The Nation Newspaper

Category: Ade Ojeikere

  • Drumbeats of hope

    By Ade Ojeikere

    Sunday Dare has shown that Sports ministers can be busy doing other relevant sporting matters instead of being mascots to the Super Eagles by attending every game in Nigeria and outside. Dare spent last weekend inspecting facilities slated to host the FIFA U-20 Women’s Championship in Lagos, ahead of the inspectors’ visit. Nigeria is listed among countries bidding to get the hosting rights from the world soccer body.

    The minister wasn’t alone in the inspection exercise. the executive governor of Lagos State Babajide Olusola Sanwo-olu and his deputy Kadri Obafemi Hamzat spent close to six hours walking the length and breadth of the derelict National Stadium Lagos,  Teslim Balogun Stadium in the Centre of Excellence and the Onikan Arena in the country’s economic hub. Teslim Balogun stadium is functional, although needs facelifts. Onikan Stadium is almost complete with state-of-art facilities. Sadly, National Stadium (in ruins) typifies the shame of our nation.

    It made more sense reading that the minister chose to talk to the players on telephone from the inspection venues than a physical appearance in Singapore, wasting taxpayers’ cash. No prize for guessing that the Lagos State governor who was on the inspection tour also talked to the boys. Both men’s messages sank because Super Eagles were held to a pulsating 1-1 by Brazil’s Samba Boyz.

    Dare’s absence from Eagles’ or other soccer teams’ game has saved the country the unpleasant moments of seeing our ministers sitting alone in the state box after a defeat. Trust the European media to capture such scenes and feast on it. Dare’s busy schedules saved us from seeing the inglorious video clip of a minister sitting around where our sports women were sharing money, which they said he gave them. Interesting. Anyway, this piece isn’t about Dare or ministers.

    Sitting at work before Sunday’s game between Nigeria and Brazil in Singapore, my silent wish was for the Super Eagles to leave the pitch unscathed, with plenty of talking points. A defeat (God forbid) would have brought out the long knives of critics, eager to vent their spleen on everyone, even though their targets are the federation’s bosses. The Brazilians played a game against Senegal the Tuesday before ours and used the Eagles’ game to correct the mistakes noticed in the 1-1 draw against Senegal, their third in a row of recent friendly matches.

    Samba Boyz played their best players. They wanted to win to break the drawn games’ phobia, but the Nigerians were resolute and determined to justify why they play regularly for various clubs in Europe and the Diaspora. Playing against Brazil for many Nigerians is like attempting a suicide mission, especially when a few people suggest that the Samba Boyz are beatable. Don’t blame these Nigerians because the Brazilians are not easy meat to chew.

    Read Also: Just In: Sunday Dare storms Liberty stadium on unscheduled inspection

    Shortly after the Russia 2018 World Cup, Eagles had issues with goalkeeping, even though Francis Uzoho manned the post for Nigeria. But on Sunday in Singapore, Uzoho showed reason why he should be the country’s number one goalkeeper until he sustained the unfortunate injury which will keep out of the club and country’s soccer for six months. One of the hazards of the game but we hope that NFF chiefs can stand by him during this trying period, knowing he sustained the injury playing for Nigeria. Did I hear you ask about Eagles’ insurance and welfare packages for such things as injuries? Don’t go there. NFF should be informed about such things. Let’s hope Uzoho doesn’t

    cry out about neglect.

    While Uzoho was being treated on the turf on Sunday afternoon, thoughts ran wild over his likely replacement. Eagles had Okoye and Ezenwa on the bench. Based on seniority in the camp, people expected  Ezenwa but Rohr opted for Germany  based Nigerian goalkeeper Okoye. Fans waited with bathed breath but the fair complexioned goalkeeper stood his grounds and raised the debate about the country’s number one, when Uzoho returns.

    Already, FIFA have cited clauses in their rule book on injuries during firnedly games in its FIFA-free windows for such an exercise. Part of it makes it mandatory on FIFA to pay Francis Uzoho’s six months wages for the period of his treatment. It also includes others packages which FIFA didn’t specify.

    The Brazil vs Nigeria friendly is recognised by FIFA as it was played on a date on the FIFA international match calendar and both teams did not field more than six substitutes each.

    Under FIFA’s Club Protection Programme, clubs whose players suffer injuries whilst on international duty are compensated and the maximum daily compensation has been set at €20,548.

    The compensation payable is based solely on the fixed salary that the club pays directly to the player as his employer and the temporary total disablement (TTD) suffered by the player has to prevent him from representing his club for more than 28 days before a claim can be processed.

    Eagles have two matches in November for the qualification ticket to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations slated to hold in Cameroon against Republic of Benin inside the refurbished Samuel Osagbovo Ogbemudia stadium in Benin City on November 11 and an away fixture against Lesotho. Two ‘cheap’ matches considering Eagles’ pedigree and the way they played against Ukraine and Brazil. But that is where soccer is a cruel game. It is a respecter of nobody. The best team which takes its chances wins matches, not the side that plays to the gallery or wait for their big stars to conjure victories. Soccer is team work which makes it quite difficult for the coaches to pick the best 11, except after playing quality friendly games like the Eagles have done.

    Uzoho’s injury offers another window for a goalkeeper to emerge. Rohr’s assistants should help him by nominating the best domestic league star in that position to camp. Rohr opted for Okoye because Ezenwa hasn’t been busy with matches in the domestic scene. Now, Ezenwa has two hurdles to scale rather than cement his quest for the number shirt, due to inactivity in the domestic league.

    Against Republic of Benin inside the Ogbemudia stadium, Rohr will pick Okoye ahead of Ezenwa, leaving a defensive four of Chigozie Awaziem, William Troost Ekong, Semi Ajayi and Jamilu Collins, who laboured hard to stop Gabriel Jesus, the Manchester City lad who tormented him on Sunday in Singapore. Collins learned a few lessons from handling such articulate strikers. The essence of friendly games. Against Brazil, Awaziem forgot he was playing at the right wing back. This flaw was exploited by the Samba Boyz, largely because Awaziem drifted to the central defence area, where he naturally plays for his European side.

    The Brazilians are skilful dribblers of the ball but met a resilient Nigerian defence that marked them effectively such that the Samba Boyz opted for the long ball to break the Eagles defensive line. It worked a few times, except that Wilfred Ndidi wasn’t able to replicate his Leicester City form playing for Nigeria. He was slow to the ball and was easily ripped of the ball, a trait not known in his games. Perhaps, Ndidi was over confident, but not his day in Singapore on Sunday. Ndidi made some poor positional decision that exposed Super Eagles defence in the game although there weren’t costly. He also failed to track Philippe Coutinho well into the Nigerian box in the second half.

    Joe Aribo defied the fact that he recovered from 20 stitches on his head with his impressive box-to-box performance in the midfield that awed the Brazilians. Aribo, stepped forward from an overlapping run to pounce on the ball, dribbled an on rushing Brazilian before hitting the ball to right side of a dumbfounded Brazil goalkeeper. He was full of energy his intensity was a problem for the Brazilians. Nigeria had opened scoring. Brazilians were shocked, but picked up the pieces to fight back. The first half ended 1-0 in Nigeria’s favour with Aribo, a standout performer in the midfield.

    Aribo’s showmanship in the midfield dwarfed Alex Iwobi’s role more so when the Brazilians singled him out for marking before the game. It must have stunned them that Eagles had such a talent. Iwobi did well. He underlined reasons pundits have canvassed that he plays in the number 10 position for club and country.

    Samuel Chukwueze was missing in action on Sunday. He style was predictable. He managed to dribble past Renan Lodi once and held onto the ball too much. He was clueless when left in one-one situations with defenders. He managed just one shot target. Sadly, Chuwkwueze’s inability to track back and help his mates retrieve the ball when we lost it, exposed Awaziem who played as right back, even though he was always in the heart of the team’s defence.

    If Chukwueze was clueless, then Moses Simon just ran around the pitch not able to distinguish himself defensively or otherwise. Simon, however, did well to set up Aribo’s goal. He offered little going forward. It will be difficult to grade Victor Osimhen because the Brazilians cut off the supply of passes to him from the midfielders. Osimhen placed his first shot on target of the game after a fantastic turn and started the move that led to Nigeria’s goal. He was replaced by  Paul Onuachu in the 74th minute but failed to have any impact in the game. He failed to cause problems for the weary Brazilian defence.

    Nigeria has a legion of young boys in Europe to make the Eagles the toast of Africa if we stick to the high standards set. Unfortunately, the domestic league is lying prostrate – the drumbeats of hope from Europe should jumpstart a new dawn for the beautiful game here.

  • Falcons, Doha and our buck passing game

    By Ade Ojeikere

    The deafening noise from sports venues isn’t unexpected because we are experts in passing the buck. We are specialists in reaping where we did not sow. Planning isn’t in our DNA. We don’t organise competitions, we don’t spot athletes, we don’t nurture them, we don’t have facilities, we don’t  train coaches, just as we only remember athletes exist when competitions beckon – if we care to attend such tournaments.

