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Category: Ade Ojeikere

Rescuing our leagues from undertakers
Ade Ojeikere

Permit me, dear reader, to bore you with this statement of fact that the domestic league here is dead. This isn’t an attempt to de-market the local game whose growth has been stunted through wrong policies. Rather, one wants the organisers to use this critical period to re-evaluate the league’s operations to be in tandem with the European calendar. Except the domestic league is in sync with what exists in other climes, the few good players in the game here would dump their local clubs for all manner of leagues, with shylock agents dangling foreign currencies and better living conditions to woo them into what turns out most times to be slavish contracts.

Organisers who wait for a player to die on the pitch before considering implementing proper medical facilities at match venues for the players, coaches and staff cannot be relied on to improve the game or produce talents to fill up all our national teams.

Our league organisers should use this period to get all the clubs to clear their debts, with a firm warning not to register any team with outstanding for the new season. It doesn’t matter if only six teams comply with the directive. It leaves room for the eligible ones in the lower cadre to get promoted. This idea of glossing over rules enshrined in the league’s constitution won’t make the game run here as a business, even though state governors use their teams to settle their lackeys.

A domestic league without a regimented calendar can’t produce new stars, since they only know when the season begins without knowing when it would end. We have in Nigeria, a league season without end, hence such contraptions as abridged leagues or a regional league competition, as a few purists are advocating for. How does anyone expect the league to produce new talents for the Super Eagles when the competition only starts when the organisers are pressurised to do so?

The future doesn’t look bright for the beautiful game, if the same characters are allowed to run the operations of the league. A league without official television rights holder is a circus, which should not be taken seriously. Such leagues obviously cannot produce national team players since they wouldn’t want their careers truncated through the organisers’ ineptitude. A league without title sponsors has no business with the corporate world – it has unwittingly become a commercial failure. A league without official insurance company for the clubs, coaches and players can best be likened to celebrating mediocrity.

How do the organisers expect the players to play with their souls during game without cognate collaterals to secure their family’s future? How do we expect to discover new players to replace ageing ones, when the organisers can’t compel clubs to have thriving nurseries with boys who are truly the ages they claim to be. With dead nurseries, what we have is a colony of age-cheats who has crippled the game here despite Nigeria winning the U-17 World Cup several times. Rather than get better as they grow older, our kids who are world beaters melt away like ice-cream kept under the scorching sun.

A league leadership that continually refuses to enforce rules enshrined in the league’s constitution makes the game’s growth static. The league organisers don’t care about the quality of coaches who handle the teams weekly. In past, we had an array of trained coaches such as Alabi Aissien, Adegboye Onigbinde, Monday Sinclair, Joseph Erico, Bitrus Bewarang, the late Shuaibu Amodu, Kashimawo Laloko, the late Willy Bazuaye, the late Christopher Udumezue, the late Paul Hamilton, the late Joseph Ladipo a.k.a. Jossy Lad et al, who added technical value to the game. These coaches enjoyed their jobs. They took pride in discovering new players who came to displace established stars. Indeed, these older generation of coaches knew how to hunt for young boys in the schools, unlike now when all that qualifies you to coach any team is to be a former footballer or ex-international. It doesn’t matter if you have a coaching certificate.

Talents cannot be motivated to give their best during matches on empty stomachs. A league where club owners openly declare that their clubs won the titles with little contributions from the players and coaches cannot produce new national team players. These recalcitrant club owners buttress their claims by changing the coaches and players who won them the title 100 per cent. Of course, these teams falter in that year’s continental assignments, yet the organisers allow the trend to continue by blaming national teams’ coaches who opt for Nigeria-born players.

A league whose organisers want us to watch matches only through our phones, not by attending live games at stadia to indentify and cheer budding stars should quietly throw in the towel, should be asked if that is how leagues are administered in Europe. Who would provide telephone owners that data to watch games over 90 minutes, when people hardly have enough airtime to attend to their needs?

If fans stay away from match venues by watching games on telephone, one wonders how the clubs can settle their bills. Is this how leagues are run in other climes? Shouldn’t the priority be for terrestrial telecast of games like we have elsewhere? Fans can sit in pubs, viewing centres and their homes to watch games, if the ones they like are shown on television. It won’t cost them anything to watch their matches at home or at friend’s joints unlike having to pay for data before watching matches. Fans used data on their phones for gambling or checking results of other leagues across the world, not to watch any game which can be seen on television.

Can’t our organisers follow the trend in established leagues in this lockdown, where television rights is the oil to run the competition? Except these flaws highlighted are addressed, the local game stars would not be considered good enough to play for the Super Eagles.

The late Shuiabu Amodu once stated that the domestic league was filled with average players stressing that such basic skills as effectively trapping the ball passed another player had to be taught at the Super Eagles level. Amodu was miffed that the local players couldn’t cope with national team training drills, wondering what their coaches teach them in the clubs. Amodu is qualified to talk about the dearth of talents in the league, having made his mark from here with BCC Lions of Gboko, although he was a student of the Alabi Aissien coaching school.

The late Amodu was pilloried by most people for de-marketing the local game. Things have not changed since Amodu quit national team job. Rather than co-opt Amodu into the mechanics of the local game, he was left towatch the game to decline until his death. It took the former Edo State governor Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole’s magnanimity to approve cash for Amodu to open a kiddies academy to groom new talents, some of whom are in the current Bendel Insurance FC side.

Gone are the days when coaches such as Aissien, Onigbinde, Erico et al attended refresher courses in Europe, with the new knowledge impacting positively on the games, with contrasting styles which raised the stakes, leaving the fans having full value for their money. In fact, watching Julius Berger FC of Lagos play under Erico brought joy to the fans, irrespective of the results. Adewale Bridge Boys, like they were called thrilled fans with short crisp passes which left their opponents gasping for breath. The players’ scintillating skills left the fans at the stand yearning for more. When the Bridge Boys scored a goal in the past, the ovation was resounding because of the manner it was executed. Berger players were not giants, but they tossed the ball among themselves, the fans respond by counting the number of time they did it, with their opponents running around the pitch like mulls, unable to regain possession.

Have heard the current coaches’ post match and pre match chats. Here are some of them compiled by my colleagues to fully capture the rot in the domestic league. Read them and have a good laugh, dear reader.
1. “By the Grace of God we will win, and will give God the glory”
2. ‘’My Boys did not play to instructions that’s why we lost the game.’’
3. ‘’The referee robbed us with bad officiating.”
4. ‘’We arrived late for the game as fatigue crept into the team, that’s why we lost points.’’
5. ‘’The pitch is not good enough, so movement of the ball wasn’t good.
6. ‘’My boys couldn’t play well because there wasn’t enough security at the stadium, and the fans were hostile on us. ‘’
Nigeria we truly hail thee!
April 25, 2020
Osimhen, Chukwueze, Ndidi et al

Ade Ojeikere

Qatar 2022 World Cup would be Nigeria’s seventh appearance at the biggest soccer fiesta. And Nigeria’s quest wouldn’t be to qualify for the second round, which appears to be the country’s perennial bus stop. Rather, Africa’s best contributor of soccer kids to Europe are almost on the verge of shooting themselves on the foot if they allow the gain of the past to flush out on the altar of change.

If Nigeria makes the Mundial in Qatar in two years time, the challenge would be to surpass the quarter-finals feat of the Senegalese, incidentally in her debut appearance at the 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup.

Senegal didn’t have the quality of players Nigeria would be taking to Qatar, all things being equal. What they had were players with the French mentality of sticking to the manager’s plans and fighting to achieve what would give the game a fillip in their country.

The Senegalese had a good manager Bruno Metsu, who scouted for quality players. Metsu groomed them through the Mali 2002 Africa Cup of Nations where they garnered experience, which they used to get to the quarter-finals.

