As mixed reactions continue to trail the outcome of the Super Eagles’ Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against the Lone Stars of Liberia which ended in a 2-2 draw in Monrovia, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has assured football fans in the country that the mistake of the past will be avoided in the second leg billed to take place in Calabar next month. In this interview with INNOCENT AMOMOH, the spokesperson of the Glass House, Emeka Inyama recounts the achievements of the NFF board and also discloses that Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi is working in line with the template of the Federation and other issues. Excerpts…
The Super Eagles just returned from Liberia where they managed a 2-2 draw against the Lone Stars of Liberia. What is your general assessment of the match?
Well, for me what is important is the outcome of the match. There’s no course for alarm. The board is not shaken. We went for a win actually and the intention of the board was to win the match in Liberia. You recall that in an international friendly, we defeated them 2-0 in Monrovia. So, the motivation was there. The visit of Mr. President (Goodluck Jonathan, ed.) before the match added to that zeal to win. But at the end of the day it ended in a 2-2 draw, which means that we came back with a point. It is a two-legged affair in which case we have to target the three points in the return leg in Nigeria which will make it four points out of the six and that will take us to the Nations Cup. We are not resting on our oars though we are okay with the results. It is not what we expected but it has not broken our hearts. We just need to prepare. Today, whenever a match concerns Nigeria every country will want to rise up to beat us. Otherwise beating Liberia should not be a problem. They paraded only two professional players, but every team is a threat. By all standards the result has put us in a good stead for Nations Cup qualification.
There were reports that the Liberians were hostile before and during the encounter. How true is this?
It was expected, and that was why the NFF was prepared by making adequate preparations like having alternative arrangements for hotels, buses and all that. We knew the Liberians were desperate to win and they would deploy all means possible. And if you are a follower of African football, you will understand that these are the usual antics. So that was expected but it shouldn’t be, this is friendly football, two friendly nations that are like brothers, so we were not surprised by the antics but we were disappointed by it. But when they come to Nigeria we will give them the best treatment and still defeat them.
What is your general impression of the match? Do you agree that Enyeama actually cost us the valid points as it was generally reported?
Vincent Enyeama’s case is a matter for the coach to address. The coach has the power to hire and fire. He is the one that invites players. He has seen the team and will be willing to make changes. He has told the players if you have to come late don’t come, if you are not committed enough don’t come, if you don’t want to play for Nigeria don’t show up. He has read the riot act, he knows those who have not done well, and his next invitation will now show the way. We in the federation have given the coach free rein and powers to take decisions. So we can’t say it was Enyeama who was the culprit. But in our own eyes the players failed to leave up to expectation.
In your experience, do you think that Stephen Keshi is taking the right step by making the home based players the core of the Eagles team?
What Keshi is doing is simply carrying out the template of the present NFF board. Over the years it has been more of promotion of the game not the development of the game. Now if we cannot have confidence in the local leagues then what is the essence? Keshi was a product of Nigeria football, he believes in it and he is doing the right thing. This is the first time we will be having’ local’ players, as they are called, making up to 50 or 60 per cent of the national team. It is something worthy of acknowledgement and it is in line with the programme of the NFF.
How true is the report that Keshi and the NFF are at logger heads over Mikel?
Mikel was invited but the issue has to do with the artificial turf or natural grass. He said he was not used to playing on artificial turfs and he was excused. When it was natural grass it was too late for him to come. Mikel is one of the best players in Nigeria today, we cannot ignore him; we need him for the Super Eagles and I know he has no problem with Keshi. I believe that in subsequent invitations Mikel will be given a look in.
Foreign professionals have been accused of lack of commitment to national assignments. Do you agree?
Not at all. It doesn’t work that way. It will be unfair to think that way. What Keshi has done is to build on the local based players as the foundation of the national team. Many of the foreign based players are struggling to play for the national team, the reverse is the case; it is not true.
This board was two years old in August. What is your general assessment of its activities?