    Is anyone shocked that Super Falcons won’t be in Tokyo, Japan, for the 2020 Olympic Games? What did we do to motivate the girls to excel during the qualifiers? What did we do to create the enabling environment for the home-grown girls to mature to stardom? The last time the Falcons played at the Olympics was in Beijing in 2008. Since that time, nothing has changed in the dynamics of the women’s game, largely because we like to rest on our oars. Little wonder we were shocked by the Ivoirians.

    Falcons were  struggling in most of their matches, needing the individual feats of goalkeeper Nnadozie or the scoring ingenuity of Asisat Oshoala to save Nigeria blushes. What is apparent is the need for new players to displace the ageing stars. The Falcons’ side is almost predictable and cannot surprise any serious soccer nation itching to rule Africa. We should clear the women soccer deck of its irritability. This should start with getting a new coach, who will decide those he or she wants to work with. Those having baggage in the old order should be excused and made to account for their stewardship.

    Read Also: How NFF caused Super Falcons ouster from 2020 Olympic ticket

    Falcons doesn’t require massive rejuvenation. What the team needs is systematic integration of younger players. This can only happen with a new coach and a management structure. The old hands are burdened by  their fixation on what they are used to. They aren’t daring enough to drop some of the girls who are nearer being coaches than playing the game. They have lost the speed to compete with younger girls paraded by other countries, such as Cote d’ Ivoire.

    Falcons are a world class brand, rated higher than the Super Eagles in the monthly FIFA ranking. NFF should give the team the attention the Eagles get, if we truly want to make qualification for major events our birthright. The team should never be handled by unqualified coaches, who are neither CAF badge nor FIFA badge holders. The federation should head hunt good coaches for the girls who will add value to what they bring onto the pitch. The Olympic ticket is gone. Now, it is stocktaking time for the players, coaches and federation chiefs. We need a new team.

    The case of  the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN) is pitiable. I wonder how members haven’t resigned their appointment after the disgraceful manner in which they treated the $150,000 over-payment by IAAF. AFN members knew what they ought to have been paid as support for the local meets was $15,000. When AFN realised they were paid $150,000, $135,000 more, it ought to have raised the alarm with IAAF and returned the extra cash. Nigeria didn’t need to wait until IAAF discovered that it had made a mistake.

    Equally disturbing was the twists and turns of returning the cash. How does Nigeria want the  international body to bring anything good to this country, given the way we reacted to a mistake. It wasn’t in our interest to blame IAAF accountant, if we returned the money the next day.

    Athletics used to rival soccer in results because those who ran the federation were former internationals who knew what to do and were passionate in ensuring that nothing went wrong. These federation chiefs cherished sponsors of the game and religiously stuck to dates of competitions  as young men and women. The present administrators wouldn’t be bothered by the dearth of competitions for as long as they can attend tournaments outside the country for estacode, even if our athletes do not make podium appearances.

    For a new dawn in athletics, the federation should ensure that grassroots competitions  are resuscitated by getting a marketing team to visit corporate firms to sell their programmes. AFN chiefs also need to go to past sponsors to apologise for their gaffes. Perhaps, the defeats of AFN chieftains in IAAF’s elections will send the message that without the athletes, nothing works. When Nigeria dominated athletics, it was easy for them to win elections. Of course, countries with winning athletes had their officials winning elections.

    From  Doha meet, it is clear that Ese Brume is Nigeria’s poster girl in athletics. Brume lost the second place in the women’s long jump by one metre. She should never be allowed to cater for herself through meets. What such things do is that the athletes burn out before the major competitions and the only way to have control over our elite athletes is for AFN to discuss with the sports minister  how he could use his influence in the corporate world to get sponsors for our star athletes, such as Brume and Divine Oduduru, who specialises in the 100 metres dash and 200 metres. They should be monitored and given the star treatment Americans and Jamaicans give their top athletes. Oduduru holds personal bests of 9.86 seconds for the 100 m and 19.73 seconds for the 200 m. Oduduru made his debut on the 2019 IAAF Diamond League circuit at the 2019 Herculis meet, but finished in last place.

    Raymond Ekevwo,20, is the 2019 African Games 100 metres champion. He was also a member of the Nigerian 4 × 100 m relay team that won a silver medal at the games. He became the Nigerian junior champion in the 100 metres at the 2016 Dr  Olukoya Youth and Junior  Championships, winning with a then personal best of 10.35s. As the national junior champion, he was selected to represent the country at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships. He, however, missed the race as the Nigerian team did not arrive in time for the competition. The other poster boy, Chukwuebuka Cornnell Enekwechi, 26, is a Nigerian-American track and field athlete, specialising in throwing events. He is the 2018 Commonwealth Games Silver medalist and reigning African Champion in the shot put. He is also the 2019 African Games Champion and the reigning Nigerian National Sports Festival Champion.

    The Mobil Athletics Championship used to draw huge crowds to the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos. They were mostly attracted by what they saw in the previous editions or were enthralled by the rave reviews the athletes got in the media, prior to the event. The arrival of top stars, such Mary Onyali, Fallilat Ogunkoya, Adeniken, Ezenwa brothers and Chidi Imoh as well as many others, made newspaper headlines. The athletes wore tight-fitting wears that trended even after the competitions. Mobil athletics was a fiesta many loved to watch and the Sportscity was centrally located for workers to troop in after work to watch the elite races which were deliberately timed to hold from 6pm.

    Those who did well at Mobil were categorised, such that it was easy to differentiate the elite from others who also ran. In fact, Mobil was the basis for picking the country’s representatives at big events. Selection for Mobil was as problematic as picking Nigeria’s final list of 23 players at the World Cup.

    If Nigeria must return to the glorious years, AFN chiefs must replicate the good things of the past. And it starts with giving our elite athletes  a sense of belonging. They must see themselves as our ambassadors, not in name but in deed.

    We must make their welfare our responsibility. We must get them coaches and give them training grants,  which will stop them from running for cash.

    Perhaps, if Blessing Okagbare had been treated like the queen of the tracks, which she was, we would have set the templates for producing equally talented replacements, if not better ones. Nigeria only remembers Okagbare when we want to attend competitions. But for the benevolence of the former Delta State Governor Dr. Uduaghan, Okagbare couldn’t have attained some of the feats she achieved. Since Uduaghan left office, Okagbare has been tottering.

    The majority of our good athletes had scholarships in American universities where they developed into top stars. Some of the previous athletes have left school. We need to tap from their experience by ensuring that they are given jobs which will rub off on our emerging stars. I was excited when the sports minister appointed Mary Onyali as his SSA. Nothing could have been better than that if we truly want to rediscover our good past in athletics.

     

  • Whither Nigerian coaches

    THE good days of Nigerian football are gone. Gone are the days when you struggled through the turnstiles to gain entrance into the stadium – six hours before the kick-off. It was fun sitting at the stands playing scrabble, Ludo, Whot cards, snake and ladder etc, to kill time. Not forgetting the pre-match analysis. Indeed, as soon as the two teams arrived, the likely loser was known, given the quality of those selected by the opposition.

    In fact, you dared not come to the stadium at 2 PM on match days hoping to get a ticket. Clubs were diligent in the sales of ticket that they earmarked big stores, petrol stations, the popular ones etc to sell their tickets. It was fun in the weeks preceding big games, with supporters raising the ante with pre-match analysis. Big writers used the dailies and television programmes to do massive media awareness on such games. The day never lacked the trappings of all that was expected from both sides.

    We had trained Coaches such as Alabi Aissien, Adegboye Onigbinde, the late Willy Bazuaye, Monday Sinclair, Eto Amaechina, Josiah Dombraye, Godwin Etemike, Carl Odywer, the late Joseph Ladipo a.k.a Jossy Lad, the man who made defunct Leventis United FC of Ibadan, the greatest brand in our country, having emerged from the third tier till the top, Sebastine Brodericks-Imasuen, Amusa Shittu, Ufere Nwankwo, Charles Bassey, the late Solomon Ogbeide, Ben Duamlong, Lawrence Akpokona, the late Kelechi Emetiole including foreigners such as Kowalick (I hope I got the spelling  right),who handled Enugu Rangers, Allan Hawks, whose off-side tactics was a delight to watch as it caught unprepared teams to their consternation. In fact, coaches of the Eastern team (Enugu Rangers, Spartans of Owerri, Vasco Da Gama, Sharks FC, Blue Angels), made the competition among teams keener and exciting.

    Enugu Rangers rose from the ashes of the better forgotten Nigeria Civil War to become a symbol of a race. And it typified how they played the matches – as if their lives depended on such a match. Rangers fought their battles to the finish and were the biggest crowd pulling side, who got inspired by supporters One man crowd Ulo enu (aka Up stair). Watching the Eastern teams anywhere in the country was like witnessing an orchestra, the way the supporters blew their trumpets and the melody of their collective activities behind the instruments work everyone up. They sang songs known to everyone – it raised the tempo of the game and they players, were galvanised to only give their best.