Turkey ended the Teranga Lions’ Cinderella World Cup tale, although the Senegalese gave their heart, body and soul to the competition, making Africa very proud. It amounts to asking the Nigerian squad to the Qatar 2022 World Cup to return with the trophy, except one is a soothsayer.

But I’m a realist. It won’t add up because African footballers don’t know how to manage success. If they did, Nigeria would have qualified for the third place game, not Bulgaria that the Eagles whipped 3-0 in the group stages of the USA’ 94 World Cup. If only we listened to Clemens Westerhof’s wish that the players changed their hotel, which had been invaded by girls and affected their concentration.

Turkey beat the Senegalese because they felt they had surpassed their expectations. Rather than giving their preparations the kind of attention needed for such epoch- making games, their players loitered around their hotel lobby in Japan, receiving guests as if the game had been played.

Of course, like Nigeria did in 1994, Senegal’s officials made the players look like tin gods by casting an indulgent eye on their misdemeanour. No prize for guessing that the Africans lost to the Turks.

Nigeria has almost qualified for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations slated to hold tentatively in Cameroon. It would worth the challenge if Super Eagles lifts the diadem in Cameroon. It would be more interesting if Nigeria wins the tournament there, as it would restore some pride back, having lost the finals of the 2000 edition to the Indomitable Lions inside the main-bowl of the now derelict National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

The Senegalese joker in Japan was their youthfulness. They also paraded a crop of unsung players who didn’t have the depth to withstand sporadic attacking onslaughts from experienced teams, which was what we saw when the Turks came calling in the quarter-finals of the 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup.

I’m tempted to liken the Nigerian side, which may make the Qatar 2022 World Cup to the Senegalese, except that our young lads are known players in Europe. Our young players would have garnered enough experience in the next two years to give the world a good challenge in Qatar.

Players such as Victor Osimhen, Samuel Chukwueze, Wilfred Ndidi and possibly Francis Uzoho would be the spine of the Nigerian side to the Mundial in 2022, barring any unfortunate injury to anyone of them.

Osimhen, Chukwueze and Ndidi are some of the Nigerians in Europe who would attract a lot of gossips in the next two seasons’ transfer market. I hope the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) chieftains and Gernot Rohr can move closer to them for career guidance. They should be told to tarry a while in the next two seasons, since the World Cup offers the best platform to make megabucks if such players do very well at the Mundial in Qatar.

Already, Ndidi has been fighting through with a nagging knee injury, which has kept him out of Leicester City FC of England’s games. Indeed, Ndidi’s absence from Foxes’ games affected their results, losing all of them, only to make a resurgence when Ndidi returned.

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This isn’t to say Ndidi is indispensable. Rather, it underscored the Nigerian’s importance to Foxes’ playing spine during games with his role as the defensive midfielder, who covers the defence and also provides the passes which release their strikers to score match-winning goals.

Ndidi looks like a sure bet to remain in Leicester despite all the rumours of a likely move. I feel for Osimhen with the big names chasing him. He shouldn’t make the mistake to sign for the big teams, especially those who have stars in the squads in his position.

It would be foolhardy for Osimhen to join a big club where the man fighting for his position is a national of that country. If he does, he could as well buy a seat belt to strap himself on the bench.

Osimhen at 21 cannot afford to seat on the bench with the World Cup only two years away. Moving to a bigger club like Real Madrid, Barcelona or Manchester United may be too much responsibility for the Nigerian striker and he hasn’t gathered enough experience to shoulder the weight of expectations at these huge clubs.

As tempting as it sounds to move to a bigger club, it will be safe for him to be a household name in Lille where he is already loved and change clubs after the Mundial. Then he will be 23 years old and the world will be at his feet, the way it was for Austin Okocha after the France 98′ World Cup.

I know you will say Osimhen is ready for the big stage because he is a fighter and showed this when he bounced back from his failed stint with Wolfsburg but strikers strive in confidence and goals breathes life into them.

He has scored 18goals in all competitions this season for Lille before the suspension of football due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But in the league he has managed just one away goal – if that happens at a club like Real Madrid, he will be under the spotlight because the expectations will be beyond reasonable.

Remember, the Los Blancos fans once booed Cristiano Ronaldo for going on a drought and Gareth Bale almost lost all faith in himself because fans turned on him following his persistent injuries not minding he won titles for the club. For big clubs, high profile players must hit the ground running lest they are traded back like we have seen with Coutinho, who is struggling to get a team, even though he plays for Bayern Munich on loan.

Interestingly, Super Eagles manager Rohr has advised Osimhen not to dump his French side Lille yet pointing out that: “If Victor (Osimhen) has many suitors looking for him in Europe now is normal because right now he is one of the best goals scorers in France and he could eventually leave Lille for the (English) Premiership.

“But I think it will be good for him to play for another (one) season in Lille to be really strong enough. That he knows with his actions. I think he knows what he has to do. I am sure he will make a good choice,” Rohr told Sportinglife exclusively on Friday afternoon.

As for Chukwueze, this writer feels strongly that his youthfulness, pace and commanding left foot, which he uses to dribble effectively could help the Eagles’ attack if he is selfless during matches by passing to the freest player to score goals. Indeed, Chukwueze has thrown the gauntlet on the table by stating in the international media Thursday that: “I want to win the World Cup with Super Eagles. I believe in this team and in this generation and I think we will do better in the World Cup.”

Lifting the World Cup while dancing on the podium in Qatar is possible but it demands players’ commitment and maximum concentration during matches to properly implement the manager’s tactics. It also requires some element of luck, which would only come if the team is relentless in its pursuit for the ultimate prize in Qatar in 2022. The dynamic of winning trophies are compelling, yet achievable for focused and disciplined teams, qualities Super Eagles lack thus far.

No team is complete hence one isn’t too confident in listing Francis Uzoho as one of the team’s backbones. Goalkeeper Uzoho , although presently recuperating from an injury he sustained playing against Brazil, looks like one to announce himself as a very reliable goalkeeper in 2022.

A member of one of Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets sides that won the FIFA U-17 world Cup, even though he wasn’t the first choice goalkeeper, Uzoho has shown flashes of being good. A few people may disagree on Uzoho’s choice. They would rather prefer Daniel Akpeyi.

The big poser is that: Would Akpeyi still be in the reckoning by 2022? Many pundits would submit that goalkeepers get better as they age but such an ageing goalkeeper must be a regular in a top team anywhere in the world. This writer would stick with a younger Uzoho, provided he plays first team football in the next two years.

Did I hear you ask who the manager would be? Let’s get the players in proper shape. The manager would come when the vacuum exists. One thing is sure: coaches are as good as their last game. We will wait.

April 18, 2020
Insurgency: Army Chief relocates to North East

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has relocated to the North East to oversee and direct the overall operation in the theatre and other army operations across the country.

The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sagir Musa, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.

He said that Buratai disclosed this while addressing the troops of Special Super Camp Ngamdu in Kaga Local Government Area of Borno on Thursday.

According to him, the COAS had been on operational tour to troops’ locations in the North East Theatre of Operation since April 4.

“During the tour, he was at the Army Super Camp 1 at Mulai and the Special Forces Super Camp 12 at Chabbol near Maiduguri on April 8 where he interacted with the officers and addressed the troops respectively.

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“COAS was also at the Forward Operations Base at Alau Dam, and also personally led the troops on patrol round Mairimari and Maigilari Forests.

“The Nigerian Army wishes to reassure Nigerians that it is highly committed to protecting all law abiding citizens and defending our territorial integrity.

“Members of the public are requested to note that there is no any form of insecurity that can not be surmounted, and the Boko Haram/ISWAP’s terrorism will also end in the nearest future,” he said.

