The Nation Newspaper

Category: Ade Ojeikere

  • Feeding bottle coaches

    Feeding bottle coaches

    Sometimes, I wonder if Nigerian coaches love themselves. It hurts too when most of them assume that being former Nigerian internationals, it is their birthright only to handle the country’s national teams across the age grades. It also doesn’t matter if they failed in their last national team assignments. When they aren’t in charge of any team, they storm the media daily with paralysed analysis of what ought to be done to make the teams they once handled play with flair and score goals with aplomb. Nobody dared to make any suggestion to them about how poorly their team played. What they did was to shout back at you: ”Are you a coach?”

    A coach who didn’t know the rules of the competition in which he was fielding a squad for Nigeria, which led to the country’s ouster, suddenly thinks that the interim coach of the Super Eagles, Austin Eguavoen, should bow out of the senior team job. He hinged his misconception on a warped thought that Eguaveon may be doing two jobs; first as the NFF Technical Director and then as the interim coach of the Super Eagles.

    It showed clearly that this coach didn’t learn anything from some of the reasons he was eased off the job in 2011. If he did, he would have asked informed minds to educate him on what he wrongly perceived as double employment for Eguavoen. NFF’s accounting systems would fish out illicit dealings, if any. I had thought that this grumbling coach would have commended Eguavoen for picking the best two coaches, Fidelis Ilechukwu of Enugu Rangers and Daniel Ogunmodede of Remo Stars FC of Ikenne in the domestic league as his assistants, unlike others who recruited foreigners as their assistants.

    Those grumbling coaches told us then that they were paying such foreigners from their wages, rendering the Nigerian coaches otiose. Indeed!

    Eguavoen and the two Nigerian coaches with him need support from other Nigerian coaches and recommendation of good players they have seen, not the pull-him-down talk by this all-knowing coach.

    This coach was fired on October 28, 2011 for failing to take the Nigerian team to the 2012 African Nations Cup in Gabon & Equatorial Guinea. Interestingly, the internet doesn’t forget, as this coach later apologised to Nigerians over his technical misnomer in not knowing that with scores at 2-1 in Nigeria’s favour, all he needed to do was direct his players to shield the Guineans from scoring an equaliser. He didn’t. Rather, he stood up to urge his players to score more goals. The Guineans knew the rules and went on to score the equaliser, tying the final result at 2-2.

    Read Also: Oil firm flags off football competition for Delta host communities

    Rather than interrogate the circumstances surrounding the secondment of Eguavoen from his position as Technical Director of the NFF, this coach abused our sensibilities by asking Eguavoen to quit the job. Eguavoen, by virtue of his appointment as the Technical Director of the NFF, fills the gap in the Super Eagles when a lacuna exists. We don’t have to be seers to know that the NFF is cash-strapped, hence their decision to draft Eguavoen to handle the Eagles with an interim position. Of course, he would only be paid allowances and match winning bonuses whilst with the team. Eguavoen should ignore this cheap talk of resignation, since his employers took the decision which he has accepted as a patriot.

    So, I shudder to ask why anyone thinks that I dislike Nigerian coaches simply because I speak truth to them? Otherwise, why is it that some former internationals, especially from the 1994 Super Eagles, are always around to replace their former teammates who are incumbent Super Eagles coaches? I ask, where is the espirit d’ corps as former teammates fighting the same course of reinventing our football based on their experiences and learning in Europe as ex-internationals?

    Nigerian coaches should be told pointedly that they haven’t done enough to equip themselves for the daunting task of deciding the future of the beautiful game in Nigeria. Having excelled at her debut appearance at the senior World Cup in 1994, alongside the remarkable contributions of our players in all the leagues in Europe and in the Diaspora in the last 30 years, the country has no business parading squads which look like stools for misery in international competitions.

    Countries’ growth in football is measured by the number and quality of home-grown lads. For us, it is the reverse. We chase those discovered and nurtured overseas. Unfortunately, nurseries and academies whose activities are not streamlined by the federation are the ones exposing our local kids through shylock agents to Europe, the Americas, and the Diaspora. What a shame!

    There isn’t any problem with being agents but such agents should be able to identify good talents and expose them to bigger clubs. However, as the NFF are stylishly shopping for a new manager, he mustn’t be seen to perform the role of an agent while functioning as the manager of the Super Eagles. The ripple effect of this kind of unholy arrangement is that any discovery loses his position on spurious grounds if he is playing in positions where the manager has an interest. This conflict of interest on the part of the manager is one of the reasons there is friction between the big stars who dare to question the presence of the better players around the country.

    Unfortunately, the federation chieftains who are neck-deep in the sale of players’ rackets align with the mercantile managers. In no time, such a big player is tagged as undisciplined and a bad influence in the dressing room and camp. What our federation men don’t understand is that our players are exposed to quality coaches whose work ethics help to shape their careers in their different clubs. It is, therefore very easy for them to recognise a good manager during training sessions. It is the reason our players report to camp at their leisure, knowing that the feeding bottle managers in the Super Eagles need them more than they need him. Journeymen are sold to us as coaches with experience and good knowledge of African football. Their handlers tell us that these journeymen would be paying their assistants with their wages but that they would only be paid allowances and match bonuses.

    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 winning trophies, even if the players come from the moon. No surprise at the dearth of competitions here.

    We have relied so much on the ”foreign legion,” that it doesn’t matter if kids from Europe populate our age-grade teams. We don’t have to win age-grade competitions. We should de-emphasise winning, even though it is the ultimate. We should insist on getting kids who can return to the grassroots to serve as icons for others to emulate. Otherwise, we may get the ”foreign legion” as sports administrators to drive home the point.

  • Crowd control in NPFL

    Crowd control in NPFL

    I’m frightened. With each passing week across the globe has come agonising times, with the Europeans providing the solutions to what many people here in the Nigeria ecosystem would tag as ‘unforeseen circumstances’. In fact, in Guinea last weekend, 56 people, yes human beings, died in the repulsive circumstances of poor crowd control at a match centre where Guineans celebrated the birthday of their leader.

    A soccer match in southeast Guinea turned deadly, leaving 56 dead after violence and a crush erupted during a tournament honouring military leader Mamady Doumbouya. The tragedy unfolded in Nzerekore, one of Guinea’s largest cities, where a controversial refereeing decision sparked chaos. Yes, what was meant to celebrate a leader resulted in needless political bickering, with the 56 dead people lying prostrate in the morgues. Of that number, many may have taken the corpses of their dead relations, including kids, women etc who went to watch the stalemated game, to be buried while typical of most African settings, government has engaged the people in buck passing utterances.