The Aminu Maigari-led board in my assessment has done well. For the first time we have relative peace in Nigerian football, thanks to the Honourable Minister of Sports who brokered that peace after so many litigations in court. Then, for the first time we have all our national teams taking part in all the qualifiers and they are doing very well. For the first time we are developing the game by starting the Under 15 national team, by saying that only those in the local league will play in the U-17 and no foreign based player. For the first time the U-17 players are subjected to the MRI test to ascertain their real ages. For the first time all the national teams are involved in international friendly matches, grade A. Our girls did very well in Japan, even though they did not win the trophy. We have done well in terms of the development of the game, not promotion. This means that the girls that went to Japan are real U-20 players. So, today we can beat our chest to say we have girls that will graduate into the Super Falcons. In the past, the players hardly moved up, but now we want to ensure that there’s a gradual progression from one stage to the other. For the first time in a long time in Nigerian football, there no issues with return tickets and match bonuses, players’ allowances, and all those logistics that normally cause distractions have been taken care of. For the first time this board attracted the President to watch the national team train before a crucial match. So, we have done so much, carrying all the stakeholders along. So the administration of Maigari has done well. There should be a pass-mark for this board for bringing peace to Nigerian football and taking it to the next level. We work as a family and there is no bickering, other stakeholders are involved. In any area we look at it, this board needs all the support and encouragement of Nigerians and other stakeholders to maintain some sanity and progress.
The bane of Nigerian sports especially football has been getting corporate bodies to be involved. What has this board done to address this issue?
It is a challenge. The economy is in a parlous state. There are bad roads, no electricity, all the economic indexes are not working out well and it is affecting them. Secondly, peace. There are crises in sports and as it is now sponsors will not come. No company will want to associate with a controversial product. So we need peace for the sponsors to come. Thirdly, the Super Eagles need to return to winning ways where a solid name will be built again, and brands will come wanting to associate with them. Fourthly, the organisers of the game must show transparency in how the money released is judiciously used, so as to avoid unnecessary controversies. That will give confidence for the sponsors to come. So, these are the factors when put together, the sponsors will come back. We in the board are working towards that. We are grateful to Globacom, they are still with us; Samsung, IGI, CADBURY, and the others. They have all done so much and we are happy. All over the world sponsorship drives sports and not government and that is what we expect here. There must be peace, transparency, and victory for the Super Eagles in Nigerian football. All of these put together will attract sponsors.
How will you convince the average football fan in the country that this board is developing the game from the grassroots?
Let me clarify one issue here. Part of the primary responsibility of the NFF is not to develop football from the grassroots. That is why you have the state sports councils, Ministry of Sports, and the Local Government Areas, collegiate games, secondary and tertiary school games. These are the structures that will develop the game. So, what NFF does is to go watch these games and pick players that can be developed. There has been this misnomer over the years that it is the duty of the NFF to organise competitions from one village to another. That is not it. The right structures have to be there, these various games are dead. Even schools don’t have playing grounds again. There must be games twice in schools every week. So what grassroots are we talking about when a school does not have a play ground? It is a big problem that must be attended to. The Ministry of Education must support sports so that sports will be a part of their curriculum. The kids that are extremely good should be encouraged to do sport as well as study.
What is this board doing to avoid a recurrence of the mistake that cost us the ticket to the last Nations Cup, as the Super Eagles prepare for the final qualification match against Liberia?
You see, some of these things must be addressed. What does the board do? It prepares the team, employs a coach, gives the coach the free hand to get the best players, and the boys go into the pitch to play and do not win and the attack is on the board. The board always takes the credit and the blame, otherwise the players have been paid, motivated, invited, camped and equipped, it is now their duty to perform. But this board will do everything humanly possible on and off the pitch to ensure that we qualify. There will not be any excuse for this board because Nigerians will not forgive us.
How have you been able to fund the various national teams?
It has not been easy. Even the funding of the federal government is hardly enough. That is why we fall back on sponsorship and other sources. That is why we are asking corporate bodies to return. For instance, you ask for N2.9 billion and the government gives N1.9 billion. That is a shortfall of one billion naira and at times it might not be even up to that. So, what we have been doing is to scratch from all sides. Nigerians will not accept any excuse that is why we are seeking resources from other sources to ensure that all the national teams are given adequate attention. We know that Nigerians love football, they are passionate about it; the result must be in line with this passion and that is what drives the NFF.