(NAN)

April 11, 2020
Will Rohr escape Nigeria’s axe?

Ade Ojeikere

Like Chelsea FC of London, like Gernot Rohr. The joke among soccer faithful in Nigeria is that Chelsea FC of London would have been flushed out of the UEFA Champions League but for the notorious Coronavirus which has brought out the ugly side of the beautiful game globally. Chelsea were whacked at home 3-0 by Bayern Munich, making the return leg in Germany a walkover for the Germans and a whiplash for the Blues. Chelsea has been spared the blushes as the world grapples with the uncertainties of the virus. Conversely, German tactician Gernot Rohr’s exit from the Super Eagles job was as good as daylight with coaches and interest groups positioning their candidates ahead of the expiration of the Nigeria manager’s contract June 30.

Rohr was past tense in many quarters despite meeting all the targets set for him by his employers, which many likened to asking a PhD holder to show only his primary school certificate for a managerial job in one of these blue-chip firms. Those in this school argued that given the talent of our players and their exploits in Europe, a semi-final target at the Africa Cup of Nations was too low for the manager and his players. Those who gave Rohr such a low hurdle to cross argued too that Eagles were on a free fall into abyss, pointing out that the German brought a breath of fresh air into the room where Eagles trained.

Put simply, they submitted that Rohr returned the Nigerians to winning ways and should be allowed to keep his job. A neutral school, however, insists that Eagles’ targets shouldn’t be within Africa. The Eagles ought to join the legion of African nationals that have played in the quarter-finals of the senior World Cup, hinging their views on the quality of players in the team.

For Rohr, he stuck on the job like a leech, preferring to rebuild the Eagles with young players, many who changed their nationalities and did well for the country when they were fielded. Rohr’s tacit rebuilding of the Eagles ensured that he gained their loyalty and confidence. This synergy between the players and Rohr grew the team’s victory records leading to an improvement of the country’s ranking with FIFA.

Credit should be given to Rohr for instilling discipline in the team, which is chiefly why the squad achieved credible results, especially after the 2018 World Cup, having understood themselves. Rohr’s team to the Mundial in Russia was populated by debutants who improved with each game. The resultant effect is that Rohr’s team has the greatest number of players who have transited from Russia to be key members of the new Eagles side which rattled Ukraine in a breath-taking 2-2 draw in a friendly match at the Dnipro-Arena stadium in Dnipro, September 10. Joe Aribo’s low drive inside the 18-metre box put Nigeria ahead in the fourth minute. Victor Osimhen made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the 34th minute but the Ukrainians rallied back in the second half, goals were scored by Oleksandr Zinchenko (78) and Roman Yaremchuk (80).

On October 13 last year, Brazil held Nigeria to a pulsating 1-1 draw in a bright and entertaining friendly at Singapore’s National Stadium. Eagles took the lead against the run of play with Glasgow Rangers striker Aribo quick to react in the Brazil box lashing home in the 35th minute as Marquinhos dawdled. Brazilians drew level in the 46th minute, when Casemiro stabbed home the rebound after Maquinhos had headed off the woodwork.

If anyone had doubts about the quality of Rohr’s job and the depth in strength of the Eagles since after the Mundial in Russia, these two matches eased nerves and increased the manager’s acceptance among soccer-crazy Nigerians. Rohr’s biggest contribution to the Eagles was the tactical manner in which he reduced the average age of the players from 34 to between 19 and 26, hence the gradual movement of the country on FIFA’s monthly ranking. This isn’t to say that the Eagles have reached the desired level. Rohr never said that. He always warned that the team was in transition. Rohr didn’t stop with particular set of players. He sought from new players such that every new list had a new entrant who came to compete for his shirt.

Rohr had taken the country through two competitions (World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations) without wrangling from the players over their earnings, which we later found out were released late to the federation. None payment of players and coaches’ entitlements cannot be resolved the federation. Most times, the federation’s helmsmen dialogued with the team whenever they anticipated crisis, but somehow, these players and coaches reneged, apparently on the wrong assumption that the federation chiefs had collected the cash. Need I recall all the shows of shame by the coaches and players, yet many of them gained stardom as rookies playing for the country’s soccer teams across gender and ages?

Rohr’s relationship with his players is commendable. He took time out to visit his players wherever they played. Pictures and videos of such gestures, especially for the recuperating ones were splashed on the internet while injured players were enthusiastic to return to play for the country, unlike in the past where they were forgotten after being used to prosecute matches.

Henry Onyekuru told The Athletic tabloid Wednesday of how Rohr did his utmost to cajole his Belgian side to field him in its matches pointing out that; “I had a check and one of the specialists there said I could just go through rehab and would be fine in a couple of months.

“I went back to Belgium to play but the coach of Nigeria [Rohr] had to call Anderlecht to ask them to allow me to play even 15 minutes so they could confirm I was okay to play.

“The coach [Vanhaezebrouck], was a crazy guy. When we lost it was our fault and when we won he said it was him. I was scoring goals but he’d say I’d been s*** and stuff like that.”

“It was a big disappointment and was like a bomb had hit me. It’s the biggest tournament in the world and everyone wants to be there,” Onyekuru told The Athletic.

Those rooting for Rohr’s exit don’t have his ears in terms of picking his players for assignments, especially those who in the past dominated our national teams’ selection with their players, irrespective of their club forms. Rohr’s recruitment virtually reduced the mercantile choices of players. In the past, you could fault the inclusion of many players, after visualising who the best 15 players would be.

Again, Rohr whispered to his friends who had access to the media in confidence when payment of his wages are delayed, but these friends sought relevance by squealing, attracting brickbats aimed at the manager’s employers. Burdened by routine visits to ICPC and EFCC, such reminders of unfulfilled payment of Rohr’s wages in public domain heightened the probe exercises by the two bodies. Indeed, a few NFF people were piqued that the coach could be talking about outstanding wages, when indeed, he had been told the measures put in place to pay him and the tough hurdles such payments have to undergo, since his wages are in hard currencies.

Perhaps, NFF chieftains sought for the payment of Rohr in naira since what they get from sponsors. In fact, much of the delay in payment have arisen from the difficulties in converting naira to dollars, which can be used in most European countries. Curiously, a few of NFF’s critics alleged currency trafficking or is it round tripping, with many not convinced that the manager gets the full $55,000 without providing substantial evidences. Rohr stepped on the crocodile’s tail when he vehemently refused to submit his list of players for assignments to the NFF Technical Committee. Subtle persuasion for him to discuss the list with these members were rebuffed. Rohr opted to submit his list to the federation’s president before making it public through the body’s media department.

Luckily, the Eagles were doing well which left the technical committee members in limbo, which many of them didn’t like. The mantra ‘Rohr must go’ became the swansong leading to all manner of clauses to be inserted into the German’s new deal. Many have described the clauses as provocative to the manager and predicted that the coach won’t accept the new deal.

Rohr perished the thoughts of those dancing that he would reject the new contract, insisting on Wednesday night through another confidant that: “I’m waiting for the proposals and it could be very easy because I don’t want more money or bonuses or anything special – I only want to work freely.

“I had offers from other countries but I refused them because I’m still on contract and I want to finish my work with Nigeria. I want to lead Nigeria to the next Africa Cup of Nation (AFCON) and FIFA World Cup. I’ve showed my players and employers that I still have the motivation.”

Sacking Rohr means new coach, new mentality and it could dovetail into deliberate destruction of Rohr’s set up under the guise of effecting changes on a team that has done well, given the time the players have been together. The growing synergy among the players in the past three years would be altered with the first set of players he invites for our next game.