    What was so special in this game that a few naughty Guineans chose to turn the stadium into a battle field instead of a platform to celebrate a leader, if he truly deserved such a gathering.  How could some beast have taken the laws in their hands with no immediate response from the security architecture in place at the stadium for a game meant to honour a military leader? In fact, visuals capturing what went down last week are disturbing, going by the type of weapons of mass destruction used to maim and kill these scores of people who had gone to satisfy their craving for soccer, not chickens or reptiles.

    The stampede broke out on Sunday afternoon at the Nzerekore City stadium during the final of a local tournament between the Labe and Nzerekore teams in honor of Guinea’s military leader, Mamadi Doumbouya, Guinea’s Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah said on the X platform.

    “The government condemns the incidents that marred the match between Labe N’Zerekore,” Bah posted on Facebook, reiterating a “call for calm, so as not to impede hospital services from aiding the injured.”

    “This (the disputed penalty) angered supporters who threw stones. This is how the security services used tear gas,” the local Media Guinea reported.

    Media reports further revealed that: ”People were running as they tried to escape from the stadium, many of them jumping the high fence. Videos also showed many people lying on the floor in what looked like a hospital as a crowd gathered nearby, some assisting the wounded.”

    Pity. Would all these remarks from the government through the Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah and the different media outlets bring back the dead? Guinea isn’t a small soccer nation, making it imperative to ask who organised the game? What role did the Guinean FA play before; during and after the game to avert what happened? Or where they left in the dark?

    The figure from the Sunday show of shame was 56, though words was rife that true figure could be 135 based on scoops from the homes of those who died. But I have chosen to stay with the official 56, with my other posers being what CAF and FIFA are saying if the Guinean FA chiefs have been mum. As we await what government’s reactions would be with the outcome of the expected investigation reports, my thought went straight to our domestic football, though the government isn’t military.

    The current sytem in Nigeria would have allowed the authorities running sports in the country to supervise the game and just provide the necessary logistics based on the calibre of people expected to be in the stadium on that day.

    At the domestic league level, my fear rests with the issue of quality of crowd control mechanisms in place for different stadium in the country. My other worry has to do with the fact that we still don’t know the sitting capacity of every stadium in Nigeria to determine how to control the crowd. What interests those who own clubs in the country is the euphoria arising from the owners’ spur of the moment declarations that the gates be thrown ajar to test their political popularity. Other consequences don’t matter to the real owners of the clubs until the unexpected happens.

    Read Also: First Lady Tinubu urges parents to foster innovation in children

    How many of the entrances into the stadium’s terraces in the country are functional and who ensures that overzealous club owners don’t sell tickets to the fans above the stadium’s sitting capacity? Are those manning the gates been trained on what to do when there is the urgent need to evacuate the place when any crisis occurs? Would the gatemen be taught how to throw the gates ajar with 15 minutes to the end of games as we witness in countries where the game is organised as a business?

    I’ve seen the mammoth crowd at Kano and Enugu for instance this year and the crowd control mechanisms left much to be desired, going by the way fans were allowed to sit around the inner enclosure of the stadia. It showed at a glance that both organisers sold tickets above the sitting capacities of both stadia, to the glory of God. One only hopes that those whose duty it is to ensure that the right things are done do so to avert any carnage, if left undone.

    The current leadership of the domestic league should use the interlude of the competition to task clubs to provide the detail of their stadium’s sitting capacity before matches of the second round begin. The organisers could use the league’s interlude to inspect the stadia to ensure that uncompleted structures are fixed, such that the materials don’t become weapons of mass destruction whenever unpleasant incidents occur as we saw in Guinea last Sunday. Indeed, tickets for matches must tell the fan where his or her seat is located. Such a spectator should be able to invite any of the security operative to intercede on his behalf if his or her seat has been taken over by another fan. In Nigerian stadia, one ticket can be sold to two people. No big deal. All you will be told by fellow fans would be ‘Oga make we manage like that. Hey, oya shift make we create space. Up Nigeria!’

    Any time a game is played in serious football playing nations, you are told how many people watched the specific game. That way, one could tell how much was realised from the gates. This way, club loyalists know which stadium has the largest capacity per game. Not so in Nigeria because the administration of football isn’t seen as a business concern here.

    Those who run our football are either too forgetful (forgive me please) or they intentionally cast an indulgent eye to imminent pitfalls ahead, only to say when such problems arise, ”but I warned earlier, you thought you knew it all.”

    This is the premise of all issues, not only in football but all the sports federations. The countries that excel in sporting events have systems that guarantee enough funds for the sportsmen and sportswomen to compete with the best, such as tax rebates on sport-friendly firms, lotteries, and businesses owned by wealthy nationals who know what is in such a sponsorship that benefits them by the sitting government. Such financial taxes are spelled out to companies and wealthy citizens after agreements have been reached. These cast-in-stone policies are binding to all the parties to such an extent that breaches are adequately addressed to allow either of the parties to seek redress in court.

  • National sports calendar, please

    National sports calendar, please

    Today is Tuesday with no issues or trending events to discuss on Nigeria sports. What one would have truly loved to write about is the National Sports Commission (NSC) beyond the facade surrounding the document and the two men chosen to pilot it to completion. I don’t want to discuss both men, going by the deluge of congratulatory messages sent by Nigerians acknowledging their pedigree in sports.

    What our sports need is a calendar of sporting activities starting from the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) through the 36 States and Abuja. This calendar would have competitions hosted by sport-loving, companies with the NSC men telling these firms what they stand to gain. Both NSC men should note that the commission has no athletes. Rather, they rely on the products discovered, nurtured and exposed from the grassroots. This nursery is dead.

    Nigeria needs to depart from the fiscal yearly budget to bankroll to that which provides a bigger cycle where funds for sports are given as bond with the NSC told to account for what the government provides. Such cash should be refunded over specific periods. Sporting competitions cycle are usually, annual, bi-annual, and four yearly, such as the Olympic Games, and World Cup across all genders and different age grades. Failure to adopt this method of bulk cash earmarked for sport, our athletes would continue to suffer.

    Both men should strive to get the states to re-establish the synergy between them and the different states’ ministry of education where the bulk of the new talents at the grassroots would be discovered. Again, these platforms are comatose with the few places where they exist and are handled by poorly trained coaches and administrators who produce badly trained sportsmen and women. It is the reason the pool of talents has dried up forcing us to recruit Nigeria-born athletes from Europe, the Americas, and the Diaspora.

    So, if both men want us to take them seriously, Nigeria must cultivate the culture of hosting big sports tournaments. This is the only way the government can upgrade the rustic sporting infrastructures across the country. The NSC should ask the sporting federations what they do with grants from their international bodies for different aspects of the sports. We must stop this tendency of attending competitions outside the country for lucre, leaving our sports centres littered with debauched conditions.

    Read Also: Nigeria secures €300m development partnership with France

    Both men should as a matter of importance revive the moribund competitions of yore; especially those targeted at age-grade athletes who must be in schools. When our NSC men talk big about their plans, I always ask where the athletes, coaches, officials, and competitions are at the grassroots?