    Looking at today’s league clubs, what strikes me as the missing jigsaw from the past is that they are no longer the traditional teams- clubs growing their popularity from different parts of the country. Traditional teams such as Stationery Stores of  Lagos, Kano Pillars, IICC Shooting Stars of  Ibadan, Bendel Insurance FC of Benin City, Racca Rovers of Kano, DIC Bees FC of Kaduna, Plateau United, defunct BCC Lions, Mighty Jets of Jos, Sharks FC of Port Harcourt, Enugu Rangers, Spartans FC of Owerri, Calabar Rovers, New Nigeria Bank FC of Benin, Eselemo Diamonds of Warri, NPA Warri,  e.t.c had tremendous followership and their militant fans knew when to vent their spleen on the boys, when they faltered. It was a symbiotic relationship that worked either way, for good and for the horrible.

    It was much easier to fill the stands for these clubs with massive followership at home. Some, such as Enugu Rangers, IICC Shooting Stars, Bendel Insurance,  had the capacity to fill any stadium when they met. Many have not forgotten how in 1972, Bendel Insurance then known as Vipers and Mighty Jets forced the country’s oldest competition’s final game into a replay, with the disputed game resolved in Ibadan.

    In 1977, Rangers and IICC took their rivalry to Kaduna in a continental competition and did association football a big favour with the way their fans filled the stands and rooted for them till the final blast of the whistle. It was the best citation for the country’s game on the continent. It said a lot about the quality of players on both sides, who were members of the country’s senior side, then Green Eagles. Need I waste space to name them?

    In fact, politicians such as Jim Nwobodo and Orji Uzor Kalu built their support bases in the Eastern region spending their money and time to support Rangers and Enyimba everywhere they played. Little wonder Nwobodo became Enugu Rangers’ chairman and Kalu, took his passion for soccer to Abia and revolutionized  Enyimba FC of Aba to become easily the most successful Nigerian side on the continent. There wasn’t anything extraordinary done by the system beyond the fact that players wanted to play the game. The players of  yore’s passion for the game was matchless. The players felt fulfilled playing for the traditional teams. Not so anymore, even though many have ascribed the death of the game now to exodus of players to Europe and the country’s dwindling economy.

    Majority of the fans are no longer inspired to part with their hard earned money to watch NPFL matches since the supposed stars don’t stay long enough at their respective clubsides before they are exported to some obscure clubs in Europe.

    The reality is that fans all over the world are attracted to stars who entertain with their skills and talents on match days and when the stars are whisked away to Europe at the slightest opportunity, the spectators may not have any motivation to go to the stadium and watch league matches.

    However, we have players who have stayed loyal to the domestic league such Rabiu Ali, Mfon Udoh among others. Udoh remains the only player to have scored 23 goals in a single season in the NPFL yet resisted the temptation of jumping at ‘slave deals’ in obscure leagues abroad. But it’s not enough to just have them around if they are not going to earn good salaries that will see them take care of their families and not be left broke after retirement.

    Not all the players are educated or have a fall back project to rely on after their playing career, so paying them very well is key. Setting up a scholarship scheme and other lollies for their kids will be a massive lure for more young and exciting players to play in the domestic league. It may look difficult to implement but it is achievable.

    Our local clubs need to learn how to make these players heroes because they are the centrepiece of their existence. Sell club merchandise with players name on it and create games or programs primarily for the promotion of the club activities and a few players inspired events won’t hurt.

    Yeah, you guessed right, I just gave out a few tips on how we can grow our league and the players, not administrators or referees should be the main attraction. Also, schools can be involved in helping to spread the love for our domestic league again. For example, players such as Ali and Udoh that are household names can be used as the face to promote the league. They can visit schools to talk about the essence of being a professional footballer and help inspire kids to visit the stadium with their parents and gain match-day experiences but security at match centres must be fixed.

    Each time we prosecute our football matches in the last two decades with mostly the ‘foreign legion’, I wonder if our soccer administrators appreciate the damage they do to the ‘’beautiful’’ game. Our administrators see soccer development from the prism of participating in competitions outside the country. No programmes to catch the talents young, train and retrain the coaches for a workable template. For them, success is wining trophies, even if the players come from the moon. No surprise the dearth of competitions here.

    We can’t be talking about growing talents at the nurseries without standardising the academies that abound in the country. The fraud committed by some disgruntled folks in the name of soccer academies can only be curtailed if the NFF through its state affiliates compel all such bodies to register with it. That way, the authorities can identify who the fraudster is if such allegations arise. This collegiate arrangement will eliminate age cheats because a kid discovered in Edo State, for instance as Ikponwonsa Ikponwonsa in 1988 as a 12-year old, cannot be Etim Etim in 2008 claiming to be 16. The details of his data from his first registration in Edo State will give him out even as Etim Etim.

     

  • A troubled league

    The domestic league is dead. The clubs are slave camps. The country’s league seasons have no calendar. Weekly matches are marred by violence with the culprits (hoodlums, urchins etc) made to look like spirits due to inadequate security. Referees are beaten to pulp regularly because league venues don’t have close circuit televisions to track the beasts. Sadly, some of these battered referees don’t record their ordeal in their match reports, except such scenes happen in parts of the country where the media presence can overwhelm the influence of desperate club managers, owners and, sometimes, sports commissioners.

    Rather than secure an official television station for the competition to help curb violence and carnage, the organisers watched in awe as the previous league television station stopped the contract. A proactive league board would have accepted what the previous television sponsor offered and secure an arrangement where others could either show the games live or record them to be shown later.

    The composition of the board makes it difficult for the members to take binding decisions, especially punishing those who flout the body’s rules. The league board has taken a harvest of decisions with different interpretations, depending on the clout of the offending clubs. If a less influential team infringes on a law, it could get a five-match ban, with a decision to play outside the home state, for instance. If a bigger team flouts the same law, the referees would be punished for ineptitude and the offending club’s fans prevented from watching the next three matches.

    A disturbing example was the ban imposed on Kano Pillars’ captain for his unsportsmanlike conduct during the Super 4 game against Rangers at the Agege Stadium in June, 2019. Instead of banning the player from all competitions, the board stylishly allowed the Pillars’ star the opportunity of playing in the country’s oldest football competition, the Challenge Cup, which is now known as the Aiteo Cup. It is only in Nigeria that such a thing can happen because we politicise everything.

    Well managed league boards in Africa and Europe have begun, with the players sure of the season’s termination date, unlike ours which has become a league without end. It only ends at the dictates of the organisers, who are quick to adopt short cuts for the competition to end. Nigeria is the only league where clubs dictate how the season should end.

    When the organisers are not talking about the now fraudulent contraption called abridged league to hide their ineptitude, demoted clubs form a clique which canvasses that those relegated last season should remain.

    Our clueless administrators fall into the trap by extending the number of clubs in the elite class. It is a shameful circus of how the leagues shouldn’t be prosecuted. The organisers take delight in shifting the commencement  dates of the competition, the recent being the disgraceful pronouncement  that this 2019/2020 season won’t start because there are no sponsors. Isn’t it disheartening that the players have trained for several months without kicking the ball in any competition. Poor lads.

    Payment of players’, coaches’, officials’ and ancillary staff’s is almost forbidden. The so called administrators of the beautiful game (now ugly in Nigeria) are unperturbed about the sad development which turned our players into beggars and emergency cab drivers  for those who have cars in order to eke out a living. Unfortunately, the organisers cannot  secure a sponsor for the league. They drove away the sponsors they met in the league because of their tardy administrative style.

    Companies don’t work in a vacuum. A league without a calendar which will be complied with can’t get a sponsor. A league where administrators cannot stem the tide of violence at match venues is doomed because no firm wants its products and services enmeshed in controversies. A league where the target audience of sponsors (the fans) are scared of attending matches cannot generate cash internally for the clubs and for itself.

    A league where fans run through tear gas fired by security operatives to prevent mayhem isn’t one to attract positive comments from the globe. A league whose fixtures can be changed for spurious reasons, such as going to watch the World Cup, when only one goalkeeper in the domestic league makes the Super Eagles’ squad, underscores the organisers’ poor knowledge of growing the game. After all, matches weren’t played every day. Besides, World Cup fixtures were known months before the competition began.

    Sadly, our football chieftains who gloat around the country over their feats as match commissioners in FIFA and CAF competitions have not been able to implement the objective of using the domestic game as the nursery for the Golden Eaglets (through clubs’ feeder teams), Flying Eagles, Olympic Eagles, CHAN Eagles and Super Eagles. It suits them more to woo Nigeria-born lads in Europe and the Diaspora than to supervise the local game to produce more stars like we had in the past.

    To underscore the importance FIFA attaches to the local game, Enyimba FC and Ifeanyi Ubah FC goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa brought into the coffers of both clubs $237, 720 (N86 million) following the Super Eagles exit from the group stage as they failed to make it out of the group containing eventual finalist Croatia, familiar foes Argentina and debutants Iceland. Imagine if any Nigerian club had up to five home-based players in the Eagles for the World Cup? Simply multiply N43 million by five (N215 million from FIFA). Good money? Sure, but do our football organisers think this way?