Will Rohr escape Nigeria’s axe? most likely since he isn’t ready to reject the supposed stringent clauses. Rohr wants to continue with his growing team, knowing that history beckons for him if Nigeria lifts the Africa Cup of Nations in 2021 in Cameroon.

April 11, 2020
Who the cap fits

Ade Ojeikere

Today’s headline is a line taken from one of the late Robert Nesta Marley’s (Bob Marley) songs titled ‘who the cap fits’. I can almost hear you, dear reader, complete the lyric by singing ‘let them wear it.’ Did I hear say which crown is at stake this time when the dreaded Coronavirus is gradually becoming a plague. God forbid.

Coronavirus should please remain in the crisis stage where it is – a pandemic. If you noticed, dear reader, I have also refused to discuss the Coronavirus scourge believing that God would intervene through the discovery of the appropriate medication to stop its spread.

Many would be wondering why any discussion should start with the leagues across the world in abeyance. This writer feels strongly that the European leagues would surely end, especially the Barclays English Premier league. Please don’t choke while reading this. I can hear many say ‘there he goes again, Liverpool fan.’ Not exactly please. The English League like others are run as businesses and it is this platform that would force out a formula to decide the eventual winners of the leagues.

Something must give. And indications are rife with the purported secret meetings of the clubs where it was decided that the English game comes alive from July 1, with a six weeks schedule. Different postulations have been offered by pundits, lovers of the game and players, with each group suggesting reasonable plans towards ensuring that the EPL ends. Of course, the laughable ones are there, especially those from rival clubs against the current league leaders. And it is expected since victory for the Reds means the team has won its 19th league title, one short of the Red Devils’ 20 EPL titles.

The jokes are not lost on what the comical ones offer to a sulking Liverpool as these mischievous ones delight themselves with such outrageous teasers as Reds’ first EPL title win bring in its wake the deadly Coronavirus. What won’t we hear when the discuss is football. These are the reasons the game is the King of sports and an unpredictable game, even though it is exciting to watch.

On a daily basis, there are different perspectives to the EPL’s likely end, with every party in making the league exciting knowing its predicaments and roles, ahead of the imminent resumption date, no thanks to the coronavirus. In fact the deputy chief medical officer Jenny Harries raised the alarm over the likely consequences of rushing the players through the remaining nine games insisting that: ‘’England could remain in varying degrees of lockdown for up to six months.’’

Interestingly, Daily Mail in its reports launched the angle of what the lockdown could cost the television rights, whose cash is the lubricant to make the game, one is which the world standstill when the matches are being played.

According to the Daily Mail report on Tuesday: ‘’A restart in May is seen as vital as that is when the clubs are due to receive their final tranche of television money for the season, without which many will struggle to pay the players’ wages. The £762m of combined income under threat is not divided equally and would range from £57m for the Premier League winners to £20m for the team which finishes bottom.

‘’Ironically, the bigger clubs stand to lose more than usual this season if those payments are withheld following last year’s changes to the distribution of the overseas television deal, which, unlike the domestic deal, is no longer divided equally but determined by league position.’’

One trending scenario in the bid to fix the puzzles that have arisen from the coronavirus pandemic is that the government has the final decision on whether to continue the EPL, yet, the English organisers, unlike ours have taken proactive steps, having suspended the competition twice. They have proposed two dates first on April 4 and then on April 30, looking at the medical indices from around the country.

However, one of the problems the league will face is convincing players to return to action after it emerged that they are not insured for coronavirus as it is not listed as a critical illness. A number have sought clarification but are being advised they are not covered.

The postulations towards ending the EPL are many just as they are intriguing, with indications rife that clubs, including those eyeing promotion from the lower cadre. What it means is that there is the possibility of the matter heading for the courts, for those who would be holding the wrong end of the stick when the chips are down.

Would increasing the EPL’s squad sizes from 25 to 29 help strengthen those clubs that are presently depleted due to varying degrees of players’ illnesses? Would the organisers allow these depleted sides parade their youth teams like Liverpool did against Aston Villa in an away game during the Carabao Cup, with Villa whipping the Reds scandalously 5-0?

I almost choked reading the option of ending the EPL without promotion or demotion of teams for fear that the integrity of the competitions would be threatened, especially as there isn’t any guarantee this 2019/2020 season won’t come to an end. The suggestion reminded me of the Nigerian league organisers except that they didn’t talk about abridged leagues like ours, knowing that Championships team who are almost through to the elite class would head for the courts, if they are denied promotion.

What is clear in the EPL cancellation scenario, if it gets to that is that the rules would be followed to the letter, leaving all the parties agreeing on what to do for the good of the game. Happily, Premier League clubs have all agreed to discuss their players taking wage cuts or deferrals of up to 30 per cent wage after their latest round of talks Friday.

‘’The Premier League have also voted to hand the EFL and National League £125m as they continue to battle the effects of the coronavirus. And the top flight clubs have also agreed to make a £20m donation to the NHS, local communities, families and groups who have been affected by the coronavirus crisis.

‘’The future of the league season was also high on the agenda, and it was decided that the Premier League and Football League will not return ‘until it is safe to do so’’, according to Daily Mail on Friday.

Indeed, sports lawyer, David Seligman of Brandsmiths, told Sports Mail, Wednesday when asked the solution to contracts involving businesses in the EPL that: ‘’options generally have to be activated by the third Saturday in May. But if the season ends today, players might be able to terminate their agreements and sign for another club immediately. That’s an issue – clubs would say they didn’t have a chance to decide on whether to activate the option, especially when there is no visibility as to when the next season may commence.

‘’How could you extend a contract when you don’t know when next season is or ends either? When would it start and finish? How can you negotiate performance-related bonuses? There’s so much uncertainty and that always brings disputes,’’ Seligman said.

Would Nigerian administrators take a cue from the EPL’s handling of this matter? Those ones, I doubt. In fact, one of them is moaning the loss of revenue anchored on nothing. A league that has no television rights is dead and those in charge, beginning from the leader should quietly resign. Would they heed this call? Never. Not in the Nigerian character.

The domestic league is an apology, beginning with the sharp practices around the grounds before, during and after matches. Nothing to stimulate the interests of the spectators to sit patiently at the stands. The essence of organising league matches isn’t for both teams to benefit from the gates takings, but to allow Nigerians watch the country’s future representatives at CAF inter-club competitions. The matches ensure that the owners of the clubs (mostly state governments) get the facilities ready for the players to battle for honours. But with visionless organisers, anything goes, even if it means playing games with empty terraces.

Our administrators are merchants for excuses. They bask in embarking on white elephant projects. My problem with our administrators is that they are hasty to make sweeping comparisons despite their exposure to what is right. A fellow who officiates at international matches does not have to offer reasons for not replicating what obtains at international level.

Soccer-crazy Nigerians. Rohr’s biggest contribution to the Eagles was the tactical manner in which he reduced the average age of the players from 34 to between 19 and 26, hence the gradual movement of the country on FIFA’s monthly ranking. This isn’t to say that the Eagles have reached the desired level. Rohr never said that. He always warned that the team was in transition. Rohr didn’t stop with particular set of players. He sought from new players such that every new list had a new entrant who came to compete for his shirt.

Rohr had taken the country through two competitions (World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations) without wrangling from the players over their earnings, which we later found out were released late to the federation. None payment of players and coaches’ entitlements cannot be resolved the federation. Most times, the federation’s helmsmen dialogued with the team whenever they anticipated crisis, but somehow, these players and coaches reneged, apparently on the wrong assumption that the federation chiefs had collected the cash. Need I recall all the shows of shame by the coaches and players, yet many of them gained stardom as rookies playing for the country’s soccer teams across gender and ages?