    When Dikko was appointed as NSC Chairman, I recall going to the Daily Editor of The Nation Newspapers, Adeniyi Adesina, asking to know if Dikko was made to know his designation. I did this for a purpose knowing Dikko’s closet style of doing things.

    The Federal Government’s gazette which was sent to the offices described Dikko as NSC Chairman meaning that the Federal Ministry of Sports had become extinct. When eventually the seven federal ministers were screened and sworn into their offices by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja, it was also apparent that Dikko wasn’t a minister. I waited a bit more to find out if Dikko would attend FEC meetings. None to date to my knowledge.

    I, therefore, looked forward to the day when Dikko would be called the Sports Minister at any forum to see if he would raise objections. I also wanted to know if Dikko would be a team player and not personalise feats. I didn’t have to wait for too long since Dikko told the international media that he personally wrote the NSC document 16 years ago when he was the Consultant to the National Assembly. How does he now think that his thoughts and solutions to sports policies and problems haven’t grown beyond what he scripted 16 years ago? Sport globally is fluid with dynamic changes for us to be guided by 16-year-old thoughts. We wait.

    Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, in a press release on a delegation that Dikko led to NNPC management on Thursday 21 November 2024, addressed Dikko thrice as the ‘Minister of Sports.’ There has been no “correction” made.

    “Addressing the delegation which was led by the Chairman of the National Sports Commission and Minister of Sports, Shehu Dikko, the GCEO, said NNPC Ltd. was ready to be part of the initiative to revamp the nation’s football,” the release stated.

    “No mistakes there. Dikko was at NNPC to discuss the revamping of football, note, not sports.

    “NNPC will be a prime partner in the journey to bring back value to our football, to reshape it, re-engineer it, and bring happiness to our people”, (Mele) Kyari stated.

    Writing in his weekly column, Ikeddy ISIGUZO in the online portal dailyquery.com.ng, writes: “Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the National Sports Commission and Minister of Sports, Shehu Dikko, said football was fundamental to the economies of the best football countries in the world, adding that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for immediate action to revamp the game.

    “He said the multiplier effects of football were enormous and could facilitate the revamp of related industries across the value chain.

    “The Minister noted that IMG, which promotes the English Premier League, was invited as a technical partner to leverage their experience in the sport,” according to the NNPC release.

    Dikko, also the Minister of Sports, without a Ministry, was at NNPC to seek help for football as “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for immediate action to revamp the game,” Isiguzo wrote.

    “Only Dikko knows what the President told him about his mandate and the supplementary title to get his work done. When he goes to NNPC, with all its muscles, to market football, where and when he will pitch for sports?

    “More than anyone, Dikko knows that football with its consuming structures will not come to much good even if a sponsor pours billions of Dollars into it. How has NFF managed the millions it gets from FIFA and CAF?

    “The chaotic contraption called National Sports Commission Act 2023 has such inconsistencies that nobody should have worked with it. A quiet review and amendments would have cured the confusion that Dikko has embraced to keep his office and take the heat off the President who appointed him.

     “A high possibility is that the 2023 Act was used without anyone reading it or those who did felt that Sports was too unimportant for any diligence in its regulation or administration.

    “Dikko’s defences were admissions that the Act was faulty. The appointments he claimed to be based on the Act must have been made elsewhere.

     “National Sports Commission Act 2023 envisages a Ministry of Sports as it mentions “Minister responsible for Sports” and has board seats for the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Sports, and the Director responsible for Sports in the Ministry. No further excuses are permitted for the aberrations in the so-called National Sports Commission.

     “Appointments should not be made in breaches of a law on which they are supposedly rooted, and those appointed are the ones to amend the law to legitimise their appointments.”

    If I was to be in Dikko’s shoes, I would have sent the NSC Act for public vetting while making plans to organise a symposium to discuss the Act’s content if it exists. It would be highly preposterous for anyone to toy with either a 17-member board or an 11-member contraption which be too bogus,

    I don’t want to believe that the NSC Act is stillborn.

  • NFF: Medicare for everyone

    NFF: Medicare for everyone

    Watching European football always leaves you with a lot of lasting impressions. The ambience around the stadium is inviting. You immediately want to belong as the clock ticks towards the commencement of the game. The enchanting atmosphere inside and outside the stadium soon gets you to align with whichever side you have chosen to support – that is if you aren’t dressed in the country’s or club’s colours, making your choice apparent.

    Back to the settings in our different living rooms and choice spots where matches are shown, the contrasting styles of viewership among those watching the games are diametrically opposite except that the choice spots are volatile largely because  bets are placed on the outcome of key matches. In fact, it is worse to sit and watch European club football.

    But last Sunday, I discovered that I was alone watching the Netherlands’ game against Hungary at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam, with three Liverpool FC of England’s players, Cody Gakpo, Ryan Gravenberch, Virgil van Dijk on the Dutch side and one of them, Dominik Szoboszlai on the Hungarian side. Interestingly, the two nations’ captains Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk play for Liverpool.

    The game started with the Hungarians missing two easy goal scoring chances, especially the one missed by Szoboszlai, until the eighth minute when the game had to be interrupted due to what was termed a medical emergency at the sidelines close to the technical area. Note that before the game was suspended,  the Dutch had taken a corner kick in which the ensuing melee in the Hungarians’ penalty box necessitated a review to find out if the ball actually touched the hand of one of the Hungarian players. This review was Kept In View (KIP), with attention focused on the person under medical emergency.

    Read Also: Succour for Delta community as NGO delivers water projects

    I missed the English with their theatrics in handling the same setting. They would have shown us the waiting ambulance revving (the standby in the event of unseen occurrences), live videos of the hospital where the patient be taken to and how the hospital’s personnel were waiting to ensure that the chain in the medical emergency train was iron cast. In this case, the Dutch kept theirs simple, choosing to hoist a medical canopy to shield the patient away from public view to some extent while both countries’ medical crews supporting those in the stadium for such medical emergencies to revive the patient.

    Happily, we were spared the drama and precision in taking the patient from the place to the hospital because the patient was revived within 13 minutes and taken away on his feet from the technical area for further treatment. The rapturous clapping of hands inside the stadium was electrifying just as it showed that the Medicare of everyone watching games was sacrosanct. The game was held for 13 minutes and what excited me was the line of communication among the players seeking to know if the patient stood any chance of being resuscitated.

    Several times, I saw Holland’s captain, Virgil van Dijk walk towards the closet where the patient was getting cherry information about the patient which he conveyed to them. The least of the 22 players walking around the playing field to loosen up their muscles had their minds on the continuation of the match with the individual still distressed.

