Monitoring the cable network stations on Tuesday, I saw the Argentine squad walking towards an indoor handball court in Romania, Bucharest, ahead of Wednesday’s barren draw FIFA-free window friendly.
What struck me was the uniform the players wore. The Argentines wore deep blue track tops on which was inscribed Coca-Cola. I was impressed because it meant that the global brand Coca-Cola was part of the sponsorship package for the Argentines to the 2014 World Cup. They trained under the supervision of their coaches and I didn’t notice around them pot bellied government officials or legislators, not forgetting government hangers on.
I switched from watching the television, having seen also clips of Australia’s whiplash of South Africa at home in a cricket test series, to reading the newspapers.
My heart sank when I read Godfrey Gaiya’s harangue at one of the supporters of the Nigeria game, Globacom Telecommunications. My problem with Gaiya, in spite of the fact that he is my friend, is that he is always eager to grab the headlines. He is entitled to air his opinions. Yet, he needs to tread with caution, especially on issues he cannot back with facts.
Gaiya told the press: “For me, the green colour is not our national colour. I would have preferred the green that we know. I would have preferred the colour in our flag, but again, those that designed it have their reason that they have explained.”
Good talk, no doubt, from the point of the colour of the jerseys for the World Cup. Gaiya would have stopped his argument there or perhaps gotten in touch with NFF chieftains rather than drag the name of the biggest sponsor of our football, Globacom, into the jersey controversy.
Gaiya: I would not know whether Globacom influenced the choice of the colour of the new Super Eagles jersey, but we will look into it and whatever we find out, we will let the world know.”
Interestingly, the essence of unveiling the jerseys is to subject them to criticism, since the samples, were displayed not entirely the final products, were displayed. Indeed, many people quarreled with the choice of red used for the numbering of the jerseys. The manufacturers are bound to make corrections.
Gaiya should be told that Globacom’s sponsorship deal with the NFF didn’t start today, so they couldn’t have influenced the choice of colour. Indeed, Globacom’s sponsorship rests with providing the cash for the NFF to prepare the teams for international competitions. No portion of the contract gives Globacom the propriety right to decide the colour of the players’ jerseys. If Globacom wanted that clause inserted in its contract, it would have offered to purchase the jerseys and made a ceremony of it by inscribing the brands name on the jersey.
It would interest Gaiya to know that the World Cup isn’t a pepper soup competition. FIFA’s marketing partners are known and countries have no right to wear insignia or colours of their sponsors at the Mundial. FIFA frowns at ambush marketing and Globacom will not want to associate its brand with such a needless exercise when its management could head straight to Zurich and enter into a marketing deal with FIFA, where Globacom could be the official telecommunication rights owner of all FIFA competitions. That is a bigger and better platform to showcase the Globacom brand; not the senseless insinuation by Gaiya of influencing the colour of the Eagles’ jersey. Gaiya must grow up. He must show that he understands the assignment before him as the House of Representatives Sports Committee Chairman by reading voraciously to be better informed. Globacom won’t opt for such a dubious and cheap platform to advertise its brand.
The choice of jersey colours isn’t part of Gaiya’s oversight functions. Of course, such a reckless insinuation is one of the reasons why blue-chip companies don’t indentify their products and services with sports. No company likes controversies.
Nigerians would be excited to read about the revocation of Decree 101. They want to see the Act of Parliament that would make the NFF run like a business concern, where everyone can aspire onto the board and not a select few as has been the case in recent elections into the NFF executive board. I don’t know any part of our governance that is being run by decrees instituted during the military jackboot era.
Indeed, Gaiya would be remembered as the best thing that happened to Nigeria’s sport, if he spearheads the move for the National Sports Commission (NSC) to be recognised by the law. It is about time the acts for NFF and NSC were made laws for sports to thrive here.
Back to my room, I saw how the South Africans celebrated the arrival of Brazil for Wednesday’s international friendly. I marvelled at the way the South Africa Football body celebrated their sponsors through look-and-feel backdrops at a pre-match meeting.
The coverage of the Brazilians’ arrival was swift, with media men enjoying their jobs. There were no inhibitions, especially from security operatives. The media coverage of the players’ arrival served as the impetus for the fans to storm the stadium to watch the game.In fact, those South Africans who support Chelsea FC of England were at the stadium to see live the heroes such as Oscar, Ramires, William and Luis. The flipside to the massive media coverage is the capacity filled attendance by the fans. Blue-chip companies would want to exploit such platforms to showcase their products and services to their target audience- the masses.