Rohr’s relationship with his players is commendable. He took time out to visit his players wherever they played. Pictures and videos of such gestures, especially for the recuperating ones were splashed on the internet while injured players were enthusiastic to return to play for the country, unlike in the past where they were forgotten after being used to prosecute matches.

Henry Onyekuru told The Athletic tabloid Wednesday of how Rohr did his utmost to cajole his Belgian side to field him in its matches pointing out that; “I had a check and one of the specialists there said I could just go through rehab and would be fine in a couple of months.

“I went back to Belgium to play but the coach of Nigeria [Rohr] had to call Anderlecht to ask them to allow me to play even 15 minutes so they could confirm I was okay to play.

“The coach [Vanhaezebrouck], was a crazy guy. When we lost it was our fault and when we won he said it was him. I was scoring goals but he’d say I’d been s*** and stuff like that.”

“It was a big disappointment and was like a bomb had hit me. It’s the biggest tournament in the world and everyone wants to be there,” Onyekuru told The Athletic.

Those rooting for Rohr’s exit don’t have his ears in terms of picking his players for assignments, especially those who in the past dominated our national teams’ selection with their players, irrespective of their club forms. Rohr’s recruitment virtually reduced the mercantile choices of players. In the past, you could fault the inclusion of many players, after visualising who the best 15 players would be.

Again, Rohr whispered to his friends who had access to the media in confidence when payment of his wages are delayed, but these friends sought relevance by squealing, attracting brickbats aimed at the manager’s employers. Burdened by routine visits to ICPC and EFCC, such reminders of unfulfilled payment of Rohr’s wages in public domain heightened the probe exercises by the two bodies. Indeed, a few NFF people were piqued that the coach could be talking about outstanding wages, when indeed, he had been told the measures put in place to pay him and the tough hurdles such payments have to undergo, since his wages are in hard currencies.

Perhaps, NFF chieftains sought for the payment of Rohr in naira since that is what they get from sponsors. In fact, much of the delay in payment have arisen from the difficulties in converting naira to dollars, which can be used in most European countries. Curiously, a few of NFF’s critics alleged currency trafficking or is it round tripping, with many not convinced that the manager gets the full $55,000 without providing substantial evidences. Rohr stepped on the crocodile’s tail when he vehemently refused to submit his list of players for assignments to the NFF Technical Committee. Subtle persuasion for him to discuss the list with these members were rebuffed. Rohr opted to submit his list to the federation’s president before making it public through the body’s media department.

Luckily, the Eagles were doing well which left the technical committee members in limbo, which many of them didn’t like. The mantra ‘Rohr must go’ became the swansong leading to all manner of clauses to be inserted into the German’s new deal. Many have described the clauses as provocative to the manager and predicted that the coach won’t accept the new deal.

Rohr perished the thoughts of those dancing that he would reject the new contract, insisting on Wednesday night through another confidant that: “I’m waiting for the proposals and it could be very easy because I don’t want more money or bonuses or anything special – I only want to work freely.

“I had offers from other countries but I refused them because I’m still on contract and I want to finish my work with Nigeria. I want to lead Nigeria to the next Africa Cup of Nation (AFCON) and FIFA World Cup. I’ve showed my players and employers that I still have the motivation.”

Sacking Rohr means new coach, new mentality and it could dovetail into deliberate destruction of Rohr’s set up under the guise of effecting changes on a team that has done well, given the time the players have been together. The growing synergy among the players in the past three years would be altered with the first set of players he invites for our next game.

Will Rohr escape Nigeria’s axe? most likely since he isn’t ready to reject the supposed stringent clauses. Rohr wants to continue with his growing team, knowing that history beckons for him if Nigeria lifts the Africa Cup of Nations in 2021 in Cameroon.

April 11, 2020
Who the cap fits

Ade Ojeikere

Today’s headline is a line taken from one of the late Robert Nesta Marley’s (Bob Marley) songs titled ‘who the cap fits’. I can almost hear you, dear reader, complete the lyric by singing ‘let them wear it.’ Did I hear say which crown is at stake this time when the dreaded Coronavirus is gradually becoming a plague. God forbid.

Coronavirus should please remain in the crisis stage where it is – a pandemic. If you noticed, dear reader, I have also refused to discuss the Coronavirus scourge believing that God would intervene through the discovery of the appropriate medication to stop its spread.

Many would be wondering why any discussion should start with the leagues across the world in abeyance. This writer feels strongly that the European leagues would surely end, especially the Barclays English Premier league.

Please don’t choke while reading this. I can hear many say ‘there he goes again, Liverpool fan.’ Not exactly please. The English League like others are run as businesses and it is this platform that would force out a formula to decide the eventual winners of the leagues.

Something must give. And indications are rife with the purported secret meetings of the clubs where it was decided that the English game comes alive from July 1, with a six weeks schedule. Different postulations have been offered by pundits, lovers of the game and players, with each group suggesting reasonable plans towards ensuring that the EPL ends.

Of course, the laughable ones are there, especially those from rival clubs against the current league leaders. And it is expected since victory for the Reds means the team has won its 19th league title, one short of the Red Devils’ 20 EPL titles.

The jokes are not lost on what the comical ones offer to a sulking Liverpool as these mischievous ones delight themselves with such outrageous teasers as Reds’ first EPL title win bring in its wake the deadly Coronavirus.

What won’t we hear when the discuss is football. These are the reasons the game is the King of sports and an unpredictable game, even though it is exciting to watch.

On a daily basis, there are different perspectives to the EPL’s likely end, with every party in making the league exciting knowing its predicaments and roles, ahead of the imminent resumption date, no thanks to the coronavirus.

In fact the deputy chief medical officer Jenny Harries raised the alarm over the likely consequences of rushing the players through the remaining nine games insisting that: ”England could remain in varying degrees of lockdown for up to six months.”

Interestingly, Daily Mail in its reports launched the angle of what the lockdown could cost the television rights, whose cash is the lubricant to make the game, one is which the world standstill when the matches are being played.

According to the Daily Mail report on Tuesday: ”A restart in May is seen as vital as that is when the clubs are due to receive their final tranche of television money for the season, without which many will struggle to pay the players’ wages.

The £762m of combined income under threat is not divided equally and would range from £57m for the Premier League winners to £20m for the team which finishes bottom.

”Ironically, the bigger clubs stand to lose more than usual this season if those payments are withheld following last year’s changes to the distribution of the overseas television deal, which, unlike the domestic deal, is no longer divided equally but determined by league position.”

One trending scenario in the bid to fix the puzzles that have arisen from the coronavirus pandemic is that the government has the final decision on whether to continue the EPL, yet, the English organisers, unlike ours have taken proactive steps, having suspended the competition twice. They have proposed two dates first on April 4 and then on April 30, looking at the medical indices from around the country.

However, one of the problems the league will face is convincing players to return to action after it emerged that they are not insured for coronavirus as it is not listed as a critical illness. A number have sought clarification but are being advised they are not covered.

The postulations towards ending the EPL are many just as they are intriguing, with indications rife that clubs, including those eyeing promotion from the lower cadre.

What it means is that there is the possibility of the matter heading for the courts, for those who would be holding the wrong end of the stick when the chips are down.

Would increasing the EPL’s squad sizes from 25 to 29 help strengthen those clubs that are presently depleted due to varying degrees of players’ illnesses? Would the organisers allow these depleted sides parade their youth teams like Liverpool did against Aston Villa in an away game during the Carabao Cup, with Villa whipping the Reds scandalously 5-0?

I almost choked reading the option of ending the EPL without promotion or demotion of teams for fear that the integrity of the competitions would be threatened, especially as there isn’t any guarantee this 2019/2020 season won’t come to an end.

The suggestion reminded me of the Nigerian league organisers except that they didn’t talk about abridged leagues like ours, knowing that Championships team who are almost through to the elite class would head for the courts, if they are denied promotion.