    A league where touts sell match tickets at the gate yet the organisers don’t know why there is carnage. A league where 50 wiry security operatives with batons are trying to stop 3000 rampaging fans from beating up a referee, shows who the organisers are – jesters.

    When a referee is killed, we will constitute panels to find out how it happened, who did it, why and how? Innocent souls will be arrested while the roughnecks will be walking the streets, free as air, with instructions from their principals not be seen around any stadium. Of course, the noise over the dastardly act won’t last long; it will be buried with the victim whose family will be left to bear the burden of losing their loved one.

    Nothing seems to be new because these same characters run the competition yearly. Those who run the domestic game have the penchant for signing MOUs. They enjoy listening to themselves. Those with dissenting views don’t know what it takes to run the game. But this writer won’t give up until the right personnel are put in place.

    The first thing that stadia where games are played need urgently are CCTVs which can’t be destroyed to cover up malpractices. Besides, any stadium that is slated to host games must build special exit gates that will make it absolutely impossible to access the referees before, during and after matches. Any harm inflicted on match referees will translate to 10 points deduction from the offender’s total. Such a defaulting club should not be allowed to play in that venue for one year.

    With a live coverage of the domestic league, it will be easier to identify where a problem began. Those running the league met an existing television right sponsor and a title owner of the league. What happened to these two bodies which funded the operations of the organising body?

    Referees should be encouraged to sue clubs which send touts to beat them. The referees’ body should secure lawyers for them and refuse to discontinue such cases, no matter whose ox is gored. Asking clubs to pay assaulted referees’ hospital bills is not enough.

    A league whose representatives at the continental level are beaten at home by less-fancied clubs in another country should attract the ire of the organisers. Not so here. Nothing changes yearly. A league where new winners keep recycling players who failed with former winners isn’t one to celebrate. Except the league is run properly and clubs are compelled to have feeder teams and competitions instituted for them to play games, the league cannot perform its role of developing players for the national teams.

  • Dare needs support

    The dilapidated nature of sporting facilities in the country is a mirror reflection of what Nigeria is today – jaded or like Idris Adulkareem sang ‘’Nigeria jagajaga, everything scatter scatter, poor man dey suffer suffer, gbosa, gbosa!’’ Many have wondered how administrators could cast indulgent eyes on such monuments which marked watersheds in our sporting history. A visit to most of these rustic structures around the country draw the ire of those who saw those edifices host important competitions just as the stadia produced some of our best sporting heroes and heroines.

    For these administrators, anything government belongs to nobody. It doesn’t matter if the stadia are in ruins for as long as their offices are intact. Cash allocated to infrastructural development is spent on cosmetic jobs such as repainting of buildings, changing the noticeable areas while the rotten are stacked until there is nothing to hide. The ruination of our facilities didn’t start today. The sports minister should visit the ministry’s books to take stock of how much has been budgeted for infrastructural development and ask those who functioned in the department to give account of their stewardship.

    Except people account for what was budgeted for, we won’t be able to change people’s perception towards government-owned properties. Those found to have misapplied the cash should be made to refund them. Such recovered funds can help a great deal to start the process of fixing the abandoned properties and facilities. If such cash in the past had been deplored to the purposes ( periodic repair works) they were meant for, the cash needed to upgrade them now wouldn’t be as colossal. In fact, repairs on any of these facilities should start from the foundation. Otherwise, disaster awaits us in the event of overcrowding during sporting activities – it could be catastrophic.

    We can use the Sunday Dare era to rebuild our sports in all its ramification. Such changes will be meaningless, if we fail to institute a maintenance culture in the handling of sporting facilities. Builders of most sporting edifices ensures that they sign maintenance agreements with the owners of the structure. They are also expectedto train the nationals on the basic things they need to do to keep the place in top shape. And it starts with engaging a facility manager who recruits his team, which should include grounds men and women, security and other facets as recommended by the builders. There would be periodic innovation and adjustments of key parts of the building that may show signs of weakness, needing fortification with the designate local officers having the privilege to see how they are fitted or repaired.

    The stadium manager isn’t just any person. He is eminently qualified for the job and one of the best, if not the best in the business. It isn’t a job for political patronage since the premises are seen as business concerns, with the manager setting the templates to recoup some of what was spent on such facilities. The quintessential manager appreciates the marketing windows available to the facilities such that firms can pitch for different platforms in the place including the name of the premises.

    In business-conscious climes, sporting facilities are either named after prominent people such as Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola Stadium or after top companies who would emerge from a competitive ballot (a case in point being the FNB Stadium in South Africa), where such facility can get seed money to operate. The minister should ensure that stadia are leased out to big firms such that it would be absolutely impossible for anyone by a fiat to organise political rallies or any other business outside sporting activities. It may sound ridiculous, but in a business, such rules are binding on those who leased out the facilities, since targets must be met.

    It is fraudulent for anyone to ask for millions to re-grass the MKO Abiola Stadium’s soccer pitches when we can recruit horticulturists to do it for less. With good horticulturists, they will have nurseries around the stadium where they will nurture grass which they can easily dig up and use to re-grass areas within the playing turf which are ebbing away. The horticulturists restrict themselves to the playing turfs and the practice pitches.  The stadium manager coordinates them. There should also be a business manager whose duties should be spelt out. For effective running, there must be a management team charged with the responsibility of keeping the premises ready to host sporting events. Stadia around the country should be business concerns if we must be in sync with what happens elsewhere.

    Dare stated on his twitter handle during the week that ‘’Sports is business. a first step in engineering PPP in sports development in Nigeria. Alhaji Aliko Dangote is a convert as he listens to my pitch. I’m about the business of sports to engage our youth for employment and entrepreneurship through sports development. We have set out. Babatunde Raji Fashola is on board. I’m a youth advocate. The youth hold the future of our country in their hands, their heads and intellect. the journey to that future starts now. ‘’

    This writer is, however, happy that the minister has taken the bold step to parley with business moguls such as Aliko Dangote to see how he can do the business of sports with Nigeria. Dangote, for the records has severally shown his interest to acquire Arsenal Football Club in London for staggering figures. Dangote knows that sports is the opium of the people here, but it lacks enduring structures to leverage on firms’ investments.

    But, speaking to Bloomberg TV at the New Economy Forum in Singapore, the 61-year-old has now hinted he may have to look elsewhere if Kroenke – who has just completed a full takeover at the Emirates after a power battle with Alisher Usmanov – does not want to sell.

    “I’m very attached to Arsenal but if he won’t sell, I might have to change. I’m very much a fan of football. I’ll like to have a club. I don’t have to own Arsenal. By the time we’ve finished [the oil refinery], we’ll be a $30bn [£22.8bn] company in terms of revenue,” said Dangote.

    Wao! Dangote is renowned for doing good business. Our sports administrators must sit up and embrace the reality that sports increases the GDP of countries that understand the dynamics of the industry. Spain’s economy, a growing one like Nigeria’s, relies greatly on the volume of cash generated from the sports sector.

    FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Villarreal, Valencia are not all about football. They have basketball clubs, volleyball clubs, athletics clubs etc, which are professionally run. But football serves as the fountain where others seek succour, considering its followership as the king of sports.

    La Liga’s contribution in Spain’s national economy is no less than any other top-run industry in the country. The two elite division football leagues in Spain generate 185,000 jobs, €4.1 billion ($4.66 bn) in taxes and a turnover equal to 1.37% of the national GDP. This is one sport – football. Others are also run as businesses. Sample: Vuelta a España, a race around Spain and one of cycling’s biggest events.

    Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues spent a record £5billion on players this summer despite Premier League clubs, usually the continent’s most active shoppers, slightly reining in their spending, Deloitte has revealed.

    Honourable minister sir, sponsorship isn’t donation but value exchange based on inventories of benefits accruing to the firm(s) or individual. Indeed, sponsorship without television as a key element amounts to winking in the dark. Our sports is more of having a half empty glass than a half filled one, largely because those who administered it in the past lacked the political will, which Dare is exhibiting with his reposition of issues in so short a time.

    Indeed, there was no funding of sports here because most of the ministers were interested in fighting NFF chiefs and other federations’ helmsmen than creating a financial sponsorship model driven by the principles of Public Private Partnership (PPP).  Dare needs to find out what happened to all the Sports Lottery Fund and some others like the fund-raisers before the last two World Cup tournaments for the Super Eagles.

    The country seriously needs a Sustenance fund for our athletes which should be tied to big firms and/or rich individuals so that we can chart these sports ambassadors’ growth in the events. Besides, we need to re-introduce the fund-raisers we did at least one year before attending major competitions. President Buhari could commence it with a dinner where the big players in business are told what they stand to gain supporting sports. Such incentives as tax rebates would propel them to support sports for as long as they can be assured that the cash isn’t misapplied. The fund raisers will then be taken round the country for all the states to contribute their quota. However, a deliberate attempt should be made to let everyone know how much was realised and how the cash was spent. The minister could use the visits through the states to dialogue with the governors on his vision for sports.