    When the referees, however, sounded his whistle for the game to continue, the focus went straight to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) machine for an interpretation of the goalmouth melee incident before the game was stopped. There wasn’t protest from the Hungarians as they stood hands akimbo to watch the obvious as revealed by the VAR. This writer looked towards the Hungarian coach whose countenance showed that he accepted the decision.

    What was clear before the penalty kick was taken was the power of country over club when there was the need to choose between them in match situations. Just before Gakpo shot the ball beyond the Hungarian goalkeeper’s reach, the captain walked towards him to whisper where Gakpo would whip the ball into. Of course, Gakpo saw his Liverpool mate passing instructions to his goalkeeper and sent the ball in the opposite direction.

    I waited to see how the indications of the 13 minutes spent on the medical emergency case and the normal time wasted in the course of the game. The reserve referee raised the changing board which was 0:13 which was played out before raising the board for two minutes extra time. I marvelled at what I was watching and my mind raced to the domestic game in Nigeria and how we would have handled the same situations flawlessly like the Dutch did.

    Back home Nigeria, the domestic game runs without the VAR machine which effectively won’t match what the VAR did in resolving the hand ball from a corner kick taken by the Dutch in the eighth minute during the European Nations Cup game between Holland and Hungary in Amsterdam. And like I have told those who cared to listen that the VAR machine would continue to be a mirage for the beautiful game until FIFA makes it a mandatory prerequisite for hosting any international game.

    Except for such strict instructions from FIFA would Nigeria deem it appropriate to install the VAR machine?

    The seamless manner in which the Dutch FA handled the medical emergency case underscored the need to interrogate how the NFF and indeed those in charge of organising ours would treat medical emergency cases. Deep inside me, I prayed fervently that such medical emergencies should not happen here. My fear rose from the indolent manner in which we handle such critical functions in Nigeria.

    Nigerian doctors can match their counterparts anywhere in the world, but the attitude of those in the medical chain could inhibit a seamless act beginning with the absence of power and if the ambulance’s driver would be at alert. No disrespect to the drivers

    Perhaps, the question to the NPFL is, are the medicare for everyone inside the stadium across the country are? Are there plans such that patients can be easily be driven from the stadium to hospital and treated based on the contractual terms? It would be foolhardy for patients to be taken to the hospital and be subjected to the harrowing of waiting inside the ambulance until clearance from the owners of the hospital is received before the distressed person is treated. No one would blame the owners of such a business enterprise if such contractual partner is a habitual debtor.

    Can the NFF and indeed the NPFL tell us how many Nigerian clubs with brand new ambulances fitted with the state-of-the-art facilities to handle emergencies before excavating patients to the hospital? How many stadia in Nigeria have fully equipped medical rooms to serve as the first place of contact to stabilise distressed patients? Can NFF and NPFL tell us where patients with medical emergencies can be taken to without any delays arising from debts owed such hospitals?

    There is, therefore, the need to align our football leagues calendar with the rest of the world for August to July so that we can have a football season that will be devoid of any rancour and will be a source of pride to its sponsors as well as its followers. There is a need for a well laid out and functional football structure in the country that will engender active involvement of private and public partnership.

  • The beasts are back

    The beasts are back

    I’m not a sneer, neither am I an alarmist. I strive to speak the truth to our sports administrators to be proactive in their decision-making, not reactive. Whereas many were celebrating the fact that the 2024/2025  season’s domestic league matches have produced 19 away victories after 11 weeks, some other administrators were pretending as if there are mechanisms in place to trap urchins when they go gaga.

    The cliché that the police are our friends is legendary, yet the relationship between the league and the police is far and wide apart as the dentition of Centurion. No fault of the police, I dare say. Accounts of what happened in the Tin City of Jos, and Benin City suggest that the beasts had a field day beating the referees to a pulp and causing mayhem with the other unarmed fans running for their dear lives.

    And this has been the pattern of assaults at match venues of the domestic league over the years, with no arrests made whilst the urchins walk around both cities with broad chests celebrating their actions with boastful talks to repeat the dastardly acts again, under the same setting. Pity!

    The irony of the league organiser’s punishment that the clubs should play without their home fans watching, is that those who participated in the battering of the referees last weekend would be the ones administering the directive to keep those who ran for their lives from the stadium. Yes, those who pummeled the referees groggily are ardent supporters and friends of those club officials.

    More important is the fact that the two clubs belong to the State governments (Plateau and Edo) wherein their governors are supposed to be the chief security officers of the state. The States’ Football Federations chieftains need to do more to ensure that there is a synergy between them, the police, and the clubs’ officials to provide adequate security for the visiting teams and referees before, during and after games without needless incidents. After all, during international football matches referees, home and visiting teams are driven into the stadium premises escorted by enough security operatives. No fan dares to break such security architecture. NPFL men need to adopt this method of ushering the match officials and visiting teams in and out of the stadium and let us see how effective it goes.

    Again, if our match venues had CCTV cameras, it would have been easier to spot where the thugs who ran onto the pitch came from. My head on the guillotine, the oafs would have been seen running from the portions in the stadium’s seating arrangements for the home fans. Would it shock you, dear reader, if I reveal here based on accounts of those in both stadia last week Saturday, that the clubs didn’t invite enough police operatives to keep vigil? Otherwise, the police would have made some arrests.

    Therefore, the league organisers should banish teams whose fans beat up referees thereby bringing the game to disrepute, to far-flung locations, than this slap-on-the-wrist treatment of playing behind closed doors without their fans. Playing in locations far away from their home bases would incur more running costs from hotel accommodation and other logistics for each game. It would simply mean that every game would be treated as an away obligation with no returns from the gates. A case of double jeopardy.

    Asking Plateau Utd to forfeit 3 points and 3 goals from their accrued points and goals for assaulting a match

    official and also to pay a fine of N1million each for failing to provide adequate and effective security as well as for throwing objects towards the field of play, totalling N2 million, is routine. It isn’t tasking them enough.

    The Jos-based outfit will pay another fine of N500,000, being compensation of N250,000 each for the assaulted match official (Zakari Aminu) & Rangers player, Daniel Onyia. They will also underwrite the cost of repairing the damaged team bus of Rangers and other verifiable losses/damage incurred during the incident. It would have been adequate if what they spent was up to N10 million.

    Read Also: Eguavoen excuses Nwabali from Eagles camp

    By the same token, the punishment meted on Bendel Insurance ought to have been weightier than what they got to truly serve as a deterrent to others. If the figures were very high, their state governors would have demanded an explanation. I would suggest that the NPFL management write the governors, informing them about the misconduct of both teams’ fans last Saturday in Jos and Benin City.

    “3 points & 3 goals shall be deducted from Bendel Insurance’s accrued points & goals for the assault on the match officials. The club will pay another N1 million fine for misconduct capable of bringing the game to disrepute.