What is clear in the EPL cancellation scenario, if it gets to that is that the rules would be followed to the letter, leaving all the parties agreeing on what to do for the good of the game. Happily, Premier League clubs have all agreed to discuss their players taking wage cuts or deferrals of up to 30 per cent wage after their latest round of talks Friday.

”The Premier League have also voted to hand the EFL and National League £125m as they continue to battle the effects of the coronavirus. And the top flight clubs have also agreed to make a £20m donation to the NHS, local communities, families and groups who have been affected by the coronavirus crisis.

”The future of the league season was also high on the agenda, and it was decided that the Premier League and Football League will not return ‘until it is safe to do so”, according to Daily Mail on Friday.

Indeed, sports lawyer, David Seligman of Brandsmiths, told Sports Mail, Wednesday when asked the solution to contracts involving businesses in the EPL that: ”options generally have to be activated by the third Saturday in May.

But if the season ends today, players might be able to terminate their agreements and sign for another club immediately. That’s an issue – clubs would say they didn’t have a chance to decide on whether to activate the option, especially when there is no visibility as to when the next season may commence.

”How could you extend a contract when you don’t know when next season is or ends either? When would it start and finish? How can you negotiate performance-related bonuses? There’s so much uncertainty and that always brings disputes,” Seligman said.

Would Nigerian administrators take a cue from the EPL’s handling of this matter? Those ones, I doubt. In fact, one of them is moaning the loss of revenue anchored on nothing. A league that has no television rights is dead and those in charge, beginning from the leader should quietly resign. Would they heed this call? Never. Not in the Nigerian character.

The domestic league is an apology, beginning with the sharp practices around the grounds before, during and after matches. Nothing to stimulate the interests of the spectators to sit patiently at the stands.

The essence of organising league matches isn’t for both teams to benefit from the gates takings, but to allow Nigerians watch the country’s future representatives at CAF inter-club competitions.

The matches ensure that the owners of the clubs (mostly state governments) get the facilities ready for the players to battle for honours. But with visionless organisers, anything goes, even if it means playing games with empty terraces.

Our administrators are merchants for excuses. They bask in embarking on white elephant projects. My problem with our administrators is that they are hasty to make sweeping comparisons despite their exposure to what is right. A fellow who officiates at international matches does not have to offer reasons for not replicating what obtains at international level.

April 4, 2020
What a shame!

Ade Ojeikere

Do we really value human life in this part of the world? Indications to this effect are negative. Otherwise, how could we be talking about the death of two Enugu Rangers FC’s players, and their friend who drove their car on Sunday morning, on the Abudu/Agbor Road? The vehicle they rode in was reported to have gone under an abandoned trailer, with many suggesting they could have been on top speed – irrelevant if the trailer wasn’t abandoned there for God knows how long.

The trio would have been in Lagos today looking after their family members in the wake of the Coronavirus that has shut down the world, not forgetting those who have died and those hospitalised. Coronavirus is now aptly tagged a pandemic, which explains why the players tried to utilise the 10-day break which their club granted them. Ifeanyi George, for instance, once played for MFM FC of Lagos and would have preferred to leave his family here, considering the nomadic movement of players globally.

It is difficult to blame the players because no one can say if indeed they were over speeding. The logical question to ask is where were the Road Safety Marshals on that ill-fated morning? If they were on duty, they would have flagged down the vehicle as it approached from Enugu, assuming they had the right equipment to perform such duties.

Of course, we may need to ask whose duty it is to alert the government on the menace constituted by broken-down vehicles and trucks on the highway, which has killed many people till date. It is important to ask; if those who man the checkpoints on the highways shouldn’t draw attention to those vehicles and trucks, which are also black spots for criminals to perfect their clandestine activities?

In other climes, such abnormalities are not found on the roads. Special units are charged with ensuring that such vehicles and trucks are removed at short notice. These monitoring agencies have offices along the highways who could be contacted by road users about the potential hazards such things pose to unsuspecting motorists, even when the owners are recalcitrant. In fact, in developed countries, you notice Road Marshals on constant patrol and once they spot these vehicles and trucks, they immediately radio the agency responsible for clearing them off the tracks; remaining on the scene until the assignment is completed. Need I ask what the sanctions are for those who break such highway rules?

George and his friends’ exit via an auto crash in such manner, signposts many others in the past, and sadly some that happened around the country. Do we just throw up our hands and allow people to die because some people are negligent in their jobs? However, drivers should be more careful when driving. Car owners should ensure their vehicles have the recommended system to peg their car’s speed limit at 100 km per hour or even less. Where are we running to? If you need to keep appointments, leave your houses early.

Thank you Enugu Rangers

The late Ifeanyi George would cherish the day he signed for Enugu Rangers wherever he may be. Even in death, he is being remembered without prompting by the public. This is a remarkable feat, which goes a long way to explain why I crave for credible administrators to run the domestic game. I hope Nasarawa FC’s owners and officials can learn from the Enugu Rangers’ example. Chiemene Martins died without an insurance policy, with the way his club has handled the matter.

Take a bow, Davidson Owumi, General Manager, Enugu Rangers FC for instituting good insurance schemes for your players, unlike a few others who don’t know what to do and have refused to quit. 24 hours after George died in a ghastly car accident, Rangers’ management told the world the package they had for the departed soul.

Owumi needs no introduction, having played soccer in the country, scoring goals with aplomb before volunteering to be a sports administrator. He was once the chairman of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) until he was eased off the seat by those enemies of the beautiful game in the guise of politics.

“The insurance brokers, Premier Brokers Ltd, have been informed about the untimely death of our player, Ifeanyi George, who died in a ghastly motor accident, Sunday, March 22, 2020, along the Asaba-Benin Express Road, and they have begun the process to have the life insurance compensation process activated to have the family of Ifeanyi George fully compensated,” stated the former NPL boss in the soothing Rangers FC’s communiqué on George’s death.

Owumi further said, “What we have here in Rangers International FC is the solid display of pro-activeness on the part of Enugu State governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who graciously approved the insurance policy for all players and officials of the club on request by the management. We sincerely appreciate our sports-loving governor and number one supporter for this gesture that comes handy in this time of great need.”

Ndidi for Barcelona

Wilfred Ndidi is easily one of the best defensive players in the world – no hyperbole. And with the European season on hold due to the Coronavirus pandemic, clubs are taking stock with many announcing players to be sacked and those to be recruited. It is good to know that Nigerians would dominate the summer transfer window as Odion Ighalo did with the January mid-season shopping spree.

Ndidi is being considered by the two top Spanish sides, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid among a few others who are likely to qualify for the 2020/2021 UEFA Champions League. Playing in the elite leagues such as the Champions League ought to be the reason Ndidi should be tempted to take the big leap to stardom by joining one of the big teams.

Curiously, Ndidi’s Barclays English Premier League side, Leicester City FC is a contender for one of the four Champions league tickets, given their placing on the table. Not a few pundits have described the Foxes as one of the few English sides which have played exciting soccer this season. Bookmakers are tipping Foxes to nick one of the tickets, making the lure of playing in Europe’s big-league a no brainer to persuade Ndidi to join any of the big chasing teams.

Ndidi should remain with the Foxes since they would be willing to increase his wages knowing that it is the only way to keep the Nigerian in their fold, with series of suitors for his signature next season. The Super Eagles’ midfielder should learn from other big central midfielders who joined Barca in the past. Most of them went to Barcelona with the same or even better pedigree than Ndidi, yet flattered to deceive in Barca’s matches because everything about the Spanish club’s style of play rests with Lionel Messi.