    It is instructive for the minister to meet with sports friendly firms who have left the industry to find out what informed their exits. That way, past mistakes are corrected so that others can be encouraged to participate.

  • New dawn Eagles

    Nothing excites this writer more than watching young Nigerians grow through the ranks of the beautiful game.

    Although we have wasted several generations of players discovered from the grassroots, it appears we are rediscovering some and playing them during the big games involving the Super Eagles, a trend which is in tandem with FIFA’s goals in inaugurating age-grade competitions. Nigeria needs to catch up with the rest of the world in fielding players who evolved from age-grade teams.

    Looking at the players’ roll call in Dnipro on Monday ahead of the game against Ukraine, I was confident that the Ukrainians would be shocked, given the way their players were running the usual mind-games’ commentaries on what they would do to the Nigerians. Such headlines as ‘ No mercy for Eagles’, ‘We will attack Eagles full force’ etc raised my hopes further, especially as our boys didn’t trade words with them.

    Troost Ekong, Alex Iwobi, Oghenekaro Etebo, Simon Moses, Semi Ajayi, goalkeeper Francis Uzoho, Victor Osimhen, Samuel Chukwueze, Samuel Kalu, Olaoluwa Aina and Jamilu Collins, not forgetting debutants Joseph Aribo of Glasgow Rangers, Scotland, Joshua Maja of Girondins Bordeaux, France, Emmanuel Dennis of Club Brugge, Belgium and Anderson Esiti of PAOK Salonica of Greece represent the future of our Eagles, given the performances of Nigerians in Europe this season. A few others, such as Henry Onyekuru, Wilfred Ndidi, Tyronne Ebuehi, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Paul Onuachu, Bonaventure Dennis, Kelechi Iheanacho, Anderson Esiti, Chidozie Awaziem, Maduka Okoye and Brian Idowu, need to be encouraged with such big games.

    Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) chieftains should ask coach Gernot Rohr to search for defenders and goalkeepers in the domestic league. This can only happen, if Rohr lives here longer than he does now. Rohr can stay in Nigeria and watch games here weekly. Technology has made it possible for anyone to watch missed games on television – courtesy of the Explora device on DSTV, yet have the same impact on his selection.

    Looking at the team which played in Dnipro on Tuesday, one is tempted to celebrate. What I saw of the players doesn’t look like a fluke. Those boys play weekly for their European clubs and it showed in the way they handled the ball.

    They were very fit, they were faster to the ball than the Ukrainians and they knew what to do with the ball, going forward. I’m sure we would have won the game, if Rohr wasn’t concerned with utilising the six changes available to both coaches during such friendly matches.

    Members of the country’s Olympic Games’ squad, such as Kelechi Nwakali, Taiwo Awoniyi, Azubuike Okechukwu and Effiong Ndifreke, should immediately be drafted to the Super Eagles instead of digging deep into the past to unearth ageing players. Mikel Obi and Odion Ighalo have quit the team honourably. Others, such as  Daniel Akpeyi, Leon Balogun (if he continues to sit on the bench at Brighton), Oguenyi Onazi and, possibly Kenneth Omeruo, should be pulled out honourably through international matches. The average age of most national teams is 22, hence the fast pace of matches.

    Do we have a team for the future? Ukraine’s coach, Coach Andriy Shevchenko, a top international, provided the answer in a post match interview in which he said: ‘’But today’s (Tuesday night’s) game was very important, we received a lot of valuable information.”

    Shevchenko urged his countrymen to applaud the Yellow Men for the pulsating 2-2 draw, pointing out that:”It is very difficult to find the ideal at all. The team is moving in the right direction. It is impossible to compare today’s (Tuesday night’s) match with the previous one against Lithuania.”

    Shevchenko told reporters after the game – Soccernet.ng confirmed – that: “It is a completely different team made up of players who play in different championships. But today’s (Tuesday night’s) game was very important, we received a lot of valuable information.”

    We hope that NFF will secure quality matches for the team to blend. Such games should be held in the country to give Nigerians an opportunity to watch their heroes. Playing matches at home will open a new vista for sports sponsorship since business chiefs will appreciate the marketing windows available to them to connect with the fans, who they could convert to their customers.

    Of course, everything should be done to ensure that the coaches are comfortable and are paid their wages regularly.

    Good luck Nigeria.

    Whither Serena Williams

    The deafening noise from the US Open court’s women singles final, especially with the ouster of the Queen of the courts, Serena Williams, is instructive, even though most of her admirers continue to rue her misfortune on compassionate grounds – expectedly, many have imputed bad luck, age, etc as the reason for the bad days on the courts for cup finals.

    But the truth is that Serena is being beaten by young girls who see her as their heroine. These young girls have modelled their game after Serena’s, with their coaches perfecting plans on how to beat their queen, exploiting her weaknesses, which aren’t known to the American. Not many champions stand the chance of correcting their mistakes during matches. Most times, they are frustrated and it influences the outcome of the matches. Serena’s case shouldn’t be different.

    Any person worried by the trends in anything would definitely be angry and eventually lose focus. This is where Serena has failed. Serena, despite her towering status, hasn’t be able to manage her temperament. If she hopes to conquer the new final game hoodoo, she should work on her mood swings during matches. Serena must learn how to play without being influenced by the fans or be worried about the umpire’s nuisances, including wrong calls. Umpires are humans, prone to mistakes.

    If Serena must break the ‘unforced jinx’, she should sit back at home with her coaches to watch the new girls on the bloc and change her approaches to games. If Serena sticks to her previous strategies, she won’t beat these girls.

    Such changes include improving on her first serves, which are not as potent as they used to be.

    I don’t think Serena’s problem is her age. She should learn to be as calm as cucumber. She should learn to throw her balls a little higher for her first serves. She should deemphasise speed on the serve but placement, which should give her enough time to move briskly towards the net to finish off the serve with killer half volleys or smashes, depending on the height of the returned ball.

    Indeed, Serena’s game management is on the decline. She needs a bit of variation to confound these younger girls who are quicker to the ball. I don’t know if she still reckons with her manager. If she doesn’t, she should quickly get someone she can listen to. Possibly her elder sister Venus, only if she is a coach. With a good coach, she would know if her problems include having to change her grip of the racquet among other plausible reasons.

    Serena’s ability to win these biggest of the big matches was her calling card, a talent that was virtually unmatched by even her most illustrious WTA peers of the past. From 1999 to 2015, Serena went 21-4 in major finals. Two of those losses came to her sister Venus and another to Maria Sharapova. Serena was so incensed by the latter defeat that she’s still avenging it 15 years later.

    Serena would need to overcome this psychological problems associated with her recent final matches. She could possibly sit with her elder sister Venus to review her game and chart a new course to surpass the record on her sight. It is achievable only if Serena accepts that the present predicament is hers to resolve.

    Arsenal’s axe indeed

    Driving through Gbagada Road’s traffic occasioned by the ongoing construction  to increase the height of the road’s median, I noticed one guy carrying a sign board, which read “Arsenal’s axe”. I was curious and consequently changed my lane in the gridlock to have a closer look at that what the guy was saying.

    Surprise. This hawker was wearing an old, tattered Liverpool shirt, but my focus was on what he wrote. I didn’t see him carrying any load to suggest that he kept the axes inside the bags. Rather, I saw a sign which signifies any product produced by Nike.

    What was this sign?  Nike’s usual “good” sign. I couldn’t find any correlation with the good sign and axes. I also couldn’t reconcile how Arsenal’s “guns” could suddenly become “axes”. Equally laughable was the fact that the hawker wore a Liverpool top. Don’t ask me if there were no security operatives.

    The gridlock suddenly eased, allowing for quicker vehicular movement, hence I zoomed off, leaving the man (God forgive me, because the hawker looked like a lunatic), to walk in the opposite direction. I just hope he truly didn’t have axes with him.

  • Sports is serious business

    IS sports truly “play play” as one governor once described it? Who will challenge us to see sports as a  platform to bolster the country’s revenue? Doesn’t the government know that sports is the best vehicle for massive employment?

    Spain’s economy, a growing one like Nigeria’s, relies greatly on the volume of cash generated from the sports sector. FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Villarreal, Valencia are not all about football. They have basketball clubs, volleyball clubs, athletics clubs etc, which are professionally run. But football serves as the fountain where others seek succour, considering its followership as the king of sports.

    Little wonder the hefty taxes on defaulting players and coaches, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Jose Mourinho et al, which enhance revenue for the Spanish economy. Of course, without taxes, countries will suffer as they need to further develop. Consider Ronaldo’s $20m fine (avoided two-year jail term), Messi’s $2.2m fine (avoided two-year jail term), Xabi Alonso’s $2.8m fine, Mascherano’s £611,000 fine and Jose Mourinho’s €2.2m  and a one-year suspended prison sentence, Radamel Falcao’s €9m fine and Neymar Jr’s  £1.9 million to Brazil tax authorities.

