George Opong Weah visited Nigeria on Monday – not as a soccer star, but as President of Liberia. He wore a suit, not his favourite number 9 shirt which made fans roar in ecstasy, as he stepped onto the pitch for a game. Weah was a prolific striker, scoring goals with aplomb. He was such a phenomenal player that he did the unthinkable – playing for both Inter Milan and AC Milan FC in Italy. These two teams are bitter rivals, though they use the same pitch for matches. Weah wasn’t the only player to do so but, for an African, it underlined how he was adored everywhere he played.
I would have been surprised if Weah left Abuja without scoring a goal; he did and the goal, if reviewed, was a spectacular one as it touched on the most important reason why Super Eagles don’t do well in major soccer tournaments and other sporting contingents. Weah isn’t a stranger to our football politics, having been playmate with Taribo West and Celestine Babayaro at Chelsea. Besides, he played against many of our soccer icons, such as the late Stephen Keshi, the late Rashidi Yekini et al.
Weah had cause to play ceremonial matches with famous players, such as Austin Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Samson Siasia, Peter Rufai and other members of the golden era of the game here. They must have discussed our problems with Weah.
So what did Weah say in Abuja? “Some of the things you see at the World Cup, you will see an entire team go to represent a whole country and you will hear that one minister took the money, they did not pay these players and the players are causing problem. When players are going to camp, it is to relax and focus. And for them to be in camp, they must have everything there for them not to worry, ‘’ Weah said.
Spot on Weah. Most ministers of sport advance the argument that since the cash is coming from the government’s vault, they should be the ones to disburse it – as if they own the cash. It is difficult to explain why the ministers don’t trust NFF members as the president trusts them. Those of us who cover sporting competitions find it difficult to answer questions concerning our ministers dishing out cash to players when the ministry has officials who can do the job. Foreigners wonder how such ministers can audit expenditures. Which auditors, appointed by the ministers indict him?
What these ministers do is to blackmail NFF members. They polarise the media to stir up controversies, which compel the government to constitute probe panels whose outcomes are of no consequence, if the ministers succeed to muscle the federation chiefs to do their biddings. These football ministers set the NFF members against themselves with the face-off affecting the team’s performance. They then constitute Presidential Task Forces (PTFs), whose members, most times, are the ministers’ friends. And critics of the federation take over the jobs of the coaches.
It got so bad in two instances that the incumbent coach watched in awe and pain as interviews were been conducted for his job during tournaments. The late Shuiabu Amodu qualified Nigeria for two World Cup competitions, but was sacked, no thanks to our all knowing sports ministers. Sports minister Solomon Dalung told the media that the Muhammadu Buhari administration saved N7 billion when there wasn’t a PTF body to superintend during Nigeria’s qualification series to the Russia 2018 World Cup.
What most ministers don’t know is that Nigerians can’t be fooled by their theatrics, especially the corporate world, which would not do business because of frequent policy somersaults in governance. Besides, the ministers think that creating confusion in the Glasshouse, and unfounded allegations against soccer chieftains, would convince the business moguls to listen to their requests. No show. No business concern would invest in projects bedevilled with controversies and tales of sharp practices. Nigerians look forward to the day when the Sports Ministry would also be probed since it is always the soccer chiefs that pilfer government’s cash. We wait.
We had a minister in the past who watched matches live at the stadium, but compelled the NFF men to drive back to his hotel some three hours away to collect players’ bonuses which other countries paid immediately after games. The minister insisted on doing the paper work whereas he had a personal contingent of 35 people (cooks, nannies, house boys, relations, kids etc). What manner of paper work did the minister want when the federation had stipulated what they wanted the cash for in the budget which the government approved? Shouldn’t the minister have given the cash to the federation to disburse and ask them to account after the tournament, the way others do?
Nigeria is usually the laughing stock when players refuse to train until their cash is given to them. Most times the players spend the night before a game sharing money that should have been transferred into their accounts immediately after matches like it is done in their European clubs.
We also had a minister who got government cash for a recuperating Nigerian athlete, who got paid in two tranches at different times. Was it not a sports minister who boasted that he would convince the government not to waste money on Nigeria’s qualifiers for the Mundial because Super Eagles can’t win the trophy? Yet, the minister was on every trip to watch the team, of course earning estacodes for himself, that is if he didn’t have other people who accompanied him. They tell us that they accompany the teams to deliver the president’s goodwill messages. Indeed.
Now that the new NFF has got the Aiteo Group to invest in our football, I want to see if the minister would ask them to hand what they generated to him. So far, Aiteo has spent $600,000 and N320 million on the team en route its qualification for the Mundial in Russia. Again, the NFF has secured a deal worth N2.5 billion over five years with Nigeria Breweries, with NFF President Amaju Melvin Pinnick assuring Nigerians that he would generate $2.8 million more for the team.
Already, FIFA has released $1.5million to the 32 qualifiers for the Mundial, Nigeria inclusive. Another $8 million await Eagles for the group stage matches. and the figures are staggering as the teams progress. So, what would that minister be saying now that cash running into millions in dollars hits the NFF account? What manner of advice would he have given the President asking him not to fund Nigeria’s participation to the World Cup? Is the World Cup all about winning?
Weah spoke about Nigeria’s chances at the Mundial, saying: “I think Nigerian team is a model; we all followed them. I have played with great Nigerian players; I played against them. Now you have a new generation. The fact that they qualified is a good thing for Nigeria.
“But I hope they will prepare very early because they are going to represent Africa and we will be there to watch them, for them to bring the trophy for the first time if it is possible. But I think the seriousness to go to World Cup is not to pay players to go, I want every African government to know, if you win World Cup is a pride to Africa is not just to Nigeria, so we must do everything to ensure that the players are not stressed, make sure they concentrate, make sure their incentives are given to them to motivate them.
“Remember I played in European setting, when we go to camp, we have nothing to do. The only thing we have to do is to take a shower and prepare for the game, everything is laid down here and so you have no excuse. So, let the players not have excuse, support them and let them go and bring back that cup.”
Weah noted that every government in Africa complains when it comes to sports. He thanked President Buhari for supporting the Super Eagles to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
He said: “I was amazed the other sitting before Macron; he talked about his sports agenda because he believes you can build capacity through sports, and through sports you can also encourage people to work, to do what they want to do.
“I have been fighting for so long for my national team to qualify. Imagine, I’m the World Best here in Africa, the only world best. And I told French President Macron that FIFA built one stadium in Liberia and we have one Ballon D’or, so if you build 10 stadia in Liberia, you will have 10 Ballon D’Or.’’
Weah revealed that he had convinced the World Bank to support his country’s sports revival with $5 million. This is what Nigerian sports need, not ministers who abandon 29 other sports and bicker with soccer. It hurts to note that these other sports are money spinners too, like soccer, in countries where sports is seen as a business, not one to compensate failed politicians.
“As a former coach, technical director and former sponsor of the national team, you know is not only football. When Liberia goes to represent us at the Olympics, we only see the officials drilling with our flags, we don’t see no athletes.
“This year, we have made sure that all of our sports we will have someone to represent us and I will be there to monitor them. That is why we put a former player as the sports minister that I will work with to revamp Liberia National Team and I know he will do it best. And those techniques that made Liberia qualify twice and missed the World Cup three times, I will make sure that I work with him so that he can do the work and ensure that our athletes go and represent our country,” Weah said.
I envy Liberia. I won’t be surprised if Liberia becomes the new Mecca for sports in the next decade, with President Weah. Who won’t fund sports when the marketing drive is being initiated by the country’s President?
