spent the interlude between matches to ‘leak’ the story that the South Africans fielded an ineligible player against Lesotho, which could see them lose the three points. What they have refused to reveal is that there isn’t any protest lodged against the South Africans? So, on what basis would FIFA be relying on to punish them? Or do our people think that FIFA men are Father Christmases?

    Yes, Bafana Bafana infringed on the law but who would the three points deducted be credited to when indeed there isn’t any protest? Is there a precedent case to rely on? Isn’t it true that South Africa’s remaining games are against foes in their group in South African cities? I foresee a situation where Bafana Bafana would play the spoilsport whenever Nigeria plays against those countries that have chosen South Africa as their home ground.

    Nigeria might as well bid the 2026 World Cup goodbye if not for the unpredictable results from games. However, much of what we tag as surprises during games comes from serious-minded teams hungry for glory and being coached by men or women with high tactical savvy to outwit their opponents. Not docile coaches who look on like morons when things go awry for their teams during matches. I wonder what these administrators would be saying to themselves after seeing the Super Eagles draw three home games inside the Stadium of Champions in Uyo? Who does that and expects to snatch a World Cup qualification ticket? People were deceived to believe that the Eagles had arrived with the 2-0 spanking of Rwanda on away soil. But our World Cup fumbling continued when the Eagles drew 1-1 against Lesotho in Uyo, a few days later.

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    How I wish these people would jointly sign a communiqué apologising to Nigerians over another failed World Cup appearance in 2026, and save us the heartache by collectively resigning from their posts. The South Africans won’t bottle up this unique opportunity, especially on the heels of parading an unqualified player in one of their World Cup qualifiers.

    The big poser people have been struggling to comprehend is if Eric Chelle can be trusted to rescue our World Cup qualifiers? I respond by asking if we have the players to play the games of their lives, beginning with the September 9 qualifier against Bafana Bafana in South Africa? That is the game-changer for Nigeria to return to the title chase for Group C’s qualification ticket.

    Nigeria’s quest for Group C’s 2026 sole World Cup ticket was thrown into the lagoon with the recruitment of Jose Peseiro, whose coaching record of being sacked is still legendary, not forgetting that he was sacked by a club in Africa after his reign as Nigeria’s coach. It was bad enough that Gernot Rohr wasn’t good enough. Recruiting Peseiro as Rohr’s replacement was the last straw that broke the proverbial Carmel’s back.

  • Nigeria sports in diapers

    Nigeria sports in diapers

    A thunderous applause for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for doing the righteous thing by rewarding the country’s female basketball team, the Tigress with $100,000 for each player and $50,000 each for the team’s coach and other members of the team’s technical crew, reminiscent of what he did for the Super Falcons for lifting the WAFCON trophy for the tenth time in the competition’s history – the first of such feat ever recorded by any African soccer squad, albeit in the history of soccer globally across gender. This reward for excellence accorded the Tigress is vintage Mr. President – a man for all seasons. I wasn’t surprised.

    Asked my thoughts on rewards to be given to the Tigress at the Editorial meeting at The Nation on Monday, I stated categorically that I was in support of giving to the basketball players and their technical crew members exactly what the Super Falcons got. There was the argument that the Falcons recorded the feat for the tenth time. But I reminded everyone that the Tigress’ feat was for the fifth consecutive time, making it a total seventh, if one adds their two previous triumphs in the competition.

    The suggestion that soccer was the most popular sport here compared with basketball was revolting because you can count a few  American basketball players and other elite basketball nations whose players earn  as much as footballers.

    Interestingly, in a stirring address, the First Lady Oluremi Tinubu said the team’s triumph represents more than a basketball win—it is a beacon of inspiration for future generations. Apt.

    “This victory is a resounding statement of hard work, excellence, and national pride. You have written another golden chapter in Nigeria’s sporting history. You inspire every young girl to dream boldly and pursue greatness”, she said.

    “You showed up then, and now you are seated before the President. That’s what consistency, excellence, and discipline can achieve”, the First Lady noted.

    She highlighted the extraordinary story of Dr. Sarah Goke, a full-time surgeon who recently had a baby and still played in the tournament, saying “Your story is one of resilience and inspiration. May your path continue to light the way for others.”