    La Liga’s contribution in Spain’s national economy is no less than any other top-run industry in the country. The two elite division football leagues in Spain generate 185,000 jobs, €4.1 billion ($4.66 bn) in taxes and a turnover equal to 1.37% of the national GDP. This is one sport – football. Others are also run as businesses. Sample: Vuelta a España, a race around Spain and one of cycling’s biggest events.

    Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues spent a record £5billion on players this summer despite Premier League clubs, usually the continent’s most active shoppers, slightly reining in their spending, Deloitte has revealed.

    According to analysis from the professional services company’s Sports Business Group, Spanish clubs spent £1.24billion, breaking the 1bn-euros mark for the first time and more than doubling their expenditure from just two years ago. But there were also summer spending records set in Italy (£1.06billion), Germany (£670million) and France (£605million).

    Premier League clubs still led the way, though, with £1.41billion, although the net spent was only £575million, the lowest since 2015. That net-spend figure also fell by £50million since the league shut its transfer window on August 8, more than three weeks earlier than many of its European peers. Guess what, the English teams, having learned from their folly, are moving to revert to the old order in the transfer market by November, having seen what they lost as revenue to the early closure of the transfer market on August 8.

    I’ve chosen Spain, being a developing economy like ours, to illustrate how the citizenry’s passion for soccer can be exploited to fund other sports without ‘killing’ football, which provides a big chunk of the cash. Nigerians love soccer as much as the Spaniards, but their administrators are driven by the landmarks for growth they put in place than what comes into their pockets, the bane of Nigerian administrators.

    In Spain, the government’s role is purely advisory, ensuring that nobody is above the law, as we have seen with high profile players and coaches being made to face the law. The Sports minister should persuade the National Assembly’s leadership to prioritise the enactment of the National Sports Commission (NSC) Bill and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Bill, if we hope to have the Spanish template, which isn’t necessarily the best, but a starting point. No corporate body will fund sports, if the government continues to dictate what happens there. But with the NSC Bill and the NFF Bill, the two parastatals can sue and be sued in the law court in the event of breaches in business transactions.

    The biggest and cheapest Public Relations (PR), tool which the country can use to change people’s perception of Nigeria, is sports. I always recall what happened in Atlanta in 1996, after Chioma Ajunwa won the women’s long jump event. An elated Ajunwa did the victory lap of honour ‘naked’ (not having the Nigerian flag around her neck as it is traditionally done on such an occasion). She saw a little American girl in the crowd holding Nigeria’s flag.

    Ajunwa ran towards the little girl, took the flag and completed the lap of honour – fulfilled. Nobody thought Ajunwa would win the triple jump, with football crazy officials opting to travel that day to watch the Dream Team I in training ahead of its next game. At that time, Nigeria was a pariah nation due to the jackboot era of the late Sani Abacha. Yet, American newspapers splashed Ajunwa on their cover the next day. Ajunwa dominated the airspace, granting interviews. Dream Team I, Nigeria’s soccer team at the Atlanta ’96 Olympic Games, shook Georgia the night it lifted the gold medal, beating Argentina 2-3 in the finals. I recall how security operatives reeled out the names of Nwankwo Kanu, Austin Jay Jay Okocha et al after the games when they realised we were Nigerians.

    Nigeria couldn’t build on the window of opportunities available to our winners, especially the football side because we had a minister who ruled that the team shouldn’t be beaten. What a reason. This minister ensured that all requests from the countries that we beat for a rematch were rejected on spurious grounds. Had Nigeria accepted those games, our football would have gained immensely. Such needless intervention by the minister deters sponsors from identifying their goods and services with the industry. Twenty- three years on, nothing has changed. I sincerely hope that the new minister’s tenure will be different.

    It is unethical to gauge the country’s soccer growth from the prism of our foreign legion, especially where a higher percentage of this foreign-based players are Nigeria-born lads – no disrespect to their contributions to our growth in the last three decades. The domestic league is lying prostrate, with those charged to run the place bereft of ideas. Minister Sunday Dare will need to meet with the real owners of the clubs – governors – to appeal to them to constitute their management bodies, which should be peopled by technocrats who are adept in football administration, not cronies who see the clubs as another avenue for the boys to “chop-and-clean-mouth”.

    At the meeting with the governors, the minister should appeal to them to see the clubs as business concerns capable of increasing their states’ GDP and creating jobs, if the administrators know their onions. A club, which is properly run, can be effectively used to mobilise the people and keep youths off social vices. Governors can use these clubs as their Public Relations (PR) tools to influence people’s perception of their administrations, just as they can be used as the rallying point for government to educate the people on their actions – and inaction.

    The European transfer season ended on September 2. Clubs from the five big leagues splashed five billion pounds on recruitment of players to strengthen their teams. This is just a pointer to how much some of these clubs are worth. No club or even the body running the leagues can tell us how much clubs are worth. This is why our clubs can’t be taken to the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE). The league’s organisers, I dare say, are full of sycophants who won’t tell the leadership the truth – that the game is dead.

    It is sickening to read that the domestic league cannot throw up good players, simply because we have a league body that is indifferent to what happens to the senior side. Football crazy countries celebrate the emergence of new kids on the bloc, not the recycling of aged or forgotten stars on the altar of giving the coaches free hand to do their jobs.

    It is tragic that our local league competition has not begun, making the clubs vunerable to mass exodus of players whenever the transfer windows of serious-minded leagues open in January. This explains why our teams fumble during continental assignments, since they wouldn’t have played enough matches to become formidable sides that can fight for honours. We need to invigorate the operations of the league body, beginning with fresh elections into the league board. Parameters for voting into offices should be adhered to. The chairman of the league board should be a club boss, not what we have now.

    The minister will need to meet with firms who have embraced sports to know what problems they have with the federations. At that meeting, the firms should be told what they stand to benefit from sports sponsorship. After that, a dinner with the President, essentially for sports friendly firms, preferably early January.

    All sports federations should inform the minister how much they get as grants from their continental and international bodies. And this should include the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC). The era when administrators did what pleased them is gone. Grants should be effectively utilised by those who bring us glory – athletes and coaches.

  • The trouble with sports

    When we cringe that Nigeria is a sporting nation, serious-minded countries laugh. Whereas others start their plans from the scratch, we rely on finished products from our jaded competitions with falsified ages. What we bank on from these competitions can’t stand the test of time. They are fickle and fall away like nectar on hibiscus.

    Our sports will crawl for as long as we cast an indulgent eye on instituting a solid foundation for the industry.  Sports cannot grow without integrated programmes anchored on Schools Sports, which is domiciled with the 36 states’ ministries of Sports and that of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja. The catchment area for sports are the schools in the 774 local government areas. Sports is also the vehicle for mass mobilisation of the citizenry. Besides, its role in taking the youth off the streets is invaluable.

    A country in which schools lack playgrounds is certainly not ready. Only a few schools have playgrounds with facilities and trainers. Everywhere is built up – in a desperate quest to ensure that everyone goes to school. Nothing wrong with that, but sports should be considered when development takes place. Sports is a money spinner, the best platform for massive employment, considering the immense followership each game enjoys.

    States aren’t perturbed that Schools Sports competitions, including those named after governors, are moribund. It is ironic that governors, their deputies and executive council members are seen around golf courses and polo grounds, whereas all competitions which in the past served as nurseries to discover kids are dead. Golf and Polo are elitists, very costly to run, their equipment beyond the reach of the common man.

    In the past, schools sports competitions were handled by the Education ministries. States’ Sports Councils and their affiliate sports federations prepared athletes for national competitions. Sports died in the states when sports commissioners and their education counterparts started working at cross purposes. The problem was who to applaud when state contingents excelled in competitions. With time, the units which handled sports at the ministry of education were integrated into other spheres of the ministry. They got choked.

    The first spiral effect of this dastardly decision was the dearth of Colleges of Education for Sports, Teachers Training Colleges etc, where coaches were trained and retrained. Coaches attended such colleges to acquire knowledge and new tricks in their games. Without coaches and trainers supervised by Ministry of Sports chieftains, sports gradually nose-dived into extinction.

    We cannot talk about corporate sponsorship of sports when we don’t have products to market to the business community. Most states’ sports councils’ headquarters are derelict. The workers only remember that they earn a living from sports when major competitions are holding – if the governor is interested in such ‘play play’, as one governor once described sports. The governor argued that the cash spent on sports could be channeled into infrastructure, such as roads and salaries. Incredible.

    I reminded the governor that the citizens of the state needed the government to provide recreational facilities for them. I educated him further that sports is pre-requisite for reducing the damaging effects of some health hazards just as it is the best vehicle for the mobilisation of the people, not forgetting that it takes the youth off the streets and crime. His Excellency asked me to do a paper on what I said. I moved on, knowing that nothing will change. I was right. The governor’s eight years brought no succour for the troubled sector.