    “Bendel Insurance will further pay a fine of N750,000, being compensation of N250,000 each to the assaulted match officials (Adeniyi Adewale, Anuoluwapo Balogun & Sodiq Sonibare),” the statement said.

    A statement from the General Manager of Enugu Rangers International, Barrister Amobi Ezeaku to the fans described the attack by Plateau United FC of Jos’ fans as unwarranted.

    One of the Enugu Rangers’ officials who witnessed the attack informed reporters that: “As the players’ and official’s buses made to leave the stadium, there were loud bangs on the bodies of the buses as the drivers made a quick dash towards the exit gate.

    “On its way to where the team was lodged after making a turn at the Farringada Round-about, the fans that laid an ambush in front of the stadium, pelted the players’ bus with large stones with one of them catching the young midfielder on the face and beside the left eye.

    “The bus had to make an emergency stop at the Alherri area near St. Murumba College, Jos, where the team medical personnel administered treatment on the injured player,” an official told The Nation’s reporter.

    He said: ”We wish to inform you of the unfortunate incident that occurred during our match against Plateau United in Jos. The attack on our team is unwarranted and we are taking all necessary steps to ensure that Justice is done,” he said.

    ”Under this administration, the symbol of our great club must never be disrespected and we will go to any length to preserve its honour and legacy. Our commitment to upholding the values and pride of Rangers is unwavering,” he said.

    Reading the two accounts of what they passed through explains why Plateau ought to have been banished and not asked to play without their fans. The punishment makes the two offences seem similar. Certainly not as the Jos fans attacked the Enugu Rangers’ contingent far away from the stadium.

    The unanswered questions: Are the beasts who maim referees spirits? When will these thugs be caught and made to face the wrath of the law? Is it until these urchins kill referees before we put in place a mechanism to truly arrest these enemies of the beautiful game – football which unites nations? You tell me!

  • Caging NPFL’s monsters

    Caging NPFL’s monsters

    I was very impressed when the NPFL disciplinary committee swiftly slammed very stringent measures on Kano Pillars over their captain Ahmed Musa’s post- match comments, scolding the match referee in a game which they lost. My joy stemmed from the fact that NPFL chieftains their  maintained their stands to show that there isn’t any room for sacred cows in the domestic league. Not anymore.

    “I’ve been praising the officiating and the progress in the league up until now, but the performance of the officials in this match Day- 9 game made me wonder if coming back to play in the NPFL was the right choice,” the Nigeria international said.

    “For the league to improve, we need to address the quality of officiating. Officials must not be allowed to diminish the players’ morale and effort. If I keep witnessing such officiating, I cannot encourage anyone to return to the NPFL, It would be a waste of our efforts if this continues,” Musa said further.

    What got me thinking was that the information which resulted in NPFL’s sanctions came from a press release by the club’s media department. They have learned a lesson on how to distil messages sent out to the media for public consumption, going forward. What hit the Pyramid side as an own goal. It also sent a message to big stars in the league not to disparage the game by pouring odium on it.

    The NPFL Disciplinary Board fined Kano Pillars N2 million – N1 million for misconduct capable of bringing the game to disrepute and another N1 million for improper conduct of their players and officials. Pillars’ Ugochukwu Gabriel exhibited unruly behaviour during the match. Gabriel, who was sent off against Nasarawa United, was given a nine-game suspension, which began from match day 10. The club, however, reserves the right to appeal the sanctions within 48 hours from the date of notice. This again is another kettle of fish when the chips are down in the closing weeks of the domestic league. We wait.

    Read Also: Wike appoints Olayinka SSA communication, social media

    It is good to note that erring players, officials and coaches are being punished for uncouth comments with their clubs made to pay heavy fines. We haven’t reached the critical stages where every game brings to the fore teams as title contenders and those enmeshed in the murky relegation waters. This stage, sadly, starts in the second round with the fans taking the laws into their hands to cause mayhem. I’m looking forward to seeing how the NPFL body would punish irate fans, the clubs and such clubs’ chairmen who most times look the other way when the thugs who are their fans wreak havoc on match referees and spectators who are focused to flee the stadium.

    The disciplinary markers laid in wait for defaulting players, coaches and team officials, underline the seriousness the organisers have attached to discipline. But, it is pertinent to remind the organisers that club officials would soon use their home fans to forcibly get things done their way. It raises the poser of the relationship between NPFL chieftains and the Nigeria Police.

    Adequate policing of the premises where games are being played gives the match referees the confidence to do their jobs judiciously, knowing that their lives and indeed all those inside the stadium are safe. One only hopes that the organisers have time tested security architecture to arrest monsters who most times do the biddings of the home teams, especially when the results on the field of play end in defeats.

    Mayhem at match venues before, during and after games are mostly engineered by the home fans. No winning away side can sustain any crisis on the field of play knowing that the results are in their favour. There are also instances where some illiterate player, coaches and officials incite the home fans to take the laws into their hands when they deliberately refuse to continue the games on flimsy grounds which are the sole prerogative of the centre referee and his two assistants, not forgetting the match commissioners.

    The physical presence of 50 policemen armed with batons and canisters of teargas is grossly inadequate to checkmate irate fans in a capacity filled stadium with a sitting arrangement of 20,000 people. The NPFL officials need to sit with the different State Commissioners of Police to fashion means of policing the premises by ensuring that known troublemakers of home teams are appealed to conduct themselves peacefully. Otherwise, they would be made to face the full wrath of the law, no matter their stature in society.

    Those who disturb public peace at match venues are no spirits but people known to everyone in such locations. So, how is it possible for match officials to be maimed and no arrests and prosecutions are made on urchins who caused such bodily harm without wearing masks to hide their identities? Indeed, when such a thing happens, such a club’s chairmen and the chairman of the State’s FA should be told to produce the culprits within specific days otherwise, they would be held culpable.

    It would amount to a failure of leadership, if in the coming weeks; we started reading about the atrocities of criminals masquerading as soccer fans in stadiums. No Nigerian blood should be shed on the altar of watching soccer matches live simply because some people aren’t satisfied with decisions taken during matches.

    The Nigeria police are our friend but the NPFL chieftains should help them to do their job very well by insisting that all the domestic league clubs at the elite class must play their games with excellent and functional CCTV cameras to capture questionable scenes during games, especially during mayhem.

    It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have vans inside the stadium where anyone caught constituting themselves into nuisance are hauled into the waiting Black Maria vans and driven away to the police station for further investigation. The era where some charlatans move majestically from their seats towards the playing pitches brandishing cudgels and all manner of dangerous weapons to unleash bodily harm on vulnerable match officials is over.  It is about time the Nigeria referees’ body take their destinies in their hands by prosecuting club chairmen who fail to arrest thugs who inflict needless bodily harm on match officials.

