All has not been well with the nation’s football. Whenever Nigerians put their hopes in the teams, they are rewarded with the greatest disappointment.
The teams have not been able to reach and maintain their rightful places on both continental and global stages.
The senior national team, the Super Eagles, are not defending the trophy they won two years ago in South Africa because they could not qualify for the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Equatorial Guinea.
This was a rude shock to many Nigerians.
The team, last year, also performed woefully at the 2014 FIFA World Cup championship in Brazil.
While many sports analysts believed that the crisis that engulfed the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) played a great role in the lackluster performances of the national teams in recent times, others felt that the problem has to do with the lack of talented youths to take over from the tiring old legs.
To this latter group, the solution to the poor outings by the national teams is in age-grade football competitions that will discover strong youthful talents to feed the national teams.
Even though there are some existing age-grade football competitions in the country, analysts observed that they have not achieved the desired impact over the years due to their poor packaging.
Also some of the young talents that have been discovered in the existing age-grade competitions have not been allowed to grow.
According to the sports analysts, most of the past national football coaches have not helped matters as they have, during their tenures, largely relied on the big names among the Nigeria’s foreign -based players to prosecute their matches.
So, the opportunity to discover new talents to take over from the tiring legs in the national teams was not really exploited fully.
Despite failing to go far in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and unable to qualify for 2015 African Cup of Nations, credit, however, must be given to the Super Eagles coach, Stephen, for giving more young home-based players the opportunity to prove themselves.
Going back to the drawing board and to chart a new course, President Goodluck Jonathan before the commencement of the last Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in the State House, Abuja, unveiled the President Cup to be competed for by teenagers in the country towards discovering talents.
President Jonathan was decorated at the brief ceremony as the Grand Patron of the Cup by ex-international and football stakeholders, who initiated the football competition.
Among the former players and officials in the delegation were Kanu Nwankwo, Peter Rufai, Taribo West, Emmanuel Babayaro, Garba Lawal, Austin Eguaveon, Shuabu Amodu, James Peters, Kadiri Ikhana, Manu Garba, Patrick Pascal, Anthony Chinasa and Kashimawo Laloko.
Others include Director-General of the National Sports Commission, Gbenga Elegbeleye; President of Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick; Darlington Anyanwau; Musa Uja; Auwalu Shekarau, Ike Neliaku; Ambassador Richard Ubohekong, and the Directors-General of Nigeria Television Authority, Shola Omole; and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Ladan Salihu.
President Jonathan said: “We remember how you put Nigeria’s name on [the map of] footballing nations…you brought glory and pride to our nation. We are happy with you and of course these efforts to come up with a template, a platform that you will use to build the younger ones so that you can groom them, you serving as their role model so that they would take after you and also take our country to a higher level, is quite commendable.”
“So on behalf of the government of the country, we thank you for your sincere commitment to continue to drive soccer to project football in our country, so that we will continue to be on top.”
He went on: “One thing that all Nigerians know that brought unity to this country is the game of soccer. Whenever you people are playing, those of us who watch do not know the difference between a Moslem and a Christian, we don’t know the difference between a northerner and a southerner or an easterner or a westerner.”
“We also see ourselves as Nigerians and that is the story; you have done very well for this country, we believe the younger ones will emulate you and also do what you have done,” he said
On his part, Sports Minister, Tammy Danagogo, who accompanied the ex-internationals, described the President Cup as a private sector contribution to football development which will hunt for teenage football talents through tournaments and nurture them for the use of national teams and other clubs.
“You will recall that one of the cardinal highlights of our roadmap for the transformation of our sports is grassroots sports and some of the strategies for achieving grassroot sports development are the national schools sports festival, the President’s cup etc.” he said
It is expected that this effort will not only turn around the round-leather game in Nigeria, but ensure that Nigeria maintain its top position at continental and global levels of the game.
With this, it is also hoped that never again would Nigeria as a defending champion be eliminated at the qualifying stages and prevented from featuring at the next competition of any championship.