Pundits thought Phillipe Coutinho would break the duck-like Yaya Toure did until he fell out with the manager, Pep Guardiola. It didn’t happen for the Brazilian despite Coutinho’s huge talent and exploits with Liverpool FC in the Barclays English Premier League. Ndidi’s style suits Real Madrid but I doubt if Zidane can bring the best out of the Nigerian.

Ndidi would walk into the Spanish side and play regularly, yet what becomes of his career if he sustains an injury, could define his stay at Real Madrid. Should Ndidi pick another English side with a bigger platform than Leicester City? I’m tempted to say yes, except that I cannot put a finger to one club that would bring the best out of Ndidi like he is currently enjoying at the Foxes.

A team like Manchester United craves a workaholic like Ndidi in the midfield and the Nigerian will be exceptional there if a deal could be worked out for him but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seems to be looking at other options, especially in the attacking midfield and a striker.

This speaks volume of how much Ndidi is underrated. A point of view also shared by his current club manager, Brendan Rodgers. “Ndidi is key to our team, but for any team, you need a good defensive midfield player who could do a lot of the dirty work as they say,” Rodgers told Leicester City Mercury.

“He is improving all the time. His defensive qualities, he has a great brain to read the game. He smells danger when it’s lurking. He can cover the ground so fast, he can press up to the ball, and he can cover in.

“Tactically he is improving and playing better but underrated. He is playing in a specific position we haven’t played before where he can run and he has got a clear role to sit and protect and be that link player.

“With the ball, he is getting better. His game is simple. He just needs to serve the players in front of him and be an option to play off the centre-halves and full-backs and continuity in the game. So yeah, it has been great to see his development and he is only going to get better.”

March 28, 2020
Coronavirus: Three pastors arrested for flouting LASG’s directive

The Lagos State Police Command on Monday said that three pastors were arrested but later released on Sunday for allegedly conducting church services in deviance to the Lagos State Government {LASG}’s order.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Mohammed Ali in charge of Operations, Lagos Command, confirmed the arrest of the pastors to the News Agency of Nigeria {NAN}.

Ali said that one of the pastors arrested is from one of the Pentecostal Churches.

He said that the pastors were not detained but warned to comply with the government’s directive to prevent further spread of coronavirus.

He said, “We did not hold our weekly prayers in the mosque at the police headquarters because we had to comply with the directive of the Lagos State Government.

READ ALSO: Coronavirus: Wuhan residents resume work as China eases restrictions

“I also implore churches and other religious organisations to follow suit,” he said.

Ali said that the operations to ensure the public complies with the state government’s directive would be a continuous one.

He warned that any religious leaders caught disobeying the directive of the state government would face the consequences.

NAN reports that LASG last week through a directive put a hold on social gatherings of people above 50 in number; including church services and mosque meetings.

The government said that it was part of its efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

(NAN)

March 23, 2020
Medicine after death

Ade Ojeikere

HONESTLY, I feel very sad that Nasarawa FC’s defender, Chineme Martins’ life was wasted due to a body’s refusal to do the right things at the appropriate time. My pain deepened with last weekend’s theatrics at league venues, where our league organisers and their superiors insulted our sensibilities with checks on the medical provisions at venues before games were played. It had taken the death of a player for us to implement a rule that wasn’t alien to us. Pity.

The foolery by the league organisers around the league centres underscored the need for a complete overhaul of how the game is being administered here. Officials’ personal intervention on seeing functional ambulances tells the story of a society which acts only after a calamity. Our administrators attend and officiate in international matches, yet it took Martins’ death to remember what they were taught at FIFA and CAF. All the new craze to meet the medical needs of players looks like a smokescreen to cover up the failure of those officials in Nasarawa.

I read of a stadium which had two ambulances for players. We have forgotten the fans. We would remember them when another one or two of them die from shock after an unexpected goal against his team. Nobody is asking how equipped our stadia are to handle large emergencies. Do our stadia have well equipped medical centres or sick bays for spectators? How many ambulances do we need to handle crisis arising from stampedes at match venues?

It is one thing to have these ambulances at match venues. What is more important would be the quality of trained medical personnel who accompany the ambulances. Let’s have people with bigger vision run our football. Can we sustain this compliance which has been triggered by Martins’ death?

Any stadium in Europe has medical equipment which could compete with what you have in first class hospitals, with staff of the same quality, not auxiliary medical attendants. The league organisers ought to have an official medical facility for those in the game, preferably one owned by the state or federal government.

Simply put, our stadia lack the capacity to handle emergencies. The number of exits at these stadia are not enough and so narrow such that it takes close to 40 minutes to empty any stadium in the country. The way the exits are built gives room for stampede if an emergency occurs. The ease with which fans crowd the pitches after matches endanger the lives of players and referees. Need I waste space to recall all the cases where referees and assistants were beaten groggy across the nation?

The Nasarawa State Governor captured the essence of having top quality medical facility for the club, albeit ironically. He releases his ambulance during matches, yet he was at the stadium where Martins slumped and died, with no report of the governor’s ambulance taking the dead to the hospital. Accounts talked about using the press corps bus to convey martins to hospital. Mr governor, what does it take to buy several ambulances fitted with gadgets found inside yours?

Indeed, I have waited with bated breath, to read the insurance packages Martins’ kids, wife and relatives would benefit from after his death. No insurance firm has spoken about having any deal with the league organisers, where Martins’ benefits are made public, considering the manner in which he died. Organisers who cannot package life insurance schemes for people whose business demands physical contact and rigour, should resign honourably.

It is very disturbing that it had taken this avoidable death for the league body and Martins’ club to commence talks on his life insurance. Is this how affairs are conducted elsewhere? How can both bodies be holding talks rather than ask their insurance companies to defend their territory by telling us how much Martins’ death would fetch in benefits for his family. Martins’ autopsy though needed, would not be a reason for talks to commence or not.

I almost had a seizure watching Channels television, where an official of the league organisers admitted flaws in the administration of dope tests for players. Yet, this fellow attends CAF and FIFA matches where such details are not toyed with. In fact, the first news after games are played is the announcement of the names of players taken for routine dope tests on both sides, even though the results are made public days after.

According to him: “We have been having conversations around that (anti- doping),our rules and regulations are very clear concerning illicit drugs. there are some players we have had to deal with at the club level without coming public, but now, we are going to intensify checks.”

“Part of what we are going to do is to introduce the spot check, like once in a while, we will send the doctors to clubs to test all the players, they will also pick any player at random at match venues and test the player.

“Before the season starts, each player normally goes through drug test and if they use drugs, it will be detected. But we have not seen that in most of the medical records we have with us, because when they know that they are going for that pre-season medical check, if someone is on drugs, he might refrain from using the drugs until after the test. But the spot checks will put everybody on their toes because they don’t know when and how they would be brought out for the test, so, that could control it.’’

My problem with our administrators is that they are hasty to make sweeping comparisons despite their exposure to what is right. A fellow who officiates at international matches does not have to offer reasons for not replicating what obtains at international level. Yet, he prides himself on managing the domestic game here.

According to the fellow: “Drug problem is not just NPFL problem, it is a societal problem and anyone earning what the players earn can go into drugs. So, we will keep educating them to desist from it,’’ he added.

Hmmm! Another one from a Nigerian administrator who blames everyone else but himself. What is the way forward sir? Not stated. So, it is business as usual. Sir, things cannot continue like this. Something must give.

Perhaps, the panel to probe what transpired in the game where Martins died could include other flaws in the league such as how fans are evacuated from venues after big games. Match venues should be rid of all manner of weapons, bricks, stones etc around the premises, which become missiles during troubled times.

The medical structures that should be put in place by all the clubs in the NPFL should stand the test of time and not the charade we all saw last weekend where the match commissioners appeared to be taking selfies inside some of the ambulances parked at match venues.