    The referees’ parent body must insist on prosecuting beasts in human clothing at the law courts. Miscreants won’t cease to take the laws into their hands until they know those who are languishing in jail across the country. Need I state the immense pains the battered referees go through in hospital for committing no offence? Only the NFF through its organs can punish erring referees not illiterate fans or ill prepared clubs.

    I don’t like to disparage the domestic league because sports, albeit football, is one of the few platforms where Nigeria can be ranked with world-beaters.

  • VAR: Nigeria still snoring

    VAR: Nigeria still snoring

    When Ademola Lookman’s goal against Libya inside the Stadium of Champions in Uyo was chalked off, not a few fans looked towards the stadium’s big screen for the replay of the scenario leading to when and how the disallowed goal. Their primary objective was to watch the replays to find out what the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) would say. To their dismay, play resumed as soon as the referee identified with his assistant referee’s offside decision. Really! Just like that? were some the words from the fans signifying their disgust that one of the biggest stadia in Nigeria had no VAR machine,

    It didn’t matter if the goal was disallowed by the custodians of the game for FIFA here -the chieftains of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). After all, Nigeria won the game with a last-ditch effort. For the fans inside the stadium and those at home around the globe, the disallowed goal was the subject of discussion with many wondering why no stadium in Nigeria has a VAR machine. How much would it cost the owners of such stadia to install the VAR machine, reminiscent of what is obtained in big stadia in serious-minded football nations?

    Had Nigeria needed more than one goal to qualify for the next round, for instance, such a wrongly disallowed goal would have stolen Nigeria’s thunder. Perhaps, that would be a call to quickly install a VAR machine in Uyo Stadium. The fans could also take the laws into their own hands, and wreak havoc after the game, especially if the game is against any of rival African nations. Shouldn’t we task our soccer administrators to do everything within their power to make the installation of VAR machines on all grounds where domestic games are being played weekly?

    I posed this question to a top technocrat, Chuks Sokari and he revealed that: ”The installation cost of a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system can vary depending on specific needs and the scale of implementation. A basic (entry-level) VAR system which includes cameras, monitors, and necessary equipment, is estimated at around $50,000 to $100,000. On the other hand, a Full VAR System which comes with more advanced features and additional cameras costs significantly more, potentially ranging from $200,000 to $500,000. For competitions with smaller broadcast setups, a VAR Light system can be a more cost-effective option, with costs ranging from $100,000 to $150,000. There may be additional costs for installation, typically ongoing maintenance, software updates, and technical support, as well as training of personnel.

    ”Based on the above, the cost of installation of VAR nationwide would involve determining the number of stadia to be covered,” Sokari stated.

    Would the Nigerian sports ecosystem embrace the need to have all the stadiums, where the domestic league matches are played, fitted with VAR machines? Not likely going by the NFF President’s utterances which seem to suggest otherwise. Our sports administrators always give the excuse of high purchase of the VAR machines rather than thinking of how to engage the private sector to invest in it stating what they would gain from such a business arrangement.

    Read Also: One third of Nigerians, Ghanaians likely to develop kidney diseases – Study

    Going by the statement attributed to the President of the NFF as stated above, a minimum of six stadia might be involved in the pilot phase of implementation, and the cost of acquisition could be extrapolated from the above estimates based on the option(s) considered. While this would help to improve officiating, a better option would be to go full blast and implement VAR use in all football matches. Selective implementation does have some drawbacks, including a lack of confidence in and controversies over the results of matches played in non-VAR stadia.

    Again, Sokari, prefers a pragmatic approach towards the enforcement of VAR pointing out that: ”Nigeria has approximately 2,000 registered referees and this forms the pool of personnel to be recruited to handle the VAR. Though the referees are trained, operating VAR requires specialised skills. Fortunately, recent efforts by the NFF and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) have seen Nigerian referees undergo training in VAR operations. Only last month, some referees from the country recently returned from a CAF-organised course in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, equipped with enhanced knowledge of VAR operations. Having promised earlier to introduce VAR in Nigeria, the President of the NFF, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau would appear to be keeping to his promise.

    According to Sokari: ”Notwithstanding the above, not all the referees may meet the skills necessary for operating VAR; however, it is expected that approximately 10-15% of these referees might be trainable for VAR functions based on technical aptitude. Consequently, given that VAR operations require technical expertise in video technology and decision-making, Nigeria may need to recruit additional personnel with backgrounds in sports technology, video analysis, or related fields.”

    As interesting as the submissions of Sokari are,  a trade that has been perceived as a hobby, shouldn’t we toy with the idea of professionalising refereeing in a bid to raise the standard which would rub off on the quality of the referees and the approaches to the trade?

    ”Training VAR operators involves both theoretical and practical components. This includes classroom-based training on the VAR protocol, on-pitch simulated practice sessions, and live match testing. The cost of training can vary based on the duration, location, and depth of the programme. On average, the cost of training a single VAR operator ranges from $1,000 to $3,000,” Sokari insisted when asked to estimate how much it would cost intending stadium owners to train and expose personnel to operate the VAR machines in their premises.

    ”The introduction of VAR technology in Nigerian football refereeing would be a significant investment that holds the promise of improving the quality of officiating and the overall integrity of the game. Amongst other benefits, VAR significantly reduces mistakes in crucial match moments, such as goals, penalties, direct red cards, and mistaken identity in bookings. It also provides referees with immediate access to video replays; VAR supports better outcomes and thus promotes fairness in the game.”

    What stands out clearly is that it would be easier for the proverbial Carmel to pass through the eye of the needle than for any meaningful attempt made to have the VAR machine installed in key venues where games are played. It would take a stadium riot arising from the absence of VAR to decide an obvious goal in Nigeria’s favour that those who run our sport would start the process of acquiring one or two.  Those who administer sports in this country aren’t proactive on this kind of tricky issue until a calamity occurs.

    Pray, that the football world has left us behind with the introduction of the VAR. In Nigeria, we are pretending that it doesn’t matter now until it becomes a prerequisite for hosting international matches. It would be too late because of the cost of installation, and training of the personnel to operate the VAR machine. Pity!

  • Libya FA’s myopia

    Libya FA’s myopia

    The cardinal rule on which international sporting bodies allow countries to host their competitions is the willingness of the government of such hosts to provide security guarantees for everyone associated with the event before, during, and after. Yet, the Libya Football Association‘s chieftains informed the CAF’s panel investigating the show of shame at the Al Abraq Airport in writing that the Libyan government ordered the midair redirection of the Value Jet Aircraft from Benghazi Airport to a disused airport. Isn’t this an own goal in Nigeria’s favour?

    What the investigating panel needs to find out from the Libya FA chiefs and their government is whether any aircraft operator or operators used the Benghazi Airport on the day the Value Jet aircraft conveying the Nigerian contingent was diverted to the rustic Al Abraq Airport.