    Can you beat this? Thank you Dr. Sarah Goke for representing Nigeria even while nursing an eight-month-old baby. Nigerian women or should I also say girls have won more sports honours than the men, though the latter are the much hyped in the media. One is also absolutely thrilled that the President didn’t succumb to the ranting of perpetual harbingers of bad news to dilute the gifts given to the women basketball team, the Tigress. Certainly, the hallmark of good leadership from the President, who doesn’t stoop to conquer. He is indeed a conqueror.

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    Yes, I watched in disbelief how those designated to reinvent sports by the President took delight in ascribing the feats by the Super Falcons and the Tigress to the astuteness of their ideas for both teams. I thought that they would have been magnanimous to acknowledge the fact that most of the girls (80%) either ply their trade outside the country or traced their roots back to the country from the Diaspora. So far, what has characterised the tenure of those at the realm of sports have been photo ops, junketing round the world with succeeding but popular sporting teams than to identify with reinventing the industry from the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the country.

    The pain for me is how this over-reliance on athletes discovered, nurtured and exposed by other countries stabs one’s heart when they just stand on the podium unable to recite the Nigerian Anthem. It isn’t rocket science to get these athletes to memorise and recite the anthem as it is being sung on honours’ days. One needs to see how other countries recite theirs and break into a roar at the end of the recitation, punching the air in ecstasy – indicating their readiness to make their countries proud which they often do.  You will know the faith of these athletes by how they end their prayers with the sign of the cross, for instance.

    It would be a huge disservice if these ‘new’ Nigerians end up selling the three bedroom houses simply because their roots here haven’t been cemented. The hierarchy of our sports ought to have kept quiet than ascribe these pyrrhic feats to their administrative astuteness. Not true. Kudos should go to the NFF for daring to appoint Madugu as an interim coach to the Super Falcons ahead of the 2024 WAFCON which Nigeria won. The NBBF, despite their internal crises held their ground by building on previous achievements to keep Nigeria’s basketball teams across genders in competitions. What the Tigress exhibited during the last tournament by coming from the dead was a familiar script from when pushed to the wall.

    For Nigeria to witness a new dawn, our administrators should tell us where the gold medalists at the National Sports Festival held in Abeokuta are and what plans are in place to groom them to stardom? We need to also know where those who won silver and bronze medals are. Of course, what would best suit the new dawn would be with our sports chieftains. I also hope they can reinvent sports, using the six zones in the country to discover, nurture, and expose them to the big competitions, starting from intra sports tournaments.

    Need I talk about the advantages of recruiting, training and re-training the coaches across all sports? I recall coaches Tony Urhobo, Isaac Ikhuoria, Gladstone Agbamu, Tony Oghuma, Ewa Henshaw, Babatunde Obisanya, et al and what they achieved using the six geopolitical zones as their sports hubs. These six sports zones produced new talents who shocked our better exposed athletes during the Mobil Athletics Championships of yore? The nurseries in Nigeria aren’t calibrated to be in sync with what obtains in other climes. Yet, we want to compete against them. No chance.

    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 to all the parties to such an extent that breaches are adequately addressed to allow either of the parties to seek redress in court.

    Civilised countries develop their sports through the neighbourhood system, where facilities are built to engage the youth and push them away from social vices. Nurseries serve as the bases for storing the data of those discovered. Such information helps to nurture and monitor the good ones to stardom. Besides, nurseries lay the foundation upon which the athletes are taught the rudiments of the game. It is at such factories that playing styles and patterns unique to such countries are evolving.

  • Like Falcons, like Madugu

    Like Falcons, like Madugu

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu doesn’t ever fail to excite this writer with his concise approach to issues. The President does things out of strong conviction. He hardly plays to the gallery. No wonder most of his presidential decisions run against the grail. The President gave nothing away with his countenance over what laid in wait for the worthy sports ambassadors. Obviously, the President is a very good listener as epitomised during the Meet the President’s session on Monday, which erupted into a roar when he announced the country’s ‘thank you’ gifts to the girls one has always described here as magicians.

    The President on Monday announced monetary rewards, approving the Naira equivalent of $100,000 (approximately N153 million) for each player and $50,000 (N75.6 million) for each member of the coaching crew, totalling N4,503,600,000. He also conferred the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) on each member of the victorious squad, as well as a three-bedroom apartment each to go with.