    Sportsmen and women are among the highest paid professionals. Serena Williams, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tiger Woods, Lewis Hamilton, Usain Bolt et al are some of the big earners. They achieved this feat because they were exposed to sports as kids. In fact, Serena’s dad groomed his daughters for stardom. No one is shocked by the phenomenal achievements of the Williams’ sisters -Venus and Serena.

    For any commodity to have value, it must have a price. You ask, how much is any sport worth in Nigeria? Keep guessing. A company will place its goods or services on sports if there is massive followership, since the firm needs to reach as many consumers as possible. Firms key into sports to enhance their corporate image and clientele, which they won’t want to tarnish on the altar of sports sponsorship. This is why they seldom support Nigeria sports because most sports federations have not cultivated the culture of accountability.

    Food and beverages firms as well as other sponsors see in the fans who throng the venues a window to market their goods and services.

    In the past, Nigerians watched live broadcast of important sports competitions, such as the All Africa Games (now African Games), Olympics, World Cup, Commonwealth Games, Africa Cup of Nations etc). Parents and kids sat through games. Parents encouraged their loved ones to participate in such sports that they follow because of what they saw on television. In fact, the fascinating story of how Serena and Venus emerged from the tutelage of their father encouraged some parents to mentor theirs, having seen the Williams’ experience.

    The flipside is that the corporate world also watches games in their offices. This makes it easy to persuade them to support sports, having seen the massive followership, who could be converted to customers or consumers of their goods. The job is done if policy makers in the blue-chip companies love sports or have siblings who are desirous of earning a living from sports.

    Sadly, the 2019 African Games holding in Morocco isn’t on television. There isn’t any recap of the days’ programmes on television at night, like it was done in the past, for Nigerians to know their sports heroes and heroines.

    If sports must enjoy the fillip of growth from the corporate world, it must be repackaged like entertainment. In the 1970s and 1980s, foreign stars thrilled Nigerian fans. That has changed, with the massive work of our musicians and actors. One feels good as foreigners call Nigerians wearing our traditional dresses Igwe, Igwe – fallout of what they see from interesting drama stories on television. It is also exciting sitting inside cabs in Europe, listening to Nigerian artists’ songs on radio and foreigners dancing to it the way we do here.

    It isn’t surprising to see entertainment enjoy tremendous corporate sponsorship since governors, business moguls, banking giants and oil industry chieftains attend entertainment shows.Of course, nobody convinces them on the need to do business with the entertainers, having physically seen the crowds at concerts here and in Europe.

    I’m excited Sports Minister Sunday Akin Dare inspected the derelict facilities. Dare’s comments show that he knows what to do. What Dare should do, aside these visits, is to convince President Muhammadu Buhari to make sports’ funding a four-yearly cycle, since most competitions are biannual and after every four years. The yearly fiscal budgets run here won’t do sports any good just as the Treasury Singular Account (TSA).

    It is shameful to read stories of associations’ helmsmen lending the government money for our athletes to attend competitions in which winners will represent us at bigger tournaments, such as the Olympics. Dare should endeavour to persuade the leadership of the National Assembly to institutionalise the NFF Bill and the National Sports Commission (NSC) Bill, which many believe will revolutionalise sports.

    No corporate body will give cash to any sports federation, knowing that it is driven by the government. Companies are reluctant to do business with sports because of policy summersaults, but with the promulgation of the NSC Bill and the NFF Bill, companies will be willing to do good business, since both bodies can sue and be sued in the event of breaches.

  • Soccer as a business

    Soccer in Nigeria will soar if we tailor it to business, not the patronage to lackeys that currently is across the country.The advantages Nigeria will derive from running soccer like the business that it is (the way saner countries have been doing for decades), are endless.

    For instance, a 2019 report by EY’s Economic and Social Impact Assessment said the English Premier League and its clubs supported close to 100,000 jobs and contributed £7.6 billion to the United Kingdom (UK)’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    In 2009, the rugby series between the Springboks and the British & Irish Lions boosted the South Africa economy by almost R1.5billion, a study commissioned by SA Rugby revealed.

    This converts to nearly N36billion. In just one sport alone. The public interest in the ten-match series, and the impact of the arrival of 37 000 visitors from Britain and Ireland, generated R1,47bn in direct and indirect value to the travel and tourism gross domestic product (GDP) of South Africa.

    The six-week tour produced close to a tenth (8,95%) of South Africa’s annual tourism GDP (based on 2008 figures) said the survey prepared by Octagon Marketing in conjunction with Kamilla-SA Sport and Tourism Consultancy and Umcebisi Business Advisors.

    10 years on, why can’t Nigeria, with Africa’s biggest economy and population replicate this success in, football, the king of sports?

    Why, for instance, isn’t any of our clubs listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange?

    If we organise ourselves and run our soccer in a transparent, business-minded way, it will thrive enough to attract juicy corporate sponsorships. Then those firms whose sponsorship offers don’t hit the mark with soccer, could be enticed to sponsor other sports such as basketball, athletics, badminton, tennis, table tennis, to mention a few, which are also money spinners in other climes.

    Running our soccer across the country through the prism of marketing will only be possible if those entrusted with leadership positions will be accountable. Business enterprises are no charitable homes. They are in business to make profit and be accountable to the shareholders periodically at Annual General Meetings (AGMs).

    To achieve some of these targets, we need to identify what we want to achieve and build on it. Most countries’ football growth is stemmed on grassroots communities such that when new talents are discovered, it is easy to know where it all started because each community will celebrate its own. Simply put, sports, not just soccer, grows its stem from the catchment areas from ages four to six, where the kids can be taught the rudiments of the game. Since such schemes pervade all the communities, blue-chip firms can identify with sports of their choices – most times soccer because of its immense followership. What the communities provide are platforms to discover, nurture and expose their young ones to games that they like.

    These nurseries won’t be sustained if they don’t have academies and coaching clinics where trainers, coaches and others affiliated to the sport are trained and retrained on the new tricks of the games. The beauty of these academies is that they prepare kids in a few sports that they know their wards have comparative advantage over others.

    These academies are regulated to avert sharp practices and to ensure that everything is done in sync with what operates at all levels of the sports. This way, once an athlete or footballer is incapacitated or injured, the coaches don’t need to scratch their heads. A phone call to the injured person’s replacement comes from the senior team’s manager after discussions with the age grade coaches. Such a player will definitely perform despite the short notice since all the national teams use the same template.

    What these academies do is to provide the nurseries for younger players to emerge. This also guarantees that each of them is tracked throughout his career. Interestingly, it is at the academy level that the relevant data of the players are collated and processed in the course of the athlete/ footballer’s career. This system checkmates fraudulent acts such as the fielding of age-cheats during competitions. It corrects the Nigerian practice where camps are thrown open to all comers whose data is drawn from the information the person provides – most times manipulated.

    With this flawed process, our age grade teams don’t eventually serve the purpose others use them for – nurseries to replace ageing, retired and injured players.

    The essential ingredient in these academies overseas is that they introduce kids to the concept of combining education (school work) and sports with flexible curriculum. This way, the kids are taught how to prepare for their future and what to do in lieu of retirement. This seamless transition encourages others to embrace the academies, having seen what those before them achieved and what they are doing in retirement.

    These European countries’ data are accessible on their websites at the press of a button, aside guiding them in their quest to track anyone who goes offline. Since these federations have all the players’ data, they protect them from signing Shylock contracts and help them when they have issues with the careers.

    With this setting, the corporate world can identify with the nurseries, knowing that when these kids excel, their products and services will form the bedrock of rave reviews for such stars. The look and feel of brands’ outfits and other insignia on international platforms are immeasurable. This trend is sustained because accountability is like second nature – not negotiable.

    All these novel incentives of the academies won’t happen without good playgrounds and facilities, which are usually provided by the government with enabling legislations to ensure that the grounds, stadia and facilities are not used for such nebulous activities as political rallies as is often the case in Nigeria.

    It is a travesty that the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos, which has hosted many major sporting events, is derelict.

    Sportscity hosted the All Africa Games in 1973. Recent heads of the sports ministry have paid lip service to revamping the facility. Politics has scuttled moves to acquire the SportsCity, especially by the Lagos State Government under  former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, which sought to lease the place over a period. It is close to one year since the Lagos move, yet Sportscity remains an eyesore and a terrible citation on the way we allow edifices decay, as if we didn’t spend a fortune to build them.

    We hosted the All Africa Games in 2003, using the competition to modernise our sporting facilities, which are now rustic due to poor vision of our sports administrators. If we had a maintenance culture, CAF would have asked us to host the competition, given our passion for football, our players’ exploits and the population to fill all the stadia during matches.

    How would anyone ask for N60 million to plant grass on the Abuja National Stadium’s (now MKO Abiola stadium) pitch? Isn’t this the reason the place is decaying? Do we not have horticulturists to do the job? Don’t they know that horticulturists nurture grass before planting? After all, grass is everywhere in the country. Must we always siphon cash for every job? Why would the ministry demand N60 million from NFF to plant grass, yet they are talking about probity? If the ministry don’t know what to do with the place, they should lease it out and see how it will be a befitting edifice under a proper management.