    Article 16.14 of the Regulations provides that ‘if there is an international airport in the city where the match will be held or near that city by less than 200kms; and if the visiting team wishes to land directly at this airport; the host association must facilitate all formalities for entry.’

    In light of the regulations stipulating that the host association, Libya Football Federation must facilitate all formalities for the entry of the visiting team, the Super Eagles of Nigeria, the inability of the Libyan authorities to ensure a smooth entry process for the Nigerian team represents a significant breach of these obligations.

    Indeed, international sporting bodies frown at overbearing governments largely because of their arbitrariness in handling burning sporting issues. In fact, where irritant governments behave in unsportsmanlike- manner, the international sports federation doesn’t waste time in slamming sanctions, no matter whose ox is gored. In fact the CAF President,  Patrice Motsepe during the body’s General Assembly Tuesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia inferred that: “Too many stories have been told of national teams or football clubs going to a country, and they spend hours at the airport, being asked about documents that don’t exist.”

    The CAF President stressed the importance of fair play, calling for visiting teams to be treated with respect and dignity.

    “We should have zero tolerance.

    “Appropriate action will be taken.

    “But it’s this lack of sportsmanship that has existed and we haven’t taken effective action, but I just want to repeat, we are proud of those nations that treat visiting national teams and football clubs with the respect and dignity they deserve.

    Read Also: Okosun lauds  NFF for honouring retirees

    “If there are violations of those regulations and those rules, we will take action,” Motsepe concluded.

    Besides, such countries wishing to host international competitions must relax their immigration rules including the issuance of entry visas among other criteria for easy passage of the participants, foreigners who would love to be at such events,  plan their vacation and that of their wives and kids for that period.

    Interestingly, the Libyans’ short-sightedness in this matter looms large not with their threats to drag the impasse to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Lausanne as if the body would grant their requests for the game’s three points and other charges levied against Nigeria over their uncouth reception to the Nigerian contingent.

    What the Libyans have forgotten is that the world is a global village in terms of the dissemination of information. Members of CAS don’t live on the moon. They must have been reading what transpired in the show of shame at the Al Abraq Airport, knowing that the losers in the matter would run to them to seek redress by challenging CAF’s decision if it didn’t favour the Libyans.

    Expectedly, FIFA council member and former Nigeria Football Federation president, Amaju Pinnick also highlighted the gravity of the situation, emphasising, “This is very serious because anything could have happened to the Super Eagles. CAF is not leaving any stone unturned.”

    In an interview with Arise Television, Pinnick confirmed that the issue was given serious attention during CAF’s executive committee meeting. “CAF is taking this issue very seriously,” he said.

    “Today, tomorrow, we will have the final result.

    “CAF President, Patrice Motsepe, personifies integrity, and Pan-Africanism. We deliberated on it in our executive committee meeting. It was a subject of intense discussion.”

    Pinnick, who represented Nigeria at the probe panel’s sitting, accused the Libyans of unsportsmanship attitudes toward the Nigerians and the Super Eagles. His position was supported by a number of delegates among who are Senegalese Augustin Senghor; Cameroonian Seidou Mbombo Njoya; and Sierra Leonean Isha Johansen. Libya on the other hand was represented by Abdul Hakim Al-Shalmani, a CAF Executive member and former president of the Libya Football Federation.

    Back to the show of shame in Libya at the Al Abraq Airport, the Tunisian air officer who piloted the Value Jet aircraft from Kano described what happened whilst he was airborne as hostage-taking adding that: “The flight plan was to land in Benghazi as our destination and we got the approval from the Libyan authorities to land there, but unfortunately when we were at a close distance, we were told to divert to another airport which was about 300km away from our destination.

    ”It was far and towards the east and not a part of our coordinates. It is something that’s not good because, in aviation, we have our flight plan and calculate the amount of fuel that’ll take us through so we have to avoid issues like this because it could hamper our safety.

    ”When we were about to land in Benghazi, they told us no, citing it was an order from the highest authority in aviation, we cannot hide anything. I asked them at least eight times but they repeated the same thing, saying we cannot land there. Thank God we made it safely and we landed safely. We have all the evidence and they’re well documented,” the Tunisian aeronaut explained.

    The Tunisian aeronaut’s account of what transpired while he was airborne puts the Libyans’ requests into the trash bin considering what could have transpired had the Value Jet Airline’s aircraft been piloted by a pilot unfamiliar with the setting at the Al Abraq Airport, being a pilot who had worked in Libya for two years.

    One is excited with the fact that CAF is taking a holistic look at the antics of the hosts towards their visitors. In fact, CAF’s President Motsepe listed a few of them which he said the body has taken note of.

    “I have heard too many stories of a football club or national team going to a country. You spend hours at the airport, and they ask you about documents,” Motsepe said.

    “Apparently, during COVID, they would look at who the best players are from your team and say those 10 players have COVID-19.

    “You tell them that you have just been tested, and they say no, you have COVID. But it’s this lack of sportsmanship that has existed, and we haven’t taken effective action. If there are violations of those regulations and rules, we will take action,” Motsepe concluded.

  • Throwing the gates open

    Throwing the gates open

    In the past few weeks, a lot of innovations have been introduced to the domestic league at the elite class which would bring out the best performances from the coaches and players depending on the models used to make it devoid of sharp practices. I have tried to find out who introduced the concept of throwing the gates open to the fans, especially during big games involving bitter rivals.

    It occurred to me that most times this strange arrangement is done when State Governors, the real owners of the clubs, want to score cheap political points by attending the home matches of their teams. The unfortunate aspect of this riotous act is that the governors would have departed the stadium when the overcrowded stadium dovetails into a stampede as the fans exit the premises through a few opened gates. What an irony!

    Fans who are allowed free entrance into the stadium, suddenly find out that a few of those gates thrown open have been shut, an act which by itself serves as the basis for a stampede after the game has ended. It gets worse when the 50 security operatives are stretched to their wit’s end and would as a matter of last resort use their canister of tear gas to disperse the riotous fans.

    The questions to be asked include who owns the game? State Governors, the league organisers, or the NFF?

    No firm would do business with the league clubs if the Governors held sway in the team’s optics during games. Firms target their products and services towards the consumers, many of who constitute the fan base of clubs around the country. Clubs should start planning their operations from the business hub in a bid to become solvents in the future. This seasonal cap-in-hand mentality should stop. All outlets for getting internally generated revenues such as getting the fans to pay to watch games must be exploited to their maximum capacity.

    Another worrying aspect of the league is the handshake with distinguished guests, especially the governors. An abuse of platform. Interruptions in European matches are usually symbolic and are more of celebrations of icons or the death of key functionaries in the game or at specific. I would need to scratch my head until blood flows to think of a time when we saw a European game with a guest of honour handshake. A minute silence for the dead and/or the spontaneous clapping at specific times. For instance in the 57th minute, where the fans are actively involved.