Pundits would ask why South Africa is playing Brazil, when they are not going to the World Cup. Brazil was at the last edition of the Mundial held in South Africa. Their officials certainly appreciated what they saw in terms of availability of facilities and the passion the people showed towards the beautiful game during the 2010 World Cup.
Beyond these superficial things is the window available to the corporate world to advertise their products and services, using the massive followership that the Samba Boys enjoy globally. Sport is business. The South Africans understand this mechanics, hence they have been able to host many big sporting events seamlessly.
The Brazilians discovered that the world had demystified their Samba flair brand of football and encouraged their wards to head for Europe to ply their trade. Against South Africa on Wednesday evening, Brazil paraded an entire squad of Europe-based stars who combined what they learnt in Europe with the Samba style. European soccer is about clinical finishing in front of the goal post. One marvelled listening to Carlos Perriera speak at the pre-match conference. Perriera won the World Cup for Brazil in 1994. Now, he is the assistant coach to another World Cup winner for Brazil in 2002, Fillipe Scolari, who is Brazil’s chief coach. With two past World Cup-winning coaches in the Brazilian squad, need one imagine the quality of staff in other departments of the squad? Since Brazil won the 2013 Confederations Cup at home, they have not altered the squad. That wining side has shown sufficient synergy among the players, such that they now score spectacular goals with ease.
Despite the gap in ranking between both countries, Brazil fielded their best, knowing how the Spaniards fell 1-0 to Bafana Bafana in an earlier friendly last year. That Brazil beat Bafana 5-0 wasn’t the story. The real subject for discussion after the game was Neymar’s hat-trick for the Samba boys. Recall Neymar played at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos as a second half substitute for Brazil’s U-17 side which didn’t win the trophy. Today, Neymar is the biggest discovery from that competition held in Nigeria four years ago. Please, don’t ask me about our Golden Eaglets stars who lost in the finals.
Thank you Abdullahi
I have not come to mourn Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi’s sack. Nor have I come to join the list of sycophants in government who supervised his exit. No. Abdullahi isn’t one of those sycophants in government and doesn’t want to be remembered as one who didn’t leave his mark at such exalted position.
I have come to mourn the sad loss to sports which Abdullahi’s sack signposts. Well, as a proven journalist, the newsroom is there to welcome him or he may even offer to join the academia, where he is eminently qualified. My consolation is that Abdullahi served creditably, leaving many landmarks in the industry for all to see. He delivered. I have come to mourn the likely destruction of his legacies by the system under the guise of doing things differently.
Abdullahi’s removal from office is another death knell to our sports. I’m not saying that the new sports minister doesn’t have what it takes to perform; he may even surpass Abdullahi’s feats. Abdullahi has stabilised sports in this country to warrant any senseless change. Today, we are Africa’s best at the senior level; we are the world’s best football nation. We are the third best African nation at the domestic football level. Abdullahi’s reforms brought forth the League Management Committee (LMC) that ensured that telecommunication giants Globacom returned to bankroll the domestic game.
Abdullahi wasn’t a football minister, like most of his predecessors. Today, we are the best African nation in athletics at the senior, junior and youth championship cadres. After 14 years’ absence on the medals’ table at the IAAF World Championship, Blessing Okagbare, through some of Abdullahi’s reforms, won two medals for Nigeria (silver in long jump and bronze in the 200 metres) at the 2013 championship held in August, last year.
Today, the National Sports Commission (NSC) has revitalised the National Academic Sports Committee (NASCOM), which is tasked with developing sports at the grassroots. Mr. President launched NASCOM’s flagship programme for grassroots sports development, Rhythm and Play, in June, 2013. NASCOM’s mandate through the RnP approach is to get two million more youths to participate in sports. NASCOM is already registering schools, games masters and children to achieve this goal. To ensure early identification and discovery of athletes, the first-ever National Youth Games for athletes between ages 13 and 17 held in December 2013, with over 300 special talents discovered, for games which will be held annually.
Under Abdullahi, the NSC has also completed a world class athletes’ hostel in Abuja. The hostel was built to serve elite athletes’ development programmes, especially athletes to be enrolled for the high performance system. Need I waste space to state that the concessioning of our moribund sports stadia in Surulere, Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu and Kaduna is close to fruition due to Abdullahi’s mind-boggling ideas?
Neither Abdullahi nor sport is a winner by this sudden sack. The loss, no doubt, is ours. But then, aren’t we famous for killing our stars?