    Countries measure their growth in soccer by the number of domestic league players in the teams. The ripple effect of this is that the domestic league matches are watched by mammoth crowd weekly, invariably increasing that revenue of the domestic clubs.  Our league games won’t attract foreigners like we had in the past, if we play on almost empty stadium and can’t offer good money to lure them here. It isn’t enough for government to fund clubs. The governors should ensure that credible people manage the teams.

    They should be given targets and time lines to deliver on mandates given, otherwise they are asked to go. One of the targets governors should give to those who administer clubs is to ensure they are listed at the Stock Exchange. It is laughable that none of the clubs’ value is public knowledge. How then do they expect the blue-chip firms to do business with them?

     

     

  • Letter to Gernot Rohr

    Gernot Rohr’s mien puts you off at first contact, although his wiry look suggests that he thinks round the clock about his job. Rohr isn’t scared to talk about his job. He listens and waits to answer questions, showing his depth and willingness to improve on his work ethics.

    He comes across as a man who is determined to meet his targets, except those set for him by his employers, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), given the potential of our players. NFF’s mandate to Rohr showed gross misunderstanding of the brand that they had.

    Otherwise, how do you task Rohr with a semi-final mandate at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, where 99 per cent (Only goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa plays in the domestic league) of his boys play in Europe. The argument that Nigeria had missed the last two editions is laughable and can the likened to doubting the predatory instincts of the lion simply because it had been ill. Nigeria, given the abundance of talents in the country’s 774 Local government areas should win the continent’s biggest soccer diadem in default – it should be our birthright.

    The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations is over with Nigeria belittling herself with a bronze medal, largely because we make our players look like they are indispensable. Little wonder they are easily provoked and ready to upset the applecart for lucre. They pour odium on the country over things they dare not do in their European clubs. The best way to stop this show of shame is for both the NFF and Rohr to drop the ringleaders. Besides, those who have spent close to six years in the team should be eased off, if we are sincere in our quest to excel at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

    It isn’t enough to bask in the fact that Nigeria fields the youngest set of players at competitions, like Rohr always says. It will be worth celebrating, if these young lads qualify Nigeria for the Qatar 2022 World Cup final. Such a feat will open new vistas for the players and persuade foreign scouts to visit Nigeria in search for budding talents. The invasion of the country with foreigners will elicit good business deals which will invariably rub off on the quality of our domestic leagues and competitions.

    The spiral effects of attending big soccer tournaments have been lost on us because our mentality of perpetually rebuilding our teams after every failed adventure. Winners of tournaments are built from generations (at least two) of previous appearances), hence the fluidity in their games. The growth pattern is such that engages the good players in their age grade teams when a vacuum exists. This transition is possible because coaches at the age grade levels are integrated into the senior from when the country’s playing style evolves.

    Nobody can fault this NFF board in terms of getting quality matches for the Super Eagles. Unlike in the past when such Grade A games are played mostly on the pages of the newspapers, this new NFF get their friendly games confirmed by the opponents to throw into the dustbin any thoughts of it being fake news.

    The September 10 international friendly between Nigeria and Ukraine in Dnipro is a superb test for the Eagles since the Ukrainians are presently ranked 25th in the world unlike Nigeria which is 33rd. Yet, this game provides the best test for our goalkeepers comprising Francis Uzoho (Anorthosis Famagusta, Cyprus); Ikechukwu Ezenwa (Heartland FC) and Emil Maduka Okoye (Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany). Not a few Nigerians have celebrated the exit of Daniel Akpeyi, with a few others pleading that he shouldn’t return to the team, if the coach knows his onions.

    This latter group are not raising the alarm over nothing since we have this tendency of unearthing forgotten stars under the guise of trying to tap from their experience. I always ask when the younger ones will garner such experience when they are benched by older but ageing stars?

    I can’t fault Rohr’s preference for Emil Maduka Okoye (Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany) because we watch him weekly where he has distinguished himself in matches. I wish we had a more vibrant domestic league administered by people who can be challenged to ensure that Super Eagles is populated by home-grown players by 2022, not those who remember the league exists, only when the season begins.

    Goalkeeping has been Eagles’ bane. Rohr needs to recruit a renowned goalkeeper’s trainer to drill those invited, although his Nigerian assistants were goalkeepers for the same team. Clemens Westerhof did that for the Eagles and it worked perfectly. It is laughable that our goalkeepers at the Africa Cup of Nations set a defensive wall, yet they stood behind it, leaving sufficient gap for the strikers to score the goals. If Rohr feels comfortable with his assistants, then he should insist on inviting only those who play regularly in Europe.

    One of the problematic areas of the Eagles at the 32nd africa Cup of Nations was its defence. Our defenders were slow to react to passes and lacked the pace to outrun the strikers. I thought Rohr would address this problem. Yet, Rohr re-invited Leon Balogun for the September 10 international game against Ukraine, even as he hasn’t played a game for Brighton this season. The coach invited the same defenders, giving the impression that they are indispensable.

    These defenders wouldn’t feel challenged to improve, if they are selected regularly. What beats most pundits hollow about Rohr’s choices, is that he has repeatedly stated that he will overhaul the team’s defence. Is this how he wants to do it? Rohr’s employers should remind him that he should develop the domestic game, which can only happen if he lives with us. He can’t be defining his job schedule when we know that the bulk of players he is banking on began their game here. They would never have played for Nigeria, if the coaches who discovered them relied entirely on foreign-based players.

    Rohr insulted our sensibilities by sticking with these leaking defence comprising of Olaoluwa Aina (Torino FC, Italy); Tyronne Ebuehi (FC Benfica, Portugal); Chidozie Awaziem (FC Porto, Portugal); William Ekong (Udinese FC, Italy); Leon Balogun (Brighton & Hove Albion, England); Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain); Jamilu Collins (SC Padeborn 07, Germany); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (Rotherham United, England). Only Ajayi and Collins are playing active soccer, while the others are either torn between getting new clubs and training for the new season.

    No prize for predicting that Ukraine will beat Nigeria. It’s the reason Rohr should take risk on some of the good defenders in the domestic game. The argument that it is always difficult to get them entry visas is weak since these logistic details should be embedded in the contract signing documents for such international friendly games. It is true that our foreign legion can easily storm Dnipro in Ukraine. But it doesn’t foreclose the need to impress it on countries willing to pay against Nigeria to consider our domestic league players. I would rather home-based players accompany the team to Ukraine than the litany of Agbada-wearing administrators who have not added value to the game’s growth. The time to plan for the Qatar 2022 World Cup is now, using the qualifiers for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and the Mundial.

    No changes in the midfield except for Joe Aribo  who plays for Glasgow Rangers in Scotland. I’ve my reservation for his choice even though I’m not a coach. The Scottish isn’t competitive. the only plus here is that they are in this year’s UEFA Champions League. Only Rohr can explain Aribo’s choice because not many of us watch the Scottish league. I sincerely hope that his choice is spot-on.

    The midfielders picked such as Alexander Iwobi (Everton FC, England); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Oghenekaro Etebo (Stoke City FC, England); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England) and Joe Aribo (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland) are good. My worry is the placement of Iheanacho as a midfielder. Coaches who have worked with Iheanacho have identified him as the straight-jacket central striker, who cannot function elsewhere but as the traditional number 9. Perhaps, Rohr has something in Iheanacho which others haven’t. But it is important that he plays in the position he trains weekly for his club. The trio of Ndidi, Iwobi and Etebo did well in Egypt. But Rohr needs bigger players in that department, although our smaller ones are good battlers for the ball. My other worry will be their predictable style, which many countries can exploit. We need better players to give them good competition and increase our options during matches.

    At the Africa Cup of Nations, Eagles struggled with high balls and couldn’t handle situation in between the defence and the midfield. It accounted for the free kicks taken against them. Perhaps, Rohr needs a defensive midfielder to literally sit in front of the two central defenders to plug the holes created by ball dropped behind the midfielders.

    Rohr has picked  strikers who on their day could win matches for the country provided they get good passes released to them early from the midfield.

    Forwards such as Ahmed Musa (Al Nassar FC, Saudi Arabia); Victor Osimhen (Lille OSC, France); Moses Simon (Levante FC, Spain); Henry Onyekuru (AS Monaco, France); Samuel Kalu (Girondins Bordeaux, France); Paul Onuachu (FC Midtjyland, Denmark) and Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal FC, Spain) are coaches’ best bets to wreak havoc on any opposition. They are good runners, dribble well but their last touch on the ball, most times are faulty.

    Rohr would need to place more emphasis on how our boys redouble their efforts when they get towards the opposition’s defence. Only enterprising teams can outrun closely knit defences. Such tact to unlock such defences come with a  lot practice coupled with the resilience of the attackers. Our players should be taught how to be selfless and give the players in the best positions to score the goal the ball. goals count in matches not missed chances.

    Beating Ukraine in Dnipro is achievable but will require a lot of tact and zeal to win by our players, because they are a very  good team.