    Read Also: Nigerian teenagers trafficked to Ghana for jobs end up as prostitutes, gangsters

    Pray, did our football chieftains watch the colourful entrance of some of Spain’s medallists at the 2024 Paralympic Games onto Real Madrid’s pitch clutching their medals with everyone in the stadium, both sides’ players including clapping ceaselessly to honour the physically challenged athletes shortly before the game against Villarreal. Not agbada-wearing politicians and a few jesters peddling influence around the governors.

    Such epochal events lift up the spirit of the masses and further inspire the physically challenged to give their best in all that they partake in.

    Indeed, viewers of the game on television shouldn’t be surprised if commentators say some of the boys in any Nigerian side to big competitions are products of big European clubs. In such climes, it is like second nature for big teams to have youth teams from ages six to 20, who are grilled throughout the season like their senior sides. Aside, from grooming them, these clubs register them for age-grade competitions in their countries. It isn’t a case of using them as training materials.

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

    The beauty of this system is that it also provides a platform for coaches to be trained and retrained on how to handle kids until adulthood. Many of these coaches end up specialising in training young ones. They won’t be persuaded to handle clubs since they enjoy doing the job. It is, therefore, easy for these countries to name age-grade teams’ coaches, not by guesswork or sentiments but by their achievements in the local competitions in such countries. This academy system ensures that players’ data are accurate. They are stored and used in subsequent editions as the players grow.

    Going to Europe has become a fad for young boys. They are gullible, especially those who are allowed to leave their homes unchecked. Their absence from home means less people to feed. In some cases, these young men associate with evil-minded people and become a threat to family members.

    Our young boys are wasting away in Europe in the name of seeking to play professional football. That is okay. But they never follow the designated paths simply because we like doing things our way. All it takes for anyone to be a football coach or manager is to bounce the ball in any open field. Kids will swarm the place like bees. Sadly, some of these venues of fraud are located in schools, yet principals and parents don’t bother to find out if such coaches or managers are recognised under the law.

    The problem with administering sports in Nigeria rests with the fact that those who eventually get the jobs lack the capacity to see through the desired changes being envisaged for the industry. Yes, people learn on the job and perfect their trades. But those who run sports in the country always choose to flex muscles for simple exercises which are easily resolved by looking for what the laws provide for. One isn’t surprised, considering the pedigree of those who influenced their appointments for the jobs.

    Otherwise, how do you explain a setting where club owners who claim to be experts in the administration of league football don’t know the body recognised by FIFA to administer the game here? The truth is that NFF holds the game in trust for FIFA with all the rules and regulations in the confines of the Dankaro House’s chieftains in Abuja.

  • They have started again

    They have started again

    The domestic league games here have a pattern where victories are secured on away grounds in its early weeks. The narrative starts to change when the weekly league tables begin to show the likely title contenders, also ran teams and strugglers. By the sixth to the eighth week, matches involving table toppers start to witness diabolic machinations with the home teams striving to maximise their home games by winning them hook or crook.

    Interestingly, Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash involving Remo Stars and Enugu Rangers was expected to live up to its billing with thrills and frills from the fans who savour the sweetness of the beautiful game when played with a sense of purpose. Indeed, the two coaches, Daniel Ogunmodede and Fidelis Ilechukwu are Super Eagles assistant coaches, and their experience at that level was expected to rub off on the way their teams played.

    However, Ilechukwu, voiced out his frustration with Remo Stars manager Daniel Ogunmodede, accusing him of a “win-at-all-cost” mentality which neglected fair play. Ilechukwu criticised Ogunmodede for what he deemed unsportsmanlike conduct, highlighting an incident where a player’s safety was allegedly compromised in the hosts’ quest for victory.

    According to IIlechukwu:  “It’s a significant disappointment, a huge disappointment in Ogunmodede,” Ilechukwu said after the game.

    “There was no fair play, even when a player’s life was at risk. Winning isn’t everything.

    “The two matches we played after exiting the continental competition have shown that there is hope for our aspirations this season.

    “We’ll address the weaknesses we’ve noticed, and I’m confident we’ll bounce back positively,” he said.

    Ilechukwu also expressed dismay at the apparent lack of respect for sportsmanship, a value he believes was crucial to Rangers’ success when they became NPFL champions.

    He suggested that Remo Stars’ win came at the expense of ethical play, which he cannot endorse. “This isn’t how Rangers became champions,” he said.

    Read Also: Ghanaian actress Habiba Sinare marries US-based Nigerian music executive Akeju

    I was pleased with the Remo Stars’ manager, Ogunmodede’s response which showed maturity and one who knew his onions.

    “What do you expect from someone who just lost a big game?” Ogunmodede asked reporters.

    “If he’s happy, then he’s no longer my friend because you have to question his commitment toward his job. You expect him to laugh home after a lot of investment and energy. He’s a workaholic and he put a lot of energy into the game.”

    Unfortunately, watchers of the game here won’t have the opportunity to see the replay of the controversial action which Ilechukwu alleged was compromised, since games aren’t live on television nor are they recorded to be shown on television later in the week as it is with the European leagues.

    Perhaps, if we had such a platform, the situation would have been critically analysed with blames apportioned where necessary.

    Besides, if Ilechukwu’s allegations were seen to be frivolous, he would have been made to apologise and possibly sanctioned to serve as a deterrent to others who would want to toe his path.

    Ilechukwu was, however, optimistic about his team’s prospects, pointing out that: “It was a good game. I think we are starting to find our form. I’m pleased with how my players approached the match today, regardless of the result.”

    On the flipside, the foundation for likely violence at The Cathedral in Enugu when the second round of matches has been tacitly laid by Ilechukwu’s uncouth utterances, except the league organisers invite him to face a disciplinary body. Otherwise, some fans would mark the return leg game between Enugu Rangers and Remo Stars of Ikenne, inside the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu.

    The domestic league is literally on fire now that the real owners of the teams are seeing their teams’ placing on the league tables as published by the print and electronic media. One of such owners is the Bayelsa State Deputy Governor who read the riot acts to the government’s soccer boards, the coaches etc,to sit up or face the big axe.

    According to the Deputy Governor,  Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo:  “We have to prepare early for this season. We don’t want a repeat of the experience we had in the last two seasons. We don’t want to hear the excuse of ‘we don’t have the right players.

    “Bosso, I have told you before that the government has given you and other coaches the free hand to assemble and select the best players for our teams.

    “That means management should not interfere with the duties of the coaches. Your business is to resolve issues that affect the team and not to select or field players for the head coaches. You can be involved, but don’t interfere.

    “Let me also warn that, as a government, we don’t want to hear anymore about the issue of sharing match bonuses meant for the players. We will not spare anybody found wanting. Any bonus we give to the players is for the players alone.