Everything about the domestic league smacks of death traps beginning with the way fans are hounded into and out of the stadia across the country. The chaotic settings around the gates scare fans away from coming to watch games with their families. Rather than allow professionals man the gates such that they become revenue outlets to the clubs, their management choose to assign urchins to man them. These touts wreak havoc on visiting teams and those who they perceive as foes to their clubs. not many would tell you their experiences at match venues? I expect the probe panel to proffer solutions to stem the tide of this ungodly acts.

Another aspect of the league which the panel should address, is the swiftness with which home fans pounce on ‘uncooperative’ match referees is disturbing. Sadly, no one has been sanctioned or jailed, making them look like spirits, which they are not.

Dear probe panel members, could you please include in your report a rule which forbids clubs from endangering players’, officials’ and drivers’ lives travelling late at night? Are we waiting for another player and/or official to be shot dead by bandits before constituting another probe panel to investigate such mishap? No club should be on the road with its players and officials anything after 6pm. Those who flout these rules should be charged to court, if robbers strike or kill anyone.

No player, official or driver should be sacrificed on the altar of honouring matches.

March 21, 2020
Avoidable deaths at league venues

By Ade Ojeikere

We are doomed as a nation. In the 21st Century, we are reviving a distressed person by forcing spoon into his mouth. He eventually dies and those who partook in this sacrilegious act are surprised. Will you blame them? Where were the doctors? Are we saying that the two teams have no medical doctor in their delegation? Who brought that weather-beaten ambulance which had battery problems? Why didn’t the state FA go to the government hospital to book for ambulance? Somebody should be made to face the consequences of this sad death.

If the league organisers were diligent, they would have conducted the pre-season medicals among clubs professionally. The organisers ought to have a designated hospital whose duty would be to ensure that any player registered to play for the season is medically fit. It is the norm everywhere and it is celebrated each season. Need I remind readers of pictures of newly recruited players, those they met and those recruited to be transferred again, who undergo such medical routine? The essence of such periodic or should I say seasonal medical check is to avoid sudden deaths at match venues.

To corroborate these facts is the view by a medical practitioner Dr. Adebisi John who told New Telegraph Friday that if the Pre-Competition Assessment (PCMA) had been conducted on the player as stipulated by the world football governing body FIFA, the death would have been averted.

According to Dr John: ‘’This is why clubs overseas ensure that medics are carried out on players during the transfer period to ascertain the state of health and fitness of a particular player. It is either the report says a player is not fit and eligible to play or the player is not fit to play until further examination is carried out.’’

The video recording of how they tried to revive the dead is not only painful but archaic. It also shows how we value human beings. I wish the league organisers could place their kids or relations in the dead player’s precarious position and see if they would accept that level of incompetence by them. In the video, an ignorant person knelt on the distressed player’s chest with some others fanning him with all manner of jersey tops which were mostly sweaty and possibly stinking. You could see someone forcing the player’s mouth open with a spoon, with some bewildered as the player died slowly.

The whole exercise of reviving the player was comical. The pain is that those who tried to revive him have never practiced what they were doing in such emergencies? If such ignorant few were allowed to handle the distressed, what happened to the two teams’ medical crew? Where was the Nasarawa State FA’s back-up medical team? How come the match commissioner allowed the game to kick off without checking on the quality of the medical personnel on the ground? Who hired the ambulance that failed to function on such critical occasion?

In fact, those who functioned as the logistics staff for the game should never be allowed into any football stadium. They should be banned for life and appropriate sanctions placed on them. Perhaps, this is the best chance to get clubs to show all the mechanisms they have for players’, coaches’ and ancillary staff’s medical, albeit insurance policies. No team should be registered if its management can’t submit documents to show that they value the human life.

The sports ministry should immediately ask the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to advertise the position of official hospital for the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL). The NFF should also throw open bids to hospitals in the states to bid as official medical unit to each of the 20 teams in the elite class. The sports ministry could partner with its Federal Ministry of Health to conduct the processes of getting qualified doctors, nurses, hospitals surgeons for the league. The sports ministry in conjunction with the NFF could talk to sponsors to bankroll this critical aspect of the league to avoid a recurrence.

Yes, I’m not a seer. Neither am I a harbinger of bad news. But I warned in this column penultimate Saturday that there was urgent need for us to improve on the medical facilities at match venues, lest we lose a soul.

In the article I stated that most of the ambulances at venues were more or less statues, non functional. I talked about these ambulances either being pushed to start or having to go over six kilometres to find the driver in cases of emergencies. I talk about the rusty cylinder belonging to the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia from which the chairman of Enyimba FC of Aba Felix Anyansi-Agwu was given oxygen while having his broken head stitched.

Anyansi’s head was broken and till date the culprit of that dastardly act has not been arrested and prosecuted like it’s done in saner climes. It has been swept under the carpet as a none event, making the criminal’s action legitimate. Nobody is anticipating reprisal attacks anytime the return leg is played. It doesn’t matter if it is played next year.

Writing in this column under the headline ‘’Wanted! medical lifeline at stadia’’ I warned that the rusty cylinder through which oxygen was given to Felix Anyansi-Agwu at the Federal Medical Centre in Umuahia, Abia State, leaves much to be desired. I stated categorically that in other climes, Anyansi-Agwu should have been taken to the hospital fitted with oxygen right on the scene of occurrence.

I highlighted the fact that the way Anyansi Agwu was taken to the medical centres showed the absence of a medical system in the league. It showed also that Anyansi-Agwu didn’t receive any proper care on the pitch. Thank God it wasn’t an emergency. We have seen emergencies handled professionally in European leagues. We marvel at the dispatch in which medics in the stadium rally round the distressed players, officials or referees were taken out of the pitch after doing the required first aid treatments, essentially to stabilise the patient, before heading for the hospital. The first thing fitted on such distressed person is oxygen. Modern science makes such means of passing oxygen less cumbersome and not a health hazard like the rusty cylinder used to treat Anyansi Agwu.

The player named Chineme Martins reportedly collapsed on the pitch in the 3-0 win over Katsina United last week Sunday. Although he was rushed to the hospital, he gave up the ghost on arrival. However, according to an eye witness, things could have been different if the Peugeot 406 Ambulance stationed for emergency had started on time.

According to reports made available to Soccernet, the car failed to start and had to be pushed as Martins battled for his life on the pitch. The press crew bus was eventually used to convey the player to the hospital, but by that time, it was too late as he ran out of breath at the hospital.

If the car didn’t start, what happened to the oxygen facilities inside the ambulance? Where was the medical team which accompanied the faulty ambulance? That is if there was an ambulance?

This incident shouldn’t be swept under the carpet. A probe panel must be constituted to look at the remote and immediate causes of the poor handling of the player’s distressed moments which led to his death. The findings would help future organisers of the league. It would also produce an official template on how players’ coaches and ancillary staff’s health matters should be handled.

I’ve read the sanction meted out on the match commissioner Christian Mbah. Mbah from Enugu State Football Association, has been withdrawn permanently from further participation in NPFL matches, for failing to perform his statutorily duty on match day. Mbah was to ensure all requirements including Medical personnel and equipment were in place before allowing the match to kickoff. Mbah didn’t. He also failed to submit his match report within the stipulated time frame despite the aggravated incident from the match.

The big question to ask the organisers is if they have disclosed what happened in the local derby game between Abia Warriors and Enyimba, where an NFF board member Felix Anyansi-Agwu’s head was broken by an irate fan, who is roaming free in Umuahia. If this report has been disclosed, having being played weeks back, what offence has Mbah committed? Truth is that nothing works in the league. Mbah is being made the fall guy in this matter, forgetting that no club ought to be registered without all the requirements in place.

March 14, 2020