Soccer crazy nations measure the game growth by the number of home-grown players in their national teams. The authorities of the game, FIFA, recognise the importance of this point and have instituted several incentives to drive the game’s development globally. FIFA, in its wisdom, provided funds for less developed nations to embrace the game and bridge the gap between them and others. The cash is to improve on the facilities for the game to thrive in the 211 affiliate countries.
In his historic address at the 32nd Ordinary Assembly of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, last weekend, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said: “Africa is a continent that has always been very close to my heart. I have fond memories of watching the FIFA World Cup 1982 in Spain, when Cameroon quite seriously challenged my home team, Italy, and when Algeria defeated West Germany before West Germany made it to the final against Italy, who won the competition.
“Football fans around the world were convinced that the African teams would soon reach the level of the best European teams. I’m sad to say that almost 40 years later, African teams haven’t been able to make this shift, and to reach the final stages of a FIFA World Cup, despite their impressive performances during the FIFA World Cups 2002 and 2010, and more recently the World Cup in Russia. This situation must change because of the great passion your continent has for football. Quite simply put, Africa lives football!
“I believe that just as Africa gives so much of its passion and positivity to football, football can give back to Africa and help the continent’s people in key areas: economic growth, education, gender mainstreaming, integration and football governance.’’
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?
According to a FIFA report, Enyimba and Ifeanyi Ubah split the money $118, 860 (N43 million). FIFA shared 209 million Euros (N85 billion) to 416 clubs, with the day rate for 736 players at the Mundial set at $8, 530. Did Ifeanyi Ubah and Enyimba FCs pay Ezenwa up to N43 million during his stay with them? Not possible. Yet these administrators don’t see the essence of making match venues violence-free for massive attendance, culminating in improved earnings from the stadium’s turnstiles’.
In fact, the responsibility for preventing violence at match venues rests squarely on the shoulders of clubs’ chairmen and management teams who empower miscreants to control vital units of the stadium. Clubs’ roughnecks man the gates; they also supervise the sale of match tickets, hence it is difficult for any team to declare what it earned from gate takings. In other climes, with less than 15 minutes to the end of matches, the public announcer in the stadium announces the number of fans who watched the game.
Of course, knowing how much was realised is easy based on what was sold and at which of the entrances.
Hooligans and urchins handle sensitive areas hence, no mechanism is in place to checkmate their activities. And the clubs’ chairmen are happy with it because the criminals take percentages from gates where their activities are not supervised. Is anyone surprised that with this setting, it is easy to pummel the referees – the exit gates are manned by hoodlums who won’t open the gates until the assignment is completed.
I watched a game last year at the Agege Stadium, Lagos. I saw how yoyos rushed to nearby shops to pick up bottles, which they converted into weapons. Everyone ran for dear lives, including the organisers. The stadium manager did the wise thing by closing the main entrance; otherwise, the carnage would have been more devastating. What happened at Agege is the norm in most Nigerian stadia because the club owners shirk their responsibilities.
In Europe, fans misbehave, a classical example being the bottle of beer thrown at PSG’s former Manchester United player, Di Maria, in Tuesday’s Champions League game at Old Trafford. In between PSG’s goals, a bottle was thrown at Di Maria who responded with humour. Di Maria pretended to take a swig from the glass bottle before discarding it. He then made his point with his feet by claiming a second assist of the night to set up Mbappe for goal No 2.
But that bottle-throwing irritant would be caught and punished. Such big stadia have CCTVs which help spot unruly fans. Even Di Maria will be punished for his comments after the incident. Such control mechanisms further secure the premises, making it absolutely impossible for fans to misbehave.
I have deliberately highlighted the key areas that militate against providing adequate security at match venues, orchestrated by the club owners and their management teams.
To avert deaths, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) should immediately prioritise manning of match venues before, during and after matches, through special squads. The IGP can place temporary police stations inside the stadium with Black Marias stationed to house hooligans when they are caught.
Growing up in Benin City, fans behaved when mobile policemen were deployed at critical matches. These MOPOL units were very efficient as they came hours before the games to man strategic positions. There were empty vans where those who misbehaved were locked up and taken away to be prosecuted. Hardly was there any violence at matches where the MOPOL took charge in Benin City. There was also Col. Gbolahan Mustapha (rtd) who marshalled operations within and outside the stadium. This system worked despite the notoriety of the fans at Ogbe Stadium, which had the luxury of hosting four teams at the time.
The best form of security is the referee doing his job without fear or favour. The structure of the stadia exposes referees to attacks. Perhaps, the League Board can instruct the clubs to create new entrances and exits for the match officials in such a way that their lives are safe.
This idea of away teams having to remain inside the stadium till late in the night after matches is unacceptable just as it is barbaric. There won’t be any need to watch games, if winners must be the home side. The organisers should get live broadcast partners to beam matches. Such initiative can be bankrolled by a blue-chip company which will utilise the marketing windows available in such packages – only if the league organisers know their onions.
The scams surrounding the league are shameful. Pundits are worried that nobody knows what the league is worth. Organisers can’t tell us how much they have realised from inter and intra club transfers of players? This is the biggest revenue earner for most lucrative leagues in the world. Contracts between clubs and their players are worthless. In fact, a popular league team’s owners were shocked to hear that players they paid monthly weren’t theirs and couldn’t earn revenue from any of them being scouted by European clubs.
Our club owners lack ideas to fund the development of their teams. When Chelsea lost scandalously 6-0 to Manchester City, one fan threw his season’s ticket away. It was found by a steward who would track the fan and appease him. I have brought this incident forward to ask if our clubs have season tickets for fans. None; yet one of the biggest revenue earners for European clubs is the sale of season tickets (gold, silver and bronze cards with varying figures depending on the fans’ pockets).
The club owners can’t be worried that their matches are not live because the absence of television covers their tracks when their fans cause mayhem which would have been captured during live telecasts. Revenue from television right is mind-boggling, with most European clubs eager to have their games on television, knowing the financial implications. Here, club owners are comfortable with getting government money, which is cheap and, most times, need not be unaccounted for.
With such lawlessness, it is easy to appreciate why the league totters and the administrators bask in mundane things, such as being CAF and FIFA eggheads. One is, however, emboldened by Infantino’s pronouncement at the 32nd Ordinary Assembly of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, last weekend, which could flush out the usurpers in our system.
The FIFA boss said: “We cannot afford for this beautiful game of ours to be poisoned by corruption. We have a mission to protect the integrity of our sport, and FIFA reiterates its willingness to work with all of you to root corruption out of African football by partnering with the African Union. We would also have the ability to share our expertise on matters like stadium construction and security across Africa, ensuring that stadia are properly constructed and equipped following best practice, ensuring safety of venues and fans attending sports competitions.”
I hope our football chieftains will read this address.
