Sports
SOME football stakeholders have expressed disappointment at the performance of Nigeria’s representatives in the 2022/2023 CAF Champions League/Confederation Cup competitions.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that no Nigerian club will feature in the money-spinning group stage of the CAF Champions League.
This was after defending champions Wydad Casablanca of Morocco on Sunday hammered 10-man Rivers United 6-0 to progress to the CAF Champions League group stage with a 7-2 aggregate score.
The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Champions were the only Nigerian club left in the competition after
Jos-based Plateau United also failed to progress.
Both clubs have now dropped into the CAF Confederation Cup competition following their elimination.
Also, Kwara United Football Club of Ilorin, Nigeria’s representatives in the CAF Confederation Cup crashed out in the second preliminary round on away goal rule to holders RS Berkane of Morocco.
A cross section of football enthusiasts who spoke to NAN in separate interviews praised the team for giving their best, inspite of the challenges of competing against more quality teams from North Africa.
They however noted that the result recorded by the clubs was a direct manifestation of the quality of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).
Godwin Bamigboye, the Interim National Coordinator of the Association of Football Administrators in Nigeria (AFAN) said the teams are a product of a poorly managed league.
“Kudos to all the United(s) Teams. I am talking about Kwara United FC, Plateau United FC and Rivers United FC.
“They did their best but they are products of a poorly managed League. It is difficult to get a good result from a poor work,” he said.
He said the newly inaugurated Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) board had alot to do to ensure that the Nigerian league regain its lost glory.
He stressed that all that was needed was for the NFF board led by Ibrahim Gusau to do the needful and the league would flourish.
“The NFF must ensure that the NPFL is re-organised and build up a good league management structure.
“Set up Technical Division for each league to be supervised by the Technical Department of NFF.
“Appoint coaches as Technical Assessors for each league match and not only Referees Assessor or Match Assessor.
“The Technical Assessor will do a SWOT Analysis on clubs, players and coaches with the purpose of helping them to improve to the universal standards.
“Technical Assessors will provide adequate data on Coaches and Players and this effort can create a pool of scouted players and coaches for national assignments at any given time,” he said.
The former Nigeria Football Coaches Association FCT Chairman also noted that some of the clubs were poorly managed.
He said the administrators of the clubs must improve in the management of their various clubs.
“Let the NPFL Club Owners Forum, headed by Isaac Danladi, develop their own blueprint that will make the NPFL the best League in Africa within a short time.
“Many things to be done, you may say. Action is required. Congratulations to the United Nigerian Teams. Come back home and do the needful,” he said.
Victor Baribote, a former Chairman of the Nigeria Premier League (NPL), said he could not fault the players as they put in their best, adding, however, that the negative result was expected.
“I am not surprised about the result because domestic football died in the last eight years.
“Those who were entrusted with the authority to run our football were all chasing their personal ambition with CAF and FIFA.
“They added no value to Nigeria Domestic Football. You cannot reap where you sowed nothing.
“Even the so-called new board that is a product of an ongoing litigation would be worst as it is another visionless board, same of same.
“You cannot give what you do not have and until the NFF statute is amended, our football will continue to be on the decline,” he said.
Patrick Ngwaogu, a former Sporting Director of Abia Warriors FC, said the situation with the league was a straight forward one, pointing out that the clubs in the country had no solid structure to be able to compete on the continent.
“The results we got on the continent is just a reflection of our league. The unorganised league, with little or no structure.
“What will you say are the structures of the teams that represented us on the continent? None.
“Our league at the top is poorly structured,” he said.
He said that the NFF knew what to do in order to put the league in proper perspective, adding that until then, the league would continue to dance around in one place without making any meaningful progress.
“We have taken so many things for granted, and that’s why we are at this point.
“South Africa came down here to understudy us in the 1990s, today, they are up there, and we are below.
“The quality of our players is another thing. Good players continue to run out of the country to play in obscure leagues.
“So, we are left with half-baked players, and the funds are not available to bring quality players,” he said.
Sola Afolayan, the President of Ekiti State All Stars Football Club, congratulated all the teams for giving their best and wished them a better outing in the future.
He blamed the dismal performance of the teams on poor league management and administration.
“The players and officials have tried their utmost best, which obviously has been submerged by the dysfunctional system of sports management we brandish in the country.
“I strongly hope that very soon the era of sport “damagement” shall be replaced by true management,” he said.
He pointed out that in those days preparing for any local match was like preparing for Christmas and wondered why the structure of legendary clubs of old like Rangers, Ranchers Bees, Bendel Uniited had suddenly been destroyed.
“The tsunami of bad administration, duplicitous refereeing and several other football boardroom shenanigans have percolated and destroyed football structures.
“Fans now have allegiance for the English Premier League and not the local league.
“Growing up as a secondary school boy, I never missed the program on television called “Match of the week” in which an explosive local league match would be shown to the populace as recorded.
“Reporters like Yinka Craig, Akiloye Oyebanji, Ernest Okonkwo (all of blessed memories), Emeka Odilo and a host of others hyped our local leagues then.
“Their reports always gave the fans something credible to expect in our stadia.
“Today, with the emergence of Multi Choice (DSTV and so on), going to any of our less comfortable stadia becomes the last resort,” he said.
He noted that viewing centres have come to replace the stadia, adding that Nigerian fans were now affiliated to clubs like Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea rather than local clubs like Eyimba, Kano Pillars, etc.
He stressed that the country’s football had been subjected to another round of colonialism, no thanks to the cabals of bad administrators.
“These days, people with huge money prefer to go into politics where anything goes instead of investing such monies in youth and sports development.
“Sports indeed has been relegated to the subterranean as Nigeria is a country where the minister of sports had little or no pedigree in sport,” he said. (NAN)
A.I
Tags: CAF Champions League