    The President’s directive that the girls be paid their outstanding allowances till the semi-final was the elixir which propelled the girls to lift the trophy. One is, therefore, alarmed by the outcry over the President’s gift which would serve as the fillip for the game going forward. France, a renowned soccer nation recognised her World Cup-winning team in 2018, not because teachers or civil servants were unimportant, but because exceptional contributions demand exceptional recognition. For the girls who played and gave out their best, the rewards shouldn’t have been given anything less than what the President announced. I’m glad that the President said the figures should be paid in the equivalent of its value in naira.

    One is particularly thrilled that goalkeeper Ann Chiejene benefited from this largesse because she once manned the goalpost during her heydays with the Super Falcons carrying a two-month pregnancy. The President’s gesture to the girls whose backgrounds have been shrouded in secrecy has now provided impetus where they would now become the subject of discussions globally during this transfer window for the new European season. Need I remind you that these girls are breadwinners for their families – ignoring the societal vices around them to eke a living playing football to international levels for both their clubs and country.

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    One develops goose pimples each time the country’s national anthem is sung at sporting competitions all over the world and a Nigerian or group of Nigerians mounts the podium to celebrate excellence and change the narrative that something good can come out of Nigeria. How much is the N4.5 billion compared to the traction the girls have brought, with the international media celebrating our great nation that is being propelled by the Renewed Hope mantra? Take a bow great Super Falcons!

    GTI Asset Management & Trust Limited in a statement described the Falcons’ victory as a testament to the indomitable Nigerian spirit — a spirit defined by resilience, passion, and the ability to rise to the occasion when it matters most, pointing out that: “This triumph is not just a sporting milestone; it is an inspiration. Let us harness this moment to invest further in the beautiful game because it helps foster national pride and project a positive image for Nigeria on the global stage.”

    What the President has done with the government’s gesture, I dare say, brings back the beauty of the game to the girl child around the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs), that there are other platforms to change their destinies through sports. Parents in these LGAs would be happy to allow their kids to play the beautiful game, citing the president’s game-changing gifts.

  • Let’s not forget September

    Let’s not forget September

    September is around the corner with great opportunities for those eager to exploit them optimally. For those who may be wondering what this discussion is all about, one must say that September 1 and September 8 could be watershed date in Nigeria’s senior World Cup appearances, beginning with September 1, when the Super Eagles are billed to confront their Rwandan counterparts in one of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers inside the main-bowl of the Stadium of Champions in Uyo in Akwa Ibom State.

    The significance of these two dates (September 1 and September 8) is that for Nigeria’s flag to be hoisted among the comity of soccer-loving countries at the 2026 World Cup, the Super Eagles must beat Rwanda and South Africa to get the designated six points for both fixtures. In the event that the Eagles fail to beat both countries, then we may as well start preparing for the 2030 World. So, all hands must be on the plough. Mind you, not those leprous fingers of our sports administrators.

    It is important to stress here that our September 1 opponents beat the Super Eagles in Uyo, scoring two late goals much to the consternation of Nigerians. Curiously, the Eagles haven’t won a game in Uyo in the four 2026 World Cup qualification games played there. These drawn matches explain largely why Nigeria lies fourth in the group that has South Africa, Rwanda, Republic of Benin, Zimbabwe and Lesotho. Equally instructive is the fact Nigeria couldn’t beat Lesotho and Zimbabwe (no disrespect to them) in Uyo.

    Sadly, instead of our federation chieftains to stew in their mess, they repeatedly keep spinning the tale of a likely three points’ deduction from South Africa’s 13 points haul for fielding an ineligible midfielder Teboho Mokoena who accumulated two yellow cards in the series before their last game against Lesotho. Mokoena was first booked in the qualifying series during their 2-1 home win over the Benin Republic in November 2023. He was cautioned in the 54th minute of the game. The Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder was also booked in the 52nd minute during their 3-1 win over Zimbabwe in June 2024.

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    In releasing this point deduction spill, our federation are hopeful without explaining how points can be deducted from South Africa’s, when Lesotho didn’t file any protest; as if FIFA are Father Christmases. In fact, the hurried protest filed by Lesotho was done out of time, as they say in law. How would FIFA deduct points from South Africa when there is no official protest against them? Who would FIFA award the points to? I smell a rat here. I ask NFF spinners, when would FIFA sit to decide a matter in which no protest was lodged? Is there a precedent matter like this in FIFA’s rulings? We need to know.

    “Protests regarding the eligibility of players selected for matches in the preliminary competition shall be submitted in writing to the FIFA Match Commissioner within two hours of the match in question and followed up with a full written report, including a copy of the original protest, to be submitted to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee in accordance with the applicable provisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Code and by email to qualifiers@fifa.org within 24 hours of the end of the match and shall be dealt with by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, otherwise they will be disregarded,” FIFA also stipulated.

    With barely 37 days to the resumption of the 2025 World Cup qualification matches in Africa, should this infringement of the rules be decided if indeed it was an offence? Presently, South Africa are topping Group C with 13 points followed by Rwanda (eight points), Republic of Benin (eight points), Nigeria in fourth place with (seven points), Lesotho (six points) with Zimbabwe bringing up the rear with (four points).

  • Trophy presentation

    Trophy presentation

    The Europeans, and indeed some others, know that soccer is a major source of entertainment. It creates anxiety, characterised by shocking results, especially with the final games, which leave watchers of the sport globally in awe. Indeed, bookmakers, punters, pundits, gamblers, and stakeholders in the industry, most times, lose their bets based on the form exhibited by the teams in games leading to the final.

    But football is a cruel game. It neither knows who inflated it nor gives preference to its owner in deciding its results. It is a game in which the hungrier side on match day wins. Such other permutations as ball possessions amount to rhetoric when the chips are down. Sincerely, it is one game whose outcome doesn’t entirely depend on the side with the largest percentage of ball possession winning. The iconic coach Jose Mourinho has taught the world that a pragmatic side, which does its tasks clinically by marking out dangerous players on the pitch, is more likely to win the game, provided the opposition’s manager doesn’t come with a counter-tactic to neutralise the more disciplined side based on tactics.

    Final games are most times a thriller of sorts, especially when the odds by bookmakers and lovers of the game, including armchair critics and analysts, are heavily against one of the finalists. The weaker sides, which lie low like Chelsea, prefer to do the talking on the pitch to underscore the unpredictability of the outcome of games.

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    I had my doubts over Paris Saint-Germain FC of France for Sunday because of the way they played against English Premier League sides, starting with the Round of 16 game against Liverpool. It was apparent that the Parisians couldn’t cope with the speed of the Reds, with each of them winning on away grounds until the penalty kicks which decided the tie. This writer must state here that over the two legs, PSG were the best team, but they were left bare by Liverpool’s spirited style of play, which any good team would exploit.

    One was, therefore, not surprised that Aston Villa dragged PSG to their knees. In fact, if Aston Villa players were experienced enough, they would have beaten PSG. One must add here that Villa’s manager shot himself on the foot when he substituted Marcus Rashford, who, until his substitution, troubled the Parisians.

    Arsenal’s European dream was ended by goals from Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi, who earned Paris Saint-Germain a 2-1 win on the night and set up a Champions League final against Inter Milan. Ousmane Dembele’s early strike gave Paris St-Germain victory at Emirates Stadium. Dembele stunned Arsenal when he swept home a low finish from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s delivery only four minutes into the semi-final first leg. PSG won both legs, but Arsenal was the better side on the balance of play on both nights, with the Gunners to date ruing the absence of a poaching striker in their team.

    Having seen the way PSG struggled against the English, I didn’t rule out Chelsea with their pragmatic style anchored on quick breaks on the counter-attack to surprise PSG. But I had a big doubt about Chelsea’s goalkeeper Sanchez. Yes, Sanchez proved me wrong in that final game with several acrobatic saves and strong and positive mental strength, when put under immense pressure from the Parisians, especially in the early part of the second half.

    Sanchez, for me, was the star player for Chelsea. He grew in confidence and stature as the competition progressed, culminating in keeping three clean sheets from the six matches Chelsea, losing only one game. No prize for guessing right that Sanchez was voted the best goalkeeper of the 2025 Club World Cup competition in the United States of America (USA).